Wednesday, August 15, 2012
learning
I recently read that kids can learn more than we think they can. So when Ryan challanged the boys to learn all the countries in Africa, I decided to see how much they could handle. Normally I would have had them just memorize about 5 at a time, but this time I kept adding just one more, or just a little later in the day would add a few more. By the end of the day, Nathan had them all memorized and Alex had gone to bed just before learning all of them. Had he stayed up (Nathan and I are night owls but Alex isn't), he would have had them all memorized too. You know, I wonder now how many Katherine could memorize. I'll try it.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Summer Token Economy
Alex and Nathan’s summer token economy
30 minutes= 1 token
White: Jr. Master Gardeners OR 4-H OR boy scouts
Blue: math drill
Purple: 5th grade math
Orange: read nonfiction book
Green: read fiction book
Red: write (a story, letter, etc.)
Yellow: practicing instrument
Katherine's tokens:
15 minutes= 1 token
Pink: reading lesson
Blue: journal
Purple: Little Keepers
Red: Reading to Katherine
Swimming: 2 tokens of different colors
Icees: small 3 tokens of different colors, medium 4 tokens
of different colors, largest 5 tokens of different colors
Lagoon: 5 tokens of each of the 7 colors
Scooter: 2 of each of the 7 colors
Camping: one set of all the colors
Hiking: 2 tokens of different colors
Costumes: 1 set of all the colors is $20 toward costume
(the boys really wanted Captain America and Thor costumes)
(the boys really wanted Captain America and Thor costumes)
Ice skating: 3 tokens of different colors
Bike ride date: 2 tokens of different colors
Other activity (dino museum, etc.)- negotiable
CANNOT BE TRADED IN FOR MONEY
CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO A SIBLING if you want them to come with you on your activity
ENDS AUG. 31
Friday, December 30, 2011
2011 in review
2011
a little about me:
Name: Alex
Age: 9
Favorite food: Daddy's eclairs
favorite activity: pillow fights with Nana
Favorite Color: light blue
Favorite Book: Laura Ingalls Wilder books
Highlights from 2011:
greatest lesson learned: When I practice piano I can get good at it
hardest thing of the year: cleaning
favorite memory: going to Lagoon with Daddy; and Nana and Papa coming to visit
What I loved most about 2011: getting the Scorpion Pyramid Lego set for Christmas
Looking forward to 2012:
want to learn: Daddy's cooking
want to get better at: piano
Biggest Goal: read more (because he loves to read!)
2011
a little about me:
Name: Nathan
Age: 8
Favorite food: Daddy's eclairs
favorite activity: playing with Joseph
Favorite Color: a lot of the colors
Favorite Book: Laura Ingalls Wilder books
Highlights from 2011:
greatest lesson learned: about the ocean
hardest thing of the year: school
favorite memory: the trip to New York
What I loved most about 2011: getting the Scorpion Pyramid Lego set for Christmas
Looking forward to 2012:
want to learn: everything from school
want to get better at: school
Biggest Goal: tithing
2011
a little about me:
Name: Katherine
Age: 3
Favorite food: milk (?)
favorite activity: “sleepovers” with Shannon
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Book: Caps for Sale
Highlights from 2011:
greatest lesson learned: how to write
hardest thing of the year: cleaning
favorite memory: riding horses and the Daddy Daughter Dance
What I loved most about 2011: I liked to cook with Daddy
Looking forward to 2012:
want to learn: cook more with Daddy
want to get better at (want to learn): reading
Biggest Goal (want to do this year): cook with Abbie on the play kitchen
2011
a little about me:
Name: Abbie
Age: 19 months
Favorite food: suckers
favorite activity: playing with Katherine
Favorite Color: probably pink because she knows that color
Favorite Book: she loves lots of books
Highlights from 2011:
greatest lesson learned: lots of words
hardest thing of the year: sharing
favorite memory: riding horses and cooking with Daddy
What I loved most about 2011: I turned one!
Looking forward to 2012:
want to learn: to go potty
want to get better at: talking
Biggest Goal: saying yes and no appropriately
Jan. 2011 the boys were in their first year of Friday school. Alex had just gotten a keyboard for Christmas, and he and Nathan started lessons a few months later. They were also in the middle of their first year of pottery class too. Katherine was still doing the Mommy and Me dance class here in spanish Fork that she started the end of Oct. My dad had just finished the finale of Biggest Loser, and took over the parenting of Avery a few months later. In Jan. the only pet we had was a goldfish:). We also started looking for houses with land because we had no place to put the trampoline we got for Christmas. We read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series through the year (and other books) and we all LOVED it! I think it was the end of Jan. that Nathan bought the 6 hens. I can't remember when we got the bunnies, but we had to get rid of them in about May because a neighbor complained we had too many animals.
In Feb. Todd and I had our tenth anniversary. and we got Manzo puppy.
In March, we took a weekend vacation to Bryce Canyon, and later in March my parents came to visit.
In April for Easter we incubated some eggs and they hatched a few days before Easter. That was a lot of fun. They were kept inside in a big plastic bin, and outside we had the bunnies, the fish and a dog. We were still looking for our house with land:). We found a plot we liked, but when we prayed about it we got a "not now" answer.
In May was the Daddy Daughter Dance recital- the highlight of Katherine's life so far. Katherine also had her regular dance recital. Abbie turned one and had a family birthday party.
