Update

This week has been a CRAZY week.....but, a normal week also - I guess what I am saying is EVERY WEEK AROUND HERE IS A CRAZY WEEK! We stated the week off with a goose egg on Laiklie's forehead. I was in the shower when she tore into the bathroom screaming that "Rhett did it!" After I got out I went and asked Rhett what happened - all the while Laiklie screaming in the background that "Rhett did it" and Rhett said, "She jumped off the couch and hit her head on that chair." As soon as he finished Laiklie stopped screaming and said, "Oh ya, dadt is what happened!" OH MY WORD!! What a funny girl. I guess her philosophy is - if you can't remember how you got hurt just blame it on big brother!!

Kinda hard to see in the pictures. And, yes, that is a swimsuit strap....we are back to living in them AGAIN!:)

So.....Monday I also decided it was time to dig in to redecorating Laiklie's room. I have been putting it off because of remodeling the basement and eventually moving her down there, but I decided that her room in the basement is still possibly a year away from being finished and so I HAD to do something about the one she is currently in. The paintable wall paper that my mom, sister and I put up when I was pregnant with Oakley has been painted over SEVERAL times and was starting to peel off. It had to go. It was actually the easiest wall paper I have EVER removed....all I had to do was pull! :) We have some kinda funny brownish bluish wall panels under it and so I decided to paint some purple and pink stripes. The painting is finished and as soon as I get pictures hung-up I will post pictures!

BEFORE: - You can see the wallpaper peeling off and the funny color underneath if you look hard.

This is Laiklie singing while the paint dries in her room. SUPER CUTE!

We had Dallin's Blue and Gold Banquet this past Thursday too! It was fun to sit and visit and watch the little cub scouts do their thing. (No pictures...sorry!)

On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a Regional Relief Society Meeting at BYU-I where Sister Julie B. Beck (General R.S. president) spoke. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. and I was so grateful for the things I took home from the meeting. You could ask 5 different ladies what they got out of the meeting and I promise none of them would have the same answers. She covered SO MUCH material and information. She actually opened the meeting to questions from the audience and I was BLOWN AWAY as to how well she knew her scriptures. It amazed me that she would say...."Oh, I was just riding about this in this book, chapter___, verse ___." She did it OVER AND OVER AGAIN!! So....I just wanted to share a few of the meetings highlights (for me!).

1. She told us that the message of the gospel is only shared if WE share it. We have to be willing to OPEN OUR MOUTHS and talk about the gospel. We can't be scared of offending others.

2. She said we need to NOT spend our time and money on things of NO WORTH! She said if we are spending them on things of NO WORTH than we are NOT spending them on things of WORTH! She said we choose if we sit down and watch a TV show for an hour or if we sit and read our scriptures and once that time is gone we can't take it back so we need to be choosing wisely.

3. She talked about being very intentional about what we allow into our homes and lives. She said to not be afraid to SHUT IT DOWN or to PUT UP BOUNDARIES. We are the target of the adversary and he is IN OUR FACE everyday. She said WE WERE BORN TO BE A PART OF THE LORDS DEFENSE!

4. She told us that we HAVE to be reading our scriptures. She said, "You have to have them IN YOU before they can come OUT OF YOU!" (In sharing the gospel)

5. And in closing she said something that I LOVED....She said that we have to Choose (today, right now, this minute) to live the gospel in a day and age and world that tells us NOT TO.

This experience was DEFINITELY a wonderful one that I am grateful I chose to take part in!!

So....when I got home Saturday afternoon the kids had MAJOR cabin fever from hanging out with the babysitter all day so I bundled them up and sent them out and they had a BLAST playing in the snow and I LOVED they weren't bouncing off my walls! :)

Oakley and Dallin in the background. They LOVED playing by this strawbale....it grossed me out because I KNOW how many mice live in strawbales. I was the good mom that bit-my-tongue and didn't say a word and just let them play even though it grossed me out!:)

Laiklie - eating snow....of course.

This is Mckenzie. She stays with us sometimes when her (single) mom is having a hard time. She has been with us off and on for the past few weeks. Usually the kids do great with her. Every once in a while I have to remind them to be nice because they are feeling like their space has been invaded. It usually works out fine though!

All FIVE of the snow crew!

Laiklie, Oakley, Mckenzie, Rhett and Dallin