Sledding

My son Jory wanted to ditch us for the day and go to the Irish games with his friends. I wasn't sure if I should let him go, so I came up with a better solution. I had told him a few weeks ago I wanted to take the family sledding where the scouts went. Friday, when he asked to go with the friends, I said we were going sledding. Saturday morning we woke up, loaded the snow clothes and sleds, stopped by the church for Dallin's family scout picnic and then headed to the mountains. We went up past Walla Walla into the Blues. It was warm and I wondered if we would find snow (I didn't invite any families because of that little worry; no snow could be a problem). There was still snow and plenty of it. We were sweating and soaked after two hours of play. It was worth it, even with a $30 ticket for not having a snow park pass!

Dallin and Jory decided the first jump was too small and built a bigger one.

Kylie gave it a go.

I stuck with the small jump. No I didn't pop the tube when I landed. I did that later just going down the hill.

Cody didn't like sledding. He got dumped once by Camri and that was enough. He managed to last by watching and throwing snow.

While trying to load up to go home, Jory decided he'd had enough of the teenager attempt at stealing his candy bar. Instead of candy, Kylie got to taste a nice snow pile for her efforts. Later, Jory T. got his taste as well, but my camera was put away. At least I remembered it this time!

Is it Spring?

We went to the park yesterday to enjoy the warm sun. It was a beautiful day. Glad we took advantage of it, because today the sun is gone and the wind is back.

Yes, I helped this little monkey climb the big rock, but only half way. He wanted to go clear to the top. He might have made it if he wasn't wearing his boots.

Ski Trip

I finally remembered to have my sister email our ski trip pictures. She had to email pictures because I forgot my camera again. Thanks for the pictures Tiff.

When Jory and I went to Idaho to go snowmobiling, instead of snowmobiling the first day, I went night skiing with my sisters and their families. We took Camri for the first time and she scared a few years off my life. She could ski, but not stop. Her snow plow didn't have enough plow to slow her down. I about had two heart attacks watching her ski to the edge. At one point I was whacking her with my poles trying to slow her down. Tiffani got her skiing by putting her between her legs and skiing with her. I finally did that and it worked okay. By the end of the night, I said she was done. My wonderful brother-in-law Jonathon took her instead and taught her much better than I ever could. What a great guy. I've decided I will not go with her again unless my dad or husband come. We had a lot of fun, though. The boys really worked on their snowboarding and Kylie enjoyed racing Jonathon down the hill. I'm hoping there will be snow for spring break and we can go again. So far, sounds like there will be:)

Kylie

Having dinner

Camri's first time down the hill alone. Me behind, panicking.

Dallin

Jory

Personal Progress

This week as I prepared for another New Beginnings, I discovered that the General Young Women Presidency has invited mothers to participate in Personal Progress. Also, our Stake YW Presidency has invited leaders to be working on it as well. So, I have recommitted as a mother and yw president to do Personal Progress. Since this is my "journal" I will be using it for discussion (if your willing to comment) and my thoughts on the experiences I am working on.

My first experiences discusses the roles of mothers. In "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" it lists some roles of mothers. These roles include providing spiritual and physical needs, teaching love and service to others, be law abiding citizens and teach this to our children, and teach them to keep the commandments. It also explains a mother's role is to nurture her children.

Reading about this, I can't help but think of the story I shared in New Beginnings. When Kylie was little, I was trying to teach her how to swing. As I pushed her I would say things like, "Legs out, lean back. Now tuck your legs in and lean forward." She couldn't figure it out. One day I babysat a little girl a year older than Kylie and they went out to play. Before I knew it, Kylie learned how to swing by watching this little girl do it beside her.
As mothers, the best way to teach is to do. If we are an example of service and love, they will learn service and love. If we are abiding citizens, we teach them to abide the law. If we keep the commandments, they will learn to keep the commandments. If we work beside them, they will learn.

Today, as I came down with my scriptures and Personal Progress (we don't have church until 1p.m.) my kids asked what I was doing. I told them and explained they could do similar things. Kylie got out her personal progress and began working as well. Jory T. went upstairs and worked on his Duty to God, and the little kids kept the TV off (that's a big one at our house).
I hope I can continue this because not only will it teach my children, but I will continue to progress in the gospel. I think if we teach by example, it will open up lines of communication about gospel principles. It worked today at least:)

My next experience discusses womanhood. What do you think are the most important attributes of being a mother? The Family: A Proclamation to the World is very clear that being a woman is a divine calling and preordained. I really like that. I used to argue a lot about how unfair it was to be a girl. Now, I can see the important place a woman has in society and especially in the family. When I went back to college, Jory worried I would turn into a feminist. Instead, the classes I took reaffirmed the importance of my calling as a mother. Studies showed the best possible situation for children to grow was in a home with both a mother and father who carried out the different roles. It testified once again that Heavenly Father's plan is the right way, and we should strive to emulate our roles as women.

