march 2014

Burke's soccer season wrapped up at the beginning of March.  A parent on the team sent this photo to Rob after the last game.  It's a great shot!  I can just hear Burke analyzing the game with his coach :)

Post-game review

Burke was required to make a cell model using household items for science.  This project really took me back--I'm certain I had the same assignment once upon a time.  I thought it turned out pretty well.

We are trying to spend as much time outside as possible before it gets too hot.  She sure looks like she is enjoying this tire swing.

This is the life!

I will really miss my sweet buddy next year (all-day kindergarten?! It's a bittersweet thought).

Look what we found on aisle 19 at Ikea (the kids LOVE having dinner and playing there)!

We'll take it!

Liv and I rode bikes to a couple of different parks along the bike trail one day.  She was a bit ahead of me and then decided to take a little break.  I think it's so funny that she kicked off her shoes and stretched out on this bench as if it were a comfy couch :)

Hewitt dressed up as Jigsaw Jones for "Favorite Book Character Day."  Like Burke, he has read all of these mystery books several times, and it was a much easier costume to put together than say Harry Potter. Hewitt is very particular and wanted to try to match Jigsaw as much as he could.  He looked so cute and was the only "Jigsaw" at school.  

"Jigsaw Jones"

Rob asked Hewitt to say family prayer one evening, and it struck me really funny (a Fuhriman moment that had me crying a bit). Hewitt was so serious and sincere that there was no way I could let him see me struggling to keep it together.  He said, "...We are thankful for this house even if it isn't the best--it is enough.  We pray that we can survive the future, whatever may be incoming..."

This was cute; Liv was looking in the mirror while I blew her hair dry one Sunday morning...
Liv: What is this on my face?
Me: It's a little mole; a beauty mark.
Liv: Jesus picked ME to be beautiful?!

I've had a FHE packet about the "Armor of God" since Burke was a Sunbeam and finally got around to giving this lesson.  The kids really got into it (as I'm sure you can imagine).  Tosh is such a funny kid and enjoyed being my helper (you'll notice in this blog post that he is really into giving "thumbs up" lately):

The kids had a little over two weeks off for Spring Break.  I joke with Rob that he only travels when the kids are out of school.  He had an over night trip to California the first week of break.  The first day of break Hewitt was at the doctor for strep, which canceled some of our plans (play dates with friends) and we hung around home.  After ortho appointments the next afternoon, I took the kids to a park we'd never been to in Tempe.  One of the tables had a built in checker board and the older boys played checkers, "Rocks vs Sticks" while the younger kids played on the playground equipment:

Complete Concentration

From the park we went to McDonald's to get a sundae or ice cream cone, and then went to the dollar movie.  The theatre was fairly empty and quite clean.  A pleasant discovery--we'll be back another time:

A couple of my friends organized an early hike one morning to Wind Caves.  It had been announced in the RS bulletin, but it ended up just being four of us.  It was a great hike--I had never been there before.  Here I am at the top:

Me, Keri, Brooke, and Kristy

 After the hike, we went to Joe's Farm Grill for brunch.  It was a great morning (and a nice break from the kiddos)

Rob returned home from California on Friday evening and we left Saturday morning for Utah.  Poor Liv seems to have inherited the 'prone to motion sickness' gene from me.  The last two times we have driven to Utah she has thrown up as it gets windy going into Flagstaff.  She threw up three different times (the second time all over herself).  We pulled off on the side of the road so I could change her clothes (luckily I still pack a change for her in my purse), and she sat the rest of the way on a plastic grocery bag on her very wet car seat (from throwing up Gatorade).  Things could have been worse, but she is such a good sport and doesn't complain.  She is the least dramatic of our children when sick!  She was perfectly fine when we got on I-15 and had a straight shot.  I was 95% sure it was motion sickness, and was very relieved it wasn't the stomach flu! Isn't this the saddest, sweetest little face?  Poor girl.  I hope this doesn't mean that her pregnancies will be terrible...

Everyone was so excited to arrive in Utah and see Grandpa Dunning and Grandma Helen!  I was able to go hear them speak on Sunday morning about their mission to New Jersey (they were asked to speak in another ward with a member of the High Council).  It was my first time hearing Helen speak in church (live) and it was such a treat to watch the congregation react to her dynamic energy, and the fact that she could quote all scripture references and latter-day leaders from memory.

