ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

So apparently I spoke to soon. Why you ask? Well it has been snowing for most of the day and even as I type it continues to just come down! Enough Already!!! It feels like January. I can honestly say I am SICK of winter! We keep getting a peak of Spring, kindof like a teaser and then BAM, SNOW! When Broc leaves for school in the morning it should be a balmy 18 degrees!

Do these pictures make you cold? I hope so! Because we are!

Duck Duty

This morning we decided to go for a walk and enjoy our Spring like weather. I have to be careful because the last time I thought that Spring was in the air it proceeded to snow another 6-8 inches and drop below zero again. But today we ventured out and took a nice long walk around the lakes on campus.

We also stopped to feed the ducks at the lake by the Grato. McCall loves to feed the ducks so I have been saving up the old bread for just this purpose. As you can tell from the photo McCall not only fed the ducks but herself as well. It went one for the duck, one for McCall, one for the duck, one for McCall. This continued a bit until I reassured her that I would be happy to make her a sandwich when we got home. We had such a nice time and hopefully Spring is here to stay!

Dr. Seuss Reading Day

On Monday afternoon John took McCall to Dr. Seuss reading time at the community center here in student housing. They has a great time making this fabulous new hat and even came home with a fun new book. Thanks Dad!

Happy Easter

Happy belated Easter to all! We had a fantastic day at church and with our friends. We went to Church where we had a great Sacrament meeting and a wild time with our Primary class. Our cute Primary class was bouncing off the walls!

After church we went to Easter Brunch at the South Dining Hall on campus with our friends the Doughertys and Meredith (a girl that John and Doc work with in their classes). We also met up with several of our friends from the ward, who are students, and really enjoyed a great meal and fun conversation.

This is Broc with Derek, his best friend from church. They are only 3 days apart in age.

Let the Madness Begin!

Whooo it's here. That's right the Madness has begun! This truly is one of my favorite times of the year! I look forward to this like small children look forward to Christmas! I realize that to most of you this is just crazy but hey you all know that I'm a little crazy! So for the next few weekends I will be in heaven!

On the Road AGAIN!

Following our trip to Nauvoo and having my parents with us at ND the kids and I were going to drive with them from South Bend to Shipewana, IN (Amish Country), Fort Wayne, IN, Kirtland, OH and then onto Canada to visit with my Grandma Roberts. It was going to be a long drive but broken up by alot of little stops and site seeing. So Tuesday morning, March 18th we headed off to Shipshewana, IN to take a peek at an Amish town. We drove through town, visited a few gift stores, stopped for a bathroom break and took a few pictures. What an amazing place and people. It's not ever day that you pull up to the grocery store and find wagon parking.

Then we headed to Fort Wayne, IN where 40 years ago my Dad served his mission. He wanted to visit with some longtime friends that he had converted to the Gospel and also to take a drive by the old Mission Home. Back in 1968 it was the Great Lakes Mission and the mission headquarters were located in Fort Wayne, IN. It was also special to us because not only was my Dad missionary there but my Grandpa and Grandma Roberts were the Mission President of this mission. It was so neat to see the old mission home and to hear some great stories of the good ole mission days. We met up with my parents friends, the Newhards, and had dinner and a great visit with them.

The following morning we headed off to Kirtland, OH with the Newhards, to visit the Church's historical site there. However, by this time my Dad was starting to feel really sick and not doing so well. We arrived in Kirtland, OH by late afternoon and by the time we had it was snowing! We saw an awesome film on the saints in the visitor center and took a quick tour. My favorite part was being able to sit in the upper rooms of the Newel K. Whitney store. We were able to sit in the School of the Prophets room, where Joseph Smith and the brethren met to discuss the Gospel and where the Savior and our Father in Heaven appeared. We also sat in the revelation room where portions of the D & C were revealed and translation of the New Testament took place. What an awesome place! Aside from battling McCall it was a nice experience and I felt the spirit. Once again I was eternally grateful for the Gospel and the saints at that time and their sacrifice and obedience in my behalf. On our way out we drove by the Kirtland Temple, which is now owned by the Community of Christ Church.

