2016 :: week 8

February 14

Anthony hosted a Bishop's Youth Discussion at our home for the first time. They talked about member missionary work based on the principles in the book The Power of Everyday Missionaries. It went well and he will probably host more in the future. For the past few years our ward has held the BYDs during the third hour at church, so having it at our home was a bit of a change.

February 15

With Nana in town and gorgeous weather we had to visit the KC Zoo. Because of President's Day, Anthony was able to come too. We visited most of the zoo and saw a lot of cool animals. We weren't sure what to expect because even though it was an unseasonably warm day for Kansas, it was still pretty cool for Australian and African animals. Favorites animal sightings from this trip: a roaring tiger, elephants, kangaroos, monkeys, crocodiles, painted dogs, a gorilla and a rhino and of course, the hippos.

February 16

Will and the Throssell twins dug holes in our backyard while Stephanie and I visited Tuesday afternoon. Will loved to dig holes and hunt for worms last year and it seems that love has not ended.

February 17

Peas are my least favorite vegetable, but I don't want to pass my biases on to my children. However, I couldn't help but feel a slight amount of satisfaction when Elliott wasn't terribly impressed with them. He ate the whole container though.

February 18

We fit a lot of things in on Thursday--Elliott's 6 month checkup, a half day friends playdate, a grocery trip, a car wash and the monthly relief society meeting. The big kids were extremely cooperative, which was nice because Anthony was in Texas for 3 days this week. It was a gorgeous day, with the highs reaching the low 70s.

February 19

My long-time friend Carrie and two of her kids came over for lunch Friday and I made this salad. I am currently obsessed with it and have made it 3 times in the past week. It's always fun to visit with Carrie and it is nice that four of our kids match up in age. Will and Josh get along especially well, but it seems like most kindergarten boys (and lots of girls) like to search for worms, play angry birds and fight with light sabers.

February 20

During the day on Saturday I went on a date with Will and a date with Lauren. That night we ventured to the park as a family. Elliott enjoyed swinging and Lauren was very gentle with her pushes. I love the sound of his laugh. It is impossible for me to have any sort of bad feelings when he is laughing. We had a great time at the park swinging, crossing the monkey bars and taking turns on the zip-line. Even mom and dad got in on the zip-line fun.