Love and Anger

I just finished reading The Five Love Languages of Children.  I enjoy a good book, and decided to take the time to read books that will inspire me to do better in important areas of my life.  Being a parent is truly one of my greatest gifts and challenges.  My children have so much potential, and I only want to encourage that not hold them back.  Surely, I've made mistakes and will still make mistakes, but knowledge is power. I would highly recommend this book to any parent.  So much great information to make me a better parent. This book is full of yellow highlighter.  I'm now busy playing detective to figure out what each of my children's primary love languages are.

Some seem easier to figure out than others.
Here are the options:
(children need all 5 of the languages, but there will be one that works best for them)

#1: Physical Touch
#2: Words of Affirmation
#3: Quality Time
#4: Gifts
#5: Acts of Service


I thought I had received the real meat and potatoes of this book as I was wrapping it up, but I was wrong.  The thing that really hit me in the gut, that I haven't been able to stop thinking about was not about love, but anger.

"It may surprise you that the primary lifetime threat to your child is his or her own anger. The mishandling of anger is related to every present and future problem your chid may have..." (p152).

The author emphasizes that the anger is not the problem, but rather the way the anger is managed.   Many parents make the mistake of disciplining the anger out of a child. Rather a parent should allow the child to express the angry feelings and then you are in the position to train your child.  This is where you have the opportunity to help them express anger in a more positive way; something that will benefit them their entire life.

Nose to the Grindstone 2011-2012

It back to school time.
What a glorious summer it's been.
We had so much fun and accomplished much on our 50 Thing to do this Summer list.
I took notes from other Mothers and decided to host our very own "Back to School Dinner".
I gave invitations to all those who would be going back to school (everyone but Grace & I).

I cooked up a chicken pot pie, a much beloved dinner at our house. It feels like home.
I served dinner on my beautiful plates Scotty got me for my birthday.

They haven't been used yet, so that moved the specialness up a notch.
We started with a salad first and then moved on to the main course.
When they were finished with the  main course I took their order for dessert and whipped up milkshakes and ice cream sundaes.  The manners were impeccable, and everyone ate all their dinner.
Surprising what a little formal event with your Mother acting as a very proper waitress will do to kids.

Afterward the kids received a father's blessing for the new school year. The best way to ensure they know they are loved and looked after.

The kids started school at different times. Chloe started Monday, Asher and Aidan Tuesday, and Cole the next Tuesday.

Let's start with the oldest first:

We're proud to present our 7th Grader:
Miss Chloe Browning
Attending: Vista Heights Middle School

She has a locker, 8 classes, and a contagious personality.  She's so excited for this new school year. I can't wait to see what great things she does.  She's already tried out for a part in a  Shakespeare play and filled out paperwork for Student Council.  I love that she's not afraid to put herself out there. To try. To not be afraid of failure. That is an invaluable trait.  Her electives are Drama, Art, and ASL (American Sign Language). This is her first time to ride a bus to school. Oh the joy.

They rule the school now, I present our 6th grader:
Asher Browning
Teacher: Mrs. Cook

Asher was lucky enough to get Chloe's teacher from last year, Mrs.Cook. She's an older woman who travels, runs races, and celebrates kids by letting them stand on their desks and be sung to. She's fantastic and he is excited. There's always a bit of pressure when you follow a sibling, but Asher is a funny, enthusiastic, smart boy who thrives on praise.  I'm pretty sure he's enjoying "ruling the school", but I also love that he walks to school with Aidan. He's pictured below with his great friend  Con-Man. 

Connor and Asher the big 6th graders.

Next in line, our handsome 3rd Grader:

Aidan Browning

Aidan's third grade teacher, Mrs.Durfee looks like a gem.  Aidan has a quirky sense of  humor and he loves to be with his friends. Every day after school he runs in and starts a timer to begin his 30 minutes of reading.  He wastes no time so he can quickly get to a friend's house and enjoy the daylight hours.  He's sure that 6 hours of school is an over-commitment, and I remind him how many years of this he has left and to make the best of it.  Aidan is a sweet, tender-hearted boy with a love for life. I think 3rd grade is going to be good to him.

Aidan and Miles finally in the same class!

And lastly, the boy who has waited long enough,

Mr. Cole Browning our Kindergartener. 

Possibly the most social of all our children. He's waited a long time to get to Kindergarten. He is confident, and happy, and comes home and presents his artwork.  He's only gone for 3 hours, which is good, because the house is quiet and nobody's kissing me!  Cole is tenacious, outgoing, talkative, and a pretty good reader. He'll eat up Kindergarten.

Cole with Grandma Bonnie headed to school.
After school she took him to Zupa's to celebrate.

Waiting in line.

So there we have it. It's definitely a different year for us with Chloe going to a different school and riding a bus.  It's exciting to see the kids grow and learn and develop fantastic qualities, but it's a bit painful too.  

Here's to a fantastic school year!

Thunder and Lightning

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

Thunder and Lightning

Asher had his very first Westlake Thunder Youth Football League game on Saturday.
The whole family loaded up with chairs and snacks and headed out.
I must admit. I'm not a fan of football. I don't watch it on t.v., I've never been to a college football game, I think I went to a High School game once.  However, all that changes as I watched my very own freckly flesh and blood on the field.  I asked Scott question after question.

"Now who has the ball?"
"Which way are they suppose to go?"
"Why did they just kick the ball?"
"How many turns do they get before the other guys get the ball?"

As you can see my intense questioning kept Scott, well, laughing.
And rolling his eyes at times.

