Thanksgiving

During our week in Utah we went up to the Dinosaur Quarry with our family, Wayne's family, Ginger's family, Hunter and Rachael, and Grant's mother.  We were able to see Dinosaur bones still in the side of the mountain.  They built the Quarry over the mountain to preserve the bones.  They have several dinosaur skeletons too looks at as well as dinosaur facts.  The kids had fun looking around and exploring.  Afterwards we went on a hike outside of the Quarry.  Grant and Madeline went up high enough to see some more dinosaur bones and the rest of us tried to keep up with Anthony.  The kids enjoyed running and burning off some energy.  I never saw Anthony or the rest of the gang as they were way ahead.  It was nice to be outside and away from the city.  After our hike, our family went off to the dinosaur museum that they had in Vernal.  It was fun to see all the dinosaur and to learn more about the history of the dinosaurs in that area; most of all it was just nice to be spending time as a family.

Thanksgiving was spent in Utah with Grant's family.  This year all but one of the siblings and grandchild were able to make it to Utah.  With mostly everyone there we were able to get a family picture, which was nice.  While everything was cooking on Thanksgiving, Grant took the kids to a local park and I stayed behind to repack and to do a little reading.  It was nice to have some quiet time.  After the park, Madeline got on her chef hat and apron and helped out a little in the kitchen making deviled eggs and gravy for the potatoes.  Madeline loves to cook and help out in the kitchen, so she was excited when an opportunity presented itself for her to play chef.  Dinner was great and the company was great too.  All the cousins played really well together and for the most part we didn't see much of them, we heard them but didn't really see them.  Our room turned into the playroom and the kitchen table turned into the art studio for the girls.  It was nice to see all the cousins playing together.  After things digested, Grant and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  The weather was pleasant and it was nice to get out for a bit.  I have to say that my lungs were sure not use to the elevation, walking up the hills was sometimes a challenge.  I was able to close off Thanksgiving day with a little football, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without watching the Dallas Cowboys.   Grant's parents recorded the game for me to watch later.  Since I already knew the Cowboys lost, I didn't watch the whole thing but it was nice to watch some football.

On Friday we packed things up and headed over to to Salt Lake.  Prior to arriving in Salt Lake we made a stop in Bountiful to take the kids to the Bountiful Temple.  Grant and I were married there 12 years ago and we wanted to bring the kids to where our Eternal Family started.  I also wanted to get a picture of our kids in front of the temple.  It was nice to walk around and to reminisce with Grant about our day 12 years ago.  The temple is gorgeous and the view is breathtaking.  I am so glad that I followed my dream and was able to be sealed to Grant in the Bountiful Temple and it was neat to bring our kids back to the very Temple where it all started.  We were able to talk about Eternal Families and blessings of being an Eternal Family as well as the blessings that come from being able to attend the temple.

While in Salt Lake we wanted to show the kids Temple Square and to see the Christmas Lights on Temple Square.  Grant's brother and his family were going to meet us there too and spend the afternoon/evening with us.  I think every plan has good intentions and this is one of them. waiting for Wayne we decided to walk in the Family History Library and see if Grant's Aunt who is serving a mission there was available.  We figured if she wasn't at the front desk then we wouldn't hunt her down.  Well she was at the front desk and so it was nice to have a visit with her.  After her shift she joined us at the Church History Museum.  The kids enjoyed playing around in the children's Book of Mormon exhibit and then we all enjoyed looking around at the different Church History stuff, especially Anthony.  After our time at the Museum, we headed over the conference center.  I was really looking forward to going to the roof, but we missed it by five minutes.  We enjoyed walking through the place anyway and seeing where Conference is held and looking at all the the pictures.  There is one room that has pictures of the past Apostles on the walls.  One of them was Parely P. Pratt who we are related to on Grant's Maternal side.  I took a picture of the kids with their fourth great grandfather.  After our walk around the Conference Center we saw that the lights were on and off we were to see them.  This is where every plan has good intentions.  Friday happened to be the day they turned on the lights coupled with Black Friday shopping at the nearby mall, made it impossible to see anything.  There were so many people there and keeping a group of ten or more together was challenging.  It was hard to walk around and enjoy the lights because you felt like you were being herded like cows.  I thought about going inside the Visitor Center but that looked like Walmart during early morning hours of Black Friday shopping.  Instead I just showed the kids the Christus statue from outside.  After we were herded around the lights we were hungry, but finding a place to eat was a challenge.  The mall was impossible and we didn't want to leave our hotel and lose our parking spot in the crowds of people.  We decided at this time we would split up and each family would go their own separate way for dinner.  I was glad when the evening was over and my back especially was glad when it hit the bed for a good nights rest.  I am glad that we were able to go and see the lights, but a lesson was learned...never go on the day after Thanksgiving.

