Canning and Organizing

My sweet father-in-law came down for the weekend to be there for Clark's priesthood ordination and to bring us my very favorite fruit, Peaches!  I was able to bottle them, freeze them, make jam and cobbler, and eat them every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Jay helped me bottle some on Saturday and Carlee was my helper the other days.  It was awesome!  I love peaches, any way they come and are prepared.  I'm so excited!

Don't these look absolutely delicious?  I can't wait!!

 While I was at it, I bottled pears purchased from Costco.  They turned out fabulous too!

 

And I decided to re-organize my storage and kitchen pantries.  Whew!

 

Ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood

Today Clark was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was a really special day and we were all very excited.  My sensitive oldest son got a little bit nervous before church because he was feeling the pressure of "being perfect" and living up to the expectations of honoring his priesthood.  He suddenly felt very overwhelmed and we had to leave sacrament meeting to talk a little bit out in the hallway and calm some nerves.  Clark felt as if he wasn't ready and didn't deserve this ordinance because he forgets to pray every single night and he doesn't read his scriptures every single day.  He was very concerned that he wasn't worthy. 

Although my heart went out for him as I was trying to comfort him and explain that he didn't need to be perfect to be ordained a Deacon or that perfection was an expectation at 12 years old, I felt happy and proud that my son was sensitive to the importance of these new responsibilities.  Clark is such a sweetheart and wants to do the right things all the time.  He wants to please his Heavenly Father and his parents.  He is a great example to his younger brother and sisters and his friends.  He is such a good son and I was grateful that we were able to have a little discussion about this new step in his life.  When our talk was over, he wrapped his arms around me, thanked me for comforting him, and told me that he loved me.  That started my tears that I had been holding back all morning. 

I am so grateful to be Clark's mom.  He still hugs me and yells "I love you!" before he goes to school even in front of his friends.  He makes me so proud and happy and the spirit was felt strongly as he received his priesthood ordination.  He is thrilled with this step in the gospel and I know that he understands that it is a great responsibility and honor.  His testimony will only grow stronger and so will his love for the Savior as he passes the sacrament each Sunday to the families in our ward.  We love this sweet young man very much and look forward to watching him grow. 

Boys in Los Angeles

While the girls were partying at home in Vegas, the boys were heading to L.A. for a sports weekend to celebrate Clark's 12th Birthday.  Joe and Ben took their sons to Angels Stadium to see them play the NY Yankees on Friday night.  The Robinsons are die-hard Yankees fans and the Stuarts are die-hard Angels fans so although they were cheering for opposite teams, they came together in the car ride there and back singing to Neil Diamond, eating snacks, and talking baseball.  Friday's game was a boring one but the Angels ended up winning by 2 runs.  Stuarts, rub it in!  That evening (actually morning because it was 1:00 a.m.) they hit Denny's for some food to celebrate Ben's passing of the boards.

Saturday morning they slept in, grabbed some breakfast, walked around downtown and visited the Chinese Theater, bought some sports paraphernalia at T-Shirt Outlet, and then attended the football game of University of Utah vs. University of Southern California.  Again, the Robinsons suffered the loss when the Trojans beat the Utes.  Joe was going to wear his BYU garb to the game but Ben's warning of getting beaten got the better of him and he decided to go neutral.  However, Joe was secretly pleased when the Utes lost.  When the game was over, the boys headed back home and arrived at about 3:00 in the morning.  What a great weekend for Clark!

Katelyn's Sweet Party

Katelyn has been planning her 10th birthday party since she finished her 8 year old birthday party two years ago.  She knew exactly the theme she wanted, "Sweets and Treats", the food, decor, and all the games.  It was all in her head so I just had to make it happen according to her vision.  We held her party on Friday after school.

  

We had cute lollipops made from colored paper plates lining our front steps and in our porch planters but the wind picked up right before the party and blew most of them over so I missed getting a picture of them before it got dark.  I actually missed a lot of pictures because I was too busy playing hostess so there aren't any of our cute treat bags or her lollipop invitations.  Hopefully she'll remember in the years to come.

