Hot Tubbin'

Mallory and Hayley having been begging to get in the Hot Tub for weeks! Today, they finally got their chance! They invited their friends, Morgan, Grace and Miles over to enjoy their little dip!! They had a blast! There was water all over the place when they were done but they had a great time!

Hayley hangin' out--she kept complaining the water was tooo COLD!! Silly girl!

Mallory and Hayley

Hayley as "Cousin It"


Mallory going under--getting ready for swimming lessons to start again in a few weeks--practicing her skills!

Grace, Hayley, Mallory and Morgan --Scott added a few sand toys--buckets, boats and a water can-- to add to their fun

Service Project with the Young Single Adults

It was great weather tonight for the Clean-Up Project along the Walking Path in Clinton! We brought bags, rakes and a wagon to pick up trash and debris along the path. There were soda cans, plastic water bottles, garbage and even a mailbox (a cow mailbox to be exact) and lots of other stuff we cleaned up along our way. Scott was walking along with a rake and fishing lots of trash out of the water puddles. I kept Brittney and her friend, Alyssa (her dad is in the bishopric with Scott--and they are our really good friends), moving along. Mallory and Hayley were walking way ahead of me with several of the Young Single Adults. I'm so glad they were with them and kept them safe! We ended our night at the Wayment's for a BBQ! It was delicious!!

Brittney loved blowing dandelions along the way!!

Brittney pulling the loaded down wagon (can you see the slimy, cow mailbox on top?? GROSS!!)

Brittney and Alyssa walking down the path with several of the Young Single Adults up ahead (Mallory is up there too in a white jacket--holding a garbage bag--GREAT WORK!!)


Alyssa and Brittney wrapped up enjoying doughnuts after the BBQ

Bike Ride

This afternoon, Scott, Hayley, Brittney and I went on a bike ride down the walking path. We were looking to make sure there was garbage to be picked up tomorrow when when the YSA have their service project. There was quite a bit of garbage! We had a great little ride too! Hayley loved being "the leader of the pack"!

Hayley's Pet

What is this you ask?

Why, it's Hayley's new pet!!!

While I was making dinner, Hayley came into the kitchen and she wanted to show me something upstairs. She made me close my eyes and she led me upstairs to her bedroom. When I opened my eyes, I saw Hayley's New Pet. There, sitting on her dresser, was a shoe box with about 2 inches of water in it (which was leaking out of the box) and she had a little plastic clown fish floating in the water. She was so proud and excited to have her own pet!! I totally burst her pride when I quickly took the box into the bathroom to dump out the water which had started puddling on top of her dresser. She couldn't quite understand why she couldn't keep the fish in a shoe box on her dresser!

What a cutie!!

Mother's Day

Ok- I totally got spoiled on Mother's Day this year! Scott bought me an iPhone 3GS! We haven't owned a cell phone in almost 6 years and Scott went out and got me the nicest one on the market! My goodness--this thing does everything!! I have a ton to learn! Scott couldn't wait until Mother's Day to give it to me. I guess he bought it on Wednesday (the 5th) and he called me at 8:15 a.m. on Friday (the 7th). (On a side note: 8:15 in the morning is pretty busy at our house because I'm trying to get everybody ready to leave to take Mallory to school--getting hair done, breakfast, backpack packed, etc.-- a pretty hectic time.) He told me to go over by the computer because he wanted me to check on something for him. I told him the computer wasn't turned on yet and I asked if he wanted to wait while it booted up or if he wanted to call back in 5 minutes. He kept telling me to go over by the computer. I could hear this "New" noise and I couldn't figure out what it was. Scott kept asking me what the noise was and I kept telling him I had no idea. Finally, he had to tell me to look on top of the bookshelf on the computer desk and there was my phone, just a ringing because Scott kept calling it!

I am now up-to-date technologically in the Cell Phone Department. The Young Single Adults have given Scott and I such a hard time about not having a cell phone. We held out for a long time. I'm really glad I have one because I worry about the kids not being able to get a hold of us if there was a problem at school or when we aren't home. Now I have to learn how to use it!! I have no idea how to send a text message or what an app is but I'm sure I will learn quickly!!

The girls all made cards for me in Primary today that were so sweet! Mallory planted a sunflower for me at school and wrote a nice card. Hayley made me a key chain at preschool with a cute card too!

We went to Scott's mom's house for the annual pizza party and then to my Grandma Peterson's to meet up with my mom.

