Man oh man, itโ€™s like Iโ€™m stuck in quick sand and life is passing by in front of me in fast motion these days.  Hereโ€™s a little of what weโ€™ve been up to": There is not a time the Ariel is not close to Lucy during the dayโ€ฆ.2012-10-21 Tal's visit 63552โ€ฆexcept that we have somehow miraculously talked her into the fact that Ariel needs to nap while Lucy is at school so she canโ€™t bring her there. We got our latest installment of school pictures:2012-10-26 life 636002012-10-26 life 63602Did I already post those? I spoke at a regional singles fireside about seeking out โ€œThe Abundant Life.โ€  2012-10-21 Tal's visit 63556It was fun getting to know so many people after and the other speaker who I was fascinated by.  It was also fun having Dave there with meโ€ฆalthough he learned it may be a good idea to wear his wedding ring to something like that next timeโ€ฆ I also got to speak at an Evening of Excellence in a neighboring stake.  Loved being able to talk about how important the choices we make right now areโ€ฆand how they can serve others.  So fun to be back with Young Women.  I love working with the youth. I cannot keep up with the food demands of our family.  Itโ€™s mostly Max but boy howdy, I get a workout pushing my Costco cart around these days.  We go through stuff like these puppies lickety-split.2012-08-21 misc 59619 Claire and I finally sat down and put together all the notes she got back at her baptism (back here) and read them together.   2012-10-04 cooking 61735SO grateful for good friends who wrote her so many kind good things and advice that she can go back to again and again in life. Claire did her โ€œsalt-dough map.โ€  I love the things these kids learn in school.2012-10-26 life 63604 Max is rounding up his season of club volleyball with regionals this coming weekend.2012-10-27 life 63631 So fun to watch him really get into it.2012-12-08 fall 65744Love that smile. Elleโ€™s finishing up the year trying to do a few more tennis tournamentsโ€ฆ2012-10-27 life 636382012-10-27 life 63642 She got nailed in one, but has done pretty well in others.  Another one coming up this weekendโ€ฆ Fun to have Nana and Papa with us to watch sometimes.2012-10-27 life 63640 โ€ฆas well as โ€œcoach Dad.โ€2012-10-27 life 63643 Halloween residualsโ€ฆ2012-10-28 family stuff 63864 Moustache day at schoolโ€ฆ2012-10-31 Halloween 63958 Ugly sweater day at the High School:2012-11-27 fall 65564 Cowgirl day back at the elementary school:2012-12-05 fall 65584Thatโ€™s the first time Lucy has ever wanted to have school spirit so it was kind of momentous. Grace just finished her unit in Egyptian studies.  2012-10-01 Lucy's birthday 610842012-11-16 iPhone 65096They had a โ€œwax museumโ€ at school and can I just tell you how much Grace practiced for her part as โ€œBastetโ€ the ancient feline Egyptian goddess?2012-11-15 fall 64654 โ€ฆa LOT.  She got the whole family involved I tell you and she said her part so much I think we all have it memorized. (Above sheโ€™s roped post-tennis-ragamuffin-Claire in with her.)2012-11-15 fall 64661We sure had fun whipping up this costume together for the big day. Here she is with her section of the sixth grade right after they did their schpeals for us:2012-11-16 Hawaii 64626 โ€ฆand with her great โ€œEgyptian teacher:โ€2012-11-16 iPhone 65095 Lucy got as sick as could be.  The poor girl.  She had a 103 temp for days and we got to the point we were SO worried about her especially after she started breaking out in a horrible rash.2012-11-16 fall 646712012-11-16 fall 64673 It turns out that it was a mysterious virus mixed with a drug reaction to her new Bactrim prescription she had just started a few days before.  2012-11-16 iPhone 65108 Wow, we are sure glad to have her back to normal after all that!2012-10-26 life 63619We went to a behavioral doctor yesterday to see if we can get some of her OCD tendencies under control.  They worry us. I have hundreds of pictures like this as we try to narrow down flooring and finishes for our new house:  2012-11-19 iPhone 65130Man alive, it is a full-time job. I promise Iโ€™ll say more about it when thereโ€™s anything to say. Itโ€™s just a slow process for us. I put this in the iPhone post, but I just have to say I sure love Art Masterpiece.  So fun to get to be the โ€œteacherโ€ in my kidsโ€™ classrooms every now and then and to talk about one of my all-time favorite things: art.2012-11-21 iPhone 65177 Elle has been keeping herself busy with her photography experimenting:2012-11-16 fall 64683 Apparently this is Claireโ€™s serious-with-chocolate-around-your-mouth series.2012-11-16 fall 64685 After months and months of kids begging, we finally caved and went to โ€œJump Streetโ€ for FHE:2012-12-03 fall 655832012-12-03 fall 655652012-12-03 fall 655772012-12-03 fall 65578Pretty fun night I must say. Back yard jumping tooโ€ฆ2012-12-09 Sunday funday 654572012-12-09 Sunday funday 65483I donโ€™t know what we would do without that trampoline.

