Ok, so is it so wrong that I kind of like it when my kids are home sick from school. Not that I want them to be sick or anything, but I love that one on one time we have and spoiling them. They seem to love me more at that time too… I totally get that. I remember when I first got married, and I was really sick. I think I actually said, “I want my mom.”
We had an awesome weekend trip to Dana Point with some of our dear friends. It was a much needed break for all of us… so much fun! Our friends dad has an incredible home there on the beach in Dana Point, and I had to post those pics. It was amazing!
They sure took advantage everywhere they could of the breathtaking view. The roof top was my favorite place of all…
The artist who built this home left his mark everywhere. What detail and whimsy!
How quaint is this little fountain? I want one!
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I love this solid hedge of (I believe) Ficus. I would love to copy this in my own yard that I am in the middle of designing right now. I only wouldn’t risk the ficus here in AZ where they are known to freeze in the winter. Oh to garden in Cali where your options for plants are crazy awesome! I’ll just have to use something else.
This is the scene I found the other day in our back yard. Griffin and his friends decided that our new (really bouncy) tramp wasn’t as fun as it could be. They decided it would be so much better jumping from something higher. THE ROOF! They were having so much fun and really our roof isn’t very high (ranch style). I hated to bring the fun to an end. I let them do it for a couple of days and then had to be a grown up and do the responsible thing. So for now they are safe on the ground again… until they find the next thrilling adventure, which will be soon knowing these boys.
It has been a crazy month for me. I recently was put in Young Womens for our ward (I am the Beehive Councilor), and was put in charge of the New Beginnings program. The theme was “Arise and Shine” which is so perfect for our girls. I feel like in the short time I have been working with them, that this is exactly the kind of Y.W. they are. They are such strong and confident girls and they shine so bright to me. Infact they SPARKLE!
We introduced the Y.W. program to the new girls coming in this year (the ones who are turning 12). We talk about Personal Progress and Girls’ Camp and mutual (Wed. night activities for the Youth).
All of the girls were involved and had a part to play.
My mom and dad were so awesome to help me string up these lights which where beautiful and really made the gym look magical (hard to see in this picture)
These two girls were awesome! they chose to help plan new Beginnings as a Personal Progress Project.
Everyone pitched in… it was a huge group effort. Here are our YW leaders. All incredible ladies!
We had lamps in each of the value colors. We started with all the lights off and one by one a girl would come to the front, say her part about her value and then turn on that corresponding value lamp. It was really a nice program. I actually found it already written by Beth Lasater and changed it a little… Arise and Shine Forth new beginnings (if you are interested).
My sweet husband cut out the sun and clouds… and my sweet Mia maid helpers painted them. When we introduced the new beehives they stood on a ladder behind the sun so that they could “arise”. Then the laurels told things about them that make them shine.
The new girls were given crowns that said SHINE and Megan and Maddie made them lanterns with candles in them. It was so cute.
The refreshment table was awesome. I loved what they did. We had coordinating food with the value colors. It was a beautiful presentation. 
And then for all the girls I found these alarm clocks at IKEA for $1… Then one of the beehive advisors, Angela made these darling lables and tied them up as a gift for the girl… So that they could “arise” each morning and remember to shine there light for all to see.
Piper was one of the new girls. Somehow I was able to keep most of it a secret. We even did a “flash mob” and she was supper suprised. I started dancing first and she wispered to her friend sydnee “What is my mom doing?”
Sydnee said, “I don’t know.” then a little at a time all the young women would jump up out of their seats and join the dance.
When Sydnee jumped up Piper said, “What are YOU doing?” It was so fun to surprise the new girls and all the parents. The girls kept it hush hush. They LOVED the dance and LOVED the surprise. I was a little worried about how it would come off because we only had 2 practices but it worked better than I imagined (I think because the girls were so supportive and our girls are up for ANYTHING… they are so fun)
I just read a fasinating article called “Do you want a Gifted or Hard Working Child”.
Here is a small taste of the article…
Contrary to what many parents think, giftedness is actually overrated as a contributor to success. Dr. Anders Ericcson, a professor at Florida State University, has studied expert performance in sports, music, mathematics, and other activities. He found that so-called innate ability was unnecessary to predict who would become most successful. The single greatest predictor of who would be become successful was how many hours they devoted to the activity. In a nutshell, the more they practiced, the better they were. Hard work means children putting in the necessary time, sticking with it when it’s not always fun, persevering in the face of setbacks and failures, and developing all of the skills necessary to become successful.
HERE is a link so you can read the entire thing….
Got me Thinking about HARD WORK. I think about it a lot actually. We say in our family all the time “you can do hard things.” I should have a button (like an EASY button) that says that, we say it so much. I firmly believe that being a helicopter parent (love and logic) is one of the worst disservices you can do for your children. Always rescuing your children from hard tasks and difficult situations will hurt them so much in the future. Chad is an expert at expecting hard work and the kids know he sticks to his guns no matter what. I love that.
My husband is one of the hardest workers I know… he is never still… He is never idle. He puts everything into everything he does…. weather it’s work, or something with the kids, or a job for me (ala-chicken-coop). I remember one Saturday a couple months ago, he woke up with nothing on the agenda (rare) and he said, “I feel like I want to help someone. I’m going to call around and see if anyone is moving today and could use some help.”
He says to me all the time that he wishes he had more free time… but I know he would go nuts. His mom was a genius when it came to teaching her kids to set goals, work hard, and have passion. If my kids grow up to be like their dad I would be a happy woman!
Speaking of HARD WORK…
I woke the kids up the other morning to help me clean out the barn. They were awesome little helpers! It was a dirty hard job.
We have already spent more money on our first chicken coop then we will ever make back in selling eggs. So why not go all out and make an even nicer one? Chad was, yes believe it or not, complaining about this fact to my dad who reminded Chad, “you’re not raising chickens… your raising kids.” It has really been a great thing for them. They have worked really hard right along side of us and most the time without our help at cleaning the coop, feeding, collecting eggs, and sadly once in a while dealing with the circle of life.
We are so excited about our new chicken coop. It is taking us a while since we really only have Saturdays to work, but we are coming right along. My dad, who is the literal mastermind of this coop, has been so nice to help us with the planning. If our chickens weren’t the safest most comfortable and happiest chickens ever… they for sure will be now.
It’s that time of year that we start planning for the Summer. It’s got me thinking of last summer and all of the fun memories.
Here is a little movie I put together in honor of our Norm Whiting Reunion 2011.
I had no idea what a little treasure this museum is. If you haven’t gone, you really should. The museum is so amazing and totally entertaining (the kids loved it). I even shed a tear or two. I thought I understood what the Mormon Battalion was…. but quickly realized I hardly knew anything. That was the last thing we did on our way back to AZ. It was a great way to end our family trip.
They asked Griffin to come up and be a model for the Soldiers clothing and supplies that they were issued. Guess how much he loved that. He hates attention like that but thought the gun was cool!
This was our trip to Cali with Grandma and Grandpa Whiting. We overlapped a day with some cousins and got to spend the day with them. It was a great day.
by Ashley Whiting
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