Before General Conference, my friend Danielle and I took our kids to the conference center for a tour. The kids really liked it, and Nathan especially liked the art in it.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
horse riding lessons
Nathan got a horse (pony) riding lesson back in March. He had a lot of fun. If we had a million dollars, he would take lessons all the time (as would the other kids, and me:)), but he had to chose between pottery and horse lessons and he chose pottery. He LOVES pottery and is very good at it. (Alex takes pottery as well, and he loves it and is good at it as well, but Nathan REALLY likes it.)
Then for our date, Katherine and I went to her horse riding lesson. She loved it and wasn't scared. She loves horses.
Alex's Feb. date
Back in FEBRUARY (it's been a while), Alex and I went on a date. We went to a Japanese Habachi grill for dinner...
princess festival pics
Last week I took Katherine and Abbie to the Princess Festival. We had a lot of fun. It is a charity fundraiser, which makes it even cooler! AND it talks about how a princess takes care of others and does service, etc., which makes it the coolest! There were even some service project stations. We met all the princesses, got some pictures, and Katherine got all their autographs in her autograph book they gave her.
The girls with Snow White:
The girls eating ring pops on Sleeping Beauty's bed. I guess Sleeping Beauty woke up:):
At the end the girls played in the splash pool:
Abbie got sticky from her ring pop, and then the grass stuck to her hands:
Abbie deciding to go off exploring. Lots of people commented on how adorably cute she was!:
The princesses on the "Princess and the Pea" bed, with their ring pops:
Katherine getting her nails painted:
...and her hair curled:
When we were eating lunch, the girls put their feet in the water. Notice Abbie still has her corn dog:
The cute princesses:
Yesterday at the store, I was holding Abbie and she reached for Nathan. So Nathan held her and I just happened to have my camera:
Then Alex wanted to hold her:
Saturday, June 25, 2011
pictures of the daddy daughter princess ball
Katherine went with her Daddy to a daddy-daughter princess ball for their June date. Katherine just started ballet classes at a ballet studio, and got a new tutu, tights and shoes that she LOVES. She wants to wear them constantly ever since we got them. So, that's what she picked to wear to the ball. Before the ball, I took some pictures. Click the picture to englarge and see her beautiful blue eyes:). She did all her own poses, I just took the pictures. I took lots, but here are some of my favorites:
Monday, June 20, 2011
update on the kids
Oh goodness! I used to be such a great blogger! What do I say??
First, I just saw online that a family in the area was in a car accident today and one of their kids, a 5 year old boy, was killed. I can't imagine losing a child, especially in a car accident and so suddenly like that. All I can think of to make me feel better is picturing a little boy in heaven with Jesus, smiling and happy. I'm glad that I know there is a God and that families can be together forever. If not, what's the point of life?
Well, I can't sleep so I thought I'd write an update on the family.
Todd bought Magic Cards (the game) to play with the boys and all of them are loving it. The cards have monsters and creatures on them and they attack and block each other. Nathan especially loves monsters and creatures and battles.
Abbie is starting to say words! She knows: Daddy, doggie, Mama, NayNay, but will repeat lots of words. She does this cute thing where she lifts her eyebrows and makes her eyes really wide. We laugh so she loves to do it. She'll do it every time we say, "Abbie, do big eyes!" The other day Katherine and I were dancing and she wanted to dance too! She wanted me to put Katherine's tutu on her and she walked around trying to lift her leg (like marching) and wiggling her hands. It was SO cute! She wanted me to hold her and dance with her too. She's a climbing bug- or should I say booger! she always climbs the stairs, and can NEVER just sit in her chair to eat at the table! If she's not strapped in (which she hates), she will be on the table running around in 2 seconds flat. She is still happy as can be and so easy going. She is always laughing with/at her siblings. They like to do things to make her laugh and she laughs at anything and everything they do. It's so precious. she's starting to walk around with dollies, or stuffed animals or blankets. She found a toy necklace the other day and put it on and walked around with it, taking it on and off.
Katherine is still so obsessed with dancing. She still watches ballet DVDs all the time and spends the whole day changing her dress up clothes (dancing clothes) from one to another, all day. Her favorite is to wear her tutu and be shirtless. Hmmm... She is such a sweet little angel. I was taking the kids to ice cream and when we got there she said, "Amazing!" I said, "What's amazing?" She said, "YOU are amazing!" She always tells me "I love you" and "You're a sweet mommy" and always gives me and Todd and others compliments. She always tells Todd, "thanks for cooking the yummy dinner" or some compliment about his cooking. She has her tantrum moments (she has the Carlson banshee scream) but most of the time if she's in a bad mood, if you smile at her she can't help but smile back. She loves doing whatever her brothers are doing, and is a great helper for me. (Except in potty training. She has been potty trained, back in diapers, potty trained, and is currently back in diapers.) She really loves animals. She wants a horse. She loves going outside to play with the chickens, bunnies and dog. She's with them a lot. She's a very smart girl. She catches on quick, like her daddy and brothers. She just started a ballet dance class. The studio is supposed to be really great. She likes it a lot, so we'll probably have her go there. I have a lot of anxiety and think a lot about the best thing to do about her dance. I don't want to make her not like it by putting her in classes, or changing her dance studio, or if she'll like her teacher, but I want to foster her love of dance. So far she's loved dance classes, and she likes ballet best, and she's loved her ballet classes so far. I guess we'll switch, and I hope I'm making the right decision!
She's so cute the way she talks right now. If a word starts with "S" then a consonant, she leaves of the "S". So "smell" is "'mell", and spoon is 'poon, scary is 'cawy. Nathan is na's'in.
Nathan is still such a funny character. He says the funniest, craziest things. He and Alex are such good friends they can read each others' minds. One will start something and the other will join in or finish it without having to talk about it. They do that all the time. Alex and Nathan are getting so big now! They are really great helps to me. Yesterday and today they have helped clean a TON and I don't know what I'd do without my helpers. Sometimes they'll want to take turns being the "mom". (Lots of work, but then they get to stay up as late as they want:)). We're listening to the "Little House on the Prairie" series on CD right now and we all love it. I heard the boys playing it the other day, like they had to survive on the land. I love reading with them. One of the things I really want to do as a mother is to read to my kids lots- lots of great books. Alex is really into friends, but Nathan isn't really much at all. I told the boys no video games for the whole summer (and maybe longer). It's been so nice! I love the summer. When it's nice weather, I just want to be outside all day. They've had sports camp the last two weeks, and the next two weeks is swim lessons, and we've been going and doing lots of things like going to the zoo, etc. I am still going to do some school during the summer too, so they haven't had any time to say they're bored or miss video games! They are such happy, good kids. Today I was getting frustrated trying to clean and the girls were making messes, and Nathan said, "what can I do to help? Should I...?"
