We have had beautiful weather this week!  On Monday the kids and I went with some friends to Egin Lake.  I used my kayak for the first time.  It was awesome!  Did you know you can see the Tetons from from there?  Tuesday Savannah had her tournament games.  They lost two in a row and were eliminated.  She actually got a foul ball.  That's the most ball/bat action she's had all season!  I told her I'd pay her a dollar if she hit the ball.  After she struck out, she was walking back to the dug out, all happy about hitting the foul and yelled to me, "Will you still pay me a dollar?"  I was a little embarrassed as I was sitting next to a few moms I didn't know.  They both looked over at me and said, "Don't worry, we've all done it."

Power of Moms

I just found this as a draft, but decided to finish it and post even though it's a few years old.

Last July I was "coerced" :) by a good friend of mine to attend the BYU Idaho education week.  I was only able to go for a half day, but was privileged to attend classes that had a big impact on me.  One class I attended was taught by Saren Loosli, daughter of parenting experts, Linda and Richard Eyre.  In the class Saren mentioned the website Power of Moms (powerofmoms.com).  I jotted it down quickly and actually remembered to check it out a little later.  I was immediately drawn in by the down to earth, uplifting, principle-based articles.  I also found it fun to read the blogs of the co-founders of the website, one being Saren and the other a girl named April Perry.

Another resource that really appealed to me was the podcasts put out by the Power of Moms.  They only had about six and I went through them fairly fast. I really enjoy putting them on my i pod and doing late night cleaning when everyone else has gone to bed. So I emailed the website requesting more.  A few days later I had an email from April Perry herself asking me if I would be willing to participate in a podcast with her.  I was floored!  I did not have that in mind at all, but felt quite honored, so I accepted.  You can listen to the entire podcast here.  I felt like I made a good friend that night as we recorded the podcast as a telephone conversation.  We planned to make it a quick 20 minutes, but it turned out to be closer to 45.

I also have been honored to have the Power of Moms publish an article I wrote entitled "What if it's Enough?"

I love this website because the thing I very most wanted to be for as long as I can remember was a mom and this website helps me to do it deliberately and with intention.

The two parts of parenting that I dislike the least so far are potty training and removing training wheels off of the bike.  Especially in the first child.  It seems like they will never get it!  But they do :)  Savannah has been trying for 2 years to be able to ride without training wheels.  It's hard where we live, we have a very big driveway that WOULD be perfect, except its all gravel.  Hudson actually taught himself last summer (he actually potty trained himself, too).  It turned out to be a good thing because Savannah thought if my little brother can do it, so can I.  Every year for the the last Accelerated Reader celebration at school, all the classes go on a bike ride through Parker.  Last year I let her stay home because she couldn't ride without training wheels.  This year it was our goal to be ready for it.  We were lucky to have a mild winter and snow melted early which gave her a chance to practice a lot.  I was so proud of her when she finally got and and she was so excited!  We did a couple practice rides though Parker-one being on a very random hot day-92 degrees sandwiched in between 50 degree days.  After the school bike ride I took Hudson's bike to the school to pick up Savannah and let the two of them ride home while I drove behind very slowly.  Switching to the words of Hudson, "We were riding past some bigger boys.  They were talking very quietly.   They thought I couldn't hear, but I could.  They said, 'What a tiny bike'." (Hudson happens to be riding Savannah's first bike we bought for her when she was three years old-spray painted black-and it is small for him.)  I asked Hudson how he felt about that.  His response, "Medium."  Love that boy.

Savannah has been playing softball this spring.  I have really enjoyed going to her games.  It got me thinking about why I love baseball.  I've never played on a real team before (I think I'm going to add to my bucket list--to play on a co-ed team with Jaron), so why does playing baseball feel so natural to me?  Then I remembered where I really learned.  My fifth grade teacher at John Rogers Elementary, Mr. Macaneny (Mr. Mac for short), used to have us play all the time.  I wish I remembered more.  I imagine that we were rewarded for good behavior and school work by kickball or softball outside. I think he was quite influential in my appreciation for sports and physical activity.  I ran track under his coaching.  My main event was triple jump-I even got the highest score in all-city!  We were also required to participate in other events like the relay (I've never been the fastest runner, though).  When I went to sixth grade they didn't have triple jump so I didn't do track anymore.  I should have stuck with it, even though I knew I wasn't the best.

Savannah plays a lot of outfield, which she has figured out is slow.  It is kid pitch, which can be discouraging, also.  She has been hit by the ball at two different games, which was exciting because she actually got on base!  Both times she ALMOST made it home (which she calls a "home-run") by stealing, but was tagged out.

I'm going to encourage her to stick with it.  Her team and the opposing teams range from 2nd-4th grade.  There is a big difference in those ages and what an 8 yr old is capable of, verses a 10 year old.   She's cute in her uniform and she's smart about strategizing, so I think she'll grow into it, if she's willing to stick with it for a few years.