I'm a Bear Now!

Anthony has finished his wolf year in cub scouts and is now a bear. He worked really hard to get all of his achievements as well as his Faith in God award. Anthony really loves scouts, especially all the activities they do as a pack. Anthony also loves his time with his dad each week as they go off to den meetings together. Now that summer is upon us, it is time to get out his bear book and build family memories as we work on his achievements.

Spencer's First Day of School

Spencer has been in ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) for his speech delay and his delay in fine motor skills. When the child turns 3 they graduate out of the program and either get deferred to the public school or other resources. Spencer qualified for the PPCD program at school and so on May 13th he started his new adventure of going to public school. Mom was thrilled because of the three hour break I would get, but Spencer on the other hand did not agree and cried the whole day and at the end of the day when he saw he totally lost it. However, when I picked him up and took him to McDonald's to celebrate he was all jibber jabber about his day at school and all the fun things he was able to do. He sure does not like to separate from me, but I keep assuring him that it is a good thing to spread your wings and fly; hopefully before he is 18 he will catch on to the idea.

Spencer's 3rd Birthday

Spencer is now three and still in charge of our household. Spencer is still a free spirit with lots of personality and lots and lots of determination. His birthday this year was low key, kind of hard to do something huge when he doesn't even know what a birthday is let alone that it is his birthday. Spencer loves Thomas the Train and so as a family we got his a Thomas the Train Memory Game and a Thomas balloon. During the day I had his preschool friends come over to celebrate his birthday as well as the last day of preschool. His birthday happen to fall on the day that we would learn about the letter "Z" so I threw him a zoo "theme" party. My friend made the cupcakes and Grant helped turn our living room into a zoo with lots and lots of butcher paper sprinkled with creativity and patience. We played several games that fit the zoo theme like feed the monkey (bean bag game), don't get stuck in the mud (hippo musical chair style game), and pin the strips on the zebra. We had animal shape chicken nuggets, bananas, watermelon, gold fish, and juice. Spencer had a blast and when his daddy came home from work he had to show his dad his party games and how they worked, and in his own gibberish told his dad all about his fun. It was sure neat to watch Spencer's excitement and fun that he had with his friend. Maybe next year he will understand more about what birthdays are, though there are somedays I wonder if he will see his next birthday....got to love his free spirit and lots determination personality.

Heart Surgery

In December of 2009, Madeline landed in the hospital due to respiratory distress. During her stay it was discovered that she had fluid in the lungs and stomach, and that her liver was rather large due to fluid build up. One thing led to another and it was discovered that her fontan that she had in June of 2009 was not doing its job. Therefore Madeline needed to have another heart surgery to modify the fontan to fit Madeline' anatomy and body structure. Weighing the pros and cons to doing the surgery during the school as opposed to during the summer, we felt that it would be best to get the surgery over with during the school year and preserve our summer. Grant and I were not too thrilled about having to prepare and endure another heart surgery, but we just tried to focus on the outcome. A week before her heart surgery I sat Madeline down and told her (not an easy task to do), but Madeline being the sweet spirit that she is simply said well don't forget my suitcase. Talk about a learning experience in just accepting what is and going with the flow.

Madeline flew right through her heart surgery and hopefully it will take. Due to her scoliosis her heart doesn't have the room it needs with all her arteries and such, so she might need to have another surgery when she is a teenager.

Recovery was a little different then her surgery in June. She never had an issue with pain, but this surgery knocked the wind out of her and it took a bit of time before her energy and strength came back. In the hospital she slept a lot which made it at times a bit boring for her mother, but I was more than willing to be bored to see her comfortable. After a few weeks from being home to was back to normal and you would have never known that she had open heart surgery. Madeline is sure a trooper and a shiny example and a pillar of strength to her family. She is such an example and it is an honor to be her mother and to partake of her spirit on a daily basis.

Easter

We have a tradition in our family to have a week long celebration of Easter. Each night we talk about the last week of the Savior's life and what he did that week, afterwards we do an activity to help with what we talked about, followed by a yummy treat. Some nights are easier than other nights, but for the most part we get our week long celebration in. Doing this helps set the tone for Easter and helps us all focus on what Easter is truly about.

