I'm in the mood for fall

Last Friday we had our first official "nip" in the air. My boys were outside before school and I heard Parker say, "Jace, don't you wish we had jackets so we didn't feel so freezing?" The high was almost 80 that day and the low was not lower than 65.

On Saturday though, it was officially chilly (high of 76, windy, a little cloudy--we are such wimps now). But, it got us excited for fall and cooler temperatures. We headed to a fun dairy farm close by played kids games, did crafts, took a hay ride and ate ice cream. We took a little bike in the late afternoon and we all had on pants and sweatshirts. That night we decorated our funny pumpkins, put a few spiderwebs up on our house and sipped hot chocolate with TONS of marshmellows. It was one of those Saturdays that was "practically perfect in every way."

My Baby's Back!

Mike went to Germany for almost a week last week for business. He had an amazing time touring through Austira and Munich and was lucky enough to see some of our great friends Chad and Brooke Eardley (and their cute little guy Austin) who live over there. He, of course, didn't bring a camera, so this is the only Germany shot I have of him.

I hate it when he's gone, but it sure makes me grateful for a man who: does bed time every night, plays rough with our boys, locks the house up, wakes up early with James, has the authority to tell kids to 'go back to bed' and they go, makes me sleep soundly, throws a load of wash in, folds socks, does dishes and cleans counters, irons church clothes, sings in the morning, talks loudly, laughs incessantly, listens to me talk and talk and talk, elevates my thoughts to things that are really important, helps me laugh at myself, smiles at my touch, works hard to make me happy, and loves me more than I ever expected someone could.

Boy, am I glad he is home.

So You Think You Can...

DANCE!
If you remember, Mike got me tickets to SYTYCD for my birthday--not only that, but he called lots of my friends' husbands and roped them into letting their wives go and they got us a suite for the concert. It was honestly, one of the best nights I've had in a long time. I still love to dance...so I couldn't wait for Oct. 7.
There we were, these old moms acting like we were 16 and loving it. The program was better than any of us expected...we saw all the dances we loved and even a few new ones. The performers were flawless and many were even better live than on TV. When it was over, we were amazed that it had been 3 hours!
The suite was a blast. We had food all night and had room for our own little dance concerts before and after the show. Tara is our party girl and made everyone strut their stuff and show their moves--she's very convincing. 12 girls dressed to party and dancing around without inhibitions...does it get any more fun? We want to make it an annual outing. Thanks girls for making this a GREAT birthday and for being my family away from home. I don't know what I would do without all of you. I'm luckier than I could ever have imagined.
And, my husband is the BEST! Always thinking of and planning great things for us. My life would be so dull without him.

Not bad for a bunch of moms, huh? 4 Real!
Do I look excited or what? Oh, and no hair back when there will be lots of pictures.

Me and Tara. No one parties like her!
In our seats, ready to watch. It was the best!!!!

General Conference

I loved conference--it was inspiring and uplifting and spiritually fed me in every way I was hoping for. I look forward to it every six months, not just for motivational words, but for the memories it evokes of cool fall days cleaning out closets as it blasts through the house, of lounging on the couch half awake as our family listened together, of the smell of shoe polish as my dad polished evey pair of shoes in the house, of the girls gathering together while the boys attended priesthood. And espeically, of Sunday brunch at grandmas with monkey bread and orange juice slush and eating so much that I didn't need to eat again for the entire day.

When we first moved away, times like this made me sad and really miss my family. I didn't want my kids to miss out on these fun traditions, so we have been making our own. On Saturday night, I invite all the girls in the neighborhood to the park and we eat cheap pizza and pass the time. We also started our own Sunday brunch tradition long ago with people who don't have family around...now most of them are gone, so we've filled in the spots, but I always miss the Paynes, Eardleys and Kanenwishers the most at conference time.

I make lots of monkey bread and slush and everyone else brings delicious brunch items and we eat and eat and eat until the second session of conference starts. It ALMOST feels like home.

Breakin' J

Last weekend our church held a talent show that the kids could participate in. When I asked Jace what he wanted to do for the show, he immediately replied, "Breakdance."