In June, Nathan started violin lessons with Monte Belknap. Alex had already been taking piano from Mandy Nash. This was also when the kids' bears spent the night at the library. June was also the Princess Festival, when Todd took Katherine to the Daddy Daughter Ball.
July was Katherine's third birthday party- a dancing party at the place where she took dance lessons. She LOVED her party and still talks about it. Todd took the boys to the Father and sons campout.
In Aug. Katherine started ballet at a ballet studio. Alex had his NINTH birthday, and had a late-over party that lasted until midnight. It was a fun party. Nathan had his first violin recital and played May Song out of the Suzuki book. I think it was Aug. when we first started the horseback riding with Jaci, and started doing it once a month as a family activity.
In Sept. the Todd took turns taking the boys to the BYU football games. The boys started the next year of Friday school, which included sewing and cooking, art, making things work, nature study, social dance and lego robotics. They love all their classes except art, because they don't like the teacher (but they love art). We also went on a really fun church history trip. We went from Utah to New York without stopping! We went to Palmyra, then Kirtland, Ohio, then saw Tawnya and her family in Iowa, and Todd and Tawnya ran the half marathon there, and then back home.
October was the Park City condo. We had an extra large room this year (at no extra charge) and our own hot tub on the balcony. Allison and her family came to visit and we had so much fun, that we wished they could have stayed longer. The boys cried when their cousin friends had to leave. We also did the First Feast in Payson Canyon with the Homeschool group and a Harvest party also with the homeschool group that were both very fun. This year for Halloween I was in a bad, bad mood, because Abbie was crying (teething?) all night and day, and I didn't have enough sleep and just had kind of a bad day. So Todd and Danielle took the kids trick or treating while I put the candy bowl outside and I went inside and shut the door and had some quiet time. I love Halloween, so I must have had a really bad day, looking back now! The girls were cowgirls and the boys were cowboys.
In Nov., we did lots of Thanksgiving activities and it made Nov. really special. Each day we read a talk on gratitude. Katherine and I went to see the Nutcracker in Nov and again in Dec. Alex had his first piano recital in Nov. and played Happy Farmer. We had Thanksgiving at Jane's house with Todd's family. This was the first year it was at Jane's house, usually it's at the grandparent's house. We've been able to see them every week (the grandparents) because alex's piano lessons are at their house.
In December, the boys earned their cubscout badges: Alex his Bear and Nathan his Tiger. Nathan turned 8 but is getting baptised Jan. 8. His birthday party is tomorrow: he wanted a late-over like Alex, so we decided to do a New Years Eve birthday party. Both boys played in sacrament meeting: Alex played silent Night on the piano and Nathan sang one verse and played one verse on his violin of The Nativity. The boys were in A Christmas Carol play with other homeschool kids and they loved it, surprising to me. This month we did a lot of Christmas activities and it was a lot of fun! Nana and Papa and Avery came for Christmas. For Christmas the boys got the Scorpion Pyramid lego set (their favorite toy) and the girls got a play kitchen. Katherine got a horse and doll rider (instead of a real pony in her stocking:)). Abbie got her own ballet shoes and ballet tutu. The boys also got lots of games and each a model to build. My parents got all the kids presents, and for us we all went skiing the day after Christmas. We've also gone with my parents and Avery horseback riding and ice skating while they've been here.
My new years resolution: more outside time this summer and less schedule. Last summer I wanted to go camping every weekend, but because we had something scheduled every weekend, we never went! This summer I want to spend all day camping, hiking, gardening, and just being outside.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
dear future me
Dear Future Me, (in 10 years)
Right now Alex is 9, Nathan just turned 8 and will be baptized Jan. 7, Katherine is 3 and Abbie is 19 months (and yelling at me right now. ok, I got her down and hugged her and she's off playing and eating a cookie). We have Rocket back (we got him about a month ago) and we have Manzo (almost a year old) and a bearded dragon, 6 chickens, gerbils, fish and a hermit crab. My mom and dad and Avery are here to visit and dad looks great! I'm still not used to his slim figure! (Now Abbie is in my lap.) The boys are playing a pretend game that they're "on a boat riding around down super fast rivers and down waterfalls" (Alex's words)- it's wild. We're homeschooling and I love being with my kids. I'm coveting homes with land right now. We want to get 5.25 acres in Payson, but we got a no answer when we prayed about it, and we're not sure if we can afford it, or afford to move because there's a lot we need to do to fix up our house. Alex is getting really good at his piano. He just played in sacrament meeting for the first time last week. He played Silent Night. Nathan is coming along with his violin, and he played The Nativity in sacrament meeting, singing one verse and playing the violin and the other. He doesn't like the violin as much as Alex likes the piano, but he's doing well. They both have different strengths and it's wonderful to see them develop. Nathan is a great runner, and makes goals for himself with running- how far he's going to run- and does it! Last July he ran a 10K and ran the whole way! School, especially math, and writing and spelling come easily to Nathan. Alex is great at building. He can build some great things with legos, models, electronics set, anything. He has a real talent for building. Recently the boys were in the play A Christmas Carol with some other homeschooled kids and they really loved it, but especially Alex. I'll have to get him into more plays- I had NO idea he would like that! They also like to ice skate, ski, draw and paint (they're good at art too), do pottery, ride horses, garden and take care of animals. Katherine is a little ballerina. She loves dancing, and has loved it since she was 2 years and 3 months old. She also really loves horses and animals. She loves to check for eggs in the chicken coop multiple times a day. She's a real animal lover. She also likes music, and likes to "play" the piano. She's also a very good helper, emptying the dishwasher when it's clean without being asked and always putting her dish in the sink. Her favorite color is pink. She is an extremely adorable little princess/angel/fairy. (As I typed that, she just farted really loud:)). Abbie likes to do anything and everything Katherine does. She likes to dance right now too. I wonder if she'll really like dancing as she gets older. She's talking a lot and really well. she likes horses, and when we started doing horse lessons she was too scared to touch them, but every time she'd get more and more brave. This last time she rode on the horse by herself! Jaci was leading the horse though, of course. Katherine and Abbie just started to play together. They will play chase and giggle too.
