Birthday Pictures & More

Lookin' cool on the last pool day

Zoe participated in the Knights of Columbus soccer challenge this morning.

The kids kicked the ball into the net and received points for when it went into the 4 corners.

Zoe and the other participants will go on to the state challenge next month in Bangor.

When I got home, Noah was anxious for me to see Matt's lasso skills.  Soon, all of the kids wanted Matt to catch them!

 The shots I got of the kids waiting for the rope to catch or hit them are hysterical!

 Ready or not, here it comes!

We celebrated my Mom's 63rd Birthday today!

Grandkids are the light of her life!

We all looked forward to her yummy cake!

We love you Grammie (Mom)!

Pool Closed

The kids had their last swimming class today. Eleanor passed her intermediate class, so she will be in the water safety class next summer with Zoe & Emily. Zach passed the seals class, so he will be in sharks next summer. Kate passed Beginner 2, so she will be in seals next summer. Noah will remain in Beginner 2 next summer. I love that our kids are great swimmers! We are so blessed to have our town pool. Our kids would not have the swimming skills that they have without it. Thank you Mary, Brandon, Carrie, Johnny, Megan & Taylor for being such great swimming instructors & lifeguards!

We went to the last afternoon free swim of the summer today. It was perfect weather for the last day, sunny and in the 80s. :-)

Matt & I walked around the American Folk Festival for a bit this evening and then we went to see "Spiderman". We both enjoyed it. :-)

Thumbs up for family dinners

Kate's & Noah's class had some friendly competitions in their swimming class today. Kate was able to swim under water the farthest. :-)

The kids & I went on an adventure to the mall today. Zoe bought herself an iPod case and I gave each of the kids a quarter to buy candy or gum from the machines. Zoe's machine gave her 4 peanut butter m&ms. Lame!

We love having dinner together as a family! I think it makes all of us feel good inside, plus we get to eat yummy food. :-) Our kids are big meat eaters. It is rare for all of our kids to like what we are having for dinner, but I have noticed that they all love terriyaki chicken and they all love ham steaks!

Creativity

Both the Young Women and the Activity Day girls made treats with rice crispies this evening. The Young Women made this awesome torch. They also used fruity pebbles. Zoe took some pictures of it and then they gobbled it up!

The Activity Day girls made a butterscotch rice crispy snack and then they went outside and talked about the plan of salvation.
After the activities, Zoe, Emily, Eleanor & I went over to my parents' house to watch the movie "Charly" with them. Zoe & Emily just read the book and they loved it! As of last Sunday, they are devouring Jack Weyland books! I loved reading these books when I was a teenager. I'm glad my Mom held on to the books for my kids. :-)
Zoe bought herself a new iPod! It arrived while she was out having fun with Breanna & Cassie. After the last water safety class for this summer, Zoe played basketball with her friends and their Dad. Then they went swimming, ate pizza & then had ice cream for dessert. This has been a fun day for Zoe!

Eleanor's guest post

We had a home day today.  Some of the kids went bike riding.  Zachary & Kate made cats out of shells, one feather & sea glass.  One of Zachary's eyes popped off.  Kate started to feel sick.  We watched episodes and then a movie while Kate rested.  After the movie, we played outside for a little bit.  When Dad came home, he mowed the lawn and Mom weeded the garden.  Then we all came in for dinner.  We had pancakes!  After that, we got ready for bed and watched more episodes.  That's where we are now.  I don't know what happens next!

FHE

Zoe spent the day with Arlena & a few other friends to celebrate Arlena's birthday.  They went swimming, they had their nails done, they went to Ming's for lunch & they did other fun girly things together. :-)


This is the last week for the pool to be open, so we went swimming this afternoon.


We have started a new Family Home Evening routine.  We still have the same assignments, but we will have our lesson, Article of Faith & scripture on Sunday.  This will bring us together on Sundays and help us keep the sabbath day holy.  Then on Monday night, we will play a game or do a fun activity together and have our treat.  This evening we played a matching game and enjoyed root beer floats or ice cream. :-)

Pictures

Zoe's Temple Masterpiece

Toothless kids!

Swans Island Adventure!  Kayla & Zoe

Yummy lobster sandwiches!