I was continually scanning the field for #44.  They take those boys on and off, on and off the field.
Our team lost the game, and it was a tough loss.
Afterwards, I expected a downtrodden, sweaty boy to return to the car.
Much to the contrary.  Asher came all smiles and hopped in his seat.
When I asked him what he thought he said, "I know we didn't win, but I got to play a lot in this game and it was so fun!"

Ah. Success.
Here's to many more Saturdays in the sun screaming my guts out.

Now on to the Lightning section of the post.
We've had some serious thunderstorms this summer.
Really fantastic displays of the power of the skies.
So I decided it was high time I got out there and attempted to get a shot of the awesome lightning.
Out our back there is an awesome unrestricted view and I believe this would be the best spot for me to get a great shot, also the deck has a covered area where my camera won't get wet.
So the last two nights I've sat outside in the rain and wind, camera perched on a tripod, fending of mosquitoes, taking shot after shot, hoping to capture some electricity.
Last night I had some success. Honestly out of 100 shots I probably got 5 good ones, but I think I may be addicted.

This was the approaching storm. It was still behind the west mountains.

Off centered, but the storm was definitely moving in.
The wind had begun and some rain. 

I just thought this was awesome. This was that lightning you can't see.
I think it was behind cloud cover, but it would light the whole
night sky in a pink hue. 

This was my last shot as the storm continued to move
northeast. This is shot off my back deck with an
unrestricted view. 

That's New to Me!

It's summer! That means time for new and exciting experiences right? Right.
So here goes:

We attended Greydon's 3rd birthday Party at Monkey Island. My kids had never been to a bounce house extravaganza. They loved every sweaty moment. However, unbeknownst to me Aidan fell off a bounce house and landed on his hip on the concrete. Later that same evening he came to me and showed me his hip. I immediately called every neighbor in the medical field.  It was super gnarly- gigantic bruise and swollen like a golfball was under his skin, but a golf ball the size of a pancake! Oh man, my stomach tingles just thinking about it now. Anyhow, I wasn't in the frame of mind to snap a photo of it, but I got one a few days later when the swelling had subsided.  So I present Aidan's manly bruise :

Last year Asher played flag football for the first time. While his teams wins were few and far between, he loved it and was a fantastic player. It was also very entertaining to watch, but I am a sucker for any sport my kids are involved in.  So, this year I decided he could sign up for tackle football.  He was so excited. He attended conditioning one night a week, tried out, and was put with the coach he liked.  He's been practicing hard- 2 hours a day Monday through Friday.  Their practices would wear me out, but he's not a complainer. Here he is after his first day of practice. He went to his weigh in today and was a whopping 77 pounds.

Chloe was able to go to Girl's Camp for the first time this year. It was up American Fork Canyon.  They stayed in tents, went on a 5 mile hike to Silver Lake, had a testimony meeting, made gifts for her secret sister, and made a lot of crafts.  She had a fantastic time. I am so grateful for all the men and women in my ward who worked so hard to make this a fantastic experience for these young women.  Chloe has also been watching cake shows like crazy. She loves to watch Fabulous Cakes, Cupcake Wars, and Cake Boss.  So she thought she'd try her hand at cake pops the other night.  As usual she does all the thinking and I pipe up when she asks my opinion.  Here was the result of her first cake pops.  Aren't those cute little chicks.  

A visit

I haven't been to Em and Shawn's house since they moved back to Utah.  I decided it was high time I do that. Besides the fact that I just love to spend time with Em.  When I'm with her I laugh, I feel more adventurous, I have deep conversations, and we always have some kind of a "challenge".  I headed up to Logan on Friday afternoon and found their cute house with a bridge in front.  Em and I had talked and I told her all my dreams for the day and a half we had. She did her best to make them all happen.

I had the tour of the homestead first.  I realized then how creative these two people are.  Em's art decorates the place and the basement is reserved for Shawn to create things from metal and refurbish his magnificent D.I. finds.

My first wish was Indian food. I've never had Indian food and really wanted to try it, so we headed downtown with a bottle of homemade Cafe Rio green sauce stashed in my purse.

Oh my it was delicious. The naan was consumed at an amazing rate. I played it safe with a well known favorite, chicken tikka masala. It was better than I'd imagined.

After dinner we ran to buy treats and headed to Harry Potter, in 3-D no less.  I loved every nail biting moment.

We took a drive through Logan past our old college apartments and reminisced. Of course Em could remember more than I since it's been awhile since I graced the Utah State campus.  Back at home we went on a late night bike ride and at least one of us dipped our feet in the freezing cold water that runs in front of their house.  And then the real fun began.  Em's been doing a new workout called CrossFit.  I wanted to see what she could do and she really put on a good show.  It's like basic training, but you can go home afterwards and cry in your pillow. I attempted some of these feats of strength and looked like an old lady. Then it simply became a game of "look what I can do!"

Eventually Shawn came down to show us what he could do. He made it all look way to easy.

The next morning we signed up to play in a Dodgeball Tournament with the proceeds supporting the Special Olympics. John came up to join the team, so our team was made up of 3 family members and 3 of Em's co-workers. 

Just before each game my nerves got going. It felt like elementary school gym again. A couple wins boosted our confidence and we really got into it. Our little team ended up coming in about 6th place.

After the game we headed to Dad's family reunion there at a park in Logan.  It was great to sit and chat with others, look at old pictures, and read journals.

Dad (on left) with a Navy buddy.

 I learned quite a bit about my family history and had a great time.  Dad was the only sibling there. His two sisters who are still alive were too fragile to come.
I took lots of pictures and it sparked in me a desire to learn more about my family history and continue to write in my own journal.

All good things must come to an end. I had such a great time with Em.  She has a contagious excitement about her.  Until next time I will work on my stunts.