Last week the library had an activity where the kids could bring their stuffed animal to the library and the stuffed animal would spend the night there. In the morning, the kids picked up their stuffed animal, got a little breakfast and a picture of what their stuffed animal did that night. The boys, especially Nathan, were SO into it! It's so funny because they want to be "manly", but they still have a soft spot for their bears. Nathan checked out "Paddington Bear" books and other books about stuffed animals and read it aloud to his bear to get him ready to go to the library (aww). Nathan told his bear all about it, and to not tell the other stuffed animals about it because they might get jealous. In the car, Nathan had his bear in the seat belt with him on his lap! So adorable! Alex had fun and was into it too, just not as much as Nathan was- Nathan was really into it. One day they were playing with all their stuffed animals. They had them all lined up on the stairs and they were playing their instruments for them. They told me they decided to do stuff for their bears, and they had just got done doing a treasure hunt for them, and now they were giving them a concert.
Nana and Papa are coming to visit in 10 days, and the kids want Nana to bring them turtles, since turtles are everywhere in AR. Katherine says, "bring me a little turtle!" Nathan calls Nana to remind her. I heard Nathan telling a friend, "My nana and papa are coming to visit." They are so excited for them to come. They love it when they get to see them.
First, I just saw online that a family in the area was in a car accident today and one of their kids, a 5 year old boy, was killed. I can't imagine losing a child, especially in a car accident and so suddenly like that. All I can think of to make me feel better is picturing a little boy in heaven with Jesus, smiling and happy. I'm glad that I know there is a God and that families can be together forever. If not, what's the point of life?
Well, I can't sleep so I thought I'd write an update on the family.
Todd bought Magic Cards (the game) to play with the boys and all of them are loving it. The cards have monsters and creatures on them and they attack and block each other. Nathan especially loves monsters and creatures and battles.
Abbie is starting to say words! She knows: Daddy, doggie, Mama, NayNay, but will repeat lots of words. She does this cute thing where she lifts her eyebrows and makes her eyes really wide. We laugh so she loves to do it. She'll do it every time we say, "Abbie, do big eyes!" The other day Katherine and I were dancing and she wanted to dance too! She wanted me to put Katherine's tutu on her and she walked around trying to lift her leg (like marching) and wiggling her hands. It was SO cute! She wanted me to hold her and dance with her too. She's a climbing bug- or should I say booger! she always climbs the stairs, and can NEVER just sit in her chair to eat at the table! If she's not strapped in (which she hates), she will be on the table running around in 2 seconds flat. She is still happy as can be and so easy going. She is always laughing with/at her siblings. They like to do things to make her laugh and she laughs at anything and everything they do. It's so precious. she's starting to walk around with dollies, or stuffed animals or blankets. She found a toy necklace the other day and put it on and walked around with it, taking it on and off.
Katherine is still so obsessed with dancing. She still watches ballet DVDs all the time and spends the whole day changing her dress up clothes (dancing clothes) from one to another, all day. Her favorite is to wear her tutu and be shirtless. Hmmm... She is such a sweet little angel. I was taking the kids to ice cream and when we got there she said, "Amazing!" I said, "What's amazing?" She said, "YOU are amazing!" She always tells me "I love you" and "You're a sweet mommy" and always gives me and Todd and others compliments. She always tells Todd, "thanks for cooking the yummy dinner" or some compliment about his cooking. She has her tantrum moments (she has the Carlson banshee scream) but most of the time if she's in a bad mood, if you smile at her she can't help but smile back. She loves doing whatever her brothers are doing, and is a great helper for me. (Except in potty training. She has been potty trained, back in diapers, potty trained, and is currently back in diapers.) She really loves animals. She wants a horse. She loves going outside to play with the chickens, bunnies and dog. She's with them a lot. She's a very smart girl. She catches on quick, like her daddy and brothers. She just started a ballet dance class. The studio is supposed to be really great. She likes it a lot, so we'll probably have her go there. I have a lot of anxiety and think a lot about the best thing to do about her dance. I don't want to make her not like it by putting her in classes, or changing her dance studio, or if she'll like her teacher, but I want to foster her love of dance. So far she's loved dance classes, and she likes ballet best, and she's loved her ballet classes so far. I guess we'll switch, and I hope I'm making the right decision!
She's so cute the way she talks right now. If a word starts with "S" then a consonant, she leaves of the "S". So "smell" is "'mell", and spoon is 'poon, scary is 'cawy. Nathan is na's'in.
Nathan is still such a funny character. He says the funniest, craziest things. He and Alex are such good friends they can read each others' minds. One will start something and the other will join in or finish it without having to talk about it. They do that all the time. Alex and Nathan are getting so big now! They are really great helps to me. Yesterday and today they have helped clean a TON and I don't know what I'd do without my helpers. Sometimes they'll want to take turns being the "mom". (Lots of work, but then they get to stay up as late as they want:)). We're listening to the "Little House on the Prairie" series on CD right now and we all love it. I heard the boys playing it the other day, like they had to survive on the land. I love reading with them. One of the things I really want to do as a mother is to read to my kids lots- lots of great books. Alex is really into friends, but Nathan isn't really much at all. I told the boys no video games for the whole summer (and maybe longer). It's been so nice! I love the summer. When it's nice weather, I just want to be outside all day. They've had sports camp the last two weeks, and the next two weeks is swim lessons, and we've been going and doing lots of things like going to the zoo, etc. I am still going to do some school during the summer too, so they haven't had any time to say they're bored or miss video games! They are such happy, good kids. Today I was getting frustrated trying to clean and the girls were making messes, and Nathan said, "what can I do to help? Should I...?"
Last week the library had an activity where the kids could bring their stuffed animal to the library and the stuffed animal would spend the night there. In the morning, the kids picked up their stuffed animal, got a little breakfast and a picture of what their stuffed animal did that night. The boys, especially Nathan, were SO into it! It's so funny because they want to be "manly", but they still have a soft spot for their bears. Nathan checked out "Paddington Bear" books and other books about stuffed animals and read it aloud to his bear to get him ready to go to the library (aww). Nathan told his bear all about it, and to not tell the other stuffed animals about it because they might get jealous. In the car, Nathan had his bear in the seat belt with him on his lap! So adorable! Alex had fun and was into it too, just not as much as Nathan was- Nathan was really into it. One day they were playing with all their stuffed animals. They had them all lined up on the stairs and they were playing their instruments for them. They told me they decided to do stuff for their bears, and they had just got done doing a treasure hunt for them, and now they were giving them a concert.
