Cubs Astonomy Field Trip

The Cubs went on a trip to the Rothney Astrosphysical Observatory to earn their astronomy badges. I assisted with the driving and was surprised to find it was so close to Calgary (it is affiliated with U of C). We got to see Jupiter and some of its many moons through a telescope, as well as a nebulous cluster of new stars about the location of Orion's sword.

An astronomer also told us about a recent supernova (a few days ago!) in a neighboring galaxy that is quite visible from earth. We were able to see the photographs being taken by the telescope--so cool!

http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=93229

I can't help but think that a visit to a planetarium or some such once a year is good for the soul! It reminds us that we are such seemingly insignificant, tiny specks in such a grand universe, and yet we are so significant in God's eyes. It reminds us that we are utterly dependent on God's good graces to even exist! It reminds us that there is more to life than just us.

Church Art

Taylor's latest church creation (2 weeks ago):

The "dialogue" starts at the bottom:

Dad: I have a fat hed. (I am pretty sure this comment is due only to Taylor's artistic abilities and not specific paternal insult.)

Mom: Aaa! Wut did you do?


Averi:  I did nufin!

Taylor:  It wus Ella!

Ella:  No, it wus Taylor!

Ah, family life!  ;)

Taylor's Investiture

Taylor has been subtly groomed by Daddy to be enthusiastic in regards to upcoming Cubs. :D Not that he needed much persuasion.

Taylor has been waiting to come of age for Cubs since earlier this year when he was invited to attend a Cubs airport "field trip." He started attending Cubs regularly since September and went through the investiture ceremony last Wednesday.

Mommy was most impressed that the boys stood decently still throughout the ceremony.

I love Taylor's little salute!

Mommy thought she was supposed to "tie" the scarf on--instead, there's a woggle.

Got it right! Now Mommy was told where all the badges go on Taylor's Cub shirt. Wha?! I have to sew?? (Not really--there is special sticky stuff you can get... Phew!)

It won't be too long until Taylor is hunching over me in pictures!

Footage of Taylor stating the Cub _______ (theme?):

Taylor's Baptism

Taylor's 8th birthday fell right on the Labor Day weekend this year. Since this is the best time to coordinate with American residents, Taylor was baptized on the very day he turned 8.

We took pictures of Taylor that morning to use on his baptism program (click here to view):

We didn't use this one but it's so cute!

Pre-baptism photo:

I am disappointed that we didn't get a family pic, including Grandma and Grandpa Harris! :(

Here are some pics from the "after party":

Some footage:

Easter Pretties

Ready for church:

Averi and Ella actually do have matching yellow dresses but we couldn't find Averi's tights. No biggie. She looks like an Easter egg!

Get In My Belly!

I was recently assigned new visiting teachers, one of whom is obviously pregnant. Ella couldn't resist touching her belly.

Mommy (by way of explanation): She has a baby in there!
Ella (in shock and wonder to the lady): You ate a baby?!?

A Taylor Original

I was clearing out some papers and came across this drawing of Taylor's. I hadn't seen it before but loved it so much that I had to scan it.

Behold, our chapel:

Canada Day Celebration

It's high time I get these pics posted!

For the last several years, our church has put on a celebration for Canada Day. It involves food, entertainment, kid activities and the flag-raising. In the photo below, Ella can be seen plucking the Canadian flag markers for the flag-raising ceremony. Eek, that child!!

I, with a couple buddies, happened to be part of the entertainment [footage below]...



That horrific part in the first song was my fault, of course. It is quite unfortunate that I was the one holding the mike at that point.  :s  In our defense, we had only 4 days notice in which to find songs and practice! (And in defense of the audience size--determined by the pathetic smatter of applause--we were the first act and, therefore, a crowd had yet to accumulate.)

Sara Marie's Blessing

I finally got a pic of little Sara Marie Nelson, Norm and Ariel's daughter born April 26th. She was blessed this past Sunday (May 22).

Me getting my baby fix...

 Averi and Ella love babies...

 I think Avi's leaning in for a kiss here...

That's Ariel's mother holding Sara.

Kids in Church

Avi is now kept rather happily busy during Sacrament Meeting with numerous books. However, every time the organ kicks up for a hymn, Avi immediately folds her arms and yells "Pray!" We had to remind her that it was music time, not prayer time. She also does the same thing at the end of a song, which is when it typically is prayer time. Since the chapel tends to hush right about that time, everyone can hear her pronouncement. It's cute, just loud.

