Fun Day!

My least-favorite part of being a Primary President is planning Fun Days. We have a tiny Primary (around 30 kids), and most of the kids are very active in extracurricular activities. Getting people together is difficult, and planning something that's worthwhile and fun is even worse (in my opinion).

Our ward has been focused on emergency preparedness for several months now, so it seemed like having an Emergency Preparedness Fun Day was in order. It was not as well-attended as we would have liked, but it was a really neat activity. Tons of credit goes to my wonderful counselors and secretary but also to (who would've thought it) FEMA. My first counselor's husband took pictures, which I will post as soon as I get a copy.

We started out together with an opening prayer and a rousing rendition of "Oh Today is the Day to Get Prepared". Then we divided the kids into small groups and gave each of the kids an inexpensive bookbag. We had five different stations: Spiritual Preparedness, First Aid, 72-hour kit, Home Preparedness and Disaster Preparedness. The groups traveled from station to station, participating in a 15-minute lesson at each. At the end of the lesson, the kids got something to put in their bookbag--we had 72-hour-kit-like snacks such as granola bars or water and combination flashlight/whistle/non-functioning compass.

Once each group had visited all five stations, we reconvened back in the Primary room. Each kid got an emergency preparedness activity book (from FEMA) and a certificate of participation (from the FEMA website). Then we said a closing prayer and we were done! It took an hour and a half from beginning to end. The children who participated really enjoyed it, and the adults were very impressed. Everyone learned something worthwhile about preparedness.

I'm sure that we're not the only Primary ever to do something like this, and ours wasn't particularly fancy, but I'm going to send some pictures off to The Friend and the Primary HQ in Salt Lake. If any of my readership wants details for their own Fun Day, or has done something like this in the past and wants to share their experiences, by all means let me know!

Look How He's Grown!

Max requested a visit to the Wild Animal Park. It's a branch of the San Diego Zoo based in Escondido. We took Max there a couple of years ago. Check out his growth--he's almost as big as a gorilla now.

quote of the day

"Birds crap a lot."--Alex, age 3, at the Primary Fun Day

Recommended Reading

My blog hasn't been that interesting lately (well, if ever), but please check out the links in Look Inside. You'll find stories about and pictures of cute kids, inspiration, entertainment and tips for living. For example:

Go to Major Moments to see why Jenn and her family won't forget this past General Conference weekend any time soon. Wondering what happens when two-year-old twins decide to "help out" by "washing" their SLC pol daddy's suits and ties with leather grease? In Loco Parentis has a detailed evaluation. Perhaps you're getting ready to remodel your kitchen and are looking for ways to save money while still ending up with a gorgeous result. The folks at We're SWELL were recently featured a NY Times article about recycling high-end kitchens. The results were, well, SWELL!

Booklovers can visit the blog of well-loved, Arizona-based YA novelist (no, the funny one; not the one who writes about vampires) Janette Rallison. The Medford, OR, newsman and Faroephile Matt Workman's blog can be reached through I Could Do Better. Just click on Workman. And opera lovers can find clips of performances by well-known singers Jennifer Welch-Babidge and Darrell Babidge on, where else? The Babidges. Add some class to your workday!

The Wojdas just got back from a trip to the land of their forefathers. Czech it out in their gallery. And as always, Rowdystyle will provoke, entertain and lively-up your life.

Tempus Fujit

One of the ways I pass the time when I work late-night shifts is blogging. Tonight, I looked through my entire blog and discovered, much to my surprise, that I've been blogging for over a year. Wow!

Some highlights:

1. I lost the 10 pounds that I wanted to lose. (How is it that this is the #1 highlight, before even Rowdy's war adventure? Well, maybe it's because I'm self-centered. Or maybe because it has been a long-held goal of mine.)
2. Rowdy went to Iraq and came home, somewhat worse for the wear, but he normalized pretty quickly.
3. Our kids became world travelers.
4. We've done some things to the house (pictures will be posted soon, really!).
5. Rowdy and I have discovered long-lost family members. (Rowdy's family members are closer to him on the family tree than mine are to me, but it's AG.)
6. We've contended with the Tiki Curse in Hawaii and prevailed. By prevailed, I mean that we didn't die.
7. My dear Felt 35 sisters finally had that reunion we've been talking about for 25 years. It was wonderful!
8. I've tinkered with templates and headers and changed the blog name, but I still am not happy with the look of my blog. Oh well. It's a work in progress.

The Power of the Internode!

Family Search is a beautiful thing. A distant cousin on my dad's side got my contact information from Family Search and emailed me for information about our common ancestor. So let's all welcome long-lost cousin, Jennalee, to our must-read blog list!

And everyone out there in my readership who has ever been the spouse of a law student, a law student, or the relative of a law student, raise your hand. Gee, that's a lot of hands out there, including mine!

You know it's been a long day at work when...

I almost started our dinner prayer by saying, "Dr. Bricco dictating on...". That would have been great--"Dear Heavenly Father comma we are grateful for all of the things you have blessed us with today period".