Nana and Papa are coming to visit in 10 days, and the kids want Nana to bring them turtles, since turtles are everywhere in AR. Katherine says, "bring me a little turtle!" Nathan calls Nana to remind her. I heard Nathan telling a friend, "My nana and papa are coming to visit." They are so excited for them to come. They love it when they get to see them.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
things to do on Sunday
I came across 2 articles about ideas of things to do on Sundays. They're great! I have a list of 160 things for the kids to do besides watch tv and do video games when they say there's nothing to do. I printed it out and put it on the tv. Now we can have a Sunday list!
I made a list, and then here are the articles:
Sunday list:
1.play an instrument
2.listen to music
3.watch a church video in sleeping bags with popcorn
4.play scripture mastery games
5.look at gospel art
6.read the Friend magazine
7.read the scriptures or a scripture story book to your sister or a bear
8.read a good book
9.play board games or card games with a family member
10.call a family member on the phone (Nana and Papa, Dallin, Tawnya, etc.)
11.write in your journal
12.color a picture from the Friend website
13.take a walk
14.write a letter
15.do service: visit someone who is lonely or make someone something and take it to them (or leave it on their porch and run away!)
16.family history: listen to a story of a family member, find out who your ancestors are; have nancy show us how
17.family counsil and interviews; discuss family goals
18.act our scripture stories
19.compliment game
20.do “Preach my gospel”
21.work on cub scouts
22.work on “Faith in God”
23.make a time capsule
24.look at family pictures
25.draw or paint a portrait or something you see in nature
26.pray and ponder about things you don't understand or have questions about
27.help mom make file folder games
28.plan an F.H.E lesson
29.help Katherine with her scripture mastery
30. go to choir
31. floss your teeth
Sunday Stations-Calling the Sabbath a Delight
By Guest Writer
For the last couple of months, my husband and I have been talking a lot about how to teach our children to “call the Sabbath a delight” (Isaiah 58:13).
Our kids are still young, so right now our list of ‘don’t’ really is just ‘we don’t play on the swing set on Sunday”. But really that doesn’t go far in promoting delightful feelings for Sunday, especially for a three year old and a one year old!And then I ran across a story in the Friend about Sunday Stations and I knew we had found an answer that would work for our family.
Here are some of the ideas that we have tried in our family:
Journals: I got a couple of spiral bound notebooks at the back to school sales. I give the kids crayons and they draw pictures. Then I add a couple of sentences about things we did that week.
Coloring Pages: the Friend website has a lot of downloads that you can print out.
Walk: a leisurely Sunday stroll is a great way to get a little of the wiggles out, while still keeping a spirit of reverence.
Scripture Stories: cuddling on the couch, reading from the illustrated children’s scripture stories.
Letters: grandparents love to receive letters and hand drawn grandkid-original pictures.
Service: we use some time to go visit our neighbors, or people in our ward who might need a friendly face. Often we bring cookies, but it isn’t necessary.
Family History: right now this consists of us telling our children stories that we know about our ancestors. We include stories about their grandparents and parents.
Family Council: we are just starting this activity, but we hope to learn how to use councils effectively to strengthen our family.
Father’s Interviews: also one that we are just starting, but the kids already love to have a special time with Dad
The Friend for November 2010 also had some great ideas. When our kids are older, I think we will add acting out scripture stories.
(another article's ideas below):
The all-time favorite activity is to play a game we made up, it's called the Gospel Game. First we set the stage by creating the game board. We place 10 wash cloths on the floor of our living room. They are set up to create a path of 'stepping stones' across the room. The playing pieces are the children. The first child will stand at one end of the path of washcloths and I sit at the other end. I will ask them questions about the scriptures or teachings of modern prophets, and if they answer correctly they may step forward onto the next wash cloth. I try to make the questions appropriate for the child, so Sarah will be asked much more difficult questions than Daniel. I try to ask about the scripture stories we've been learning that week. I will also use the Gospel Art Kit and show them pictures of Bible stories, and I'll ask them to tell me what the names of the people are or retell the story that is being portrayed. After answering 10 questions correctly, they are at the end of the path and they get to pick a jelly bean from the bowl in my lap. I love this activity because it's completely free to create and can be played with merely a few wash cloths (or any other items that can be used to create the path on the floor- sometimes we've used hotpads from the kitchen, or pieces of paper.) This game can be tailored to any family. The children love playing this game and each child usually takes a turn going through the path several times.
Sarah's favorite activity is called Sunday Stations. She sets up different activities around the house that people can cycle through. She may set up art supplies on the kitchen table for drawing and painting. She usually has a reading station with the Friend magazines next to the couch, and several blankets and stuffed animals to cuddle with while she reads. She'll tuck the boys both into the couch and read to them aloud while they hug toys. Another station may be singing time, with hand instruments to play in beat to the music. Another station may be at the piano. She'll play Primary songs and have the boys and me try to guess what song it is. There are also games we like to play that have Book of Mormon characters printed on the cards, so we can play Go Fish, Memory, Old Maid, and Crazy Eight with those decks.
Nathan likes to cook with the children, and they all look forward to that a lot. They REALLY get excited to spend time with Dad in the kitchen. Last week Nathan instructed Matthew how to make macaroni and cheese all by himself, and Matt was so proud about learning this new skill. They also like to cook desserts together, like cream puffs or cake, or make loaves of bread.
We love to read educational books together, but our very favorite reading activity is to gather in the library room with blankets while Nathan reads a classic book or poetry aloud. The children relished reading the original Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh books. Some other favorites are The Little house on the Prairie, Mr. Poppers Penguins, and A Midsummer's Night Dream (although it did take some explaining to translate Shakespeare into modern English for them).
We play family games together after dinner. I prefer games that aren't highly competitive. There is more of a spirit of collaboration than competition in our games. I try to emphasize that it doesn't matter who wins since it's merely a game, but it matters if you have fun or not. I try to train the children to wish each other luck before every game, and after every game they shake hands and say 'Good Game!'. Some of our favorite games include Rummikub, Uno, Blokus, Carcassonne, Life, and checkers.
I try to make a dessert every Sunday, since we don't often have desserts during the week. When I don't have time or energy to make a 'real' dessert, we do "Sundaes on Sunday". We set up a sundae bar with ice cream and all the toppings then we let the children choose what to create for their own desserts.
On the first Sunday of each month, the children really look forward to doing PPI's with Nathan. (That would be a Personal Priesthood Interview) They beg him to do PPI's often. They each have a turn to go speak privately with Nathan. They first pray together, then they talk about thier week, concerns they may have about the family, what they are learning that week, and set goals. After the interview they get a small piece of chocolate or other candy.
We sometimes take nature walks to enjoy God's beautiful creations. There are lots of greenbelts around, so we pick one and drive to it. It's surprising how secluded the green belts in Austin feel....often we can't see or hear anything to indicate we're anywhere near civilization. I love it. I used to go on drives into the mountains on Sundays when I was little. I loved the feelings in my heart when I'm away from the noise and bustle of the city and surrounded by trees. I love listening to the birds in the trees and the buzz of insects.