Todd just got promoted to boss at Prosper. He likes it and does really well at it. He still loves to cook and is getting better every year. He took an oil painting class last month and liked doing that again. I had to make him do it because he didn't want to spend time away from us:). He's a very good husband and so patient with all my many shortcomings and "ideas and projects". He's very supportive of me. He stays busy with work, extra work, cooking and helping me.
I've been doing author's guild for the boys in their boys club again this year. It's been fun and they like writing a lot more. I stay busy with homeschool, doing fun things with the kids, and keeping everyone alive. I'm really into gardening and animals and planning for a farm:). We started doing horse riding lessons as a family I'm really very very happy. (except for the cleaning part.)
Right now Alex is 9, Nathan just turned 8 and will be baptized Jan. 7, Katherine is 3 and Abbie is 19 months (and yelling at me right now. ok, I got her down and hugged her and she's off playing and eating a cookie). We have Rocket back (we got him about a month ago) and we have Manzo (almost a year old) and a bearded dragon, 6 chickens, gerbils, fish and a hermit crab. My mom and dad and Avery are here to visit and dad looks great! I'm still not used to his slim figure! (Now Abbie is in my lap.) The boys are playing a pretend game that they're "on a boat riding around down super fast rivers and down waterfalls" (Alex's words)- it's wild. We're homeschooling and I love being with my kids. I'm coveting homes with land right now. We want to get 5.25 acres in Payson, but we got a no answer when we prayed about it, and we're not sure if we can afford it, or afford to move because there's a lot we need to do to fix up our house. Alex is getting really good at his piano. He just played in sacrament meeting for the first time last week. He played Silent Night. Nathan is coming along with his violin, and he played The Nativity in sacrament meeting, singing one verse and playing the violin and the other. He doesn't like the violin as much as Alex likes the piano, but he's doing well. They both have different strengths and it's wonderful to see them develop. Nathan is a great runner, and makes goals for himself with running- how far he's going to run- and does it! Last July he ran a 10K and ran the whole way! School, especially math, and writing and spelling come easily to Nathan. Alex is great at building. He can build some great things with legos, models, electronics set, anything. He has a real talent for building. Recently the boys were in the play A Christmas Carol with some other homeschooled kids and they really loved it, but especially Alex. I'll have to get him into more plays- I had NO idea he would like that! They also like to ice skate, ski, draw and paint (they're good at art too), do pottery, ride horses, garden and take care of animals. Katherine is a little ballerina. She loves dancing, and has loved it since she was 2 years and 3 months old. She also really loves horses and animals. She loves to check for eggs in the chicken coop multiple times a day. She's a real animal lover. She also likes music, and likes to "play" the piano. She's also a very good helper, emptying the dishwasher when it's clean without being asked and always putting her dish in the sink. Her favorite color is pink. She is an extremely adorable little princess/angel/fairy. (As I typed that, she just farted really loud:)). Abbie likes to do anything and everything Katherine does. She likes to dance right now too. I wonder if she'll really like dancing as she gets older. She's talking a lot and really well. she likes horses, and when we started doing horse lessons she was too scared to touch them, but every time she'd get more and more brave. This last time she rode on the horse by herself! Jaci was leading the horse though, of course. Katherine and Abbie just started to play together. They will play chase and giggle too.
Todd just got promoted to boss at Prosper. He likes it and does really well at it. He still loves to cook and is getting better every year. He took an oil painting class last month and liked doing that again. I had to make him do it because he didn't want to spend time away from us:). He's a very good husband and so patient with all my many shortcomings and "ideas and projects". He's very supportive of me. He stays busy with work, extra work, cooking and helping me.
I've been doing author's guild for the boys in their boys club again this year. It's been fun and they like writing a lot more. I stay busy with homeschool, doing fun things with the kids, and keeping everyone alive. I'm really into gardening and animals and planning for a farm:). We started doing horse riding lessons as a family I'm really very very happy. (except for the cleaning part.)
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Nutcracker day
*went to the Nutcracker
*read Nutcracker books
*had a Sugar Plum fairy tea party: tarts bought at Kneaders, sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters, hot chocolate with whip cream
*read Nutcracker books
*had a Sugar Plum fairy tea party: tarts bought at Kneaders, sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters, hot chocolate with whip cream
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Mrs. Claus' Kitchen
*Read books about Mrs. Claus and Christmas cooking
*Made Christmas aprons
*Made goodies to take to the neighbors (candy cane shaped cookies, reindeer cupcakes)
*Deliver to neighbors
*Made Christmas aprons
*Made goodies to take to the neighbors (candy cane shaped cookies, reindeer cupcakes)
*Deliver to neighbors
Polar Express night
* watched the (bad) Polar Express movie while eating caramel popcorn in individual christmas bags (bought from neighbor kids)
*Read the book
*supposed to play train, but didn't
*Read the book
*supposed to play train, but didn't
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Today was our ward party, complete with a visit from Santa. Nathan wouldn't see Santa because "it's not the real Santa, so he's not going to get me what I want anyway. Why tell him?" Abbie panicked and screamed like she was about to die. Katherine was scared but still sat there, too scared to say anything. Alex thanked Santa for all that he had given him, and afterward told me Santa had bad breath and it probably distracted all the kids so they couldn't think about what to tell him. Later today he told me he's going to make a present for Santa.
