A weighty matter and prayers for the King Family

Do you realize that we are 1/12 of the way through this new year already?

At the end of each month I like to review my goals for the year.

I made a goal to not eat any seconds for the year.  Along with that I didn't want to take larger portions (to make up for the lack of seconds) and only have two snacks a day.  Well, things have backfired on me a bit and I've gained some weight since the new year.  Not that I've totally bombed on my goal but I need to change the foods I'm eating...not just how much I'm eating.

So...this morning for breakfast I had a smoothie and this was my lunch...

For dinner we had Little Ceasar's pizza.  I allowed myself one piece of pizza and 2 bread sticks.

Last year I had a goal to weigh 130 by my birthday (April) and I did it!  I would like to weigh the same for my birthday this year and maintain it for the marathon (June) and then for the rest of the year.  Maybe a little lofty, but doable I think.  That means as of this morning, I need to lose 16 pounds.

I hope no one minds if I use this blog for accountability.  I'll keep you posted.

I wanted to mention this blog that I saw for the first time this morning.  Mom, maybe you better not look...it's a sad story, but this wife and mother is incredible and will make it through. 

Her story really touched me. So if you don't mind shedding a few tears, have a peek and join with me in sending prayers her way to Australia.

That is an Accomplishment!

This morning I ran 8 miles.  That was an accomplishment.  I haven't run that much since the half marathon in August.  It felt great...granted I am using Jeff Galloway's run/walk method for my training...but hey, I was moving for 8 miles.  Now here I sit typing with ice on my shins.  I'm prone to the splints.

I wanted to mention a few other accomplishments in my family this weekend.

Yesterday, at school, Abby received her 100 points Reading Counts award.  

 

She's a great little reader.  I have been amazed at how she just took off all of a sudden and there's hardly a word in the scriptures that she's not able to sound out.

Congratulations Abby!  That is an accomplishment.

Last night, Josh received his orange belt in Karate!

He's taken karate for a year now and has done well.  

We just received an email today from the owner informing us that he is closing his studio.  There are several reasons why and he explained them and then said that he is hoping to help all of his students transition into another school of karate in the valley.  

This is good timing for us since Josh was going to have to take a break anyway.  He is having foot surgery in a week and will be out of commission for a while.  (More on that later.)

So we'll see what happens in about six months or so when he's able to be active again.  Maybe he'll want to get back into karate or maybe he'll want to try something else.  

But for now Josh, congratuations!  That is an accomplishment.

Tonight, as a family, we watched Tangled.  I love that movie.  At the end all the kids and I got up and danced during the fun credit song.  I pulled Ben out of his high chair and he had the biggest grin on his face as we twirled around and moved to the music.  It was a sweet moment.  Later, as we were getting ready to read scriptures, he kept playing the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song on one of his toys.  He is learning to touch his toes, head and nose during that song.  It was so adorable.  He did it over and over again and finally, once while he was touching his toes, I had to throw his toy over the side of the couch without him noticing so we could read scriptures. 

Congratulations on learning new things Ben!  That is an accomplishment.  

I can't leave out my Matt.  What a guy!  Over the last several months Matt has learned to have a good attitude about almost everything....well, at least about more things than he used to.  He's quicker to obey and very willing to help his little brother.  It is precious to watch and listen to him interact with Ben.  He gets his high pitched voice going and is so tender with him.

Congratulations Matt!  That is an accomplishment.

Andy, you were so patient with me and took care of the kids today while I went running, went out to lunch with a friend of mine and then went shopping for a couple of hours...and all while you were feeling sick.  Bless you!

Congratulations Hon!  That is an accomplishment.

Tissue Paper and Felt

The kids had the day off of school on Monday and Abby kept asking if we could put up the Valentine's Day decorations.  It struck me after a bit of pleading that I had better get them up now or else they wouldn't be up for very long.  I pulled out the boxes and put the contents up with the kids' help.  I could have sworn I had more.  Where was everything?  Maybe I just thought I had more because of all the cute things I've been seeing on Pinterest lately. 

  I was happy that I at least had these that I made last year.  Amy Huntley from The Idea Room is amazing.  I love her blog!

I was inspired by her Valentine crafting and decided to play copycat...like I so often do and made a bunch of the things she links to on this post.

(I had to clean my door for that picture.  That's embarrassing!)

