Scrummy and Squidgy

I literally gasped out loud when I saw Jaffa Cakes on the shelf of a little salvage store I visit periodically.

These were a favorite treat during my Scotland days - sponge cake with a layer of orange jelly and topped with chocolate. Oh. Yum. Turns out, Soren loves them as much as I do! :) They sure didn't last very long.

The words on the box made me smile:

Scrummy and squidgy? That must be British for delish! :)

I just can't figure out why I only bought one box...

Transfers

We love the missionaries! It's always hard to say goodbye when they get transferred to a new area, but it seemed especially so this time around. We've gotten pretty attached and we lost three of the four all at once. We had them over on Sunday evening for a little Seek tournament (think scripture trivia) and snacks. We had a great time and it was sad to see them go.

Here is my attempt at pictures before they left...

The three on the right were transferred today.

Nice tonsils there, Sadie.

Okay. I give up.

Two Peas In a Pod

Two weeks ago we started getting the kids up at 5:30am so we can have Family Prayer and Scripture Study before Sam and Savannah leave for Seminary. We had been doing it right after they got home around 7:00, but it was making for some stressful mornings trying to get Sadie out the door by 7:15 and Sam shortly after that.

I'm still holding out hope that the kids will willingly go to bed earlier as a result. I'd love to see them get up the first time we ask and come to the living room ready to read. So far, we have one who makes it to the couch, but then sleeps through scriptures most days and another who sometimes doesn't even show up. Obviously we have plenty of room for improvement, but overall I think it's better. A few of us are learning to Seize the Day and make the best of the extra time each morning. But sometimes, when scriptures are through, the chill in the air and the darkness outside make it much more inviting to snuggle and sleep.

That's okay. There's time.

Snow Fun

We didn't get much snow yesterday, but the boys put what we had to good use. They are pretty happy with their snow fort!

Sterling's working hard to scrape out the inside.

The welcome mat is a nice addition, don't you think?

Sadie thought it was a good place for her teddy. :) 

It's a lot bigger inside than it looks!

Sterling helped Sadie write her name in the snow.

Fun stuff!

Not pictured: Spencer and Sam who did most of the initial work on the fort.

Perfect Timing

Is it just me or does February feel like the longest month of the year to you, too?

Because we've been feeling bogged down and overwhelmed, we were thrilled to learn that today would be a SNOW DAY! Hooray!!! We haven't had a day off of school in over a month (no President's Day off this year...) so an unexpected day at home is the perfect fix for our winter blues.

We only got a couple inches of snow, but 9 times out of 10 it's ice that shuts things down around here. With freezing rain and sleet in the forecast, we are so thankful to be safe and warm with nowhere to go. It's a great start to a much needed long weekend. Yay!

Missing Grandma

I've been thinking a lot about my Grandma Peterson lately. Just little things here and there will remind me of her and make me realize how much I miss her. She passed away in August 2008. I used to type up a little newsletter of sorts every week or two or three and e-mail it out to family. I always printed a copy and sent it to my grandma through the mail (I lived in Ohio or Illinois and she was in Utah). She loved those letters and kept every one of them. After she died and they were going through her things, they found a large shoebox stuffed full of all the letters I'd sent her over the years. It made me happy to know that hearing about my little family made her happy.

Miss you, Grandma!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jeff and I celebrated our own Valentine's Day on Monday with some yummy Thai food. February 11 is the day we got engaged 18 years ago! :) 

For the kids' more traditional celebration, I gave them some coupons this morning for things like lunch with mom, a week off their daily job, a DQ Blizzard, etc. Savannah spent the morning listening to her self-proclaimed-theme-song for the day, Hunter Hayes' Everybody's Got Somebody But Me. Ha! 

The youngest three were happy to head off to school, looking forward to their Valentine's parties this afternoon. They helped make these cell phones to give out to their classmates: 

It's shaping up to be a great day!

Good For a Smile

Savannah is the only one on Facebook around here. Sometimes she looks at Clean Funny Pics and we all end up gathered around, laughing, as she goes through the latest pictures. I realized the other day that I could see the pictures even when Savannah wasn't logged in. Here are a few I came across that made me smile:

Too true!

Mmmm! Yummy bacon. :)

Especially appreciated by Sam, our resident scientist.

I don't know why this one cracks me up, but it does every time.

I've always wondered what they keep under those hats...

A Happy Ending

Our Scouting council's annual Pinewood Derby was on Saturday so Jeff and Soren spent a couple hours Friday evening cutting, sanding, and painting his car. Even with the last minute prep, Soren was happy with how his car turned out - cut by dad according to Soren's own design, and skillfully painted all three of his favorite colors by his nine-year old self.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the mall for the event. After a couple of hiccups with the weight and wheels, Soren's car was entered in the race. Once they sorted out some problems with the track sensors, the race for the Bear Cubs was ready to begin. Instead of racing in different heats and advancing through the various rounds, it's all done by time. Each car races on each track and the time is recorded by computer. With 12 cars in Soren's group, there were 12 rounds. When all the rounds were through, the times were averaged and the winners were announced.

Soren was surprised and thrilled when they announced his name as the 3rd place winner. His best friend from his pack won 2nd. It turns out, their average speeds - right around 183 mph - were within 1/10 of a mile apart. It was a great finish.

Soren was pretty happy to be the first of our boys to win a Pinewood Derby trophy. Way to go, Buddy!

Ironic

For the record, the following situation didn't make me happy. But it's pretty funny so I thought I should share. :)

Yesterday morning, I rode to St. Louis with some girlfriends so we could attend the temple. After our session and a quick trip into the distribution center to get a few things, we started on the 2 1/2 hour drive home.

We were on the freeway and making our way through traffic when I looked down to find a place for the free youth pamphlets I'd picked up for my kids. Imagine my surprise and horror as I opened my hand to find a CTR ring that I didn't pay for!

In case you didn't know, CTR stands for Choose The Right. And, in case you didn't know, it is required that one be honest in all their dealings in order to attend the temple. I know. The irony.

Here's what happened:

I saw the $1.00 CTR rings on the shelf right when I walked in the distribution center. Sterling wears his CTR ring everyday until it literally wears out and breaks off his finger. He's already worn through the finish on his second or third ring so I thought having another on hand would be a good idea. I picked one up and had it safely stored in the palm of my hand as I continued to look around and talk to my girlfriends. I picked up the free pamphlets I mentioned before and waited in line for them to be scanned. By this time, that forgotten CTR ring could have been a wadded up tissue or a gum wrapper. I never thought about it as the checker scanned in my pamphlets. I waited for my friends to finish their purchases then we walked to the car and were on our way.

Once I realized what I'd done, I immediately called the distribution center to explain. When I asked if I could pay for it with a credit card over the phone, I was told to take care of it the next time I come down.

Believe me, I will.

The Way It Is

I laughed when I saw this. It just seems to be the way it is. :)