Saints Servants & Scholars

huh?

2011-11-14T13:09:00.001-07:00

I'm not exactlly sure what to say. Kate likes to dress up and some times she is more "creative" than other times. We happened to capture a moment here.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T13:04:00.003-07:00

It was one of those momentous days that happen in our life and often pass by unnoticed. Never for one hundred years would the date be 11/11/11- I know I won't be around to see it again.

So how do we celebrate something so random and yet so unique?

We decided to have an 11 dinner. Stay with me here :)

We went to the store in search of 11 items that could (with some imagination) be used to make an 11.

You wouldn't believe how many "options" there are.

What did we end up with?

1. A rectangular homemade pizza strategically sliced into an 11

2. Ditto on the cheese bread

3. Mozzarella sticks

4. Little Smokies

5. Asparagus

6. Stick Pretzels

7. Carrot Sticks

8. Shoe String French Fries

9. Braided snack sticks

10. Rigatoni Pasta

11. Pirouette (a straw like cookie with frosting filling)

Of course we ate with chopsticks and had 2 straws in our cups.

Most of the family took all 11 11s, but some chickened out and passed on a couple (especially the asparagus). But whether we ate all 11 of the 11s a good time was had by all- after all this is a once in a lifetime event :)

Hero Reports

2011-11-10T12:49:00.003-07:00

This year Kate and Dallin participated in our homeschool co-op and both of them put together a presentation on their favorite hero for one of their classes.

Kate chose to share information about Annie Oakley. She had the most fun finding interesting stickers to decorate her visual aid, but it was a good introduction to being in front of people and putting her ideas into an orderly presentation.

Dallin chose to research and present about Neil Armstrong. Dallin has always been fascinated by space so that was a natural choice for him. He's getting pretty good at putting together a report and did a great job.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T12:42:00.002-06:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't love this holiday. Typically I am okay with one Halloweenish event, but some how we end up with a co-op activity, a ward trunk or treat, a couple of friend parties, and then of course trick or treating. In the past I've managed to combine or eliminate some of these events and it's good. This year my kids were not having any of it. They insisted on going trick or treating, and because we haven't really trick or treated for years- and maybe never if your definition of trick or treating is more than just every kid choosing one house to visit :). This year I let them go up the street and back down. They all agreed it wasn't all that great and I think we agreed that once in a lifetime is about all they need and now we will find another option each year.

That doesn't mean we won't dress up and participate in a Halloween party or two, but the less candy we bring into our home the better. So here they are the photos to prove that I actually let the kids go trick or treating.

Clavinova Festival

2011-10-29T12:37:00.002-06:00

The kids had a chance to participate in a fun piano festival this year. Their teacher had a loaner Clavinova piano that she let the kids use. They learned how to program multiple tracks and sound effects into a song they played and then dressed up and performed for a festival in Dallas.

Dallin played the Waltz of the Vampires.

Lauren played the Toy Makers Dance.

Smarty Pants

2011-10-21T12:28:00.001-06:00

Lauren's Halloween costume this year- Get it? Get it?

The Iowa State Fair 2011

2011-10-05T12:22:00.001-06:00

Lauren turn 12

2011-10-01T12:13:00.001-06:00

"Blowing" Up at the Science Fair

2011-09-29T12:11:00.000-06:00

Giant Bubbles are Dallin's new interest. It all started when Grandma and Grandpa Clarke gave him a gift card to Home Depot for his birthday. He debated what to do with the gift and remembered seeing someone at Central Park making giant bubbles. He did a little research on the Internet and figured out how to build giant bubble wands and a super strong bubble solution.

So when it came time to come up with a project for the science fair Dallin decided to experiment with techniques to make bigger and better bubbles. First we controlled for wind, sun and such by setting up a bubble station in the garage and using a fan set on low to create enough of a breeze to make bubbles. He laid out a tape measure to assess the length of the bubbles. The experiment involved testing different types of string to see which would make the longest bubbles.

After all his efforts his record was about 15 ft which was the length of the entire garage where the wind/sun became a limiting factor. He presented the results of his project at the homeschool science fair and even demonstrated the most successful string.

Dallin did a great job and all of the kids LOVED his giant bubbles.

New Paths to Explore

2011-09-26T11:15:00.001-06:00

Ben decided he wants to go where few Clarke's have gone before- public school. After much fretting and searching we decided to enroll him at a local charter school where some of our friends attend and a member of our ward teaches.

I was so worried. Why is it that these "hard" times are so much harder on mom's?
Well he survived, and so did I. In fact he's done very well this year and we are so proud of him!

3 Little Monkeys

2011-09-25T11:12:00.001-06:00

Dallin's Art

2011-09-20T10:57:00.001-06:00

Dallin is good at all kinds of art, even etch a sketch. It's one of those unusual art forms rarely expressed.

He's been working on his Webelos Art Activity Badge and this is his "sculpture."

Daddy Daughter sock hop

2011-09-10T10:41:00.002-06:00

It's Lauren's last year in Activity Days, and so it is her last year to attend the Stake Daddy Daughter Dance. This year it was a sock hop theme. I actually got crafty enough to sew her a poodle skirt- wonders never cease.
The invitations and place mats were made from old records- I had to explain to the girls what records were and how they worked. I guess that means they truly are "antiques" now, sad that I remember using records as little girl- I guess that puts me in the antique category too.
Everything was decorated like a 50's diner and they had hamburgers for dinner. The girls made cute picture frames and after dinner they had a bubble gum blowing contest and hula hooping contest. Each person brought home a glass mug with the year and sock hop engraved, as well as a commemorative picture of the girl and her father for their frames.

The Great Chew-dini

2011-05-25T21:14:00.030-06:00

Announcing the new, incredible, astounding Chewdini.

Originally Ben named him Chewbaca, Chewy for short, but after several successful escapes he was renamed Chewdini after the great escape artist Houdini.

Chewy is a cute teddy bear hamster and is much more playful and fun than our other hamster. He doesn't bite, unless you are the nurse vet and have to poke, pull, and squeeze him.

Benny can't stop loving him. He has the cage open and is constantly petting and cuddling him.

What Boys Do

2011-05-23T21:09:00.000-06:00

Most of the time I really don't want to know what the boys do.....
Oh sure I hear them up there when dad's tucking them in. How can you not hear them? I hear the war cries and bed jumping and wall crashing. But I've long since accepted that this is a part of being a boy and I will relinquish my opinion. Frankly I'm just glad it's Rusty in there being the pillow Ninja, not me.

Every night the boys get a look and ask dad if they are going to have a pillow fight or not. It doesn't happen every night, but it does happen a couple of times a week. I see the joy in their faces when I tuck their sweaty little bodies in afterwards and hear their approval in the simple words, "I Love Dad." How is that he beats them senseless and they love him all the more :) It must be a boy thing.

Well this is a rare glimpse into the madness. Rusty took the camera to Father's and Son's campout and when I was loading the pictures I came across these beauties.

I think it is obvious that any sense of humor my boys exhibit comes from their father- it's a good thing he's around or we would all be oppressively sober.

It's a strange phenomena that happens when I see my husband pillow fighting with my boys or dancing with my girls. I love him more than I can imagine. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband who loves me and my children. Who keeps life fun. Who guides us and inspires us. Who strengthens and lifts us. I can't imagine life without him!!

Look at the joy on Ben's face- it says it all!

The sound of music

2011-05-22T21:52:00.001-06:00

This last year we have been very blessed to have an amazing piano teacher for Lauren and Dallin. I've always wanted to play the piano and never have, so I was thrilled for them to have this opportunity. They've both learned so much and are really doing well in developing and sharing their talents.

At the culmination of the year their teacher held a recital and award ceremony to recognize all the hard work and effort of the students. Lauren and Dallin received the second to highest trophies for their work and participation. They received points for practicing, performing, taking the state theory test, memorizing 10 songs and playing them for a judge at Guild Auditions, and participating in an Ensemble group (which will perform in June.)

Ms. Davis takes piano very seriously and pushes them hard. She is kind, but not the really "lovey" type. She tells them what to do and expects them to do it- she doesn't mince words. If they aren't doing something correctly she tells them. They've had to get used to her style, but it's been good for them.
It has been a challenge for them to get out of their comfort zones and do these activities- there have been plenty of tears of frustration and fear, but I'm proud of them for sticking with it. I just can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear them plunking away the same old tunes on the piano over and over. I know I shouldn't live vicariously through my children, but since they begged and begged to take lessons and never complain about practicing I figure it must be a win-win. Right?

They Say It's Your Birthday- Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na

2011-05-21T21:54:00.029-06:00

The year has turned! Just as tax day is the official end of the year for many business, in our home we have an alternative year cycle. Dallin's birthday marks the change from an even year to an odd year or vice-versa. This year he turned 10, which means Lauren will turn 12 then Kate will turn 6 and Ben will turn 8. So we began the even year cycle.

The kids wanted to do gifts first thing in the morning so before we even had breakfast we began the exchange. First up the "pets" gave Dallin some shorts, diving sticks, and Reeses.

Kate gave Dallin a watch

Ben, Lauren, Mom and Dad all gave Dallin some spy gadgets.

Lauren, always one to put in some creative energy, made Dallin a really cute pop up dragon card with ribbon fire. Where did I get such a clever daughter?

So after gifts and Toaster Strudel for breakfast we made use of some free tickets to the Scarborough Renaissance Fair for a great day exploring, playing and celebrating.

Dallin was selected to participate in a Celtic battle demonstration where he was "tagged" after being killed by Boomer's superior swordsmanship

We checked out several fun shows- falconry, glass blowing, carillon bells, a living chess match, and fire whips to name a few.

Then each of the children decided to try out the "stocks" and, of course, they insisted on being photographed.

After all that excitement we grabbed Totino's Pizza for dinner and then partook of an interesting cake.

You'll notice I said "interesting" not delicious or enjoyable. It was a bust. Dallin wanted a whip cream frosting and the recipe I found wasn't very good- in spite of high reviews on All Recipes.com. Oh well, Dallin was so sweet and suffered through it for awhile until finally I pushed him and he admitted he "didn't prefer it." Which at our house is the code word for I don't like it. :( He just didn't want to make me feel bad.

What a good guy. Dallin is such a blessing to our family. He brings balance to the force (ie Benny and Kate).

Climbing the walls and other past times

2011-04-26T14:10:00.000-06:00

We are all thrilled that Cheryl, Hallie, and Daniel were able to come and visit for the week. The kids have been making plans for months and one of the top things on the list was to go to Amazing Jakes, an all you can eat and play pizza place in Dallas. Rusty took the day off so we were all able to hang out for the entire day.

Everyone took a turn climbing "the wall," with varying degrees of difficulty and success

We raced in the go-karts

Played bumper cars

Rode on the rides

Played video games, air hokey, and miniature golf

And (of course) played Laser Tag. Benny was in his element. It was all we could do to drag him away from the Laser Tag Arena. You can see it in his eyes- he likes to shoot things!

We had such a great time, and it was so much fun having our cousins there to play with. The kids are already planning for another trip to Amazing Jakes as soon as possible.

The "mini" tornado

2011-04-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

April 11th at 2AM we were awakened by a loud thunder clap and an immediate power outage followed by winds that shook the house. I remembered people saying that a tornado sounds like a train or big truck coming and that's what I heard so we rushed upstairs to grab the kids. I'm not really savvy at tornados. We have a little space under the stairs with our 72 hour kits where I plan to go if/when we ever have a tornado, but frankly it is small, stuffy and not that fun, so I don't really want to cram us all in and sit for hours on end.

So we laid our sleeping bags out in the living room around our little battery powered lantern and waited to see if we would hear the tornado sirens. We didn't have power and so we really weren't sure what was going on. It was definitely windy and it was raining hard, so we waited. After awhile we all tried to go back to sleep until we had power and or heard the sirens. Since that day I've seen the terrible destruction of tornadoes through the mid-west and I'm questioning my philosophy. I don't think the tornado sirens are all that reliable and frankly with the wind and rain we may not hear them. By the time we realize we are having a real tornado it may be too late to get in the closet. I guess I need to look at making the closet more fun and less stuffy so we can wait it out safely.

Then next morning the kids were astounded to see that our neighborhood looked a bit like a war zone (well a light artillery war zone- maybe). Many of the fences were knocked down and some trees were uprooted. The yards and road were covered in shingles and everyone's roofs looked pretty beat up. Lawn chairs and outside "stuff" were blown all over- as well as some swing sets and trampolines.

The kids wanted to "explore" the town and see how others fared. It was pretty amazing. Most of the damage came from trees, but all of the stores near us had damage to their signs and all of the freeway signs had been knocked down. Later when we visited our favorite park it was sad to see some of the GIANT trees that had been uprooted. We began to appreciate even more our safety and the relatively little damage that was done to our home.

Since then I've become a bit storm obsessed. Anytime the skies look questionable I'm on weather. com checking out the local forecast. Although I love having the master bedroom downstairs and all the kids upstairs for functional reasons, I'm worried about being so far from them when it comes to fires or other natural disasters.