Saturday morning we were up and out for the drive home.  We stopped in Provo to get BYU shirts and to refill Anthony's book collection, three books was not enough for Anthony.  Because we had to be home by Sunday night so Grant and the kids could return to work/school we just had to drive and not really stop and do things on the way home.  We tried to make it to four corners, but we were 30 minutes late.   The kids did well on our trip home which is pretty good when all you have time to do is drive.  We wished we had time to explore southern Utah, but instead we made plans for when we go up for Christmas next year.  

We were so glad that we made the impromptu trip to Utah and that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with Grant's family.  It was nice to take a break from our busy lives and to have some time with our little family.  However, it did take me a week to unpack and it is now after Christmas and the car has yet to be washed and cleaned out from our Thanksgiving trip.  Yeah life has been really busy for us, but we are floating along.

Utah Part One

A few months ago Grant was talking to his mother during their weekly Sunday chats and we learned that his sister, Virginia who lives in Texas, was coming up to Utah for Thanksgiving.  Grant and I started talking about it and we decided it would be neat if we went to Utah for Thanksgiving as well.  We looked over our finances and saw that it was possible, Grant checked on his vacation from work to make sure he could take the time off; when all of those were good we began to plan our trip to Utah.  We knew it would be a lot of driving, but we knew it would be worth it to spend Thanksgiving with the whole family.

The first thing we did was go and visit with one of Grant's Aunts and Uncles.  We always enjoy visiting with Aunt Irene and Uncle Karl, Grant is practically one of their kids so for him it is like coming home.  It was at this visit that Grant had an amazingly crazy idea to take us down to the seep to throw rocks in the water.  What is the seep you ask?  Well if you ask me it is a grueling hour hike through sage brush and thick sand to the river.  Lets just say I was not skipping along excited to go for a hike.  You know I grew up in the city and the only hiking we did was hiking around the mall or walmart during the holiday shopping season; and the only tricky part was navigating ourselves around huge throngs of people all trying to cram in the coveted toy or electronic section.  I enjoy going for walks on firm cement, but hiking through sage brush, thick sand, and over boulders was not something I was too excited about.  Don't get me wrong the view was pretty and I was content to enjoy the view from my car; but knowing how important this place was to Grant I knew it was best for me to hike.  I knew for it to be a successful family adventure that I needed to be totally on board and excited, or else the kids wouldn't want to go.  So I put a smile on my face and off we went.  Grant, the great man that he is, carried Madeline the whole way down and especially the whole way up.  He wants her to be able to enjoy everything we do and if that means he needs to carry her, he will.  Anthony was in his element and it soon became apparent that as a family we would not be able to keep up with him.  I figured he was safe, I mean we are in the middle of no where, and when I saw NO WHERE that is what I mean.  I knew there wouldn't be any predators looking to scoop up an innocent boy and if he got lost he could just yell; because after all we were in the middle of nowhere and would be able to hear him.  Anthony climbed up some pretty high cliffs and for this scared of heights mother I did everything I could not to fall over from a heart attack.  Just like his father I knew he was having the time of his life and if his Dad wasn't running after him then he must be okay.  I decided to busy myself with taking pictures or focusing on the scenery and not how high up Anthony was.  Spencer on the other hand hiked like a good trooper but he was good at pointing out how tired he was and when we could go back to the car.  I was not surprised to hear how tired Spencer was because he insisted on carrying this big rock all the way from the top of our hike down to the bottom.  You see this rock was special and it needed to be thrown in the water.  Grant and I were not about to carry this "special" rock for him.  We thought after he got tired he would see that the rock wasn't so "special" and just leave it, but no stubborn and insisting Spencer carried his "special" rock while voicing his feelings all the way down to the water.  Once we got to the water, Madeline and Spencer enjoyed throwing rocks in the water.  Anthony enjoyed the view from a high above cliff, and well me I handed over the camera to Grant and had him take pictures of the kids throwing rocks in the water.  You see I was over the hiking through sage brush and just didn't have it in me to hike through the last bit of sage brush to get to shores to see my kids throw rocks in the water.  It took us an hour to hike down and an hour to hike up.  Let just say hiking up in thick sand is a better work then any treadmill can do.  Anthony and I hiked a head of the group, my pace was pretty good for I knew the destination was the car.  Grant stayed behind carrying Madeline and listening to Spencer voice his feelings.  Though he was tired and done with hiking he walked the whole way, he just wanted to make sure his Dad knew how tired he was.  In the end I am glad Grant took us on this hike, it was nice to be together as a family in the middle of nowhere-ville.  There weren't any distractions, nor was there anything trying to steal our time from each other.  It was nice to be surrounded by God's creations spending time as a family and making memories with each other.

