My Girls

Aren't my girls so adorable and beautiful!? No, I am not just prejudiced. This is a fact! I love my girls. They make me laugh and smile every single day. They bring me so much joy! How did I get so lucky to get such amazing girls? They are becoming such beautiful young women inside and out. They have desires to, and strive to be good everyday. I can't wait to see what they have in store for them and what kind of wonderful women they become. These pictures were taken on Sunday before church. Tori did Teegan's hair and they admired how cute they looked and how similar their hair looked. They had fun taking some pictures together. I hope they grow up to be great friends.

Oh Fudge!

I had the opportunity once again to attend BYU Women's Conference this past weekend. It doesn't always work out that I can go because it often falls on Tori's birthday. I went with my sister Lora Lee, niece Stacy Talbot and soon to be niece Crystal (she is marrying my nephew Brandon in 2 weeks). It was a very nice time, attending classes, renewing spiritual resolve, waiting in long lines to get into particular classes, eating out, going to the movies, remotivating ourselves to be better, laughing, crying and Yes Buying Fudge! I told myself  "Self, you do not need to buy fudge this time! It will only make you fat." With a little down time I found myself at the BYU bookstore and before I knew it, in line at the fudge counter. Aaak! Not once but twice! How did this happen?! I saw many women waiting in line to buy fudge and I just couldn't help myself! I didn't want to miss out. Such yummy Fudge! The next day when I realized that I had left my previously purchased fudge in the car that was miles away, I knew I had to buy more fudge to satisfy my sweet tooth at that moment. I actually didn't eat that much fudge, I brought most of it home to share with my family. Aren't I so thoughtful? Haha! Many women can't stop themselves from buying BYU famous mint brownies. Personally, I think the fudge is much better. I am not a huge fan of mint in my brownies. (I don't know why because I love mint chocolate ice cream and mint chocolate truffles and mint chocolate cake bites). Fudge isn't even my favorite treat in this world of so many treats. It must be the peer pressure.

 BYU women's conference is a wonderful experience and really isn't all about the fudge. The fudge is just a nice little bonus. They provide it ALL at BYU. Food for the soul, spirit and even the body. Fudge Yum!

Conference Fort

Along with chirping birds, budding trees, blossoming flowers, and Easter, comes General Conference. We all look forward to the time when we can stay in our pjs, sleep late and watch church on t.v. It sounds like a lot of hours (4 sessions 2 hours each) of listening to boring speakers, but it is really the opposite. Each speaker has a unique and inspirational message that he or she has prepared. I enjoy some speakers more than others, but that is usually because their message touched me in a personal way.

My kids love conference as well. Or maybe it is just the opportunity to stay home from church. They always scheme up some way to entertain themselves while making it appear that they are listening. Building a fort in the middle of the living room ranks right up there at the top.

They move all the chairs and blankets they can into the center of the room and somehow tie them all together. Then they fill the inside with extra blankets, pillows and snacks (popcorn is a favorite, and yes one of the messiest). During conference I hear whispers and giggles, yet they assure me that they are listening. I am not sure how much they hear, but when we quiz them about speakers and topics, they somehow manage to come up with some pretty good answers. Perhaps I should make them dress up in their sunday best and sit quietly on the couch taking notes (Some families actually do this). But I am not that good of a parent. It is actually kind of fun to watch them make there plans and execute them. Whether or not they will remember any of the words spoken by our leaders, I don't know. But I am sure that they will remember the good times they had in the middle of the living room during these occasions twice a year.

Preference

Preference 2012

Tori asked Charlie Barnett to Preference. As you can see, there was a big group that went together. They asked me to take pictures. We went to the downtown park. I was really unsure of my photography abilities, but everything turned out good. We had fun. I took a ton of pictures of everyone.

More Favorite things

Some of my favorite things this week have been:

Teegan teaching Family Home Evening.

Her topic was service. She is the only one of the three kids that seems to enjoy being in charge of this activity. She loves being in charge and conducting. She called on people she wanted to pray, play piano, chose the songs etc. She gave a good lesson on how Christ served and how we should follow His example. We read scriptures about service. Then she had us all write down 7 ways to give service. We put our ideas in a big envelope to draw out during the week. Everyday each person is to draw out a paper and do that act of service. Very nice lesson. The lesson was great, but my favorite part was how Teegan used her long pointer finger stick (don't know what it is really called) to point to people when she wanted to call on them or when it was their turn to speak. This made me laugh inside. Thanks for the great lesson Teegan!

Grandma brings dinner

I loved it that my mom (Grandma) made bean soup from the leftover ham I made for Easter dinner. It was delicious, but most of all I loved how I didn't have to cook dinner. I love these occasional breaks from thinking of and making dinner. Grandma frequently joins us for Sunday and Monday dinner. It is nice to know that she feels comfortable and welcome in our home. We love having her. She often tells us how welcome she feels and that she is grateful. Tori especially has a great relationship with Grandma. She goes out of her way to give Grandma a hug every time she leaves. Grandma loves her hugs. She can always count on a hug or two at the door from Tori and Teegan. Tori has even been known to run out the door after her if she gets away without a hug. And on a rare occasion she gets a hug from Tyler too. We love Grandma!

