Emerging

We've all been hunkering down for this last little bit of school before summer begins. But there's been little bursts of sunshine these past couple of weeks and they sure have brought a lot of relief!

This is one of the many "beds" Breanna makes for Afton, where she willingly lays and plays baby Jesus.

 Walking to church last week

 Brad and I went for a run with Breanna and Afton in the stroller and stopped at Fish Creek park the other day. I LOVE how Afton holds Breanna and Jesse's hands. She's feisty but she knows whose team she's on! 

 Brad finally took a day off for family time :D

We went to the Science Centre and the kids just loved it and didn't want to leave. So much interesting stuff to do like polish rocks (a lesson on water erosion)

 Play with gears (Jesse loves gears)

 Create electricity by running on a treadmill

Build tents out of sticks and elastics (Breanna's favorite, although you can't tell by the picture)

Take computers apart (Jesse's fave) 

  And play an organ that makes water bubble up and sparkle (Afton's favourite-seriously, a kid's dream or what!?)

Brad took the kids on a bike ride so I could wash the floors one night. Quite the train! His best move this week: Friday after coming home from the Science Center I was SO tired for some reason. So Brad said to me, go have a nap, I'll make supper. Can you imagine taking a nap and waking up to supper ready? Yes, it was a dream come true! He's so good to me sometimes.

Throwing rocks by the river on the bike ride.

 Then we had a couple of days of heavenly weather. The kids had been asking for weeks to make a waterside and I was so happy to finally say okay go for it!

 Playing with the sprinkler under the trampoline.

Afton has been loving life lately being able to go outside at will and run around. She has an amazing amount of energy to burn but she's also always ready to snuggle her little head into my neck and cuddle cuddle cuddle...! Sometimes she asks me to wrap her in her blanket and I'll just sit there with her swaddled and sing to her. She loves it. She's quite the little jumper! She has the cutest run, with one arm swinging and it often ends in a big finale jump.  My favourite is when we ask her a question and she goes "UHM" like she's really thinking about it!

She also says:

"ME!" when we ask the kids a question like, who wants a treat?

"MO"=No, usually accompanied by hitting someone.

"Done" when she's finished eating

"Es a bay"=There's the bear, she l-l-loves her bear and laughs with joy when she sees it.

"Ow" all the time, but she's one tough little cookie and doesn't usually cry.

"Appo"=Apple

and lots more!

  Breanna actually sang a couple of songs about being a mama bird getting her wings wet for her baby birds and being a family for me while she was jumping. She just loves her family and the idea of family and being a mom in general. I love her!!

And finally, walking to church today.

Well Afton threw up about 5 times today (not that it slowed her down I chased her for hours today at church while she only stopped to puke-and no I didn't know she was sick until we got there! So sorry if it made your kids sick...:) and now Breanna just threw up, so that's where I'll be tonight and tomorrow. 'Til next time!

Breaks

First off, I'm excited because my sister had a baby boy named Lucas! He is beautiful and we sure love him.

When Brad called me on Friday afternoon to see if I wanted to go on a date I said NO. Greasy hair, messy house and exhausted. But he convinced me. I managed to get the house tidy and shower and get ready in a couple of hours and as I drove away from the kids I could literally FEEL my blood pressure dropping! By the time I was downtown I knew Brad had done me a favour! Sometimes you just need a break. Brad made this awesome video of us after dinner :)

Jesse and I also REALLY needed to get away. We went to an indoor playground just the two of us and boy I'm kinda glad I'm not a kid anymore. It's a scary kid jungle out there and Jesse handles it with such ease. He is fast.

Now I'm on the home stretch. Brad and Jesse are finishing up school and when it's over we will all need a long break!!!

Life is a Facebook status

One of the reasons I hate Facebook is that I want to post on it ten times a day. But I can't, because I'm too worried about what people will think: "Oh my gosh, some people can't make a move in life without updating everyone on Facebook!" You know. I am terrified of people judging me and talking behind my back (I'm slowly working on this most annoying of imperfections) so I avoid it. But oh I would, if I could. And this is how it would go today:

Sarah Gough:

killed myself in my workout this morning

has gained 8 pounds in three weeks and none of my clothes fit. Is this normal?

hates nothing more than shopping and not finding what I'm looking for! What a waste of time!

got lots of great looks from people at the grocery store today. Yep, my kids were that crazy!

spent the entire afternoon doing homework and practicing piano with Jesse. Also managed to clean the kitchen.  Does anyone else feel sometimes like their life is going in a circle and never getting anywhere?

Is it just me or was my house just clean 2 days ago?

Time to give up today! Try again tomorrow!

Seriously feels like nobody likes me.

Is frustrated.

Is sad.

D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43,D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43, D&C 121:41-43.....

Is done.

Easter

Easter has really increased my testimony this year. Brad and I have tried to teach our children a lot over the past couple of weeks about the Savior and the atonement. In the process, my testimony of the Savior has deepened and increased. Reading the Easter story and learning more about Jesus Christ has helped me see a little bit of the love Jesus has for me. It is amazing. I can't explain it and sometimes it doesn't make sense but from the spirit I know it's true. I've been moved to tears as I've learned small truths. It's also humbling. All I can do is rely on the Savior and repent. General Conference was enlightening, especially Elder Uchdorf's talk which spoke directly to my heart. It was a peaceful time, we had our usual potato soup and buns, and the spirit filled our home. I'm grateful for these last couple of weeks and I hope I continue to learn and my spirit grows from this.

Over the weekend we went to Taber and had a blast, as always! Back yard fun (I can't wait to post more about this in the summer) dying Easter eggs, eating yummy food, playing with cousins and going for walks. What more could kids want? We just love our Taber weekends, but we came home for Sunday.

One of my favourite things growing up was the Easter egg hunts my Mom would plan for us kids. They were so much fun, the clues always rhymed and from what I remember also included a spiritual message. I want to carry that tradition on with my family. Little did I know how hard it is to come up with clues that rhyme! I finally gave up on the spiritual element and went with the Easter Bunny-and they were still cheesy! So Mom, I officially appreciate our Easter Scavenger Hunts even more! But here's a little peek at ours:

My favourite is the running to the next clue when you figure it out!

There always has to be a clue in the oven. 

They found the treasure from the Easter Bunny!

Afterwards there's an easter egg hunt to fill the baskets.

The kids saved some for Afton and helped her find them. She picked up on it really quick and it was funny to watch her spot them and put them in her little bag.

As always, Jesse sure loves his little sisters and shows it freely.

Happy Easter!!