Mothers Day, FHE

I know its a little late in the week but with everyone being sick around here we kind of PROCRASTINATED this weeks lesson.. Kaj was in charge of tonight's FHE, and honestly I was so surprised at how well he got ALL of the kids involved (that is a harder than it sounds at this age). He really did a great job. We decided to make this weeks lesson all about "Mothers" and I was SERIOUSLY soo excited be able to just sit back and listen.. :) I can get used to this ;)

Opening Prayer: Ryker

Lesson: Dad talked about all the roles that a Mother plays. He read the kids a great story called, "Hats off to Mothers". It also talked about the many "hats" a mother wears.. The kids didn't know exactly what this meant at first but by then end of the story they got it:) Moms DO A LOT: Mom is a Nurse, a Chef, a Chauffeur, a Detective, a Gardner,a Maid ect.. The lesson really showed the kids how much work goes into EVERY SINGLE day when your a mom, but I also wanted to make sure the kids knew how much I personally love serving them. One of my favorite quotes is..
          
                                     
I love my Calling and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with my children everyday. Nothing is more important to me than taking care of the sweet little spirits Heavenly Father has in trusted me with.

here's our Mother story.

 

You can see just how excited Dad and Tui are to be giving the lesson :)

Dugi up to no good. He is def in his TERRIBLE 2's the last couple of weeks.. Please grow out of this phase FAST :)

Kynlie pretending it didn't hurt when Dugi bit her :) She can turn on the charm, she was totally bawling like 2 seconds before this..

Briyler's face CRACKS ME UP!!! He actually said "mom this story is boring me", I can tell dude..

How Kaj got EVERY SINGLE kid to sit down at the table to listen to his lesson is beyond me.. THIS NEVER HAPPENS FOR ME!!

 

After the lesson Kaj brought out a game board. We read different situations and then had to decide if that was helpful to mom or not so helpful and then you got to move your game piece accordingly:) The kids played a few rounds but then they were SOOOO ready for DESSERT!!!

Dessert- I wanted to be in charge of dessert because I wanted to incorporate a "small act of kindness" for other mothers that are working so hard .. :) I had the kids decorate a cookie for one of "their" favorite mom's in the neighborhood (and by neighborhood i mean our culdesac only:). The kids all decorated there cookies and then we were OFF to make some special deliveries!! :) We of course saved the best cookie for last, this was by far the most special cookie we decorated tonight and it was the only one that went to someone that wasn't on our street. Can you guess who it is for?......... YEP GRANDMA!!!! Ohh how we love our grandma and all that she does for us.. (Seriously she is one of the BEST MOMS around, and honestly I am soo lucky to have her. )
After our little act of kindness, I brought out our NEW SNOW CONE MAKER!!! The kids have never seen or had a snow cone so they were over the moon for this new dessert! (i know sad.. what can i say we don't get out much:).. Such a great purchase (minus the fact that I have to hand turn the wheel to shave the ice) but the look on the kids face was WELL worth the hard work :) ..

The kids were soo proud of there work, they couldn't wait to take them to their favorite neighborhood moms.

and this is the BELOVED EXTRA SPECIAL COOKIE!! this one was for grandma :O)

 

And LOOK what happened this week ..

I"M SOO SAD!!! Tui is officially off of bottles and can now pull himself up to the furniture.. :( he looks like a little toddler here, I'm NOT READY!!

Kicking off The Book of Mormon FHE

Looks like I was WAY to excited to jump back into FHE's :)  I totally spaced doing an "introduction to the Book of Mormon" before jumping in to the stories:) Today's FHE is going to be "Book of Mormon FACTS!!" I want the kids to know Everything they can about this amazing book: where it came from, who wrote it, and why it is SOOO important, especially for "our" generation:) I found some amazing FHE posts but none that quite fit, so I kind of used bits and pieces from all of them ;)

Of course I used one of Tonii's printables.. :) ..link: http://ptskjohnson.blogspot.com/2013/01/joseph-smith-and-gold-plates-fhe.html
and then I made each of the older kids there own set of "brass plates" (wish I would have prepared a little more, I read that you can buy gold foil paper from some craft stores... DARN IT!!)