While in Utah I was also able to go a do session in the Vernal Temple with Grant's Mom and Sister-in-law.  Grant's Mom and I have a tradition that whenever we visit each other we go and do a session in the temple.  Usually it is when she comes and visit us here, but this time we were able to do it on her home turf.  I love going to the Temple and with how crazy busy life has been it was really nice to stop and be reminded of what life is all about.  The Vernal Temple is beautiful, as all the Temples are.  After our session I treated everyone to lunch before heading back home.  Grant stayed back and watched the kids so that we could have ladies day at the Temple.  I really enjoyed my time at the Temple and as always I walked away with a little more understanding.

Longhorn Scout Camporee

Grant was able to take Anthony to his first Scout Camporee.  It was put on by the Longhorn Council and was held at the Texas Motor Speedway.  They were able to camp on the Speedway as well as watch some of the actual race cars drive around the track.  They spent all day Saturday participating in different activities as well as fighting the wind.  Apparently the wind was pretty relentless and made for an interesting night of camping when your dad forgot the stakes to the tent.  I think after fighting the wind for the day Anthony was worn out and the thrill of going to a Camporee was lost.  Lucky for him they only put this on every four years, so when it comes around again hopefully he would have forgotten about the wind and how hard it was to fight it, and will want to go to it again and experience the fun with lots of other scouts.  Spencer will get to go the next time it rolls around, that should be pretty interesting-at least for Grant.

Anthony is 11

Anthony turned eleven on November 4.  I have a hard time believing that Anthony is eleven.  Being Anthony's mother has been a huge blessing.  Anthony made me a mother, and in these eleven years Anthony continues to teach me everyday and everyday I get to unwrap the gift and blessing it is to be his mother.  Anthony amazes me in lots of ways.  I am amazed by his smile and how his face lights up. I love to witness his enthusiasm for life and his positive outlook.  Anthony exudes excitement everyday and is a great example of being happy each and everyday.  Anthony is a good example of diligence, hard working, and fulfilling your responsibilities.  Anthony consistently does what is asked of him the first time with no questions asked.  I love to hear Anthony bare his testimony during Family Home Evening, to hear his knowledge of the scriptures, and to hear him expound to us his knowledge of the gospel.  I love looking over at Anthony during sacrament meeting and seeing him diligently reading his scriptures.  Anthony has a goal of reading all the standard works.  He has finished the Book of Mormon and is now reading the Old Testament.  I suggested that he start with the New Testament, but he was insistent on reading the Old Testament first.  When I told him I could give him the seminary schedule, he declined.  He wants to read the Old Testament word for word, page by page.  Now if that doesn't show diligence I don't know what does.  Anthony has discovered mystery books and boy does he power through them.  Thank goodness for libraries that provide lots of books for him to explore.  Anthony also has a deep love for history, he loves anything about the Civil War and this year has discovered the Revolutionary War.  He has a memory that cannot be matched and has a real knack for remembering dates and details about each war.  He loves to check out books from the library about the different wars and past U.S. Presidents and he reads them like novels.  Anthony is excelling on the piano and I enjoy when it is practice time as he fills our home with wonderful music.  Anthony has aspirations of playing the trumpet in middle school and I know that when he sets his heart on something he will achieve his goal.  Anthony is a great brother and great example, and overall a real blessing and joy to have.  I love how when you ask him how he is doing, he always responds with "great."  I know with that attitude he will go far and will be a blessing and joy to those he meets.  Sometimes as I quietly watch him in action, I wonder what the Lord has in store for him-I am sure it is something great.  I am continuously grateful that my Heavenly Father sent Anthony to our home and has entrusted me with taking care of him.  It isn't work taking care of Anthony, it is a joy and blessing one that I look forward to every minute of everyday.

