3/19/17 We All Make it to Church

This morning everyone was well enough to go to church. It feels like it's been a few weeks since we've all been able to go together. Between meetings and illnesses and travel it feels good to finally all be together during Sacrament meeting.
Before church we had our first try at having an Excutive Council (Heidi and me) followed by a Family Council (adding all the kids). David noted that Peter and Joseph didn't quite have the attention span for it. Still, for a first run, I thought it went very well. We were able to talk about some available time slots and what we want to do with them. We even got it written down.
This afternoon we got to try out our first plan. Rebecca and Sarah worked on a FHE lesson. David worked on the Communications Merit Badge. I home taught the Porters with Pierre. Heidi made dinner and gave encouragement and support to the kids. After dinner we played a couple of board games. Heidi and I even gave away some of our games that won't fit well in the game closet. Rebecca, Sarah and Peter came along. We loaded the stuff in the wagon and stroller and walked to the Hallsted's house. We had a nice visit with Michael and Amy. I think they will have some fun with those games.

3/18/17 A Warm Spring Day

This morning while the older kids worked on their 4 For Fun I blew bubbles for Peter. He loved running around popping them. After I got winded I let him try blowing them. To my surprise he did quite well.

Mid morning Heidi, Rebecca, Sarah and I joined Gram, Papa and Becca B at the theater. We watched the new live action version of Beauty and the Beast. I think they managed to make a fun movie. It is clearly trying to look and sound like the original but they did add in some new songs. I am glad we went.

During the drive home the girls wanted to know if we could go swimming. It is 95 degrees as the high today. We broke down and took the kids. Above Heidi holds Peter. Rebecca is adjusting her goggles.

TJ has a great smile.

David on his improvised raft.

Joseph is getting better at propelling himself through the water.

Sarah made friends with a little girl her age and had fun playing with her.

This evening we played a little game. We made two teams and each team used an online programming tool for kids to make a computer game. Then we shared the games. Whichever game gets the most likes determines what flavor of ice cream we get for Family Home Evening. It was challenging but I think all the kids who participated had fun. I know I did.

3/17/17 St. Patrick Boxing Day

This morning we decided, in a spirit of optimism, that we should begin to organize our worldly possessions. The kids got excited about putting things into boxes.

Initially though some things got packed that we are not ready to put away. Here are Rebecca and David acting silly.

As usual Heidi worked hard. She organized our book shelf and put away some of the books that no one is reading.

Here is a cute shot Heidi got of buddies Joseph and Peter.

This evening we continued our organizing streak by going through our board games. Peter was excited about this. He got out this matching game and had fun counting all the circles. It was a productive day and the house is (mostly) cleaner for it.

3/16/17 Fixing Fans

Today, and yesterday, we finally had the perfect combination of time, parts and heat to enable us to fix two ceiling fans that have had minor glitches since it got too cold to want them on. The living room fan is high. Even at the top of our ladder I can just reach it. The last time we worked on it we realized that the threads that hold the knob that keep the glass bowl from slipping had become worn. After multiple attempts at finding the right replacement parts we happened to find a lady at the hardware store who knew just what to do. We adjusted the rod with the threads down so that good threads are now reachable by the knob. Problem solved.
In the kid's room the issue was trickier (to me). Heidi knew just what to do. One of the kids had pulled too hard on the metal string that adjusts the fan speed and it broke off. Heidi figured out what part we needed and found a YouTube video explaining how to hook up the four wires to it. I helped by holding things up and handing screws at the right time. David helped, by his own initiative, by putting the glass bells and light bulbs back up. The picture above was intended to show his handiwork.
Rebecca now officially has Strep and has started her antibiotics. On the plus side Sarah is now almost completely better. Hopefully Rebecca will recover quickly as well and we can prevent others from catching it as well.

3/15/17 Mission Accomplished

This morning we are once again indebted to the children for helping us finish weeding the yard. It was quite overrun when we started. Now, with the added measure of Heidi's spraying, it should be manageable for a while.

To celebrate we decided to check out this park near Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's place in San Tan.

David wasted no time finding creative ways to climb it.

Peter made his way to the top. I later joined him in coming back down via the slide.

Sarah took a turn on the swings.

TJ in a tunnel.

Sadly, Rebecca wasn't feeling well and Joseph required multiple potty trips so no pictures of them. Heidi thinks Rebecca may have gotten strep from Sarah. I'm afraid she may be right. We have an appointment to take her to the doctor in the morning.

This evening we celebrated Pi day a day late. We've had this pumpkin pie in the freezer since Christmas. Today seemed like just the sort of special occasion to eat it. It was just the right size for our family. I believe it was a gift from my parents. A big thank you to you Mom and Dad.

3/14/17 Pull a Weed, Pick a Plan

This morning Heidi helped the kids do 4 For Fun while I did a CPE class. After lunch we headed to Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's house. There were weeds that needed tending to. All the kids helped in their way. Above you see TJ picking weeds. David, Rebecca, Sarah and even Joseph also pulled a few. David also mowed the lawn. Rebecca pointed out that Peter helped "by not crying the whole time". It is true that he does get fussy sometimes. The fact that he self entertained so well for multiple hours allowed us to get a lot done. David started helping first and may have helped the longest. Rebecca started later but she was the only one who stuck it out with me until our goal of 5 pm. We filled a big can full and still have some weeds left for tomorrow. I guess that's job security. Heidi's clever plan is to put out the can tonight and fill it again tomorrow morning after the trash guys come.

This evening, after dinner, we got out our white boards and started working on a refined family calendar. We do an ok job of getting regular items on there. What we want to refine are the times we plan to do the things we often miss like daily personal scripture study for me and Heidi or putting in a load of laundry. We made good progress before Peter decided to get artistic and draw on the white board. Tomorrow morning we'll put the finishing touches on the plan.

3/13/17 A Smile and a Frown

This morning Heidi took Sarah to see the doctor about her sore throat. While they were gone I worked with the other kids on "4 for Fun". Rebecca has finished 95% of the 6th grade mission. As of today she has at least started all the skills that sixth graders are expected to know. She could be completely done by the end of the week. The other kids also worked on math, reading, music and chores. David was a big helper coaching Joseph on the Preschool mission. At first Joseph wasn't sure he wanted to do it. Then when he saw David would do it with him he got excited about it. I think Joseph liked the idea of being included with the big kids. Rebecca also taught Joseph some notes on the piano. It makes me smile to see the kids helping each other.

Heidi sent me this picture of Sarah at the Doctor's office. They confirmed Strep and prescribed antibiotics. Sarah is already starting to feel better.
This evening for FHE we decided to bake cookies and take them to our home and visiting teaching families. We've had a hard time getting our regular visits in and we're trying to repent. It was a good FHE. Some families were not home but we had good visits with several people.