Since Easter fell on General Conference Sunday I decided not to make the kids their Easter outfits, instead I made Easter pj's because we all know when you can watch General Conference at home who wants to get out of the the jammies. I have to say jammies are so much easier than dresses. The Easter Bunny was a bit behind schedule so he/she didn't make it to our house on Saturday, but Sunday morning the door bell rang and outside the door was some simple Easter goodies. Anthony got a water bottle holder made out of his favorite pants that we so loved they became holy. Madeline, found a homemade butterfly hand bag with bling bling shoes and fancy scissors. Spencer found a sand bucket stuffed with a Thomas Lego train. The kids were excited that the Easter Bunny pulled through and did not forget them after all.

General Conference

I always try to make General Conference fun for our family, sitting through four sessions is a lot of work, so I try to provide fun reverent and entertaining things for the kids to do. Since also this is the time of the year that we go through our 72 hour kits and update them, I got the idea to make General Conference survival kits. I found day packs on clearence and knew those would be perfect to put the kids' supplies in. Each kit had a blanket, General Conference packet full of coloring pages and activities to do, snacks, a water bottle, and a travel games that were new to them. To go along with the kits I also made General Conference t-shirts. The kids enjoyed laying their things out and diving into their survival kits. The kids were happy and quiet, and us parents were able to listen and learn. Anthony is starting to understand what is being spoken during General Conference because every once in awhile he would make a comment or two about what was being spoken. The kids enjoy General Conference time, it is to be able to spend the weekend as a family.

Butterfly Garden

Madeline loves butterflies, her mom probably started it, but Madeline has taken off with obsession on her own. Back in March (I know I am a bit behind), there was a butterfly exhibit going on where we lived and Grant and I knew that Madeline would love to go. The original plan was for Daddy and Madeline to go as it was cheap to get into, but in the end we decided to make it a family affair and go to the children's museum (where we have a membership) afterwards. Anthony stuck out the torture of having to go through the butterfly exhibit only because he knew the museum was right around the corner. Madeline of course was in heaven looking at her brochure and matching all the butterflies to the brochure. Spencer had a blast because he was outdoors and his parents were just happy that he didn't step on any butterflies. We ended the day at the Science Museum where the kids always have fun exploring and playing and the best part is that it is indoors where we can cool off from the hot sun!

April Fools

April Fools came a week late in our house, had good intentions on celebrating the fun day, but Anthony came down with strep throat. This was a total surprise because this kid never gets sick. Luckily the medicine kicked in and after a few days Anthony was back to himself and the best part Madeline nor anyone else in the family got sick. So a week after April Fools we celebrated with what looked like Spaghetti and Meatballs but really were cupcakes with lots of frosting, chocolate balls and strawberry jam for the sauce. The kids thought it was fun to be able to eat cupcakes for dinner, but their excitement was short lived when I brought out the real version of spaghetti and meatballs, the cupcake version had to wait until after dinner.

Camping in the Backyard

To kick off Spring Break fun we started with a little camping trip in the backyard complete with cooking hot dogs for dinner and roasting marshmallows for a treat. The kids love camping and they really like it when they can camp in their own backyard. I on the other hand ended up sleeping in by bed due to a cold that I was still getting over and Spencer would not keep covers on himself so he got a cold and as a result ended up with me in bed; but to be honest Spencer prefers sleeping with his mother anyway so even if he wasn't cold he would have found a way to end up next to me. For this little camp out Anthony was really excited that he was able to use his two man tent that he bought a few months ago, he and Madeline shared the tent together and as a result of the tight space inside they stayed nice and toasty warm.

We hope to add lots more camping trips this Spring before it gets too hot in the Summer. Camping sure brings out the excitement in our children and hopefully here soon Spencer will catch on the importance of staying in your covers.

Family Memory Game

A few months ago I discovered a gem of a blog and since have been following it and getting all kinds of good ideas which only add to my endless project list, but hey it is better to have lots of things to do then nothing to do at all. One of the ideas that the author did was teach her children The Proclamation on the Family everyday for a month, she broke it down line by line and had little activities to go along each day. I still want to do that idea but I don't know when I would be able to find the time to accomplish such a task. One of her activities was this family matching game and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make one of these for my kids to enjoy.

We have used it for FHE, on family picnics, or just passing time at home. The kids have really enjoyed seeing the family past and present and we have enjoyed telling them stories as well as teaching them about who they were. This game is really a fun way to connect our children to their family past and present and brings the concept to life of turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

I am Going to the Temple Someday

For Family Home Evening we are talking about Families using The Proclamation on the family as our guide. We talked about what makes an eternal family and the blessing of having an eternal family. We used family history books and pictures to show the kids that Great Great Great Grandparents loved each other and loved Heavenly Father so much that they married in the temple and we carried this all the way down to Grant and I. After our family home evening we made temples out of sugar cubes to remind us the temple and how our focus should always be the temple. The idea for the sugar cube temple came from here.