We attended their ward later that afternoon and then got together with their Dunning cousins for dinner (at Melanie and Kevin's home).  It's always great to see my adults nieces--I feel lucky to have seen our family twice in two months!

Here are some cute photos of my dad and the kids taken at Melanie's: 

I asked the other kids to join in on the couch:

They love their Grandpa!

Monday morning we went to the Provo City library (two of my nieces work there):

We then headed to BYU campus.  We had planned to go to the Bean Museum but it was closed, unfortunately.  The main thing Hewitt was interested in doing while we were in Utah was going to where "Studio C" is filmed.  We stopped by the broadcasting building and walked around:

These life-size cut outs are pretty cool.  I think I have a photo of either Hewitt or Liv by every single cast member :).  This next one is my favorite though.  Also, I should mention that Hewitt is counting down the days until the new Studio C season starts.    After the tour, we went to the BYU creamery (one of the main reasons we drove to Provo) for ice cream cones (thanks, Grandpa!).

That evening we had dinner with the Haynies. We knew we needed to meet early in the week since Angie gave birth four days later! Dinner was really yummy and Angie even made rainbow jello and mint brownies in honor of St. Patrick's Day:

That night Tosh woke up several times coughing, crying, and having some trouble breathing.  We took him to urgent care first thing the next day so they could listen to his lungs and give him an albuterol treatment.  It was SO frustrating that I forgot his nebulizer at home (please remind me to ALWAYS pack it!).  We ended up spending $200 for the doctor visit and meds.  He was feeling better the next day.

I felt that we were fairly successful this trip of trying to balance time with family and friends.  Generally we spent time with my dad and Helen during the day (Rob worked three of the days) and would then have dinner out with friends and other family.  In addition to the Haynies we were able to see the Dommers, Maughans, Andelins, Uncle John, Paces, and Ashbys (who had invited the Perschons and Hansens over for dessert so we could see them), and Mike Peterson.  I was also able to visit briefly with Jon Stimac--a good family friend who I have known since I was Liv's age (if not younger).  He and my dad went out to lunch on Friday and when I came up the stairs to greet him he got very emotional and then apologized saying, "I'm so sorry, but you just look so much like your mom.  She was a neat lady."  It was pretty touching and really tough not to start crying along with him.

On Wednesday night we got together with three of Rob's siblings (Uncle John happened to be in town at the same time) and had yummy pizza and visited while the kids played.  Here is a cute photo of the kids eating that Rob's sis took:


My Dad and Helen took us out to lunch a few different days.  One of my favorite places I like going with my dad is to Marley's inside of the Harley Davidson store.  I really like their slider called, "Handsome Rob," go figure :).  I appreciate that Hewitt is always up for having his photo taken:

Not only was Grandma Helen and Grandpa very generous in feeding us (and making sure we had plenty of treats), but the kids had so much fun being in their home and playing Play-Doh with Helen.  I really feel like I've hit the jackpot (or jackbox-ha!) when it comes to "mothers" in my life.  I've been blessed with the best mother, mother-in-law, and stepmother you could ever ask for.  I'm truly grateful that Helen is so loving to the kids and makes them each feel so special.

We went to the "castle" park one day (another favorite) and I caught this super cute photo of Liv and Rob.  He had been pushing her on the swing and she got such a kick out it when Rob said, "Okay, it's my turn now!"

Taking Turns

On Friday we went to Scheels which was pretty cool.  We had fun on the Ferris Wheel and checking out all the interesting photo-op places.

I love how Rob has his hand on Hewitt's head while he is talking to him.  Very Rob.

Loving Liv's outfit and pose!

We were excited to discover the enormous (and inexpensive) ice cream cones in the food court!

I am sad I didn't take more photos!  I didn't get any of the kids with their Peterson cousins this time around.  I think the adults were too busy visiting.  Needless to say, it was a great and busy trip.  I got sick our last day (Saturday) and ended up staying home in bed while Rob took the kids to see their cousins.  Rob's sister took some really cute photos of the kids playing:








The kids were really sad to leave--especially Liv.  She crashed on the drive home (and didn't throw up!).

Vacation is exhausting!