Her food request was fruit salad, veggies and dip, chicken salad croissants and turkey and ham croissants with pink lemonade.

Katelyn wanted to play a game where you placed an Oreo cookie on your forehead and had to move it down to your mouth without using your hands.  The girls made the funniest faces I've ever seen!

 Mia and Lauren

Sara and Audrey

Leanna, Aspen, Sara, Nedra, Katelyn, Mia, Lauren, Audrey, Carlee, Paige

Crowding around to check out the presents

Paige gave Katelyn a candy bar poster, one of my favorite gifts to give

Another game that Katelyn picked:  Pass the Skittles over your head, draw 2 and if they are the same you chew them up.  If they don't match, you have to hold them in your mouth until you get a match to start chewing.

Aspen was the biggest loser.  She didn't draw one match the entire game and had over 40 Skittles in her mouth at one time, although I took this picture when half of them had melted and the game was over.

We also played a game where the girls competed against each other as to who knew Katelyn's answers to questions the best.  They were pretty close the entire game.  Her friends know her very well.

 

Katelyn received some great gifts from her cute friends:  lip gloss, books and book-light, necklaces, earrings, makeup, cute shirt, jewelry box, nail polish, and a card game.  Thanks, friends!

Happy Birthday, Clark!

Clark turned the big 12 this year and he was pretty excited to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and become a Deacon.  At twelve years old, Clark . . .

*Started middle school and loves it, except for the bad language and a lot more homework
*Loves to play BeyBlades and Roblox with his friends
*Loves all sports--playing, watching, listening to, and reading about
*Loves to eat snacks all the time
*Loves chocolate shakes and cheese pizza
*Loves to create and make smoothies
*Loves the latest music but doesn't listen to an iPod.  He just hears it on the bus and in people's cars.
*Tolerates babysitting his siblings but actually does a really great job at it
*Wants to wear athletic shorts and t-shirts to school but his mom makes him wear "nicer" clothes
*Loves T-shirts with logos on them
*Loves to roller-blade, play street hockey, and have air-soft wars
*Loves steak, mashed potatoes, and root beer
*Has to be organized and have everything put away properly
*Doesn't like to "waste time" cleaning and doing chores in the house but does them anyway because it makes Mom happy
*Is very obedient when I ask him to do something unless he is distracted by the computer
*Hates doing yard work with Dad
*Loves chocolate cake donuts and chocolate ice cream
*Loves Marble Slab Creamery ice cream
*Wants bribes, rewards, and money for everything he does right or wins
*Likes to stay up late and get up early
*Likes to distract Dad when he is supposed to go to bed by talking to him about sports and other interests they share
*Doesn't like to shower but loves to use deodorant and cologne
*Loves to play Madden football on the Wii but gets VERY angry and upset when he loses
*Loves to have "late nights" with his friends
*Loves to check his email

We celebrated by going out to dinner at BJ's Restaurant after Hollywood Kids and opening his presents and eating cake at home. 

 

They sang to both of our birthday kids and brought them birthday pazookies. 

Clark was thrilled with some new clothes for school

He even got his own blender to make smoothies for breakfast and chocolate shakes for dessert.  He is so excited!

The Spanking Machine!  Everyone wanted a turn for some reason.

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake that takes 2 days to make!

 Hopefully all your birthday wishes come true, Clark!

Clark received this Panda hat from his friend, Carter, all the way from Germany.  Clark was so excited to receive this package in the mail.  Carter, and their other friend, Jacob, would wear these animal hats on their "late nights" so Clark was extra happy to have one too.  Thanks, Carter!

Wonderful birthday gifts:  Clothes, new books, Madden 12 for the Wii, cologne, personal blender, Angels poster, and an Adidas watch.

Happy Birthday, big 12 year old!  Love You!