Spring Break, birthday weekend! March 12-19 th

We took the kids to Golf n Stuff, it is always a good time. One of Benjamin's most indearing qualities is his desire to arrange family outings. He wanted to take the kids golfing so we did.

We had the lovely Ms. Julia Webster stay with​ us for a couple days, we love that little lady!

 Our neighbor invited us to pick some lettuce from their greenhouse. Their garden is amazing and the many different varieties of lettuce was impressive.

 The Webster's had spring break the same time so we headed up to their new house, BEAUTIFUL! Despite the cold pool the kids spent several hours swimming. They loved jumping off the rock cave. Later Hillary took us on a bike ride, it was a pleasant ride. She took us to a house that has a petting farm. We fed donkeys and gawked at all the adorable animals.

Lindsey was in town for our birthday!! What are the odds that Ryan would have a conference in Tucson on our birthday. We partied hard! We started off we a yummy breakfast at Millie's pancake House, John and Robin joined us and Mom and Dad. BJ was their too. Lindsey gave me a custom made purse, it is awesome!! Hillary came into town and all the ladies went shopping. Then BJ and I were asked to speak at a single adult conference. We did alright, nobody fell asleep. The kids went swimming at Lindsey and Ryan's fancy hotel. We then went to my favorite Italian restaurant. They gave us a birthday cake and Lindsey and I held hands while they sang. We are weird.

I was super excited to "help Lindsey cook" we even pretended to be in a cooking show, it seems a little less magical since now Lindsey actually is on several cooking shows :) 

March 4th A dream with significance

We were the adult session of stake conference when our good friend got up to speak. We were excited to see she was one of the speakers because she is a very good speaker and admired friend. She started her talk with a dream that she had. She said it was one of the most vivid and meaningful dreams she has had. She said in the dream she was going inside her friends house and while she was walking through the door she knew that there was a family reunion going​ on and wondered why it was so quiet inside the house. She said she then went to the backyard and saw that the party was out there. She said this feeling if love and unity just overwhelmed her. She said the kids were playing so happily with kind words and absolute joy. She said the light was shinning so brightly  the green  grass almost seemed to glow on  a the children. She said a little kid tumble down a hill and an older teenager reached down to help the younger child up. She said when she woke up the beautiful feeling lingered and she pondered and prayed about the meaning. She then said the distinct impression came to her that the children were filled with the Spirit of Elijah. Her talk went on to talk about how youth are programmed to be proficient on the computer. I loved the talk and thought of how a day before Benjamin and I were at the temple doing ordinances for ancestors that Holman and Isabella had done. After the conference we went up to our friend to tell her how much we loved her talk. She got choked up and told us that the family she visited in her dream was our family. We were so touched and she told us the teenager who helped the little kid up was our daughter Olivia. It was so touching. I myself have had just one spiritual dream that I reflect on, how amazing that I can ponder this dream a friend had that involved my family.

March 8th sweet 16!!

My baby turned 16, how did that happen?! Her favorite dessert is pumpkin pie, which is unfortunate this time of year. In order to make her dreams come true, I made one from scratch (not the crust though) which becomes not so impressive, but yummy it was! I made this pie on her birthday so that she might think this was the best it was gonna be because we had a surprise party planned. Luckily I think she was surprised. She has friends from school and friends from church. She was truly touched by all the love she felt. We ordered an inflatable gladiator arena, we had the hot tub going and the fire pit with snores. It was a great time honoring one of my favorite people. I know I am ready​ for her to keep getting older, but man driving scares me. It will be a lesson for me to have faith and not fear. Her good friend has brought back to life a car that has been sitting in my parents driveway. Having another driver in the house will be a bit if awesomeness. I love my Bella Jules and can't wait to keep hitting Mike stones with you. You have been my jewel since birth, thank you for being so wonderful.

February 21st 2017 tuition paid in full!

On Tuesday a sweet little preschool student handed me a crumbled up receipt with a golden dollar Sacagawea coin in it. Before I opened it she was off and playing. Her grandmother was still at school from dropping her off so I explained I got an unexpected gift and wanted the little girl to keep her coin. She explained to me that while she was at the Goodwill an elderly man gave her the coin and she turned to her grandmother and said "grandma I'm going g to give this to Mrs. Lesley so I won't be a scholarship kid anymore!"  I asked her grandmother how she knew she was on scholarship (there is no way I have said anything!) She said she is sure she overheard her parents talking about it. Her grandmother said don't even think about giving it back! I was so touched by her large generous heart, who at 5 thinks about stuff like that.  Those who have little give most. I truly love this little girl, her most supportive grandmother and her parents that do all they can for her.

February 20th 2017 homemade dumplings from China!!

Beryl's mom is visiting from China, it has been so fun to see the two of them together. We were privileged to have them make homemade dumplings, so stinking good!!

February 18th 2017 office party/ new buffet!

We had an office party at our house. We cleaned the house all day. I stressed but it ended up being a lovely night. In preparation for the party and future parties I got this buffet table. I love it, since our kitchen is small, this extra serving space is great.

February 16-18 2017 Girls ski trip!!

I went on a super fun snow trip with some pretty amazing ladies. 3 including myself were first time skiers and the party planner/ birthday girl is an awesome snow boarder. We had a blast, kid free enjoying winter beauty that we don't usually see in Tucson. The beginners got skiing instruction that didn't really help me. I never really learned how to stop or turn properly. So u just kind of hauled down the mountain and prayed for a miracle landing. The second day on the slopes the kiddy hills escalator was broken so we would skiing for a minute, hike for 5 and rest fir 10. The downed escalator enabled me to get one on one  instruction from a skiing instructor named Big Horse. I think the skii resort was trying to make up for the non working escalator. It sure made it up to me. I finally learned to slow down and felt way more in control. It was a blast with probably my highlight being eating at at Thai food restaurant. I now live Thai food. We are there twice and when I got home Benjamin and I went out to eat Thai food again, I love it! It was great to be invited to go, I was kind of the new girl with everybody really knowing  each other well before, but everybody was extremely fun and it will be an awesome memory for me. I love when people open their circle of friends. A family Moto if ours (inspired by a Mormon ad poster that they had up in their home when Benjamin and I were dating) "There is always room for one more." Glad that one more was me :)