A New Tradition- If We Don't Have Heart Attacks First

School started on a Thursday in Springfield, New Jersey, which was kind of strange.

And I sure do love this family of mine. 

We miss the older girls every day, but we know they would be with us if they could. 

We started a new tradition this year, the Back to School Family Feast.

Earlier in the week, with the help of the family, I created the menu. 

I'd asked each person what they would have me serve if they could only have one thing- anything for dinner. It could be dessert it could be a drink, a main dish....whatever.

On Sunday, I decorated the table and presented the kids with our feast.

We had: 

hamburgers (Greyson)

mashed potatoes and gravy (Zane)

pizza (Parker)

sausage links (Mom)

grilled cheese (Dad)

and 

Dutch Apple Pie (Romy)

It was absolutely the most unhealthy thing on the planet, but we had so much fun. 

Each person set a goal for the year and we brainstormed about what our family mission statement would be for the 2014-2015 school year. 

We talked about things we are looking forward to, things we are thankful for and things we hope to change this year. 

We drank Cokes and laughed when people turned down foods that they normally would fight over, because nobody could eat a cheeseburger AND a slice of pizza AND a grilled cheese sandwich AND Sausage AND mashed potatoes AND pie- even though the boys certainly tried to.

 We had a lot of leftovers, but there are worse things than having leftovers of your favorite food.

It was a good way to start the year, it added some fun and the Olson silliness that we enjoy. 

It was fun to start a new tradition, we will see how it changes over the years.

We don't have that many back- to - schools left, after all. 

I hope the kids look back on this and it makes them as happy as it made Matt and I to see their shocked and amused faces as I brought out the feast food. 

I hope your back to school week included something fun, if it didn't- you still have time, there are plenty of weeks left n September.

As we celebrate and have fun, our hearts are with our dear friends in Murray, Sarah and Andy.  They were in our ward in T-ville and when they moved to Virginia, we were all so sad to see them go, but we were excited for them, too. Years later, they had returned to Utah and we were the ones moving far away. I was so freaked out and it was Sarah who gave me the confidence and comfort to trust that the Lord was with us and it would all be just fine- wonderful, even. 

Their son, Magnus, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and in the past two weeks, their life has turned upside down and inside out.

You can read their blog here:  http://sarahandandyfamily.blogspot.com/

We love you guys, your names are in the temple here in the big city, and we think of you every day and pray for you. I wish there was more we could do to help. If any of my readers would be willing to pray for and put their names in their local temple, I would be personally thankful.

Sarah, Andy, Laylah, Jonah, Daphne, Baron & Magnus Collette....we love you. 

And cancer sucks.

Here We Go...

Each summer, we have a season of visitors.

We love it.

We love to see friends and family and to see their faces when they first glimpse Lady Liberty, or that look of awe when they stop in the middle of the sidewalk in Manhattan, look up at the buildings as the taxis honk and busses speed by and their jaw just drops as their souls absorb a little bit of the city and makes it forever a part of them.

We are admittedly a little bit sick of the Staten Island Ferry. :)

This summer, most of our company comes in June, right at the same time as Zane's graduation.

It's why they will be here, but we are going to be crazy busy.

On top of having a lot of guests, we're throwing a pretty big party for Zane's graduation. It's just a short ice cream social, but we've invited the whole ward. 

Heaven forbid I do anything subtle in life.

I am excited, though. 

Those times where you're flying down the roller coaster at full speed are fun, even though you always lose your hat.

We got a tiny little teaser this week, with our dear friends, Lynn and Joie Tucker from Taylorsville staying with us for two, too short nights. They were going to Kentucky and then decided to head further east to see us and are hitting New Hampshire next.

Joie is one of my very best friends and spending the day with her was just what my heart was needing. She's good natured, easy going, radiates joy and hilarious. She's also a nurturer who was there for me and lifted me up when the bottom fell out of my life in Utah. Her love (and that of my other sweeties in the knitting group)  got me through the hardest season of my life. 

Knit night at Joie's house was the night I looked forward too most. It changed me so much and I will always be thankful for that season.

Joie and Lyn had never been to The Big Apple, it was a dream of her's to go to the Manhattan Temple and see it, smack dab in the middle of the crazy city.

We planned to go to the 11:00 session.

Traffic dictated that we made it to the 2:30 session.

As we drove through the heart of the city, Lynn laughed his head off at the crazy drivers and marveled that in spite of how uts it it, nobody was getting in a wreck and people seemed to just take it in stride. 

We had a couple of close calls by SLC standards, but nothing out of the ordinary in NYC.

We ate gourmet doughnuts at my favorite spot, walked for about 5 minutes in Central Park and had lunch at a cafe near the temple.