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Elves' Christmas Workshop
*Made Mrs. Claus' Maple Sugar Cookies (from The Christmas Chronicles). They were fun and easy to make with the kids. They rolled them in balls and dipped them in the sugar. Only dip the top in the sugar, instead of the whole ball (in red and green sugar of course!)
recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/maple-cookies/detail.aspx
Mrs. Claus makes these cookies for santa and the elves.
*Made wooden toys bought at Michael's for $1 (and less)
*Decorated stockings- bought stockings and glitter glue at the Dollar Store.
*Learned Joy to The World verses 1 and 2, sang Christmas songs and listened to Alex play Silent Night on the piano.
*Drew and painted our own Christmas cards.
*Read elf books.
recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/maple-cookies/detail.aspx
Mrs. Claus makes these cookies for santa and the elves.
*Made wooden toys bought at Michael's for $1 (and less)
*Decorated stockings- bought stockings and glitter glue at the Dollar Store.
*Learned Joy to The World verses 1 and 2, sang Christmas songs and listened to Alex play Silent Night on the piano.
*Drew and painted our own Christmas cards.
*Read elf books.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Gingerbread party
First activity: Gingerbread party!
*Made gingerbread houses with this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gingerbread-house-recipe/index.html
and the templates from http://www.justgingerbread.com/
*drank hot chocolate with gingerbread marshmallows and gingerbread coffee creamer (both at walmart)
*Read "Gingerbread Baby" by Jan Brett and other gingerbread books/stories
*played this game: http://www.janbrett.com/games/gingerbread_baby_board_game.htm
*watched this little clip: http://www.janbrettvideos.com/gingerbread_baby_high_bandwidth.htm
Lots of ideas here, we did the gingerbread playdo: http://www.littlegiraffes.com/gingerbread.html
*Made gingerbread houses with this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gingerbread-house-recipe/index.html
and the templates from http://www.justgingerbread.com/
*drank hot chocolate with gingerbread marshmallows and gingerbread coffee creamer (both at walmart)
*Read "Gingerbread Baby" by Jan Brett and other gingerbread books/stories
*played this game: http://www.janbrett.com/games/gingerbread_baby_board_game.htm
*watched this little clip: http://www.janbrettvideos.com/gingerbread_baby_high_bandwidth.htm
Lots of ideas here, we did the gingerbread playdo: http://www.littlegiraffes.com/gingerbread.html
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
cute kids
Nathan is such a sweet brother. He is very good at playing with his little sisters. Today he said to Katherine, "Let's play a game. I say a word and you say the first word you think of." She kept just repeating what he said, so he said, "No, I say a word, and then you say a different word." So he said, "female." She thought for a minute and then said, "different female." So then he said, "let's pretend we're gigantic endangered bugs... and we eat each other!" and he pretended to eat her. She giggled and giggled.
Katherine LOVES the Nutcracker ballet. We went last year and again this year. She knows the whole Nutcracker story, too. Tonight I saw a nutcracker on sale, so I got it for her. She was SO happy. I saw her on the floor with the chip bag, feeding some to her nutcracker. She told me, "we're having a party."
Katherine LOVES the Nutcracker ballet. We went last year and again this year. She knows the whole Nutcracker story, too. Tonight I saw a nutcracker on sale, so I got it for her. She was SO happy. I saw her on the floor with the chip bag, feeding some to her nutcracker. She told me, "we're having a party."
Monday, October 31, 2011
midnight thoughts
It's midnight, and I don't want to go to bed! Once the kids are asleep in bed, the house is actually QUIET and I get some alone time and down time. If I go to sleep, it will end! So, I decided to write a post and then go to bed:).
-I am so proud of my boys! We've memorized all 25 scripture masteries from the Book of Mormon, so now we're going back and reviewing them and making sure they can match the reference to the scripture. We're also learning the articles of Faith. Alex knows the first seven already. We've been playing games to review them and they are amazing me. They love it and ask to do it, too! I thought about writing what we do on my homeschool blog. Today I gave them a story or question and they had to give me the reference and say the scripture. For example, one was "Are Mormons Christians?" and they said Article of Faith 1 and said it. It's made me happy all day:).
-I let Alex blow in my flute the other day and he's a natural! He made a beautiful sound! Amazing! so piano will be his main insturment, but I'm going to teach him the flute. It would be a waste not to!