Okay enough about Anthony, lets talk about how his eleventh birthday went down.  His birthday this year fell on a Sunday so his birthday activities were done on Saturday.  This year he chose to go camping with his Dad.  He just wanted it to be him and his dad.  They took the canoe with them and enjoyed paddling on the lake coming up with ways to conquer the bad guys.  After a successful mission it was off to enjoy an epic battle of Star Wars Risk.  Anthony was able to come out on top and not only beat Grant, but wipe him completely out.  They enjoyed packing all the treats and snacks they could fit.  On his actual birthday Anthony woke up to a decorated room with homemade cinnamon rolls waiting for him to devour.  After church we enjoyed Mac n Cheese (his favorite food) along with hamburgers and hot dogs.  It was such nice weather that we were able to take our dinner outside.  It was a lot of fun being outside as a family eating a simple dinner enjoying quality time together.  Later that evening my family came over for cake and ice cream and to witness Anthony fulfill his traditional scavenger hunt to find his presents.  I love that our kids get excited for our traditions that we have.  They know when birthday time rolls around there will always be a scavenger hunt for them to do as well as treats and fun from sun up to sun down.  I really try to go all out to celebrate their special day and to let them know how special they are.  There was a hiccup to his special day, I managed to spell his name wrong on his birthday cake.  I have never spelled his name wrong (it isn't like it is a complicated name), but after eleven years I managed to find a way to spell his name wrong.  We all got a laugh at it, but it didn't stop  us from eating the cake.  I would have to say my favorite part about his birthday was sitting on the couch together looking at all of his scrapbooks and remembering all the things he did as baby, toddler, and as a kid.  It was neat to share all of those memories with him and to see his excitement.  I know Anthony felt special on his day because you couldn't wipe the smile from off his face.  I cannot believe he will be twelve next year, but for now I will enjoy my simply terrific in every way eleven year old.

Halloween

Spencer as Perry the Platypus (aka Agent P).  Madeline as an Owl.  Anthony as a Spy Agent.

Pumpkin Carving

This year I thought it would be fun for the kids to carve their own pumpkins.  I thought with Madeline and Spencer older we might actually be able to handle pumpkin carving.  I knew Anthony doesn't care to touch the insides of a pumpkin, but I was curious what Spencer would do with his no holding back personality.  I heard the pumpkin carving kits were safe for kids and for the most part kids could manage carving their own pumpkin.  With that in mind I decided to buy three kits with visions in my head of all of our kids successfully carving their own pumpkins and making these beyond description designs.  Well the best laid out plans and visions in ones head don't always come to pass.

The pumpkin carving kits are neat in theory, but in practicality don't work.  Sure they are safe for kids and our kids were not cut during the process; but the blade just couldn't hold up to our hearty Texas pumpkins.  They easily bent and after a few attempts to cut through the pumpkin the blade broke.  Grant and I bandage the blade as best as we could so we could salvage our visionary pumpkin carving experience, which meant Grant and I proceeded to carve the pumpkins for Madeline and Spencer.  Luckily Anthony was able to manage himself.  Grant helped Madeline and I helped Spencer.  

This year Anthony enjoyed cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin and my no holding back Spencer did not care to touch the inside of the pumpkin.  In fact anytime his hand would come in contact with the inside of a pumpkin, Spencer would have to run inside as fast as his legs would go to wash his hands.  By the end of the night Spencer had the cleanest hands and our bathroom drain was full of pumpkin seeds.  The cutting process proved to be too tedious for Spencer so he resorted to dancing around the garage.  Since there was no music playing I am sure he was dancing to the music in his head.  I can only imagine the concerts that are played in that precious boys' head.  Madeline also found the carving process to be tedious, but she chose a different art form then dancing.  While her dad was carving his heart out with a bandage saw blade Madeline was adding to her pumpkins design.  She felt the template was not complete and her halloween ghost needed eye brows, ears, and other various parts.  Luckily for us Anthony stuck with his carving and finish designing and carving his Jedi.  After sometime we finally finish and though Spencer gave up dancing and went inside to do who knows what, Madeline stuck out to the very end with her Daddy and her beloved pumpkin.

So the lesson learn this year was that pumpkin carving is wonderful and fun in theory, but painting a pumpkin brings the same amount of joy to children and less headache to parents.  So next year we will paint our designs and save us, the parents, the work of carving.

Runathon

I am a bit behind on documenting our families happenings.  The kids had their fundraiser at the school in October.  Instead of the typical catalog sales full of stuff that no one really needs or can afford, they do a run-a-thon.  The kids run for thirty minutes and either get flat donations from family or friends or they get so much money per lap they run.  The kids enjoy it and I like not having to feel like I need to sell/buy something from a catalog.  In the past when Madeline attended school, I would go and be her legs so she could participate in the run-a-thon (they call it Longhorn Stampede).  Well with Madeline being homeschool I didn't have to and let me tell you it was GREAT!!  It was so nice to be on the other side of the line cheering Spencer along as he tried to navigate running around in the grass.  Spencer did pretty good and with some encouraging he was able to keep going for the thirty minutes.  Afterwards they take pictures as a class and then they get in position to cheer on the next set of kids which in this case was the third graders.