Opening Prayer: Briyler
Opening song: Book of Mormon stories again ...( We are going to try to do songs at least 3 weeks in a row so the kids can actually learn them a little better:) ....

at least this week they tried to follow along :)

I started off the lesson with me putting out a bunch of different copies of the Book of Mormon:) All have the same contents inside but they look a little different..

(Dad even had his phone sitting with them but I forgot to get a picture of it.)

 

I asked the kids if these books looked the same and they all said "no", then I asked if they all had the same words/stories inside.. Ryker piped in with a YES, I'm pretty sure it was a lucky guess but I told him that he was right. The Book of Mormon was originally written on "golden plates" and then later translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I showed the kids a few pictures that all somehow related to the "Book of Mormon" and how it came to be, and they had to try and guess what each picture meant.. We ended up going with these 6 facts as the ones we wanted to emphasise but depending on the kids age level and how much they know we can always add new facts later :)

1. The prophet who buried the "golden plates" was? - Moroni

2. One of the ancient prophets who wrote on the "Golden Plates" was- Mormon, I learned that there were 11 people who actually wrote on the plates .. I didn't know that :)

3. The person who wrote the 1st book in the Book of Mormon was- Nephi

4. The Golden Plates was eventually translated and published into what? - the Book of Mormon

5. Who translated the Book of Mormon?- Joseph Smith, we eventually talked about him having the help from Oliver Cowdery

6. Where was the place the "golden plates" were hidden? - The Hill Cumorah,it says they were found in a box under a Big Rock..

some of the pictures had multiple facts that went along with the picture:) After learning about all of the facts we talked to the kids about why Heavenly Father wanted The Book Of Mormon on the earth and why it is important for us. We came up with: It has the stories of our ancestors, it is a great learning tool, it helps you feel the spirit, it has words from the Prophets that we can apply in our lives today, it tells stories of the Savior, it gives good council and warnings: things that we should prepare for or should apply to our lives to help us get back to Our Father in Heaven. I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the book and then shared how grateful I feel to have such a valuable tool at my finger tips, everyday:)

 The boys might not remember all of the facts from tonight but I know they remember at least 2: The plates were hidden in a "hillside" under a large rock, and that the Prophet Joseph Smith Translated the Book of Mormon .. I know they remember those facts because after we finished our discussion we told the boys that we had a set of  "golden plates" for EACH of them, but they were hidden so in order to have them they needed to find them.. We told them that if they could remember part of our lesson that would help lead them to "their plates".. the boys searched the ENTIRE HOUSE before Kaj and I decided to help them :) We asked if they remembered where the real "plates" were hidden and Ryker said "the hillside under a rock", good job dude!! We told them that we hid there plates in a similar place, so off the boys went OUTSIDE :) Lucky for us we live on a mountain so a hilly spot with big rocks was easy to find.. Kaj hid all 3 plates separately so the 3 boys could each have the satisfaction of finding there set... Well when they got outside it was kind of cold (it snowed yesterday so that gives you an idea of how cold), Bri and Dugi asked Ryker to find there's too, being the good brother that he is Ryker went off and found all 3 sets... The boys faces were priceless when they found or were given "their set of plates"... After we found them we brought them inside, i was just going to let the kids "color on them" but Ryker asked if he could try to translate or rather "transfer" the words that were actually in the Book of Mormon.. They wrote " The Book Of Mormon" on the front cover and then Ryker spent close to 40, yep FORTY, min copying verses from The Book Of Mormon onto his plates.. I didn't think Bri would last that long but he wanted to be just like Ryker and he hung in there for the majority of the time, "transferring" verses onto his plates too.. It was A GREAT ACTIVITY and such a fun night.!! Ryker was soo proud of himself and asked to have his picture taken with every page of his book.. I am soo proud of him too, he did a great job!! Once he was finished he told me, "Mom that was really hard work!". I told him that "it was probably just as hard for Joseph to write and Translate the WHOLE Book of Mormon" and his response was  "ya I know how he feels" .... HAHAHA I'm sure you do buddy, I'm sure you do :)

I think I found one Mom!! :)

Briyler was soo happy when Ryker gave him "his plates".. :)

WERE FREEZING MOM!!!