That evening we had dinner and another great visit with the Newhards. Following a rough night it became clear that our trip would need to be cut short and that we really needed to get Dad home and soon. So Thursday morning we made the necessary arrangements and headed out to Detroit, the only place we could get my parents a flight home to UT. Before we left we had a very touching and neat experience. Bro Newhard asked if my Dad would like a Priesthood blessing to help him feel better. As this was taking place I realized that because of my Dad's mission and conversion of the Newhards, this was all possible. It was a special moment for all of us. I became acutely aware of just how important missions truly are because you never know, 40 years down the road, what impact it might have not only in the lives of others but especially your own.

Our trip came to a close as we dropped off my parents in Detroit and by Thursday night we were home and ready to just veg. I'm so grateful for my parents and their effort to come and visit with us. We had a great time and although Dad didn't feel his best, we sooo appreciated them coming. We Love you both and thank you so much for a great time!

Papa & Nana's Visit to ND

On Monday following our trip to Nauvoo with my parents, we spent some time with them touring Notre Dame. We had a great and COLD time showing them around our beloved ND! Thanks to Brian Lohr in the MBA Admissions office we were able to use the MBA golf cart to take them around. We had a great time and it was fun to share with them the things we LOVE about Notre Dame. That evening we all went to dinner, Papa, Nana, John and I, Nathaniel, Broc, McCall and the Keeles, Darren, Mel, Quincy and Stratton. We had a really nice time and such good food at the Olive Garden. It was good to chat and enjoy each others company. What a great thing it is to have family and to be able to spend time with them! Thanks Dad and Mom for a great time and meal! We Love You!

Spring Break 2008

A few weeks back for John's Spring Break we decided to take advantage of his time off and take a road trip to visit a few LDS Church historical spots. My parents flew to South Bend on Wed, March 12th and they along with our Nephew Nathaniel and us headed to Nauvoo, IL. We had never been to Nauvoo so we were really excited to go. Our trip was fabulous! We were able to attend the temple, tour the sites and learn so much about the saints and the area. The kids were great and for the most part really enjoyed all of the demonstrations. Their favorite part however, was spending time in the hotel pool! It was so nice to spend time with Papa, Nana and Nathaniel and to share this experience with them. What a magnificent place! It left me feeling so thankful and grateful for the saints and their sacrifice in our behalf. I'm amazed at their dedication and determination to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ rise forth. I have wondered many time in the past week, since we got home, if I would have been as dedicated and obedient. I hope that I would have. One Sunday, on our way home, we went to Carthage, IL. This was a perfect way to end our little trip. It was a very moving and spiritual experience to sit in the room where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum paid the ultimate sacrifice for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think words can express enough the gratitude that I have for the Prophet Joseph Smith! How grateful I am for his sacrifice so that I could have the Gospel in my life and the life of my family. My testimony was strengthened and I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true!

Homework Heaven!

Since John was on his Spring Break, it was his turn to do daily homework with Broc. Broc thoroughly enjoyed having his Dad work with him and it was a nice break for me. Thanks John!

Daylight Savings What?!?

This morning we woke up on time, got ready for church and headed out the door. As we were leaving the student housing parking lot I noticed that all of our church friends who normally leave for church at the same time that we do, were already gone. I looked at the clock and it said 8:34a.m., I thought "it's only 8:30, we're not late" and the it dawned on me......Daylight Savings! Yep you guessed it, we had totally forgotten to "Spring Forward" and turn our clocks ahead one hour. So needless to say, we were very, very late for church. Now for those of you that know me well, you know that for me, being late is not an option. I tend to freak out if we aren't at least 10 min early to church on Sunday. In fact, this is only the second time in our 13 year marriage that we have been late to church. This is how CRAZY I truly am! Yes, I know I have a problem OK! But this morning I just laughed and laughed. I couldn't believe that we had totally spaced it and were that late! John was so happy that I was laughing and not freaking. It turns out that we weren't the only ones that forgot to "Spring Forward" in our ward. Oops.....Oh well!

