Final Pinewood Derby and Saturday happenings

Friday night Mark and Jared stopped by a friends house to quickly borrow some wood working tools to make Jared's pinewood derby car. He gave it one coat of paint when he got home and then went to bed.  He and Mark added graphite to the wheels and maxed out the weight at the weigh-in.  He named his car the Bronze Blur.  And then proceeded to win first place in his Den and third place overall.  Neither Mark or I saw that coming. We were really happy for him.  He set three track records and we enjoyed watching his happiness.  He sadly did not show it as well for winning third place over all which was sad and annoying.  In previous years he never placed and it is a big struggle for Mark and I to see him being so grumpy about winning third place over all.  How many talks can we have about being happy for friends success and appreciating the good things that do happen to us?  Emotions are big things I know this, I felt many based on his reaction yesterday (and how he acted on Lydia's birthday) but it is disheartening to not feel like we are making progress.  I have seen happy appreciative Jared and so enjoy being around him.  This was a rough week for him dealing with emotions and neither Mark or I handled it particularly well.

The Bronze Blur in first place. 

Jared's good buddy Tyler won first place overall. 

A friend brought a car for Lydia to race in the sibling races and she ended up wining third place overall which was a fun surprise as well.  Somehow they both had a really good showing for our final pinewood derby.

Before heading over to the Pinewood Derby I did two things. I went on a great run and made my first batch of dough for homemade bread.  Last week I decided to sign up to run the Charlottesville 10 miler again.  I distinctly remember thinking what an awful race it was as I crossed the finish line last year yet I also remember feeling so tough and proud and awesome so I am going to do it again.  I am a little behind to use the same training schedule as last year but the modified version will work well.  It took me a long time to commit to the race because they just posted the date of it 2 weeks ago. I had to wait to see if we would be in town for it.  Once I saw we would be here I decided to go for it.  I had been running 2 - 2.5 miles two times a week since the beginning of the month but needed to start running three times a week and up my mileage.  This week I finally bit the bullet and set my alarm for 5:45 and found a good flashlight to take with me on runs.  It has felt great to be running early and regularly again. I so prefer to do it first thing even if I have to get up before 6:00 which I hate doing.  I planned to run my 4 miles Saturday and then see how I felt because to be on schedule I should be at 5 miles for my long run.  I finished the 4 miles and felt good so I ran just under one more mile. I was really happy that I could run the 4 comfortably and stretch it to almost 5.  I have my schedule all planned out and am looking forward to it. The training that is, not the race. 

A few weeks ago I stopped by a friends house to visit her and she had just made homemade bread and shared some with me.  She assured me it came together really quick and was worth it.  For whatever reason I have always been hesitant to make homemade bread, almost rebellious about not making it.  Even though I know we would all love it.  It was not a fear that it wouldn't turn out, I just didn't want to do it.  Maybe it seemed too old fashioned to me?  Anyway, I decided to try her recipe the next time I made chicken noodle soup and that was yesterday.  And she was right.  It did come together super fast and was worth it.  I will not be making it every week (she does!) but probably at least once a month.  It was really fun to see the dough turn out well and enjoy eating it with my family.  I made some orange whipped butter to spread on it and it was delicious.  

I clearly need to work on dividing my dough more evenly.  Getting the bake time right was the trickiest part.  The crust was looking brown but the middle wasn't done.  The recipe says bake for 30 minutes at 450 which is high but it needed a little bit longer than that even. I think 33 -35 minutes is just right. 

That afternoon I went on a simple date with Lydia and then Jared.  They both had some Christmas/birthday money to spend so we went to Target and they wandered around the store and looked at toys for a long time.  When I got back with Lydia Jared commented that we were gone a long time and then he took just as long as she did.  It was interesting to hear them talk about money and how some things were way too expensive and just not worth spending their money on.  I was happy they recognized that.  It was nice to just let them take their time and have some one on one time with them.  It's something we can always do more frequently. 