-After going on the church history tour and learning about the pioneers, I've been interested in me and Todd's geneology and learning about the pioneers in our ancestory. I got a family tree chart for me (15 generations) and the boys (8 generations). The boys are almost done filling out their charts. I've been collecting personal histories so I can read them to the kids. I was so surprised to find that we are living either next to or ON my ancestor's family farm! My mom's dad's side of the family all were pioneers that settled in Spanish fork Utah! As I learn more about that side, I tell the kids the things I learn as we drive around town. Some of our ancestor's pictures are in the town history museum (daughters of Utah pioneers spanish fork). Tonight we were at Todd's grandparents' house and they were telling us stories about ancestors, and what they remembered about their parents and their grandparents. We were also talking about how everyone was at one time a child at the end of the line. But when the boys showed the grandparents their charts, they (being the boys' great grandparents) were higher up the line. All those names high up in the line, at one time were our age and were real people. It makes me think about what kind of legacy I want to leave for my posterity. It makes me have a better perspective about my life when I think of it that way. What things will I do that will have a lasting impact on my kids and their kids, etc? Grandpa said that all he remembers about one of his grandmas is that she was fussy about everything being in order and her doilies she had everywhere not getting messed up. Not the kind of legacy that I'd want to leave. He talked so highly of his mother, going on and on about how she, as a single mother in the Depression, raised 4 boys who were smart, great men. That is a good legacy. Being a mother is SOOOOOO important!! A friend of mine's son (he's around 5 years old) was just diagnosed with cancer. On her blog she said how her perspective as a mother has really changed. Everything is so simple now: family is everything and nothing else really matters. She said they saw a butterfly and her son was looking at the butterfly, and she let him watch it for a really long time. Before the diagnosis, she wouldn't have spent so much time on such a "trite" thing, there were things to do and busy lives to live! I've been thinking about that a lot. Why is it that this sounds good? Maybe it's not about the butterfly, but about having a bonding moment, and stopping to have that moment to share together. Maybe it's stopping to appreciate, finding joy and happiness and contentment in the small and simple things that we already have if we stop and look for them. And there's just something about nature, that is so peaceful, that when I stop and appreciate it I feel God's love.
-I am so proud of my boys! We've memorized all 25 scripture masteries from the Book of Mormon, so now we're going back and reviewing them and making sure they can match the reference to the scripture. We're also learning the articles of Faith. Alex knows the first seven already. We've been playing games to review them and they are amazing me. They love it and ask to do it, too! I thought about writing what we do on my homeschool blog. Today I gave them a story or question and they had to give me the reference and say the scripture. For example, one was "Are Mormons Christians?" and they said Article of Faith 1 and said it. It's made me happy all day:).
-I let Alex blow in my flute the other day and he's a natural! He made a beautiful sound! Amazing! so piano will be his main insturment, but I'm going to teach him the flute. It would be a waste not to!
-After going on the church history tour and learning about the pioneers, I've been interested in me and Todd's geneology and learning about the pioneers in our ancestory. I got a family tree chart for me (15 generations) and the boys (8 generations). The boys are almost done filling out their charts. I've been collecting personal histories so I can read them to the kids. I was so surprised to find that we are living either next to or ON my ancestor's family farm! My mom's dad's side of the family all were pioneers that settled in Spanish fork Utah! As I learn more about that side, I tell the kids the things I learn as we drive around town. Some of our ancestor's pictures are in the town history museum (daughters of Utah pioneers spanish fork). Tonight we were at Todd's grandparents' house and they were telling us stories about ancestors, and what they remembered about their parents and their grandparents. We were also talking about how everyone was at one time a child at the end of the line. But when the boys showed the grandparents their charts, they (being the boys' great grandparents) were higher up the line. All those names high up in the line, at one time were our age and were real people. It makes me think about what kind of legacy I want to leave for my posterity. It makes me have a better perspective about my life when I think of it that way. What things will I do that will have a lasting impact on my kids and their kids, etc? Grandpa said that all he remembers about one of his grandmas is that she was fussy about everything being in order and her doilies she had everywhere not getting messed up. Not the kind of legacy that I'd want to leave. He talked so highly of his mother, going on and on about how she, as a single mother in the Depression, raised 4 boys who were smart, great men. That is a good legacy. Being a mother is SOOOOOO important!! A friend of mine's son (he's around 5 years old) was just diagnosed with cancer. On her blog she said how her perspective as a mother has really changed. Everything is so simple now: family is everything and nothing else really matters. She said they saw a butterfly and her son was looking at the butterfly, and she let him watch it for a really long time. Before the diagnosis, she wouldn't have spent so much time on such a "trite" thing, there were things to do and busy lives to live! I've been thinking about that a lot. Why is it that this sounds good? Maybe it's not about the butterfly, but about having a bonding moment, and stopping to have that moment to share together. Maybe it's stopping to appreciate, finding joy and happiness and contentment in the small and simple things that we already have if we stop and look for them. And there's just something about nature, that is so peaceful, that when I stop and appreciate it I feel God's love.
Monday, October 24, 2011
fall heaven!
I decided to drive up Hobble Creek Canyon and it was so gorgeous!! The weather was so perfect (probably 70'). At Jolley's Ranch there were trees with lots of leaves all over and we were the only ones there. We all thought it was heaven and never wanted to leave. (click on pictures to enlarge)
Here are the kids throwing leaves:
playing in the leaves with Manzo too:
Abbie finds a patch of dirt to play in:
Making leaf angels:
When the wind blew, it rained a shower of beautiful golden leaves. That's an old barn, but it's just a public area now. I would give anything to live right here!
the boys are in heaven:
so is Manzo. Here he is rolling in the leaves:
The girls decided they wanted to roll in the leaves too:
SO SO beautiful. The pictures don't even do it justice:
Alex, my beautiful boy:)
Alex and Katherine playing. This is on my desktop wallpaper. precious!!:
Ring around the rosie:
Look at Nathan's happy face:
We all fall down!
Manzo:
Abbie "playing" with Manzo:):
look at his eyes:
such a good dog:
awwww...
what a cutie!!