Anthony wasn't able to participate this year as he was home sick, I don't think he was too upset.  Madeline and I had fun cheering for Spencer and I enjoyed not having my legs and whole body remind me that I am terribly out of shape and cannot handle running around a track that is on an empty field with lots of divets and thick grass.

Fall Campout

Every year we go camping in October for Grant's birthday.  Every year we like to try out a different camp ground.  For a few weeks leading up to our campout, Spencer would ask me everyday if it was time.  Finally when the day arrived he was so excited that he had to share the good news with his teacher.  I am so glad our kids love going camping, it sure makes the experience easier.  This time we went to Cleburne State Park.  We picked it because of the close proximity to our house.  With the kids in school it is hard to go anywhere far.  When we arrived we were shocked to see how small the camp spots were.  It was pretty tricky to get our big tent sent up in our spot, but we managed.  Because the campsite was so small the water to our camp site was inside the porch area to our tent.  We had to keep a close watch on Spencer as he could easily flood our campsite with his love of water.  After we set up camp we went and explored the playground, during our exploration we discovered two black cats that were obviously use to people and not scared one bit to walk into a camp site meowing for food.  We had to leave camp to get ice (there is always something we forget) and while we were out, we decided to rough it by getting some hamburgers to make dinner a little easier.  We brought our DVD player to watch a movie, I know we are sure rough campers.  Our kids are not really into the whole sit by the firer and talk, so instead we gather in the tent cuddle up in our sleeping bags and watch a movie with lots of junk food.  We crashed around 10:00 only to woken up by flashing red lights and lots of vehicles.  We later found out that one of the campers next to us got bitten by insect and had an allergic reaction.  After breakfast the next day we enjoyed a good hike to several scenic overlooks.  The scenic views were pretty, but for someone who is scared of heights the view was great from a distance. I might be scared of heights, but my kids aren't; which makes mom's heart race.  I start to play these silly what if scenarios in my head and then I start to visualize my kids tripping and falling down the cliff.  It is just best that I don't look, sure glad their Dad doesn't have that problem.  Spencer did good for most of the hike, but on our way back he sure let us know how tired he was and how much he wanted to go home.  After our hike we checked out and on our way home we all enjoyed a yummy treat from Dairy Queen.  It was another successful camping experience!

Grant had a very nice birthday, with lots of treats along the way.  Madeline and I took him out for lunch, the kids had fun wrapping his presents, decorating the kitchen, and making a super yummy cake.  Grant asked for a Dark Chocolate Cake and that is what we delivered.  It was a Dark Chocolate cake mix, with Dark Chocolate chunks mixed in.  The frosting was dark chocolate sprinkled with dark chocolate m&m's.  It was rich and Grant was the only one able to eat his whole piece, after one bite the kids and I were out.  It was definitely a rich cake.  A few days before Grant's birthday I took the kids to the store to let them pick out what they wanted to give their Daddy.  Madeline wanted to get him some mechanical pencils for work, Anthony chose jammie pants, and Spencer thought his dad would love every Angry Bird toy they had.  Spencer felt that since he liked Angry Birds, then everyone liked Angry Birds.  I had to keep steering Spencer away from the angry birds with my suggestions of other gifts that Daddy might like.  I won the battle with the angry birds, but finally gave in with Perry the Platypus (Spencer's second great love).  Grant loved all of his gifts and really enjoyed his Perry the Platypus shirt, though I think Spencer was even more excited then his Daddy.  We are sure lucky and blessed to have Grant as a Daddy and Husband.

Back To School

2012-2013 School Year

Anthony:  Fifth Grade.  Mrs. Breunig, same teacher he had in 3rd Grade.

Spencer:  Kindergarten.  Mrs. Briggs, same teacher Anthony had in Kindergarten.

I thought it would be nice while the boys were at school to decorate their room and to leave them a nice note.  The boys loved the decorations and insisted they stay up until the last piece of streamer fell off.  Madeline and I also made some cookies for us all to enjoy while we heard about the exciting things that happened on the first day.  I like being able to do things to let them know they are special and that they are loved at home.

Madeline started school a week after the boys did.  I wanted to do a surprise for her too, but knew that decorating her room was out.  Grant and I decided that he could bring home a treat for Madeline when he came home from work.  Madeline loves Lemonade and pink, so we decided a small bottle of Lemonade tied to a pink balloon would be the perfect Back to School treat!