Taylor had his first talk in Primary today. Since I learned from his experience "giving the prayer" (he wouldn't go up at all), I expected the same today. Actually, he did stand up with me (though not behind the podium) and briefly held the picture I was using to talk about temples. It worked out pretty well. I was pretty nervous but was able to wing it fairly successfully.

Ella was so cute today in a simple dress with polo collar and a headband with flowers that matched the color of the dress. Aunt Ariel made a bunch of those headbands for me and they're so adorable!

Taylor's Fav Primary Song

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

FHE

While we've had Primary song sing sessions on Monday evening before, tonight was the first time I presented a tiny little lesson for Taylor at Family Home Evening. Hooray for me! It was about temples. Taylor had thought that a picture of a temple was a church so my goal was just to explain that it was like a very special church. Another goal of FHE is to try and get him to sit still for a lesson in Sunbeams at church! Apparently he's been terrorizing the teachers!

Temple in Calgary!

I was so excited to hear the news on General Conference this morning! President Monson said a temple is being built in Calgary!

After chatting with a few people, the conjecture is that it will be built in the far NW by 2011.

Wehoo!

Kids in Church

Today, Taylor seriously impressed me with his Sacrament meeting skills. He sat pretty quietly, distracted with books and toys.

Averi, however, has taken his place in the you-can't-contain-me department.

RS Progressive Dinner

Wednesday evening, my Relief Society had its annual Progressive Dinner. It's kind of like a potluck that occurs in 3 different homes. Women bring the appetizers and desserts while the main course is provided. This year, the main course** was at my house.

**I did not cook the food provided. It was brought over!

The food was fabulous! Phyllo pastry-wrapped chicken, roasted red peppers and spinach was the entrée (which I obviously didn't eat, despite the word "pastry" in the description) and was served with orzo, carrots and asparagus. So delicious!

I got several compliments on my home, despite the fact our new couch hadn't arrived yet and I don't have any decorating blood in me. Our house is pretty bare bones and our very used furniture seriously needs to be retired...

I made sure Shawn heard that people were complimenting his paint job. ;)

Lizzy's Endowment

My sister-in-law, Lindsay, went through the temple for the first time on Saturday. She's getting married in less than a month! Her parents, grandparents and future in-laws, plus Diana and Aaron were also in attendance.

When one of the temple workers learned my last name, I was asked if I was related. I knew right away that she was referring to Lindsay. I said yes even though it is only by marriage. The worker replied, "She's lovely." I had to agree.

Lindsay is a very special person. I'm sure her fiancé, Kyle, would whole-heartedly concur. ;) Her mother would testify to the same fact since Liz was a stark contrast to her preceding brother, Norm. I often hear the tale of how she would put herself to bed as a young child. She's always been responsible and caring, diplomatic and spiritual.

I realized while attending "Lizzy's session" that I would likely never do so with any of my biological brothers or sisters. It made me quite emotional. Sometimes I'm more like my parents than I think. ;) True to form, Lizzy was patient with me.

Here's the happy couple:

The Curs-ed Carseat

The carseat must be the bane of every parent's existence. I remember when Taylor and I were being released from the hospital after his birth and Shawn and I spent over an hour trying to "fix" twisted straps. Sheesh!

Yesterday, we were particularly late for church because I had decided we should change Avi's carseat. Admittedly, this should have been done Saturday. After a half hour battle with the thing, we triumphantly left for church. (I had also been slowed down by the cliché gaping run in my last pair of pantyhose. Thank goodness I had shaved recently.)

Avi spent the majority of Sunday School spitting on our neighbors. Thank goodness baby's are cute. She laughed and sang intermittently to win over their hearts.

Visiting

My brother, Owen, arrived in the morning yesterday. It had been awhile since I'd seen him so I didn't think it would be that big a deal to have him visit. When I saw him approaching the house through the front window, however, I was ecstatic! Not sure why. Guess that even though he's weird, he's lots of fun.