Sweet Lydia

Early on in January Lydia decided she wanted crepes for her birthday breakfast and Fettuccine for her dinner.  Back in December she decided she wanted an ice cream cake with a winter time theme.  We did a similar cake when she turned 5 with penguins but this time snowmen were the focus. I love making cakes for my kids.  Cake is not one of my favorite desserts although I have been into sheet cakes lately, but I really look forward to making a cake out of the theme they pick.  They are definitely of the homemade look variety but I love it.  

She woke up to birthday balloons and presents.  We had her open one present at breakfast and one at dinner.  We invited 2 sweet friends to come over to play after school and they had a fun time together.  I love these 2 kids and their families.  They are just good sweet silly kids.  I think she had a fun day and felt very celebrated.  

She didn't really want any frosting on her cake and knew early on she did not want chocolate.  She is quite anti chocolate these days. I convinced her to let me do a very thin layer so the house would look snowy but she ate very little of the actual cake.  She loved the ice cream cake Mark made. 

Jane, Lydia and Dash 

The other day Lydia and I were walking together and I just felt so much love towards her. We were holding hands and I said "Lydia, you are such a great daughter to have,  I love being your Mom."  Her whole face lit up and I could tell she felt really loved and that is really how I feel.  She is compassionate, thoughtful, helpful, smart, creative, wants to please people and can be quite silly.  She and Mark have a special relationship and she is an awesome sister to Jared.  He really lucked out and needs to work on appreciating Lydia more! Lydia loves reading, riding her bike and "gliding" in the pool.  She excels at all three of these things.  She has really gotten the reading bug the last 2 months and will come home from school and read for well over an hour a few times a week.  I have always loved reading and spent a lot of my free time in middle and high school reading. I am so happy for her that she has developed a love of reading as well.  Since Christmas she has gained confidence that she can put together Lego sets and enjoys accomplishing them.  She also hates having her hair done, is still afraid to be in the basement by herself and worries about having bad dreams every night.  As I mentioned, she hasn't quite found a new Abby but she is friendly and plays with different kids in her class.  It feels like almost every day when I asked her who she played with she mentions different kids. First grade was a difficult transition for her largely because of losing such good friends this Summer but I think she has found a good stride now.  I think that she (like me), is feeling a little more cautious  about making new friends as hers keep moving away.  I think academically she has been under challenged in first grade but is such a good kid that she never causes problems for her teacher.  She is a happy kid and we love her to pieces.  I hope that I can become more thoughtful like Lydia. 

2019 Birthday Interview 

1. What is your favorite color? Gray

2. What is your favorite toy? Barbies

3. What is your favorite fruit? Halos 

4. What is your favorite movie? Maleficient 

5. What do you do well? Math

6. What do you like to do with Daddy? Read scriptures at night

7. What makes you happy? When someone says “I love you”

8. What is your favorite scripture story? Noah’s Ark

9. What is your favorite song? I Am A Child of God

10. What is your favorite animal? Husky and wolf

11. What is your favorite book? The Princess in Black

12. Who is your best friend? Abby 

13. Where is your favorite place to go? On vacation

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play baseball with Daddy

15. What is your favorite drink? Hot Chocolate and water

16. What is your favorite holiday? Valentines Day

17. What do you like to do with Mommy? Play Barbies

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Crepes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Fetucinni 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A florist 

Come Follow Me Moments (by Mark)

This past week as we were studying the New Testament we had a couple of sweet moments with Jared and Lydia.  On Thursday we had been reading about Joseph receiving inspiration to take his family to Egypt.  I noticed that in three separate situations that the scriptures stated that an angel visited him in a dream to give him instruction.  I pointed out that pattern for Joseph in receiving inspiration and shared that the Lord communicates with each of us in our own unique way.  It is our job to identify how the Lord speaks to us.

