Answers can come quickly

Yesterday we loaded up the car to head to piano lessons. It was 3:55pm, which would give us time to get to Mrs. Witbeck's home by 4pm. 
  I put the key in the ignition and it wouldn't turn.  I tried again and again and it felt as if I were to try to turn it any further it would break off in the ignition.
  I looked next door and realized I could probably borrow my neighbor's vehicle. Then the thought came that we should pray.
  We said a prayer.  It was short and to the point with gratitude mixed in.
  I put the key in the ignition and it turned smoothly,  starting without a problem.
  We bowed our heads and thanked Heavenly Father for such a quick response.
"Wow, he answered that so fast."  Justin said. 
  What a wonderful experience to have and such a reminder that Heavenly Father is listening and cares about us.
  As I shared this experience with Eric last night I expressed my concern that our van might be telling us something through these little hiccups we seem to be getting more frequently.  Hopefully it will continue to run for a while...

Our neighbors

So it is not a big surprise that Olivia tends to get into a bit of mischief, ok a lot of mischief!
Well, we were hoping that she had passed that stage....nope!
The past few weeks have been really trying. It seems that every time I turn around she is gone.  Her new favorite place to go is next door to Park's and Navy's.  She does not limit herself to this house, but this is her new favorite destination.

We are trying to have them over to our house too so that I can know where she is at all times.  Well, this seemed like a great plan until they wanted to go home and Olivia wanted to go too.

They had made quite the mess with their tea party (pictured above) and I asked Livi to help clean up. There was a quick no in response, so I said she would have to clean up if she wanted to go to their house. No was the answer again. I sent her to her room as I began to clean up the sugar that had been spilled all over the floor.  I realized it was time to pick the kids up from school and called Livi down. 
No response.
"Olivia, come down right now. We need to go to school." -me
Nothing.
I check upstairs, downstairs...she is gone!  I cannot believe she got out of the house right under my nose.  I mean, I was in the kitchen and dining room and did not hear or see a thing.  SHE IS GOOD at this.
I am not sure how to tackle this...      
  

Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun...where are you?

 This is the LOT next door.  Our friends own it and are taking a bit of time before developing it.
Last year I kept the kids OUT OF IT...but it was HARD.
THREE WEEKS ago I decided that they would probably have a GREAT time digging and it should be fairly safe.
That was the best decision ever!  All of the kids, but especially Justin, have spent hours and hours out there.
  They have built a pretty cool fort with beams and plywood.  
These are all pictures from today:  In the morning we had sun (no pix), then cloudy weather, then rain, then snow flurries and then a big storm!!

This was around noon; Justin, Charlie, Tyler and Carter

 When the rain began I called out to the boys but they said they were going into the fort and they were going to be "survivors".  Justin arrived home with about an INCH of mud stuck to the bottom of his sneakers!

After awhile it looked like this

This is the same dirt pile

 For most of the afternoon we couldn't even see out of our windows the snow was coming down so hard.
This is the window in the playroom.
Eric is on call this weekend; it has been really busy today so I've kept him updated on what is going on outside.

These three pictures are from this evening. Snow stopped and Madeleine

was ready to go out and make a little igloo.

Sister's weekend in Oregon

  I left last Thursday afternoon for Oregon.  Once a year, for the past 8 years I think, we've been getting together for a few days.  It is hard to work out a time that will accomodate everyone's schedules so it us unfortunate but that some are missing. 
 This is the second year we have gone down to the coast to our Mom's house.  There were just 4 of us this year, and we sure missed the others.  We had this weekend over conference weekend which was so nice. We were able to be uplifted by the talks and have time to share with each other...with really no distractions.  Something quite unusual.  Alisa brought her baby Ammon.  He was a dream; just so adorable and happy all the time.
  Shellie picked me up at the airport and we went to eat at the Olive Garden and then to Old Navy and Target. I love Target! So nice to chat with each other. I spent the night at her house and we all headed down to the beach the next day with a stop for lunch at Great Harvest in McMinnville ( and I popped into the kids store Hopscotch).

 Mom is such a generous host!  It is so nice to spend time with her too.  I will have to get some pictures from Heidi as I did not get one with my camera of all of us. 

 Heidi introduced us to Chia seeds and some new ideas on eating...she is so healthy, and such an example to us.

the weather would change constantly: sun, rain, wind, clouds, all in 15min. it seemed

 We shopped, played ping pong, talked, went in the hot tub, out for walks and just spent time with each other. I love my sisters so much!  I am very blessed. Now, if we could only get more there :)

When we were there we all gathered around to hear where Cameron, first grandson to go on a mission, would get his call. I guessed correctly...Brasil.  We are so excited for him!
Sunday after the afternoon session we headed home. I went to stay the night at Jenn's. She had been in California for the Spring break and had arrived back Saturday. So this would give me an opportunity to catch up with her and her family. So good to see the kids and congratulate Cameron.
  I look forward to the good chats with Ryan and Jenn. We stayed up late sharing thoughts, experiences and feelings. They are wonderful people.  Flew back Monday happy but very tired. I have gone to bed by 8:30 or 9pm every night this week.