Dugi wasn't impressed!!

and this is where they sat for the next 40 min!!

I couldn't have asked for this project to turn out any better for them:)

 

seriously love this little face:)

And this one, even though it is ALWAY'S DIRTY!! :)

 

The second the lesson is done Dugi wants his TREAT.. he is for sure my son, gotta have his treats.. :)

Please stop growing soo fast.. :( he doesn't even need help with this anymore...

The older boys still going strong and the younger ones still waiting for there treat :)  

 

When Bri got done he was soo proud of himself , I was too :)

Dugi finally getting his treat!! MMM

and this is what you get after a 4 yr old sits for 35 min straight:)

No wonder dad is the favorite he brought out a few surprises from the "conference shop" that is not supposed to be open honey!! :)

 

Nothing could take Ryker away from "his work" :) seriously he got soo into it!

everyone else getting dessert.. :) mini golden plates, frosted with yellow frosting and then covered in black sprinkles ..

 

Ryker with his finished product!! :) he wrote on every side!!

Briyler with his finished plates

they carried them around ALL NIGHT LONG and it made me feel SOO GOOD!!!! Soo happy they had a fun night :)

 

This is what Dad does to entertain the little ones while I try to actually have meaningful lesson with the older ones.. No wonder Dad is the favorite around here... They all have soo much fun with him :) Caution: do not look if "thrown babies" makes you un easy... Aka: if your my visiting teachers (Kim Martinez/ Stacy Jensen), who also BOTH happen to be nurses, close your eyes!!

 

He play's with them

 

he spins them

balances them on one hand

and throws them as high as our vaulted ceilings!!  and they all love it :)

the fun doesn't stop there, he teases them 

and wrestles with them ALL NIGHT LONG!! Kynlie looks unsure in this picture but she is usually the one that is begging for more:) We love our fun dad, and I love that he keeps the younger ones occupied for the most part so the older ones can actually hear the lesson :)

Anniversary/cruise Part 3, this is the last one I promise:)

Part 3: this is the last post I promise :) Grand Cayman, "at sea", and Miami excursion

Grand Cayman was super exciting too.. I have been there before and I remember the water being the clearest color of blue that I had ever seen and it didn't disappoint, still as beautiful as ever!! There is soo much construction going on and the island has GROWN a ton since I was there last. I think we need a vacation home there, the market is hoppin' and I keep hearing things about "off shore accounts in the cayman's" ... haha:) Kaj and I were just going to catch a cab to the "7 mile" beach but we met a few fellow Utah couples on the ship and when we ran into them on shore we all decided to do the sting ray/snorkel/beach excursion together.. Lacie took one for the team and gave up her "swimming with the dolphins excursion" to join the fun... Swimming with the stingrays was soo fun, I was a little nervous and didn't really want to get in the water but after a min you kind of relax and its totally fun!! Kaj had a little "miss-hap" if you will during the excursion. They told us we could pick up the stingrays and as we were all trying to find a stingray to catch we turned around to Kaj actually LIFTING a sting ray FULLY out of the water.. Just in case you are wondering that is a "WHAT NOT TO DO MOMENT" :) The guides said that is pretty much the only thing you can do to them that will get you hurt, when they get out of water that is when they get scared and shoot there little stinger at you ;) Luckily Lacie caught this moment ON CAMERA, I should sell them the rights to that photo. I would love to see Kaj's face on a "what not to do while swimming with the stingray's" brochure:) After the stingrays we got to go snorkeling "again", kaj could do it all day everyday so he was excited.. After about 5 min I decided to call it a day, I got in the boat and forgot to take off my "flippers", can you guess what happened next? :) YEP I ate it, FACE FIRST onto the floor.. Good thing most of the boat was in the water enjoying there excursion:) We didn't have time for the beach which I was SUPER BUMMED about but after a long day it was nice to head back to the boat for a NAP:)