On Friday after we had read about Mary and Joseph finding Jesus in the temple and it talked about Jesus being about His Father's business.  When I went to tuck Lydia in we looked up Moses 1:39, which states: "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  We talked about what the difference is between immortality and eternal life.  Then we talked about what God's work and glory is.  I then asked her what are some ways we can help in doing His work.  She said, "what we are doing right now!"  I told her that mom and dad teach her about the gospel to help her gain her own testimony.  She told me she didn't want to go up in front of everyone at church.  I explained that a testimony is what you know by what you feel in your heart.  I asked her what she knew to be true.  She told me "I know that we will live again with Heavenly Father after we die".  I told her that's a testimony!  I asked her if she knew the Jesus died for her? She said "Yes!"  I affirmed that's a testimony!  We listed a few things, like prayer, the scriptures and then she remarked that: "I have a big testimony!" As we finished this discussion, she told me that her heart felt really warm.  I asked her what that was and she replied: "the Holy Ghost".  I told her it was the Holy Ghost confirming to her in her heart that she really does have a testimony.  The next day when April was in the car with her, Lydia commented about our discussion about testimonies and how she felt so warm and it helped her sleep without having any dreams that she doesn't like.

Pre birthday fun

Lydia will be 7 years old on Wednesday!  To start the celebrations Mark and I planned a surprise trip for her.  Whenever Mark asks us where we want to travel Minnesota is in her top three.  It's up there because her very best friend moved there last year and Lydia misses her fiercely. A few weeks ago I got in touch with Abby's Mom (who happens to be a flight attendant for Delta and understands non-revenue standby flying very well) to see if we could pull off this surprise for Lydia.  Luckily her schedule lined up well with Lydia's birthday so a plan was formed.  It was not easy to find flights with open seats to Minneapolis but late Thursday night, 2 days before we planned to fly out we thought to look at flights from Dulles in DC and there was a direct flight to Minneapolis with 16 open seats!  It was meant to be.  I sneakily packed a suitcase for Lydia and I and then woke her up at 4:30 Saturday morning to tell her we were going to the airport to go visit Abby. It was super fun.  She was thrilled.

The drive to Dulles took about 1 hour and 45 minutes and we got cleared for our flight right away.  Always a beautiful feeling.  We left Dulles at 8:15 am and after a freezing flight (it was kind of the theme of the trip, Minnesota is so so cold!) arrived in Minneapolis at 10:00.  Abby's mom had just told her that morning that we were coming to visit so they both got a big surprise.

We spent most of Saturday at Abby's house.  The girls played in the snow (they didn't last long it was maybe 9 degrees outside) and had lots of fun playing inside.  Later we went to dinner at Rain Forest Cafe in the Mall of America.

Abby asked if Lydia could sleep in her room with her and her sister Hannah.  We said it was fine although I honestly didn't think Lydia would make it through the night but she did.  It took them a good while to settle down.  Lydia and Abby were more than ready to sleep but Hannah who is 4 was not.  She eventually got moved to her parents bed to fall asleep and then Lydia and Abby fell asleep right away.  I know Lydia was exhausted but she had a great time.

We had a big breakfast in the morning and then went to the zoo in the 3 degree weather.  It being Minnesota they had a really large indoor exhibit area which is where we spent most of our time.  I was so impressed with how many people were out even though it was so freezing!  I probably shouldn't have been though because its just the way it is in Minnesota.  They are tough people. After the zoo Rachel dropped us off at the airport and we easily got on our flight home.

We did brave the frigid air to check out a few exhibits.  We came across a pile of bears semi hibernating which was really cool to see.  We were so close! We also saw one otter which is my favorite and Rachel's too so that was great.  Oh but it was painfully cold!

 As we walked out of Dulles we were shocked at how cold it was in Virginia.  A nasty North wind came in and it was gusting.  It was 24 and felt like 9.  We felt like we were back in Minnesota.  Our drive home went well, Lydia fell asleep about 45 minutes in and then went right to sleep when we got her in pajamas and her bed.  She slept in today until 8:20 which is quite late for her.  