Well all of the official reports say that we didn't "really" have a tornado, just a good storm with "straight line winds" around 80 mph. That was good enough for me. I think I'll pass on anything more severe.

The Great Outdoors

2011-04-08T21:23:00.000-06:00

I'd like to say that we are a camping family. I've always wanted to be an "outdoorsy" type family that fishes and camps and hikes and does all that rustic survival stuff, but reality is we are lucky to camp once a year. Camping is a big project. It requires a lot of planning, packing, setting up, taking down, loading up, unpacking, and cleaning up. It is not all that relaxing. I know people with trailers that are all loaded with their stuff and they just jump in and go. They have beds and stoves and shower and toilets and electricity and even airconditioning. If we were those people I might become more of a camper. But we aren't so I'm at least trying to maintain my once a year quota.

This year we figured if we were going to all the work we better camp for two nights. I stopped in at the campground on our way home from co-op with the tent. Our plan was to get the tent all set up and head home and get the car all packed and be ready to go so when Rusty got home from work we could just zip out and have a fun filled evening around the campfire.

When we made our reservation we were told that we couldn't reserve a specific site it was just first come first served so I got there as soon as we could, 2pm. As I checked in I asked if we could just choose a site and let them know where we were on our way out. She said sure so we were off and running. We went to the perfect sites we had picked on our screening trip the week before and it was available so the kids and I unloaded the van set up the tent and were heading home to finish packing by 3:30. Not bad :)

Unfortunately on the way out when I informed her of our site I was told that site was reserved- What?? Well evidently you CAN reserve sites if you have a group- so we had to take down our tent move to an entirely different section of the campground and re-set everything up. After several back and forths to confirm we had a spot that would work we got it all un-packed and headed home. We got home around 5:30. Not so good. By the time we packed, loaded the car, bought a few last minute items, etc it was very late and dark so we stopped at Arbys for dinner. We realized at the campground that our air mattress pump was broken and so was our latern so we quickly laid out sleeping bags and just settled down for a night in the woods with a plan to run to Wal-Mart tomorrow to remedy the situation. I was exhausted. Luckily Rusty is a good sport and sang us all to sleep, until Kate requested he let his ipod sing us to sleep instead.

We got up early the next morning and the weather was perfect. We decided to go on an early morning hike to the duck pond.

It was just the right type of hike for us. Short, sweet and interesting. Ben examined all of the bugs, guppies, tadpoles and ant hills along the way. Lauren kept us moving at a brisk pace (anxious to be done). Kate and Dallin were busy using the binoculars.

On the way back to our campsite we decided to scope out an area that was appropriate for Rusty to try out his new, homemade, water bottle rocket. We were all very anxious to test it out so we decided to go ahead and give it a trial run, or two, or three. It was awesome! The kids loved shooting it off and we took some fun videos of the momentous occassion. Unfortunately after about three launches the wind carried the bottle out to sea... so we added that to our list of things to pick up at Wal-Mart.

The kids couldn't wait to get in the water so we let the brave ones get in and swim for a bit before heading back to camp for lunch. It was still a little too early and overcast for me to get in, (and thus we see WHY my family is not the outdoorsy/adventurous sort).

We were very lucky to have friends join us on this camping adventure, so by the afternoon we had a few buddies and some sunshine and everyone hit the lake.

I borrowed some pictures from our friends blog - thanks Cassandra :)

That night we all ate dinner together, roasted marshmallows and played games-- I still can't believe with around 20 kids running around no one was injured or fighting.

With such a successful camping trip I'm considering setting a new record and camping again---hmmm.... maybe we shouldn't tempt fate :)

A "Knight" to remember- and the dragon's not bad either

2011-04-06T18:54:00.005-06:00

This week was the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet and they went with a Medieval theme. For the last couple of weeks the boys made shields and swords and candle sticks in preparation. Because of our "reputation" from past parties and events, we were asked to help with some of the activities.

Lauren was asked to make a dragon pinata for the boys to slay and we resurrected our black knight from co-op for the jousting activity.

Of course Katie could not pass up this golden opportunity to get dressed up and practice her princess manners.

Because of random circumstances this was the first award opportunity for the troop in several months so Dallin had an overload of awards he had earned- Besides his Bear and a couple of arrow points he also had several belt loops and pins. He loves cub scouts!

We are proud of him and all his hard work- Good Job Dallin!!

Spring Flowers!

2011-04-01T10:14:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago we went to the Dallas Arboretum, but last spring we missed out. Luckily this year we had a friend invite us on a field trip and we were able to enjoy all of the beautiful spring flowers- and the good company of friends of course :)

It was such a beautiful day I don't know why I didn't take more pictures. I think the kids were pretty squirrelly and didn't feel like "posing" and I didn't feel like forcing them to pose. I need to have Rusty around or we don't get all the great pictures.

I swiped this one from a friend :) Luckily they were in a picture mood.

The Boys

This year instead of playhouses they had fairytale castles for the kids- Katie was thrilled, but I thought the playhouses were better.

The Girls

Of course no trip to the Arboretum is complete without rolling down the HUGE hill....

...or playing in the frog fountains.

It is so fun to see all my little munchkins growing up and developing into little people. Watching them learn and grow is what makes motherhood so fulfilling. I'm grateful to have good friends and family that help me in this monumental task.

Benny the Explorer

2011-03-22T10:15:00.001-06:00

The weather has been so nice lately that we've been taking walks every evening. Walking is therapeutic for me and I like to "move." Benjamin however believes that life is a journey and you better stop to smell the flowers, look at the bugs, watch the birds and pick up anything that looks slightly interesting.

As we were walking through field he found a couple of dirty pieces of broken pottery and persuaded everyone to help him search for more.

We did a unit on Archaeology awhile ago and he figured he had found something of value. We humored him, found several pieces and brought them home for him to "examine."

He cleaned them and pieced them together. In the end we found he had most of an "ancient relic."

Through his research he determined all sorts of clues as to where this relic was from and it's use.

The next day the boys went in search of the missing piece and we learned a valuable archaeological lesson...

Don't glue the pieces together until you have them all. Because of the angle of the break it was impossible to fit the last piece in without re-breaking the bowl.

He was a little disappointed, but has since decided that being an explorer/archaeologist is his calling in life. The bowl is safely stowed under his bed as his first big discovery and will remain there until the next time we "purge" the Benny treasury. :)

Beauty or the Beast?

2011-03-19T18:43:00.000-06:00

Katie got a set of kiddie makeup for Christmas this year and one of her favorite past-times is doing my makeup and hair. Most days her masterpieces go unrecognized and unappreciated, however tonight when she gave me a makeover Rusty was home and insisted on "capturing the moment" for the sake of posterity.

Typically these are the pictures I delete when I go through our pictures, but for the sake of Kate's reputation as a beautician I decided I would allow her efforts to be documented.

After a couple of months of practice one day Kate said to me, "Mom I think it's time for you to start paying me for doing your hair and makeup." Hmmm.... I think Rusty might pay her for the entertainment value :) He was very amused.

St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T18:46:00.012-06:00

We have made some good friends here in Waxahachie and one of the families we have enjoyed hanging out with is the Van Slykes. They have 4 boys and 1 girl. Dallin and their oldest son are in class and scouts together, and they have become quite good buddies. Their oldest son is homeschooled so they have joined us at co-op for the last couple of semesters as well.

For St. Patrick's Day this year we decided to get together and play. We made green pizza, drank green koolaid, ate green jello and enjoyed a delicious rainbow fruit salad.

The kids took turns playing video games and goofing off. They all play so well together- it's nice to find a family that we all enjoy.

Benjamin's 7th Birthday

2011-03-15T21:33:00.001-06:00

Benny the Birthday Boy!!

We don't usually have parties for birthdays, but on the kids birthday they get "say" on all meals and typically they can choose the activities of the day (within reason, of course).

I'm always amazed how easy they are to please. Ben wanted donuts for breakfast (I think it may have been because Dad happened to bring a few home that a patient had given him the day before). Then he wanted to open presents. We let him open a couple first thing, but told him he needed to save a couple for when Dad came home.

Lauren gave him a Lego Star Wars shirt. If you think it looks like he has a black eye you are right. Somehow he tripped going up the stairs a week ago and managed to hit his eye on the railing.

Kate gave him some plastic army men toys and a "punching" pen (ala Dollar Store).

After that we decided to visit the zoo. This wasn't really Ben's first choice or maybe even his second, but his birthday happened to fall on the week of Spring Break so we had a whole week of activities planned and he was willing to accept that and agreed to the zoo knowing that Pump It Up and Laser Tag were in the works.

After a long day of waiting we went to Pizza Hut for dinner - thank you Book It reading program.

And Ben opened his last couple of presents. You would think that a boy with a HUGE bucket of Legos would be satisfied, but Ben LOVES Lego Star Wars and had his heart set on more Star Wars guys. I've decided the only way to keep myself sane is to glue the little ships together so he can play with them and we don't lose any pieces or have to rebuild them. Because really digging through an enormous pile of Legos trying to find the tiny pieces is just too much.

Rather than have a cake, Ben wanted homemade cinnamon rolls for his birthday.

Ben is such a joy to have in our family! He has such a fun and loving personality. He is quick to smile, quick to laugh, and (of course) quick to tease. He is also quick to serve, quick to love, and quick to forgive. I love his curiosity and interest in everything. It brings a sense of wonder to my life as I watch him learn and discover new things. We Love Our Benjamin!

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-02T14:22:00.001-07:00

Although Dallin has been in scouts for a couple of years, this was the first chance he has had to actually make and race a Pinewood Derby car. He did an awesome job! He sketched it, cut it, designed the pattern, and painted it. He learned a lot of good skills and made a great car.

Here he is showing off the side and front of his car.

This is a close up of "Storm Chaser"

I'm not sure who made the awesome cake, but we had to capture a picture for memories sake.

And here they are all the Cub Scout racers in troop 204

We are so grateful for such awesome leaders that do so much to make Cub Scouts so fun.

The Texas Rangers

2010-10-18T14:38:00.000-06:00

Anyone that knows me realizes that I don't love sports. I'm not athletic nor do I desire to be athletic so this is actually a serious weak point in my homeschooling curriculum. In fact it was painfully obvious when Dallin started scouts that we had a HUGE gap in this area. He didn't know the rules to any of the basic games like dodge ball, kick ball, baseball, etc. Without recess, tv, or a formal PE how would he? Ooops.

So I'm on a quest to turn this around. We are "studying" PE this year. The kids are learning the rules of the main sports and some common recess games and then we will try to play/experience these games. Of course with my lack of skills and desire I assigned this class to Rusty :) That's the privilege of being the administrator. Rusty was thrilled to have the assignment and when his work offered cheap tickets to a Texas Rangers game he was off and running. So here we are enjoying a professional baseball game as if we were normal sports-crazed Texans.

Before the game Rusty taught the kids the basic rules of the game. And I planned for distractions for the little ones. We brought plenty of treats and I also brought spray bottles and fans (in case the Texas heat became unbearable).

I also packed cracker jacks. What is baseball without cracker jacks? So when we reached the 7th inning stretch and sang the cracker jack song (yes I know it is Take Me Out to the Ball Game) I passed out the cracker jacks. Cultural Awareness :)

The kids had a great time! And I felt pleased that I had endured (I mean enjoyed) a homeschool PE lesson. The only thing that would have made the evening better is if the Rangers had actually won. :) Ben was very upset that our team did so bad.

Of teeth, cavities, and zoo statues

2010-10-18T14:22:00.000-06:00

It was Rusty's day off and to "celebrate" we decided to go to the dentist :) Yippee! After 3 years without dental insurance we decided it was probably time to get everyone checked. I wish I could say that after a nice cleaning we all went home cavity free, but......

Lauren had 5 cavities-eek! Luckily the other kids didn't have any so we figured she had enough for everyone- so thoughtful. We also discovered that my "bite" was messed up and it was cracking the enamel on a few of my teeth- huh? Who knew that was even possible. Is that even possible? Unfortunately going to the dentist for me is a lot like going to a mechanic. They pull out all their fancy tools and show me pictures and explain the consequences of not "addressing" the problem and all I can do is nod knowingly and accept their expert opinion. I hate that feeling. I wish I was an expert at everything.

The kids were somewhat patient and endured the entire morning spent in the dentist office so we decided to spend the afternoon at the zoo in Dallas. We have to use our pass to justify the expense- right?

Why do my kids feel obligated to take pictures with every statue at the zoo? It must be Rusty's doing- he's the picture-taking obsessed father.

The Dallas Zoo has a fun children's area with a little stream for the kids to play in and cool off.

I love this picture of Ben- I'm not sure what little "treasure" he is examining, but this is SO his personality. He is always finding little bugs, rocks, whatever to study.

The big sister and of course the little sister- need I say more. :) I believe Kate was pretending to be an otter.

Ahh! I love those sibling pictures that capture their pure joy at being together. Kate really does worship Dallin, she thinks he is the best thing in the world- and he is so kind and patient with her.

