Dancing with Daffodils

Our trip is coming soon and we made a lot of progress on our Disney movies, but we still have nine to go. I don't know that we are going to finish because it is tough with school schedules to all be together, but hopefully we'll make it. 27. Toy Story--a big hit in our family. It really is so clever and creative. So much of what Disney had done up to this point was to re-tell a classic story but Toy Story is so unique and the story and characters are incredibly original. I still find Sid a bit creepy but we all loved it and can't wait to ride Toy Story Mania! 28. Hunchback of Notre Dame--This was a tougher movie to watch with the kids and I knew it would be because it is not a kids movie. It is so adult in theme and I was a bit nervous to watch it with them. However, they ended up liking it more than I thought they would. I did skip the hell-fire song but the other music is so good and we did talk about the importance of being kind to others. This movie is well done but...

So, I wrote this story out a week ago and went to go post it, had some internet issues and suddenly it was gone. I was very sad and have had a hard time writing it again because once I write something, the story is out of my head and it is hard to recreate. But here is my attempt, although it is not as good as the original. Three weeks ago in church we had a strange and unique experience. It was fast and testimony meeting, which means the meeting is open to any member of the congregation who would like to get up and share a short and heartfelt testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. Sometimes people get up and ramble on about trips or life experiences and what they've shared doesn't much resemble a testimony, but that doesn't really happen in our ward. Our ward is amazing and I love them so much and always feel strengthened after a testimony meeting. So it was quiet for just a moment before people started going up to share and all of a sudden this woman in the back lo...

Summer is over and I have been really sad about it. I love so much about summer and while I enjoy fall too, it is hard for me to give up all of the relaxed family time that summer affords us. I have been dreading my daughter's first day of middle school for at least a year, maybe longer. It means getting up super early (which I seriously dislike doing) and I was worried about the bad language, the fights, the innocence lost, mean girls, etc. Last year our schedule was pretty simple with all three kids at the same school. This year I have three kids in three different schools and I suppose I was pretty stressed about being able to keep up and feel like a good mom, despite being stretched in so many directions. The first day of school was long and exhausting and I'm not even the one who had to go! But I got up at 6am with one kid, 7am with another and then 8am with the last one. Then I had one very lonely and sad kid left home with me. It was physically and emotionally exhausti...

I am a big chicken and really don't like to do things where I could get hurt. I don't mind heights as long as I feel secure but a lot of activities that seem thrilling to other people only seem crazy to me. The one exception for me has been parasailing. I have wanted to do it for a long time because it was the perfect  thrill to safety ratio for me. I love the water and the idea of flying up behind a boat sounded exciting and fun. When Josh and I went to Bermuda on a cruise four years ago, he had planned to take me for my birthday and I was very excited about it. I should mention I am also terrified of sharks, even though I absolutely love the ocean, but around Bermuda there are very few sharks because of all the coral so parasailing around the beautiful island with pink sand and no sharks sounded amazing. Unfortunately, there was terrible weather while we were there, thanks to some hurricane, and I didn't get to go. For my birthday this year, Josh tried again and my pr...

I know I've said this before but I really love the beach. I especially love it when the ocean is warm, has lots of waves and the sand is soft. My family went to Pine Knoll Shores, NC last week and it was an amazing week. It was the first time my family has ever gone on vacation by ourselves for a whole week. We've done weekends but any other vacation we've taken has included extended family or friends. I was a bit nervous about having to do all of the work myself and that it might be a bit lonely but we really had a great week. Pretty much every day we would sleep in, have breakfast then head to the beach for 6+ hours before heading back and taking showers, making dinner and watching a Disney movie. It was seriously perfect. One morning we did some shopping at the surf shops, walked around the cute little town of Beaufort where we got fudge and had a seafood lunch and then we headed to the beach for the afternoon/evening. Another morning we did parasailing and another m...

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Rochester, New York. It is a wonderfully middle-sized city with four seasons, a gorgeous lilac festival every May, the best custard, fun beaches along Lake Ontario and many sites special to my church. It has a great highway system, access to lots of culture without the traffic and congestion of a bigger city, and you are close to Niagara Falls, Toronto and the Finger Lakes. I loved growing up there and I still love to go back to visit, preferably in the summer because living in the middle of the country has turned me off a bit to the extreme cold of the north. I just got back from 10 days visiting Rochester and more importantly, my family. We got to spend time with my in-laws, my parents, my sister and her family and then two of my other sisters came to visit too so at one point four of the five of us were together. My kids got to see 10 of their 15 cousins and it was wonderful. My kids are the youngest of all the cousins so they have lots of ...