 It was just so sweet to see Lydia and Abby together again.   In one of my conversations with Rachel we talked about the girls school year.  Both girls are doing well and are happy but Lydia has not found a "new Abby" and Abby has not found a "new Lydia."  They were just such good buddies.  We so appreciate Rachel and her family hosting us.  Rachel was such a trooper.  She had a red eye flight to Seattle (and back) Friday night and didn't get home until 7:00 in the morning and then came right back to the airport and was an awesome host.  We are lucky to know such great people.  Its really fun to be able to pull off trips like this! Never in my mind did I think I would be flying out to Minnesota (in January!) to let my daughter visit her best friend for her birthday.  Its awesome and Mark is awesome for being wiling to make it happen.

Spencer Goals of 2019

I was in charge of the lesson for FHE this week.  Normally we make goals together as part of our New Years Day activities but we ran out of time this year so I decided to make it my lesson this week.  We read some stories about Heber J Grant and a quote by Thomas S. Monson.  We wrote down a few goals and then crumpled them up in balls.  Then we attempted to make baskets with them.  It took more than one try to make the baskets which was a good reminder that goals take time and when we get off track we keep trying.  Lydia had us play hide-n-go seek for her activity and Mark picked mini key lime pies for our treat.  It was actually really enjoyable and well thought out.

Goals:

Lydia:
Complete books 1 and 2 for piano (she had her first lesson on Tuesday and loved it.  She has gone back and forth about how she felt about piano but it started off great and I think she will enjoy it.  She learned a little song and couldn't wait to play it for me when we got home. I recorded it and her talking about how much she loved piano and how excited she was to be taking lessons.  I then told her she could watch it anytime she started not wanting to play the piano.)
Read from the Book of Mormon before bed each night

Jared:
Complete his Faith in God (and catch up goals) by October 14th.
Complete Books 2 and 3 in piano

April: I have a variety of goals some daily, some three times a week and some twice a week.

Daily:
Drink 64 ounces of water, exercise, have family prayer in the morning before I leave for work, listen to a conference talk on my walk to work, have quality talk time with Jared and Lydia.

Three times a week:
Play the piano, study and ponder Come Follow Me, don't eat any treats

Twice a week:
Go running

Mark:
Read scriptures for 15 minutes every day
Exercise at least 2 days a week

All of us:
Apply Come Follow Me
Travel as much as we can before Mark stops working at the airport in August

Random Pictures to put somewhere

New FHE chart.  We have never been big FHE chart people.  Largely because all the cute crafty ones are always for more people than we have and more jobs than we need to fill.  The last year or so we have been in a good spot where Jared and Lydia could come up with lessons on their own so we were all just assigned a week per month and the person giving the lesson would make all the other assignments.  It worked fine but big surprise I wanted things little more organized.  I didn't feel like we were doing enough activity things. We always had songs and prayers and a lesson and treat but were missing the fun part.  So after looking online and not finding what I wanted I made up my own and I am so happy with it.  Each week after FHE we move the clip down so we all know what our assignment is for the next week.  We also talked about all the types of activities we could do and the last 2 weeks they have been way more fun.  This also helps with treats.  Often the person doing the lesson would pick a treat and we would be missing ingredients or not have time to make it because it was not planned ahead of time. Now they pick Sunday night (the week ahead) and I can get the necessary ingredients when I go shopping for the week.

January 05, 2019. Breakfast at Sugar Shack Donuts.  A good friend sent me a gift certificate for Sugar Shack for my birthday and I kindly shared it with my favorite people. Mark was there too. They still had some seasonal Christmas type ones and we tried both the peppermint ones and they were both awesome.

December 30th 2018, historic last day of 3 hour church. We all enjoyed 2 hour church very much.  I got this dress out in Utah when I met up with my sister.  I knew it would be a good place to look for a new church dress.