It turned out to be a wonderful day! I am so blessed and lucky to be called "Mother", "Mom", "Mommy" and "Mama"! I used to totally dread Mother's Day when I was in my 20's before I became a mother! I have three beautiful daughters that want so bad to do what is right and to make Heavenly Father and Jesus happy! They all love to learn and they want to make me happy! I am so lucky!!!

Last Soccer Game of the Season

Mallory and Hayley had their last game as "The Purple Butterflies" tonight. It was COLD again! It seems that every game this spring was just COLD!!! Mallory didn't seem to mind at all.

Mallory scored another goal tonight. She is quite the soccer player! She is not afraid at all to get in and get after the ball. She is good to follow up any shots she makes to the goal--just in case the goalie misses, she can try for another shot!!

Hayley did great tonight too! She had a little break away where she kicked it 2 or 3 times in row!

Way to go GIRLS!!

Georgia and Hayley playing on the sidelines!!

Mallory--all smiles after making a goal!!

Hannah, Mallory and Madison

Library Day

Today, Brittney and Mallory set up their own little Libraries with different "Collections" of books. First, they got everything set up and then they asked Hayley, Scott and I to come and check out one of their books. It was so fun to watch them and to hear their thinking. Brittney laid out her "Collections" so systematically and they had to be lined up against the wall "just so". Mallory was talking about how the library is at their school. You can see by her little Library that is a lot like the Library at school.

Mallory's Library

Brittney and her little Library

Brittney's Library System (Who needs the Dewey Decimal System anyway???)

Stake Conference

Our Stake Conference this weekend was WONDERFUL!!! We had the adult session on Saturday night and then we had a broadcast conference from the Conference Center in Salt Lake. All the stakes in Davis and Morgan counties attended this conference!

The adult session at our stake center was so good! There was a neat sister who spoke (I think her first name was Nicole but I'm not sure if I caught it correctly). Anyway, her talk was wonderful and she spoke about families, parenting and mothering! Just what I needed! She referred to several talks from this past General Conference (the same ones that spoke to me and answered and help guide many of the questions I have). She spoke about how important it is for me as a mother to spend time daily with the Savior--reading scriptures, praying and seeking revelation to do the right things. I really cannot be an effective mother and wife if I don't put Heavenly Father first. As I put Him first, all else will be taken care of. (Which reminds me of a quote I absolutely love by President Benson that basically says: If you put Christ first in your life, all things will fall into place or completely fall out of your life.). She ended with the words to one of my favorite Primary songs (I have several) "Love is Spoken Here". I really need to get that done in vinyl lettering and hang it on my wall--something to remind me how I can be an example to my children and speak to them with love and kindness (I have been meaning to get that on my wall for some time and it is time to ACT!). This talk was soooo good--I have not done justice to it here in my ramblings.

President Reed spoke at the end and his talk touched my heart. He talked about Sacred Moments, Sacred Times and Sacred Places. Here are a few questions I asked myself: Is our home a Sacred Grove? How can I make it a Sacred Grove for myself, for Scott and for my little girls? Are their quiet times in our home when we can ponder on what matters most? Do I hear His voice speak to me? Is His voice very familiar to me? He reminded me that Heavenly Father speaks and He speaks to us often if we are in tune to hear Him! It was sooo good!

As we sat down in our Stake Center for the Sunday broadcast, they had live video of the who was seated near the pulpit and who was going to speak to us today! My heart lept for joy when I saw Sister Beck sitting there and I thought to myself "This is GOING to be WONDERFUL!!" I absolutely love listening to Sister Beck talk--she truly speaks to us today. She speaks to me as a wife, a mother and a daughter of God! She truly is inspired. I still think of her talk several years ago when she was in the YW General Presidency when she spoke about having a Mother Heart. I loved that talk and every talk I have heard since!! I couldn't wait to hear what she had to say today!

In our Conference, Elder Rasband spoke first. His talk was excellent and he spoke a lot about temples and temple attendance. He spoke of the need to stand in holy places as often as possible! He quoted President Monson who said if we place our burdens on the Lord, he will hold and cradle us step by step to the Celestial Kingdom! WoW! I love how he uses the word "cradle"!

