Where has the time gone?

A year ago we were putting the house on the market, Kent was in Kentucky and our life was bustling. My kids finished school at the end of June and we had 7 short weeks of summer vacation which included a move to Kentucky.
Today I find myself at the end of a fantastic school year and like whiplash I can't seem to figure out how the year passed so fast.
Chris and Megan made the move to middle school this year and we all spent more then a few days worried about the transition, it went so smoothly I can't say why we worried at all. Middle school agreed with both of them and their report cards showed it as they both received their best grades ever. The time change for them was excellent as well! They enjoyed sleeping in till 7:30 every day! Middle school doesn't start until 9:05. We shared casual breakfasts, finished homework together and sauntered out the door any time between 8:35 and 8:50. It was fantastic. Neither of them played a sport this year but Megan joined the art club and Chris joined the science club, which they both seemed to enjoy. Homework for both of them was almost non-existent and they also enjoyed casual evenings staying out late hanging out with their friends! Again, It was fantastic! Chris improved his skateboarding skills, took up paintball and enjoyed scouting and young men events. Megan enjoyed make jewelry, playing with kids in the neighborhood and activity days, she also started attending Young Women's once a month to prepare for girl's camp!
Allison and Joe attended school together and both had a great year as well. Allison began playing the violin, became an avid reader and participated in gummy bear club. She has a wonderful friend in our neighborhood who also goes to church with us and that has been her favorite part of our move. Joe started the year behind and a little rambunctious. He quickly assimilated to our new schedule and caught up in his reading and math by the end of the year. I am so proud of the extra effort he put in to read and practice math so he could catch up here. He is quite the ladies man and has accumulated 5 friends that are girls which makes us all giggle. I am sure he would also have friends that were boys if we had any in the neighborhood that were his age. He finally learned to ride his bike and he loves it. He also has become quite attached to Lucky our beagle he got for his birthday last year.
Allison and Joe's schedule was a little harder for me to adjust to as they left for school often in the dark. We really had a tough time getting out the door in the morning. I often said hi to the moon or cursed it for still being up there! Now in the spring it is a distant memory and I am finding it much easier to get out in the morning. The afternoon was fabulous though as we had 2 hours together everyday before Kent and the big kids got home. That's when Allison's reading took off. She read all of Harry Potter(7books), Percy Jackson(5 books as well as the 3 spin offs)and anything else she could get her hands on!
School ends tomorrow. I am planning out our summer reading list and activities. I am getting ready for days filled with kids, friends and heat. Joe is signed up for swimming lessons. We bought a pass to the city pools. Chris is going to scout camp and Megan is going to girls camp. Allison has a stack of 5 books with her name on it. We were hoping to make it back to MA for a week but it just doesn't look like it's going to happen this summer, definitely next year though! Before you know it , it will be the middle of August and I will be marching them all back to school and I'm sure I'll be asking again,
Where has the time gone?

My conference weekend

Inspired by my friend Angela and her fantastic blog, I decided to kick my conference viewership up a notch and then chronicle it here and post it on her project semi-annual blog post.

Angela takes conference preparation and observance to a new level and I am inspired by her faith and excitement. I was first inspired by Angela a year ago when she wrote about how her family spiritually and physically prepares. First, choosing a FHE (family home evening) Night to pray and plan as a family about the concerns they have and would like to receive inspiration about during conference. When her family is spiritually prepared she moves on the temporal preparedness. She begins planning and preparing food and activities for her family before conference begins so that her family won't be disturbed by hunger or her small children, while awaiting the spiritual direction they are waiting for. Finally when Angela is prepared both spiritually and temporally she starts to spread her joy to those around her, reminding people its coming, inviting them to take advantage of the moment and finally inviting them to share their experiences with others. I am thankful for her dedication and the example she is to me.

In one of her many Blog posts about conference Angela talked about the pictures in the Ensign(our church magazine) which after each conference prints all the talks, as well as shows pictures around the conference center of members, missionaries and families who have come to watch. She loves those pictures and was inspired to start sharing her family’s pictures of their conference observances and then she invited others to do the same. She is calling it project semi-annual and you are all invited to participate. Just blog about your conference post some pictures and link back to Angela's project semi-annual page here.

I love those pictures too! I remember as a missionary on p-days. I would thumb through old conference issues looking at each picture amazed by the faces of all the families and missionaries who had come to listen to a Prophet speak. So when Angela invited me to do the same I was more then happy to.

So here are my family's pictures! Kent watching conference. Chris and Kent leaving for Priesthood session. The yummy food we prepared to eat during conference. Chicken soup Rolls and Cowboy cookies! Yum! Chicken salad(inspired by Angela) of course!

Yummy fruit salad!

We also make popcorn and little cups of M&Ms to play conference bingo and munch on while we watch.

Megan drew pictures of the speakers and their topics.

Alli completed a activity packet with Joe.

Chris drew pictures too!

Kent and I watched all 4 sessions together and stayed awake all the way through. The kids bombed out on the fifth session. I wish I took a picture of the neighborhood kids who kept peeking in the widow to see if we were done.

All in all I think the food preparation helped tremendously with our ability to focus and enjoy conference, I think will will implement the FHE meeting before conference next time.

Thank you Angela for being a inspiration.

Next time we will have better pictures.