I like the balls...I'm not so sure about the cone.  It needs something.  Any suggestions?

I love the texture of these things.

 

 I think these rose balls are my favorite.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be heading to some stores to add to the festivities in our home.

Is your place all decked out for the upcoming holiday?

what's been going on in my craft corner and a bit of inspiration

Okay...so that's a long title. 

If you haven't already been able to tell from previous posts, I struggle with my titles.  I hope I can increase in cleverness as I continue...we'll see.

I have a very dear friend who was coming up on a birthday.  I was struggling with what to make.  Finally I just asked her what she wanted out of the things I was contemplating.  She told me and I was off and running.

I had bought a pattern for a thread catcher quite a while ago.  I've never been good at following

a pattern though and so never had the courage to give it a try.  I guess I was feeling a bit more confident when I offered it to my friend as an option.  I'm so glad I did.  It was a super easy pattern and I was thoroughly satisfied with how it turned out.  I hope she was too.

 

As for the little bit of inspiration...

In my Book of Mormon study the other day I came across a verse that I have loved for a long time.  

1 Nephi 16:16

I'ts quite a simple verse talking about Nephi and his family following the directions of the Liahona...

"And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness."

I love what it implies...that if we are righteous and do all we can to follow the Lord, He will lead us in fertile paths...not that we won't have any trials and not that life won't be hard but He will be a lamp unto our feet and our eyes will be opened to how fertile the path we have trod has become as we grow from our experiences, no matter how dark they may seem at the time.

I tried to find a picture online that depicted what was in my mind when I read this.

Here's one...

and another...

and another.

Thank you Google Images.

Chicago PART 3

Chicago was very cool at night.  The lights and energy were awesome. 

After the hospital, we went back to the hotel and freshened up and then headed out to do a bit more sight-seeing/shopping and dinner.  

We walked for several blocks down the mile and ended up in another mall next to the Hancock building.

The first store we saw was the American Girl Doll store.  I got three guys to go in that store with me.  It was pretty nifty and the whole time I was wishing that Abby could have been by my side.  She would have been in heaven.  I found cute, matching girl/doll, American girl Chicago shirts and a tote bag for all of her doll stuff.

Further into the mall we found this store.  All the buildings in the picture above were built out of legos.  Very impressive on closer inspection.  I was surprised that the Lego logo was not built out of legos.  It looked like a bunch of little uninflated balloons. 

However, I got up really close and saw they were legos...the heads of mini figures!  Awesome!

It was a very cool store.  They had a little play area where Ben made a new friend while I shopped. 

They had a place where you could build your own mini figures.  They also had a place with a bunch of computers and legos...I didn't know what it was for but I'm sure it was awesome.

Ben was quite enthralled with all the life size figures built out of legos.  He didn't want to leave Woody's side and finally had to give him a kiss before he was satisfied and could be dragged away.

We also went to a great store called Marbles the Brain Store.  They had some unique and fun games.  We ended up getting a game called Sherlock for Josh and a game called Trigger for the family.  Trigger is made by the same company that makes one of our favorite games, Spot It.

I was able to make it up to the top floor of the mall to the Pandora store.  Andy gave me a Pandora bracelet with one bead for Christmas (I had picked it out for him).  I thought it would be fun to add another one to it.  The guys waited outside of the store.  Ben was fascinated by the escalators so they were going to go for a few rides while I chose a bead.  A minute after entering the store Andy came in and said Ben was having one of his staring seizures.  He said to keep looking; he just wanted me to know.  I hurried and chose a bead called "The Magnificent Mile" (a lot of cities adopt a bead and give it a name associated with their city).

I went out to find Ben still quite out of it.  Andy said it had lasted about 7 minutes.  He started to come around while I held him.  We were all pretty hungry and so we went walking again and found some dinner here...

Apparently they are pretty famous for their Chicago style, deep dish pizza.  I was kind of shocked though when we were seated and I heard the waiter tell a group next to us that their pizzas would take 45 minutes to an hour to bake.  Oh boy!  I knew Ben couldn't hold out that long.  We got his dinner quickly and then took turns walking the restaurant with him while waiting for our own.

It was an interesting restaurant to study since every inch within arms reach (and often beyond) was covered in signatures/graffiti.

Check out the name right in the middle.