Mostly, we were in the car, but that was okay because Lynn and Joie made us feel like we were giving them a world class guided tour, by way of our dirty car. 

I had a fun time and it was so nice to go to the temple again.

The next month is going to fly by, but I'm buckled in and ready.

Here we go......

So Many Smiles

What a week we're having!

Our friends are still here and we're having a wonderful, noisy time. 

We've played a ton of games, taken NYC by storm and hit the Jersey Shore. 

The kids have watched Mulan no fewer than 6 times and I have no idea why they are all suddenly obsessed with it. 

Everyone is sunburned and so tired we have laughing fits over nothing and we have a special version of "I'll Make a Man Out of You" where all of the lyrics are replaced with the word "butt" because we're classy like that. 

Matt and Romy had fun birthdays, and my baby is officially a Beehive with her own cell phone.

Thankfully, we had unlimited texting. 

Kate and Jane are here and the girls are doing  manicures every night before bed as they have a slumber party in the family room, thanks to the fact that I own at least 40 bottles of nail polish.

We've enjoyed NY style pizza and NJ bagels that I cannot shut up about. 

I did a photo shoot in the back yard that turned out great, apparently I have a little bit of practice shooting family pictures with 7 kids. :)

We converted Summer and Leir into Whovianism.

My face hurts from all of the smiling I have done and also from being as red as a lobster from my sunburn. 

We're trying to convince them to move here because New Jersey is awesome and we love the Mitchells so very much.

Lighting candles and saying a prayer at St. Paul's Chapel in NYC

 9-11 Memorial

 sweet girls using the buddy system on the streets of Manhattan

 on Broadway...not the cool theater section- but it's still a big sign that says "Broadway" 

 Hot dogs in Battery Park

 Violet kind of melted.

 You are HERE.

Right here.

 My pedicure, courtesy of a three year old

 This was when Grey's skin was still white. 

So very, very white.

 Miss Violet, loving the water at Sandy Hook Beach.

 Dianna and John came from Brooklyn to soak up the sun with us, it was so great to see her & meet John! 

 Sometimes, I get in front of the camera.

I am as in love with this guy as the day I married him.

  Birthday Buddies. 

Sunburned.

A few hours after this, his burn really developed and he is still hurting with a screaming angry red and blistered burn.

We put sunscreen on him at least 3 times, but he still fried.

I bought a swim shirt for him today, I'm never going to trust Coppertone  again.

I cannot handle the grown up-ness.

Make it stop!

12 candles

24 candles, because that's all they have in a pack and this nearly burned the house down

 Romy's inscription is "you're not really fat" and we're not sure if she means is really not fat or he's just fat, but not REALLY fat.

Happy Birthday?

 This child turns 16 in 2 weeks. 

I'm not done having  'Eek!' moments this month.

Playing Telestrations....

Balloon Party, complete with a balloon D.J.

(red arrow= Matt's office)

Mitchell/Olsons out, Yo.

Unconditional Love...Even for Me

 School is out!!!!

 What a strange and wonderful first year in New Jersey we have had.

We're looking forward to two lazy months. 

I slept in until 9 this morning. 

Even on Saturdays I tend to be up by 8:00 because my internal clock starts to get trigger happy at 6:30 am, when it's time to start the day for school.

I was a dead log this morning.

It was wonderful.

This weekend everyone chipped in to help get the apartment ready for  visitors. Having two teenage boys up there is just gross.

 They're wonderful boys, I adore them, but -ew. 

They make some of the most jaw-dropping messes and they sneak food up there all of the time. It drives me nuts, but since it's on a floor I rarely am on, it's easier to just ignore it most days. I am a slacker parent in that regards. 

But everyone helped a lot and we're ready for anything now.

If it's not clean enough to someone else's standards, they can go scrub their own baseboards and feel superior to me. 

 We're happy in our home.

With Summer in full swing, it means Matt will be working from home a lot more and I love having him around. He's a good husband and the best friend I could ever imagine. 

He's also my hot bagel date on Friday mornings.

He's hot....the bagels are hot....hotness is everywhere  at the Kosher Bagel Hut here in Springfield.

--

I was able to tackle the rest of my Pioneer Trek Sewing and finished making bonnets for all of the YW in our ward who needed one. I also finished a complete trek outfit for one of the girls.

Romy is too young for trek, but she's a cutie bug model, isn't she?

She has loved the first bonnet I made from day one and kept asking if I would make her one, just like that pink one. When I finished the other bonnets, I gave her the pink one and she was thrilled. She wears it all of the time now.

Pioneers love them some Minecraft.

She also wore it to bed last night. I think a Little House on the Prairie marathon is in order.

