Happy Birthday MissL

Isn't she fantastic.  I love her face!  In the past birthdays have gotten bigger and bigger, quite by accident.  Sometimes the kids have gotten a bike plus other smaller gifts.  This year (probably since I'm still in "pioneer" mode) I wanted it to be a lot smaller and more homemade.  We stuck to a $20 budget.   So for MissL's 6th birthday, really the only thing she asked for was a friend party and a lollipop.  We did buy her a doll and a couple of activity books.  But I wanted to make her an apron.  Seems really dumb for a 6 year old I imagine, but I have been really proud of her recently.  She has taken on the roll of Mommy's helper for laundry, cleaning and baking.  Previously she had been really awful at helping out and cleaning her room or picking up.  But once she decided to, she has turned into my biggest help.  She actually sees what needs to be done and does it!  This is a big thing for a 6 year old.  Hey, let's face it.....it's a big thing for adults.  Anyhow, her favorite part of her birthday was the lollipop, can you tell?  Does she seem disappointed? We will have a friend party for her tomorrow.  Of course, it's "pioneer" mode too.  We told the friends to NOT bring gifts.  I am so mean!  But, I am a stickler on STUFF.  Do not want a whole slew of new toys to have to whittle down and give away next month.  And, I don't want the draw of a friend party to be all the gifts.  If you want to have your friends over to help you celebrate, then that's great, but not because you want more presents.  Not to mention, when you have 4 kids who each get invited to 10 birthday parties a year, that's a lot of gifts to buy and can really put a strain on the budget.  I don't want my friends to have that added pressure.  We are going to go on a "journey" and hike Lagoon Trail.  More on that next time.

Sacrifice, Obedience and Grit.

On our trip recently we saw several pioneer sights.  I still cannot get them out of my head.  I am always amazed at the level of commitment displayed by these people.  They sacrificed their homes and businesses, all their earthly possessions to come to the valley.  And then!.....once they started making a go of it again, some were asked to do it again and settle in other areas.  I cannot even imagine coming from the beautiful, lush Eastern regions and being asked to settle St George.  Oh my!  That hot desert, with nothing.  No trees, no water.  What would you think?  But they did it.  And of course looking at their kitchens and laundry tools amaze me.  They worked so hard just for survival.  I felt all kinds of spoiled and guilty.  In my prayers, I spend a lot of time asking for help figuring out how best to spend my time.  I think I often waste time on things that don't matter.  If these pioneer women had the conveniences that I do, what would they be doing?  And maybe that is part of what makes it hard now.  Amos 6:1  "Wo to them that are at ease in Zion!"  Alma 37:46  "O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way."  We are at EASE.  Not that we don't have a heap of worries and struggles and sin surrounding us.  We do.  But probably because of the easiness of the way.  How do I live more like these people?  How do I teach my children to work harder, like they did.  Am I willing to sacrifice?  Am I that obedient?  When I got home I immersed myself in baking bread, doing laundry and ironing.  I did a financial audit to see where we could spend less.  (This sounded so easy, but turns out it's hard to cut out things that seem important or you are so used to having).  I gave Gman and MissC a couple of ironing lessons.  I'm sure these ideas are only superficial ways to mimic the lives of the pioneers.  I know there is more to it.  But, like I said, they're still in my head.

the pictures are mostly from Cove Fort, which was designed to provide nourishment and rest for travelers.  Sometimes 20-30 people lived worked or stayed here.  So hence the larger kitchen.  (they baked 10 loaves of bread a day!)  The quilt is on my list of next projects.  LOVE it.

Easter Festivities

Easter morning.  The Easter bunny found us and left a few prizes.

Hunting for eggs with cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Jim's.

An Easter drawing lesson with Grandma Joan

Annual Easter Photo

St George

For Spring Break we headed south for a little warmer weather and stayed with TY's brother for a few days.  We toured some historic pioneer sights (including Cove Fort, Jacob Hamblin's house, Brigham Young's winter home and the St George Tabernacle).  We hiked in Snow Canyon, went swimming, saw a movie, let the kids play at the park, wandered the Art Festival and had a great time.  It was nice to be away for a smidge, nice to have time off to spend with each other and nice to come home too.  Especially nice to come home to even warmer weather.