 

 

 

One of my favs!

The food was quite good when it came.  We all gulped it down so we could get Ben back to the hotel and happy.  He actually fell asleep in the hotel's crib after he stripped the sheets.  He ended up in bed with us as he always does sometime in the middle of the night.  He was zonked!  He slept through us getting ready and we had to awaken him so we wouldn't be late.

We got him ready and slipped downstairs and had a quick breakfast.  We grabbed our stuff and were headed to the airport.

We ended up having a good amount of time so we wandered around one of the world's busiest airports.  I had to buy some chocolate from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company...the Peanut Butter Bucket was my favorite, and I had to buy some popcorn from Garrett's for Ben...he loves popcorn!  (Because Ben is such a charmer he got free chocolate and free popcorn...lucky guy!)

Here are Ben and Grandpa Bryan at lunch before we loaded the airplane.

Pretty cute stuff!

 Well, the next part of our story is pretty long...so I will spare you the details.

  Let me just say that we loaded our plane, spent about 2 hours there, were unloaded, spent about 1/2 an hour back in the airport, loaded the plane again, spent about three more hours sitting and trying to entertain Ben, were unloaded again for about 15 minutes and then were loaded for the third time.  Finally, after 7 1/2 hours past our original take off time, we took off.  It was all due to weather, luggage problems, mechanical problems and such.  Boy, were we glad to finally get off the ground.  Within 3 minutes of taking off, Ben was asleep in my arms and slept until the last 30 minutes of the three hour flight.  Then he ate and drank some water so his ears were okay while we landed.  

He was amazing.  Even during the 7 1/2 hours on the tarmac he was happy for the most part.  I was so grateful!  It could have been my worst nightmare but he was a doll.  (It was also a blessing to have the extra space granted between  the last row of 1st class and our seats.)

We got home about midnight and found all snug and sound. 

What an incredible trip!  We were so blessed to have that opportunity and so blessed to have the support and love from our families and friends.  Now we will put into practice some of the things Dr. Laux suggested and hopefully see some improvement for Ben.

Chicago PART 2

Ben slept like an angel Wednesday night.  However, he woke up super grumpy.  I was hoping that by our appointment with Dr. Laux at 1:00 he would have reverted back to his usual little charming self.  

We took our time getting ready for the day and then walked down the street to a Corner Street Bakery for breakfast.  The guys had breakfast paninis and I ordered a yogurt/fruit parfait, a side of potatoes, hot chocolate, orange juice and a slice of cinnamon cream cake.  It was all pretty scrumptious!

One of the waiters took a liking to Ben and talked to him quite a bit.  He told him 'he was the future'.

After breakfast we had about an hour before we needed to leave for the hospital.  We decided to walk a bit down the Magnificent Mile and do some window shopping.  I had come prepared with a hat and mittens for Ben.  He wasn't too keen on keeping them on but he eventually got used to them.

We ended up inside of a mall because of the biting cold air outside.  

This is a fun store window that I saw.  Those are cakes on top of the bridesmaids' heads.

We went to a children's store called Kooky.  Almost immediately I saw a Cat in the Hat stuffed animal that I knew Ben would love.  I picked it up...saw the price tag...and put it back down.  A little steep for my taste.  Ben had seen it though and apparently, as Andy was strolling him around the store, he kept signing "cat".  I couldn't resist.  He loves his Cat in the Hat and held on to it pretty tightly for the first little while.  

We then headed back to the hotel and hopped into a cab.  By the way, "hopping in" includes folding up the stroller and putting it in the back, Andy buckling in the car seat and then buckling Ben into said seat and then buckling ourselves in.  We did get pretty efficient with the process though and could do it in probably less than three minutes.  Our cab driver to the hospital was the most reckless we had experienced to that point.  He also was a honker and would honk at anyone for any reason.  His method of driving was similar to what I am told is my own method; pushing the gas pedal down and then taking my foot off and then pushing it down again when I need to pick up speed and then releasing it completely again when I reach my desired speed.  After the ride I asked Andy to assure me that I wasn't as bad as this guy.  He said I wasn't.  Let's hope he wasn't just trying to make me feel better.  When we pulled into the hospital entrance area, the cab driver rolled down his window and told a lady trying to parallel park that she needed more training.  He was a character.