Other than the stream the children's area also has a petting farm where you can feed the goats...

a cool fish tank...

and my favorite part of the children's area is a bird area where the kids can go in and feed and hold a variety of birds. The zoo keepers in this area are amazing. They really take time to talk to and teach the kids. Below is a picture of a Mina Bird that thinks it can find something to eat between my toes (lets hope it didn't). He kept sticking his beak in between my toes and pecking.

We checked out the new Giants of the Savannah exhibit. It was a super hot day so the kids took full advantage of the misting stations- with dad's help of course.

Yes and once again we all pose with a bunch of zoo statues :) Just can't get enough of that can we?
I'm so glad that we have the chance to go and do fun things together as a family. I hope my children always remember and appreciate this privilege.

Katie's tea party

2010-09-03T21:36:00.012-06:00

We are trying to help Kate learn and practice some important "social skills." We've had friends over for play dates on occasion, but this week we decided to step it up and have a little tea party. Of course the other kids didn't want to miss out on the fun so everyone dressed up and dined together. It was a feast worthy of a preschool princess- two types of juice (pink and purple), grilled cheese (without the crust), fruit k-bobs, mini cinnamon rolls, brownies and even some little chocolate chip cookies. All lovingly served by Benjamin on mommy's tea set. Add a couple of friends a crown and some dress up clothes and you have the makings of a wonderful afternoon.

Lauren's Latest Venture

2010-08-19T14:47:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to Lauren's latest "project." After a quick email to our ward she filled all six spots and has two on a waiting list. It's been a great way for her to channel her energies into something productive.
http://laurenslittlelearners.blogspot.com/

The new addition

2010-08-19T14:43:00.001-06:00

I'm not a big pet person (unless it is a pet rock or stuffed pet), but after much work and effort I did allow Lauren to get a parakeet a few years ago. Then Ben took it upon himself to find pets. This involved a variety of caterpillars, worms, snails, pill bugs, grasshoppers, etc. Usually I get him to set them free after a short "visit" however he did have a couple of caterpillars turn into cocoons and one into a chrysalis. Also we had a friend who found a little tree frog and gave it to him. It was amazing how quickly the "pets" became frog food :) Well Ben was a very faithful caregiver. Several times a day he would mist his pets and every couple of days he would dig up more worms for the frog. It worked for me because I had minimal responsibility and it met his need to nurture and care for something. Ben was very fond of his frog and would often sit and talk to him or "play" with him.

When we decided to go out of town Dad volunteered to take care of the pets. Ben provided instruction in the proper care of frogs and bugs and Lauren gave him the scoop on the bird. Each time we talked to Dad Ben asked about his frog and how he was doing. One of those days Rusty informed me that the frog had died. Evidently Dad forgot the all important water factor. After many tears Rusty promised Ben that when he came home he would help him get a "new" pet. Ben turned his attention to pet dreaming- bunnies, snakes, lizards, chinchillas, turtles, guinea pigs, etc (he knew not to even ask about dogs or cats as I had already banned those options). I could see a nightmare in the making.

When we got home and visited the pet store I figured I needed to intervene. Surely there is some pet somewhere that someone is done with that we could adopt. I quick search of craigslist confirmed that there where tons of cats and dogs and glory be a small robo hamster- complete with cage and all of the necessary accessories. So now we have a new pet- Robo Whiskers Clarke. He is very tiny and very quick and fairly low maintenance. Every day I let Benny take him into the bathroom so he can run around- which meets Ben's needs for "playing." Other than that he sits in his little cage and sleeps most of the day. The best part is that hamsters have a fairly short life expectancy. That sounds cruel I know, but at least we won't have a forgotten and forsaken cat or dog that no one wants to take care of - you would think I had a bad pet experience as a child (I did).

To Utah and Back

2010-08-19T14:25:00.064-06:00

We were so lucky to have a fun trip to Utah to spend time with family. Unfortunately Rusty doesn't have time off yet so I went without him. My parents have a time share in Park City so the kids decided to bring their spouses and children and join them for a fun week away. With so many of us sharing space I'm just happy we're all still speaking with each other- j/k.

It was an amazing moment on Sunday to look around the room and see kids everywhere and think in 25 years I'll be the grandma and my kids will be the moms and dads and I'll have a room full of busy little bodies that are "mine." Wow! What an important thing it is that we nourish good family roots now so that we can enjoy the fruit then. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family. I hope I can do as well as my parents :)

I think I'm really beginning to feel my mortality, but time seems to by moving so quickly I just cherish each day. While we were there my grandma's twin sister died and we found out my Aunt had a cancerous tumor growing on her brain. Life is so fragile and it takes so little to change everything. I try to remind myself often to enjoy my time and not wish it away.

I don't think we really "did" much in Park City. The kids went swimming at least once every day.

They made crafts and played games and just hung out together. The girls all made cute flip flops and then Grandma painted their toenails with flowers and jewels. The boys made catapults and had marshmallow wars.

After our time up north we stopped down to Cedar City for a quick visit with some friends. Unfortunately we didn't have much time as I was reaching the end of my vacation tolerance. I've decided I'm not a very good single mom. Our drive home involved multiple stops for puking and a really grumpy 4 year old, so I was very grateful when we finally got home to dad.

Summer Reading Carnival Celebration

2010-08-14T21:15:00.000-06:00

The library in Waxahachie is not quite like the libraries in other places. It is a very old, small, private library. It is not "connected" with other libraries in the area. They are nazi's about their books and a bit difficult about requesting, renewing, etc.
BUT they really know how to incentivize a summer reading program! My kids were reading maniacs this summer. The reward was a carnival full of games, treats, prizes and all sorts of fun. In spite of the super duper hot weather the kids had a great time.

CSI- Cub Scout Investigation

2010-06-23T18:08:00.000-06:00

A Knight's Tale

2010-06-22T21:30:00.006-06:00

I know I said we don't do birthday parties, and I really do mean it, but somehow I got roped into this one. I guess maybe I felt bad that Dallin has had much of a real party on his behalf and mostly it was due to Lauren's enthusiastic agreement to do all the "hard stuff." But here we go...

Dallin invited a few of the boys his age from our ward to celebrate his 9th birthday. When they arrived they made a coat of arms for their shields and then swords. The swords were paint sticks from home depot with foam insulation over top- super cheap in that the paint sticks are free and the foam was 1.20 for a tube long enough to make 4 swords. After everyone was "armed" we built catapults out of hangers and rubber bands and attacked the castle with marshmallow missiles. (Lauren and Dallin built a cardboard castle for a target) After successfully storming the castle the knights gathered to loot the castle and collect their booty. (Lauren made this incredible castle cake -see post on Lauren's new cake hobby for close-ups)

After cake the troops were called out to destroy the local dragon. Lauren made a dragon pinata and filled it with shiny red streamers and notes to where the dragon's treasure was hidden. The boys were HILARIOUS when doing the pinata. Of course it helped that it was "oozing" blood when they got a good whack. In the end Rusty couldn't contain himself and had to finish it off.Each of the boys got a little bag of "gold" to take home (basically any golden wrapped candy from the dollar store). I love this action shot! These are some serious warriors I wouldn't want to cross! Love It!

Vincent Hernandez, Jonathan Anderson, David Van Slyke, Benjamin Clarke, Dallin Clarke, Jackson Carbone

Overall it was a great party and everyone had a wonderful time! Much of the thanks goes to Lauren because it just wouldn't have happened otherwise. As a tribute to her I've included and before and after shot of her dragon pinata...

Ah, the carnage of battle-- the mother of the dragon mourns the loss of her creation :)

Mother's Day Tea Party

2010-06-16T08:36:00.003-06:00

Our local library hosted a Mother's Day Tea Party. It was very fun! The decorations included various corn husk dolls made by a local woman, Judy Arnold. Judy did a presentation for the girls on how she learned to make the dolls and how she gets her ideas.
www.rjarnold.com
Lauren and I went to ask her for more information on how she makes the dolls and she offered to have us over to her home where she would teach us. Needless to say we took her up on that offer and the results of that visit are the contents of another entry. I was really surprised that so few people who signed up attended the tea party. It was very well done.

Hair Cuts!

2010-06-16T08:27:00.003-06:00

After traveling and not having access to a hair stylist for several months all of us girls were looking quite shabby. I went to get a hair cut and the girls joined me for a fun girl outing. Here are the results... other than me, I don't know why I didn't take a picture of me :( The next day our babysitter came over and curled the girls hair and dolled them up so we took a couple more photos

Scouting

2010-06-16T08:21:00.002-06:00

Dallin loves Scouts! He led his first flag ceremony. He was so nervous, but he did great. A couple of months later he received his wolf badge.

A Piece of Cake

2010-06-16T08:12:00.002-06:00

Lauren has decided to take up a new hobby that incorporates her love for cooking and her love for art- Cake Decorating! She checked out a book at the library that got her started, but it was pretty advanced. The train was her first attempt.... Then she got a beginner level book for Easter and made this purse cake for her friend, Zoee.
Her most recent cake was a castle for Dallin's Birthday.

I love her creativity, but I'm not a huge cake eater, so we're trying to incorporate a make and give away policy :) Cake anyone?

what's up?

2010-04-25T15:28:00.003-06:00

We are back to full activation in our ward, Rusty and I both got callings. I'm the second counselor in the primary and he is the webelo scout leader. It's perfect. We love being with the kids and have enjoyed the chance to get to know ward members better.

Last weekend we had a fun family outing to the re-vamped Ft. Worth Science Museum. We only get a couple of more months to use our membership so we are trying to make the most of it. The highlight of this visit was a great 4-D movie on gathering oil in Texas. 4-D movies include the senses so you smell and feel various aspects of the movie. The little boy in front of us didn't love it when the T-Rex appeared- a little too real. My kids thought it was great.
Katie of course loved the doctor's office where you can take care of all the babies- but with so many people there she had to fight for a doll.

Ben had a great time in the giant train area. I had a proud mom moment when someone asked if Ben was my son and told me that her little girl wanted a train and couldn't find one so he gave her his. You have to love it when they show those glimpses of goodness!

Fort Worth is famous for cattle and they had a whole section of the museum devoted to cattle ranching.

Always a favorit are these awesome building blocks.

Last Tuesday we met a couple of new homeschool families at a park for a nature walk and play day. It was fun for the kids to make some new friends and get out of the house. Lauren and Dallin joined one of the families on Saturday for a birthday party at a fun entertainment center with go carts, laser tag, etc.
On Friday we joined an LDS co-op group North of Dallas for the classes. It was very different than what we typically do. They have 15-20 kids per age group and it is pretty academic. The kids liked making friends and class, but not the drive. It's 1 1/2 hours to co-op and 1 1/2 hours home. That's pretty hefty drive, but I think we will do it for at least one semester. I'm hoping to round up enough folks that we could do something similar closer to home, but I don't know if that's realistic. The LDS population is stronger North of Dallas.
Yesterday after taking Lauren and Dallin to the birthday party I took the little kids to the Children's Museum in Dallas. It was kind of nice to be able to focus on little kid things and just let them play without having the big kids there getting bored. Rusty had a work training all day, but spent a couple of hours with Lauren and Dallin at their party in the evening.
Today, Sunday, Rusty and I spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Then I did sharing time in primary and he taught high priests. It was a very busy day and it is nice to have an afternoon to rest.
Now that we are "involved" again our life is filling up quickly, but it's been a welcome change and we are enjoying the opportunity we have to be a part of the ward and community.

Update

2010-03-22T07:54:00.006-06:00

Wow! It's March and I haven't given any sort of an update for months. Obviously it's been busy. If you haven't heard already Rusty accepted a permanent position in Waxahachie, Texas. That was were we went for our very first temp job and he loved it so much we decided to come back for good. Of course it helps that the pay is so much better and housing so much less than Utah, but we were really sad to move so far away from family. Now I am a flight watching junkie- I spend time every day checking on prices to fly so we can go "home" a couple of times a year. That said, once we decided the move to Texas was coming I went up to Salt Lake to spend some time with my family. We were able to be there for my niece, Ryann's baptism. Which was great- you should see the dress my sister sewed for her! To celebrate her birthday we went ice-skating, which was a first for my kids.

Then we spent a few days visiting friends in Cedar City (well the kids visited, I packed and packed and packed). I was determined to make this move a smooth one. Our last move was a crazy disaster and I didn't want a repeat. After visiting it was back to Arizona to pack and clean, and then we took a week off to visit Rusty's family in California.
The kids and I made drawstring bags for an organization that sent supplies to Haiti and received 4 free tickets to Disneyland!Rusty's mom (as a retired Disney employee) had two more free tickets, so we spent a fun day together with Grandma and Grandpa Clarke in Disneyland for free. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the kids. When we arrived they gave them each a roll of quarters to spend as they chose. Then they bought them fun gifts as well.

Then the fun was done and it was time for serious moving. We were so blessed to have friends and family come and help us. Unfortunately we had to load the truck on a Tuesday so that it would arrive in Texas on Saturday so it was a major sacrifice for people to help us. Tim (Renee's husband) and a friend Matt drove down from Salt Lake to help and Gary Arnell (another great friend) took the day off work - which is a big deal since he works ALL the time. His wife Liesl had our kids for days and days while we packed and loaded. We also had some friends from our ward show up to help- my new neighbor Debbie (whose mother in law I met in Maryland) came first thing even though she had only known us for a couple of weeks. The move went so smooth and we were able to finish by lunch.