What a cutie!

Two hair clips $1.99, Hair gel $2.99, a blow dryer $14.99, a great round brush $16.99. This kind of cute.....Priceless!

Model Airplane Time with Dad

On Friday night John decided that it was time to introduce Broc to the world of Model Airplanes. They went to Hobby Lobby together, picked out the perfect one and then headed home to get to work. It was so cute to see the two of them at the kitchen table and to hear John instruct Broc on how to do it. What a great and patient Dad he is with our kids! They had a great time and ended up with this bad boy!

Bon Appetite!

I was making a treat for dinner with our neighbors, the Robins, and of course McCall needed to do her own cooking/tasting (notice the mouthful). She had to have the apron, spatula and bowl with a little M&M's and Coco Puffs to complete her concoction! Yummy!

Bring on Cub Scouts!

Last night we attended our first Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet - Yeah! They invited the incoming Scouts from both the South Bend & Mishawaka wards to attend with their families. The assignment for each scout, was to bring a decorated cake that showed what their favorite thing about scouting was. Broc decided that he wanted to decorate his cake about camping. He and I had a great time making the cake and decorating it together. He worked so hard to make sure it looked just perfect and was sooo excited to go to his first pack meeting/banquet! It's hard to believe that in Aug we will have a scout in our house. John can't wait for the merit badge marathon to begin and all I can think about is how much work Broc/I am going to have to do so that Broc/me can be a great scout. The scary thing is is that I have no clue about scouts -UGH! I guess this is one of the downsides to not having brothers.

Toilet Paper Trouble!

Tonight McCall called to me from the bathroom saying she had a "little problem" and needed some help. I opened the door and this is what I found.

I got mad, called to John and turned the problem over to him. And this is how the conversation went:

John: "Why did you unroll the roll of toilet paper, take it off the holder and crumple in your hand?"

McCall: "I'm just trying to wipe my bum."

John: "Well you don't need that much to wipe your bum."

McCall: "Yes I do, my bum is big, I need this much!"

John: "Your bums not that big, not for all of this."

McCall: "YES IT IS! I need it."

It could have gone on forever and by that time I decided that it was too funny to let it pass by without taking a picture. Thank goodness for John's patience in trying to help her understand that she really didn't NEED that much toilet paper.

Do I detect a hint of Spring?

Last night we went to Darren & Mel's for dinner. On our walk over to their place I finally felt like Spring was knocking on our doorstep. You know the feeling, you can smell it in the air and it feels soooo good! You start to dream about flip flops, t-shirts, drive-in movies and actually playing outside in the playground, instead of staying inside watching snow fall on the playground! It was a fabulous 45 degrees and had been raining all day so most of the snow had melted. Quite a jump from last weeks cool -5 and the 8-10 inches of snow we received. I'm afraid to even hope for or say that Spring is close for fear that it will disappear, the temp will plummet and snow will start to fall again. UGH!! Hopefully if I hope for it long enough it will be here to stay. That's how it works right?

Chicago, IL Temple Trip

On Saturday morning we embarked on our day trip to attend the Chicago Temple. Our friends, The Benson's drove with us and we traded kids so that we could attend a session and they could do baptisms. What a great day!! We decided that during our time to watch kids that we would go to our beloved Costco. Oh, how we miss having a Costco near by. That is one thing that we are looking forward to in Pittsburgh, being able to shop at Costco instead of Sam's Club. Anyway we made our Costco run and then headed to McDonald's to feed the kids before it was our turn to go to the Temple.

After we both finished up at the Temple we decided to hit the mall to let the kids run and the Mom's shop, specifically at the Gap. Are you surprised!?! Then we went to dinner at Giordano's Pizza before heading back to South Bend. Yummy! Although it was a long day, 12 hours, it was a GREAT day! I love the Temple! What a blessing it is in my life!!