I was a bit shocked, but when I watch So You Think You Can Dance, I'll let him see any dances that are appropriate the next day, and he's gotten pretty good at hand stands, spins and jumps. It's fun to watch. Emma Standifird said she wanted to break dance too, so last Saturday, the two of them did a breakdance number for the church talent show, and they were a hit. Right before he went on, he told me, "I don't know if I can do this; I think I have stage fright," but he went out anyway and had a great time doing a little freestyle.

I was laughing so hard on the side I could hardly see, but they were so cute. Wish I'd taken a video.

(I posted Parker's first soccer game a few posts back, there are some great pics of Parker and Olivia)

Soccer Time

We just love soccer. It's such a great sport for little kids to play. This year Mike is coaching Parker's team, "The Monkey Giraffes." A better name for them may have been the sloths. They are all so young and move so slowly, but they are to die for cute and so proud of themselves even when they get crushed. After Parker's first game, we asked him what his favorite part was and he said, "When I got to take a break." But, in his last game, he scored 2 goals--we just have to tell him to pretend he's playing against Jace. That brings out a little more fire in him. What doesn't bring out the fire? That he's playing with his best, best friend Olivia, and sometimes he forgets they are not just hanging out by themselves with a ball.

Jace is also playing again, and he rocks. He had the stomach flu for his first game. The night before he threw up at 3 am and all he cared about was if he would be able to play soccer in the morning. He looked bad the next morning, but held off the throw up until 5 minutes before we left, then got sick again. He'd been holding it in all morning so he could play. He was so bummed. But, we've had 3 other games and they've been great. We love his coach and his team. So far this is the 4th session they've played together and they are still undefeated. Now, if it could just dip below 100 degrees, it might even be fun for those of us watching.

Positive Parenting

This week I wrote an article about positive parenting. I really liked what Rose Day told me and have tried to incorporate as much as I can into my own parenting. Has anyone else tried this? What have your results been?


Positive parenting rewarding but requires thought
by Brooke Romney - Sept. 30, 2008 11:36 AMSpecial to the Republic

What would your perfect family look like, sound like, act like?
Eight years ago, Brig and Rose Day, Gilbert parents of six, were unsatisfied with the way their family was treating one another. They decided to completely overhaul their punitive parenting strategy and try positive parenting.
Together, they created a family vision with high standards.

"Our vision for our family is to have a peaceful home in which we all take care of one another and are kind and respectful to each other. A family where we always try to do what is right because it is the right thing to do, regardless of whom is around.
"Our goal is lofty, but I don't beat myself up when it doesn't happen-all we can do is give it our best effort."
Rose Day emphasizes that it is very important that the parents believe in and live the same vision. This means that in their peaceful home, both parents do their best not to yell, argue, hit, scold, or demean one another or the children. They share their vision often to keep the whole family on track and often sees the fruit of her consistent, hard work.
"One morning I made muffins. One of my children wanted to "call" the one she wanted," Day recalled.
"I told her, 'In our family we don't "call" things.' When she asked why, I replied, 'Because it is selfish. I want a family where, when we sit down to breakfast you will turn to your brother and ask 'Ethan, which one would you like?" and then he will do the same for you.'
"To my surprise, her brother turned to her and did just that! I thought they would roll their eyes at me because it was pretty idealistic."
After you have established a family vision, you then need tools that work with your vision.
"For us, it meant throwing out almost everything we were used to doing," Day said.
"We try to stay away punishments and rewards. Rewards foster a 'What's in it for me?' attitude and punishments lose their scare factor and often times don't make sense.
"Both these types of discipline are external and don't foster an internal desire to make good choices."
This doesn't mean life in the Day home is a free for all; in fact, it's quite the opposite. They are dedicated to providing natural consequences for misbehavior and always explain what they are doing and why.
"If a child won't control his body (hitting or running away), Mom has to help them and he gets to sit on my lap," Day said.
"If a child won't flush the toilet, they clean any toilet that is un-flushed. I very rarely walk in on an un-flushed toilet anymore.
"If one of the children hurts another, the offender must do something kind for the one hurt and give an apology.
"When my children whine, I tell them I can't hear whining and won't listen until they stop."
Adopting a family vision and sticking to it is not easy. In the Days' case, it has taken lots of hours or work and thought on the part of both parents, but they love the added amount of peace and love they've felt in their home.
"I always try to be proactive and thoughtful with my words and actions and notice the good in my kids," Day said. "Are our days ever perfect or extremely harmonious? No, but we're trying."