I think I'll have to frame this one, even if she only has one pig tail in:
Adorable!!!
Fall Heaven!!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
boys' surveys
Name: Alex
Name your favorite...
hobby: social dance
sport: football
car/vehicle: airplane
color: blue
movie: The Last Airbender
TV show: Eon Kid
animal: bird
food: steak
dessert: apple pie
music: The Happy Farmer (piano piece)
school subject: science
book: Henry Huggins
Do you collect anything? I like to find sticks
What do you do for fun? piano
What do you want to be when you grow up? a composer
What are your special talents: piano, building, reading and helping
What is your dream vacation? to live in AZ with Dallin
What is something about yourself that you would like to change or improve?
being nice
What is something about yourself that you like? I like that I can play the piano
How would your mom or dad describe you? loving, loves music, doesn't like making decisions, loves to read, good at building, always content, social- loves to be with friends, sensitive, likes movies, loves learning
How would you describe your personality? always filled with energy
What else would you like to say about you? nothing
Name: Nathan
Name your favorite...
hobby: violin
sport: running
car/vehicle: motorcycle
color: orange
movie: Rio
TV show: Spongebob
animal:all the animals (he LOVES animals)
food: soup
dessert: daddy's eclairs
music: carmen Suite
school subject: reading
book: scriptures
Do you collect anything? no
What do you do for fun? play the Wii
What do you want to be when you grow up? a paleontologist
What are your special talents: running
What is your dream vacation? China
What is something about yourself that you would like to change or improve? getting better at the violin
What is something about yourself that you like? everything
How would your mom or dad describe you? sweet, caring, good at playing with little kids, good at math and reading, determined, goal oriented, loves animals, loves learning, loves swords and playing pretend battles, sensitive, good back scratcher
How would you describe your personality? nice
What else would you like to say about you? nothing
Name your favorite...
hobby: social dance
sport: football
car/vehicle: airplane
color: blue
movie: The Last Airbender
TV show: Eon Kid
animal: bird
food: steak
dessert: apple pie
music: The Happy Farmer (piano piece)
school subject: science
book: Henry Huggins
Do you collect anything? I like to find sticks
What do you do for fun? piano
What do you want to be when you grow up? a composer
What are your special talents: piano, building, reading and helping
What is your dream vacation? to live in AZ with Dallin
What is something about yourself that you would like to change or improve?
being nice
What is something about yourself that you like? I like that I can play the piano
How would your mom or dad describe you? loving, loves music, doesn't like making decisions, loves to read, good at building, always content, social- loves to be with friends, sensitive, likes movies, loves learning
How would you describe your personality? always filled with energy
What else would you like to say about you? nothing
Name: Nathan
Name your favorite...
hobby: violin
sport: running
car/vehicle: motorcycle
color: orange
movie: Rio
TV show: Spongebob
animal:all the animals (he LOVES animals)
food: soup
dessert: daddy's eclairs
music: carmen Suite
school subject: reading
book: scriptures
Do you collect anything? no
What do you do for fun? play the Wii
What do you want to be when you grow up? a paleontologist
What are your special talents: running
What is your dream vacation? China
What is something about yourself that you would like to change or improve? getting better at the violin
What is something about yourself that you like? everything
How would your mom or dad describe you? sweet, caring, good at playing with little kids, good at math and reading, determined, goal oriented, loves animals, loves learning, loves swords and playing pretend battles, sensitive, good back scratcher
How would you describe your personality? nice
What else would you like to say about you? nothing
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Update
There was a time that I was always updating my blog, and it was interesting. What has happened??
So, I will give a quick update. We just got back from our 4, 626 mile road trip church history and visiting Tawnya trip. We went to Palmyra sites and Peter Whitmer's home, Kirtland, Nauvoo and Carthage. The kids did great. It was a great trip.
Abbie is learning so many words so quickly. I think she is going to be so smart. If she wants something, she says, "Mine." That is the word we hear all day. The kids have gerbils and at the Sacred Grove she saw a squirrel and said, "gerbil!" She likes to dance. She'll try and lift her legs and fling her arms around like Katherine. She has the biggest smile and she is a very happy girl and laughs all the time. She still sucks her thumb constantly. She is the only one who ever sucked her thumb. Katherine had a pacifier, and the boys didn't want anything. She takes one nap during the day and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. She's 16 months old. To say drink she says, "dink." When we say, "Abbie, do big eyes," she opens her eyes and mouth really wide. She likes to put on necklaces and carry dollies or stuffed animals.
