I am trying to get a consistent schedule of activities to do that help me exercise more consistently. With Zumba I get a two-fer. Rachel Terry is a blast to do it with; she is an exceptional instructor. Then I hang out with her after for lunch or something or another. After one of her classes when we were getting cleaned up she mentioned there was a Groupon deal for Tokyo Steakhouse in Bellevue. When I asked what the big deal was she was surprised I didn’t already know. We immediately purchased the Groupons and scheduled a triple date for a couple days later.

Rachelle and Cory Hrncirik, Rachel and Eric Terry and we met up at the restaurant at 8. We sat in couples and soon rearranged our seating arrangement so I could sit and chat with the girls instead of just listening to Eric and Chad talk. We had so much fun talking about everything including my worst date story. Then the men wanted to continue at Cheesecake factory. They are all such good company and it was only when poor Rachelle and Cory looked like they were going to melt that the party broke up. Chad was still ready to keep going. We are really blessed to have such a fun group around.

We had been really trying to get Jasher to take some responsibility with potty training. If we forced him to try and use the toilet every 30 minutes then things were fine but as soon as we started transitioning to allow him to listen to his body he proved that he is either incapable or completely uninterested in staying clean and dry.

Chad was home a few days during the week because of the holiday and to help out with Jasher. This was bad news for the wood pile. Chad is a rock star at keeping a gorgeous fire going in the fire place. He is always making trips outside to carry in more armfuls of wood. I love it. There is something very comforting about a fire.

Eden’s teacher, Mrs. Gerber asked us to recommit ourselves to waking early with Eden. She does so much better at school if she has more time with us in the morning and more time to wake up before school. Eden also had a special stake event to prepare her for her baptism this year, “It’s Great to Be Eight”. It was fun to show her the font and clothes. Then she and Alden, Chad and I went for a Blizzard at Dairy Queen, which was a fun throwback to when my mom would take us for treats there after church events.

Alden moved up in gymnastics so he is now attending a class at the same time as Eden and with his favorite coach, Coach Morgan. He really enjoys it and Coach Morgan really enjoys Alden. Alden also gave a talk in primary on Sunday. Alden refused help from all the adults at first. He said that he knew what he would say already. To humor him, I asked him to start giving us his talk as if it were already Sunday. He said, “Behold!”After thinking for a minute, then he admitted, “Maybe I do need a little help.”

I was able to do an open studio art class where I was able to finish up a dry point etching and make a bunch of prints. They turned out so fun. I can’t wait for another art class session to begin.

Sunday during our family meeting we started a new activity where we shared a brag. We each took turns pointing out the things each of our family members had done that we appreciated or were proud of as well as something that we ourselves had done that pleased us. The kids took to it far more than I anticipated. So now we are looking for things to brag about each Sunday.