Next, Sister Beck spoke. I was trying so hard to write down a lot of what she said but at the same time my sweet little Brittney was climbing all over my lap--she helped me take notes and I wish I could have written EVERYTHING down because it was soooo wonderful! She talked about the importance of strengthening ourselves, our families, our communities and the world. She asked several times "What is my mission? Why am I on the Earth?". The big answer to these questions is to build up the Church of Jesus Christ. She said that taking care of our posterity, our children and grandchildren, takes precedence over all else. That is the most important thing we can do and while doing so, we build up the Church of Jesus Christ. She taught that each woman, is a lioness at the gate of her own home--we are totally in charge of what comes in our homes and what goes out and what happens inside our homes. She spoke again about priorities and how to prioritize the things we need to do. She said, "when our priorities are out of order we lose power". She talked about three categories of things we as woman have. Here they are with a little explanation of each:

1. Essential Things--if we don't take care of these things we won't make it to the Celestial Kingdom--these are the SAVING things we need to do--
-personal revelation
-personal scripture study
-personal prayer
-making and keeping covenants
-repenting
-sacrament meeting attendance
-temple attendance

2. Necessary Things
-homemaking
-cleaning
-house of order
-family meals and mealtimes
-home for the Spirit to dwell
-teaching children
-Family Home Evening
-Family recreation
-be a comfort to my husband
-being self-reliant

3. Nice to do things--things that are nice to do but they aren't going to save us
-crafts
-hobbies
-reading
-travel
-time-out for yourself
-lunch with friends

She ended with reminding us that the Lord depends on each one of His daughters to fulfill their mission on Earth!! It was so good!! (I heard that she gave an extended version of this talk at Women's Conference at BYU just a few days before, it doesn't look like they have the transcipts of these talks online yet but I will definitely be checking again later so I can reread what she said.)

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Twelve spoke too. He spoke about the Family Proclamation and how important it is to teach our children--there is an urgency to teach them correct principles.

President Henry B. Eyring spoke last. He spoke about Zion and how we need to create Zion in our hearts and in our homes where we eliminate selfishness, cooperate completely with one another, be willing to sacrifice whatever the Lord asks and to consecrate our time and means to build up Zion.

Stake Conference was truly wonderful! I felt the Spirit speak to me about things I need to do to be better and I learned what truly is most important.

I love my Heavenly Father. I know He know me personally and I know He hears and answers my prayers. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know he saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove. I know President Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today! I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His church on the Earth today!

Hayley's UNBIRTHDAY Preschool Party

Because Hayley's birthday is in the Summer, she was able to celebrate her birthday at Preschool today! She was so excited to take treats and share them with her friends. Hayley picked out Twinkie's for her birthday treat and since it was "Uu" day, she also took Hershey's NUGGETS (because they have a U in them) to share! I guess the Nuggets were a big hit! Hayley got a birthday crown, she was the leader of the day, she brought the treats, she received a new book and a stuffed Butterfly from Mrs. Pett! What an awesome day! Here is Hayley standing by the flag with the Birthday Banner on it!!
Happy UN-Birthday HAYLEY!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

Camping in Knolls

Since Scott had Friday and Saturday off this week, we decided to go camping and 4-wheeling in Knolls (in Tooele County). When we woke up Friday morning, it was raining and I really wasn't very excited to pack the trailer and go camping--camping in the rain isn't very much fun (actually it isn't that bad because of the trailer). Anyway, we left as soon as Mallory got home from Kindergarten.

On the way to Knolls, the sun came out and there were very blue skies! It turned out to be a very nice weekend. When we arrived, we drove around looking for a place to camp (this is our very first time here). We decided to find a place to turn around and Scott pulled off the road onto a little dirt road where he thought we could turn around. (We have a very LONG load with our truck, the 5th wheel trailer and then the 4-wheeler trailer behind that.) Scott pulled off and went over a dirt road to turn around and all of a sudden we were in sand and sinking. The wheels spun and I was thinking "Oh no, we can't get stuck! How would we ever pull everything out of here!!" Scott got out and assessed the situation while I said a silent prayer. He tried several times to get the truck in four wheel drive and finally it clicked in. Amazing, we were able to drive right out of the place we got stuck!!! The prayer totally worked and Heavenly Father was really watching out for us! After we found a place to set up in the parking lot (that's where you are supposed to camp--right in the parking lot), we went for a ride on the four-wheelers and I took a picture of our sinking track marks in the sand.

Our tire tracks ---our little miracle!!

Mallory, Brittney and Hayley--ready to ride!