Katherine is doing ballet now at the Classical Ballet Academy in Provo. She misses her old dance studio, but she really likes the ballet, so I thought that this would fit her better. At first I wanted her to go to both, but there's only so much time and money! She wants to be doing everything the boys do. She likes to sing- real songs and made up songs. Right now she's in her underwear, with two different shoes on, eating a piece of bread, singing and rolling around on the couch. And feeding some of her bread to Manzo dog. She is stinkin adorable right now, which is good when she has one of her screaming tantrums. Like the rest of my kids, she has a set of lungs and a high pitch scream. I should get all my kids into opera singing. She says the funniest things. I should be writing them down. She loves giving me hugs and kisses. She is so sweet with Abbie and calls her "my dear, sweetheart," etc. She just cut her own hair for the first time. It's not extremely noticeable, thank goodness. She cut the top layer of bangs really short. She really loves horses and we're taking horse riding lessons as a family. She got pink cowgirl boots and a pink cowgirl hat. She loves riding horses and she's not scared at all. She was so excited to get on the horse yesterday for our lesson. She stopped taking naps when she turned two, but last month I started doing quiet time for her when Abbie is taking her nap. She has to stay in my bed for an hour, and I give her a lot of books and toys and puzzles she can do, or she can go to sleep. If she stays in the bed, she gets a little candy. That way I can do school with the boys during that time. Then I just give the boys assignments they can work on by themselves when the girls are awake. I'm going to do preschool with her, and we did a project where she cut something out, and she did it! I only helped a little. She knows her colors, and mostly her shapes, and how to count to 10 and mostly to 20. She can sing the ABC song, and can identify "K for Katherine" and the number 3 and 2. That is all stuff she just picked up, I didn't teach her except her colors. She still loves Signing Time and knows lots of signs. On our 4, 626 mile trip, we pretty much watched Signing Time that whole time. Here's what Katherine says:
What do you like? Bingaroo. (a word she made up. She makes up all sorts of stuff. she's very creative.) I like happy, not sad, just happy. (singing Baby Signing Time now).
do you like nursery? no. i just like scra' meeting. (she really does like nursery, unlike the boys at that age.)
Do you want to tell a story? I want a story about a nutcracker.
Tell me the nutcracker story: no, you say the nutcracker story.
What do you like? the gerbils, Manzo, pretty dancing, Abbie, riding my bike, going down the slide
I wanna say good-bye. k, good-bye.
The boys are really in to Halloween this year, like every year. When we got back from our trip, it was a lot cooler, and so the boys decided it was Halloween time! They went up and made black and orange count down chains and other things. We've been listening to the "Wee Sing for Halloween" songs. I got the cd when the boys were little and we love it and listen to it every year. Alex has been playing some of the songs on the piano because it comes with a song book. Alex loves piano. He's always loved music. He's been growing a lot lately. This last year I think he's gotten a lot bigger (and moodier, too). Right now Nathan is doing his boom boom game with a purple light saber. He's running back and forth across the living room making explosion noises and pretending to fight monsters and bad guys. All the toys my boys need are swords and legos. Alex got a snap circuit set and played with it non stop- he loved it. He loves building things. They just started their Friday school, and they're taking art, sewing and cooking, making things work, nature studies, social dance and lego robotics. They loved all their classes except sewing, because everyone needed help and so they spent most of the class waiting for the teacher to help them. Then at lunch they didn't have my boys' names down (a mix up) and they called me crying that they didn't have a lunch. I went over there and got it all worked out and they ate their lunch late.
We are hoping for a warm fall! We planted our garden late, and we have tons of green tomatoes and green pumpkins and we've never, in all our time here, actually had a good tomato harvest or a pumpkin! I think I've planted them most years, too. It's a wonder I love to garden so much when I'm really not that good at it. I just figure I'll learn and I always say NEXT year will be great!
We had our family horse riding lesson yesterday and it was so much fun. I am so sore today though. My shoulders, back and legs are so sore! People make riding a horse look easy! It's hard! We did galloping last month, and yesterday Todd and I did cantering or lop. All I've got to say is that saddles need seatbelts!
right now Todd is making Nathan's special day dinner, which is mummy dogs, homemade macaroni and cheese and apple pie.
An update to the update: I went outside and found some ripe tomatoes! Yay!! Today from our yard I picked: lots of little white pumpkins, strawberries, blackberries, spinach, basil and tomatoes!! I found a little zucchini on our plant- hopefully it can grow maybe one before frost. Our pumpkin plant has about 10 pumpkins, but I'm doubtful they'll make it to be orange. We also have 5 cantelope on our plant, so I'm hoping it stays warm! so far this has been the best year for a food garden. Also this year our white nectarine tree gave us lots of good fruit...so good we call it forbidden fruit.
So, I will give a quick update. We just got back from our 4, 626 mile road trip church history and visiting Tawnya trip. We went to Palmyra sites and Peter Whitmer's home, Kirtland, Nauvoo and Carthage. The kids did great. It was a great trip.
Abbie is learning so many words so quickly. I think she is going to be so smart. If she wants something, she says, "Mine." That is the word we hear all day. The kids have gerbils and at the Sacred Grove she saw a squirrel and said, "gerbil!" She likes to dance. She'll try and lift her legs and fling her arms around like Katherine. She has the biggest smile and she is a very happy girl and laughs all the time. She still sucks her thumb constantly. She is the only one who ever sucked her thumb. Katherine had a pacifier, and the boys didn't want anything. She takes one nap during the day and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. She's 16 months old. To say drink she says, "dink." When we say, "Abbie, do big eyes," she opens her eyes and mouth really wide. She likes to put on necklaces and carry dollies or stuffed animals.
