Birthday, "Bugs" and BYU-I

BIRTHDAY PICNIC IN THE PARK:

Being silly on the teeter totter (Eden realizes that if she hooks her feet under the tire, I can't get down :)

Abe trying to even out the weight distribution

Trying to make their mother fly

The infamous "twirly slide" in Middleton

Monkeying around

Boundless energy

A race

Mikayla coming down with flu like symptoms in the Park

40 years old and still full of hot air

Gifts from my children

KINDERGARTEN ROAD RALLY:

Lily and Sophie showing off their "bugs".

Learning traffic rules

A classmates very cool semi

BRIEFS FROM BYU-I:

--Jordan finishes the Book of Mormon in two weeks (a lot of time in the library; a lot of time on his computer; some long walks back and forth to the temple (to stay awake) with an MP3 in the wee hours of the morning.

--Helps with the Special Olympics on campus--LOVES IT!

--Goes on a date to a personality impressionist show on campus with one of his Middleton friendgirls, who is going to school at U of I (1-1/2 hours away in Pocatello) and drives down just for the occasion. 

--So excited about the fun, relatively inexpensive entertainment on campus every week (Jim Brickman coming next week for $10 and he's an "expensive" show).

--He explores some huge sandunes with his roomate. 

--Get's called as the Elders Quorum secretary (his stake President is Pres. Eyring's son) which is a quick track to learn to know people in his ward.

--Is being very responsible on a student budget.

--He and his roomates find out that they can donate plasma for $50 a week and are so excited--his mother is not!

--Homework is getting intense--sooo much reading and he's never been a "reader"--minor difficulty that.

--Has a very enlightening "Personal Achievment" class that he fills us in on each week (part of his homework).  One of the quotes they discussed this week was about our perception of the world not being a reflection of what it truly is, but a reflection of who we truly are.  Deeply profound.  When I read Mom's letter this morning and her, "What a lot of flowers.  What a lot of sunshine" quote from Mr. Chips, I couldn't help but be moved by the impact and correlation between Jordan's quote and hers.  I certainly need to be looking out with  different eyes much of the time, which means I need to be working on me, not the world.

--He says he is looking so forward to General Conference.  Me too!