The next few days we "did the drive," and of course stopped at our favorite museum in Albuquerque. We arrived at our home on Friday evening and although the home itself was great- we hadn't seen it before we rented- I was not happy with the cleanliness. In fact I was ready to walk out and find something else, but Rusty reassured me and we stuck with it.

The next morning our new ward showed up in droves to help us unload the truck. In about 1 1/2 hours the truck was completely empty!! Of course then we had to sort out the house and unpack- which we are still working on finishing. So we have been here in our new home for a little over 2 weeks, and everything is going really well.

The kids are settling in and making friends. We are loving our ward and the home really is a good fit for us- probably the best fit possible in our price range. We are in a great location close to Rusty's work, close to the church, and close to shopping. If only there was a temple (its about an hour away) and Costco (about 30 minutes away) here we would be set, oh yeah and our family and friends too. Anyone want to move to Waxahachie? We'll find you a good house and job :)

Last week was Ben's birthday- he's 6 now! My babies are getting so big. To celebrate we went swimming and had a little party. As you can see by his gifts he is all boy!

Ghost Towns and Gun Fights

2010-01-23T18:35:00.008-07:00

We decided to take advantage of the nearest Ghost town and have a western family adventure. When I told the kids we were going to a ghost town I think the little kids envisioned something akin to a whole town of haunted houses. I think Ben was especially disappointed to find a small town with some old run-down homes and shops.
Luckily this particular town has a unique appeal as all of the wild donkeys that used to work in the mine were set free when the mine closed, but their descendants wander in and out of town every day for the "goodies" they are fed by tourists.

Of course there are hazards to such "free-spirited" visitors roaming the town at will. They block traffic (not that there is a ton of traffic in this little town), and some of the burros have become a bit over zealous in their desire to be fed and follow people around and can get a bit aggressive. We saw one pull a bag out of a tourists pocket and chew on it. Another challenge is that some of the burros are getting quite obese. No one is regulating their feeding and carrots are like candy to the donkeys. There was one that was either super pregnant or it had majorly overdosed on carrots. There is a little oversight as someone puts "no carrot" stickers on the baby donkeys whose teeth aren't ready for carrots yet.

The kids were a little nervous at first to have all these donkeys approaching them with their mouths open, but once they got the hang of it they had a great time.

Another fun aspect of the town is that some of the locals dress up and put on a little gun show. A little cheesy, but the kids got a kick out of the loud bangs.

We decided that this would be a good opportunity to have some of those "old time" photos of our family. In the past when we've considered doing something like that we were at an amusement park, and the thought of spending an hour dressing up and doing pictures after paying so much to get in didn't really seem wise. Now however we had nothing pressing to do, so why not.

My favorite is the boys- that will be a classic! You can tell Ben is in his element.

After a picnic lunch we headed home. Although I did stop to take a few photos of the decorated sage brush on the road. Why? I just thought it was an unusual thing to do, but it did make the drive through the desert a bit more interesting. I believe that the sage brush decorating was specific to a site where someone had died in a car accident, but maybe some of it was simply random.

Down by the river banks

2010-01-23T18:17:00.006-07:00

We had two special visitors last weekend. One was Rusty's brother from CA. He took advantage of the three day weekend and stopped by for a bit. We also had a guest from Idaho. My niece Brooke (Mike and Richelle's daughter) sent us her Flat Stanley for a visit to Bullhead City. In their honor we went to Nevada (a quick trip across the bridge) and walked the Colorado River Walk.

Ben taught Stanley the finer arts of scavenging for treasure Dallin dangling Stanley precariously over the fish pond at the Colorado Belle casino.

Adam "chilling" with Stanley on the beach :)

Rusty teaching Dallin the essential skill of skipping rocks

The girls checking out the wildlife on the banks of the Colorado River.

Resolutions and nonresolutions

2010-01-23T17:54:00.004-07:00

Rusty has been a very good boy this year. For a long time now he has been making efforts to exercise and eat right, but he decided that 2010 was THE YEAR. He joined an online support group called Transformation.com. They have a whole system to help you eat and exercise and make life changes. I have to say that he is doing awesome- even when I tempt him with mint oreo cookies :) ha, ha, ha.

Typically every January the kids and I take magazines and make a vision board/goal sheet to put in the front of our homeschool notebooks. Usually I have no problem choosing a few things to tackle in the new year, but this year I have drawn a complete blank. I lack any resolution. It sounds lame, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't make a commitment unless I feel relatively confident that I can keep it, and honestly I have no idea what the year will bring so I'm choosing to abstain from commitments.

I'm hoping when we get "settled" somewhere I will be able to regain my desire for self improvement and get back on track, but for now I decided I will simply support the more motivated member of our relationship in fulfilling his resolution. So I've taken Rusty's cookbook and planned meals and menus to meet his diet plan. We've had all sorts of new meals in the last 2 weeks. Also I'm not whining when Rusty stays at work late to "work out." See what a nice wife I am :) And I've only tempted him with cookies once.

Rusty said I shouldn't post his pre-pictures yet until he has some awesome post pictures to show his progress. So instead I'll post pictures of our cupboards and fridge- yes you read right. For some reason Rusty took pre and post pictures of our kitchen stuffs to prove that we bought all the "good" stuff. He said it was one of the group assignment, but I think he wanted to feel better about the huge grocery bill.

Our "Grand" New Year

2010-01-06T12:22:00.012-07:00

The first day of a new year and we spent it enjoying the amazing scenery of the Grand Canyon. "Grand" seems like an entirely inadequate adjective to describe the majesty and beauty of this canyon. I had visited the Grand Canyon when I was in highschool, but this was the first time my family has been together. It was a different experience seeing the canyon in the winter. It was actually a great time to visit because it wasn't as crowded or hot as it is in the summer. Although the south rim was snowy the sun was shiny and it wasn't too cold. In fact the kids all started getting hot and shedding their layers pretty quick. I wouldn't say I have a fear of heights, just a fear of falling from heights. There were several times I had visions of my children slipping on some snowy edge and falling a loooong way to the bottom. I try not to pass my irrational fears onto my children, but I'm sure they sensed my concern as I constantly reminded them to stay back from the edge of cliffs. :)

We were lucky to share this experience with Adam and Cheryl's family who were visiting us from California.

It was so nice to have "big" cousins, aunts, and uncles to help with the little kids. Mike and Daniel were good sports and even carried Ben and Kate during some of the longer stretches. We were lucky that Grandma "B" (my mom's mom) had just made hats for all the kids for Christmas. It helped us all stay nice and warm.

I loved this picture of all the younger kids.I'm so glad that Rusty has such a good relationship with his brother Adam. It's always fun when they get together. Sometimes it just takes a brother to really appreciate (or even understand) Rusty's unique sense of humor. :)

Of course you can only look at beautiful scenery for so long when you are a kid. Especially with a winter wonderland of snow at your fingertips. The boys all worked together to build a snowman

and all of the kids took great pleasure in hurling snowballs off the edge of the canyon.

Of course Mike didn't settle for simply throwing snowballs off the cliff, he created mini snowmen and sent them to their doom into the depths of the canyon.

A Merry Christmas to All

2010-01-06T11:11:00.003-07:00

I am always amazed at how little it takes to make a child happy. Each year I try to find the balance of getting the kids somethings that they want and will be excited about and keeping things simple enough not to reach overkill or boredom. After each child give their siblings a small gift (usually from the dollar store) and they open gifts from grandparents, and they get a gift from Santa, and from mom and dad. That is a lot of gifts!! We are talking about 10 gifts each! Plus any stocking stuffers. Luckily we were successful this year in reaching the balance, and with the help of my bargain shopping sister who took me to Kmart in July when all of their clearance toys were an additional 50% off and she had a 20% off that coupon we did Christmas without breaking the bank! I love it!Katie had a polly pocket Christmas- small and portable- my kind of toys Ben had a Lego Power Miner Christmas

Dallin received a few Megablocks King Arthur sets, but spent most of the weekend building this Struxx Dinosaur with his dad. I think the best gift for him was all the one on one time while they worked together.

I was worried Lauren would be disappointed with Christmas. She is at that in between age where toys aren't that exciting and everything else is too expensive. She has everything she needs and didn't really ask for much. She received craft supplies, a computer bag, and a computer game. Later when I asked her about her Christmas she said it was the best Christmas ever because all of the kids loved what she gave them and we were all happy, and she was completely sincere. She told me that now that she is older the excitement of Christmas for her is picking out gifts we will love. Lauren never ceases to amaze me. I'm so happy to see her growing and developing such a kind spirit. She does so much to bring peace to our family.

We missed being close enough to visit our extended family, but it was a very calm and relaxed weekend and it was a nice to do nothing for a change.

Ben's first tooth- or first gap, I should say

2010-01-06T10:55:00.005-07:00

Ben is so excited after years of watching his older siblings lose teeth and receive money and months (nay, near a year) of nursing his own slightly wiggly tooth, he finally lost his first tooth.

In accordance with tradition it was Aunt Renee who finally popped it out with her magical dental floss extractor. She took out Lauren's first tooth as well. As you can see by the picture the tooth fairy at the Kevern's house is much more creative than the tooth fairy at our house and because it was almost Christmas Ben received a dollar folded into a Christmas tree.
To double the fun late that evening Dallin came out complaining his tooth was so loose it hurt. He must have been working it for a couple of hours in bed. Renee popped his out and he received a Christmas tree dollar too. We had been looking at all of the cool origami dollars their cousin Jake (Randy's son) received from the tooth fairy earlier that evening and I think Dallin didn't want to miss this opportunity for a more interesting tooth fairy visit. :) Thank goodness I have such a talented sister and brother.

A Christmas Poem

2009-12-15T11:45:00.003-07:00

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"

"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,

I can carry the weight of killing another
Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To insure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

By Michael Marks, Christmas 2000

Las Vegas Adventures

2009-12-13T23:06:00.008-07:00

Christmas in Las Vegas... You never know what you may "un-wrap."
It is 1 1/2 hours to Las Vegas from Bull Head City. We don't gamble, smoke, drink or even enjoy the glitzy shows, so you may wonder what else there is to do in Las Vegas. We managed to fill an entire day with lots of fun family activities, and there are still plenty of other options. You just have to dig a little to find them.

First order of business was to pay up on a family plan that fell apart in Baltimore. Ever since Kate read Fancy Nancy she has wanted to go to a "fancy" restaurant. I told her we would go to the Rainforest Cafe (which is about as fancy as I'm willing to do with 4 kids) when we were in Baltimore, but when we got there it was closed. Luckily there was one in Las Vegas so after much waiting and anticipation she finally had her day. She "dressed up" in all sorts of fancy stuff, but after lunch I convinced her to change so she would be "comfortable" (ie normal) at the museum.

We had a great time at the Rainforest Cafe and as a bonus they had a coupon on their website for December. The kids were thrilled to eat with fish, animals, and an occasional thunder storm.

After lunch we hit the Children's Museum- gotta love that free admission membership! Dallin amazed all the kids with his bubble making finesse. Having been to several museums with bubble centers he is a pro!This museum had a special "grossology" exhibit to learn about skin blemishes, snot, gas, etc. Not my favorite exhibit, but it was different. I'll spare you the gory details of what exactly Ben is supposed to be crawling over.Kate and Dallin spent some time in the Hurricane chamber. The picture doesn't capture the whipping hair and giggling faces- I should have used the video. :)The best part of the museum was the special science show. Rusty volunteered to help out and they made some yummy candy cane ice cream we all got to sample using liquid nitrogen. After the museum we went to Costco for dinner (and groceries of course). On the way home we drove through Sunset Park where the community has come together to put on a huge display of Christmas lights accompanied by festive music. I realize the pictures are weak, but you just can't capture twinkling Christmas lights in a moving car in the dark unless you have a better camera and more expertise than I do. Oh well it's the memories that matter.

Last time we visited Las Vegas the kids were a couple of years younger and kept commenting on the smoking and immodest pictures so we had decided to avoid stopping or visiting. Although there is still plenty to avoid, we actually had a great time. Who knows we may even go back :) Well at least to Costco.

Christmas trees and calendars

2009-12-13T22:10:00.005-07:00

Part of the uniqueness of this holiday is that we don't have all of our regular Christmas stuff with us. This means no artificial tree, none of our ornaments, stockings, nativity, nothing. We were starting from scratch. The kids thought that this was a good excuse to buy a "real" tree this year. In our marriage we have only had a live Christmas tree once. We were living in Camarillo, CA and there is a cut your own tree farm that we visited. It was dark, dirty and not as much fun as it sounded. After pricing the pre-cut vs fake ones we invested in a fake one that has been the standard since. This year we decided to do the real one again. After buying the tree, the stand, the skirt, lights, ornaments, tinsel, a star, stockings, aspirin (the tree guy told us to put it in the water for the tree?), etc (a good portion of which we bought at the dollar store) we spent nearly $100 on decorations- SHEESH! I miss having the old standard stuff around.

