Managing technology

Red indicates areas with 3G coverage

My sister gave us (mostly J) a subscription to W*red magazine.

Usually I just move it from the magazine rack to the recycling bin, but today I popped it open for a quick read and came across a lovely article called "The end of unplugging."

In it the author argues that on such a connected planet we are literally running out of land mass where we can get away from technology. The network truly spans the globe.

I wage a constant battle against technology taking over my life. With blogs, pintrest, FB, IG, banking, email, bills, etc., etc., etc,  being so accessible online I could literally spend all of my waking hours in front of a screen.

And I kind of hate that.

I believe in technology. I know that it has its place and that in so many ways our lives are better and easier by being so connected. I also know that people are able to learn more about the church through technology than ever before.

However, I often find myself reaching for my phone/kindle/mouse whenever I have an extra minute to see what's going on in the world.

The author of the article, Mat H*nan, states, "The phone isn't the problem. The problem is us- our inability to step away from email and games and inessential data, our inability to look up, be it in an alpine lake or at family members. We won't be able to get away from it all for very much longer. So it's vitally important that each of us learns how to live with a persistent connection, everywhere we go, whether it's in the wilderness or at a dinner party."

I love his thought. The solution is not starving ourselves from technological devices. They are a part of our world and are not going anywhere. The solution is taking control of what, how, when, where, and why we use them and being accountable for the time we spend, and the content we consume, living our lives in front of a screen.  

My buddy and me

Our big girls have officially been in school for a month.

August flew by!

Ellie has full day kindergarten so that means Ada and I spend all day together.



It has been an adjustment for both of us. She is so used to having a playmate that the hours sometimes seem to stretch on. I'm used to having her entertained by her sisters and have had to up my game a bit.

We're both getting excited for the arrival of our new little guy, but until then are making the most of our time together.

30 weeks

Ada is a great little shopper and enjoys being my errand helper. We've spent at least one afternoon each week at school helping out the teachers and she's learning the ins and outs of the school copier. We've had some fun playdates with her little friends, and outing to the Children's museum and Gymnastics center, and even water aerobics in our pool. 

 







I'm grateful for this little butty of mine and for her engaging personality. We converse a lot during the day and I've gained a new view into her developing mind. She is very willing to help me with chores and projects, but has been patient as I've napped on the couch a time or two.

I love my little Ada and am grateful that she's still around to keep me company. It would definitely be lonely without her.

Bettas

The week before school got out we made our entrance into the world of pets.

With betta fish.



Each girl picked out a bowl at goodwill and a fish at petsmart and we were good to go.

 

They are boy fish and are named Speedy, Finny, and T-Rex.

 

They were excited to put the pebbles in the bowl and pour each fish into its new home.

 

Bettas live for 2 years, eat 3 times a week, and need their bowl cleaned every other week.

 

J has been the wonderful fish bowl cleaner, and only had the mishap of sending one fishie down the disposal.

I ran screaming from the room. For real.

With some desperate pleading from Lauren, he was able to fish out the fish and it seems to be surviving just fine.



We'll see how this whole escapade goes, but for now fish have been fine pets for this household.

First and last

How does the school year go so fast! It feels like yesterday Lauren started first grade, and now she's done. She had a wonderful year with a fabulous teacher and sweet friends.

 First day of first grade

 Last day of first grade

Her teacher placed heavy emphasis on reading, and Lauren read like a champ through the whole year. (I'm pretty sure she's read every Junie B. Jones book three times) Her class had a wonderful celebration party for their success in reading. Every kid earned a book worm circle per book they read, and over the course of the year the class earned 3, 139 bookworms, enough to go around the classroom a time and a half. I'm grateful that I could go in each week to volunteer and help with this great program.

Grandmas

In March J's sweet Grandma Clyde passed away at the age of 94. She was his last living grandparent and has been a rock for her family. We were so sad to hear of her passing, but grateful for the chance we had to spend time with her and for our kids to know and love her in the last many years.





J's parents helped everyone make the trek to Utah for her funeral and we were so glad to be there to celebrate her life. Her funeral service was wonderful and such an inspiring tribute to a wise, generous, hard working, faithful, and determined woman. All of J's 7 siblings were able to attend, as well as most of the in-laws and cousins and we enjoyed spending time with our extended family members.








 

I am so grateful for the things I have learned from Grandma Clyde over the last 9 years of knowing her and for the wonderful traits she instilled in my mother-in-law that she has, in turn, instilled in her children. I know that J is grateful to be one of her posterity and proud of his Clyde heritage.


