Summer Is Here

And we are really excited!  I love the freedom from rigid schedules, warm weather, spending time outside, children who are exhausted at the end of the day from playing hard, and the slower pace of life.  We have planned some really fun things for our family this summer and are looking forward to many adventures.

Eric and I kicked summer off in fashion by heading to youth conference with the 14 to 18-year-old youth from our ward this week.  We stayed at Aspen Grove which was wonderful because all of the activities were planned and carried out for us, as were the meals.  We basically hung out with the kids and had a great time.  It doesn't get much easier than that!  The conference wrapped up on a really high note with a special evening presentation by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  He spoke on our conference theme "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" {2 Nephi 1:15}.  It was a really wonderful experience to spend the evening with an Apostle.

After a day to recover from all the fun at Youth Conference, I took my kids to one of their favorite summer destinations, the Tracy Aviary.  It was the perfect day to go there.  The weather was warm and it wasn't crowded.  I was really amazed to reflect back on our trip there last year and realize how much my little guy has changed.  He really enjoyed seeing the birds and different exhibits this year.  Last year all he wanted to do was run.

Allie reminds me of my Grandpa Hudson.  She loves to really study things thoroughly.  She wanted to read every last detail about every animal in each of the exhibits.  Landon would look around, check things out, run around a bit, and then he was ready to move on.  In the picture above he was showing the little birds in this exhibit how to fly. 

Landon and I had to exercise a lot of patience today as we waited for Allie to absorb everything she wanted to read. 

Landon doesn't go anywhere these days without his favorite thing in the whole world, his beloved "puppy dog".  He named it all by himself. 

When he needed both hands to explore he would bring puppy dog to me and tell me "watch puppy dog mom".  It's a miracle this little puppy dog has managed to not be lost {for too long} yet. 

It's Great to be Eight

On Saturday Allie was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are proud of you Allie for making this important decision! We were reminded over and over again this weekend how lucky we are to have this choice little spirit in our family. Thanks to all of our friends and family for their support...we are truly blessed!

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Sunday I was released from my calling as Primary President. Just a week or so ago I told Eric that the combination of our 2 callings was getting to be too much for me (especially with Eric still in school 2 nights a week!) leaving far too little time left over for our family. It seemed as if one or the other of us was always headed off to a meeting, activity, interview, or camping trip. When I got word that the Bishop asked to meet with both of us I immediately knew what was coming and I wasn't as happy about it as I thought I would be when the time finally came. I was dreading that visit as much as I did the last trip in there when I was called to serve as Primary President--I think sometimes you just know. Eric tried to ease my frantic mind by telling me that "maybe the Bishop just wants to ask our opinion about...something". Right. He kept telling me that he didn't think that I was being released to which I eventually responded "that only leaves your calling to change then". That shut him up. He LOVES being the Scoutmaster and has no desire to ever be released.

It took a little while for all of this to sink in for me. I have wondered what I am going to do with the hours of time I will now have each week that used to be taken up by this busy calling. How will I like going to Relief Society after a 6 year hiatus? What about all my friends, old and young, who I have grown to love so much? What am I going to talk to Cindy and Lisa about every day? (Okay, I've got to admit I'm not really worried about this. But I am worried that life will get busy and I won't see or hear from them as much I hope.) I also want to publicly acknowledge all that Cindy, Lisa, Rachel, Amber, and Julianne have done to support and sustain me in this calling. Your friendship and encouragement through the years has meant more to me than I could ever put into words. Change is good, but it is hard. Here's to new adventures as well as the new learning and growing opportunities that lie ahead for me.

Happy, Happy Birthday Allie!

Today is Allison's 8th Birthday! Allie and her Dad are busy having fun on an overnighter at the Big Horn Ranch. They took Grandpa Swain and cousin Larkin along with them. I really hope that they don't come home with any terrifying bear stories this year. A mother's heart can only take one of those in a lifetime. I am going to ask Eric to do the blogging about this weekend's trip sometime in the next few days so keep checking back for the scoop--it's sure to be interesting.

