Toy Story

Clue that my kid has seen Toy Story too many times:

Corbin just lined up 2 of his little Buzz figurines on a table, then went to get the third from the living room. He looked at the sofa, looked back at toys, looked to the sofa, then again at the toys. Then, he slowly backed away from the toys and didn't take his eyes off of them, until he reached the carpet. Finally, before making a mad dash to go get the third toy, he held up one hand at them and cautiously commanded, "stay there."

Be a Light

I really love being a mother.
My kids are totally rad and I love them very much.

Right now, I am the most important influence in their lives. What I teach them, what I expose them to, the words I say, the example I set....this is all they know. I am their truth, their constant, their safety, their stability, their reality.

That's a lot of responsibility.

Every year, we have a little 'back to school' family party, where we introduce our family theme for the school year. Last year, our theme was, "I Can".
This year, we invited a few friends to join us and participate in the lesson. We had so much fun!

The Willardson 2011 theme is: Be a Light

We met at Lake Ann for a bike ride/princess dress up parade, then we gathered under the pavillion and I gave this simple, but hopefully meaningful lesson:

Ye are the Light of the World

A long time ago, before airplanes, boats were used to travel across the sea. With no land visible to use as landmarks, the sailors could look to the stars for guidance to help them know where they were. The North Star in particular was very important to sailors, and without it, it would be easy for them to get lost at sea. How would it feel to be stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean, with no light around to tell you which direction to get you safely home?

I showed the children several other objects that provide a source of light.

-a flashlight can light up a path for ourselves.

-a candlelight can provide light when disaster strikes and causes us to unexpectedly lose power.

-the glow of the fireplace can give us warmth and comfort.

-we could not live without the sun. It gives us constant, predictable light every single day.

-a traffic light keeps us safe and provides direction

-a light bulb is a light that we need every day, even for little things that we take for granted, because without the lightbulb, these tasks would be very difficult.

-lights on a storefront or house can make us feel welcome and invited.

-a nightlight provides comfort in darkness and protection from fear and lonliness.

-the flashing lights on an ambulence mean that help is on the way for people who are struggling.

Jesus Christ said, "Ye are the Light of the World. (Matthew 5:14)"

What does that mean? How are you a light?

How can you be a light to others?

What kind of light do you want to be?

What does example mean?

Who is the perfect example for how we should live our lives?

Each of us has the Light of Christ within us. When we follow the example of Jesus Christ, make righteous choices, and try to be like Him, that Light glows stronger and can lead others unto Him. We can learn and come to know our Savior through studying the scriptures and listen to the counsel of prophets who testify of Him.

This year, at school, and everywhere you go, try to think of the example Jesus has set for you. Be a shining example by standing for what you know is right. Let the Light of Christ grow brighter within you and bring you and those around you closer to Him, and let His love make this year a great one. I testify that Christ's love will provide all the light you need to guide you through darkess, sadness, confusion, or any troubles that you will face this year. He is always there for you, even if you feel lost or alone like the sailors traveling across the dark ocean long ago. You only need to look for light to get back on the right course.

After the lesson, we turned off the lights to the pavillion and the real magic began. We sent 10 sky lanterns (like in the movie, Tangled--hence the princess dresses on the little girls!) I will post a zillion pictures tomorrow, but here is a quickie video of the fun. Thanks Kasey for taking great pics and documenting the evening for us!

Perfect evening.
Well, until we were packing up to leave and Reese accidently crossed a wasps nest and was stung on her finger. I put some mud on it and that pacified her until we got home and she selected a Buzz Lightyear bandaid...because it fit our Light theme. Quincy and Corbin both gave her kisses and helped her feel better. Mud and Buzz have nothing on sibling love.

They make my life brighter.
I love you, sweet children. Shine on.

Recipe for Awesomesauce

Read this book.

See the movie with 15 girlfriends in an estrogen packed theater.

Eat ice cream and crinkle fries.
Jump into Lake Windsor at midnight and talk and swim until 1:00am with a few really great girls.
Happy.

Only Because I Love You.

Did I mention I got on the boat?

It was...
...I um....
let's just say the evening met every expectation I had for the evening.

I expected to freak out when I had to actually step into the boat.

(ps kasey, I heart your phone pics---look how tan my legs look when they're all pixelated at sunset! Smokin! No wait...the smoke is coming from the boat....who cares. I like cell phone meg.)

I expected the boat to not start once I finally did get the courage to get in it.