Of course we got home and realized we were supposed to cut a 1/2 inch off the tree so it could drink water. Yeah? with what? We considered using a kitchen knife and then I decided I needed to go introduce myself to the neighbors. Luckily they had an old rusty saw that did the trick more or less. Once we got it all decorated it really began to feel like Christmas. I love the magic of a Christmas tree. It's been nice not having to barricade the tree this year. Because all of our ornaments are cheap dollar store ornaments and the kids are older I haven't had to move the ornaments to the top. Now if we can just keep the tree alive until Christmas. :)

One of the "projects" Lauren tackled most recently was to design a 2010 calendar. Initially I didn't realize what she was doing, so she created it from scratch using Microsoft word to input tables and researching holidays. She imported pictures and graphics the whole thing. Then she wanted to print. I took one look and knew it would use up at least 2 ink cartridges and then we would have to bind it. Sooo... instead I showed her how simple it is to go to Costco.com and drop in a few photos, personalize the dates and for $10 (plus shipping) a calendar. I felt bad she did all that work, but it was a good learning experience. :)

To complete her calendar Lauren wanted a Christmasy picture of the family. Because we don't really know anyone here and it seems weird to ask complete strangers to come take a picture of us we were going to go to Walmart and have a family photo- besides it would be nice for the family Christmas card. After pricing it ($200 for the copyright release) we decided to forgo that option. Instead we put the little timer function on our camera to use. VOILA!! One family photo complete without any copyright restrictions.

We initially bought cheap Santa hats for everyone, but somehow we mysteriously lost one in the waiting. Lauren was devastated and in tears (she really wanted this picture to be just right), but after some gentle persuasion and practical insisting we were able to pull it together. We even let her take a picture of mom and dad with Santa hats to make up for the loss. Of course Katie insisted on having a picture with mom too. I love my Katie Bug!

From Coast to Coast

2009-12-08T15:24:00.008-07:00

Having just recently left the Atlantic coast we had to visit the Pacific coast or we wouldn't feel complete. So instead of spending Black Friday bargain shopping we went to the beach. It was cold, but we all found something to do.

Adam brought his metal detector and each of the kids took a turn searching for treasure. Lauren was the only one who actually found anything. I believe her final tally was 2 pennies, 4 soda can pull tabs, and a rusty screw.

Kate spent the first half of the trip running around, but she was tired, cold and not her best self.

Her sweet cousin Daniel wrapped her up in his jacket and carried her around until she fell asleep and then held her while she napped. He's going to make a great dad someday.

I love that my kids are each others best friends. If nothing else traveling has really cemented their relationships.
Rusty reading poetry...

Ben didn't have much luck with the metal detector but he did discover the tentacle of a giant sea monster- Eww!

The kids spent a good deal of their time exploring caves, tide pools and collecting interesting rocks and crabs. Here is Lauren showing off a pretty cool sea star.

Mike is a talented architect-to-be so it shouldn't be surprising that he spent his time creating a sand castle masterpiece. His work on a computer design program inspired Lauren and he sent her home with a program to begin experimenting.

Thankful fors

2009-12-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

Traveling for the last 8 months has definitely given me a unique appreciation for home. I've found that many of the things that I've always taken for granted are really blessings. Not that I've really been deprived or been without, but here are some of my new "grateful fors."

*Roads that are free (of course this is relative in that we pay taxes for our roads, but I'm just happy not to have to dig for change to pay tolls)
* Free parking
* Milk that isn't price regulated by the government (I suppose this may be relative too as I'm sure the government still regulates it some how, but at least it's less obvious)
* Parking right outside the door to my house
* Ground level entry to our home
* A fenced yard (even if it is just rock)
* FREE laundry (again relative in that you pay for detergent and electricity, but it's much less painful than spending $20-30/week to use pay washers and dryers)
* Home projects (Weird I know, but there is something very fulfilling in improving your space)
* Furniture and home decor
* A Barbeque
* Having an instant network of friends (in our ward) wherever we go
* Entire days without having to use the car!!!

Turkey Day

2009-12-04T14:19:00.010-07:00

We were so happy to be with family for Thanksgiving. This was our first trip to California since last Christmas, but in many ways it feels like coming home. We usually stay with Rusty's brother Adam and his wife Cheryl and their kids Daniel, Michael and Hallie. My kids love it there!

Even though the boys are quite a bit older they are so patient and accommodating of our little ones. They take them to the park and listen to all their stories. They let them pull out all their Legos and toys and even sit and build with them. My boys are always inspired by the amazing things the big boys can do and build. My boys were thrilled when Mike, Dan and Hallie told them they could bring home two huge totes of Mega Blocs and Legos. It is all they have played with since Thanksgiving. Because my kids are so close together in age it's fun to have "big kids" around. They think they are pretty great!! When we left Mike and Dan even took the time to write the kids special cards and notes.

And of course they all love hanging out with Hallie, especially Kate. In her eyes Hallie has it all, and her room is a girls wonderland of Barbies and babies. Hallie even passed on a few baby outfits which Kate has been using to dress up her babies. Of course it probably took Hallie a week to dig her room out after "sharing" it with my kids.

What a blessing to have a place we can go where we feel so comfortable. There is never enough time and we just soak in as much as we can get. This year Cheryl and Mom Clarke out-did themselves in creating a masterful feast. Of course Rusty contributed his expert taste testing skills to ensure that everything was top notch.
This is the Before picture

Here is the AFTER- Cheryl with her Turkey Masterpiece

And of course here is Adam with the other Turkey (love you Mike!)Dad Clarke attacks the bird with carving finesse

The Feast has been laid.....
The Kid's Table- in true childhood fashion they ate olives, jello and rolls and in 5 minutes were off to play.
And of course me and my favorite person- rejoicing in the bountiful blessings that are ours!

Having a Ball in Baltimore!

2009-11-20T17:38:00.011-07:00

There is so much to see and do along the east coast we just couldn't begin to do it all. Luckily Rusty took a course in Maryland for his continuing education requirements so the kids and I were able to spend a few days checking out Baltimore.

DAY ONE -SATURDAY

The first day we used our science membership to get into the science museum. The kids designed containers and participated in an egg drop, played in the children's area, did the dino dig thing, and spent the day exploring and learning.

Ben's favorite was the Submarine
Chipping away sandstone from fossils.

Dallin's favorite was this giant wall made of those tiny plastic sticks that hold whatever shape you push them into. It was cool and self contained in that kids could push from either side.

DAY TWO-SUNDAY

The next day was Sunday we went to church in Baltimore. It was fun to meet the mother-in-law of my neighbor in Enoch in Relief Society. She and her husband are serving a mission in the area.

DAY THREE-MONDAYMonday we visited the Zoo. We got in free with our zoo membership- which is a good thing, because the zoo was mediocre and a lot of the animals weren't available due to cold weather. We still had a nice day running around outside enjoying the beautiful fall weather.
I think my kids got tired of my oohing and ahhing over all the beautiful leaves. But I couldn't help it. I LOVE the fall!! The best part of the zoo was the children's area. They had several fun displays the kids enjoyed. Such as a lily pad leap across the water, larger than life birds nests, a tree slide, and turtle shell spinners.

DAY FOUR-TUESDAY

I had a major debate over the last day. We were trying to do this trip without breaking the bank, but I wanted to do something fun and memorable for everyone. There is an enormous aquarium and a huge children's museum. If only we would have know we could have hit the aquarium Friday night for really cheap, but now it would be over $20 each to go. The children's museum was about 1/2 as much so we opted for that.

Wet, Wet Washington DC

2009-11-20T16:44:00.005-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... it was certainly the west of times- I meant the wettest of times. We were hoping to sneak in a quick trip to Washington DC to see some of the sights before we headed west. Unfortunately our visit coincided with the arrival of some pretty heavy rain due to Hurricane Ida. Luckily we had all of our winter coats with us so we "weathered" the storm just fine. As a bonus the rain kept most everyone else away and we had free reign to most of the museums and monuments.

We decided to park the car and pay for a tour bus rather than trying to find parking or hiking in the rain. It was awesome to actually visit the famous monuments in DC I just wish we had more time. One and a half days is not enough to see DC.

I'm not sure why or how this ended up being Ben's take the picture day, but he insisted on taking at least every few photos, not bad for a 5 year old eh? We visited the American History Museum and the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian, but even then we only saw a small part of those museums. We were able watch an IMAX movie at the Air and Space Museum which was fun, but it made it difficult to see much else.

Don't forget to "take the left turn at Albuquerque"

2009-11-20T10:09:00.008-07:00

For anyone who hasn't been subjected to numerous hours of Looney Tunes (it was one of the new dvds we picked up for this trip)... Just re-name this post My Favorite Museum. If you have Looney Tune expertise you will realize why this was my children's favorite catch phrase as we passed numerous road signs ticking off the miles all the way through New Mexico.

I've been to A LOT of museums in the last year. I've been to children's and science museums in many of the biggest cities on the East Coast- many of which are nationally recognized. So after seeing so many museums you may be surprised to know that my favorite museum (so far) is Explora Children's Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On one of our trips across the country I was looking for something we could do to break up the ride and decided to check it out, after all it was free with our membership. Honestly my expectations were low. Their website is not impressive and regular price for entry is only $3-$7 per person, Where many of the museums we have been to admission is $20-$30 plus per person.

We've been to Explora twice in the last 6 months and each time we go my kids (and I) learn so much. At Explora interactive doesn't mean a flashy display with a button for the kids to push- interactive means they learn by DOING! Not only are the displays conducive to exploration and experimentation, but there are many staff members roaming the area eager to help the children explore and learn. And the museum is set up so that when kids create something they have a space to display and share it, which inspires other kids to create and display.

Unfortunately pictures just can't do justice to this awesome museum, so you'll just have to take a left turn next time you pass through Albuquerque.

These are pictures of the big kids working on their chain reaction creations.

When we went this time we made time to run around outside for a little while just to breathe some fresh air. FYI the orange face is Lauren's craft project.

I wish I could say that this picture reflected Kate's demeanor for the week or day or even the hour, but she was definitely teetering emotionally. She was unpredictable during the entire trip with mood swings and hysterical crying fits at random times. I was getting worried that we had scarred her already challenging emotional psyche, but after 2 days of consistent sleep in our rental home in Arizona she is beginning to stabilize. Phew, because I was at the end of my fragile emotional psyche too. As a bonus they don't charge any extra for anyone crazy, I mean brave, enough to ride the sky bike- Rusty obliged the children by taking a daring ride over the museum for them as they were too short and didn't weigh enough to do it themselves :)

Road Trip

2009-11-19T07:52:00.008-07:00

You know you have been in the car driving for too long when...

* Your kids watch the red box movie you rented twice in English and then decide to watch it again in French...

* and they think it's more funny in French

* Your 4 year old decides the stamp from her McDonalds Happy Meal is eyeshadow and rouge and the chalk from her activity kit is lip stick- and you don't care as long as she is happy (The kids were happy to have a new traveling activity kit to alleviate some of the boredom- thanks to Aunt Richelle. One of Kate's other favorite past times was strapping her baby doll into Rusty's Hat as a car seat- that's what she's holding in the picture if you can't tell.)

* You've passed so many time zones the clock in your car is totally irrelevant

* It takes an industrial size vacuum to clean all the crumbs out of the car

* You become skilled at passing items to the back of your van and changing the DVD in the player strapped behind you while still keeping your eyes on the road and steering.

*You can predict within 10 miles when your 5 year old will need to have a potty break (I'm not sure why, but Ben was the only child who required regular potty breaks- boredom?)

* Your children no longer ask "what's for dinner tonight", but "where's dinner tonight?"

* Where you stop for dinner is determined by who has a kid's eat free night on that day (Just a note that on Tuesday and Saturday at Denny's you can get 2 free kids meals per paying adult meal- for a family with 4 kids and 2 adults that drink water- you can eat a real meal for pretty cheap and for anyone traveling in the South Shoney's has kids meals for less than $2 SWEET!!)

* You find yourself excited to see what food options are available at the next exit (Our goal was to avoid McDonalds and other fast food as much as possible- We would typically eat breakfast at the hotel, snacks in the car, skip lunch, early dinner at a sit down restaurant. Over the two weeks of travel only 2 visits to McD)

* You spend more on gas in a day than you do on food and housing. (with 2 cars that wasn't so hard)

* In spite of having an oil change just before leaving, your due for another upon arrival.

* You begin to appreciate the diverse beauty of our amazing country as you pass through such varied terrain. As we drove through the country I often thought about what the land would have been like before it was "settled." How incredible it must have been to be some of the first people to set foot on land that had been preserved and prepared for our day. And how grateful I am that they built freeways and rest stops along the path for those of us less adventurous.

On that happy note I will leave the rest to your imagination. We had a great time on our trip to the East Coast, but it is nice to be done with the drive. We were very fortunate to have taken the southern route through Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma although it was rainy, we avoided the major snow storms passing through Colorado and such. We were blessed that we didn't have any trouble with the cars or the kids. In fact no one took Dramamine and no one threw up!!! It was a successful Road Trip!