We always call grandparents or other relatives on Sunday. Nathan and I love chatting with our siblings and parents, especially since we haven't seen most of them for a couple of years. I would feel so isolated from my extended family if it weren't for our weekly chats. I love hearing of their adventures, concerns, trials, and triumphs. I don't feel like we're a thousand miles away, and it always lifts my spirits to share in life's delights with my favorite people.
Developing talents is encouraged, so we sometimes practice music or create art of various forms: painting, drawing, embroidery, sewing, etc.
We also do a ZIP meeting. (Zion ImProvement) We meet for a family council where we discuss any family concerns and set family goals. It could be goals on family struggles we'd like to overcome, or new talents we'd like to explore, or something we'd like to learn about or go see. I have a family binder with our goals. There is a page for each person so they can choose their individual goals to work on. We can review how the previous week went and decide what changes would be good to improve things. We also can talk about the schedule for the upcoming week and talk about the needs each person has so we can address them.
We REALLY love playing the Compliment Game. For this game we pick a family member (for example, Daniel) then everyone has a turn to say something they admire about Daniel. After we all share compliments with Daniel, we move to the next person and everyone expresses particular things they like about that person. We do this until each member of the family has a turn. We try to be specific in our comments. Instead of just saying, "She's nice" we focus on details such as, "I like how she played with me and read me a story, that was nice." Often we do this around the dinner table. It provides such great conversation! It's uplifting for everyone and brings such a sweet spirit into the meal. Sometimes the children prefer to play this on the floor. We sit in a circle, and one person has a ball. They pick a family member to compliment. After expressing the kind words, they roll the ball to the person they picked. The new person compliments a new person of their choice and rolls the ball to them. This continues until everyone has received the ball several times. It's surprising how much they love this game! It's so simple, and it's so great for building family unity and love.
Nathan loves making music as a family on Sundays (well, he does this everyday). He'll play the guitar or piano and we'll sing hymns together. Sometimes he'll accompany Sarah on the piano. The boys like leading the music with large wooden spoons to wave in the air. It's really fun to sing together. Earlier this year we hosted regular music nights in our home. We'd invite other members of the congregation to come sing twice each month and we'd serve refreshments. It was so nice to have our home be a gathering place for such wonderful people. I loved having them in my home.
We will often read the Illustrated Scriptures together with the children. After each chapter they can choose to answer three trivia questions about the chapter. When they pass of 3 correct answers they can choose a jelly bean. I adapted this idea from Jewish history. In my studies a few years ago I read that teachers would give children honey on their tongue to savor while they listened to the words of the Talmud. It trained them to associate the scriptures with a physical delight until they were old enough to enjoy scriptures for the intrinsic rewards.
A goal for the summer is to introduce a new Sabbath activity. As part of the home school curriculum, each person will have an individual writing journal and we will all be writing in them during the week, whether it is a fictitious story, journal entry, poetry, etc. On Sunday evenings we will make popcorn (or some other snack) to enjoy while we take turns sharing something from our weekly writings. This way the children will have more exposure to public speaking and sharing their creations, and we can all encourage each other's efforts. I'm really looking forward to this activity!
Sometimes we just have a peaceful day and everyone cuddles together for a refreshing nap. Our choice of activities usually is dependent on the parental energy level. If it was an exhausting day at church (like teaching a rambunctious class of very active children), we opt for quiet activities like reading or painting or cuddling for a nap.
(My ideas):
We have Sundays be our journal days. I want the kids to have a journal to look back on, so to be consistent with it, I have them write every Sunday (Nathan is 7 so he writes 7 sentences, and Alex is 8 and writes 8 sentences. I then write a "translation" on the opposite page if it is needed.)
play instruments
listen to pretty music
watch church videos
scripture mastery games (like the gospel game in the article, just with the scripture masteries they have learned)
look at the gospel art kit or other uplifting art
read the Friend
read scriptures or scripture story books to a younger sibling or a stuffed animal
read uplifting books/stories silently or together as a family
do self esteem lessons such as: I can do hard things, feelings, thinking errors, negative vs. positive thinking, think-feel-do, feel fear and do it anyway, conflict resolution, how to turn weaknesses into strengths, you are worth infinite because you are a child of God and inherited your worth from your Father in Heaven who is infinite, etc.
I made a list, and then here are the articles:
Sunday list:
1.play an instrument
2.listen to music
3.watch a church video in sleeping bags with popcorn
4.play scripture mastery games
5.look at gospel art
6.read the Friend magazine
7.read the scriptures or a scripture story book to your sister or a bear
8.read a good book
9.play board games or card games with a family member
10.call a family member on the phone (Nana and Papa, Dallin, Tawnya, etc.)
11.write in your journal
12.color a picture from the Friend website
13.take a walk
14.write a letter
15.do service: visit someone who is lonely or make someone something and take it to them (or leave it on their porch and run away!)
16.family history: listen to a story of a family member, find out who your ancestors are; have nancy show us how
17.family counsil and interviews; discuss family goals
18.act our scripture stories
19.compliment game
20.do “Preach my gospel”
21.work on cub scouts
22.work on “Faith in God”
23.make a time capsule
24.look at family pictures
25.draw or paint a portrait or something you see in nature
26.pray and ponder about things you don't understand or have questions about
27.help mom make file folder games
28.plan an F.H.E lesson
29.help Katherine with her scripture mastery
30. go to choir
31. floss your teeth
Sunday Stations-Calling the Sabbath a Delight
By Guest Writer
For the last couple of months, my husband and I have been talking a lot about how to teach our children to “call the Sabbath a delight” (Isaiah 58:13).
Our kids are still young, so right now our list of ‘don’t’ really is just ‘we don’t play on the swing set on Sunday”. But really that doesn’t go far in promoting delightful feelings for Sunday, especially for a three year old and a one year old!And then I ran across a story in the Friend about Sunday Stations and I knew we had found an answer that would work for our family.
Here are some of the ideas that we have tried in our family:
Journals: I got a couple of spiral bound notebooks at the back to school sales. I give the kids crayons and they draw pictures. Then I add a couple of sentences about things we did that week.
Coloring Pages: the Friend website has a lot of downloads that you can print out.
Walk: a leisurely Sunday stroll is a great way to get a little of the wiggles out, while still keeping a spirit of reverence.
Scripture Stories: cuddling on the couch, reading from the illustrated children’s scripture stories.
Letters: grandparents love to receive letters and hand drawn grandkid-original pictures.
Service: we use some time to go visit our neighbors, or people in our ward who might need a friendly face. Often we bring cookies, but it isn’t necessary.
