Memorial Weekend

This has been a busy weekend! Sunshine had a birthday and now she's FIVE! She is so excited about that, especially since she had to wait til she was five to get the privilege of chewing gum again! She got gum for her birthday and couldn't wait to stick some in her mouth!



Friday night Buttercup had a friend sleep over and spend the whole day with us on Saturday. They had a lot of fun together. They met in preschool, and, although, they never went to the same school after that, they have stayed friends. They stayed up most of the night, painted each other's finger nails and gave each other pedicures...yep, 10 years old, going on 15!



Saturday we spent a good part of the day running around in our new Suburban, "CHAMP". hubby started out calling it, "The Beast", but I thought it deserved a more positive name. The ad said the color was gold, but when I saw it I said it looked more "champagne" to me, so when we wanted to find a name for it, I suggested Champ. We went out to see my mother and stopped by my dad's grave site on the way home, then we went out to "Old McDonald's" for Sunshine's birthday dinner. After that, we went to Hubby's parents' house for a bit to trade them trailer hitches (we got a bigger vehicle than we used to tow with and they got a smaller one than they used to tow with, so we swapped hitches).



Sunday was a nice day. Our church meetings were wonderful. I spent most of Sacrament meeting in the Mother's room with Bug...he just will not sit still. He ran up the isle during the sacrament hymn and when I went o grab him, just before he got on the steps, he fell and hit his head on the steps. I guess, somewhat fortunately, I was quick enough that he was still gathering up his air supply, and didn't let out a huge cry until we were at the back of the chapel and just about to the door. Anyway, I find myself in the mother's room a lot these days. Gospel Doctrine was enlightening. We talked about two groups of people in the Book of Mosiah who were taken into captivity. One, because of their disobedience (which they recognized was prophesied by Abinadi) and the other despite their obedience to the Lord. The first group turned to the Lord because of their afflictions and the Lord did hear them but was a little slow to respond, the other turned to the Lord and continued to call on his name in their hearts, despite the threat of death, and the Lord lightened their loads and helped them until it was time for their deliverance. (Someone in class said it must have driven the Lamanites crazy that the people of Alma went about CHEERFULLY carrying their burdens..."Oh, you want this huge stone over there? OK! Oh, now you want it moved to here? Sure, I'd love to!" Not exactly the response you expect out of prisoners.) We had a fun discussion...sometimes bad things happen to good people, despite their obedience to the Lord and not only as a consequence for poor choices, but the trials we go through will make us stronger and closer to the Lord, IF we turn to him. Every experience we have is what we need at the time. The Lord really has a plan for us and he will be with us to help us through, when we call on him for help. The RS lesson was Teaching For Our Time and it was on Testimony. We talked about the first time we knew we had a testimony. It was interesting to hear the different experiences people had the first time they knew they had a testimony of each of the members of the Godhead. I think that growing up in the church, I have taken a lot of things for granted. I don't remember a time that I did not have a testimony. I do remember praying to know about certain things, but my answers were generally the same, "you already know." I have had many experiences with the Spirit, but I don't really know what it is like to not have the Spirit with me as my companion. I have felt a bad Spirit when I have allowed myself to be in bad situations, and when I went to Nauvoo and left the LDS part of Nauvoo and entered the RLDS part of the city, I felt a distinct absence of the Spirit--I had been on such a spiritual high and then nothing! It was the strangest feeling--but I can only imagine that not having the Gift of the Holy Ghost would feel like that...a strange void. I am so blessed to have the Holy Ghost with me all the time...I hope I never take that for granted.

Before church we called Hubby's brother and his girlfriend, and invited them to come over after church. We weren't sure they were coming because we had just left messages with them both. So, I stayed after for Choir and when I walked home I saw their car in the driveway. I don't know how long they had been there, but they had all eaten and they brought the makings of Root beer Floats. It was fun to have them visit.

Then, I received a phone call from my mother saying my brother's wife was being induced to have her baby! (Baby was born Monday morning at 5:45.) Congrats to them all!

Sunday night Sunshine asked if I would sleep with her, and then asked if we could have a sleepover...so, Buttercup, Sunshine and I camped out in the family room. First we watched a Care Bear movie, then we watched Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. I fell asleep before it was over, but the girls had no problem staying awake. After it ended, Sunshine snuggled up with me on the couch and we went to sleep. I woke up sweating with her next to me around 1:30 am, so I put her on her sleeping bag on the floor, opened the window and went back to sleep.

Monday morning, Hubby was supposed to go mountain biking with a friend at 7am, but it was raining when he woke up and the other guy had overslept, so they didn't go. Sooo, we took the kids to the zoo in the rain! It was a lot of fun. Animals are a lot more active when the weather is stormy. After the zoo, Hubby took us on a trip down memory lane. He took us past the house he lived in the first 9 yrs of his life, then we went by the church he remembered cleaning with his Dad when he was a kid--driving Barbie cars up and down the hallways and cleaning out the coal burning stove that heated the building. After that, Sunshine wanted to see his old school, so we went there and let the kids play on the playgrounds. They still had some of the old playground equipment that he remembered playing on...monkey bars that were too short for Buttercup, a spider looking thing that just had ladders as legs for the kids to climb on, and one of those big domes that used to grace every playground, before they got rid of them because kids would fall off and get hurt. The kids had fun playing at daddy's old school. After that we drove by the cemetery where Hubby's grandparents are buried, and then went home for lunch.

Later, Hubby and I joined most of his family for a matinee of Indiana Jones. That was a fun movie! It was more funny than I remember the first 3 movies being. I really enjoyed it.

So, that is my weekend! It was very busy, and very fun! I can't wait for summer! Hopefully we will spend a lot more time doing lots of fun things as a family!

How was your weekend?