Spring Break Day Three-Five

For Day three through five of Spring Break we went camping with Grant's parents, and boy was our camping trip and memorable one and an adventure. The weather was shaping up to be real nice, with no rain and temperatures just perfect at night and during the day. Grant and I were actually excited that for the first time in a long time we were able to actually go camping during spring break and that there wouldn't be any storm threatening/ruining our fun. Well we learned don't count your eggs before they hatch. The temperatures were great, there were no storms, but the wind was a force to be reckoned with and proved to be a challenge for us during our trip. We had plans of going fishing in our inflatable raft, but the wind changed those plans; fishing this year was done from the shore. We had plans of making kites and flying them, but the wind would have taken the kite and us with it. We had plans of picnicing by the fire, but the wind took our food, so Mommy became really good at preparing food in the car and getting it to the kids in the tent in one piece. Daddy used tarps to create enough wind blockage so that our propane stove would stay lit, and the real kicker was that Mommy and Daddy became real good at holding up the tent with out feet throughout the night so as to prevent the tent from falling down on top of us. Camping for Spring Break 2011 was real fun and a real adventure. Though our plans changed during the campout we still had fun and when the wind was nice to us we enjoyed the campground before it was time to hunker down and brave the gusts of wind. There were times that I felt like we were stuck in a windpool and that the wind was just stuck circling us. Our camping trip was suppose to end on Saturday, but after braving the wind Wednesday and all day on Thursday Grant decided Friday morning that he had enough and there were no arguements on my part. We bid farewell to Grant's parents while they rode out the wind comfortablly from their RV and we went home to the our sturdy house where we don't have to hold it up during the gusty wind.

Camping isn't fun unless their our adventures with it. You don't really remember the camping trips where everything goes perfect, you remember the ones that are a little crazy sprinkled with adventure. The kids enjoyed themselves and when they returned to school, Spencer could not stop talking about his camping trip with his family. We sure weren't planning on the wind, but we were not going to let us prevent us from camping; instead we just took gusty wind with us along for the adventure and boy was it an adventure.

Spring Break Day Two

Day two of our Spring Break adventures led us to being scavenger hunters. Spencer woke up with a fever and what to be the signs of a spring time cold, so our adventures were put on hold until Daddy came home from work. Since Mommy gets to have a lot of the fun with the kids and Daddy misses out; Daddy went on this adventure with Anthony and Madeline. Prior to day two, Grant and I went to Cabelas and took pictures of different things around the store. I then used those pictures for a scavenger hunt. With pictures in hand the crisscrossed the store looking to find their match. The hunt took them upstairs, downstairs, and even to the back corners of the store. They had to find certain shirts, a nemo life jacket, a certain colored stuff fish, and the right turn table of sunglasses. Some were easy and some took a little more time looking and making sure. After their exhausting but successful search Anthony and Madeline were ready for some fuel and Daddy was just the ticket they needed. After Anthony, Madeline, and Daddy's fun adventure they came home full of excitement and eager tell anyone and everyone the fun they had crisscrossing Cabelas.

Spring Break Day One

Every year for Spring Break I try to do a theme for each day during Spring Break. The kids usually are excited for Spring Break to come around and find out what adventures they will be going on. For Spring Break 2011 our adventures were, architects, scavenger hunters, and then campers.

Day One: Architects.

To begin our adventure we talked about what architects do and how much we depend upon architects for our buildings, landscape, and infrastructures. After a brief lesson on what an architect is and does we became architects ourselves. I made some stencils using my cricuit cutter with various sizes of circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares. I then supplied the kids with some graph paper and rulers. The kids then began to design and draw a building using their rulers and stencils. After our drawings were complete, off to the Lego store where the kids could pick out what Lego bricks they needed to build what they designed. The real adventure came at the Lego store, I didn't know that everyone else in the metroplex would have the same idea I did. We managed to push and shove our way through and get the supplies we needed. We survived the food court and the hairpin drive home. The kids have fund quickly putting their creations together and then off to let their imaginations go wild.

I believe day one of Spring Break was a success.

Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration

Every year on March 2 we celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. Our celebration is simple, but the kids sure enjoy it. We read a couple of Dr. Seuss books and then make our own fun cat in the hat treat, which consists of circle crackers, gummy life saves and white frosting. This was the first year that Spencer really got into the fun and enjoyed making his own cat in the hats. Anthony as always had fun creating and eating his treat and then there is Madeline. Madeline loves participating in our fun family celebrations and is even all excited to make the yummy treats, but when it comes time to eat them well that is where she draws the line. Madeline does not have a sweet tooth in her body, she just likes to make the treats and then leave them completely untouched. She finds joy in making them and participating with the family, not in the eating. I wish I didn't have a sweet tooth, but I do and sometimes it is a big sweet tooth.

I have found that it is the simple activities that bring our family the most joy. Dr Seuss's birthday is not a major celebration, probably not too many people know about it, but gathering around the table after dinner and before bed to celebrate is a fun way to spend time as a family.

"Family, it's about time" a message from our church.

A Beautiful Day

What do you do when the weather is perfect outside?.....

Why you go on a walk with Grandma!

Bear Graduation!

On Saturday, February 19, Anthony had his Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. At the Banquet, Anthony received his Bear award along with 2 arrow points. Anthony sure enjoys going to scouts every week. It is sure neat to see his excitement for Den meetings as well as working on scout requirements around the house. It is also neat for Anthony to have his Dad as the assistant Den Leader. Cub Scouts has become a Father and Son activity and I know they enjoy working on things together. I know this same attitude will carry on into scouts as well. I think Grant also enjoys having a son in cub scouts because he is able to relive all the things he did when he was that age.

It is always neat to watch your children progress in activities that they enjoy. Cub Scouts has taught Anthony that hard work really does pay off. Good Job Anthony, and just know that your family is proud of all that you do.

Valentine's Day

This year for Valentines Day I let the kids be in charge with a little bit of guidance from me. Anthony and Madeline love to throw parties for the family, and a few weeks before Valentine's Day they asked if they you could have a toy and food party. There idea was to have some of every food that was either their favorite, or in Anthony's case, they liked. The toy part would include bringing all the toys out of their room and playing with them as a family. This is where I came in and gave them some much needed guidance. We narrowed the food choices down to heart shaped pizza, a few choices of fruit, some cheese,chips, and homemade heart shaped sugar cookies made by Anthony and Madeline. For the entertainment or "toy" part Madeline picked a Valentine Yahtzee game that I found online. I added my own touch to the party in the form of a treasure hunt for the kids. At the end of the treasure hunt was their Valentine present. Because each child is at a different level, each one had their own set of clues; and in order for Mom to be successful at capturing such fun they went one at a time. Since Spencer doesn't know how to read I just used pictures as his clues; Madeline's clues were written in a way that she could read them, and Anthony's clues were written to hopefully provide a bit of a challenge. Having the kids go on a treasure hunt is a little tradition that we have with Valentine's, Easter, Birthday and sometimes a couple of Christmas gifts too. The kids get excited on these holidays because they know there will be a treasure hunt. It is just a neat way to add a little bit of fun to the occasion.

The kids really enjoyed themselves and were excited to be able to participate in the planning and helping to set up for the party as well. For me as their Mom, it was neat to be able to foster and participate in their excitement. Overall our Valentine's Day party was a fun party and a great time with those that we love.

Groundhog Day!

During one of snowed days we were able to celebrate Groundhog Day! Last year was our first year to celebrate the holiday so I was still looking for ideas that would work for the whole family. Because of all the snow I had plenty of time to research and gather ideas. This year I thought it would be fun to do games and activities that were about shadows. I found a website that had several hand shadow puppets with picture directions and then we did the old standby of drawing our profiles. The hand shadow puppets turned out really well and the kids enjoyed making animals with their hands and towards the end were making up the own things. We even had a monster shadow puppet attacking something (I can't remember what the other puppet was). After our shadow puppet fun we did our profile pictures and then had the kids color them in with crayons. The kids enjoyed this activity last year and they enjoyed it again this year. After all of our activities we enjoyed a little Groundhog Day treat which consisted of chocolate pudding covered with chocolate graham cracker crumbs and a picture of a groundhog coming out; so it would look like the groundhog is coming out of his hole in the ground.

Groundhog Day is a silly holiday, but it is fun to celebrate as a family. Just another excuse to get together and do something fun with family and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Snow Day!

