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SwindleFam FHE

Victor takes his education very seriously, including his P.E. class.

Tonight, he taught us some of his P.E. exercises for FHE.

First, we ran in place. We ran as fast as we could.

Then, we did push-ups (I think the family collectively did about four).

After that came curl-ups (sit-ups where your hands stay on the floor).

Finally, we did front and back stretches.

Victor had a couple of recommendations for us. First, eat less. Second, try to exercise a little more.

Stargazing

For a real treat, head outside right now (if it's nighttime) and look west.

If you can see what I see, you will see two crazy bright stars just under Taurus. You can't miss them. They are Venus and Jupiter.

It's so fun to see Jupiter!

Soccer Evaluation

Last week, I signed up the boys for spring soccer, a first in our family.

This evening was the mandatory skills evaluation. It was painful. I learned that I should have come at 7, not 6. Standing in line was torture. My boys wrestled with each other and made a ruckus the entire time.

Also, our skills were probably not worth evaluating.

Artistic Differences

On Saturday, our family attended a birthday party at the local Chuck E. Cheese's. I was trying to decide between wearing either a long necklace or a flower pin on my sweater.

I asked Jeremy and Victor what they thought.

Jeremy looked at the flower and said, emphatically, "Necklace!"

Victor looked at the flower and said, excitedly, "Flower!"

I went back into my room to ask my mirror.

Victor followed me and said, very soothingly and a little sadly, "Dad just doesn't like beauty."

Vocabulary Mixup

Today, Victor's homework assignment was to imagine what a dinosaur would do at school. He was then to draw a picture and write a sentence about it.

He drew a rather convincing stegosaurus, a coconut tree, and some leaves. Then he drew some tiny mouse holes and a T-rex that was traveling underground.

He took time to explain to me that the stegosaurus has a spiky tail "to protect it from its creditors."

Scripture Study

On Sunday, I taught a Relief Society lesson about Envy, Jealousy, and Covetousness. I was inspired by item 9 of George Albert Smith's personal creed:

"I would overcome the tendency to selfishness and jealousy and rejoice in the successes of all the children of my Heavenly Father."

If you are interested in doing a little topical study, you might consider this topic. The topical guide entries on Envy and Covet are very useful (envy is all over the scriptures), as are Pres. Benson's 1989 gospel classic "Beware of Pride," Elder Holland's memorable 2002 talk, "The Other Prodigal," and the Golden Ticket section of Pres. Uchtdorf's "Forget-Me-Not" talk at the October 2011 General RS Meeting.

A few things to note:

--Envy and Covetousness are all about comparing yourself to others

--There are scriptural admonitions about covetousness to the rich (e.g. D&C 19:36) and the poor (e.g. D&C 56:17)

--When you put on your envy goggles or let envy cloud your life, you don't see things clearly

--Luke 12:13–15. "And one of the company said unto him, 'Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.' And he said unto him, 'Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?' And he said unto them, 'Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.'"

Fun Mom Rides a Bike

This Saturday, Jeremy wanted me to come on the weekly biking adventure he takes with the boys.

Since his birthday is this week, I agreed.

I don't have a bike, but there are some "free rental" bikes available at one of our parks. As you can imagine, they are one-speed beach cruisers and are not in very good repair.

Riding was fun, but my bike squeaked so loudly that I thought a persistent songbird was following me. Jeremy was kind enough to ride a loaner bike with me, and his seat kept tipping him backward.

There were free rental helmets, too. Since, the bikes were light blue, I was worried that the coordinating helmets would make me look like a UN peace keeper. Lucky for me, they were just normal bike helmets.

Free to Choose

Tonight, 2 Nephi 2 was up for family scripture study. I introduced the topic.

Me: We are going to read about choosing the way you will live.

Victor, apparently thinking I meant to discuss the way one stays alive: My way to live is to not eat anything poison. That way I will live. What is your way to live, Mom?

SwindleFun Translates

Yesterday, Zeke and I went to the grocery store.

As we waited in line, an old lady approached our cashier and asked him where she could find the straws.

He looked confused and asked her to repeat her question.

So she asked again for the location of the straws.

He looked worried and vaguely pointed to the customer service desk.

Suddenly, I realized the problem. She was clearly from New York or New Jersey. He was southern. And he couldn't understand her accent.

Fortunately for everyone, we at SwindleFun speak Yankee, and we kindly directed her to the paper plate aisle to purchase her straws.