Rachael & Peggy

Ralph (Zoe's funny Sunday School Teacher)

Bass Harbor

Swans Island

We had a Relief Society/Young Women activity on Swans Island today at the Ellison's. It was such a fun day! I went with Zoe, my Mom, Sunshine, Bo, Lola, Cheryl, Andrea, Kim, Ralph (a few of the husbands tagged along :-), Lorraine, Dave, Mere, Marian, Rachael, Peggy (an awesome visitor from North Carolina), Cindy & her grandaughter Madeline, Kristen & Kayla. Most of the sisters learned quilting skills and the rest of us made cards. We ate yummy lobster sandwiches for lunch that the men made. :-) I drove my Yukon onto the ferry, so we would have enough vehicles to get us around. The Ellisons provided the other vehicles. We stopped at the beach on our way back to the ferry to head home. We stayed long enough to get some pictures and walk around. The weather was a bit rainy in the morning, but it cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful day. :-). Thank you Ellison's for sharing your beautiful island with us!

Go Kate!

Kate took an unofficial swim test for the deep end after swimming lessons today and she passed! She has to wait until she is 8 to swim in the deep end without me, though (or near that age...Zach is 7 and he is allowed to swim in the deep end without me because the lifeguards know him and his abilities).

I cleaned the inside of the Yukon today and washed the windows. Zoe helped, too. It looks really nice!

Matt & I had a super fun date night! We went to Ming's for dinner and then we saw "Moonrise Kingdom" at the Alamo. :-)

Business for the Tooth Fairy

No swimming lessons today due to rainy weather. We went to the "Dinosaur" pool in the afternoon. We enjoyed homemade pizza together as a family this evening. :-)

Kate lost her 1st tooth this morning! This bummed Zach out since he hadn't lost his 1st tooth yet, BUT Matt helped Zach get his loose tooth out this evening. So, the Tooth Fairy will be visiting both of them tonight. :-) All of our children have lost a tooth now. Zoe pointed out at dinner that she has lost all of her teeth. Then Noah asked Zoe how she was going to eat her pizza!

I love to eat the temple?

Zoe & Emily went to their water safety class this morning. Their instructor's family is visiting and they are all lifeguards, so they helped out today. Zoe & Emily tried some sychnorized swimming with the rest of the class. :-)

I took the kids to the Teddy Bear Picnic at our library this morning. My kids get excited about storytime if it involves bringing a teddy bear with you! The honeycomb cereal & juice are also great motivators! The Mattson daughters always do a great job reading to the kids. They have been reading at our annual Teddy Bear picnic for 15 years now! Their mother, Helen Mattson used to read to the kids before she passed away. That was before our time. I've only known the daughters and their dad, who passed away a few years ago.

The rest of our day was spent at church. I met with Sunshine to go over some cub scout things. Then we ate lunch and played a few rounds of knockout with the missionaries. There were 6 missionaries there for a meeting. Then we did some cleaning since it is our week to do so. The kids didn't want to help until McDonald's became their reward. Then I had 6 great helpers! We watched Shark Week on the TV at McDonald's. It was not the best thing to be watching while eating! But of course our eyes were glued to the TV! We went back to church, so Zoe could go to Young Women's. They made temples with mini marshmallows and frosting. So cute! We ended up with 3 temples and 2 of them have been gobbled up already! I haven't let them touch Zoe's temple yet.

Movie Day

I took the kids & Anna to see "Brave" at the $1 theater this afternoon. The kids have been waiting a long time to see it! We all enjoyed it. :-)

Work, Shop, Dance

Matt suggested yesterday during Family Council that we each spend a half hour each day working outside. We've been neglecting our land, so there is a lot of work to be done! Emily was our hardest worker today. It's hard for me to just work for half an hour once I get started, but that's probably a good thing.

Patti brought Zoe, Emily & Eleanor school shopping today. She is so awesome! Not only did they get some new clothes, but they also ate lunch at Wendy's. They brought home a new sweatshirt for Kate and a shirt for Zach. They all modeled their new clothes for me. They looked very nice. :-)

Zach, Kate, Noah & I went to the pool this afternoon.

Eleanor went to Eleanor Tyne's birthday party this evening. They celebrated Eleanor's birthday and then they went to dance to Flash in the Pans in Stockton Springs. Fun!

Pictures & Lessons

Zoe & Morgan had fun playing with my camera while we were on the road this weekend.

One of the activities yesterday was making blankets for children. Zoe & her friends had a great time working together!

Here are a few of the sweet blankets.

The back seat girls!

I could listen to Sister Dalton all day long! She truly loves and sees the young women as our Heavenly Father does. She told us that as she was walking into the chapel and down the aisle, the spirit whispered to her that "these are my precious daughters". She told the young women that they may be the only members of the church in their school, but they are not alone. They have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. She told them that they are magnificent. They are not average, they are not ordinary. Their actions and choices in the premortal world are why they were reserved to come to earth in these latter days. They are to bear their testimonies of the Savior and the plan of happiness here on earth as they did in the premortal world. She told the young women that Satan will do whatever he can to keep them from the temple. While talking about modesty, Sister Dalton told the young women to live their standards so they will be safe and have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Virtue (chastity) and purity are most important in these latter-days. She encouraged the young women to take Elder Bednar's challenge to research their Family History and to bring names to the temple. The young women have technological abilities that are amazing and are useful in the work of the Lord. One virtuous young woman led by the spirit can change the world.