It seemed SO WARM here when we got home.  I really like being away and on vacation, but must admit how wonderful it feels to come home.  I felt so great on Monday (after 24 hrs of being on antibiotics for strep) and being settled back in.  The younger kids decided it was it was officially summer and decided to go for a swim:

We had our pool drained and cleaned (floor and tile), and it looks so much better.  I think these shots of the kids are so funny.  I was surprised how long they lasted in that cold water!

These two!

The kids all headed back to school--crazy to think we are in the 4th quarter already.  Tosh was thinking he was moving into second grade for some reason and said, "You mean I'm still in first grade?"  It made me laugh.

BIG NEWS!  Tosh got all "E's" (excellent) on his report card in the behavior section!  That was his goal and he did it!

An EXCELLENT student!

Hewitt was a total lifesaver the other night.  He made my day by having such a great attitude while doing (several) extra chores for his stressed-out mom.  When I thanked him he said, "Now that I have all this good karma, I can go do something I want to do."

One of my favorites right here

My friend Alecia and I took Liv and Addie to an awesome park in Mesa that I had never been to before.  It has a splash pad and all sorts of big things to climb on.  My older boys would love it!  I'm excited to take everyone there.  My Dunning family might be interested in going the next time they visit, especially because it is very close to the scout shop! :)

I caught a couple of good photos of these cuties:

It was still quite cool to be playing at a splash pad, but Liv was having so much fun that the cold water didn't bother her.  She could have played there all day:

Last Saturday was our Pinewood Derby.  Hewitt and I had fun coming up with an idea for his car--Legos!  I asked my brother for advice and he suggested cutting a wooden dowel  into little pieces for the top.  Rob took Hewitt over to our home teacher's place (Kent Warner) to cut the wood block and the dowel.  Rob tells such a great story about covering Hewitt in a sleeping bag and him holding a laundry basket to catch the tiny wood pieces after Rob would cut them.  He would yell, "Hit me.  Didn't hit me," after each piece was cut.  It sounds hilarious--wish I had photos or better a video!  The car turned out great, and was in the top half of the pack so we were fine with that.  

Hewitt earned a special medal for "Most Creative Car"

Now that I'm the primary counselor over cub scouts, it has given me an excuse to wear my mom's sweet den leader shirt from the late '70's (I refuse to change the patches on it, nor does anyone think I should).  I had several stake leaders admire my shirt and one of them said she is going to make one herself (love the bright yellow with the sweet tie).  

After the derby, Rob replaced our sprinkler box (with a little help from me and the boys).  It's not all that often he does such 'handy' work, so it's good to document. :)

I think those are most of the highlights from a busy and good March. 'Real' summer will be here before we know it!

gilbert temple cultural celebration

At the beginning of November I got a phone call from a member of our bishopric asking if I would accept the role of 'dance director' for our ward for the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration.  I was excited to be asked and knew it would be a great experience--I really enjoy working with the youth any chance I get :).   I attended a few meetings and practices for leaders and began teaching the youth in our ward the first of January.  Celebration rehearsal took the place of mutual for the months of January and February.  The entire temple district was divided into various regions and our ward was in "Region 1" and learned choreography to a Latin style song called "Toma Mi Mano."   I taught the "boy" part to Rob ahead of time and he was able to come to the first practice and teach with me (I thought it important that the boys see a guy doing the cha-cha step).  We did three weeks of ward rehearsals and then had about three weeks of stake rehearsals, before EVERYONE gathered for the Super Saturday rehearsal on Feb 22nd.  

 

These types of celebrations have usually been held big stadiums, but for whatever reason the show was originally scheduled to be held at Hamilton High School (our home High School about 2 miles from our house).  There were 12,000 youth (!) that participated in the cultural center and the venue was not big enough for rehearsal space, so sometime in January they announced that the show would be held at Discovery Park which is in the shadow of the Gilbert Temple. At first I was somewhat disappointed that the show wouldn't be held at ASU stadium and that there would not be a live audience of parents and friends, but it really was cool that the backdrop of the show was the temple itself. 

