Tough Mudder and More May

May 19 we left at 6am for Rochester. Ezra, Justus, David Cheney, David Cenchina all left for the Tough Mudder race in WI. 12 miles with tons of obstacles - crawling through mud, rings, rope, climbs, electric shock, more mud, ice bath...crazy! They had a blast!

Lizz and I and the kids had fun just playing. Saffi and Annabelle helped make lunch and set it up restaurant-style. We all had to order our food selection and pay for it with play money. After dinner we had a talent show. Cartwheels, batting a nerf ball, somersaults, etc. Wonderful, full day.


The men came home muddy, scraped and bruised, and full of stories.

May 26, 2012 This afternoon Jonah played "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Blues & BBQ festival. He was supposed to be the first of the Music 4 Life group to perform, but they couldn't get enough sound out of his classical guitar through the microphone. So they had to give up and move on. A guy gave Jonah (off stage) an electric guitar to try. So after the group was done, they let Jonah back on stage, announced his name, and he performed with a blue shiny electric guitar! He did well! Jonah keeps a straight, serious face when he plays. But I know he was thrilled. So cool! We spent time at the bouncy houses and petting area after that.

May 31, 2012 Last day of school! Ezra and Jonah drove to Des Moines to meet Ezra's family at the hospital. Early this week Susan and Arne's truck tire blew out, the truck rolled 4 or 5 times. Arne had scrapes and bruises, but Susan broke a few ribs and fractured a cervical vertebrae. She will have surgery tomorrow. They gave her a blessing. She has a lot of medicine in her and she acts loopy because of that. Ezra said the drive to DM and back with Jonah was delightful. They talked about compasses, magnetic force, miles per hour, and more. Jonah enjoyed visiting with Arne, Justus and Emmeline in the hospital.

Olivia's Ballet Recital

The theme was "It's A Circus!" Olivia's class was dressed as pony riders. The recital was short and sweet. They performed at the Coralville Performing Arts Center. Olivia did a great job! She is so stinkin' cute!

Grace soccer

 Grace had a lot of fun playing soccer this spring. She is very good at chasing down that ball, and not afraid to steal it from others. She was definitely an asset to her team.

 This is what we look like during soccer games. We bring camping chairs and just hang out. There is a park nearby that the kids go to sometimes. Finn always stays with me, though. Finn loves to wear his hat :)
Finn throws tantrums when the soccer players get snacks/treats and he doesn't. Grace was kind enough to share her treat with him to make him happy.

Grace is the one kicking, with the red shirt and white shin guards.

Way to go, Grace!

One day Grace's soccer game was cancelled because the field was too muddy. We we played soccer in our yard instead, just Grace and Mom. Grace won 25 to 5.

Grace's tooth was hanging on by a thread. It has been hard for her to eat the past week. She said, "I am just ready for this tooth to come out!" So she came to me. I yanked on it and it came right out! No pain, just a little blood.

A Sunday in May

Sunday, May 6, 2012

I taught the Valiant 10-11 kids, then taught Relief Society "I feel my Savior's Love When I Repent." I felt guided through the lesson choice and preparation. The lesson went smoothly.

Back at home, while the little kids and I napped, Annabelle and Jonah made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies all by themselves! When I woke up my job was to scrape the cookies off the pan. They weren't burnt, but a little overdone and left to rest too long. Very hard to get off. It came of in crumbs, so we scooped up the crumbs into bowls and poured milk on top. Yum!

Annabelle and Jonah also did the dishes while I was napping. And started the dishwasher, and wrote in their journals before turning to the computer for quiet church games. What great kids!

During scriptures tonight we read about Oliver Cowdery on how to receive help from the Holy Ghost and answers to prayer. Annabelle said she had received an answer to prayer recently. She has been praying/fasting on and off to know if the church is true. Just recently she was talking about church things in primary class. As she was talking, she felt really good inside and thought, "Oh, I really do know this is true! Now I know the church is true!"

Jonah said while he was saying a prayer this morning to start his fast, he felt really good inside. He knew it was the Holy Ghost telling him that he was doing a good thing.

After these tow wonderful comments, I had to run outside to grab Finn who had wandered outside and had started eating cookie crumbs off the sidewalk. The cookie crumbs had been left for the ants in the anthill to eat.