Elder Matthew Eyring (son of President Henry B. Eyring) was a great speaker as well. He encouraged the young women to listen to people like their parents. He told them that they can always change. 2 Nephi 9:7. He told them to set their sights high and do not settle for anything less than a temple marriage. He told them to get all the education they can and to stay close to the Lord. He told them their greatest gift that they have is their testimonies. He encouraged them to share it. He said that his parents lived the gospel 100%. I loved the story of President Eyring being in the First Presidency calling his Bishop and asking for permission to administer the sacrament in his home for Elder Eyring and Elder Eyring's son. What a great example of honoring the Priesthood and being humble. Elder Eyring again told the young women to set the bar high for themselves and to not settle. Christ should always be at the center of our focus.

There was a short question/answer period after the talks. We learned that one of Sister Dalton's favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6 and that her mom & her husband are her heroes. She encouraged the young women to go to college and then go on a mission if they have not found their eternal companion yet. If a worthy young man comes along during college or after who wants to marry her and she wants to marry him, then they should marry. They can always go on a mission together later on in life. :-) Elder Eyring encouraged the young women to reach out to other young women who are lonely. He told them to be the one to break out of their friendship circle to include someone who is lonely, someone who needs a friend.

Zoe now has a personal progress book with Sister Dalton's signature in it. :-) Zoe gave a great testimony today in Sacrament Meeting about her experience at young women's conference. It was the best testimony I have heard her share. She taught by the spirit and it touched my heart. :-)

3 States

We started our morning in Massachusetts at the hotel.  Zoe & Morgan were up swimming at 6am!  We ate breakfast, got ready & headed to New Hampshire where we spent most of our day at Young Women's Conference.  The young women participated in 3 different service projects.  They made 1300 first aid kits, 200 no-sew fleece blankets & 1000 table place cards.  Amazing!  Tomorrow I will go into detail about what we learned from Sister Dalton & Elder Eyring.  I will tell you now that the spirit was strongly felt when these righteous leaders walked into the chapel. It was awesome!  Now, we are back home in Maine and we are exhausted!  Goodnight.

I am a Latter-Day Saint

And I am.

Zoe & I are on a road trip with Patti, Luzvie, Kristen, Kayla, Kathleen, Kes, Brittyn & Morgan.  We rented a 12 passenger van and headed out from the church around 9:30 this morning.  We stopped in Scarborough for lunch at Subway.  We arrived a half hour late to the tri-stake Young Women's Conference in Exeter New Hampshire, but we were able to get registered quick and then sit down with everyone for the opening song.  We only missed the registration time.  The theme for the conference is Be a standard for the nations.  After the welcome, we went to 3 different workshops.  I went to The Ten Virgins. Prepare to meet the Savior.  This class focused on the standards in the For the strength of youth pamphlet.  We got a sticker of an oil lamp to put on our cell phones since the teachers used cell phone batteries as an example of the oil in our day.  The second class I went to was called Remember who you are.  What stood out to me was the fact that Satan wants us to feel small and he holds us back.  Satan has no power over us unless we allow him to have power over us.  The third class I went to was called Stop it - Principles from President Uchtdorf.  We talked about the consequences of judging others.  Zoe went to this class first, then she made an Arise and shine forth craft, and then she went to the prepare to meet the Savior class.  We met back in the cultural hall for pizza.  Then we heard from Sister & President Wood (the Boston Temple Matron & President).  President Wood told a lot of fun stories.  Now, we are in a hotel in Massachusetts.  Some of us went swimming.  I went in the pool long enough to cool off, which wasn't for very long and then I relaxed in the hot tub.  :-)

Beach Photos

Our fun time at Craig Pond on Tuesday...

Our fun time today at Sand Beach in Stonington with Tasha, Sunshine, Jessica, Cheryl & all of our kids!...

 Kate let her friends fill her bathing suit with sand.  Silly girl!

Olympic Games

Zoe & Emily made it to their water safety class this morning.  I took the younger kids to the park, but everything was wet, so it wasn't much fun.  They had fun taking turns on the wii when we got home, though.

