Toone Family

For several years now, Amanda has told us that she is going to marry Brad, who is the son of Logan's best friend Clark. She has also informed us recently that she is going to be a surgeon (yes, that's right; a surgeon) and can only marry someone who is also going to be a surgeon. Yesterday, I watched Brad and his little sister Lori while Clark's wife Lisa attended a class. Logan gave a family home evening lesson on modest dress. He made the statement that dressing modestly helps us to make choices that will lead us to the temple -- and then showed a picture of the temple. At this point, Amanda became very excited, bouncing in her seat and saying, "Dad! Dad! I have something to say!" Once we were all listening, she said, "Brad wants to be a surgeon too !" She sort of had her eyebrows raised with the "you-know-exactly-how-significant-this-is" look on her face. Looking toward Brad, who had a total deer-in-the-headlights look on his face,...

So. It’s me. It’s been a good long while since my last monster post; I’m overdue for another one. Since the only means by which I can remember the events of my life is the photos on my memory card, let’s just take a little chronological tour – shall we? Yes, folks, this is Easter. Here are the kids at the annual Easter Party at Logan's parents' house. The kids always come away with TONS of stuff from this little get-together (the Parental Candy Tax is remains in force, naturally). Benson had a new helper this year: Logan's brother Jordan is engaged to be married in July. He and his fiancee Chelsie were good enough to supervise Benson's egg-gathering. More egg-hunting at Grammy and Papa's house. We also did some egg-coloring. These cousins had a big time finding all their treats! Next was Amanda's end-of-the-year joyschool party. It was complete with water games, so everyone wore their swimsuits. Lily is modeling hers with that fetching beach body th...

Okay, so this isn't a real post, but I thought I should document today's events for posterity... The kids all needed baths this morning, so I put Lily and Amanda in the hallway bathroom and Benson in my bathroom. I decided to sit on my bed and do some work on my laptop so I could have a clear view of Benson. So there I was, busying myself with my to-do list, when I spotted a movement from the corner of my eye. I glanced up just in time to see Benson throwing a handful of his own poop out of the bathtub and onto the floor. WHAT?! Well, you can imagine the sight that met my eyes when I ran in to fully survey the situation. Oh, what is more gross than that? Anyway, this necessitated a thorough decontamination for both Benson and the bathtub. Once that was done, I refilled the tub and put Benson back in. Not three minutes later, I heard the sound of water hitting water and looked up to see that Benson was standing up in the tub, doing what he could to "fill 'er up...

Oh. Ohhhh. OHHHHHHHHHHH. That is my remorseful lamentation. Remorse because I don't even remember what happened in January of this year and the picture below is pretty much the only one that was on my camera: This was taken at my house the day I hosted a surprise birthday party for Logan's Grandma Neilson (in the center wearing the red sweater). Other than that, I really don't have a recollection of January at all. I'm fairly certain there was cold weather and many runny noses at my house. And so we move on! February is a little brighter in my memory. The girls had a big time making a snowman with Daddy -- and the snowman was pretty big, too! They were so proud of their creation. Every day he would melt a little bit until he was nothing but a straw sombrero in the front yard. Next we had Valentine's Day. Siblings are invited to attend Amanda's joyschool parties, so we all loaded up into the van for a valentine exchange, cookie decorating and making mailboxes ...

I may as well just reconcile myself to the fact that my posts probably won't be any more frequent than once a month -- and possibly less frequent than that, at times (like this time). You should probably reconcile yourself to this fact, too. Still, this means that every four to six weeks, you've got a bang-up, mile-long post to look forward to (and I KNOW your sun rises and sets on this blog). Anyway, December started out with Logan's birthday. I had surprised him a couple weeks earlier with a new TV (this was our combined birthday and Christmas presents from parents, grandparents, each other, etc.). He was thrilled with this gift, and the whole family has had the opportunity to enjoy it frequently. Woo hoo! Amanda's birthday falls one week after Logan's. I had told her some time ago that she could have a few friends over for a birthday party -- a promise she was sure to make me keep! So here it is: Amanda's Fourth Birthday Party. . . We began with a theme. Can ...