The best new game

My girls just came up with the best game. They are the mommies and I am the daughter. It is bed time and I have to pretend to be asleep while they cover me with blankets, read stories to me, and sing to me. I told them we should play this every day. I was forced to lay down with my eyes closed for twenty minutes!!!!

I got to climb again!!!!

I know this might be silly, but I think it is unfair for Matthew to leave me home for three days and two nights while he is off doing everything I love to do: camping, hiking, climbing. I just had to have a little fun. I could not pass this opportunity up (I am done with the whining now).

So this morning the girls and I snaked in on some of the Varsity Scout's climbing time. I love to rock climb and I have very little opportunity to go because I always have these children around (fast running water and unsupervised little ones is never a good combination). This was perfect. The scouts enjoyed playing with Mallorie and Lola because almost everything they say is so funny to those boys, I don't know why. Also we have not had a harness that would fit me (thank you very much three pregnancies), but it just so happens that most of our harnesses fit me now (thank you very much a little bit of exercise and not so much pigging out). I was scared today, almost like I was the first time. Once I got started it all came back to me and I was again amazed at what my body is capable of doing as long as I don't let my mind interfere. I am feeling it tonight though. It surprises me every time I go how much you use your hands for this and how weak mine are, they ache.

Mallorie took a turn and climbed higher than I have ever seen her go and would have continued on, but I was afraid she wouldn't be able to get back down. That girl is deceptively strong and flexible (and not to mention daring). Lola tried, but it is still very scary for her (she is a very cautious child, I am thankful for that, because neither of her sisters are). The harness did not fit Abby so she was left out of the fun, next year will be her year. Another good thing we found out is that the smallest climbing shoes we can buy are one size bigger than what Mallorie wears, I am guessing this is what she will be getting for her birthday.

Sorry no pictures. Climbing pictures are very unflattering anyway; just a bottom shot from down below with that silly looking harness on and no one wants to see that!

New Swing

We put a new swing in a tree in our back yard. The girls loved it. They didn't want to come inside. We were going to make it into a tire swing, but they like the seat better.
Mallorie was so high it made me nervous, but she didn't even care.

I thought that Lola would hate it. She is not the most adventurous two year old.

Even Matthew had a good time. Notice how he let my grass die. He didn't water it while we were gone to Yellowstone. It came back some, but I think we have to wait for the weather to cool down a little before I get my lawn back. Most of it is still good and we still play on it, still he is not forgiven, yet!!!

two articles

Here are links to two articles I recently read. The first is written by Frederic Bastiat and is called What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen (click on the nubmer 1 in the table of contents). Bastiat is a mid-nineteenth century economist. I found it very relevant to what is happening in our country today.

The second is written by John Taylor Gatto. He is a teacher in the New York public schools and has won their Teacher Of The Year award several times. This speach was given on the occassion of him being named teacher of the year in 1990. I heard him give this speach in Salt Lake City about two years ago and decided to read it again. It is called The Seven Lesson School Teacher.

I enjoyed both of them and thought others might as well.

To judge or not to judge

I was reading in the New Testament today and want to see what you think about this. I hear people quote part of this scripture all the time and I think they are using it wrong.
Luke 7:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not and ye shall not be condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven:"
I hear people all the time say that we should not judge, but I think that we should. If we didn't judge then why would we not invite child molesters to our homes. I think that it really is a bad thing if we are not judged by God. I think we want to be judged because that is the only way we can be declared clean and enter into his rest. We just don't want this to happen until we are washed clean through the blood of Christ.
If you use the cross reference in the footnotes you look up Moroni 7:18 "And now my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged."
This makes more sense to me because we have to make judgements all the time. God does excommunicate people from the church for sin, but requires repentance and a long probation before it is behind them. Just like everything else from God we should also apply this to our lives. To me this means if we judge the way God judges (applying justice and mercy) then we are right, but if we make judgements any other way he will no longer judge us mercifully as he has promised.
Tell me your thoughts.

What a week!!!

We have had such a busy week. We went to Lagoon on Saturday and then left really early to get to Yellowstone before church started at 4:30pm. We spent monday and tuesday cruising around the park looking at the wierdest stuff (God is so amazing) and had to come home early because Abby was unhappy about not being able to crawl around at all for 5 days. We drove home through Jackson Hole, WY. We left our camp at 9:30 AM and didn't pull into our driveway until 10:15 PM. Yes that is almost THIRTEEN hours of driving in one day, NEVER AGAIN!!!! We had so much fun. I guess that the biggest thing to come out of this trip is that Lola is not wearing diapers anymore. She announced the day before we left that she no longer needed a diaper and would be wearing panties from now on and has had about two accidents (one during the 13 hour drive). I guess that it is true that they are ready when they are ready and not until. It is so Lola to wait until the day before a vacation to make a major change. I didn't think she could do it, but she proved me wrong (she likes doing that).

Also Heather sent me an email with this video and I just wanted to make sure that every one got to see it. Thanks Heather.

While there we also found this lovely little website. Bugs you be waiting for the Chuck Norris one for your birthday.