Back To School Feast

I know Halloween is right around the corner and I am just now getting to Back to School fun, but sometimes life happens.

We have a tradition in our family where we have a Back to School feast Sunday night before school starts.  We decorate our kitchen, make a (semi) fancy dinner, and introduce our theme for the year.  The kids love it and they love the special attention that they receive.  This year we combined another tradition we have and that is using the current General Conference talks for our FHE lessons.  This time we did Elder Perry's talk about the power of Deliverance.  We focused our lesson on the part of where Abraham and the People of King Benjamin had the doors of their tents facing.  From Elder Perry's talk we learned that their doors faced the temple.  We applied this to us that if we have our doors (mind, eyes, and actions) facing towards the temple then we will be able to resist any temptation that might come our way.  Furthermore, we will have the spirit as well as the influence of the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us.  To help illustrate this we made tents (King Benjamin) style and we had the door of the tent facing our Temple picture hanging on the wall.  It was neat to be able to bear testimony to our kids of the importance of the Temple, the blessings that come from the Temple, and joy that comes when we keep our eye on the Temple.  To help them visualize this goal, I displayed pictures of the kids I took of them in front of the Kansas City Temple.  On the picture I printed the words I am going inside someday.  

After our feast and after our Back to School message/FHE it was time for Father's Blessings.  I love this about our tradition.  The mood is already set, the spirit is already felt which leads nicely into their blessings.  After the blessings were given it was time to get ready for bed to rest up for the new school year.

I love that our kids look forward to this every year.  I like that they ask what the message is going to be.  I like that Grant and I are striving to make Back to School not only a fun and exciting experience, but a spiritual one as well.  I know the kids are faced with temptations and decisions to make, and I like to think that we are fortifying them to face the battles that our out there.  I cherish the spiritual moments we have in our home and the testimony building experiences we experience as a family.  I know these moments are building blocks to their own testimony and to their own spiritual foundation.  I love to be able to share with my children those things that I hold true and the things that are of most worth to me.  I am grateful for the blessings of the Temple and for my Eternal Family.  To know the blessings, the joy, and the happiness that we experience here on earth will only continue with us in the next life and the moments that we experience here will only add to what we will experience in Heaven.  I am grateful that the Temple is a bridge between here and our Heavenly Father.  The Temple has been a huge blessing in my life and I hope our children will not only see the blessing but feel the blessings of the Temple in their own life.

Glow in the Dark Fun

One of the last things we did from our Summertime board was Glow in the Dark night.  I spent some time gathering glow in the dark ideas in preparation for our night of fun.  The kids really enjoyed building pyramids from plastic cups, adding glow in the dark bracelets to them and sprinkling their Lego figures throughout their pyramids.  Once the lights were off, an epic, glow in the dark Nerf gun battle ensue.  Once our pyramids and Lego figures were knocked over, the lights came back on and we again built imaginative pyramid creations and started the battle over again.  Spencer had more fun building the pyramids, he did get frustrated over the fact that his legs or arms would bump up against his pyramid and knock it over.  He just couldn't understand why his pyramids kept knocking over and he having to keep building.  Once we did a few rounds of glow in the dark Nerf gun fun, we gathered up our rings for glow in the dark ring toss.  This was fun for everyone, and kept our attention as we tried to get our rings around our glow stick pole-pretty tricky in the dark.  To end our glow in the dark fun, we had glow in the dark sprite, which is easy to make.  The kids really liked the fact that their drink lit up in the dark.  Our glow in the dark fun was a popular hit in our family, that we are planning our next fun.  This time we want to do glow in the dark bowling, Frisbee, balloon toss, and we will probably have fun with the Nerf bullets.  I am grateful that Target has the glow sticks in the dollar section, and with it being Halloween it is a prefect time to stock up.

Rangers

September is about over and I am still blogging about our summer vacation.  I haven't even touched back to school pictures, but there is a good reason.  The Cooper Family is embarking on a new adventure of homeschooling.  After much prayer we received the answer that it would be best to homeschool Madeline.  Homeschooling is going good so far, but it sure takes a huge chunk of time.  Juggling homeschooling and other responsibilities that come with running a household and family have been the biggest challenge.  However, I know without a shadow of doubt this is where Madeline is suppose to be and because of that knowledge we press on.  Grant has been a huge support and often times staying up late with me helping me plan and put together Madeline's lesson plans.  Madeline is a very visual learner and worksheets do not agree with her, so there is a lot of creativity and hands on learning going on.  This creativity and hands on learning takes a lot of time to make and put together.  Often times when I want to give in, I will get a text from Grant that says I am cheering for you; and because of that I can keep going.  I am sure things will get easier and we will get in a groove as the year progresses.  So it may be Christmas by the time I get back to school pictures up, but I will one day get caught up with my blog and my never ending laundry and ironing pile.