Also in March, my sweet Grandma Mary closed an almost 20 year chapter of her snowbird life and sold her trailer for a permanent move back to Utah. She has been wintering here since the 1990's and it has been wonderful to have her live close ever since we came to the area.



I am grateful for the meals that she fed me, for the times we could go to lunch together, for the fun games we played, for the times we went to the temple together, and for the time we spent talking. I am so grateful to know that she cares about me and my family and for the love that she always showed my shy children. 







We were able to visit her many times in her trailer and enjoyed having her visit us at home too. It was also fun to see my extended family members who would come to visit her during the winter months. We will miss having her spend the winter here but are grateful that she is happily settled and at home.

a BIG bear

Costco sells GIGANTIC stuffed animal bears.

6 months ago we were shopping and Ellie and Lauren noticed the big bear and begged me to get them one.

I thought definitely no way, but told them that they could get it IF they saved up enough money for it. It cost $30 dollars and I thought there was no way they'd be able to save enough/ stay interested that long.

That was 6 months ago.

Since then these little girls have been stockpiling cash. From Lauren's lost teeth. From helping with deep cleaning. From Ellie scoring her first soccer goal. From dollars sent from Grandparents. From Ada's birthday cards.  From coins they collected around the house.

First they each paid a dollar for tithing.

Then last week we went to Costco with $30 dollars (mostly in 1's) to buy the GIANT stuffed bear.




It was adorable.



The bear literally filled the cart.

The cashier rang them up and they counted out their bills to her.

(Since I'd told them the bear was $30 and forgot to account for tax we spotted them $3.88 for that)

The receipt guy at the door marked their receipt with an extra big smiley face.



And we brought this big "girl" home. They've named her Rebekah (and Gerald, and Beary, among other things) and love to lay, sleep, crawl, and lounge on her. She takes up a huge corner of the room, but it's like she was meant to be there.



I'm so proud of them for setting a goal, working together, staying focused, paying the Lord first, and finally getting what they'd worked for.



Hopefully it was a life lesson they'll repeat again and again. 

This and that

At the end of May I snuck in a weekend trip to Utah to train for Let's Play Music. I loved being home with my parents. 

J has watched the girls for my two night excursion to Utah and for 3 nights and 4 days while I went to girls camp. He definitely won them over. He was master of the schedule, hairdos, cooking, bathing, sleeping, etc. and kept them more than happy until I got home.

I am excited to participate in this cultural exchange with kids from England, Canada, and Australia. I love getting and sending mail. We should do one with our cousins.....

Summer is awesome. Lauren's been in a Spalding phonics class and Ellie had 5 sessions of summer preschool but it all ends tomorrow.  I love having my kids to myself. 

We are trying to have a different activity each day. Arts & crafts, science, field trip, baking, gardening, play dates, and fun. Thanks to Sis. Gee and Family Fun magazine I have a binder of awesome activities to do. We may not have enough summer to do them in. 

We must start deep cleaning next week. Sigh. 

Having a pool is awesome this time of year and we swim almost every day. We're also hosting a ward swim every week for moms and kids and plan to make the most of that big tub of water. 

We have a new nephew! My sister had a sweet baby boy and I have no tips for her in that area. Welcome to the family little guy. 

 

Planning to home make some Mitt 2012 shirts using the freezer paper method. We did it for our camp shirts and they turned out great. 

Girls camp was the bomb and it was so fun to hang out, talk, and play with our amazing ward young women and leaders. I loved it.

 

The Phoenix temple site is open for tours. We went for mutual one night and plan to go back for FHE this summer. Anyone interested? 

 

My garden is dead. I canned 6 pints of spaghetti sauce from it and have loved getting a fresh tomato any time I wanted so it lived a pretty productive life. RIP my best garden ever. 

 

We can't get our kids to bed before 9pm and they are sleeping in until 9am. We are lazy night owls.

I have slanted down eyes and when I cry my tears run down the sides of my face and onto my neck. 

Our crib gate broke so this stinker sleeps in an open crib now. You can see how well that's going.

Adios, amigos!

Scholastic PDF workbooks

My friend JoLyn just posted about how scholastic is offering their Ready-To-Go Digital Resources for just $1.00. I jumped right on and ordered 10 workbooks for the summer. They have some awesome stuff on there for every age group (PreK-8th grade) and the sale ends May 31st. Click and check it out today!

I can't believe

kindergarten went by so fast!

From the first day of school,


to the last day of school, this girl learned, grew, and came out smiling.

 

I understand what it means when people stop me in the store and say "It goes by so fast." 

Because it really does.