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16 Comments

  1. that's just so awesome about dave wearing his wedding ring at things like that. bahaha welcome to my world. shawn, do you have an outline of that talk that you can send to me? i remember you telling me about it but i can't remember all the details. love you and miss you guys like crazy!!!

  2. That's so funny about Dave wearing his ring! I read your blog pretty consistently and frankly didn't think he had one because I never see it in pictures ahaha!

  3. I laughed loud about the wedding right too!!!!!

    Ok, please can you share anything about what you learned at Lucys app with the behavioural specialist. I am banging my head against a wall right now. I need to find someone to help with my daughter who has OCD. I would love to hear about it!

  4. Love the ring comment as well. I am not a jewelry person and do not wear my wedding ring 99% of the time, despite how beautiful it is. I figure 3 kids at my side is enough to say "I'm taken."

    Good luck with your house. We are in the final weeks of building a new house and it was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. I'm emotionally exhausted by having to make so many big decisions in a short period of time, but it's totally worth it in the end. I think our home is beautiful and its just how I imagined it would be. Can't wait to see pics of yours!

  5. I saw you & your family at the temple lights last night. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I just wanted to tell you I love reading your blog–it is uplifting and helps me be a better mother.

  6. Jumpstreet is awesome! It was empty when you were there – Mondays must be a good night then. I'm still sore and I went 3 days ago…..love it when exercise doesn't feel like exercise.

  7. Hi, I read your blog often, it lifts my spirits. You mentioned Lucy seeing a behavioral Doc for OCD issues… I was just curious have you ever thought about or tired using doTerra essential oils to assist Lucy? I know that they have quiet a variety of oils emotional oils that she may benefit from. I can only imagine that sweet lil child of yours goes through alot with what she has to overcome and it may offer some relief without adding more medicine into the equation. If you want you can email me at liteupanyroom@yahoo.com

  8. Best Family Blog Nomination for 71 Toes!

    Hi Shawni

    First, thank you for all your beautiful posts; they truly show the importance and beauty of family life!! Your family is absolutely inspiring, and I truly appreciate the joy you share with us! It's also so funny that your hubby forgot to wear his wedding ring the other day! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Second – congratulations! The FamilyLeaf community and staff love your blog, and have nominated 71 Toes for FamilyLeaf's 2012 "Best Family Blog of the Year" contest.

    Until Dec 20, 2012 your fans can vote for you once a day. The blog/blogger with the most votes by 11:59 PM PST on Dec 20, will win a free iPad for their family! The two runner-ups will win Kindles. Here's the link to the contest: http://www.FamilyLeaf.com/best-blog .

    FamilyLeaf is a private social network just for families. Our goal is to make staying in touch with your loved ones safe, private and fun on the web. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (425) 495-4610 or mary@familyleaf.com. Thanks!

    Happy Holidays to you and your beautiful family!

    Mary Yap
    FamilyLeaf Community Manager

  9. I know you have referenced a few books on helping with discipline, but I was wondering if there are any in particular that focus on two and under. I realize that most people seem to think discipline isn't for children under the age of two and I'm certainly not looking for something super stern and trying to "lay down the law", but I have a 16 month old who is very good at ignoring me, telling me no, throwing food and boycotting meal times. I continue to say no, redirect, make eye contact, etc., but I don't seem to be making much of a difference. I was hoping she was just still too little to understand, but in the last week or so numerous people have noted that she seems to know exactly what she is doing. I am worried if I don't do some things proactively and wait until she is 2, I'm going to have a kid no one wants to be around. Nursery is right around the corner and I'm having major anxiety that she is going to be kicked out each Sunday! ๐Ÿ™‚

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