Old Man Winter decided to pay us a visit the first week of February. A big artic front blasted its way through bringing ice and snow and freezing cold temperatures. I was a little worried how this would play out with Madeline's health and the freezing temperatures; but thanks to a little snow and ice school was canceled for four days. Grant still went to work during the ice storm, but would leave for work after the sun came up and try to get home before a lot cars would be on the road. The kids had fun playing in the backyard, while sensible Mommy watched from inside. Wanting Madeline to have fun and to enjoy being a kid, we bundled up enough that all you could see were eyes and she could barely move. Madeline had three shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, two jackets, two hats and a pair of gloves with a pair of socks over them. Out of the three kids she was the warmest, in fact she said she was a little hot. The kids played outside for an hour, which surprised me since cold weather is not something they enjoyed. Madeline was able to do her favorite snow activity and that was snow angels. When our second round of snow hit, Grant took off early from work and we went to a nearby park that has a nice sledding hill and spent an hour sledding. Spencer wasn't interested in sledding, but enjoyed giving everyone a push on their way. In breaks between sledding runs, we would throw a few snowballs, and then when we needed to warm up our heads we would do a few runs down the sled. After our sledding adventures, we headed off to rent a few movies. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because the selection of deceient movies were low.

The kids enjoyed the time off from school and I enjoyed the lazy mornings and the relaxed afternoons. Grant enjoyed not having to set the alarm clock and being able to sleep in. The snow was pretty to look at, but by day three it was getting old and walls in my house felt like they were caving in. Grant surprised me by taking me out of the house for a few hours, which was a nice welcomed treat. I was able to get a quilting frame which made the rest of the snowed in days easy to enjoy. It was a nice week off from school, it felt like a mini vacation, a nice break in our sometimes hectic life.

Madeline's Talent

The last week of January the first graders at Madeline's school were studying Cowboys and Cowgirls. To end the week, the first graders threw a talent show. Not only did it provide a fun time for the kids, but allowed the kids opportunities with speaking and performing in front of lots of people. Madeline had lots of fun dressing up as a cowgirl, and she wore her outfit to perfection. Thanks to a friend we were able to borrow the perfect pink cowgirl boots that just added the perfect touch to her costume. Madeline performed her old standby talent of singing "What a Wonderful World." Madeline totally rocked her performance, and never missed a beat. She did bring a few people to tears, and brought lots of smiles to peoples faces.

For having gone through so much, she exemplifies courage, spunk, and confidence. She knows who she is and is proud of who she is. What a blessing to our family. With Madeline around it is truly a Wonderful World.

Battle of the Books

For the second year in a row Anthony has participated in his school district's Battle of the Books competition. Anthony started over the summer by reading all 15 of the books. He continued reading them on a daily basis after school start, and then in November he took the test to see if he could make the team. Anthony aced the test with perfection and was one of the leaders on the team. Anthony didn't stop reading, instead he continued to read those same 15 books everyday until the competition in late January. Anthony had those books memorized forwards and backwards and didn't miss a beat. Anthony along with two other girls lead the six member team with only missing one question. There is another team, the secondary, and well they had a bit of trouble during their competition. Anthony's school didn't place this year, but Anthony is learning how to have fun even if you don't win. He did get a medal, but for him the best part was CiCi's pizza afterwards. Next year Anthony will be on the secondary team as he will be in fourth grade. So once again we will start reading the books this summer.

We are all amazed at the dedication and discipline Anthony shows, and all his hard work definitely shows. Who knows maybe next year he can help lead his team to victory.

Pinewood Derby 2011

Anthony participated in his second Pinewood Derby. Just like the year before he dragged himself out to the garage to build and design his car. Anthony likes the sanding part, but when it comes to the sawing he much rather do something else. So with a little encouragement and a timer he was able to cut out the shape of his car; but as soon as the timer went off he was back inside not a minute more or less. Anthony came down with a friendly stomach bug a few days before the race, so being the nice Daddy that Grant is he finished the car with direction from Anthony. Anthony wanted a fast car with flames, and he coined the name of his car "Fast Furry." This year he placed 5th in his den. Though we didn't get a medal, it was a good opportunity for Anthony to learn that you can still have fun and an enjoyable time even if you don't win. It was fun to watch Anthony as he raced his car and to see his excitement and enthusiasm, it is contagious and put a smile on our faces as well. Next year Anthony wants to build a lego car; so once again we will head out to the garage with lots of encouragement and a timer and with a little bit of a nudge he will take a block of wood and turn it into a lego car. Stay tune for Pinewood Derby 2012.