Allie is growing into a young woman right before my very eyes. She has changed so much in the last couple of years. She is maturing and becoming more and more sophisticated and independent. It is so amazing to watch her as she continues to develop and learn and grow.

About a week and a half ago Allie was called to meet with the Bishop for her baptismal interview. The whole family got to tag along. The Bishop greeted us outside his office by saying "Allie, I hear that you have been waiting for this day for four years". Apparently this was something Allie confessed to the Bishop's daughter a few nights earlier when she went next door to help her weed a neighbor's yard. It made me laugh and it also made me think. Allie has been anxiously anticipating this day for as long as I can remember (and to be honest, I'm certain it's been longer than 4 years). She has such a tender spirit and a testimony and understanding of the gospel that humbles me. We are lucky parents to have been entrusted with this precious child!

I can't wait for her to return home so that the celebrating (with Landon and I) can begin! We are going to dinner with some friends and then over to another friends house to play games and have delicious gluten-free cake and ice cream. Really. It's tasty. Allie put in a special request a year ago for a gluten-free cake and today she's going to get her wish.

Happy Birthday, Allie. I love you!

Happy Baptism Day Boys!

These cute boys and I have something in common. I was baptized exactly 22 years to the day before them. Thanks for sharing your special day with us!

Guess who is next in line? Allie! Her big day is coming up on Saturday, September 6th.

Blessed Beyond Belief

Sometimes I wonder what I have done to deserve so much happiness. I keep wondering how life could possibly be any sweeter than it is...and yet the blessings keep coming. Perhaps the only way that life could be any better right this minute is if I was happily counting my blessings on a beautiful sunny beach in Hawaii alongside my loved ones.

We found out early today that Eric received a pretty significant promotion at work. I wasn't really surprised that he got the job, but I was pleasantly surprised by the substantial increase in pay. The timing couldn't be better as we have just taken on a bigger house payment, and yet it came late enough that we now know that we can live very comfortably on what we were making with a little bit of restraint in the spending department. The bottom line...we will live comfortably, be able to put away some money for a rainy day, and still be able to travel and do the things we have always enjoyed doing as a family. I also took this opportunity to remind Eric of my desire for a larger family vehicle. Sometimes I can't believe how long our little car has sufficed. He has always been a big believer in the saying "Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". I think it may take me a while to talk him into it, but history has shown that I can be awfully persuasive with my husband.

The children are healthy and happy. Allie is doing very well in school and has already begun her countdown to summer. She reminds us almost daily that this will be her big year...the year she is finally old enough to be baptized. She has been looking forward to this since she was "at least four or five years old" in her words. She says this in such a dramatic fashion that it can be difficult to keep a straight face.

Landon is as mobile as ever and he keeps us all laughing. His dramatic flair may very well rival Allie's. Lately he has taken to yelling at us while we feed him. It' s not a mad yell, but a yell nonetheless. If there is a microscopic pause between when he swallows a bite and when another spoonful is shoveled in, we hear about it. He has also started to push all of the chairs out from under the table. I put them back a ridiculous number of times each day. He discovered yesterday that he can even push a chair around the dining room if Allie is the one sitting in it. She rarely gets frustrated with him but yesterday while she was eating a bowl of cereal he kept pushing her away from the table which earned him a bit of a lecture from her. I was laughing too hard to intervene until they both ended up in tears.

As for me...life is busy but so good. I wasn't sure whether I was going to survive being the Primary President the last couple of weeks. Thanks to Cindy, Lisa, Amber, and (our alumni) Rachel I once again have happily settled into a brand new year in Primary. What would I do without these girls? I hope I'll never have to find out. Eric gave me The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas for Christmas. I have always wanted to read this, I just didn't know it was 1300 pages long! With all of the snow and cold weather there has been plenty of time to curl up with a warm blanket and this great book. It very well may take me until Springtime to finish it. I think that about covers all that is going on at the Swain home right now. I will update with a bunch of pictures sometime this weekend--it has been quite a while since I included some pictures in my posts.