Sitting, sorting, and "no, you can't marry you brother!"

Last weekend I flew to Utah for a few days for a good friends wedding. It was a blast. And I was so grateful to be in the temple, as having the closest one here be 3hours away has proved to be challenging with a young family. I enjoyed the adult time with my friends and family as well. Usually when I am traveling and balancing kids schedules I don't get that kind of conversation and interaction. I even got to spend a little quality time with nieces and nephews, and catch up on the Utes. I grew up watching U of U sports, but somewhere along the way, I fell off the band wagon. I did follow the game yesterday, of course while feeding and bathing kids. What a great game, even if the cougars did practically hand it over on a silver platter. So to all you BYU fans out there, now you know where my loyalties lie=)
The best thing about the the trip though had to have been coming home to my kids, who were actually excited to see me, and my house, both of which I must say were in superb condition considering I had been gone for four days. Thank You Dave!

As I was putting my luggage away in our storage closet I found these piles of buttons all over the floor of the closet. Amanda and Maren had apparently sorted them into piles of matching buttons.

This is one of Amanda'a fetish's. Money, toys, whatever is handy. She has sorted her Halloween candy several times this month...Stacy I think you have met your organizational match=)
Spencer seemed to me to have grown up a ton. He is trying to read his favorite book, "Wheels on the bus", or rather sing I should say. I have tried to get this on tape...maybe next blog. He spent much of the week watching the heavy equipment outside, repairing the hole in our driveway, from the window upstairs.

Did you notice in both of those activities he was actually sitting for periods of time? I think he made a personal best this week in that regard. Don't get me wrong, he was still jumping all over the house, and playing with his new football, which I had to pry from him for a nap. But it was nice to see him not move for more than a few seconds.
Maren's contribution this week, goes like this..."Mom can I marry Spencer", "No, he's your brother", "But he is my prince mom", "Well, maybe you can pretend marry him", "OK, but Key Princess needs a real prince, Mom". "Are you Key Princess today?", "Yes and Spencer is my Prince and you are the wicked Stepmother".
It is nice to know where I stand with her. (Today Dave got to play the "bad guy".) We finally have Maren squared away to recieve some speech therapy! I have been having her tested for over two years now, and I am thrilled to have found someone who hears what I am hearing with her. She can make all the sounds she is supposed to for her age, but she often talks too fast, and with her high pitched voice the sounds often come out all wrong. It has been a huge confidence issue with her, around other kids her age especially, so I am so grateful to finally get some help for her! Wahoo!
I was called today to serve as the sunbeam teacher in our church. I am excited, I really like to work with this 3-4 year old age group. While it can be challenging to deal with behavior issue's they learn in such simple ways, and it is so rewarding to watch their faces beam when they recognize me. Dave has been working with the Young Men for a few weeks now. It is nice to have callings again!