Once inside, we were directed where to go.  We reached the third floor and found the epilepsy area.  There was no waiting room or anything.  Just an office where I stepped in and filled out a little paperwork while the guys waited in the hall.  After a minute, the nurse took us into Dr. Laux's office. She got some measurements on Ben and then soon thereafter, the doctor came in.  We had arrived quite early for the appointment and so we were thrilled that she came in as soon as she did.  We spent three solid hours with her.  She was great!  I liked her a lot.  Not only was she sharp and knowledgeable but also very kind and friendly. 

After about two hours of trying to entertain Ben in the office, he finally fell asleep on my lap and we were able to continue the conversation with no distractions.

She said Ben seems like a pretty typical case of Dravet.  The only thing that doesn't really jive is his problematic pregnancy and problems at birth.  

We now have a game plan and list of things to try in order of what will hopefully work the best to the least.  She wants us to give the ketogenic diet a try.  This seems to be especially helpful for the myoclonic jerks that keep throwing him to the ground.  If that doesn't seem to help, she wants us to try Clobazam again and if needed add Stiripentol on top of it.  This combination also seems to be most helpful for the jerks.  There were a couple of other things she listed but they were a lot less likely to be helpful to Ben.

She also had some suggestions for therapy such as speech therapy more often than he is currently receiving and also physical therapy if and when we get his myoclonic seizures under control.  She said he might grow out of the awkward gait he has right now but then later, around the teen years, many develop a crouched gait.  Therefore, it would be helpful to do some PT to strengthen his core muscles and balance.  It would be kind of fruitless right now though since he would constantly be falling down.  Dr. Laux also said it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some oxygen for Ben at home.  Obviously, in three hours we talked about a lot more than that but those are the things that stand out.

sorry...bad picture quality, but Thank You Dr. Laux!

There was this awesome ball thing in the lobby downstairs that Ben and I stared at forever while the guys arranged a taxi and did other odds and ends. 

In particular, there was a bobbing turtle that had an open mouth.  The balls would fall into it and the turtle would tip and send them on their way in another direction.  Ben started mimicking the turtle by putting his open palm under his mouth and doing an eating motion and sound.  It was adorable.  He screamed when I had to pull him away to get in the cab.

As a side note, this summer, the hospital will have a brand new building located downtown.  This will be nice for possible future visits to Chicago.

"Chicago, Chicago, what a wonderful town!" PART 1

This song kept playing through my head while we were in The Windy City. 

But let me back up...yes, we went to Chicago...to see a doctor who specializes in Dravet Syndrome.  We've been planning this trip for a while and it finally came to pass.  Andy's dad was kind enough to come with us since he has had much experience traveling in big cities...specifically in Chicago even.  It was a great relief to us.  Our mothers and my dad were also very kind to watch the other three kids for us while we were away.  Thank you everyone!

This was not Ben's first trip on an airplane.

It was his first time on an airplane with an iPad though.  

It helped quite a bit but we still had some fussiness.  The stewardess was quite strict about having him in his seat with his buckle done up when there was turbulence.  He did not like the seat belt at all and that was the beginning of our troubles.  Next was the air pressure problem.  He kept covering his ears and crying.  I felt so bad for him.  I tried to get him to eat something so his little ears would pop but he wouldn't.  About the last 30 minutes of the flight he cried straight.  Not only did I feel sorry for him but for all the people around us.  I apologized to those nearest to us as we exited the plane.  They were all very kind and said they had been there before and not to worry about it.  Let's just hope everyone on the plane felt the same way. 

I had never ridden in a cab before.  I felt like I was in a movie.  Once we got downtown I was amazed at how closed in everything was.  For some reason I had pictured wide, open streets but everything was so narrow.  I couldn't believe how close we were to all the other cars in the next lane.  I was just glad I was not the one driving.  

We stayed at the Marriott on the Magnificent Mile.  It was quite posh and I felt like we didn't belong but it was still pretty cool.  We walked just down the street a jaunt to eat dinner at Buca di Peppo.   It was cute and the food was yummy.  Ben ate like never before!  He was eating salad and two different kinds of pasta.  He was bouncing off the walls of the booth too...kissing pictures of baseball players and dancing.  It was quite entertaining for all of us.

