A Day At The Zoo!

From The Zoo

Friday, Dave had the day off of work so we decided to spend some quality time with the girls. Dave chose the zoo for an outing. It turned out to be such an awesome day. The weather was perfect and the girls were in a good mood. Yeah!! The zoo has changed so much since I was a little girl, which was ages ago. We were able to see a lot of little babies that were born not too long ago. Sara loved all the animals but was so excited to see some big snakes! Go figure. She likes princesses, dolls, reptiles and her badger! What a variety. Anna loved the tigers and cats. She tried to hug them through the glass. She has no fear. We are in big trouble one day! We had so much fun though and after the zoo we took the girls to Red Robin where Sara informed me that this must be 'the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to'! Apparently, she's easy to please. Needless to say, it was fun to have Dave home for the day and to spend some time with him since we don't see a lot of him nowadays. The girls had so much fun I am tempted to get them a zoo pass for the year.

Oh Crap!

So this morning I was greeted by Dave with the news that Wachovia was bought by Citigroup. My thought immediately was Oh Crap! This has been a fear for a while. Working at a bank is a risky thing right now and this was a huge shocker. Dave keeps trying to tell me that things could be worse and I am sure he is right. We just had a baby die in our ward, my dear friend Megan is going through chemotherapy and a dear friend is struggling to find his own job. So we are well aware that things could be worse. We're just praying that Citigroup decides to keep his division so he can get through his Bachelors degree and get a new job. This economy is going to be rough. I am concerned like so many others that we will have a long haul in front of us. Dave just told me that we need to make sure that our tithing will always be first so the Lord will hopefully provide blessings that we might need soon. We are trying to be confident and let the Lord lead us where he will.

Jackson Rich

Wow. Sometimes only one word can explain an event, day, or happening. Today we had the opportunity to attend the aforementioned funeral for the son, Jackson, of some friends of ours in the Ward. We had great respect and admiration for Coby and Tiffany Rich already, today just added to it. It is said that the Lord will not place upon us any more than we are able to bear. Coby and Tiffany must be two of the strongest individuals there are. I have been able to attend a number of funeral services, this was simply one of the most moving and special. There were two great tributes given by Jackson's grandfathers, mixed in with two amazing musical numbers. Then Jackson's father, Coby, did something I would imagine as being one of the most difficult things a parent could do; speak at the funeral of his infant son. Coby spoke with a peace and Spirit that was truly worthy of his son. As special as this little boy was, one whose trip on earth was just long enough to show how pure he was, he was truly blessed with a family just as special. It is times like this when one is especially greatful for the Gospel plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, along with the Sealing power that has been restored upon the earth. Our Prayers and thoughts are with them.

In Our Prayers

Tuesday was such a sad day in our ward. A little boy who was 16 months old, drown in a little pond in his backyard. His name was Jackson Rich. Life flight came but he was not able to be revived when they got to Primary Children's Hospital. We feel so sorry for his parents. They are a wonderful family and we pray that they will be comforted in this time of sorrow and trial. It brought so many emotions out. Dave and I realized that life is really short. This type of accident could happen to anyone. Anna is his age and it is heartbreaking to think of the suffering that they will go through. I pray they will be able to be comforted. Dave has spoken with our sweet Bishop who is going to be conducting his first funeral, not to mentions it is for an infant. He must have a heavy burden on him as well. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Rich family. The funeral is Saturday morning and I hope the day will be a comforting one for them. I can't even imagine having to bury a child. I am glad that Heavenly Father is in charge and that this little boy, Jackson, is with him now.

Family Home Evening

Soccer mom is a word that describes me to the tee. I am in full soccer mode. We are realizing what happens when life is completely scheduled. But we are also realizing how wonderful life can be when your kids are happy. Last night, Dave gave our family home evening lesson and talked about money and finance with our kids. We made a goal as a family that we were going to start taking better care of our things and save up to go to Disneyland next year. Our kids are of course going way overboard. They ate breakfast in the dark this morning because they were saving power and I'm not quite sure their hair actually got washed because they took 1 minute showers to save water. We'll see how long it lasts. We always have an interesting time for family home evening. Anna is usually running around yelling, the boys are giggling and Sara is crying because she didn't get to eat dessert yet. It's fun. I hope we get lots of blessings for trying anyway. Dave is never home, trying to get through school at the U really quickly. I am looking forward to the day when we can go on a real date. We went to clean Dave's mom house and get it ready to put on the market. I couldn't help but feel really sad walking around her empty house that has new paint, air conditioning, new doors, and clean everything. All the things she wasn't able to get or to do for herself the last couple of years. I really miss Bill and Laurel. My kids kiss their pictures everyday. Well, I better put Anna down for a nap considering she's crying on the new computer keyboard. Oops!

Just being a mom!!

So I went into the laundry room today to discover that I have 15 loads of laundry, yes I said 15 loads. Holy cow! Most of this laundry comes from my stinky wonderful boys who are completely involved in soccer. This would be my life lately. Running back and forth from games, practices and an occasional ballet class inbetween for Sara. I am sitting here waiting for my wash to be done, watching the backyardigans with Sara realizing that I really need to get out more often. I told Dave this morning that I needed a date (preferably with him). Yesterday my dear friend Megan had her second round of Chemo down in St. George. I can't believe she's so young and has to deal with all this cancer crap! I told her that when she beats this disease we are going to make t-shirts with the saying "I Beat Cancer" all over them to show that it is possible. She's doing awesome and I'm so proud of her. Dave is into school and feeling the stress but he can do it and it will be so awesome to see him walk in his cap and gown and yes, he is going to walk in his cap and gown because I promised his mom that he would. I'm going to use up an entire memory card just on that walk!! I now have 20 piano students that keep me involved and I am on the PTA board this year in charge of, what else, music appreciation. Dave keeps telling me that I need to learn the word NO but he didn't specify when I was to use it. Well, I am off to take Sara to preschool and I am making Jam! Whoo hoo!!

Crazy Days

So the second week of school is almost over. The summer went by way too fast but we are glad to have some structure back into our lives. We have become busier than ever. We are definately the epitome of a soccer family. The boys have two practices a week and two games a week. This continues all year long. We have learned that we are good jugglers. We are the Gooch family circus for sure. Sara started her dance class at the Murray community dance center and loves every minute of it. I don't have any idea where she got her love of performing from and her love of attention. Anna is so busy, it is hard to keep up. She is our curly blonde siren. She has vocal chords for sure! Dave's family is finishing up the work on his mom's home and getting it ready to put on the market. It is not the same without Laurel. It's just four walls and a ceiling without anyone there to make it a home. Dave is working hard in school. He now can officially cheer for the University of Utah because it is his school. He is thinking of an MBA from BYU though and my family thinks that is hilarious. But, the University of Utah did win against Michigan. Ha Ha Ha!

I don't know how some moms do it. I can hardly keep up but I am doing my best with soccer, dance, PTA, piano lessons, and my nursery calling but somehow I am more blessed than ever before.