Okay I digress long enough, back to summer vacation!  The last week of our summer vacation we decided to a first for our family and attend a Rangers game.  We figured since the Rangers are doing good this year that the game should be interesting and a long with lots of popcorn and cotton candy our children should be able to last.  When I added Rangers game to our bucket list the kids were excited, except for Spencer but he takes awhile to warm up to things.  Because the Rangers are doing so well, so are their ticket sales; and because ticket sales are going up so our ticket prices.  However with lots of patience we were able to find some tickets that didn't cost us a mortgage payment.  The game was exciting and it seemed that every time a Ranger came up to bat they would make a home run.  Though making home runs is the object of the game, we learned for our family it wasn't such a good thing.  For every home run they would shoot off fireworks and fireworks and Madeline do not mix.  Madeline was starting to get pretty miserable and Grant and I were learning when to spot the danger.  However after the scored reached 10 Madeline was becoming accustomed to the noise and as long as we warned her and covered her ear she did fine.  So in the end the score was Rangers 12 and the Baltimore Orioles 2.  I figured it was a nice gesture of the Rangers to give the other team 2 points.  It was definitely an exciting game and a sigh of relief.  There is nothing like going to a score less, action less baseball game with a bunch of kids and when one of those kids is your darling little Spencer.  They have already requested going to a game next year.

Ice Cream Week

Last summer we were experiencing death defying temperatures.  With highs way in the triple digits and the heat index even worse there wasn't much to do to entertain the kids.  Out of desperation I came up with ice cream week.  Ice cream and hot temperatures go really well together.  The idea was to visit a different ice cream place each night for a week.  The kids loved it!  More importantly the thought of going to get ice cream kept them entertained.  Chalk one point for a successful week.  Now fast forward to another year.  It is summer, it is hot but unlike last year it wasn't as hot.  Yes we were in the triple digits, but 102 is a lot better than 110.  I didn't think anything about ice cream week.  However, the kids did and were eager to do it again this year.  What came out of desperation turned into a summer time tradition.  With all of our summer time fun we didn't get around to our new tradition until the last week of summer; but we did squeeze it in.  I think ice cream week is the most exciting week for our kiddos.  Who can beat sugar on a hot day.  This year we were able to find a new ice cream place and they did not disappoint.  I have heard about Rita's around in blog land and I looked them up and saw that there was a place in our neighborhood.  Rita's is total YUM.  They are mainly Italian Ice and custard.  When you mix the two, you have a divine treat.  Don't let the size of cups fool you, in this case less is more.  Because of the rich flavors it doesn't take long to fill up.  I made the mistake of getting a large size and it took every ounce that I had in me to finish.  I learned and next time I stuck to the kid sizes.  Now Rita's has turned into a favorite date night treat for Grant and I.  I guess I better hit the gym.

Main Event

Another day during our week long stay cation we decided to go to Main Event.  Our original plans were to go to the Bluebell Ice Cream plant to take a tour, but the tour time slots were full.  We didn't want to risk driving three hours to take a chance on the standby list.  After searching other places to go and see we came up empty.  There were lots of places to see, but cost was an issue as well as Madeline and the heat.  One of the activities we had on our Summer Fun Board was bowling.  I knew Main Event had bowling as well as other fun activities and the best part it is smoke free.  We decided to also to a round of glow in the dark golf.  The kids did well at bowling and they all got a few strikes.  Spencer still doesn't understand why he can't bowl again when he gets a strike.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the beauty of a strike but me; but I made up for it by getting a couple of hole-in-one when we played golf.  Spencer seemed to enjoy more the black light effect on his shirt then actually playing golf.  It is always entertaining watching Spencer play golf.  After our golfing and bowling experience we headed to Sprinkle Cupcakes.  Cupcake Wars is a show I like to watch on the food network (I watch it online) and one of the judges is the owner of Sprinkle Cupcakes.  I learned that there was a store in Dallas and since we were not too far I thought it would be fun to try out these famous Cupcakes.  It was a fun treat, but it wasn't anything over the moon special.  Maybe if we are over in the area again we might stop by and enjoy a cupcake.  In the end it was a very full day and the kids were excited to be home.