I don't want to write about the last "day at sea" I was excited to get home to see the kids but SUPER BUMMED it cruise was over :) I'm sure by now you can guess what we did, well I spent all day laying by the pool. Kaj on the other hand, did some laundry, started packing his bag, got a snack or 2, read a good chunk of the "borne series", talked to guest services about our debarking process which is where he found out we were to late to have them hold our bags till our plane left so he headed over to the excursion desk and booked the Miami excursion: Yay for our over priced "everglades/air boat tour":) he's soo darn productive!

Grand Cayman!!! :)

Grand Cayman, Love this island!!

 Let the sting ray excursion begin

Behind me is Jamar/Lacie, and JD/Jenny.... I was just as scared as those girls when I first got in:) Super fun though!!

Love this handsome lookin man!!

this is the AMAZING MOMENT CAUGHT ON CAMERA :) haha, I love the guy in the back ground pointing and laughing..

Gun show, anyone?

We were on the SLOWEST boat EVER!!! Which is why we missed out on the beach part of our excursion but it did give us lots of time to enjoy the scenery :)

More Iguana's

 

we had to take another catamaran back to the ship and we passed the pirate boat that kaj had been "eyeing" from the ship all day.. He loves things like this ;)

 

 XOXO

 

once we got back on board we sat and watched the MOST BEAUTIFUL sunset I'v ever seen.. I am not a good photographer but I wish I could have captured just how amazing this was !

 

Last morning of the gym, I was a little excited about this (ok A LOT EXCITED!!!)

(I cant remember what was so funny at the moment but I sure do love seeing that smile :)

" Day at sea" I got him to lay out with me for a total of 5 min that morning :)

nothing like laying out in the "Brisk morning air"

Brisk morning air!! AHHH

 

that didnt last long!! The sun was out and I was ready to soak up the last of "the rays"

After he finished being "so darn productive" he hung out with me for a good 20 min by the pool :)

I didnt get any pictures of us leaving the ship because I was to busy crying so here are the pictures from our Everglades excursion in Miami..

 

 

 

Before we even got in the boat we saw plenty of gaters !!!

 

way to close for comfort!!

Our air boat excursion!! He loved it!! I however was not excited about the open canal's and no fences to keep me safe from all the gaters!!

the air boat went right over all the grass and lily pads.. pretty cool actually

we went into a few coves and our guide told us all about the animals that live in the everglades.. (gaters, bears, deer, all sorts of birds and soo much more..) pretty cool

Beautiful HUGE bird!

This gater needed some lunch :)

and this freaked me out!! It was right next to the boat

it is actually very pretty, until you find out whats underneath all of that greenery

after our boat ride was a GATER SHOW... the only Gaters that are caged and I'm glad cause they were HUGE!!

these however were not caged and they were close enough to touch.. EEEKKKK

Kaj's lucky I got in the picture for this.. I HATE GATERS, probably one of my biggest fears...

These signs were everywhere and it made me crazy nervous..

baby gater, could be cute...

if that bird new how many gaters I saw in that water before we left on our boat ride he wouldn't be standing there :)

Kaj and I had an interesting flight home, our first flight was delayed for mechanical difficulties.. :) we barely caught our connecting flight or at least that's what we thought.. our 2nd flight was also delayed so we got into SLC 2 hours late (1230)  and we were WIPED OUT!! Dad left the car at the airport and the second we got home we relieved grandma of her baby duty and went straight to bed :)