Houston We Have Lift Off

Grant nor I have ever been to Houston and we thought it would be a quick fun family trip. Since this was a last minute idea we looked real quick online for some fun family activities narrowed them down to two checked for hotels nearby got a reservation, threw some clothes in the bag and off we went. The traffic was pretty crazy which was a good thing because it was really late by the time we pulled into Houston and with crazy traffic there was no way that Grant would fall asleep at the wheel. After getting lost a couple of times we found our Hotel and the bed never looked so good.

The next morning we got ready as fast as we could with three little kids so that we could be at the Houston Space Museum right when it opened to avoid large crowds of people. The Space Museum was amazing with lots of interactive things for the kids to do and see. Anthony who loves space was in heaven and Madeline and Spencer found exciting things for them to do in every exhibit. The Museum has lots of educational shows and presentations that are geared to the kids level which is nice. We spent five hours there exploring and learning all about our universe.

After our exploration of the Houston Space Museum we still had one more attraction to go and see. So off we went to explore the Aquarium. Attach to the aquarium was a little carnival which we got tickets to those as well for the kids to enjoy all the carousel and Farris wheel rides they could enjoy. The aquarium was neat but nothing special they did have more fish to look at then the ones here in Dallas, we were able to see a white tiger and a huge python but I still have not found a really neat aquarium to visit. We ate dinner that night at the aquarium where we found ourselves in sticker shock over the menu prices so we got creative in sharing meals to cut costs. The kids enjoyed eating dinner surrounded by a huge aquarium, they have never been so good at a sit down restaurant then they did that night.

We manage to get back to the hotel about 10 that night after spending 12 hours exploring Houston and getting lost several times ( they sure do have confusing road systems). Needless to day the kids were tired and there were no complaints going to bed and every one slept so soundly. The next morning was time for us to head home, we were going to go to a couple of kids science museums that we have free passes too but the rain put an end to that idea. We did go to the Houston Temple and did a drive by because of the down pour of rain. The Houston Temple is pretty with lots of pretty stain glass windows. Again after getting lost a few more times (notice a trend here) we found our way on the right path towards home and made it home just in time to eat dinner and to wrap up a primary lesson for the next morning.

As a family we really enjoyed ourselves and our time together, and for me I enjoyed the break that comes when someone else cleans up and cooks the food; a vacation indeed.

Sunday Picnic

Well our weather continues to be great and we are enjoying every minute of it before Summer comes a long and it gets to be too hot. Since church gets out at noon we decided to head to a local park for a nice picnic, playing games, and kite flying. Spencer was in heaven with his bubbles and quickly made it known that no one was to touch his bubbles. Madeline worked hard with Daddy to get the kite in the air, but the wind wasn't strong enough for the kite to stay in the air for very long, but Madeline enjoyed it anyway. After a bit Anthony gave the kite a try too, but due to lack of wind the kite just didn't make it very high which turned out to be a good thing because then the kids could see the kite without the sun blinding them. After a bit of kite flying and bubble blowing the kids played a family matching game that I made for them. Overall it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We hope to enjoy more of the outdoors before the heat of the summer shines on our face.

Spring Break Fun!

For Spring Break this year we stayed home for the first of the week and then went on an impromptu get-a-way for the end of the week.

On Day One: We were explorers and joined all of Fort Worth at the Science Museum, thank goodness for membership passes I didn't have to join the residents of Fort Worth in the extremely long line to get tickets. The kids explored in the play area were Spencer was content with his train and train track and Anthony and Madeline enjoyed shopping in the grocery store. We then watched a quick movie about energy and where our energy comes from. We ended our tour with a quick trip to the dinosaur exhibit before heading off to our picnic lunch. At home we continued our day of exploring by doing fun science experiments. At the end of the day the kids were exaghausted but had fun exploring the day away.

Day two: We were suppose to go to the zoo and be animal keepers, but mother nature changed our plans. So we headed off to cabelas where we were able to feed the fish, count the turtles, see lots of wildlife (stuffed style), shoot at the arcade until our hearts content, and then relax in the tents on display. Before heading home we stopped off at the cafe and enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch.