Valentine's Day

What did I do for Valentine's Day? Had a blast snowmobiling with my hubby and our great friends from Wyoming. This was our second annual snowmobiling trip. Last year we stayed in Bear Lake, UT and this year we stayed in Island Park, ID. It was amazing. All of us chipped in and rented a cabin. Jory borrowed a couple of really nice sleds and off we went. Saturday morning we fueled up and hit the trails. I still can't figure out how Dallas found his way around. It took me a while to get used to riding. I only go once a year, remember. At one point, we went off trail and followed the river where a herd of elk were drinking. Yes, I forgot the camera. For lunch, we stopped in at Pine Lodge to warm up and fuel the men. That afternoon, Dallas led us on what I thought was a crazy mountain trail that would get us lost. We ended up going through the mountains to a big open field and then 10 or so miles later, the cabin! I couldn't believe it. What fun!!! No one was hurt too badly, though I have bruises on my legs and arms. I got brave and learned how to stand on the side and turn. Fell a few times, but the snow was six inches of new powder. Later, the hot tub saved all of us aging friends. We had a great time and can't wait for next year.
Jory is pretty cool to watch. He floats through the snow! I'm pretending to ride at the time. I was too tired at the moment to do much else. I finally got the hang of going to the side to turn. It's kind of fun!

I've been tagged

I'm so glad to be tagged. I need to catch up on this. We had so much fun this weekend, but I don't have time to share yet, so I'll just do the tag. Here's my sixth photo in my sixth file.

This is Jory T. riding his Uncle Jonathon's mechanical bull in 2005. Hubby Jory was getting the bull ready to be shipped to Japan. Jonathon had sold it to someone and shipped it out from Seattle. I was the Laurel advisor for our ward at the time, so we set it up for the youth one Wednesday night. My kids had to show how it's done. They ride like pros. We still have people come up to us, remembering that night and how bruised they were after riding. Jory still misses running the bull every once in a while. Just for fun, here are the rest of the kids riding.

Okay, I'll tag whoever reads this. Is that cheating? I hate naming people, so if you want to do it, go ahead. Great way to journal and look back at all your photos you haven't scrapbooked yet:) By the way, Cody has a clean bill of health. Took him back and he was great. I took Dallin as well just for a check up and he was wheezing and made the doctor very concerned. Me, the great mom I am, didn't even know he was struggling. I think he's just used to feeling miserable, poor kid. He's doing better and was able to play hard all weekend.

Baby Blues

Cody started not feeling well Friday, because it was a weekend. Don't all kids get sick on the weekends? Saturday, Kylie babysat while we watched Camri and Dallin play basketball. She called to tell us Cody was having a hard time breathing. He did this at Christmas and the Dr. in Idaho said to treat him with Dallin's Albuteral and nebulizer. So I told Kylie to start that again. I was angry thinking he probably has asthma like Dallin.

We made it through the weekend and went to our family Dr. on Monday. Knowing Dallin's history, he also wondered about the asthma but tested Cody for RSV as well. I couldn't believe it, but he has RSV. He's doing fine. The nebulizer was the right thing to do. It probably kept us out of the hospital.

Dallin was three when he started showing signs of asthma. He didn't want to play. If he did play, it would only be for a little while and then he'd be tired and short of breath. At night he would breath fast even in a sound sleep. He coughed so much, but I just thought it was drainage from his allergies. Finally, one day I sent him to a good friend's house to be watched while I went to class. When I picked him up, she told me his cough was worse and it sounded more like her daughter when her asthma flares. I called the doctor, and they said to come NOW. By the time I got there, he was hardly moving. But after a treatment, he perked up and we didn't have to hospitalize him.

When Dallin was diagnosed with asthma, I went through so many emotions: sadness, anger, guilt and more. I didn't realize how severe asthma could be. I learned later that when a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness they go through the grieving process. I think I went through that with Dallin. I learned a lot about asthma that year. Asthma is the leading cause of children to miss school and one of the leading causes of hospitalization of children. But Heavenly Father blessed my family by providing supportive friends, family, teachers (who let me miss class whenever needed) and wonderful doctors to help Dallin with his illness. Now I can see how Heavenly Father continues to bless our family, because Dallin's asthma has given me plenty of experience with respiratory problems.

I laughed when I saw Dallin doing his medicine one day with 3D glasses on. He looked like an alien.

I'm a little relieved Cody has RSV, because, like the Dr. said, we don't have to call this asthma, which I hope he never has to deal with. Cody uses the nebulizer every four hours and doesn't mind at all. However, he hates his other medicines, a decongestant and an antibiotic. The video was taken Wednesday and Cody was feeling much better.

Sorry it's sideways.