Tracy Family Home Evening: 3 for 3

Sunday nights at 7 p.m. is our version of the Monday night stuff going on all over the world. It is such a good blessing to be in a family and to watch Abbi and Noah be excited about learning and spending time together with us. In just a few short weeks, I have experienced a few "I wish I knew then" moments that make me sorry for putting up a fight or causing distractions when my parents tried to get all of us together for fun, for prayer, for scriptures, or for family night. When I see how happy Abbi is to participate and how Noah enjoys having all of us doing the same things, I wish I would have remembered to be happy and to enjoy participating when I was the kid. I wasted a lot of opportunities. The church has a website just for family home evening with lots of resources and media things.

Tonight was our wildest of the 3 family nights we have had. Everyone wore aprons while I made Gingersnaps (I'm earning points from Jake toward an owl cookie jar at Anthropologie). Cousin Trent and Cousin Matt joined us and even taught the lesson and did the activity. The kids love, love, love Matt and Trent. It was a fun night! Noah picked his favorite song so we all danced and sang Popcorn Popping.

because I think I'm supposed to brag...

Last night, while Abbi, Noah and I had a mini-tsunami in the bathroom (tub time gets a little wild), Jake said he was going out to get me some dinner. I felt a little bad because I didn't ask him to do that and I wasn't really hungry and I felt a little worried because I wasn't sure what he was going to come back with. A little burger? A Subway sandwich that would have something scary like mayonnaise? Something from the convenient Lee's Fish and Rice? But what did I get? I got a really great husband, that's what. He brought me my favorite meal: a green salad covered in chicken and eggs, and cheese, and Italian dressing and hot Texas Roadhouse rolls. Best surprise meal ever! I think he thought it was pretty silly when I took a picture of a salad. But really, I like salad that much.

The Friend Summer Reading: Week One

Abbi and I found a fun thing to do in the Friend Magazine. There is an activity called The Friend Summer Reading Program. Every week, during June, July, and August there is a small group of maybe 3 things to do that are related to an article in the magazine each month. We are going to keep up with it every Friday this summer. Abbi loved it because this week we got to read out of the magazine, she got to play a game on the Friend's website (which is really cool, by the way), and then draw a picture of a person who serves or takes care of you. She drew a picture of her dad holding her when she was a little baby. I thought the game would be a little difficult for her because she had to fill in the blanks on all of the Articles of Faith but she did so well after listening to the hint (Primary songbook song) for each article. I loved doing this with her because she was enjoying it and the music made Abbi and Noah so happy. They sang and danced all afternoon. If you would care for a music recommendation, we are super loving the CD Popcorn Bopping, from Deseret Book. Noah talks about them even when the music is off. We love it!

Memorial Day

We were all so happy for a day off. It turns out, there are a few of us who aren't fans of alarm clocks going off at 4:30 a.m. Other than the rainy weather, it was a great day to be home. Noah is a child prodigy replacing the garbage sack. He even knows how to shake it open. Jake made us yummy German Pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then, we got to play the whole rest of the day. Abbi makes a pretty beautiful Batman and Jack looks great in his "rainbow Batman belt."

Happy #30 Anne!

Anne turned 30 last week. She came straight from her business trip to have dinner at The Garden with a piece of our family. The Garden is in the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We could see tons of volunteers planting all of the summer flowers on Temple Square and the restaurant opened up the roof because it was a beautiful day.

Anne is probably the most sensitive and loving in our whole family. No offense meant to the remainder of our family. I love her so much and feel so blessed to have such a good relationship with her. I don't really know how she feels about how often I call, but I love talking to her on the phone. My family is filled with my best friends. I'm the luckiest girl to have Anne and all the rest of brothers and sisters. Herd of oxen, really.