 

After dinner we walked back to our rooms and turned in for the night...not until I ate my ginormous piece of cheesecake (with raspberry hazelnut sauce) that I got "to go" from the restaurant though.  It was quite the dessert.  Ben helped me eat that too.  

The morning before we left Ben had awakened at 3:45 a.m. and did not go back to sleep.  Consequently, we were all pretty tired after our long day.  We were hoping that Ben would zonk quickly...especially with such a full belly... but it still took him until almost 11:00. 

What's on your nightstand?

 

This is what my nightstand looks like.  I'm reading a few things eh?

Actually it looks more like this...

stacked in  categories like spiritual, fiction and fitness...but for a more impressive sight I stacked them all up together.

I want to tell you about each book that I'm perusing.  

Starting from the bottom of the stack moving up...

LDS Living- I get it in the mail every now and then and I quickly flip through it and always notice an article or two that look interesting and so I set it aside to read later.  That later reading doesn't always happen (I wonder why?) but I keep it around in case the stack of other reading dwindles.

Maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks I'll get around to the articles in this issue about Vocal Point, the delights and dangers of the media, Jimmer and Bundit Ungrangsee.

The Ensign-  I have to admit that I haven't always been faithful with reading the Ensign.  However, several years ago I somehow realized what an inspired magazine it is and that I would do well to read it every month.  I have done quite well since then and always enjoy the amazing articles that are so relevant to our times.

The Conference issue of the Ensign-  Now I'm still working on this one.  Of course this one is equally if not more important than the other issues of the Ensign.  We are counseled to study these words...not just hear them once at conference time and then forget about them. 

I am often haunted by the story of the man who was telling another man, not of the LDS faith, about how we have living prophets and they speak to us today.  The other man then asks what the prophet had said recently.  The first man couldn't respond.  He didn't know what our prophet had recently told the members.  Isn't that sad?  That often spurs me on to read another talk in the conference issue. 

I love these issues and should treasure them even more than I currently do.  We all should be able to read one or two talks a week right?

Moving on...

Marathon; You can do it! by Jeff Galloway-  Okay, so I'm running a marathon!  I can't believe I'm doing this...never thought in a million years...never in a million years did I think I would be a runner period...but I guess I am.  

Long story short, in 2008, some friends invited me to start running with them.  I accepted because I was desperate to lose some baby fat (that I still had after two years of giving birth).  My friends decided to train for a 1/2 marathon and so after putting some serious doubt aside I agreed to do it with them.  We did it and it was an amazing experience for me. 

The next year I had another baby and so I took a break from running but then in 2010 I was back in it.  I had waited too late to sign up for the Top of Utah 1/2 marathon again and so I just decided to do it unofficially.  I ran the course a couple of weeks before the event with my brother and one of my original running friends Trina, rode her bike alongside since she was dealing with Plantar Fasciitis (did you know that's now it was spelled?  I sure didn't.)  

 

2011 I did the 1/2 again along with a Fundraiser for Dravet Syndrome (I'll blog about that later).

We also did the fundraiser at the Top of Utah full marathon and as I watched the runners come across the finish line I got the bug.  I wanted to do a full marathon.  Now this is crazy since every time I crossed the 1/2 finish line I remember thinking there's no way I could ever do a full marathon and have this be my halfway mark.  Well, anyway, back to the book.  I was told by our local running store owner that this is the book to read if you want to run a marathon for the first time.  So I had Andy give it to me for Christmas.  It's nifty.  Mr. Galloway actually makes it sound doable.  I've started my training and am excited for the final race...still need to decide which one I'm doing ;o)

A Return to Virtue-  Did you know our sweet General Young Women President, Elaine Dalton, has run 17 marathons?  I didn't either until I had Andy also give me this book for Christmas. 

In this book she compares running a marathon to life.  I love having a spiritual perspective to think about while I'm running.  And how inspiring it is to me that she is a serious runner and still able to be successful in other important areas of her life.  I had wondered recently if I could be a devoted wife and mother and a committed runner.  It seems to be possible.

Daughters in My Kingdom-  I love this book.  How can you doubt that it was inspired.  I love everything about it...the words, the colors the pictures.  It is truly beautiful.  I try and read a bit from it each Sunday.