 

Organizing 15,000 people (12,000+ youth and leaders) to gather to one city park was quite an undertaking and they took security and safety quite seriously.  Here is my lanyard-- the bar codes were linked to our medical forms.  These were scanned upon arrival and were checked by stake leaders at the various Stake tents prior to meals:

 

The Saturday before the performance (Super Saturday) was one very long day. I was up at 5:30AM to get to the church to carpool in to the park. There was absolutely no parking, so everyone had to be dropped off by drivers at staggering times and at various surrounding places. Each region had a different colored shirt (there were around 6 stakes in each region, I believe), and each ward and stake had their own campsite.  Each stake provided their own food, and our stake is pretty awesome about having nice meals--some stakes had sack lunches, but our stake had hot meals with several nice sides.  We rehearsed as regions all morning and then came together after lunch onto the main performance field. Our stake had the best seat in the house--sitting directly off of the 50 yard line, just in front and to the left of the prophet.  It was a very warm (hot) day and we all got some sun.  In addition to that, it is allergy season here and being on the grass all day was really getting to me.  We did a complete walk-through of the show just before dinner and the dust got so bad from so many people being on the dry grass all day.  By the time we all got seated after dinner break, you could hardly see across the field from the dust!  I could hardly breathe (grass+dust=allergy nightmare).  Ambulances and fire trucks starting showing up and the main person in charge made the announcement that they were canceling the evening run-through because the dust was causing some major medical problems (asthma attacks).  It took a good hour or so to just exit the park, but we were all really happy to be able to get home sooner after a long day (I still got home after 9pm). 

Here is a photo of kids in our ward (and stake) sitting on the hill during the afternoon run-through:

 

This is an awesome photo that my friend took during the rehearsal.  That is A LOT of people (12,000!) on one field!   

 Watching the run-through was really awesome and it was great (especially for the youth) to see how everything came together for the show.  I think the kids were impressed with how good the various numbers looked, at we assured them that their number looked that good as well! 

 

There had been absolutely no rain for about two months in the valley (thus the horrible dry grass and dust).  The morning of the celebration we woke to rain!  It rained quite a bit and then died down just as people started to arrive at Discovery Park.  I was thankful for the rain, because it would solve the dust issue.  I just *knew* that it wouldn't rain during the show and thought that the prophet would command the rain to stop if he had to :).  I was slightly concerned though when our ward all gathered at the church and our Bishop gave the prayer and asked that we would have "what we need and no more." 

The awesome youth of the McQueen 2nd Ward!

 We walked through a couple of songs before starting the (recorded) dress rehearsal around 3:30.  There were dark clouds and storms all around us, but the park remained dry!  It really did seem like a miracle!  You can see the dark clouds here:

 

The clouds parted and the sun came out and we thought we were in the clear for sure! 


Here are the women leaders from our ward (with an awesome photo bomb from my friend Rachel --a dance director from another ward in our stake).  You can see just how close we were sitting to the platform where the prophet sat! 

There were some very light sprinkles a few times during the dress rehearsal (it was actually great because it helped keep us cool).  The dress rehearsal went great and we finished and broke into our stake camps and had dinner.  After dinner I waited in line for 40 minutes at the porta-potties (insane!).  Just as we were coming out it started raining.  I joked with some of the kids that it was just raining to test our faith, but it would stop.  Nope.  The rain kept getting heavier and by the time we made our way into our positions to start the show everyone was drenched!  When President Monson came onto the covered platform it stopped raining.  We were so excited and got emotional--the young men's president gave me a high five (it totally makes me laugh thinking back).  It was just a teaser though, and the rain came down hard for the remainder of the evening.  It certainly wasn't the miracle I was expecting, but I realize now how much better the experience was because of the rain.   It was really a lesson and reminder that there are going to be trials in life and things may not go as expected, but it can't (and won't) stop us from moving forward with faith.  I was really impressed with the youth and their determination and great attitudes.  The show just went right on, rain and all.  Sure, the show wasn't as polished and smooth as it would have been sans rain, (says the "Martha" in me), but it served the greater purpose of strengthening testimonies and allowing the youth to worship and show gratitude to The Lord! 

 

 

This next photo is the best photo I have seen from the show!  My favorite part was when "Captain Moroni" rode out on his horse (each of the youth made their own Title of Liberty).  This was one of the first big numbers in the show and you can see how muddy the field already was and how hard the rain was coming down!

Exiting the park was crazy!  I was walking though mud and water ankle deep at times.  Here is a photo of park as we were leaving:

There were a lot of cool things written about the celebration and various photos and videos posted.  I really liked this aerial shot of the temple from the Church News:

 

Sunday morning, Rob was able to sing in the (20 person) choir in the Celestial Room during the dedication.  I was able to attend the dress rehearsal for that on Friday evening at it was incredible!  I could have gotten a ticket to be in the temple for the dedication, but really wanted Burke and Hewitt to watch Rob, so I opted to take them to the first session at our stake center.  The whole weekend was incredible and left me feeling grateful, humbled, and refocused on what matters most. 