Family History: right now this consists of us telling our children stories that we know about our ancestors. We include stories about their grandparents and parents.
Family Council: we are just starting this activity, but we hope to learn how to use councils effectively to strengthen our family.
Father’s Interviews: also one that we are just starting, but the kids already love to have a special time with Dad
The Friend for November 2010 also had some great ideas. When our kids are older, I think we will add acting out scripture stories.
(another article's ideas below):
The all-time favorite activity is to play a game we made up, it's called the Gospel Game. First we set the stage by creating the game board. We place 10 wash cloths on the floor of our living room. They are set up to create a path of 'stepping stones' across the room. The playing pieces are the children. The first child will stand at one end of the path of washcloths and I sit at the other end. I will ask them questions about the scriptures or teachings of modern prophets, and if they answer correctly they may step forward onto the next wash cloth. I try to make the questions appropriate for the child, so Sarah will be asked much more difficult questions than Daniel. I try to ask about the scripture stories we've been learning that week. I will also use the Gospel Art Kit and show them pictures of Bible stories, and I'll ask them to tell me what the names of the people are or retell the story that is being portrayed. After answering 10 questions correctly, they are at the end of the path and they get to pick a jelly bean from the bowl in my lap. I love this activity because it's completely free to create and can be played with merely a few wash cloths (or any other items that can be used to create the path on the floor- sometimes we've used hotpads from the kitchen, or pieces of paper.) This game can be tailored to any family. The children love playing this game and each child usually takes a turn going through the path several times.
Sarah's favorite activity is called Sunday Stations. She sets up different activities around the house that people can cycle through. She may set up art supplies on the kitchen table for drawing and painting. She usually has a reading station with the Friend magazines next to the couch, and several blankets and stuffed animals to cuddle with while she reads. She'll tuck the boys both into the couch and read to them aloud while they hug toys. Another station may be singing time, with hand instruments to play in beat to the music. Another station may be at the piano. She'll play Primary songs and have the boys and me try to guess what song it is. There are also games we like to play that have Book of Mormon characters printed on the cards, so we can play Go Fish, Memory, Old Maid, and Crazy Eight with those decks.
Nathan likes to cook with the children, and they all look forward to that a lot. They REALLY get excited to spend time with Dad in the kitchen. Last week Nathan instructed Matthew how to make macaroni and cheese all by himself, and Matt was so proud about learning this new skill. They also like to cook desserts together, like cream puffs or cake, or make loaves of bread.
We love to read educational books together, but our very favorite reading activity is to gather in the library room with blankets while Nathan reads a classic book or poetry aloud. The children relished reading the original Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh books. Some other favorites are The Little house on the Prairie, Mr. Poppers Penguins, and A Midsummer's Night Dream (although it did take some explaining to translate Shakespeare into modern English for them).
We play family games together after dinner. I prefer games that aren't highly competitive. There is more of a spirit of collaboration than competition in our games. I try to emphasize that it doesn't matter who wins since it's merely a game, but it matters if you have fun or not. I try to train the children to wish each other luck before every game, and after every game they shake hands and say 'Good Game!'. Some of our favorite games include Rummikub, Uno, Blokus, Carcassonne, Life, and checkers.
I try to make a dessert every Sunday, since we don't often have desserts during the week. When I don't have time or energy to make a 'real' dessert, we do "Sundaes on Sunday". We set up a sundae bar with ice cream and all the toppings then we let the children choose what to create for their own desserts.
On the first Sunday of each month, the children really look forward to doing PPI's with Nathan. (That would be a Personal Priesthood Interview) They beg him to do PPI's often. They each have a turn to go speak privately with Nathan. They first pray together, then they talk about thier week, concerns they may have about the family, what they are learning that week, and set goals. After the interview they get a small piece of chocolate or other candy.
We sometimes take nature walks to enjoy God's beautiful creations. There are lots of greenbelts around, so we pick one and drive to it. It's surprising how secluded the green belts in Austin feel....often we can't see or hear anything to indicate we're anywhere near civilization. I love it. I used to go on drives into the mountains on Sundays when I was little. I loved the feelings in my heart when I'm away from the noise and bustle of the city and surrounded by trees. I love listening to the birds in the trees and the buzz of insects.
We always call grandparents or other relatives on Sunday. Nathan and I love chatting with our siblings and parents, especially since we haven't seen most of them for a couple of years. I would feel so isolated from my extended family if it weren't for our weekly chats. I love hearing of their adventures, concerns, trials, and triumphs. I don't feel like we're a thousand miles away, and it always lifts my spirits to share in life's delights with my favorite people.
Developing talents is encouraged, so we sometimes practice music or create art of various forms: painting, drawing, embroidery, sewing, etc.
We also do a ZIP meeting. (Zion ImProvement) We meet for a family council where we discuss any family concerns and set family goals. It could be goals on family struggles we'd like to overcome, or new talents we'd like to explore, or something we'd like to learn about or go see. I have a family binder with our goals. There is a page for each person so they can choose their individual goals to work on. We can review how the previous week went and decide what changes would be good to improve things. We also can talk about the schedule for the upcoming week and talk about the needs each person has so we can address them.
We REALLY love playing the Compliment Game. For this game we pick a family member (for example, Daniel) then everyone has a turn to say something they admire about Daniel. After we all share compliments with Daniel, we move to the next person and everyone expresses particular things they like about that person. We do this until each member of the family has a turn. We try to be specific in our comments. Instead of just saying, "She's nice" we focus on details such as, "I like how she played with me and read me a story, that was nice." Often we do this around the dinner table. It provides such great conversation! It's uplifting for everyone and brings such a sweet spirit into the meal. Sometimes the children prefer to play this on the floor. We sit in a circle, and one person has a ball. They pick a family member to compliment. After expressing the kind words, they roll the ball to the person they picked. The new person compliments a new person of their choice and rolls the ball to them. This continues until everyone has received the ball several times. It's surprising how much they love this game! It's so simple, and it's so great for building family unity and love.
Nathan loves making music as a family on Sundays (well, he does this everyday). He'll play the guitar or piano and we'll sing hymns together. Sometimes he'll accompany Sarah on the piano. The boys like leading the music with large wooden spoons to wave in the air. It's really fun to sing together. Earlier this year we hosted regular music nights in our home. We'd invite other members of the congregation to come sing twice each month and we'd serve refreshments. It was so nice to have our home be a gathering place for such wonderful people. I loved having them in my home.
We will often read the Illustrated Scriptures together with the children. After each chapter they can choose to answer three trivia questions about the chapter. When they pass of 3 correct answers they can choose a jelly bean. I adapted this idea from Jewish history. In my studies a few years ago I read that teachers would give children honey on their tongue to savor while they listened to the words of the Talmud. It trained them to associate the scriptures with a physical delight until they were old enough to enjoy scriptures for the intrinsic rewards.
