happy anniversary!

-last night i held my first book club meeting EVER. i have always wanted to be in a book club, so a month or so ago i put it out there on Facebook, and had a few girls interested. then i asked 2 more friends that i knew liked to read- and voila!!! so since i suggested it, i chose the first book... "THE GIRL WHO COULD FLY" ...

-i had read it before and it's a fun feel-good book with a good message. and boy there were some good insights into it last night...we had a good discussion, it was great!

-let's see...other things this past week...Ben FINALLY went to the HUNGER GAMES last night. by finally i mean that he was a week late! not sure yet what the verdict is...he got home at 1:30 am. that is what they got for going and thinking they could buy tickets on the spot. sold out shows!!!!

-got my schedule for April...my hours are less than half what i had in march. i have been freaking out about it...but honestly, pete suggested just going with it...and taking a break. and really- i need a break. it's been a bit stressful lately...

-tessa has been working this week, swimming at the U of L...and practicing a glow in the dark dance with some friends for the junior high talent show...

-ayden is anxious to get outside and enjoy some spring weather. he got a new soccer ball...and wants to use it. he is reading the hobbit right now...

the most fun i've had this week...

was being able to grab some fabric from my mother in law's collection. it really was fun for me! i had determined that i wasn't going to sew much this year- just didn't want the cost. BUT...now this changes things. it was so much fun! i had to stop though, cause i was getting embarrassed with my pile.

thanks Kathy!!!

Also, i chatted with her for a bit today about Moroni's Quest. i have no doubt whatsoever that it will be a wonderful experience for all! my only concern has been that our youth have been told that it will change their lives. my thoughts are

1. if you're already on the right track, it won't change anything. it will certainly enhance your life and build your testimony...but not change.

2. i don't think the youth should be told what to expect. i think they will get WAY more out of it by just going- and feeling for themselves.

3. if the youth are told a lot of spiritual experiences that other people have had, then perhaps they go with super-high expectations...and if they don't get such experiences, they run the risk of thinking they're not good enough...or that there is something wrong with them.

4. i look forward to it...okay, not the sleeping part...but the rest! i just hope that we can go and get our own things out of it. honestly, i think we can get MORE out of it- by just going without being told ahead of time a lot about what to expect.

and i've talked quite a bit about it with Kathy and Pete, and they agree with my thoughts.

so now on to costumes, and sleeping pills. :)

hunger games movie

hunger games movie-day finally arrived! we headed in yesterday to a matinee. it wasn't horrible...we waited in line for about a half hour, then went in to sit for about the same.

ayden brought taylor and jalen- they had been planning it for a long, long, long time.

tessa had stayed over at Takahashi's after the dance too- so we picked her up also.

it was great!!! i think we all really enjoyed it. it is very hard sometimes to enjoy ANY movie made from a book...but this one did really well.

the theme of the book and story had never previously bothered me much. but seeing the reaping on the screen, and the drama of it all...it was more realistic somehow.

so good. great acting! fun day.

p90x vs. pilates

(these updates are mainly for myself to keep track of things)

so i went to physio this week. i hadn't been since the first of december. things went well with only a slight up-twist in my left hip.

i have always been way more OUT and OFF...so i was happy. especially cause i was on my own that whole time.

BUT the best thing she told me was how much stronger overall i was! i can't think of anything i needed to hear more than that. and it was highly ironic that i was so WEAK after doing julian michaels workouts and p90x...and i am so much stronger exclusively doing pilates.

i am building up quite an arsenal of workout tools too. i LOVE the exercise ball. and i LOVE the foam roller workouts. i do about an hour per day. whether it is all at once, or broken in to two totally different types of workouts. some are more stretching. some are hard...some just feel good...

i cannot recommend pilates in general enough to anyone. especially anyone with aches/pains of any kind. my upper back neck area are SO much stronger than ever before, and my posture is quite impressive too. and that is something i have always struggled with.

pilates anytime...it's the best online provider of all things pilates. you can choose from such a variety of workouts!

anyhow...i really needed a good piece of news ...i feel like my hard work may be starting to pay off. and it IS hard work and a LOT of time in a week! but...it has to be done.

stupid occular migraines

can't believe i get these still. i have no clue what triggers them- and they are very random. don't think i've had one for quite a few months. i hate these things!!!!! just got one today- which means maybe i'm in for another cycle. crap.

boy, i would really. really. really. love to go back to SEATTLE

through the eyes of Benny boy

this will be the final installment of "through the eyes of"...for quite obvious reasons. sigh...oh well, we tried.

the past week.