Day three: I would like to forget about day three, lets just say nothing went as planned and I spent the day driving around trying to get around all the traffic to get to the zoo only to find out that 25,000 plus people were already there. Seeing nothing but a sea of cars we decided that going to the zoo was not in our plans, so we headed over to the next best thing McDonalds which was a zoo in it self and had to end up eating in the car because there was absolutely no where to sit. After our fun fill day of driving and more driving we decided to continue the trend and head home, well Spencer became car sick and had to share his blessing with everyone in the car. And it was only Wednesday.

Day four: We were going to go camping but old man winter was knocking on our door and we didn't want to jepordize Madeline getting sick before her surgery so we slightly changed our plans and headed to Houston to enjoy the rest of our Spring Break at the Houston Space Museum and the Aquarium. Grant and I planned and packed for the trip in an hour and headed out the door. It was a nice break from everyday responsibilities of being a wife and mother. The museum was a success and the Aquarium well lets just say I am not rushing to Houston anytime soon to see again, but it was nicer than what we have here in Dallas. I will give more of a detail of Houston in a later post.

Over all Spring Break was fun and the kids enjoyed their jammed packed day and had lots of memories to share with their friends when they returned from their break.

Oh a Hiking We Go!

We have been enjoying the nice weather lately and Saturday was no different. After working together as a family in picking up the house and preparing for Sunday we headed out to an outdoor museum to enjoy some hiking and a nice picnic lunch. The museum is called The Herd Museum and this was our first time to check it out. It is a nature preserve with lots of trails for you to walk on and enjoy wildlife and nature that is particular to the area. There is also a small exhibit with several animals around the world and in May we can go back to see the Butterfly House, which Madeline is very excited to see. The kids love to go hiking and you can tell by watching them that they are at home hiking through the woods, looking for flowers, watching for birds, and trying to find all the wildlife they can. They have a few exhibits inside, but the kids enjoyed being outside more than anything. After our trip to the museum we stopped off and enjoyed an ice cream treat.

I am a Cowgirl

On Monday March 8, Madeline had her Kindergarten school performance at school. This years theme was Texas. The program consisted of various Texas Songs, jokes, and poems. Madeline was so excited to dress up as a cowgirl and to get up on the stage and perform for her family. At the end Madeline had a special part of holding up a heart for one of the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas", it was fitting to see Madeline who has a big heart herself hold up a paper heart for the program. For a few days leading up to the program, Madeline would express her excitement my shouting exclaims of HEE HAW around the house. She was truly excited and proud and so was her family.

Faith in God Knot

After four months, Anthony accomplished his faith in god award for scouts. Anthony has diligently worked towards this goal on his own and as part of the goal we as a family have benefited from a family home evening lesson on Joseph Smith, a lesson on the importance of baptism, a story about the creation, and many discussions on the power of prayer, and the role of The Holy Ghost. It is neat to see Anthony's excitement about scouts and to see him eager to work towards all of his accomplishments. Anthony, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you; it is a joy to call you our son.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday again this, but a little late due to the arrival of the stomach bug in our house. This year made cat in the hat treats with the help of circle crackers, white frosting, and gummy life savers. While we enjoyed our treats we watched Green Eggs and Ham and then afterwards we all gathered around while I read a Dr. Seuss book. The kids really enjoyed the fun, especially the cat in the hat treat. Spencer really enjoyed the gummies and frosting but didn't care for having his assembled into a hat, a torn apart hat is his preference. Celebrating holidays, even the silly ones and not so well known ones are a special treat and our kids really enjoy having many reasons to celebrate throughout the year.

Blue and Gold Banquet

In February Anthony's pack had their Blue and Gold Banquet. This year it was held at the Stockyards and the whole family enjoyed some BBQ catered from a local company. Because of the number of boys and the awards that were handed out the meeting at times was kind of boring and long. However, the food was good, the skits were silly, and watching Anthony receive his wolf advancement was priceless. Overall we had a good time and though I am from Texas I haven't really been to the Stockyards so that was nice to see. Way to go Anthony for working so hard to get your wolf, you are doing awesome.

100th Day

For 100 day celebration, Madeline needed to bring a poster with 100 things glued on. After playing around with hearts for a while we came up with butterflies. So 100 hearts equal 50 butterflies. It is so fitting for Madeline and apparently quite popular at school. If anyone knows Madeline, they know that Madeline loves butterflies from her butterfly decorated room to a dresser drawer full of butterfly clothes. Madeline is our little butterfly who grows more beautiful every day.