1. Kangaroo Zoo. We took Josh to this place for the first time Saturday night. It's basically a huge wearhouse full of the blow up bouncy toys. Josh LOVED it- and so did we really. Its crazy how much fun you can have just watching your kids have fun.

2. The Good Earth. This is our ward book club book right now- and though it didn't sound all that exciting- about 5 pages into it I was hooked. The writing is really beautiful- and the lessons great.

3. Book of Mormon Read and Shares. We used to do these in the MTC; sit in a circle and read 2-3 verses at a time and pick them apart. Share thoughts, feelings and insights. Well, this Sunday I taught the Laurels- and the lesson was pretty short and straight forward (encouraging family unity) but it had a great scripture story that they'd referenced (1 Nephi 16:17-32 - Nephi and his broken bow)so I decided to spend the bulk of our time doing a Read and Share with the passage. It was so powerful! The four laurels I had in class that day were the younger ones (the seniors were invited to go to Relief Society that day) but their insights and comments were very mature and insightful. It was a reminder to me of my testimony that the Book of Mormon is truly a powerful book and wonderful teacher!

1. Blog readers. I recently found out I've had more people looking at our family blog site than I realized. It's such a great way for me to feel connected to the world.

2. Late nights with happy kids. Josh tried skipping his nap yesterday- and then crashed in the car at about 4pm and slept till around 7pm. That means that he was not tired at his 9pm bedtime... but at least he was in a good mood. We let him stay up till about 10 and he was just giggling and playing with us. He's a sweet kid. Dekker took a later nap than usual too- and stayed up a little later than usual as well.

3. Simple dinners. Since the boys slept through dinner last night I decided to keep dinner simple. I found a recipe online for chicken salad (with artichoke hearts & bacon)sandwiches that were pretty easy- and yummy.

1. The World's Fastest Indian. I'd heard this movie was good- but the plot line sounded pretty boring- but Jake and I watched this last night and both LOVED it. If you haven't seen it- I recommend it. Don't worry about the plot- its the message that counts- follow you dreams, and a little bit of naivety and sincerity will do you wonders!

2. New words. Dekker is attempting to say more words all the time- his latest: up, balloon, ball, and bear.

3. Pat-a-cake. When all else fails- sing silly kid songs.

1. Good examples. I'm very thankful that when I start to feel I'm in a slump I can look around and see so many good examples. From blogging, to cooking, to crafting, parenting, house keeping and more. So thank you to all of you out there. You may not realize it- but you in your own little way have been an example. My mom shared a great quote with me: "Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God: your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us; it is is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." I LOVE it!

2. Gymnastics. I signed Josh up for gymnastics- so now he goes every Wednesday. He LOVES it. It gives me a little break, and something for him to look forward to. Its cute to watch him listen to the teacher and try the stretches, tumbles, and bar pulls.

3. NyQuil. This has been helpful the last few nights.

1. FHE. We had a very successful one last night.

2. Rough housing. Jake was so cute playing with the boys last night. Josh LOVES playing "steam roller" and jumping and climbing all over Jake. Dekker is just starting to get into it all- but its cute to watch.

3. Naps. This cold has really hit me hard- so I'm very grateful when I'm able to sneek a nap in here or there.

1. Free one night getaway. Jake's company does health insurance, payroll and other similar services for other small companies. One of the health care providers sponsored a one-night getaway to Daniel's Summit Lodge for some of their broker and health insurance agencies- which means we got another little geteway- this time for free. It was just one night and the lodge isn't far- but it was nice, they had a dinner and presentation- but they also paid for breakfast and snowmobiling the next morning. We relaxed in the hot tub and played cards with two other couples (one being Jake's business partner Lou and his wife Trish- the other their friends' the keyes).

2. Siblings and friends who helped watch the boys while we were gone! So nice to have you guys around.

3. My body to myself. After being pregnant, and then nursing for a year- its nice to know that my body is mine and "normal" for a while again. I only had about 4 months of this after Josh was weaned- I'm planning on keeping it this way for close to a year this time before getting pregnant again. It really is nice not to have to worry about every little medication I take or knowing that I can leave both kids at home for more than a few hours.

Yesterday was a great day:

1. Lunch with my boys. I got to have lunch with all three of my boys yesterday and it was so nice.

2. A walk to the park. The weather was nice enough that we took a walk to the park. there were several favorite things within this outing itself:
a- Watching Josh peddle is tricycle all the way there and back
b- Pushing Josh on the swing and knowing the tickle he was feeling in his stomach when I pushed him to just the right height- I could tell I'd hit it when he'd give out a churteling laugh from his gut.
c- Dekker's smile as I had his on my lap while swinging or going down the slide
d- being outside in the sunshine

3. Wifey/Hubby cometitions. I wouldn't say that Jake or I am extremely overweight- but the last couple years (and after a couple kids) we've both got the soft bellies- So last night while getting ready for bed we started comparing "truffle shuffles" in the mirror. We were laughing so hard! That lead us to competition number TWO: who could do the most sit ups. Jake went first and so I tied him- but we're both so embarrassed that I won't list the number here- but we decided to make it a nightly event- to see who can strengthen those core muscles first. It's true what people say- kids and age 30 come up and all of a sudden you no longer recognize your body. Jake and I started talking about things that we can do (and do together) to take back control. We've decided to try spinning/street biking first (Bri I'm sure you're jumping for joy- and yes we'll probably be asking for your advice on beginner bikes/races soon). Yikes- writing it here really commits us... which brings me to the last leg of my conversation with Jake last night: What makes you persistent at something? Or what drives/excites you?

Jake thinks for him its competition and feeling like he has an advantage/talent. That's why Jake did so many sports in high school- Jake was good at basically every high school sport- and if it hadn't been for a rollover car accident that broke his back and permanently damaged his right angle- he would have played at a college level as well. Now he's found that the athleticism he developed then helps him continue to enjoy competition- even if its with himself- in other less organized sports such as golf, wakeboarding, and rock climbing. And certainly he loves the competition he faces daily in business- trying to compete with so many other entrepreneurs out there. I think a big reason why he went into business was because he found out the BYU business school was ranked so high and knew he'd have to work hard to get accepted.

I think for me its being unique/original. All the things I really consistently worked hard at were things that I felt made me unique or different. Doing well in school so I could go to BUY Hawaii- becoming SCUBA Dive Club president, learning to Surf, solemn skiing,rock climbing, my semester in Guatemala. Even on my mission- I don't think I went to be unique (although not as many girls serve as guys) but I think I did work really hard to really learn the Spanish language (even while in that states) and to work really hard as a sister (so I wasn't lumped into the "sister's don't work as hard" complaint I heard from so many elders).

It's a good question I think... we all have had times when we back out or give up on things- so what is it that helps us stick things out even when they're not easy or super fun at first... so I pose the question to YOU my readers- and would love to hear your responses as well.