The Harry Potter books have made an impression on Noah.  Someone on the TV said double doors, but Noah heard Dumbledore!  :-)

Emily & Eleanor participated in the Girls Olympics at Activity Days this evening.  They had a water balloon toss, discus throwing, hoola hooping, ball toss and Frisbee toss.  It was a lot of fun!  It was also fun to be outside. Emily & Eleanor proved to be very strong during the discus throw!  Emily did a great job tossing the ball into the hoola hoop that was laying on the ground!  It was hard to do!  The girls were rewarded with popscicles.  :-)

Perfect Pond Day

Zach, Kate, Noah & I had a fun time at Craig Pond today!  The kids put their life jackets on and we swam out into the deep water.  We found a rock to stand on that wasn't far from the shore, but it was deep enough that the kids couldn't touch.  They had fun playing on it when I got out of the water.  They also had fun playing with Noah's beach toys.  It was such a beautiful day today!


Zoe, Emily & Eleanor opted to stay home and play on the wii.  They missed out on a fun adventure!

Noah had his 4 year checkup this afternoon.  He is healthy and doing well.  He didn't cry when he got 3 shots.  He was very brave like Kate and he just mentioned the fact that the shots hurt a bit.  Can you believe that this was my last time taking a 4 year old to get 4 year old shots?  I can't!

Shop 'Til You Drop

The kids & I went shopping today.  Whose bright idea was that???  We needed toiletries and food, and Zoe needed church shoes, so off we went.  Kate found a cute pair of Hello Kitty shoes for school.  All of the kids would have loved to shop for school, but they will have to wait their turn.  Kate was the lucky one today.

After FHE, I read the remaining 3 chapters of the 2nd Harry Potter book to the kids.  I was only going to read one chapter, but it was too good to stop!  I read and enjoyed the books when they first came out and I am enjoying them just as much now.  I have forgotten a lot of details, so it is fun to read them again.

Blessings

I love tithing blessings!  I was wondering what we were going to have for dinner last night (a dinner before fasting) with a little amount of money to buy much.  Then Matt brought home leftover food from Zion's Camp.  Sweet!  I really shouldn't stress about our needs being met because they always are.  :-)

Church was very uplifting today.  The spirit was very strong in Sacrament Meeting & in Sharing Time today.  I love leaving church feeling filled & happy.  :-)

Matt is home!

My Thirty One party was fun!  My cousin, Carey Jo was the consultant.  My Aunt Tonia & my cousin, Faith were there.  Faith brought her sweet 1 month old baby boy. :-)   My Mom, my Grandmother & my kids were there, and my friend Mary & her kids were there.  I was hoping to find a good beach bag and I found one.  Yay!  I got it as my half priced item, which my Grandmother paid for because I put her item that she wanted as my free item.  Thanks again Grammie for helping me get what I wanted without going into debt.  :-)

Matt is home!  :-)   Zion's Camp was tough, but the men/young men all came back stronger in many ways.  :-)

We watched "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" this evening.

Can we read Harry Potter?

I took Eleanor, Zach, Kate & Noah to swimming lessons this morning.  Then all of the kids & I went over to my parents' house to clean, clean, clean.  I am having a Thirty One party there tomorrow morning. :-)

It was a hot day today and it remained hot in the evening, so we went to evening swim at the pool.  The water was warm, the sun was out, it was a perfect evening for swimming.  :-)

I have been reading a lot of Harry Potter to the kids lately.  We are close to the end of the second book.  The kids like to play Harry Potter, too.  We now live at Hogwarts.  :-)

Still Unfair

When I woke up this morning and realized that it was raining out, I was happy because that meant I didn't have to wake the kids up for water safety class.  We got home super late last night from the fair, which was super fun!, so nobody was looking forward to getting up before 8am.  Then I thought of Matt and how his canoeing trip would be starting off in the pouring rain.  :-(  Hopefully, the sun came out for Matt and his Zion's Camp crew this afternoon like it did here.

Everything went great at the fair yesterday, except for losing track of Noah for a few seconds.  I told him that I was scared when I couldn't find him and then I asked him if he was scared too, he said, "Yup."  Then laughing he said, "I didn't even know you were lost!"  I am grateful that he wasn't lost for very long!

We relaxed and watched the Olympics today.  Swimming has been my favorite event to watch so far.  Gymnastics and diving have been fun to watch, too.  I brought Zoe to Young Women's this evening.  She was the only young woman there.  Patti & Zoe went to buy fabric to make quilts.  The young women will earn different fabric squares for making good choices like going to the temple, doing Personal Progress, reading scriptures, doing service, etc and then the young women will make a quilt with their squares.  There was an article in the April 2012 New Era called "Patchwork of Progress" where the young women did the exact same thing.  It is a great way for the young women to learn and grow in the gospel and to make a memorable quilt.  :-)