Central Park -New York

2009-10-22T11:22:00.011-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to New York City. Technically we spent the majority of the day at Central Park so they weren't really seeing the city, but in my opinion Central Park is the best part of the city. That being said I really haven't seen much of the city either so I'm obviously a poor source. All I know is that I prefer the beautiful, quiet serenity of the park to the crowded, noisy, busyness of the city streets. Whenever I've watched movies about New York I thought it was exaggerated, but it really isn't. There are so many people and traffic jams and taxis and taxis and taxis everywhere! What a blessing to the people living in this area to have a beautiful retreat. It really is an amazing place and pictures just can't capture the immensity and beauty.

Before we hit the park we took the kids to see the Manhattan Temple. In all actuality this is the REAL sanctuary in New York City. Because property is so expensive in New York this temple also includes all the features of a meetinghouse/chapel. The temple is on the first floor and the fourth and fifth floor. The third floor is the chapel complete with kitchen and basketball court and all. The second floor is offices, distribution center and maybe some other things. This temple is described as a building within a building- which effectively blocks out the noise of horns, sirens, etc of the New York streets. This allows the patrons to truly leave the world behind.

Central Park is home to 21 playgrounds- we visited 3 of them. We also visited the castle which serves as a weather station and a great place to get a view of the park.

Although not official playgrounds, throughout the park there are huge clusters of rocks to climb, jump and slide on. I think my kids had as much fun on the rocks as they did in the actual playgrounds.

I could have spent the whole day just looking at the leaves changing colors- Fall is by far my favorite season. I love it when there is a nip in the air and beautiful colors all around.

I think the highlight of the day was the canoe ride around the lake. We had two boats one for the boys and one for the girls so everyone had a chance to paddle around. The kids LOVED it!

It's amusing to see the creative ways people make a living in New York. There are artists and musicians throughout the park, but there are also some kid oriented showmen. Such as the jugglers, giant bubble blowers and the hula hoop teacher. We got sucked in! Here we are putting on a hula hoop show for all the passerbys :) Rusty took a video, but I'll leave it to your imagination.

We even got sucked into taking a carriage ride through the park with Charlie Brown and Crazy Joe. I'll let you decide which was the horse and which was the driver. Ben was so happy that the horse had a special device to eliminate the need for a pooper scooper upon elimination.

In the evening we explored a bit of the "city" of New York City. We visited the famous FAO Schwartz Toy Store, and the kids even played the Big Piano- as seen in the movie Big. The toy store also had some huge stuffed animals and some fun Lego sculptures. We visited Rockefeller Center, but at $20 a person we opted out of the iceskating and trip to the top of the Tower. It is just mind boggling how tall the buildings in New York are. When we first arrived I was showing Katie some of the tall buildings, and the clouds were moving behind them. She got a little nervous because it looked like the building was moving. It was a little creepy to me when I imagined what a serious earthquake could do to this city.

We stopped by the M&M store and the Hershey Store as well. What a difference. The M&M store was 3 levels filled with every possible item on which they could think to slap an M&M. It was a marketing dream store. The Hershey store was tiny, with only a few rows of candy and T-shirts. Of course they did hand out Hershey Kisses and give the kids factory worker hats and let them spin the wheels of the candy machine to fill buckets of candy. Ben reported this as one of the best parts of his day, so I guess they did something memorable.

By now we were all getting pretty tired, but we had to make a quick stop at Time Square just to say we've been there. You can see that the kids are looking pretty pooped.

Because we had a LONG walk back to our car we stopped for a quick icecream cone to break it up on the way. What a fun day!!

The Cradle of Liberty

2009-10-02T22:03:00.009-06:00

How could we come all of the way to Philadelphia and not visit Boston? That is what I kept asking myself as we planned our 3 month stay.

We couldn't!

Boston was the hub of the Revolution. It's where so many pivotal events in our early American history took place. It is the self-proclaimed "Cradle of Liberty." Besides we really wanted to say that we've been to Boston in the fall. Isn't that like one of those bucket list things everyone has to do?

We worked it out so that Rusty had Friday off, but even with the extra day there still wasn't enough time to really "do" Boston. But we did get to have a fun family weekend get-away and now we can add Connecticut and Rhode Island to our list of states we've driven through :)

So are you ready for the picture blitz??

Here we go...

It is a long drive (6 hours) to Boston, so we didn't get in until noon. We spent 1/2 day on Friday at Plymouth. While we were there we visited the Mayflower II which is a replica of the original Mayflower. On board we met Susanna White, Dorothy (?? unsure of the name, but she is the maid for the Carver family), and the captain's first mate John Clarke (spelled with an e). This was rather fun in that my maiden name is White and Susanna's husbands name was William- which is a long time family name. Are we related? Possibly. And of course my husbands family is Clarke (with an e). Are we related? Most likely not as his family has discovered that his great grandfather most likely changed his name from Wahl to Clarke. But either way it was like finding kindred spirits.

We tried out the "bunks" and explored the ship. We had spent the previous week studying the Mayflower and the Pilgrims so the kids were all prepped. Of course the one thing they most wanted to see is the portion of the ship used for toilet facilities- why is it that this is so intriguing to children??? It is interesting to see the ships actual dimensions, but it is hard to really appreciate the hardship and sacrifice of these early pilgrims without all of the cargo and passengers on board. It was a real eye-opener talking with Susanna who traveled with her husband and 5 year old son while in the late stages of pregnancy and then lost her husband that

first winter. She said her son was so bored during the trip that he slept most of the time. I can't even imagine what this trip must have been like. Knowing how quickly my kids get bored and motion sick I don't even want to imagine. Susanna also informed us that because the ship was

just a cargo ship there really weren't any rooms or bunks and families simply built their own "accommodations" out of whatever they could acquire. putting all four of our kids on what was the typical space allotted gave us a bit of appreciation for the tight quarters "enjoyed" during this voyage.

While in Plymouth we saw "the rock" (which was basically just a rock inscribed with the date 1620) and we visited the Pilgrim Hall Museum. This museum is very well done and would have been perfect if Katelyn wasn't in melt down mode. Luckily Rusty took Kate out and sat with her while I enjoyed the museum with the other kids. I felt bad that he didn't get to see the sights, but there was just no way to do anything with Kate. The museum has a great scavenger hunt they give to the kids to help them look for and appreciate what they are seeing. It is so amazing to look at items that have been around since the pilgrims... I know there are those of you who have been to Europe that say, "That's nothing a mere 300+ years." But the story of the pilgrims has always seemed more like a distant fairytale and to see things they owned and used was awesome- I'm a history nerd.

After seeing a bit of Plymouth we drove to Quincy- parked the car and took the train into Boston. The hotel we were staying at charges $32/day for parking and evidently that is typical of most parking in the area- if you can find any. We opted for the $8/day parking and the $1.70 train ride, and the bonus -kids ride free. Besides the kids were thrilled. They were especially excited when we went underground. The regular passengers though it was amusing to see how much enjoyment their daily commute was giving a few tourists. As the novelty of riding the train wore off the kids then took to standing in the aisle and playing "Jello."

After checking into our hotel we took the train to the Museum of Science and used our passes to explore the displays. Luckily it was the museums late night so we had time to see a bit of the museum.

The next day we hit the road. There is a red brick trail in Boston that tourists can follow to see most of the historic sites in the city. I believe it's a 2.5 mile path and it took us the entire day to hit the majority of the sites.

One of the first stops was the graveyard where many of the early Bostonians are buried including Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's parents, and others I can't remember. However the one that my kids were most insistent on seeking out was the headstone of Mother Goose (I'm glad to know we have our priorities in place ;). We had basically given up our search and we were heading out when Lauren spied it.

Kate and Ben setting the clock.

The sight of the Boston Massacre- I didn't realize my children's "violent" poses until after the photo-op was passed, so forgive their making light of what should be something very solemn and serious. :) It just goes to show that children see the world in their own way and in spite of all our efforts life is still about "fun" for them. I hope that it stays that way.

One of the highlights of the trip was our evening of shopping for souvenirs and enjoying ice cream (of course). We usually don't buy souvenirs so this was a special treat. Lauren bought a pair of earrings, Dallin bought a Jacob's Ladder, Kate a pink squirmy, Ben a package of plastic Revolutionary War soldiers (which have seen a great deal of action in the last month).

Lauren hits the double digits!

2009-10-02T21:05:00.004-06:00

I'm so far behind in our blog now I'm afraid I'll never get caught up so I'll just jump in where we are.

Yesterday- October 1, 2009 our family entered a new era- our oldest child is now in the double digits.

Lauren turned 10!

Lauren is by far the most gifty/celebrationy of all the children. She is the one who goes to great lengths to make each holiday "special." Unfortunately for her, her parents lack this same enthusiasm and often don't live up to her ideals. But alas she does not let it stop her from planning huge events/projects. Many times I have to remind her to reign it in a bit. She has a tendency to visualize some spectacular (aka unrealistic) creation and many times gets discouraged or disappointed when things don't come off as she hoped. Her birthday tends to be one of these areas. In the past she has spent an entire year planning for her birthday. She talks about it, draws pictures of it, researches it, etc etc. This year I told her I didn't want to hear about it until a couple of weeks before the big day and she did pretty good at holding out.

Luckily she is getting more realistic in her expectations and this year it was very simple to meet nearly all of her "plans." A few days before her birthday she came to me with an illustrated timeline of what she would like to have happen on her birthday. Obviously she has learned to leave nothing to chance with her gift/party challenged parents.It began with being wakened by the family singing "Happy Birthday" and a tray with breakfast (Muffin Tops and Strawberry Cream Cheese Swirls with a glass of orange juice and a napkin). It went on from there with equally detailed illustrations of each meal and activity. Although Lauren didn't want to open her presents until dad came home in the evening Kate couldn't wait so we broke out the face paint early and in the morning Lauren painted everyone's faces including her own.

Benny also surprised her by giving her a gift of pierced ears- which was something she's been asking about for a few months. She is looking so grown up now with pierced ears and her teeth all straightened out. In the afternoon she made peppermint fudge, crafts, and a scavenger hunt for her siblings complete with gifts she made each of them out of paper, yarn and popsicle sticks (the only real craft materials we have here). I'm amazed what she comes up with! Weapons and fairy wings and toys- she is so creative and resourceful. She allowed the kids to decorate her cake this year. Which shows she is growing up. In fact other than suggesting that they each sign their name on the cake she let them do it however they wanted.

We did pretty good, but had to do a little compromising in the evening as it got cold and dark before we could go to the park and play a family game of cops and robbers. Instead we played glow stick/balloon dance in the dark. Rusty took a few pictures of this event, but you just can't capture the excitement of a glow stick/balloon dance in a photo- you just have to experience it :)

What a joyful day! I don't know what we would do without our Lauren. She is such a great peacemaker and helper. We all love her so much--- and welcome her to the world of double digits.

New Jersey Shore- Ocean City

2009-09-22T13:47:00.000-06:00

Statue of Libery

2009-09-12T13:39:00.001-06:00

Getting our "fill" of Philadelphia- the payoff

2009-08-31T14:07:00.008-06:00

Last Saturday we made our third trip to Historic Philadelphia. We were anxious to see the sights before the story benches and children's programs close for the winter. We have loved the story bench program and it has really brought the history of this area alive for all of us. The kids finally earned the final star on their flag and when we turned them in each of them received a coupon good for a free icecream and a ride on the historic Philadelphia carousel (as well as the nifty certificates displayed below).I find it amusing how much you can tell about a person/child from how they ride a merry-go-round.... Ben chose the flashy dragon (of course) and he doesn't just ride it he "flies" itKind hearted Dallin wanted to ride the dragon, but allowed Ben to take it and settled for the mild mannered seal instead- he raises both hands to make the most of his ride on an animal that may not be as flashy but suits him well. Katie was all about the beautiful horse with the pink flowers- She wanted to sit side saddle and was offended to sit in a manner other than that of a princess. And here is Lauren on the inspiring eagle. She is embracing new ideas and thoughts and ready to soar to great heights.

If you can't tell already icecream is a favorite family pastime so this was the perfect reward. Since this is already so long I will create a separate entry for the sights we enjoyed.

Homeschool Fun- Colonial Hat Day

2009-08-22T13:56:00.000-06:00

Enjoy It!

2009-08-16T18:38:00.012-06:00

There is a song on one of our Disney CD's that ran through my head during our entire outing last Thursday. As a preview I'll quote it

"Why cry about bad weather, Enjoy it

Each moment is a treasure, Enjoy it..

We're travelers on life's highway, Enjoy the trip

Each lovely twist and byway, Each bump and dip...

If there's a complication, Enjoy it

You've got imagination, Employ it..."

With that anthem playing in my head I really did enjoy our second day in Historic Philadelphia, inspite of a few "complications."

Rusty traded days with someone at work so he had Thursday off and worked Saturday. We decided to capitalize on the opportunity and do some serious sight-seeing. Since we were going to spend the whole day away we fed the kids a big breakfast and got an early start. Just as we were hitting heavy traffic in downtown Philly Dallin announced that he was going to throw-up. Yikes! I scrambled for the trash bags, but it was too late. I'll spare you all the graphic details, but when I turned around next I saw Lauren glued to her window gagging- she is our most sensitive tummy and I was worried she was next. Ben was yelling excitedly and Katie was crying. She took it personal that Dallin threw up all over her window, door, and chair. I couldn't stop laughing, which didn't help matters much. There wasn't a lot we could do but roll down the windows and give Dallin some wet wipes and a trash bag.

