Random things from January and February

So, I thought I'd post some random things from the last month and a half that don't have to do with birthdays or holidays.  It's crazy how busy things have been.  You think that after Christmas and the other holidays, that things will slow down.  But, they never seem to.  With church and callings, school, dance and now basketball, it seems we hardly have any free evenings.  We still manage to squeeze in some fun now and then though.

I was up doing laundry the other day and passed by Bella's room to see these two sitting on her bed.  She was reading him books.  It was so cute...especially since she can't read yet and she was telling the story in her own words. 

Maggie snapped this cute picture on her phone one day.

Garrett signed us up for free Intel tickets to go see Phineas and Ferb Live in one of Intel's suites.  It was cute, but I was glad we got the tickets for free because it wasn't really worth however much tickets are going for.  The kids liked it, so that's all that matters.  This was the only picture I got.  

Garrett also got us tickets to go see a Portland Winterhawk's Hockey game through Intel.  It came with free food vouchers, too, so that was nice.  I had never been to a hockey game, so I quite enjoyed it.  There was a great fight that we got to see, too.  :)  

At one point, the Intel bunnies (people in that work in the fabs) came out and were dancing around the stadium and then at the "half" they came out riding in a zamboni.

 Lydia and Maggie started basketball in January.  Lydia plays for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  This is her first year and she is really liking it.  Luckily, she has a few girls on her team that she knows from school and one from church.  Their team name is "Bobcats" and she is number 8. 

 Jim and Georgia came over for dinner on Tuesday and then went with us to watch Lydia's game.  I think they got a kick out of it.  Jim's a really big basketball fan and used to play a lot of basketball when he was younger.  

 This is Maggie's second year of playing.  She LOVED it at the end of last year.  This year, she wasn't very excited to start playing.  Mostly because she found out that her practices/games were on Wed. nights and Saturdays.  Wednesday nights are our mutual nights, so she was going to be missing young women's activities for awhile and then she'd have to spend part of her Saturdays, not lounging around the house.  She really wanted to quit, but we wouldn't let her.  And, now she loves it again.  Go figure. 

Her team name is "Pink Pride" and she is number 1.  

 I also took some pictures of some family home evening lessons that we've had recently.  Paige taught one at the beginning of the year and I can't remember what is was about.  She did a great job though, I just have a bad memory.  Lydia taught one awhile back about Joseph Smith and the restoration for her Faith in God.  She did a great job too.  I didn't get any pictures of either of those though.  Maggie taught her lesson about prayer for her personal progress.  I took some pictures because I thought it was cute how they were helping her.  

When the girls teach their lessons, we've been trying to teach them that at the end of their lesson, it's really effective for them to bear their testimonies at the end.  For some reason, they really have a hard time with this.  They are getting better, though. 

 Then, last Sunday I taught the lesson on Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem.  I used little people to help the little kids visualize what was going on.  (I found the idea online.)  This is Lehi and his family (in the castle) telling the people of Jerusalem to repent or be destroyed.  

 This is Lehi and his family setting up their tents as they are camping in the wilderness.  

 I asked them how they would react if dad came home one day and told them that they had to pack some clothes and food and leave behind their toys and clothes and their home to go live in the wilderness and never come back.  We talked about how hard it would be and how we might complain some.  I tried to emphasize how Laman and Lemuel complained and didn't believe their dad.  But, Nephi obeyed first and then tried to find out through prayer, whether or not what his father said was true.  I thought it was a good lesson, and I think it really made them stop and think.  For our treats, we roasted marshmallows over the stove and made s'mores, like we were camping in the wilderness.  

Garrett's parents sold their house and just got back from packing up the rest of their house in Ohio.  So, Garrett helped them unload their moving truck on Friday and Saturday.  So, they are here for good now and working on getting completely settled.  It's nice to have them back.