Five plus Two Equals Seven

Before

On Christmas Eve our family grew by two and no I didn't have twins. Grant's parents moved in for the Winter. Grant's parents were living in Florida taking care of Grandma Smith, after five years of taking such great care of her, Grandma Smith passed away a few weeks before Christmas. When we received word, we got ready for their arrival which included building a cement pad on the side of our house for the motor home and converting our garage into an office so his parents could have our fourth bedroom. For a few weeks our home was full of buzz as we worked on getting everything ready. The kids were excited for Grandma and Grandpa coming! We would not have been able to do all that we did without the help of my brother-in-law Richard who by himself took half of our garage and made it into an office. Everyday he would come over before work, on his days off, and on the weekends. It was a true testament of how when family comes together great things can happen. We were not quite finished when Grant's parents arrived, and we learned that the original length of the cement pad was not long enough. Luckily the cement company was available to come and fix that problem and Grant's parents were able to stay at a nearby campground.

After a month of working, the office and bedroom were finally complete and I don't think there was anyone more relieved than Grant and Richard. It was nice to be able to clean up from sheetrock and texture dust and to be able to put the house back together. The office looks amazing and you wouldn't even know that it was once a garage. It is weird to think that as I sit at the computer or watch TV, that not too long ago my car was park that very spot. The only downside was the we under estimated how much things would cost, but it looks amazing and very professionally done.

After

Christmas Day

The kids woke up shortly after 7:00 and immediately started playing with Santa's gifts. Grandma and Grandpa were still asleep out in the motor home and so as painful as it was the kids waited patiently for Grandma and Grandpa to wake up. After playing with their toys from Santa for a couple of hours it was time to finally play with the gifts under the tree. Now remember their Christmas gifts weren't wrapped and so they sat there staring at the gifts just waiting until they could pick them up and play with them. Now Spencer was content with what Santa brought and was not interested in what was under the tree. So for at least a couple of his gifts he would ignore us as we try to get his attention, and then after a bit he came around and realized that there were more toys. However, he got ahold of one of his gifts and was content the rest of the morning. I am sure someday he will understand the whole Christmas morning fun. The kids enjoyed their gifts and Mommy and Daddy had fun putting together and trying to get the endless amount of toys out of their carefully packaged boxes. Later that evening my family came over for more gift exchanges and Christmas dinner. I love when Christmas Day is simple, it helps to keep the spirit of Christmas a live in our hearts and home.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve this year, Grant's parents were able to join us. A few days before Christmas Eve Anthony asked if he could do the lesson for our Christmas Eve celebration. With me recovering from being sick and busily trying to get the new office finished I thought it was a great idea. Madeline joined in and was given the charge of the nativity play. Madeline and Anthony did a fantastic job. Madeline had saying parts for all members of the family. Then Anthony told the story of the Savior's birth using the scriptures, afterwards Anthony put together a game for us all to play. We then ended the night with our tradition of making smores and hot chocolate. It is nights like this when you realize how blessed you are to be a mother and witness your children bear their testimony.

After the kids were snuggled in bed Mommy and Daddy were tired and decided that wrapping presents was highly over-rated. We gathered all the presents and after a few minutes trying to remember what Santa got the kids versus the parents. When everything was sorted out we just put the presents under the tree with no labels and no wrapping paper. It sure made clean up easy the next day, and the kids enjoyed their gifts just as much if they had been wrapped.

Madeline's Tree

Right before Christmas, Madeline had a Christmas tree project due for school. They were given a Christmas tree made out of poster board and asked to decorate it anyway they wanted to, the only rule was they could not just color it with markers or crayons. Madeline wanted to do fabric with ornaments and she wanted to put real Christmas tree lights. At first Grant and Madeline were going to make their own battery pack Christmas lights, but we found some when the craft store was beginning to clearance out their Christmas decor. We tried gluing the rick rack on, but that didn't work so the crazy mom that I am thought of sewing it. An hour later I was successful at sewing the tree and tree trunk on Madeline's poster board tree. Then Madeline went to work punching holes for the ornaments and lights to fit. She was so excited when it was done and more excited to show off to her class that her tree lights up.

