too many things to say!

So I'll say it in bullet points:

• We didn't really want to spend another night in the laundry room (and I didn't really think our laundry room would be still standing) last week when the warnings came for more crazy tornadoes, so we hit the road and ran to Little Rock, where we stayed in a crappy hotel with soft beds, and had a good time!

Somewhere between here and Little Rock.  This is not a lake.  Can you see how it is actually a frontage road and a field?

• Cadence graduated preschool on Friday.  Can you believe she is going off to Kindergarten in the fall?  She was a head shorter than the kids standing next to her, and definitely the shortest kid of all.  Just like any performance, she looked in any direction but where the crowd was.  She sort of sang and mostly just kept her head turned toward her friend, Kami.  It was still really sweet!  So proud of her.  She is smart as a whip and loves to learn.
• Her teacher, Miss Becca, told each child's answer to the question "what do you want to do when you grow up?"  Cadence's: "Wear make up" and "Not be a mom--they work too much".
• Friday night Spencer and I went on a date to celebrate our 7th anniversary!  Normally I turn away from and denounce unnecessarily scantilly clad women, or swearing, or men grunting.  But if those things are in the context of fast cars with Vin Diesel, then I welcome them!!  I have to say that Fast 5 was AWESOME!   And Spencer agrees.  There.  We shouldn't be admitting this.  But it was a very fun date :)
• The next morning was our anniversary, and I awoke to a romantic kiss good-bye at 4:50 in the morning, as Spencer ran out the door to answer the call, along with nearly 300 other men in our stake, to help the people of Joplin, Mo. (F5 tornado, less than an hour away) (He assures me his blog post on this experience is coming soon.)  I don't need to even describe this picture below, right?
• Since women were specifically told not to come, I was glad that my contribution could be to support my husband in his service and hold down the fort here with the kids, while also preparing to sub for a couple of the Sunday School teachers.  We went to the Farmer's Market and the Bville Splash Park (with Alyssa's help, thank you!) and enjoyed seeing several other friends who's men were away in Joplin wearing the yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" tee's.
• After the Splash Park, I loaded the kids in the car and we drove to Oklahoma to get a new dog.  Yup, we did!  If you hadn't heard, Mr. Peabody had to move along.  We loved him, really.  But he bit Layla, a pretty good one.  And Layla didn't learn her lesson, and we knew it was going to keep happening.  So we found a new home for him.  He's so happy! It's the perfect place for him.  And then we met and fell in love with Abby.  She's great.  I'll post more on her later. 
• The rest of the day was a little crazy and I had to call in reinforcements in the evening (Thank you, Erin!).  Never bring a new dog home and a potty training two year old when you are all out of paper towels.
• I spent that night preparing a Sunday School lesson for a combined class of 15-year-olds. I was pleased with how I imagined my scripture-dense discussion entitled "Wo Unto You..Hypocrites" was going to enlighten and broaden these teenager's understanding of Christ and our responsibility to be pure in heart.  I went to bed late, but slept well, not fearing intruders, since I now have a dog.
• Church was a mad-house.  Well, it always is, for us.  But with many of the dads being gone, it was a little louder than usual.  I sat behind Tara, who somehow could handle having Cadence, and enlisted a beloved babysitter to come sit with us to help.
• Sunday school started and I handed Layla off to the nursery (finally!!!) to go for the first time by herself, and off I went to teach.  Then some confusion ensued regarding who's class needed substituting, and I ended up in a classroom with 3 nine-year-old boys!  My lesson was NOT geared for them.  But we did it.  Somehow.  And I enjoyed it, somehow :)
• After church we rushed home to get ready for dinner with the missionaries, and Spencer got home 30 minutes before them, with pictures and stories to share.  I was really glad he got back in time!
• The next morning was Memorial Day.  We were really lucky to have that day to spend together, since the rest of the weekend we hardly saw eachother.   We decided last minute that it was the perfect day to blow up the kiddie pool and pull out the baby grill and invite a few families over.  The house was a mess, no groceries had been bought, and we didn't know who was going to be around and who wasn't, but we went for it!  It turned out perfectly, and we hope to have several more days like that day ahead.  We wished we could have invited more friends, but on such late notice, we really didn't have a chance or the means. Note spencer's grillin' set up below.  That night he mentioned to me that it might be time to upgrade to a larger grill. Much discussion is had among some young girls around here regarding who this young man will marry.  I try to remind Cadence that no decision has to be made just yet, but it is still right at the top of her mind.

Above, Cadence jumps from the swing into the pool-- what a feat!

• Later that day we went to see Kung Fu Panda 2, which was funny (although I thought it had a lot of implied violence).
• Oh my, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.....   aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh what a weekend!