Going to the Beach

Down in Grandbury which is a couple of hours south of us is a little man made beach surrounding Lake Grandbury.  The city sectioned off a portion of the lake that is safe for swimmers and away from boaters.  They they imported (or that is what the web site says) sand from the Gulf to make a beach area.  During our week long stay cation I thought it would be fun to go to the beach.  Since we got there early it wasn't crowded which made swimming around and building sand forts a lot easier.  The kids enjoyed it.  We only stayed for a couple of hours, by then it was lunch time and the crowds of people who looked like they were ready to camp were starting to come.  On the way home we decided to go to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  I am sure we will go again.

Great Wolf Lodge

To kick off our week long stay cation we went to Great Wolf Lodge.  It is basically a hotel (fancy) with a huge indoor water park.  We took advantage of the discount that we get from Grant's work and decided to splurge.  Since we weren't going to go anywhere this year, we decided we could justify spending a few extra bucks on a big fancy hotel.  The kids liked the room because it had a little built in cabin for the kids to sleep in.  The cabin had a bunk bed and then a toddler bed.  Perfect for our kids.  The kids were super excited about having their own TV in the cabin.  My kids love it when we stay at hotels.  We don't have cable and so they enjoy watching cartoons on Disney in the morning.  I think they are pretty silly.  The water park was fun and the slides were better then our local water park.  It was a little disappointing that there wasn't much for Madeline to do.  They did have a little kid area but the slides were too fast for her.  Because of her height she was restricted in what she could do.  She did enjoy the outside pools where a good chunk of it was 2 feet deep.  It was the perfect height for Madeline to pretend that she was an Olympic swimmer and do her laps-Madeline style.  After we got our fill from swimming we came back to our room and enjoyed our picnic style dinner with lots of junk food for dessert.  Whenever we go away, Grant likes to stock up on lots of junk food.  After our sugar rush we decided to have our own Gymnastic Olympics in our hotel room.  I feel really bad about those who were below us.  The kids enjoyed running from one end of the room to the other doing their Gymnastic moves.  It was a great way to get whatever energy was left inside out.  By the time Cooper Gymnastics was over, the kids were more than willing to go to bed.  The next morning after breakfast we headed down to the water park and pool area to play before heading home.  When you check out of the hotel you can still use the water park until it closes that day.  So for the price of one night stay at the hotel you can use the water park for two days.  They even allow you to check in early and play at the water park while you wait for your room to be ready.

Summer Fun Part Two

Our Summer break has been a pure bliss I am not looking forward to school starting.  The low key days have been heaven sent.  Our Summer bucket list is almost complete.  We didn't go anywhere this year, but we have been busy doing lots of fun activities at home and around the area.  I have loved spending time with the kids and will miss the time that I have with them.

Left to Right:  Enjoying 1/2 price shakes at Sonic.  Playing tic tac toe Frisbee in the backyard.  Miniature Golf.  Making Ice Cream in a bag.  Homemade baked doughnuts.  Sandpaper t-shirt art.

Wiggles

Anthony was a huge Wiggles fan, he knew all the songs and the dance moves.  Spencer is following in his brothers' foot steps.  The Wiggles are his favorite and he loves to sing the songs and dance along.  When Anthony was little the Wiggles were a popular group, but they have faded out.  I believe this is their last tour and we were lucky enough that they were coming to Texas.  Grant went along to his third Wiggle concert (he is such a good dad).  Spencer kept thinking he was going to watch the Wiggles on a big screen and he was shocked to see The Wiggles are real people.  It took a bit for him to take it all in and for the shock to wore off; but once that happened he danced along.  Grant said he had a great time, but he didn't want to let you know that he was enjoying himself.  He could only hide it for so long before he was telling us all about his fun experience.  Now that Spencer is our last child, we are officially finished with Wiggle concerts.  Even though we are finished with Wiggle concerts we are still serenaded at home to Wiggle movies and a little five year strumming his guitar as he sings a long.

Tie Dye

My kids love to do Tie Dye, but it is a little messy and hard to do with young kids, especially Spencer.  Keeping the dye from staining furniture, walls, and floors is just a nerve racking experience for this mom.  I was happy to see that there was another safer way to tie dye.  All you need sharpie markers and alcohol.  The kids had a lot of fun and Spencer totally got into it and he is not an art and crafty person.  It was fun to see the creativity come out in each of the kids and to see three uniquely different shirts.  I think we can safely tie dye in this family and not have to worry about walls, furniture, and floors getting dyed in the process.