A goal for the summer is to introduce a new Sabbath activity. As part of the home school curriculum, each person will have an individual writing journal and we will all be writing in them during the week, whether it is a fictitious story, journal entry, poetry, etc. On Sunday evenings we will make popcorn (or some other snack) to enjoy while we take turns sharing something from our weekly writings. This way the children will have more exposure to public speaking and sharing their creations, and we can all encourage each other's efforts. I'm really looking forward to this activity!
Sometimes we just have a peaceful day and everyone cuddles together for a refreshing nap. Our choice of activities usually is dependent on the parental energy level. If it was an exhausting day at church (like teaching a rambunctious class of very active children), we opt for quiet activities like reading or painting or cuddling for a nap.
(My ideas):
We have Sundays be our journal days. I want the kids to have a journal to look back on, so to be consistent with it, I have them write every Sunday (Nathan is 7 so he writes 7 sentences, and Alex is 8 and writes 8 sentences. I then write a "translation" on the opposite page if it is needed.)
play instruments
listen to pretty music
watch church videos
scripture mastery games (like the gospel game in the article, just with the scripture masteries they have learned)
look at the gospel art kit or other uplifting art
read the Friend
read scriptures or scripture story books to a younger sibling or a stuffed animal
read uplifting books/stories silently or together as a family
do self esteem lessons such as: I can do hard things, feelings, thinking errors, negative vs. positive thinking, think-feel-do, feel fear and do it anyway, conflict resolution, how to turn weaknesses into strengths, you are worth infinite because you are a child of God and inherited your worth from your Father in Heaven who is infinite, etc.
Friday, May 20, 2011
I'm sneaky
It's a fine line getting the boys to practice their instruments by having intrinsic motivation and me forcing them to practice. I know from my psych classes that if you're forced or get rewards for doing something, you'll stop doing it when those go away. So I made a chart with Alex's and Nathan's names on it next to each other, and they mark how much they practice for the week. Each day they color in the number of minutes on the graph, and they can see very clearly who is "ahead". I will ask, "I wonder who will practice more today?" Now they are practicing like crazy. Today they decided to not practice, but I convinced Alex to practice one minute, and then told Nathan Alex was one minute ahead, and it was on from there; they've been practicing all morning. I also tell them how excited their teachers will be when they find out how much they've been practicing! They both really want to please their teachers.
Anyway, when I get a good idea I want to write it down so I can use it again later.
Anyway, when I get a good idea I want to write it down so I can use it again later.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Today
Guess what I'm doing right now? Wrapping Christmas presents. It snowed today, so instead of throwing a tantrum, we decided to pretend it was Christmas Eve today. We got scones and hot chocolate, the boys made a snowman, we sang Christmas carols, and Nathan drew a Christmas tree and taped it to the wall. They told me to wrap up the toys they already have so they can open them when they wake up.
Today: it snowed even though May is the day after tomorrow, Manzo dog killed a chicken, I got a ticket for my driver's license being expired, I practiced my flute, I went to Alex's Friday school recital where he played "Teach me to Walk in the Light" and he did GREAT!, and I took Katherine and Abbie to a ballet school "sneak preview" of their upcoming performance. Katherine was IN HEAVEN! It wasn't on a stage but in a dance room so all the ballerinas were right in front of her! Then while they were changing costumes they had the kids come out and do some dancing and do what the ballerina was doing. She was so in to it! Then afterwards everyone left but we stayed to watch them practice and she danced by me while they were dancing and she was in heaven! She throws fits if we do anything other than watch Swan Lake in the car. It's funny how she is so in to dancing. She just loves it.
Today: it snowed even though May is the day after tomorrow, Manzo dog killed a chicken, I got a ticket for my driver's license being expired, I practiced my flute, I went to Alex's Friday school recital where he played "Teach me to Walk in the Light" and he did GREAT!, and I took Katherine and Abbie to a ballet school "sneak preview" of their upcoming performance. Katherine was IN HEAVEN! It wasn't on a stage but in a dance room so all the ballerinas were right in front of her! Then while they were changing costumes they had the kids come out and do some dancing and do what the ballerina was doing. She was so in to it! Then afterwards everyone left but we stayed to watch them practice and she danced by me while they were dancing and she was in heaven! She throws fits if we do anything other than watch Swan Lake in the car. It's funny how she is so in to dancing. She just loves it.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Katherine's dialogues
Katherine: I'm so lucky.
Mommy: Why are you lucky?
Katherine: I'm a sister.
****
Mommy: What do you want for breakfast?
Katherine: I want popcorn and cheese and marshmallows and oranges.
Mommy: Why are you lucky?
Katherine: I'm a sister.
****
Mommy: What do you want for breakfast?
Katherine: I want popcorn and cheese and marshmallows and oranges.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Easter and life and death
We put two dozen fertilized eggs in our incubator to hatch Easter chicks. Two broke in the process, so out of 22 eggs, 15 hatched. One died upon hatching, and two died the next day while the boys were at their Friday school. I was taking a shower and Katherine was left alone with the little chicks (what was I thinking??). Todd went downstairs and saw Katherine holding a dead chick. He washed Katherine's hands and I came down and put the chick in the trash can. Another chick was dying and it died in my hands. Katherine had no idea what was going on, and why I put the chicks in the trash can. When the boys got home, Nathan cried and cried about his chicks dying. Later that afternoon, we saw one of the chicks looking sick. We prayed for it and made a little bed away from the other chicks for it, and hoped it made it, but it too died. Nathan was again very sad. He even saw this one die.
This has actually been a really good experience. This is our kids' first experience with life and death. We saw the chicks be born, and even some hatched out of their eggs on the boys' hands (in the bathroom with the hot shower going). We witnessed the miracle of life.
We also witnessed the normal, natural part of life: death. I explained to Katherine that life, or a spirit, goes into the chick when it's born, in its body. But when something happens to its body (like it gets squeezed too hard), then the body dies and the spirit goes to heaven to be with Jesus and Heavenly Father. The body is dead, so we have to put it in the trash can. But some day, the chick's body and spirit will come back together and it will be alive again, called the ressurection. That's why we celebrate Easter! Jesus died, and His body was dead and His spirit went to heaven. But three days later, His body was gone! His spirit came back to His body and He became alive again! Because of that, all living creatures, including us, will come alive again too! (She wanted me to tell her the story over and over and over again).
When I was a teenager, I was there when a dog died. I pet it and talked to it as it died. It's a sad but beautiful and amazing experience, being there when the spirit departs the body and goes home, back where the spirit came from.