Here is a really great news clip about the weekend that I highly recommend: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KmSZrvCv8&sns=em

february 2014

We packed a lot into the short month of February. I was able to volunteer as an usher at the Gilbert Temple Open House one day.  I had the best post--right at the entrance of the Celestial Room. The big chandelier in the room is spectacular and it was fun to see the reaction as visitors saw the room--everything from loud gasps to tears.  My shift was three and a half hours long and my face hurt so bad from smiling the whole time :), not to mention my back from standing still in the same spot. 

 

We were able to attend the open house as a family as well.  Rob invited two women he works with to go with us (one brought her husband and the other brought her boyfriend).  One of the couples is Christian, and the other is from India and not very religious (they joked that they are probably the only Indians we will meet that are not vegetarians).  I had a great time talking to the couple from India and explaining some basic Christian beliefs as well as other specific LDS doctrines.  

 

Our kids were a bit tired waiting in line to enter (past Liv's usual bedtime), but they were great inside the temple and it was a wonderful evening.   

 

Tosh and Hewitt being more entertaining than reverent here...

Shriram, Shruthi, (us), and Angela

 

The Gilbert Temple is beautiful!  We feel so grateful to have it here!

 

Liv loves it when I wrap her hair up in a towel like I do with my hair after a shower:

 

 

My family has a monthly chat on "google hangouts" and I snuck some photos of my dad on our call just after he and Helen returned home from their mission.  I think it's a great photo of him laughing at something someone said:

 

This is a great one of Todd and Tracey too-- and you can also see everyone else at the bottom of the screen:

 

Liv and I were anxious to see Grandpa and Grandma Helen, and flew to Utah to visit over President's weekend.  We woke up very early on Valentine's Day to catch our flight:

Helen introduced Liv to "Build a Bear" and she thought that was the coolest thing ever!  She picked out a cute little dog to make and named her "Bella."

 

We also went next door to the Disney store.  I thought Liv's eyes might pop out of her head! 

Helen also let Liv pick out her first nightgown!  What a treat!  Liv put it on right after we got home and wore it all day (and night). 

On Sunday, we had a big family dinner at Melanie and Kevin's home.  Everything was delicious!  Melanie let Liv frost the 'stain glass' Valentine cookies:

My dear Aunt Pat and cousin Jackie and me:

It was great to spend time with three of my beautiful adult nieces!  I love them all so much and was thrilled to learn that I am going to be a GREAT AUNT (first week of Sept).  Congrats to Mel and Kevin!

On Monday (President's Day) we were able to see some more cousins!  Aunt Sue was kind enough to help the kids make cookies at her house:

Cute cousins playing with the snow!  Liv's preschool teacher asked her to bring back some snow and she put some in a Ziplock to bring back (we sent her this photo my SIL took instead):

I had a nice time going through some of my Dad's things.  I found some great photos (many of which I had never seen before).   Here are some nice photographs of my grandparents, Jack and Helen Dunning:

 

Some adorable ones of my dad from his childhood:

I had never seen this next one before--I think it's my favorite:

 

 

Liv and I had a very nice time in Utah.  Flying in and out of the Provo airport seemed pretty slick.  Getting through security was a breeze. We boarded and Liv worked in a workbook as we taxied out to the runway...

...only to return to the gate, deplane, and be told to wait in the tiny airport (no food, one bathroom stall) for the next 3 1/2 hours for a mechanic to drive to Provo from SLC to check the plane.  Safety first, of course!  I was thankful to be with a four-year-old and not an infant.  My heart went out to the new mom with tears streaming down her face when we first got off the plane.  Liv stayed busy with a memory game (was so thankful we had that!) and she met a little boy (Omar) that let her share his alphabet floor puzzle.  A kind woman sitting next to us in the airport got a Sprite for Liv, which means we spent most of the time waiting in the bathroom line!  :)

We were very happy to get home and back to our boys! 

This is a random shot, but Rob took the kids to our next door neighbor's garage sale and they came back with all sorts of 'treasures' including these plastic cactus margarita glasses.  Ha!