Unfortunately in all the distraction we missed our turn and ended up crossing over the Delaware River on the Franklin Bridge. We stopped at a McDonalds in Camden, New Jersey (not the most pleasant part of town, but we were desperate). Dallin and I walked a block to the Walgreens in search of cleaning supplies and clothes. I found some cleaning supplies, but there was no clothing. I really didn't want to wander around Camden so I asked a lady who was shopping if she knew of somewhere nearby I could find some clothing. I was humbled when she began to tell me of the local churches that provided free clothing. Wow! Talk about a reminder of how blessed we are- throw up and all. Luckily I found a discount clothing shop nearby and Dallin was well equipped with new clothing for less than $7.

Since Rusty was still scraping the car clean I decided we should get a little something to eat. As we were going in a homeless man asked if we would get him something to eat- so we had the opportunity to share some lunch with him while we waited. It took us a while to find our way through Camden and we got another glimpse of the humble circumstances of the people in this area. Philadelphia is filled with so much luxury and wealth it is hard to believe that right across the bridge it is so poor. I'm sure that there are plenty of areas in Philadelphia that are just as poor, but we haven't encountered them yet.

After paying a toll to cross back over the bridge we finally found parking and began the part of our day we planned. A little later than we hoped, but much more grateful.

We saw the "real Liberty Bell" (as Ben informed everyone we met). We also began to hit some of the story benches- which is by far my favorite thing to do with kids. About half way through our first story it began to rain, and rain, and rain. It rained pretty much all afternoon, but that didn't stop us. We had a great time!

I love the little treasures you discover when you take time to explore and everyone else is gone. We came across a great little museum where the guide gave the kids a hands-on display of the life of a soldier during the American Revolution. She even dressed Ben up in the full attire- or at least those things that fit. He was in heaven, especially when she let him use the spy glass.

When we took shelter in an out of the way visitors center we found a few colonial characters who gave us their undivided attention in displaying rope making, Jacob's Ladder tricks, sewing, etc. In fact we even ran into Betsy Ross. She was so cute with the kids and played her character very well. I loved it when Benny told her we were reading a book about her - what better way to bring history to life. Read about someones life and then "visit" with them.

After a quick dinner and another story bench story that left us all laughing we headed to the National Constitution Center. I read reviews that said this museum is usually overflowing with school kids, so we decided to take advantage of a special family night event held a couple of Thursdays this month. Besides tickets being more than 1/3 the cost they had a bounce house, face painter, craft table, games and other fun things for the kids. I was surprised how few people there were. We had free reign of all the displays and shows and activities.

We watched the featured show Freedom Rising in which the actor invites all of us as "We the People" to sign a copy of the Constitution in a pledge to uphold the principles established there-in. This was my favorite part. As each of us signed our name Katie asked for a turn. She has not be interested in anything really academic, so I've never made a serious effort to teach her to write her name. I was surprised when she took the pen and wrote a fairly legible version of her name. I guess she's been doing more learning than I thought.

Rusty joins George in inviting all to "sign" the Constitution.

Frankly, there is not a lot of Franklin here

2009-08-16T18:37:00.009-06:00

Last Wednesday I took the kids to the Franklin Institute of Science. I was hoping there would be at least a small display about Franklin's scientific contributions and inventions, but the closest thing they had was a giant statue in the foyer. I guess it's too hard to blend science and history :) Well at least it was a good starting point for our explorations.
Luckily this museum is one of our participating free ones so we didn't have to pay to get in, just for parking. I'm getting better at anticipating when and where the field trip groups will hit so we only had a brief encounter with the craziness of hordes of unsupervised children mauling the displays.

There is a lot to see at the museum and we didn't get to everything, but here are some of our favorites...

Kid Science was a room set aside for 5-9 year old exploration of science favorites. Ben's favorite part was using air tubes to shoot balls across the room. Always a winner if it involves projectiles and shooting.

Dallin and Ben also spent a good deal of time figuring out this interesting ball maze wall.The train room is basically filled with (you guessed it) a huge train. Evidently as steam engines were replaced by diesel engines one of the local railroad companies sold the museum an old engine for $1. I have no idea how they got it into the museum, but it has a wee bit of track and you can ride it forward about 2 feet and then back 2 feet very slowly if you are willing to wait in a fairly long line. Although the ride itself is unimpressive, the fun part for my kids was sliding down the walls in the coal chute.
I guess the train was such a hit the invested in a small jet for the flight room. This room also had a bunch of cool experiments with air and wings and even a model of the Wright Brothers plane. Here is Dallin preparing for take off.

My favorite room was the heart room. Having just studied the human body in great depth last year this was a good review. They had replicas of hearts from various animals that displayed the different sizes and features. They also had an exploration table with brains to look at. Lauren liked the benches.

Of course the highlight was following the bloods path through the giant heart.

We topped the day off by watching a fun video at the planetarium called Cosmic Collisions. I am always in awe when I consider the complex and intricate workings of our universe. I am equally awed by the complex and intricate workings of our bodies. We live in such an amazing world. I can't imagine that anyone who has truly pondered the workings of our world could doubt the hand of a supreme being in it's construction.

The kids were sad that we didn't get to see the rest of the museum, but I promised them we would return.

Homeschool Fun- Homemade Quills and Koolaid Ink

2009-08-12T14:00:00.000-06:00

Quacking Up

2009-08-09T07:47:00.009-06:00

Today we took our first excursion into Philadelphia. We decided to start our experience here with the famous (or possibly infamous) Philly Duck Tour. This tour makes use of retired military vehicles called DUKW's that drive on land and water.

Of course being a touristy attraction each passenger is equipped with duck bills that quack- which, unfortunately, we got to keep. So after driving through the streets of historic Philadelphia quacking at random unsuspecting passersby we drove into the Delaware River to check out the Philly coast line. The kids had a great time, although Katie was a bit nervous about driving into the water- she was sure we would sink....

As we drove into the river she had her nose plugged- just in case.

After the Duck Tour we watched a movie at the visitors center and began visiting with various colonial characters.

The kids used a bamboo pen and ink well to sign their name and added the flourish found under the patriots signatures which means independence forever (it is basically an 8 turned sideways which is the symbol for infinity- with two back slashes on top meaning independence).

We saw a quilling demonstration- which is making a picture using small pieces of curled paper

We started gathering stars for our colonial flags by visiting the story benches through out the area.

We checked out the Archeology display at the visitors center.

We spent way too much for dinner/lunch at a small Italian restraunt on Market Street (and way too much on parking)

We also spent some time at Franklin Square, checking out the sand sculpture, playground and other entertainment options.

Being somewhat unfamiliar with the area and not super organized we did a lot of walking! Now that we've been there and have a plan our visits will be more productive and less exhausting. We also found some less expensive options for parking and eating so hopefully we won't spend our entire entertainment budget in the first month. :)

Dallin- The Great 8 Date!

2009-07-10T14:11:00.000-06:00

Dallin Turned 8 at the end of May, but we decided to wait for his baptism until he could be with family. Rusty flew in from Dallas for the weekend and, luckily, my parents ward in Bluffdale was very accommodating and let him join in with their baptisms on the 4th of July. What a great way to celebrate "Independence" day.

In spite of the early hour and holiday many of our family members were able to make time to be there. My parents and brothers and sister and their kids were there as well as Rusty's sister Sam and her family. We even had a surprise visit from some friends from our ward in Enoch who were attending the same baptism service for their nephew who was being baptised the same day. My dad's brother was the presiding authority for the ward so my aunt and uncle were there as well.
We are so proud of Dallin and the good choices he makes and for his example to his brother and sisters. They all love him so much. What a wonderful memory to share with our family.

To celebrate Dallin's baptism we went on a special date to The Roof and Temple Square. We did this with Lauren and hope to do it with each of our kids when they are baptized.

Here is my favorite picture we took on that date.

The family that "screams" together

2009-06-18T09:16:00.006-06:00

At risk of revealing the "dark side" of our family culture I'm posting this family theme song. While living here in Texas we discovered a favorite family pass time that was a little too accessible :)

"I Scream..." (please note that mine is the cone on the left)

"...U and U Scream..."

"...and U Scream..."

"...and U scream..."

"...and Dad Definitely 'SCREAMS"

"WE all Scream...... For Icecream"

Any excuse to celebrate found us at Braums.

And the favorites menu:

Mom- Cookies and Cream

Dad- Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road

Lauren- Peanut Butter Cup

Dallin- Chocolat Chip Cookie Dough

Ben- Chocolate

Kate- Peppermint

Winding Down

2009-06-17T11:41:00.008-06:00

This is our last week here in Texas- at least for awhile. We have

had a lot of fun, but I'm looking forward to getting back home. Frankly I'm feeling a little bored here. I know that sounds crazy when you see all the things we've done and places we've been, but it's different here. I've read every book we brought and a dozen we checked out of the library. I've kept up with all my housework. I even taught primary. I just feel like I lack a sense of purpose. I miss the projects and homeschooling clubs. I miss having assignments and friends to do things with. I think I'm a little crazy.

Here are some of the last photos from Waxahachie and Texas...

Getzendaner Park was one of our favorite hang-outs here. It's a beautiful place to relax and enjoy nature.

These photos were taken on Father's Day when we did our best to spoil Dad- before we left him alone in Texas for a month.

Twilight Camp

2009-06-13T19:23:00.006-06:00

Dallin attended his first Cub Scout day camp, but here in Texas, day camp is held at night so they call it Twilight Camp. It actually worked out really well because Rusty was able to join Dallin as a group leader. Beause there aren't many boys his age in our ward Dallin's group was a mix of kids from all over. It was a good introduction to Cub Scouts and got him really excited to work on his awards. He finished his Bobcat requirements and is chipping away at his Wolf.

I was hoping that Rusty would have time to blog the event, but he has been so busy with work and trying to put together his next assignment he hasn't had time. Maybe he can add to and elaborate on my post when he's here in Texas by himself for a few weeks. :)

Den 1: The Antelopes

(back row, l-r) Dalton, Daniel, Jack, Seth,

(front row, l-r) Casan, Jonathan, Dallin, Wyatt

Here are some of the fun things they did:

Day 1: Modern Ballistics

Catapults, Horse Shoes, B-B Guns

The Group got together in a relay shooting tennis balls to each other from the catapults. They really learned how to work together. The horses shoes had the boys pair up and go head to head against another pair. Dallin and Jack are pretty coordinated but Wyatt and Seth were on a roll and nothing was stopping them. Dallin did hit the first "ringer" of the group - He was pretty stoked about that. The B-B guns were a lot of fun with a good emphsis on safety before any shooting took place. Dallin just started to get the hang of it by the time they had to end. I think I know what he (and his dad) would will look at for a future investment. Of course, Benjamin will be all over it as well.

Day 2: Water Games

Water Relays, Water Fight, Swimming!

Day 3: Primative Ballistics

Sling Shots, Archery (almost) and the Storm

Day 4: Field Games

Obstacle Course, Relays, Kickball

Day 5: Crafts

Homemade First & Fishing Kits, Edible Fires, Film Canister Constellations

Closing Ceremony

I really like the Cub Scout program so far. It has been a great opportunity for Dallin to meet new friends, try new things, and feel good about his accomplishments.

IMAX and Turtle feeding

2009-06-13T18:49:00.003-06:00

With our museum membership we got free tickets to see the IMAX movie so we took another trip to the Science/Children's Museum. The kids weren't so excited to watch the movie because they only show "science" movies. We chose the coral reef movie over the Hurricane Katrina movie, but I was still worried about how the littles would do with their limited attention span. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The kids were enthralled, if not a little afraid. The huge dome shaped screen surrounded us and it really felt like we were moving at times. My only complaint is that I'm really getting sick of the save the Earth message. Not that I don't believe in saving the Earth- we recycle, reuse and believe in conserving our resources- but it seems like lately every movie, tv show, book, class, etc we've read, watched, attended makes a point of telling us how rotten the human race is and how we are destroying everything. My kids are starting to have a complex about everything we do or don't do.

(Remember that I only believe in brainwashing if I'm doing it :)

While we were waiting for our show we re-visited some of our favorite sites at the museum.

Katie's favorite thing in a museum of fun and exciting things to do was the doll house. Small and simple! Dallin and Ben just like to dress up and be silly.

Cool mouth wall, but boring teeth exhibit- we skipped it last time so felt like we had to give it a quick go around.

After releasing our turtle we still had a lot of leftover turtle food so I let the kids feed the turtles- this time they were able feed themselves and the turtles. The snappers wouldn't eat the turtle food- I guess they only like peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, but the sliders loved it and came right up to the kids.

Mom's mental issues

2009-06-08T20:34:00.004-06:00

All last week I was being such a grumpy mom. Usually I know why I'm being grumpy and it has to do with either sleep deprivation, over scheduling, or hormones. However last week I couldn't figure it out. I just felt like there was this gloomy cloud hovering over me I couldn't shake.