Time with Tyler

Tyler must have had a bad day at school today. He doesn't talk much so it is hard to know what he is thinking sometimes. He is pretty quiet most of the time. He was grouchy, grumpy and overall miserable. He barked back in response to us and wanted to retreat to his room to be left alone. Ken tried to talk to him, but didn't get far from what I could tell, friend trouble is part of it I think. Tyler stayed in his room and didn't come down for FHE. I was concerned and knew that I needed to let Tyler know that I loved him. I asked him if he would come with me to run a little errand. At first he said no, but later said he would. We went to Target (he had asked if we could go there earlier). We made a quick stop at Walmart then went to Coldstone (One of our favorite treats!) I prayed in my mind for guidance to know what I could say to help Tyler. I asked him what was troubling him but he said he didn't want to talk about it. I don't know that I said anything of great significance, but I told him that I love him, that he is a great kid and that sometimes life is hard. I told him that he could come to Ken and I to talk about anything at anytime and we will just listen or try to help if he asks. I also told him that he can turn to Heavenly Father in prayer for help with anything. I asked if I was doing okay as a mom and what I could do to improve. He said just a handful of words the whole time, but I think he knew of my concern and love for him. My goal was to let him know that I love him, let him know that he can come to me with anything, and that life will be okay. I think I accomplished my goal. It is hard being a parent sometimes. I love my kids so much and never want to see them hurt. I am glad that I took this time to be with him and let him know that I love him. Because I really do.

Games

I really enjoyed watching my kids playing games together with their Aunt Emily and Uncle Eric. They played games at the kitchen table and outside on a blanket. This is one of their favorite things, especially Tori. Although I did not participate this time, I enjoyed watching them have fun, laugh and bond together. Good times!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String...

These are a few of my favorite things:

Early Morning walks with my husband.

We love our walks together. We take our dog Spice. He loves walks too. (Although we don't love how many times he has to stop and pee.) On our walks we get to talk and solve the worlds problems (okay not really). But sometimes we solve some of our own little dilemmas. Mostly we just cultivate and nurture our relationship. We get fresh air. We also get some exercise, although it is not the most rigorous of exercises. It is a nice time to spend together, enjoying each others company, getting to enjoy the outdoors, greeting fellow walkers. I think it makes us happier too. Thanks for the good times Honey!

A good Garage Sale.

I love going to garage sales. It is something I do on most Saturdays. I usually go by myself, but it is much funner with a friend. It is like a treasure hunt. There are a plethora of treasures out there to reward the diligent seeker. You can really find almost anything from clothes, to furniture, to food items, antiques, just about anything you can imagine. A large percentage of items in our home are purchased at garage sales. There are some really great deals to be found out there. And I have found many! I love it when I find treasures! It is so much fun! I also love it when items are marked and displayed well and not too expensive. A good garage sale (or 2 or 20) makes me happy.

Spending Time with my kids

My kids really are fun people to be around. They make me laugh. They are a hoot. It doesn't really matter what we are doing, hiking, surfing in Hawaii, eating snow cones, watching a movie, riding roller coasters, reading scriptures, eating dinner or whatever. My kids are some of my favorite people.

Travel

I love to travel! I like to say it is my hobby, although it is a very expensive hobby and one I wish I could do more of. I love visiting a new place- discovering the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that make it unique. I have been to many places and have yet to visit many more, I hope. Some of the more memorable trips we have taken recently are to Morocco, Spain, Ireland and Thailand. We have a trip to Brazil planned for this summer. I have also been to many countries in Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. I hope that I live long enough, am healthy enough and have enough money to travel to many more places.

A Good cupcake

Cupcakes are just the right portion. Not too big Not too small. They are cute and can be very delicious. We love cupcakes from Sweet tooth Fairy and 25 Main (two local restaurants). But I think I make some of the best myself. Cupcakes are individually wrapped, easy to eat and portable. You can take them anywhere. They are so convenient. Just the right amount of frosting and just the right amount of cake. Some even have add ins in the middle or on top for extra fun! And so many delicious flavors to choose from. I do like me a good cupcake.

Happy Trails to you

There are many kinds of trails in this world. Hiking trails, biking trails, walking trails, 4 wheeling trails, even songs that wish happy trails to you. As I was going about my day, I discovered that we in the Trent household are also fans of trails. I know because I saw evidence of trails everywhere. Trails of towels, trails of clothes, trails of papers, trails of hair accessories, trails of items with no home and my personal favorite, trails of cookie dough (monster cookie dough, no doubt). We are big fans of trails! We make trails everyday. I am becoming less of a fan of trails as it seems that everyone else makes the trails and I clean up the trails. I think I may not be the only one who is not a big fan of trails. Think of all those who have to maintain all the trails in this world. Picking up dog droppings, liter, beer cans, pulling up weeds and overall cleaning and maintaining of trails. Some may think there are not enough trails for people to enjoy. I, on the other hand, wish there were not so many trails. Nevertheless, you may be a great fan of trails, in which case I say Happy trails to you!