I also explained that to the boys. Death hurts for those that are still here. But it is a normal, natural part of life. Heavenly Father made us, and wants us to be with Him. This life is just temporary. Some day, we will all be back with Him, where we want to be. For those that get to go back to heaven, it's a happy time. (And those chicks will never have to suffer a cold winter or being chased by a crazy Manzo dog).
This Easter I understand its meaning a little more. We celebrate Easter because it means death is not the end. Jesus overcame death. Because of Him, we will live again.
This has actually been a really good experience. This is our kids' first experience with life and death. We saw the chicks be born, and even some hatched out of their eggs on the boys' hands (in the bathroom with the hot shower going). We witnessed the miracle of life.
We also witnessed the normal, natural part of life: death. I explained to Katherine that life, or a spirit, goes into the chick when it's born, in its body. But when something happens to its body (like it gets squeezed too hard), then the body dies and the spirit goes to heaven to be with Jesus and Heavenly Father. The body is dead, so we have to put it in the trash can. But some day, the chick's body and spirit will come back together and it will be alive again, called the ressurection. That's why we celebrate Easter! Jesus died, and His body was dead and His spirit went to heaven. But three days later, His body was gone! His spirit came back to His body and He became alive again! Because of that, all living creatures, including us, will come alive again too! (She wanted me to tell her the story over and over and over again).
When I was a teenager, I was there when a dog died. I pet it and talked to it as it died. It's a sad but beautiful and amazing experience, being there when the spirit departs the body and goes home, back where the spirit came from.
I also explained that to the boys. Death hurts for those that are still here. But it is a normal, natural part of life. Heavenly Father made us, and wants us to be with Him. This life is just temporary. Some day, we will all be back with Him, where we want to be. For those that get to go back to heaven, it's a happy time. (And those chicks will never have to suffer a cold winter or being chased by a crazy Manzo dog).
This Easter I understand its meaning a little more. We celebrate Easter because it means death is not the end. Jesus overcame death. Because of Him, we will live again.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Dramatic Nathan
Nathan is SO dramatic. He got a cut on his hand from a can, and he yelled and screamed like he was about to die (this is not unusual for Nathan). After getting it cleaned and bandaged up, I told him that he'll never be able to play video games again (you know, because his hand must have been practically cut off by the way he was screaming) and he said, "Yes I can!" And so he is now happy as a lark playing video games. Silly boy. I guess he'll live after all. I asked him if he'd like to go to Thanksgiving Point to Farm Country to see the animals. He said he couldn't because of his hand. He said, "I like animals, but not enough to DIE for them!!" (because he cut his hand, he'd die if he went anywhere).
By the way, Nathan asked me today if I'd rather be a tiny person (like leprechaun size) or be regular size but have to live in a freezer.
By the way, Nathan asked me today if I'd rather be a tiny person (like leprechaun size) or be regular size but have to live in a freezer.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
stuff
Yesterday was not a good day, but it ended really well.
I think that Heavenly Father knew we needed a clear answer to whether we should get land because the next day, someone called and said they really wanted to buy our house. And Todd had a job offer paying more money, and some dumb neighbor called the police because our puppy was out front (that I can understand, we need to get a fence because he started eating the chickens but haven't gotten up the fence yet because we didn't know if we were moving) and because we have chickens (which chickens are perfectly legal in Spanish Fork, and our chickens aren't bothering anybody, but now I have to get a permit for them which is a pain). I really wish we could've just moved to the country!!
Nathan had a major meltdown/tantrum yesterday; he is so emtional. I was like that as a kid. It's very taxing on me.
But at the end of the day, I helped Alex practice piano and he's getting so good! Then Katherine wanted me to help her practice her flute. I got out my old flute, the sentimental one that I practiced hours and hours on from 7th grade through college, and she made sound on it a few times!! Then I played it and she danced and every time I stopped she would hold the flute up to me and say to play some more so she could keep dancing. So precious!!
P.S. Here it is a few months later, and I'm writing an update because I forgot I hadn't written an update to this. It turned out the people who wanted our house wouldn't have gotten it anyway because the job here fell through for them. AND when we got our house refinanced, it wasn't worth what we thought, and so we wouldn't have had the down payment from our house to put toward the other one.
I think that Heavenly Father knew we needed a clear answer to whether we should get land because the next day, someone called and said they really wanted to buy our house. And Todd had a job offer paying more money, and some dumb neighbor called the police because our puppy was out front (that I can understand, we need to get a fence because he started eating the chickens but haven't gotten up the fence yet because we didn't know if we were moving) and because we have chickens (which chickens are perfectly legal in Spanish Fork, and our chickens aren't bothering anybody, but now I have to get a permit for them which is a pain). I really wish we could've just moved to the country!!
Nathan had a major meltdown/tantrum yesterday; he is so emtional. I was like that as a kid. It's very taxing on me.
But at the end of the day, I helped Alex practice piano and he's getting so good! Then Katherine wanted me to help her practice her flute. I got out my old flute, the sentimental one that I practiced hours and hours on from 7th grade through college, and she made sound on it a few times!! Then I played it and she danced and every time I stopped she would hold the flute up to me and say to play some more so she could keep dancing. So precious!!
P.S. Here it is a few months later, and I'm writing an update because I forgot I hadn't written an update to this. It turned out the people who wanted our house wouldn't have gotten it anyway because the job here fell through for them. AND when we got our house refinanced, it wasn't worth what we thought, and so we wouldn't have had the down payment from our house to put toward the other one.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
prayers are answered
Well, we've been looking for more land, and it has come down to the day to make a decision of whether we will sell our house and get land (5.25 acres in Payson) or stay here and refinance. We all wanted to move to that land, and we've been praying about it and haven't felt like we've gotten an answer either way. Well, we had to decide tonight, so we said a prayer that we would know for sure what we should do since we HAD to make a decision tonight (refinance rules are changing April 1). Right after that Todd opened the scriptures to this verse:
D&C 48: 1 It is necessary that ye should remain for the present time in your places of abode, as it shall be suitable to your circumstances
Later it says this: 4 It must needs be necessary that ye save all the money that ye can, and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance
So as excited as I was to move to that 5.25 acres in Payson, it looks like we should stay here and save our money and maybe we could buy land later.
The scripture we just happen to be memorizing right now is 3 Nephi 27: 27-29
28And now I ago unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.
29Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened
The power of prayer!
D&C 48: 1 It is necessary that ye should remain for the present time in your places of abode, as it shall be suitable to your circumstances
Later it says this: 4 It must needs be necessary that ye save all the money that ye can, and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance
So as excited as I was to move to that 5.25 acres in Payson, it looks like we should stay here and save our money and maybe we could buy land later.
The scripture we just happen to be memorizing right now is 3 Nephi 27: 27-29
28And now I ago unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.
29Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened
The power of prayer!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Precious
Todd and Katherine just got home from their first daddy-daughter dance rehearsal! Katherine was so so excited!! They showed me their dance and it's SO cute! When I read the lyrics to the song they're dancing to I got teary eyed:
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays
without a care in the world
and I'm sittin here wearin the weight of the world on my shoulders
she's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you"
there's a ball at the castle and I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancin'
Oh please, oh Daddy please
So I dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella, I don't wanna miss even one song
Cuz all of too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress,
She says "Dad the prom is just one week away and I need to practice my dancin
Oh please daddy please"
So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
I will dance with Cinderella, I don't even want to miss even one song
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone. She will be gone
She came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin and tellin us all they had planned
She said Dad the wedding's still 6 months away
I need to practice my dancing. Oh please Daddy please
So I will dance with Cindereall while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella, I don't even want to miss even one song
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
-steven curtis chapman "Cinderella"
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays
without a care in the world
and I'm sittin here wearin the weight of the world on my shoulders
she's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you"
there's a ball at the castle and I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancin'
Oh please, oh Daddy please
So I dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella, I don't wanna miss even one song
Cuz all of too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress,
She says "Dad the prom is just one week away and I need to practice my dancin
Oh please daddy please"
So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
I will dance with Cinderella, I don't even want to miss even one song
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone. She will be gone
She came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin and tellin us all they had planned
She said Dad the wedding's still 6 months away
I need to practice my dancing. Oh please Daddy please
So I will dance with Cindereall while she is here in my arms
Cuz I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella, I don't even want to miss even one song
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
-steven curtis chapman "Cinderella"
Abbie's first step!
Abbie took her first step last night!! She's been standing on her own for a while now. She's 10 months old. She has to keep up with the older kids! She can do patty cake and she'll imitate some sounds. If I yell "Todd!" up the stairs, she'll yell "'odd!" She's a very happy, easy going baby. At the mall the other day, a ton of people told me she was the cutest, happiest baby they'd ever seen. She smiles at everybody and when she smiles she scrunches up her nose and she has big blue eyes that look right at you--SO cute!!
We're still looking at houses with land. There's two possibilities left, both 5 and a half acres in Payson/Benjamin and we'd build a house. I really hope it works out! We'll probably find out this week if we just stay here and refinance or move and start a farm (slowly, of course).
Right now Katherine is watching Nutcracker Ballet in her tutu (but no shirt). She also likes to get ballet books at the library and we spent some time this morning looking at ballet books. Abbie is standing up in her high chair (she will NOT sit down in a high chair. If I strap her in, she wiggles and whines and cries) eating strawberries. The boys are outside checking for eggs. Nathan said he got another egg, which means he has a dozen now to sell. He's going to buy fertilized eggs so we can hatch them in our incubator. We started 7 eggs in our incubator, but when we went to Bryce Canyon for the weekend, we left them for the neighbor boys to watch, and the temp was down too low. So we cracked them open and only one had a chick growing, but it was really cool to see a chick embryo! It was tiny and you could see the outline and a circle for the brain and the blood vessels. We're going to hatch the new batch of eggs right before Easter and sell the chicks.
Todd is working on his talk for Sunday because he has to speak in another ward for his stake calling. I'm supposed to be cleaning...uggg! I hate cleaning! I'd much rather be outside working in a garden or taking care of animals, even cleaning animal poop than cleaning my house!
P.S. I forgot to mention Katherine's imaginary friend that she named "Emily". When she pretend plays, she plays with her friend Emily. I don't know where she got that name even! It's very cute! Right now she's riding horses with Emily.
We're still looking at houses with land. There's two possibilities left, both 5 and a half acres in Payson/Benjamin and we'd build a house. I really hope it works out! We'll probably find out this week if we just stay here and refinance or move and start a farm (slowly, of course).
Right now Katherine is watching Nutcracker Ballet in her tutu (but no shirt). She also likes to get ballet books at the library and we spent some time this morning looking at ballet books. Abbie is standing up in her high chair (she will NOT sit down in a high chair. If I strap her in, she wiggles and whines and cries) eating strawberries. The boys are outside checking for eggs. Nathan said he got another egg, which means he has a dozen now to sell. He's going to buy fertilized eggs so we can hatch them in our incubator. We started 7 eggs in our incubator, but when we went to Bryce Canyon for the weekend, we left them for the neighbor boys to watch, and the temp was down too low. So we cracked them open and only one had a chick growing, but it was really cool to see a chick embryo! It was tiny and you could see the outline and a circle for the brain and the blood vessels. We're going to hatch the new batch of eggs right before Easter and sell the chicks.
Todd is working on his talk for Sunday because he has to speak in another ward for his stake calling. I'm supposed to be cleaning...uggg! I hate cleaning! I'd much rather be outside working in a garden or taking care of animals, even cleaning animal poop than cleaning my house!
P.S. I forgot to mention Katherine's imaginary friend that she named "Emily". When she pretend plays, she plays with her friend Emily. I don't know where she got that name even! It's very cute! Right now she's riding horses with Emily.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Our weekend trip to Bryce Canyon
We were going to go to Bryce Canyon (in southern Utah) for President's Day weekend, because they had a lot of fun free activities there, but all the kids had the flu! So we rescheduled for this weekend, which was great because the weather was gorgeous and we still had more than enough activities to do. There was still a lot of snow on the ground, but the temp was probably in the 60's. The pictures never do justice to the beauty of it!
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We also did a lot of swimming in the hotel's indoor pool, but I didn't get any pictures. We had a great trip and we all want to go back in a few months! We're going to get a toddler carrier and go on some hikes, and do some horseback riding, and other stuff that wasn't open during the winter season.
Todd and the boys went on a ranger/naturalist led snowshoe hike. I stayed with the girls (I got to go on the last snowshoe hike). We shared a brownie sundae and read children's books in the gift shop. The boys all came back with sunburned faces!
\Katherine jumping on the hotel bed:
Abbie calling for room service:
Cute pic of the girls looking at each other:
Abbie with her cute scrunched up nose smile, and Katherine holding her hand (which Abbie doesn't like, but Katherine wants to be sweet.)
At Bryce Canyon they have a "light pollution" rule so star gazing is great there. They had an astronomy class and afterward everyone got to look into their big telescope at the moon. Katherine is dancing during the astronomy class:
We ate lots of good food at the hotel restaurant (and spent lots of money! Next time, we'll pack a cooler of food):
The boys enjoying the view:
Looks like Alex fell off:
This past week Abbie has become a blankie-thumb-sucking girl:
We had fun throwing snowballs off the cliffs. Notice the snowball in the upper left hand corner:
Bryce is at a really high elevation (9,000 highest) so the snow was really deep at some places. Notice Katherine and I are wearing sandals! The weather was nice, though.
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