Primary Missionary Activity

I LOVE my church calling. I am the first counselor in the primary presidency which means I get to work with the kids and help teach them about the Savior. We planned a primary activity this weekend on Missionary work. The children 7 years and older all received official mission calls the Sunday prior to the activity. I really wish I would have recorded my boys opening their "mission calls" they were so excited. Mason was called to the Philippines and Noah to Paraguay. When the kids arrived Saturday morning we gave them their name tags and met in the Primary room aka MTC. We had our ward missionaries talk to the kids briefly about missionary work and they sang "Called to Serve". Then we dismissed them into their individual missions. We had a "mission president" assigned to each group where they learned about that mission/country and had snacks from that country. It was a really fun activity and I loved seeing all the excited looks on the children's faces. I hope it instilled in them excitement for when they serve their real missions.

Utah Trip

   

3 years ago we visited Utah around the Fourth of July. And every year since our kids ask us If we are going to Utah for the Fourth. They act Like it's a tradition which is funny to me. We asked Leslie about 5 days prior if we could come (yes we roll last minute). Leslie is an incredibly special person I really enjoy watching her as a mother. She is so selfless, humble and kind plus she has raised 6 INCREDIBLE kids. She makes mothering look so easy and that's something I struggle with a lot. I stress over if I'm doing the whole motherhood thing right or if I'm just messing my kids up. I do try really hard so I hope that counts for something.

We drove to Park City to check out the Alpine slides. You get to ride the ski lift up to the top of the mountain then hop on this sled thing that slides down. It goes pretty fast and is really fun. I wasn't sure how April would handle it. She loves slides at home but isn't my dare devil child... that would be Mason. So I was really surprised when she seemed to LOVE it. I recorded her the whole way down and loved how she would talk to me and say "Wee ha!" At the top of the slide she had to patiently wait for everyone else to go down and kept yelling "GO! GO!" It was really cute.

Most of our trip we enjoyed hanging out and playing games til 2am, sleeping around (kids slept EVERYWHERE), fireworks, and some swimming. Our kids were in heaven and very sad when it came time to go.

Eaglewood fireworks show was AMAZING. Seriously the best fireworks show I've ever seen. They always hold it on July 3rd at a golf course. There was food trucks, parachuters, and music. The weather was fabulous (probably why I enjoyed it so much. I'm used to 110 degree fireworks weather YUCK.) We laid on blankets on the side of a hill  and enjoyed the show. April was hilarious she held her hand over her eyes the entire time and even fell asleep "watching" the fireworks.

Driving home we had some unexpected adventures. We were about 2 hours on our way home when the engine started overheating. We pulled off the freeway in the middle of nowhere. After investigating Ron thought it was the Radiator hose. (Also kind of hoped that's all it was) after quite a few phone calls and a couple hours waiting we had the jeep towed to Nephi, Utah. All 6 of us crammed into the Tow truck for the 30min drive back to town it was quite comical. We lost about 6 hours of road time waiting for the car to be fixed. Kids handled it well and the rest of our trip went fairly smooth. I know I am blessed and I grateful we made it safely home.

... Now to get rid of this thing I think it's time I join the minivan mom club.

Heber Faler Family Reunion

Faler Family Reunion was another successful trip! This year my parents found a huge cabin in Heber for us all to stay in. It was so fun to be all under one roof. We were able to put April to bed then stay up late hanging out and playing card games and socializing. There was plenty to do with a zipline outside, exploring, and all kinds of board games and a game room. April loved the zip line and wanted to go down it over and over again. Kids got plenty of cousin time (probably a little too much late night cousin time). I'm really bummed I forgot my nice camera at home. And I really didn't take many pictures of any of my kids except April.

  

 (I'm still so mad at myself for closing my eyes. That's Ron's job. LOL He ALWAYS closes his eyes in pictures)

Getting a family picture of us all was sure interesting. I love this picture of all the grandkids and my parents. It's classic real life and the struggle is real with little kids. LOVE it!

Tucson Temple Dedication

The Tucson temple is completed and I was very excited to plan a day trip to visit it and take my kids. Because of my work schedule I needed to take the kids during the week. Sadly, Ron was unable to come with us. My parents were able to join us and even braved the 2 hour car ride with us in the jeep. We made it to the temple around 8:30am watched the video and toured the temple. It was really fun. During the movie it talks about what the purpose of temples are and briefly explains each part of the temple. When they got to the part about baptisms for the dead I leaned over to Mason and reminded him that next year he would be able to go in the temple to perform this ordinance. His reaction was priceless. I love when Mason gets excited about things his whole face lights up with childish excitement. I can't wait to take him to the temple.

I wanted to make a fun filled day of it so I found a Groupon for a short hike/tour of Colossal Cave. This idea I quickly learned was great in theory but not as genius as I had originally thought. The cave was cool, we planned everything perfectly, timed it right... I just miscalculated April and her naptime. She was not a fan of the cave. She's always so well behaved and so sweet. She usually will sleep almost anywhere. Anywhere but a cave I have learned. She was cranky and not wanting to be in the hiking backpack I brought for her. We survived I just felt bad for other hikers because it was a tour and I'm sure her fussiness must have bothered them. Oh well. My parents were lots of help and so sweet. We still had a fun time. Next time I will plan hikes NOT during April's naptime and when Ron can be there to help too.