Eloise, Russell and I got to spend the evening at the Fairbanks' house for some dinner and family home evening. It was great to chat with Arthur, Marina and Abin and Eloise loved playing with her cousins Miriam, Rachel, Anna and James. Ella rode the rocking horse, watch some Dora the explorer and played with balls outside. Miriam even pulled her around in the wagon. FHE was awesome. We sang some primary songs together and Abin shared a lesson about the two thousand warriors who were obedient to God's commandments with "exactness"! We discussed important commandments especially prayer and made a commitment as a group to pray every morning with exactness and to help each other remember. I mentioned how helpful it is to say our prayers out loud to make them more meaningful, and Arthur added that it is also helpful to do that when reading scriptures. For the game, we played hide and go seek in the dark. I was amazed by the hiding places that the kids came up with (in small narrow cabinets, underneath couch cushions, underneath pianos in dark corners, and even on top of the refrigerator!). When it was Ella and my turn to seek, the sun had set so it was very dark in the house. We checked under beds and in corners, in closets and under blankets. Had Abin never made a sound we would have never found him beneath the blanket covering the organ that was blocked by the crib, and likewise James and Miriam would have remained in those small cabinets forever. As we walked into one dark room, Arthur reached out and grabbed my arm causing me to HOWL as he declared himself behind the door! When I opened the bathroom door Marina and Anna popped out from behind the shower curtain with a "boo" and I subsequently shrieked like a banshee! I'm so glad my screams didn't scare Eloise and she was not fazed one bit. The night ended with cookies and milk and hugs out the door for a pleasant drive home with the companionship of Cinderella. All in all I'd have to say it was a successful night.