She went with me to the Plainfield Spanish Branch yesterday.

We helped out n Primary and Romy met a new friend, her name is Rominia and she is also 11 years old. 

I knew the girls would hit it off and we're going to see if we can have a play date after the month of visitors is finished. 

We had a great time, even if we couldn't understand anything in sacrament meeting.  

The kids are so loving and I got many snuggles yesterday.

I also was passing out sweets, which helps. :) 

I love the children, and left with tears in my eyes when one of the boys came and gave me a huge hug before I left and said "when are you coming back, Sister?" I said I wasn't sure, but I would see him in a few weeks at the activity and I'd give him some candy. he looked at me and said "I like candy, but I love it when you come here. It feels good and you are so happy and nice to me."

I put his face in my hands and said "I love you so very much" and he gave be a big hug and said "I know, Sister. You do love me." 

Yeah.

That's what matters most, that's why all of it matters so much.

The lessons, the rules, the songs are great, but what matters most is that those kids know they are loved, that they know how precious they are in the eyes of God and that we try our best to feel unconditional love and always see the promise in them- and make sure they know what we see when we are with them.

I can't do much, but I can love. 

With my own kids, if they know I love them unconditionally and that bad choices they make do not make them bad people- if they can grow up and know that no matter what- they are lovable, they are cherished and they are precious- I will feel like I did what mt Father in Heaven wanted me to do when he blessed my life with these wacky kids.  What matters most is that they know they are loved- so very loved.

They will still do dumb things, they will hurt you and strain your heart to the limit, but always, always make sure they know that when you look at them, you see what you believe the Savior sees when he looks on them- someone with infinite potential, who is completely lovable and someone that always has more good in them than bad. I believe with all of my soul that the work I was called to do is to teach, show and learn about unconditional love with our young ones. Maybe in time that will help me to see myself differently, to see myself as deserving of that same love. For now, I'm still pretty rough on myself. It's all connected and I have hope that the things I know to be true with our little ones, will help heal me so that I can see myself not through the harsh and critical eyes of my earthly parents, but as the Lord sees me, too.

I'm not there yet, by a long shot, but I'm working hard and I'm doing my best. 

This week, I got a surprise in the mail from a friend I have in Las Vegas.

She and I connected during a season when I was a new step mom and I was shocked by the way my husband's ex acted and treated people. I am still shocked by the way she treats people, but I have better boundaries now and recognize the behavior for what it is, simple bullying.  Nothing important or unique, just your run of the mill bullying. 

Nicole was going through similar things and she was a great support to me and I just love her.

She sent me this :

I've put it on my bathroom mirror. 

Thank you, Sweet Friend. 

I'm working on it, but oh, it is hard for me. 

When we got home Romy said she wanted to help with the Spanish branches next time I went, that she felt a different feeling there, like she was doing something good by helping them.

 I sure am proud of the young woman she is becoming.

Ack.

Young woman.

AAAAAACCCCKKKK. 

Craft Day and My Big Fat Mormon Winter

I hosted a craft day yesterday.

10 hours of visiting while pretending to 'work.'

I think it's time for a new tote, Terri. :)

I didn't do any layouts, but I did make some cards.

Tomorrow I'm re-registering for Weight Watchers Online again.

Matt and I did it a year or so ago, it was a really good program and worked really well for us both. We did well as a team on the plan.

When we moved, I went off of the plan.

Over the course of  this incredibly long and depressing winter, I have gained some weight.

Like, NOTHING fits gain, my fat pants are giving me wedgies.

(TMI? )

My arthritis was a killer this winter and I spent a lot of days hurting so much and because I eat my feelings, like so many of us do, I sat around for months and just puttered around my house and ate. 

I will always be a person with curves. I like having curves, to me they are feminine, to my husband, they are sexy. Breasts and hips are awesome. 

(Yay! More TMI! )

After spending all of my teenage years starving myself, I stopped caring about being super thin when I had my first child. I think my parent cared more about my weight than I did and when I realized where I was happy at, I stopped hating myself because my clothing size wasn't a single digit. 

But this winter, I just went to crap.

Cold weather that never ended, arthritis and flat out stress eating. 

I have to make some changes or this will happen to me every winter.

 The nature of the seasons are not going to change, but the nature of this woman can.

So tomorrow, with the discount Matt gets from work, I'll sign up again and stop buying rainbow cookies and Cheetos. I'll stop having an energy drink for breakfast and M&M's for lunch.

I'll be more supportive of Matt as he has been trying to get back on the plan for a month now and I have been cooking and buying groceries in the same fashion I did before.

Owning it is the first step. 

Not eating a box of Girl Scout Cookies while watching The Biggest Loser is the second, or so I've been told.