Brittney


Mallory

A look at Knolls

A little walk to check out the sights

Mallory

Brittney, Scott and Hayley riding the dunes

Brittney (falling asleep), Scott and Hayley

Scott jumping (I have another shot where he is getting a lot more air but it's kind of blurry!!--you'll have to trust me!)

Scott showing off for HIS GIRLS

Hayley

Scott and Mallory hill climbing--this is a close up but this hill was pretty long and pretty steep!!

Brittney and Hayley watching their daddy

Hayley, Mallory and Brittney standing on a sand pillar--can you see how Hayley is totally clinging onto Mallory for dear life?? She was soooo scared to be standing there!!

Mallory and Scott posing with their sand castle they built--Brittney just wanted to be in the picture too!

Oh--I almost forgot, I had another little miracle on this trip. We went for a ride across a very flat area. Mallory was riding with me and I was letting her drive! She did a great job driving! When we got across the flats, I took over driving again with Mallory sitting in front of me. I really don't like the girls sitting in front of me because our helmets are always clanging together! Anyway, I was following Scott and I need to climb this steep sand hill. Well, I didn't gun it enough and I probably should have rolled the 4-wheeler but it didn't roll. I was about 5 feet from the top of this hill and I held the brake, screamed and Scott jumped off his 4-wheeler and made it down the hill, I got off (still holding the brake) and Scott was able to back the 4-wheeler back down the hill and then he got a good run at the hill and made it over. When Scott got to the top, he made me get back on the 4-wheeler, ride down the hill and ride back up the hill. I hadn't used 4-wheel drive on my 4-wheeler all day but this was the time I should have put it in 4-wheel drive before attempting this hill. I know Heavenly Father was watching out for us again. I know the prayers my little girls say to have us be safe are answered!! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who watches out for us and protects us! I really need to recognize His hand more often in my life! I know there are times daily He has a hand in my life--I just need to stop and recognize them!

We had a great time together as a family! The girls made a little friend Makenzie who was camping near us-- they live only 2 miles away from us here in Clinton and Makenzie goes to the same preschool Hayley goes too! What a small world!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL SHORT TRIP!!!! It was soooo nice to get away for two day!!

"STUDENTS OF THE MONTH"

Wednesday (two days ago), Mallory came running in the house after school so excited because Abigale was chosen as "The Student of the Month" and she had lunch with the principal at school (Mallory was Student of the Month in December). Mallory was so excited because tomorrow they were both going to wear their "My Principal Believes in Me" T-shirts to school and be TWINS! They ended up wearing their shirts today because yesterday was Earth Day and they had to wear brown and green to school! I had to snap a picture of the TWINS! I bet this won't be last time they dress the same!!! It's wonderful that Mallory and Abigale are such great friends!!

Hayley's Decorations

Hayley loves decorations!! Today I came upstairs and I noticed something different about Hayley's bed! She had decorated it again with all her stuffed animals and dolls--this time all of them had a disposable bib on them--they all matched! How funny!!

Family Home Evening at the Ropelato home

Family Home Evening at our house is almost always an adventure!! It's always a fight to see who gets to give the lesson and be in charge! Brittney always wants to pick the songs (we sing "I Am A Child of God" and "I Love to See the Temple" every week) and she wants to lead the songs. Tonight, Mallory and Hayley both wanted to give the lesson. While Scott and I were cleaning up the dinner dishes, Mallory and Hayley were coming up and down the stairs several times "Setting Up" their lesson. I captured a picture of their set-up before we began. They had several pictures and toys arranged in the living room window seat. They had the CD player with Primary Songs plugged in and cued for the song they wanted to use during their lesson. Scott and I had to "Guide" their lesson so we could learn about a gospel principle. We talked about preparing for the temple and we listened to the "Family Night" song! They are so cute! We had special blankets laid out on the floor to sit on and lots of visuals to look out!!

Playing at the Park

Mallory, Hayley and Brittney have been begging for weeks to go play at the park! We finally went to day with our friends, the John's. We had a great time!

Brittney trying to climb up a slick tunnel--this tunnel was sooo frustrating for Brittney!

Mallory

Abigale and Mallory--the best of best friends

Hayley Boo!!!

Hayley and Preslie--Hayley is sooo cute with Preslie--they went down the slide together over and over and over!!

All smiles!!

Brittney B!

Abigale and Mallory hangin' around

Brittney balancing on a little swing

Preslie and Brittney balancing well.....

and not so well!!

Mallory smiling BIG!! What a cutie!!