I expected to do a lot of nervous binge eating while the guys "fixed the boat".

I expected "fixing the boat" to include a "brilliant" idea by the guys.

Like running 30ft jumper cables from the boat motor, into the lake, and up into the jeep.
See? Brilliant, right?

Ok,

we have a boat, jumper cables, and a lake.
aaaaanyone who knows me at all knows that I was freaking out at this point.
When she saw how much I was sweating, Kasey volunteered to hold the cables up out of the water while the guys jumped the battery.
Oh hey look, there I am, pounding redvines and not helping.

Notice the cloud of smoke from the boat motor in the background.

I expected to wear two life jackets.
I expected to panic every time we turned and the boat did that tilty thing that boats do when they turn.

That's why I don't trust them, you know. The boats. It's like they're trying to throw me overboard.



Oh, and the fact that the fugly boat is clearly not on my team, since it showed up unannounced on my front lawn 2 years ago, making my yard even more WT than it already was. (milk can mailbox anyone?)



I expected an awesome picnic dinner with my husband and our best friends.

And,
as I expected,
the boat. died.
leaving us stranded in the middle of Lake Ann.



Maybe it was the perfect sunset and meteor shower.
Maybe it was the power of the Lakers pride life jacket.
Or Kasey's contagious laugh and never ending jokes.
Or the radioactive waves coming from Jimmie's dayglow shirt.
Maybe it was my uncontainable anxiety and nervous giggles.
Or that Aaron was more upset that we'd brought cold cuts for dinner than he was about his boat not starting.


Whatever it was, we could. not. stop. laughing.




Aaron and Jimmie paddled the boat (yes. paddled. with crappy little canoe oars) back to shore.
Kasey and I swam.

We laughed our faces off.




Boat Day shows no mercy, and when we reached the shore, my number was up.



Not wanting to wade through the nasty murky lakebottom goo to get out of the water, I thought it would be smart to just climb up the ladder into the boat (now tied to the dock) and just exit the furry lake water onto the dock via the boat.


You know the boat tippy thing I told you I don't like?


Well, turns out, when you hang a ladder over the side of a boat with no one in it, and then attempt to climb it, the boat tips a lot.



And the ladder that's supposed to help you get out of the lake? It takes sides with the boat and turns on you. Literally! Rather than hanging vertically, the ladder clung to the curve of the boat's belly like a wet tshirt. And then the boat tipped 45*. So here I am, exhausted from swimming, attempting to climb the underside of a boat. Upside down. I couldn't get past the 2nd rung before my muscles would give up and gravity would pull me back into the water.



"Are you kidding me, Meg?" Aaron fell over with laughter, not willing to believe that I couldn't climb a simple ladder.



"Hey man! It's harder than it looks!" and I'd fall back into the water, sending everyone into fits of hysterical laughter.

"Move over, let me try" and Kasey gave an encore of the comedy act.

"See?! I told you!"

"This is like an episode of WIPEOUT!"


"I don't know if I can laugh at those idiots on the foam carousels anymore."


"You can do it! You ran a freaking marathon 3 months ago! You are better than this ladder!"


"This is hard!"


"That's what she said!"

We lost it.

The combination of swimming for an eternity, laughing until our sides ached, and the ladder of death Double Dare Wipeout Challenge, there was NO way either of us had any muscle strength to get ourselves out of the water.

We totally gave up and walked up the moss covered cement loading ramp.

We dropped the boat off at the house and went to Mellow Mushroom for dessert.

I still do not love the boat, but I love my Aaron and he loves that fugly boat. I'm so glad we went, and that our besties were there to share the adventure.

It doesn't matter where we go or what we do, Date Night is always a fun time.

Just as expected.

A Gift

Look what we just found in the coop! The first golden egg.
It is small and perfect.
We are so blessed.
Thanks, girls!

She

is something else.

Today, she is carrying around a black sock full of money, slung over her shoulder like Homey the clown.

I know I should be concerned about her plans for the day, but I'm really just kinda curious about where she scored the cash...

Harvested

Look at that beauty.
It's a work of art, really.
You can't just buy a masterpiece like this,
you have to build it:

-whole wheat french loaf
-fresh mozerella (and by fresh I mean REALLY fresh, because Kasey made it from scratch)
-fresh basil and tomatoes from the yard
-slice, stack, salt

-satisfied

Dear Food,

I love you.

Love, Meg