We went to Kmart and Sonic and Deseret Book and Maurice's (a clothing store) together and had a gay ol' time. We also found a Schwan's truck and asked about Root Beer Float Push'ems. They don't make that flavor push'em anymore but they do have Root Beer Float cups that you can nuke for 20 seconds and have a genuine root beer float! I got a case for Dad's bday. At Maurice's, he patiently followed me around as I checked things out and then offered to hold my purse for me as I tried things on. The salesclerk thought he was my husband: Ew!! Guess it makes sense since people used to say Shawn looked like my brother.

Sidenote: I found out I wear one pant size smaller than I usually do! Duh, that would explain why all my pants are
loose!

My sister, Eva, and her husband, Kyle, arrived in the evening with their daughter, Averi's cousin Claire, and my other sister, Lerina. We played a cardgame of 3 and 13 at their hotel room before heading to bed just after midnight. We found out on the last round that one of the decks I had purchased was a Pinachle deck which is different and had thrown off the game. Whoops! It was still fun to play cards again (my in-laws don't play cards) and now I have a new game to learn. By myself! ;p

We went swimming this morning.

--Due to technical difficulties, I am finishing this post Tuesday, April 8.--

Little Avi and Claire seemed to enjoy each other's company in the pool and following bath. Lerina got some great pics and Kyle got some great footage. I await both and will update this post!

For a sort of brunch, we went to JB's. Owen paid for all except Lerina who insisted on maintaining her independence.

We played the most awesome game back at the Harris house: The Game of Life - Twists and Turns. It's the electronic version of the family classic. We had a marvelous time. Eva, Kyle, Claire and Lerina had to leave after the first game, but Owen, Dad and I played another round and then Owen and I played once again! Gotta get that one...

I was sad to see Owen leave around 8:30pm.

Having missed conference, Wendy really recommended Elder Ballard's talk in the afternoon session on Motherhood. I can't wait to read it in the Ensign or listen to it online!

Easter

The score?

Easter gluttony: 1
Pious moderation: 0

Guess that could be taken as a compliment since this was my first Easter dinner (cooking, not eating), not to mention my first turkey! Actually, I can't take full credit for the turkey. Even though I prepared the thing (wish I could've recorded my shrieks of disgust whilst pulling the neck out of the turkey's cavernous rear end--really, I shrieked) while mom coached me over the phone, mom basted it and watched over it once she came over. Our feast included stuffing from scratch, steamed asparagus w/lemon pepper breadcrumbs, the most amazing cauliflower au gratin EVER, D's mashed taters and scrumptious spinach salad with mandarin oranges and sugar-toasted almonds and a formal dinner table setting. Shawn's only duty this evening was carving the bird. It was a fair trade-off. I had baked a pumpkin swirl cheesecake in the morning and it was pronounced delectable.

Mom had brought Easter bags for Taylor and Julia (though Julia was not in attendance) and Rice Krispie squares. Dude was unstoppable all night and so I've declared that his RKsquare intake must be drastically reduced in the future.

Since it is Easter, I feel the need to dedicate a portion of this post to a spiritual message. The car went to Airdrie this morning and so I had no way to take the kiddies to church (weather was too chilly to biped it) but I spent a few moments playing spiritual songs on the piano and singing along. I am very affected by music and find this a good way to feel a bit of the Spirit. And so, to honor this Easter season when we celebrate the resurrection of our Beloved Savior, I'd like to take a moment to bear my (short and sweet) testimony.

There is nothing more infinitely necessary to me than the Atonement. I wouldn't be where I am without it. Cliché, I know. But I am happy despite the difficulties of marriage and child-rearing, bills and to-do lists because I have the Gospel. Gratitude is better shown than said (and being an imperfect being I need to work on this) but I'm so grateful for the Savior and His Sacrifice for me...

Getting-ready-for-Easter photos:

Nothing

I used to be able to create a post out of absolutely nothing. Now I'm struggling to conjure any sort of news to relate. A joke, a tidbit of psychology, an event from my day. There's seriously nothing to report. I've been reduced to this:

On Sunday, I walked into church towing a carseat overflowing with a large 6-month-old, and four, count 'em, four unwieldy bags. I rarely find the need to tote a purse but had decided to this day. So my bag count included said purse, a scripture bag, a diaper bag and a keep-your-active-two-year-old-occupied-anyway-possible bag. Where, one might ask, was my husband? He was walking just ahead of me keeping tabs on said two-year-old. Both hands were available. What is this, the middle east? More strangers offered to help out than spouses!

By the way, here's a cute cartoon: