Sydney Trip

During the school holidays I went to Sydney with Mum, Kathy and Eila for the Time Out For Women event. Dad had bought me the tickets for it for my birthday. We arrived on the Thursday about lunchtime and had an adventure trying to find the apartment we were staying in. We had to catch 3 trains with all our luggage. Probably not the best move as we had to carry it all up and down stairs. Eventually we got to our last stop and started walking to our hotel. We ended up walking the wrong way and had to stop on the side of a freeway. It was pouring with rain and I ended up calling the hotel to have someone pick us up. It turned out the hotel was only a 1 min walk in the other direction from the train. We were so soaked and tired by the time we got to the hotel. I think the laughs started from there and didn't end until we left to go home. I was glad that we were with such lovely people who enjoyed a laugh as much as me and mum did. We did a bit of shopping on the Thursday and had booked to go on a harbour cruise that night. Well because of the rain we couldn't get a taxi and almost missed the boat. I wasn't feeling that great and couldn't really eat much of my dinner but still enjoyed myself. Friday was another day of shopping and eating. We met Rachel after lunch and saw some sights of the city. By the end of the afternoon I think mum and eila were about ready to crash after so much walking and we eventually found the marriott where we had a nice dinner and lots more laughs! Saturday was the event we were all waiting for. Almost 2000 women gathered together at the Olympic Park for the TOFW. There was so much excitement in the air and I think we all knew we were in for such a wonderful day. It didn't disappoint. The day went by so quickly before we knew it, it was over. I was really touched by the music by Hillary Weeks and look forward to listening to some more of her music. All of the speakers touched me in some way or another. It was like they were feeding my spirit with all the things I needed to hear. I am ready to make some changes to make the next 6 months of this year better. 2 Quotes in particular that stood out to me was 'Don't be the one thing standing in your way" and "Take time to stand still and hold your children a little longer" They are only children for such a short time and then they will be adults for the rest of eternity. I came out of the conference feeling like I was doing a good job but there are still lots of improvements I could make in my life and the life of my family. I felt really uplifted. Normally when I hear about what I should be doing and so forth I get down about the type of person I am but during this experience I felt like I was doing ok and I felt like I have the strength to be a better person without getting the negative feelings I usually get. It was great to share the experience with such close friends and family. Only wish more of my loved ones could have shared it with me. I hope I can continue to develop and grow into the wife, mother, daughter and friend that I am supposed to be.

Another busy week!

I have another busy week this week as life pushes us along. Alyssa has her first sub junior cali comp this weekend. It will pretty much take up all of sat and sun. She has worked really hard this year and I'm hoping the girls get rewarded for their efforts and have a placing. I think I will be really nervous for them but I know they have worked really hard. Can't wait to see all their completed costumes. I still haven't finished sewing but hoping to have that done by wednesday. I'm also getting a massage with Kathy this week and can't wait for that. Jeff and I went to the stake ball last friday with Kathy and Matt. We enjoyed ourselves even though we thought the ball could have been better. I am so grateful for Matt and Kathys friendship. I love spending time with them and look forward to creating lots more memories with them.

Maddie's first cali comp

Well last weekend Maddie had her first cali comp. Her group competed with 6 other teams and did really well. Some of the girls were so tiny and cute. Maddie did so well again and had no trouble remembering all the things she had to do. She even tried to get the girls off the stage after the march when they wouldn't' budge. It was so cute. She is really looking forward to being with Miss Kristen soon. Hopefully she continues to enjoy her dancing. She is also starting swimming lessons this week which should be exciting for her. I think she will do great as she just loves the water and was swimming with floaties last year by herself. She is starting with Kaleb and I'm looking forward to watching them both learn to swim.

New worries

I have been most worried about Jake the last couple of months. He has started blinking his eyes a lot and sniffing constantly. First I took him to the eye doctor but his vision is fine. The optometrist suggested eye drops for dry eye. That didn't really work so I then put him on allergy meds but that did nothing as well. Next I took him to the docs and he put him on nasal spray and eye drops. That was 2 weeks ago and there has been no improvement. Back to the docs this week to see that the next step will be. Jeff looked up something called tourettes syndrome. Not sure if this is what Jake has but hopefully we can get some answers soon and Jake can get some relief.

Time for change

The other day I realized that Jeff had been in the Bishopbric for almost 3 years and I said it's about time for a change. Well there was a change. Jeff was released as 2nd cousellor and called as 1st counsellor. Not quite the change I was expecting but I think its a good thing. Hopefully we can all support him in his new role.

Sickness returns....it must be winter

What a horrible month for sickness. First off the flu hit maddie and me....then Jake, Alyssa and now Nate. It has been hanging around for about a month now and I haven't been able to go to church for 3 weeks. Very frustrating. The kids are on school holidays and haven't been able to do much at all because of all the sickness. It has been a long month. I am really looking forward to going to Sydney on Thursday. Hopefully I can stay well enough to enjoy my time away. Most of the time I feel like I have more patience when the kids are sick but when it drags on for so long I start losing it. Jeff gave Nate a blessing tonight so I'm hoping to wake up tomorrow with a healthy Nate.

Cali concert

June 25th was Maddie's first cali concert. I don't know who was more excited me or Maddie. She was so happy to be going on the stage. I just love how Maddie shows all her emotions and when she is excited about something she jumps up and down and has so much joy on her face. I just love it. Her big moment came and she did such a great job. She is by far the best in her group. She was up front and in the middle. She was the only one you could hear singing and knew all the moves perfectly. During the march she was telling the other girls what to do and at the end she was trying to push the girls off stage because they weren't moving. After all that Maddie just left the stage first and the others followed. It was the cutest thing:) Everyone was raving about her afterwards. Grandma Kay came up to us and was so excited to see how well maddie did and that Kristen will want her next year. Such a proud mum of both of my girls. I'm looking forward to the comps to see how much they have improved.

Alyssa turns 7

What a busy week it was when Alyssa turned 7. Her and Maddie had their first concert of the year on Alyssa's birthday so we decided to celebrate her birthday with a family dinner 2 nights before and then a trip to the ice arena the week after her birthday. She invited Jordyn, Leah and Bailey. Jake didn't want to go so it was just the 4 kids and Kathy and I. We had a lot of fun but it was sooo cold! A few spills here and there but Alyssa had a blast. Off to McDonalds for lunch after a couple of hours of skating. Seeing as we went during a school day there was hardly anyone there. It was really nice to have some one on one time with Alyssa that day. I'm really enjoying spending time with her as she gets older. She did such a great job at the concert. She works really hard to remember her routines. The other day at the end of practice her teacher said to her that she did an excellent job. Alyssa thought that was great! I hope she continues to enjoy dancing and performing. I love watching her!

Coldplay - Fix You [Lyrics]

Alexis Jordan - Happiness Lyrics