Carl Bloch

Our camera still isn't back from the shop yet. We've been using our cell phones to take pictures, but that just isn't the same. Jeremy has the best pictures on his phone, but I always forget to get them off before he leaves for work..... Thus I have to do a pictureless post today. If you REALLY want to see recent pictures I've taken, see my picture blog.

We were able to go see the Carl Bloch exhibit on BYU campus of FHE this week. I was amazed at how many stories Clara actually knew of the Savior and could tell me the story behind a lot of the paintings we saw. Some the the greatest things (other than the paintings themselves) was seeing where his paintings are hung. Most of his paintings of Christ were done for kings and so they hang in castles. If you haven't had a chance to see this exhibit, go see it! It ends May 7, so there's not a whole lot of time left. There are also ipads to rent (or you can bring your own) which allows you to hear more of the history and things of the paintings. We didn't get those, but I almost wished we had. The line was just too long.... You do need a ticket to get in - unless you want to wait in a long standby line. However, those tickets are free. For more information, go here.

Clara didn't have preschool this week since it was spring break. That also means I didn't have nearly the amount of tutoring appointments that I usually do. We were able to get outside a lot more. Clara's favorite thing to do is draw pictures with sidewalk chalk. She'll spend hours coloring up our sidewalks. I think there's hardly any space left out there. She also loves to have me play tic-tac-toe with her. I guess Curious George played it and she's been wanting to play it ever since. I'm amazed at how good she is drawing the playing board and her x's and o's. We're still working on the logistics of the game, but she's actually catching more than I thought she would.

Jeremy was told this week that most likely he'll be hired on for another year. A year is better than 6 months! But nothing is official yet, so we'll just have to wait and see. We just might be at another job in a month. I can't believe how quickly these last 6 months have gone. Jeremy loves this job and is so happy there. We really hope things work out for him to work there longer.

Bean Museum - Again

Clara's preschool went on a field trip to the Bean Museum. When I told Clara we got to go, she was very excited. She kept talking about how she wanted to see the shells again. However, we picked the wrong day to do. There were multiple field trips that day and the place was packed. I had brought a friend's kid with me since she has just had a baby. And that kid likes to venture out on his own. I was pretty stressed the whole time we were there, afraid I was going to lose her kid. But with the help of all the other moms, we never lost him for very long!Right after this butterfly picture was taken, my camera fell and now it puts horizontal lines in the background of all our pictures. I was so sad. We did some calling and it won't be too expensive to fix, so our camera is in NY right now (or at least en route) and will be gone for about 2 weeks. Which means for the next 2 weeks, all the pictures I take will be with my phone. They aren't the best quality, but I'm grateful I have something!After the Bean Museum, I decided to take Clara to the dinosaur museum. It's close by the animal museum and Clara was sick the day everyone else went. Most of the pictures I took here had horrible lines. But this one wasn't too terrible.We visited some friends this week and the girls decided to help Clara become a cat. She LOVED the mask.
And I forgot to write down the funny things as Clara said them, so I can't seem to think of a single thing this week. I know that's the highlight for a lot of my readers. Sorry to disappoint.

Very Random Happenings

The best thing about this week is when I was able to attend a conference lecture with Jeremy. They invited a descendent of Hyrum Smith to come show us some family heirlooms and talk about some family stories. It was amazing. I saw the clothes that Hyrum was martyred in, including the pocket watch he was wearing that was hit by a bullet. Also was the box that the Gold Plates were first hid in. I also saw Hyrum's sunglasses (who knew that sunglasses existed in 1844?), his rifle, his sword, and Lucy's footstool. It was an amazing presentation and I got to hear stories that I had never heard before.

With the weather getting warmer, we've been going outside a lot more. Clara was so excited to see that some flowers had grown in our front yard. She insists on both of us smelling them as soon as we walk outside - EVERY time we go outside!Clara loves to try and ride her bike. Her feet still can't reach the pedals for the entire rotation. Her solution is to have her friends do the work while she goes for a ride!

• I was unloading groceries from the car and Clara insisted on carrying the gallon of milk. I let her try, and wasn't too surprised when she quickly put it down and said, "Mom, I'm not strong enough." I then picked it up and let her carry something else. Clara then said, "Mom, you have lots of muscles and are so strong to carry that milk!"

• Clara came running inside from playing outside and said, "Mom, there are a lot of birds who are calling for their Mom's. They are lost!" Sure enough, tons of squawking birds were across the street!

• Clara and I were having a discussion about wolves. At some point in the conversation, I asked her if she liked wolves. Her response, "No, I don't because they are kinda really scary."

• I was getting Clara dressed one morning when she said, "I'm cold AND freezing. Both!"

And lastly, for your viewing pleasure here are more pictures that Clara took all by herself!

Clara - again

Before I get into another lengthy post about Clara, I did a crafty thing this week. Jeremy's sister asked me to make some I Spy bags for her. I thought they turned out great!Why do most of the pictures I take are of Clara? I really hope my readers don't get too bored with all the Clara stories and pictures. I know I'm one of those annoying moms that tell everyone how cute their child is. But she really is my pride and joy. She can be the biggest challenge and my biggest source of pleasure all at once! She is growing up way too fast and I keep trying to find ways to slow her down. Any suggestions?

Clara sure does love her daddy.Clara will turn ANYTHING into a desk so she can "go to school."Clara being "Super Bunny."To go with that super bunny, Clara LOVES to jump.Getting Clara to bed is always a production. One night she decided to not put her arms in her sleeves and ran around like this for a little bit.

• Clara ran and beat me to my chair when a client came over for me to tutor. She then said, "I'm going to help this boy with his math!" She looked at his book and said, "This 1 equals this 3."

• Clara usually says the exact same prayer every time she prays. She always says, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you that I can go to sleep, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." So at dinner, when she was asked to say the prayer, I tried to help her say a prayer that had to do with the food. In the middle of the prayer, Clara said, "Hey, it's not your turn to say the prayer, it's my turn!"

• I caught Clara jumping on her bed. So I told her that she couldn't jump on the bed because the bed could break. Clara's response: "But Mommy, little girls like to break beds."

• Clara had a cup of juice out and I wanted her to put it in the fridge so the juice wouldn't go bad. She was in the middle of doing something and didn't really want to put it away. Clara then said, "I have an idea. I will put the juice right here (in the middle of the floor) and then I can put it in the fridge when I'm done. Is that a good idea?"

• Jeremy has a touch screen phone, I do not. Clara loves to play with both of our phones. Clara brought mine to me one day and informed me it was broken. I quickly tried to figure out what she had done to break it. To my surprise, my phone was working just fine. When I told Clara that it was working, she said, "No it's not, see." She then swiped her finger over the screen and said, "See, it's broken. Let's get Daddy's phone, it will work."

• Clara and I were hopping around the room pretending to be bunnies when she said, "That's great hopping, Mom. Good job!"

• Clara slammed her finger in a door this week. She was crying a lot and I was giving her finger kisses trying to make it feel better. At one point I said, "I'm so sorry that your finger is hurt." Her reply was, "It's not your fault, it's my fault."

• I caught Clara picking her nose. I told her to stop and explained she should use a tissue. Her response, "I'm just trying to get the boogers out."