Katherine is doing ballet now at the Classical Ballet Academy in Provo. She misses her old dance studio, but she really likes the ballet, so I thought that this would fit her better. At first I wanted her to go to both, but there's only so much time and money! She wants to be doing everything the boys do. She likes to sing- real songs and made up songs. Right now she's in her underwear, with two different shoes on, eating a piece of bread, singing and rolling around on the couch. And feeding some of her bread to Manzo dog. She is stinkin adorable right now, which is good when she has one of her screaming tantrums. Like the rest of my kids, she has a set of lungs and a high pitch scream. I should get all my kids into opera singing. She says the funniest things. I should be writing them down. She loves giving me hugs and kisses. She is so sweet with Abbie and calls her "my dear, sweetheart," etc. She just cut her own hair for the first time. It's not extremely noticeable, thank goodness. She cut the top layer of bangs really short. She really loves horses and we're taking horse riding lessons as a family. She got pink cowgirl boots and a pink cowgirl hat. She loves riding horses and she's not scared at all. She was so excited to get on the horse yesterday for our lesson. She stopped taking naps when she turned two, but last month I started doing quiet time for her when Abbie is taking her nap. She has to stay in my bed for an hour, and I give her a lot of books and toys and puzzles she can do, or she can go to sleep. If she stays in the bed, she gets a little candy. That way I can do school with the boys during that time. Then I just give the boys assignments they can work on by themselves when the girls are awake. I'm going to do preschool with her, and we did a project where she cut something out, and she did it! I only helped a little. She knows her colors, and mostly her shapes, and how to count to 10 and mostly to 20. She can sing the ABC song, and can identify "K for Katherine" and the number 3 and 2. That is all stuff she just picked up, I didn't teach her except her colors. She still loves Signing Time and knows lots of signs. On our 4, 626 mile trip, we pretty much watched Signing Time that whole time. Here's what Katherine says:
What do you like? Bingaroo. (a word she made up. She makes up all sorts of stuff. she's very creative.) I like happy, not sad, just happy. (singing Baby Signing Time now).
do you like nursery? no. i just like scra' meeting. (she really does like nursery, unlike the boys at that age.)
Do you want to tell a story? I want a story about a nutcracker.
Tell me the nutcracker story: no, you say the nutcracker story.
What do you like? the gerbils, Manzo, pretty dancing, Abbie, riding my bike, going down the slide
I wanna say good-bye. k, good-bye.
The boys are really in to Halloween this year, like every year. When we got back from our trip, it was a lot cooler, and so the boys decided it was Halloween time! They went up and made black and orange count down chains and other things. We've been listening to the "Wee Sing for Halloween" songs. I got the cd when the boys were little and we love it and listen to it every year. Alex has been playing some of the songs on the piano because it comes with a song book. Alex loves piano. He's always loved music. He's been growing a lot lately. This last year I think he's gotten a lot bigger (and moodier, too). Right now Nathan is doing his boom boom game with a purple light saber. He's running back and forth across the living room making explosion noises and pretending to fight monsters and bad guys. All the toys my boys need are swords and legos. Alex got a snap circuit set and played with it non stop- he loved it. He loves building things. They just started their Friday school, and they're taking art, sewing and cooking, making things work, nature studies, social dance and lego robotics. They loved all their classes except sewing, because everyone needed help and so they spent most of the class waiting for the teacher to help them. Then at lunch they didn't have my boys' names down (a mix up) and they called me crying that they didn't have a lunch. I went over there and got it all worked out and they ate their lunch late.
We are hoping for a warm fall! We planted our garden late, and we have tons of green tomatoes and green pumpkins and we've never, in all our time here, actually had a good tomato harvest or a pumpkin! I think I've planted them most years, too. It's a wonder I love to garden so much when I'm really not that good at it. I just figure I'll learn and I always say NEXT year will be great!
We had our family horse riding lesson yesterday and it was so much fun. I am so sore today though. My shoulders, back and legs are so sore! People make riding a horse look easy! It's hard! We did galloping last month, and yesterday Todd and I did cantering or lop. All I've got to say is that saddles need seatbelts!
right now Todd is making Nathan's special day dinner, which is mummy dogs, homemade macaroni and cheese and apple pie.
An update to the update: I went outside and found some ripe tomatoes! Yay!! Today from our yard I picked: lots of little white pumpkins, strawberries, blackberries, spinach, basil and tomatoes!! I found a little zucchini on our plant- hopefully it can grow maybe one before frost. Our pumpkin plant has about 10 pumpkins, but I'm doubtful they'll make it to be orange. We also have 5 cantelope on our plant, so I'm hoping it stays warm! so far this has been the best year for a food garden. Also this year our white nectarine tree gave us lots of good fruit...so good we call it forbidden fruit.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Other half of April
Every year Todd's grandparents have an Easter egg hunt at their house. Here are the kids in their backyard:
Then they decorated Easter cookies:
In Abbie's Easter basket, she got an "Alice in wonderland" theme: A book, Queen of Hearts Tarts, and Tea Party Lemonade. (I printed out pictures and glued them on the packages):
Katherine got a bunny theme: carrot seeds, jelly beans in a rabbit jar, a real rabbit, Rabbit lemonade and a Peter Rabbit puzzle in a box (that she loves):
Alex and Nathan got: seeds, a popcorn bowl, jelly beans in a rabbit jar, chocolate milk (covered in an Easter picture that I glued on as well), a how to decorate cool sugar cookies book (for fun or for a business for them), magic card tricks, and a recipe binder to write down the recipes they learn with their daddy:
Todd made Easter bread bunnies:
Here are my beautiful and handsome kids ready for Easter Sunday:
For our homeschool group, I did an "author's guild" once a month for boy's club. The kids would write something on a theme I would give them, and they would come and turn it in at the activity that would have to do with that theme. This month it was "miniature theme" and I read "The Borrowers" with the boys and then they wrote about if they were little. The kids loved that book, and they are now convinced that Borrowers are real, and want to go in the crawl space with flashlights to look for them. For the activity, we met at the park and ate a miniature meal: pie, soda, banana, potato and hot dog (lil smokies in a bun Todd made) on little plates:
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