UEA

UEA was really fun and adventurous.

We had Lunch with Dad and took these crazy pictures outside of his office on these weird Discover Card cement Balls. 

 Anna's Miley Cyrus, Wrecking Ball Impression

 Kirsten photo-bombing Anna's Wrecking Ball impression

 

Then we Hiked to the top of Ensign Peak

And lastly we visited the capitol. 

The best thing about the day was that everything we did was at the request of one of the girls. Totally unplanned and spontaneous. We had a fun time-It was such a great day.

Jim's Garden Haiku

These are from Jim's garden. 

He brings me fresh flowers every summer 

and I love him for that.

NTT

If I had my way, cell phones would have the same age restrictions as alcohol and cigarettes. I have a tendency to shut down any idea regarding cell phones and cell phone use so when Jim suggested "No Technology Tuesday" I embraced it wholeheartedly.

Yesterday was super interesting as I engaged in a conversation (ok maybe an argument) with my daughter who refused to call and talk to a friend and insisted on texting. She thought that it was totally dumb to call someone just to arrange for a study group.  I listened in awe thinking "how in the world have my kids come to a point in their lives where basic human, voice interaction is a bad thing?!" Something must be done!

Later that night as soon as the kids were in bed I checked my phone and saw that I had 10 text messages...which I quickly texted back to because it would have been rude to leave them ignored.


2 days ago, I stumbled upon this quote that I had copied and pasted in my notebook in my phone. I remember reading it thinking how I could not wait to share it with my husband and girls merely to prove a point...my point.

"Part of the tragedy I speak of is that many do not recognize they are trapped or soon will be. They see this as a form of entertainment that serves as a relief from the troubles of the day. In reality, it is only relieving them of their spirituality and their capacity to draw on the powers of heaven in times of need." 

H. Burke Peterson Oct. General Conference 2012

Point well taken. And I am totally guilty. I find my self checking my phone first thing in the morning, after I get out of the shower (in case I maybe didn't hear it go off), at a stop light, in lines, if I am ever waiting, while I cook dinner, while I watch TV, right before I go to bed.  You would think I was running a Fortune 500 company or that I was a Pimp. I am sure there is some deeper hidden meaning to my incessant checking of the phone... admittance is the first step right?!

But,  It has gotten out of control. I am out of control.

 I set a new goal. I have decided to put the scriptures app on my phone at the bottom with my 3 other most used apps. The Goal: every time I go to my phone during one of those "unnecessary" times I will hit the scriptures app and read. 

Couldn't hurt...might help. 

No Tehcnology Tuesday

3 weeks ago, we decided to do something radical here at the Hall house in an effort to reduce the amount of time spent on the use of technology. So we introduced "No Technology Tuesday". Why Tuesday? Because Jim and the 2 oldest girls are at Mutual thus making Tuesday night less of a "sacrifice" than any other night.

Here is how I apprised my technological world of this change (via text message of course):

"So the Hall's are going old school....tomorrow is our first day of 'No Technology Tuesday'  if you need to get a hold of me on Tuesday's call me on the land line. The good news: we still have call waiting."

Here are a few of the responses:

"I love this! If I need to send you a message, just keep your eyes on look oout for my carrier pigeon"

"What the H Tammy? Your one dress away..."

"...From living in the compound known as Colorado City or is it 'Breaking Amish/Draper City?"

"I love it!!! Go Halls!!!"

Love it! Good luck entertaining your brood!" 

"Wow you guys are rich. My parents turned off call waiting years ago to save for retirement. And P.S. that idea is fabulous!" 

WEEK 1
I woke up and began my morning ritual: turned on the Today Show to hear the top stories of the day as well as the morning banter and sub par jokes from a sugar/carb deprived weather guy.  Jim came running out of the bathroom to remind me of  N.T.T. UGH! I turned it off and successfully got everyone off to school.

 Soph and I got ready (she doesn't have school on Tuesday making this a bit more difficult-how to entertain a 4 year old all day) and we ran some errands. Then we went to the farm and spent the afternoon enjoying "All you can ride, Pony Rides"  I'm fairly certain that Thanksgiving Point is now re-thinking their "Unlimited pony rides for members" rule.

 
After school everyone did homework, read and practiced-without complaint, thank you very much! 
After dinner all 4 of the girls took a bike ride together.
7:00 Jim, Anna and Kirsten left.
Soph, Lilly and I took a walk and ate ice cream.
By the time everyone got home it was 8:30-so we all hung out in the living room and talked for 30 minutes.
N.T.T.=very successful!