Gaylord Ice

Every year one of the local fancy hotels has an ice exhibit. They bring in Chinese Ice Sculptures to create these fancy sculptures based on the theme for this year. This year it was Charlie Brown Christmas. My kids love anything to do with Charlie Brown so I knew they would like the exhibit. The catcher was the price of tickets is not cheep. I debated about it for a few weeks and decided it would be our big Christmas activity. When the kids found out they were excited and so were we! We ended up going the week of Christmas which I think was a mistake. The ice exhibit was neat, but we were not able to really enjoy it and take everything in. There were so many people (they didn't have it well organized) that we were just being shuffled along.

They provide you parkas because they keep the place -9 degrees. Spencer of course didn't want anything to do with the parka or any jacket of that matter. So we carried his thinking that when he got inside he would change his mind. Instead he just wanted his dad to carry him while he curled up in a ball. Grant finally was able to get Spencer in the parka but he refused to put his arms in the armholes. So here is Grant trying to hold Spencer in a slick parka who is curled up in a ball who also refuses to put his arms in the armholes. It was a definitely a challenge. Anthony and Madeline enjoyed it, but Anthony was ready to get out. He doesn't like it when it is too hot or too cold, he likes things just right. At the end of the exhibit they have an ice slide for the kids to go down, but our kids were more interested in getting out of the exhibit then going down the slide.

Did I think it was worth the price of tickets, no but the excitement on my kids faces made up for that. Will we be going again? No. Do I recommend people going? Yes if you can get the first showing otherwise save your money. Am I glad that we went? Yes, despite it being overly crowded and not being able to take in the ice sculptures our kids still like to talk about it and talk about how much fun it was.

O Christmas Tree

Christmas Countdown

It is already mid January and I am just now getting to Christmas. Hopefully by the end of January I will be caught up. Grant's parents moved in with us so I have been a little bit busy with getting things settled; but I will save that for another post. Every year for the month of December we countdown to Christmas with fun little activities each day. We didn't get to do 24 activities like we had wanted. I got sick with the flu around December 11 that took a couple of weeks to get through and then Grant's parent moved in and I lost my office for a bit until we finished the garage/office conversion. We did get a few activities in and the kids had fun. Also this year I finished all of my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving so it was nice not to have to worry about any shopping during December. I was just able to focus on the kids, the family, and enjoying the Christmas Season together.

1. Make and decorate Christmas cards.

2. Watch The Grinch Stole Christmas.

3. Decorate the Christmas tree.

4. Go see a nearby Nativity and go out for Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

5. Watch The First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

6. Read a Christmas story and decorate hot chocolate mugs.

7. Make ornaments.

8. Make smores.

9. Watch Charlie Brown Christmas.

10. Sleep under the Christmas tree.

11. Go to ICE exhibit.

12. Decorate Gingerbread Houses.

It was a fun countdown and can't wait for next year and hopefully I won't get sick so we can be able to enjoy more fun memories

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we didn't make any plans because Madeline was scheduled for a scope of her stomach the day before. Though this was an outpatient procedure, you never know with Madeline; so to be safe we just didn't make any plans. We are glad that we did because Madeline did have a hard time getting off the oxygen so she was admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay. We were able to get home early afternoon of Thanksgiving, but Madeline still wasn't feeling well. It was nice that Thanksgiving was a quiet day that allowed Madeline to rest and get to feeling better. Later that evening Grant nor I felt like cooking so we went to Golden Corral and they fed us a great dinner. The rest of the weekend was jam packed with project after project so we ended up having our Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday after church. It was a nice and simple Thanksgiving Dinner. Madeline helped me make the simple yummy feast and when the boys return home from an errand we were ready to dive in. Before we ate each one of us held up a piece of paper with what we were thankful for. There was no fanfare, no fancy menu options, and no fancy setup; but you could really feel the love and gratitude in our home as we gathered around the kitchen table. Thanksgiving was simply great!