This week we:

- Dad and Ayden went to zone's basketball in Leth. Cardston boys won.

- Indexing has become a craze at our house. Everyone other than mom has done it.

- Mom had shots, headaches, and was basically in pain all week.

- Tessa got spacers in preparation for her braces tomorrow!

- Tessa and mom had a pizza party at the bishop's house for YW's.

- Mom had an all-day library conference in Leth on friday.

- Mom and Tessa worked on saturday.

- Tessa got her new swimming suit...and is still waiting for her new iPod *see photo.

- Ayden is reading "the death cure" and is increasingly excited to see the hunger games! we have our tickets all ready to go...

- Got some really good news, and the weather is great!

- Ben got some good news when a certain someone at IGA quit.

torture #8

today i went in for shots...i haven't had them since december, and so i think i forgot just a bit- how bad they are...

before the shots Dr. Galbraith offered me a stress ball shaped like a doctor...i said, sure as long as i can have some pins and use it as a voodoo doll. he said, "on second thought maybe not". REVENGE...

during the shots i had a helper/learner/person. whatever they're called. he wanted me to tell her all about it and i said "i can't really talk right now, i'm trying to focus on my happy place"...

so then during the procedure, he is talking to her. i hear things like

"...till the needle hits the actual bone" and

"...the needle will bend" and

"...4.5 inches in" and

"...scraping the iliac crest..."

until i couldn't' take it anymore and i said "um thanks for sharing!!!" and he said "hey, i thought you were in your happy place"...then they laughed it up and he said he'd stop the shop-talk.

i mean GOOD GRIEF. i didn't need a description.

i am praying hard that this time does the trick, because i don't' know how many more i can take. not that he would go forever. i have one more scheduled and that will likely be IT.

anyhow...on to being sore and feeling sorry to myself...

what i like at this moment

nobody wanted to move from their "positions of laziness"

so...here we have ayden taking a picture of his pajama pants

...ben taking a picture of the fireplace...
...tessa taking a picture of HER pajama pants...
...pete taking a picture of his mug...
...and me with the popcorn...

this last week...

the blog went private. it's more of a personal family journal now. i know exactly who MAY be reading, and it's not many...so i will be able to share more personal info...

pete spent a couple days in Edmonton...

for YW's we had a great presentation by our town police uh, chief? not sure if that is what he's called...but he's in our bishopric and gave the girls all a great lesson on self defense. we learned a lot, and i think he scared everyone a bit also.

ayden went swimming at the U of L as a treat for being in the science fair.

tessa worked a lot.

ben drew an awesome picture about "the life of pi"

A Day With Gandalf

When I woke up I screamed, YES!!! Today was the day I would spend with Gandalf. Gandalf was already waiting for me out side. I quickly got out of bed and scurried to the bathroom and took a quick shower, brushed my teeth then got out of my pajamas. I ran out and tripped over a branch, it was embarrassing to trip over branch in front of Gandalf. The wizard chuckled. He helped me to my feet. I asked him, “Where are we exactly going?” Gandalf replied, “To the yellow brick road, we are going to cross it before the day ends.” As we walked towards the yellow brick road I tried to remember what the yellow brick road even was.

Gandalf wasn’t joking the road was made of yellow bricks. Then I asked him, “Why are we going to cross it?” Gandalf replied, “For the experience.” As we started walking I estimated that it would be a two-mile walk.

A few minutes later we saw a man walking towards us. He said his name Voldemort, and that he was looking for a boy names Harry Potter. We told him we never heard such a name. The man said he was mad that we didn’t know, so he snapped his fingers and a big pack of oompa-loompas appeared. They all looked deadly. They all glared at us. Then this Voldemort guy said, “Get rid of them.” Voldemort disappeared. All the oompa-loopas came running. Gandalf screamed, “You shall not pass!” All the oompa-loompas got scared and ran down the road. “Wow” I whispered, “weird road.”

It had been about a half hour since that incident. We were almost there, at the end of the road. Probably 100 meters away. Gandalf and me talked about many things. For example, what we do in life, about family and many other things.

When we got to the end of the road, the sun was going down. We sat on a hill and watched the sun set.

From that moment on, I knew that this day would be a life changing experience. I also knew I had a new friend, his name was Gandalf.

BY AYDEN