WEEK 2
After getting everyone to school Soph went over to play with Glory May. I cleaned and did the little girls laundry.

Lunch time: Soph did NOT like being reminded of N.T.T.  (She didn't like me taking a this picture of her either) sorry kid- no TV during lunch today
That night mutual was cancelled so we found ourselves in a bit of a quandry: what do we do for the next 3 hours.
Lilly and I started doing some puzzles.
Anna read.
Soph and Kirsten rode bikes... and that all lasted until about 6:30.
Then it began.
Anna hit the wall and complained of being "miserably bored".
Kirsten found a constructive way to use her time by teasing her sisters.
Lilly began crying over how hard the puzzle was and that 1000 pieces was just too many (I may have gotten a bit overzealous)
Soph hit the wall hard and managed to get on every last nerve of every living/breathing organism within a 10 mile radius. 
N.T.T.= not so successful

WEEK 3

I hit the wall. 
Mutual was cancelled again except for the men. Jim left to help a hoarding woman move. At first I thought "LUCKY!" but after hearing the stories I'm not so sure.
Honestly I have no idea how Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy did it. Do you think they ever got in fights? I mean real fights?  It was a rough night here at the Hall house. No play's were acted out. No poems were read. No sing along's as I played the piano. Let's just say for the sake of my reputation as well as my children's, bed time moved up by 45 minutes and when Jim got home at 9 everyone was in bed and momma bear was ready to hibernate. 
What I find amazing is how much I rely on technology. There was so much to do and respond to via technology that I was in a frenzy just thinking about doing it all and counting down the hours until I could.

Ok, I'll admit, I cheated. As soon as the kids were in bed I got online-it felt so good. My heart stopped racing. I felt peace-it was probably the spirit or something. :)
 
N.T.T.= Brutal but not giving up!

Stay tuned for more updates and wish us luck!

Bedtime

What is it about bedtime that transforms me from a wonderfully delightful mom and person into this:

I want nothing more than to wreak havoc and destruction on every little person that will not give heed to my words and stay in bed.

I'm curious to know how their little brains alter the phrase: "stay in bed" from a direct comand to a mere suggestion.

And what is it about bed time that summons forth every ailment known to man when they had all day to bring any of them to my attention?

 "Oh what's that you say? You think that have a sprained thumb, oh and a sliver, your ear hurts? Your stomach doesn't feel right? Rickets huh? Scurvy too? You poor thing. You must have been in so much pain as you played all day with friends and even managed to watch 3 hours of TV tonight."

And then there's the whole H2O issue:

"Oh you're thirsty? Well by all means, please drink as much water as you would like before falling asleep. In fact why not keep a water bottle on your bed side table. I can't think of anything more enjoyable than changing your pee stained sheets in the morning."

Unbelievable!

This never happened when I was a kid. No really, it never did. Back in the day, the punishment for getting out of bed made the "stocks" look like child's play. Those of us with the old school variety of parents (the ones not privy to Love and Logic or any of the other countless choose your own adventure styles of parenting) knew exactly where we stood: stay in bed or you will wish you had...if you know what I mean.

Part of the problem indeed is me. I'm in my 40's. I've been told that doing it in my 20's would have been a bit easier. You apparently have more energy for kids. When 9:00 p.m. hits, I am 3 sheets to the wind with exhaustion. I have nothing left to give. I just want to sit in my bed with my pajamas on (which have been on since 6:00) and do nothing.   

Nothing.

SO my little darlings, I beg of you- Please hear my cry...

For the love of all that is decent and holy, Stay in bed!!!

(and I am quite sure that one day I will miss this "phase"and I do know how lucky I am to have kids but none the less, I still want them to stay in bed)

Mom of the year

I was mom of the year on Wednesday...

Until I was bested by this nominee on Thursday

(I would be crying if I weren't laughing so hard)

D-

A few days ago Kirsten received a D- on a rather lengthy assignment.
We were stunned.
Not only for the D- but because it was given to her by her reading teacher who is supposed to "get it" and be her advocate for success.
I looked it over and it seemed like at the very least B- work. She completed the assignment. All the work was there. I was dumbfounded.
I encouraged Kirsten to ask her teacher what she could do to bring up her grade. Kirsten was told she must re-do the vocabulary words and write correct definitions.
I looked back over the assignment and much to my wondering eyes did appear but 20 "kirsten-isms". She decided that rather than use a dictionary she would just write her own definitions.

Here are 2:

Too bad she wasn't graded on creativity.