The Candy Makers-  This is a book we picked up at the last book fair at the school.  Since I have been burned before, I'm kind of leery about purchasing books that I haven't read before...even books for kids, but this one looked so cute and seemed so innocent that I let Josh get it.  I'm so glad I did.  It has not disappointed.  It is just as innocent as it sounds.  I'm reading it to the kids any night that we're semi-on time getting them to bed.  It is an intriguing (even to me) mystery that we all have enjoyed.  I have loved how the author writes different chapters from the perspectives of different characters in the book.  She is a master.  I'm excited to read more of her stuff...especially since this has been so clean!

Fable Haven-  Josh got the first two books in this series for his birthday several months ago.  We encouraged him to read them but he had flipped through the first one and was concerned about it being a little too scary for him.  That was fine I thought.  He could read them in a couple of years maybe.  In the meantime, Andy picked up the first one and read it.  He really enjoyed it and encouraged me to read it.  I liked it a lot and went on to read the second one.  I finished it and the day after Christmas, ran out and bought the last three.  They are a bit intense and am kind of glad that Josh didn't try to read them yet, but his parents are sure enjoying them.  As a matter of fact, after I finished the second one, Andy picked it up and now he breathing done my neck in the third one.  He'll read it when I'm not and he's gaining on me.  Since he didn't wait for me to finish it I've been trying to read more often so I can stay ahead of him.  Silly, I know.

Last but not least...

The Book of Mormon-  Ever since I was young, thanks to the good example of my older sister, I have been consistent with my reading of the scriptures.  However, that does not mean I was good at studying them.  That has always been a struggle for me.  It's too often a check mark to get done during the day.  I have tried several different ways to study and some have been more successful than others but have not stuck for long.  I think I have finally hit on something that I can use at least as long as I have kids living at home.  

As I have done at the beginning of many years, I had a goal to do better at my study.  Initially, my goal was to have a "meaningful moment" each day in the scriptures.  To really study something out or find a new application for my life.  Well, at the same time, we started reading the "real" Book of Mormon with the kids.  Up until now we've read from the illustrated Book of Mormon reader and had Josh read a few versus from the real one to supplement.  However, thanks to a challenge from our bishop for the month of December, we realized that our little family was probably mature enough to handle the real thing.  Only a few days into the year my goal kind of morphed into finding something in my study that day that I could discuss and share with the kids during family study.  That has been my meaningful moment each day.  I have loved it!  It's been so good to actually have a discussion with the kids about the scriptures instead of just reading and then closing the book.  The kids have been asking questions and seem to be soaking it up.  I'm thrilled with this new arrangement and hope it lasts a long time.  

P.S.  Our goal as a family is to read the entire book by the end of the year.  That's about a page and a half a day.  I'm pretty sure we'll do it!

Wow!  That was a super long post.  You're a trooper if you stuck with me the whole way.  Mom, I know you did.  Thanks.

A girls' day out!

Saturday was a special day.  I got to go shopping with Abby, her grandma, cousin, and aunt for a baptism dress.  Oh boy were the girls excited.  It was pretty cute to watch and listen as they squealed and swirled around in the pretty white dresses.  

There was one in particular that they both adored but both moms said "no" to.  

It was just a little too much for a baptism dress. 

We did have a little bit of a tantrum over it but luckily that dress was forgotten when we went to another shop and found equally beautiful but more conservative dresses.  I couldn't help but think as I helped Abby try on dress after dress about a date far in the future when we might go wedding dress shopping together.  I know it's many years down the road, but I also know that the time will go  quicker than I expect.  Just another reminder to cherish every moment in the now.

The girls decided on the same dress.

However, we realized with Abby's baptism still 10 months away and with great potential for growth in those months, to hold off on buying hers.  The dress fit her perfectly now so I would have bought one size larger but they didn't have one and their return policy is only good for 30 days and you can't do special orders....so, I just decided to wait.  I was extremely worried about another tantrum when I told Abby the plan but she was surprisingly adult about it and just said that it was fine and whenever she wanted to see the dress she "could just look at Aubrey's." (who lives in Idaho Falls!)  At least now she knows what she wants and hopefully they will have one her size when we go shopping in October. 

After shopping, the girls decided on Pizza Pie Cafe for lunch.  I didn't complain...I love that place!

They got their own little booth and had a ball.

Thanks Nancy, Jenny and Aubrey for a very fun day!  (And thanks to the guys for letting us go and taking care of all the other young'ns.)