Rusty was working late so that he could take Thursday off and I didn't really have a chance to talk with him much. Besides he has been pretty swamped with trying to make plans for our next job back East. I felt bummed because I know that I wasn't being fair to my kids and hubby, but I just couldn't figure out how to get past it. Luckily on Saturday night I was able to sneak away with Rusty for awhile and talk. I told him how I felt and he reminded me that this was the anniversary week of when our son Colton had died. It's amazing that I hadn't recognized it. Every year I have this same challenge, you'd think by know I would just see it coming. Our minds are incredibly complex. Just as our bodies can be scarred by significant trauma our minds can be scarred as well. I've found that I can go about my business for only so long before my sub-concious mind insists on me dealing with the painful "issues" of life.

Usually the anniversary of Colton's death is something I have to confront or I feel it- headaches, depression, anxiety, and overall grumpiness. It's silly because it doesn't take much to fix it. Generally all I have to do is recognize and acknowledge it to get over it. I'm so grateful to have a perceptive husband who helps me stay grounded. I don't know how I could have made it through all of lifes challenges without his patience and support.

So you've been warned if it's the first week of June and I'm not being so pleasant just remind me that it is Colton's anniversary so I don't waste too much time in the dark and dreary wilderness. :)

Six Flags Over Texas

2009-06-08T12:39:00.001-06:00

Before we moved to Texas we decided to do some serious "persuasion" so that the kids would be supportive and excited for the experience (yeah I believe in brainwashing as long as I'm the one doing it). In order to play it up we showed them a video of the nearest amusement park, Six Flags over Texas. It worked. In fact for a long time Katie thought Six Flags WAS Texas.

After all that anticipation we were finally able to visit Six Flags. Rusty worked long days the rest of the week so that he could take Thursday off. We went the last week before summer vacation and on a weekday because the one thing I hate about amusement parks is standing in line.

Unfortunately we decided not to bring our camera so that we wouldn't have to worry about juggling it while we rode rides so the kids probably won't "remember" the day. Oh well it was a great day. Nice weather, short lines and bland-overpriced food.

We are entering a new phase of amusement park status- 3 of our 4 kids can ride almost every ride. Another year or two and we will ALL be able to ride the fun stuff. The kids were good sports and were willing to try most everything. Lauren even went on the parachute tower- inspite of her fear of heights.

We bought a couple of pictures of us on the log ride so when I get back home I'll scan them and add them to the post for posterity, but for now you'll just have to imagine a happy family having a good time at an amusement park :)

Nature Class

2009-06-06T14:11:00.003-06:00

We've been attending a Nature Class for homeschoolers at Bear Creek Nature Preserve in Lancaster for the last several weeks. We were hoping it would be a "hands-on" experience, but it's been a little more instruction than we intended. This weeek however the kids were able to do more actual exploring. They used nets to dig specimins out of the pond and then examined them in little bug jars.

We used this opportunity to set our little turtle free- After looking at the cost of a cage and all the turtle's needs and realizing that turtles don't do much Dallin decided to give the turtle to Ben. Ben has no way of paying for the things the turtle would need as it gets bigger (besides the fact that he isn't 8- which is the age I've set as old enough for a pet) so we decided to let him go before we went home.

As we had conflicts with the next couple of classes- this was our last one.

Cowgirls and Water Gardens

2009-06-05T07:12:00.003-06:00

This week's field trip was supposed to be a ride on the mini train in Fort Worth, but when we got there it was closed for some reason. So mom decided to punt and we used our museum membership to visit the Cowgirl museum. The boys were not thrilled with the idea, but found a few things to amuse themselves.

At the campfire and chuck wagon
Yee-ha! Cowgirl Lauren!
Luckily the science museum is closed for remodeling (or maybe unluckily because if it was open we could have gone there) so there was a section of the museum set up with activities that the kids enjoyed. Dallin spent most of his time building. I should have taken a picture of this amazing structure being built by this older gentleman. He must have spent days working on it.
Benny put his shopping skills to work.

Obviously the museum was a fairly quick visit. We ate lunch at Trinity Park. The squirrels and birds have learned that people food is better than whatever they can find so they came right up to us begging for samples.

After lunch we went to the Water Garden in downtown Fort Worth. There are 4 different "sculptures" (fountains) each demonstrating a different feeling. They are Quiet Water, Active Water, Air Water, and Mountain. I think we liked the Active Water area best.

Dallin wanted to jump down the platforms to the bottom, but I was a chicken and told him we would just enjoy it from above.

Wonders of God's Creation

2009-06-01T09:53:00.004-06:00

There are days when I am simply amazed by the beautiful things in this world. What a kind and loving Father in Heaven who created such a variety of plants, animals, and even insects for us to enjoy.

Last Sunday evening we were a little late leaving Getzendaner Park and all around us we noticed little sparkles of light. We had been reading the Fablehaven books and the kids said it looked like fairies. Upon closer inspection we discovered hundreds of lightning bugs.

When I was younger we used to visit my Great Grandparents who lived in Iowa and I remember collecting lightning bugs there, but when I asked our nature teacher she said they didn't have them here. I was so delighted. It was like being a kid again. We all ran through the park gathering the little bugs so we could study them at home.

The next night we set them all free. What a magical experience for all of us. We live in such an amazing world!

Obviously pictures just can't do it justice, but the wonder on the kids faces says it all.

Memorial Day at the Museums

2009-05-27T07:30:00.009-06:00

We were so happy that Daddy could join us for field trips on Monday. Today we went to the Dallas Fair Park to explore the museums. The first museum we went to was the Science Museum which was putting on

a special "Spy Event." We decided that we would buy a membership to the National Science/Nature Museum Association which will allow us to get into over 200 museums free. Now that we are traveling we should be able to put it to good use.

As part of our membership we received a spy kit which Rusty put to good use. After exploring the spy exhibit the kids went to work on the rest of the museum.

Here is a sampling of the fun things they did......

We also visited the Children's Museum (which is actually now combined with the science museum which has also combined with the nature museum- so now it's all one big museum- in various buildings :)

Then we took a lunch break by the lagoon. However I believe that the turtles ate more of our lunch than my family did. There were so many turtles- red eared sliders, big old snapper turtles, and some that I couldn't identify. With Rusty's inspiration the kids did "experiments" to determine what type of food each turtle would eat. The conclusion- snapper turtles like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and red eared sliders prefer string cheese- fish will eat whatever the turtles don't.

After lunch we hit the nature museum (see above note regarding museums). Ben wasn't thrilled here- not enough buttons to push and things to touch- until we got to the "light" room.

His attention span is limited to physical activity, I'm hoping he will "grow" into learning in other ways as most formal education focuses on other ways of learning, but for now at least his enthusiasm can be channeled at home.

We finished off the day by coming home and swimming. We all slept very well that night.

Dallas Texas Temple Trip

2009-05-26T16:48:00.005-06:00

On Saturday the kids had a primary activity at the Dallas Temple. It's about a 45 minute drive to get there so the majority of the activity was driving there and back. At the temple the kids sang a couple of songs to the temple presidency, read a book about the construction of the temple, took some pictures and explored the grounds searching for the rabbits, ducks, cat, and squirrel that hang out in the area. They found one rabbit, who I'm sure feared for it's life as a mass of excited kids chased it- which I hope is not a typical experience living on the usually peaceful temple grounds. :)

After the temple we went to a nearby park for lunch. It's a bit of a challenge being at a park in your Sunday clothes. Obviously we went home and did some laundry so we would be ready for church the next day.

When the primary activity was over our family went to see the movie Night at the Museum 2- Battle of the Smithsonian, to celebrate accomplishing our scripture reading goal for the month. The kids loved the first movie- in fact whenever we go to museums they talk about what will happen "when" all the displays come to life. This one was fun as well and the kids are already quoting from it. I guess they inherited that from their dad.

It looks like our next job will be in Philadelphia, PA area so we will get to go see the actual Smithsonian. I'm getting geared up for studying Early American History and taking the kids to some of the historical sites in the area. This is something I've always wanted to do so I'm happy we will have this opportunity, even if it isn't exactlly how I planned it :)

Dallin's Great 8 Birthday!

2009-05-26T15:18:00.004-06:00

Happy 8th Birthday Dallin

Lauren made Dallin a yummy cake with Banana pudding inside and whipped cream on top. We forgot to get candles so we had to just light matches for him to blow out. Dallin used his Book of Mormon figurines to decorate the top.
We let Dallin choose what he wanted for dinner and he chose McDonalds- don't figure?
To celebrate Dallin's special day we went swimming. Here is Katelyn all decked out in floaties and Dallin's new goggles.
Here are the big kids!
Dallin got moon sand, pudding, some swim goggles, and the 2nd Fablehaven book for his birthday. What an awesome birthday for an awesome kid!! We are so lucky to have Dallin in our family.

Boy Scouts of America Museum

2009-05-26T11:52:00.004-06:00

Mondays are free days at the BSA museum in Irving. We figured since Dallin was turning 8 and starting scouts this week this would be a great way to start off. Unfortunately mom forgot the camera so you aren't going to be able to enjoy any photographic evidence of the event.

Our favorite activities were the shooting gallery, the pinewood derby track, and the parachute game. It was fun to learn about the origins of the scouting program. They also had an art gallery of pictures by Norman Rockwell depicting scouts in various situations.

While we were there we picked up a boy scout shirt and a book for Dallin. Here's the new scout all dressed up. Man he looks handsome! What is it about a boy in a uniform?? We are excited to see Dallin growing up and learning so much.

While we were there we met a dad who proudly pulled a pinewood derby car from a box and told us that it was his sons car and that it won all the races last year. Then he pulled out a new car and said,"This is the car for this years race. I come on Mondays to test them on the pinewood derby track."

Ummm who's car is it? All of the sudden I had flashbacks of the frantic parents desperately thrusting eggs into their 2 year olds Easter basket. Hopefully Dallin's troop won't be too competitive on the car thing. I know in California our ward had a separate race for the dads so they could channel all of their competitiveness into their own cars and let the boys do their own thing.

Father and Son Campout

2009-05-20T15:03:00.006-06:00

On the 15th the boys were able to spend some quality time camping with dad. Of course we didn't bring all of our camping gear, but luckily Rusty was able to borrow a tent from someone in the ward.The place they went camping is the "ranch" of someone in our ward. As with most ranches they had a manmade pond on their property. The boys were able to go out and paddle around on a canoe for awhile in the evening.

After some exploring and tree climbing.....

they enjoyed the traditional smores and then headed off to bed. Unfortunately about 4 in the morning they were treated to a "traditional" Texas thunderstorm. The tent they were in was not waterproof and they got home around 5 in the morning soaking wet :)

Mom and the girls were glad we missed that part of the adventure.

Lauren's Creation

2009-05-14T19:16:00.005-06:00

Lauren is learning to use the photo/video features on the

computer to create presentations.

This is her first effort- She'll be blowing us old fogeys out of the water with her computer skills

ENJOY!

Dallas World Aquarium

2009-05-13T13:27:00.004-06:00

May 11th we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. After a little research I discovered that mornings, holidays and weekends are super busy at the aquarium, but if you come after 2pm on a weekday it's pretty mellow- and as a bonus if you homeschool and schedule ahead you get a significant savings on your ticket. Super Bonus! This is a beautiful facility with much more to offer than a simple aquarium. In one area there is a huge waterfall that goes down three stories into a giant aquarium. You move down level by level enjoying different animals in each level. At the top there are birds and monkeys, in the middle sloths, snakes, lizards, frogs, etc. At the bottom there are otters, alligators, and other animals. Then you can go below and see the tank through a big glass viewing area. Here there are giant fish, turtle, rays, and even manatees.

Most of the animals are free roaming (at least the birds, monkeys, sloths, etc) so the kids could get really close. Here they discovered a Kookabura eating some fish.

The aquarium displays were so fun. They had them arranged by country so you could see what a coral reef in the ocean near that country would look like. They were beautiful, it makes me want to go snorkeling again. There were some cool seahorses and a tank of jellyfish that were fun to watch. My favorite part was the shark tunnel. I'm not much of a video person, but I'll post a clip I took from inside. This was taken while they were feeding the sharks so we could watch them eat. What a fun experience! This is a picture of the kids in the tunnel after the "feeding" crowd left.

Raccoon Eyes

2009-05-13T13:18:00.003-06:00

You may have noticed that in some of the pictures Katelyn looks a little beat up. About a week ago she was playing upstairs and came down with a huge goose egg on her forehead. She wasn't crying or anything. After some inquiry I discovered that she was chasing the boys and fell. As her forehead healed the blood pooled in her eyes. Of course she fell again a few days later and hit her head in the same place as before so it got even worse. We call her a little raccoon.

Spoiled Mom!

2009-05-13T13:03:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Lauren (with the support of Rusty) I had a wonderful Mother's Day and was thoroughly spoiled. I was awakened to breakfast in bed followed by flowers and cards from the kids.

Rusty spoke in church-

which was pay back for the time he made me speak in church on Mother's Day a couple of years ago. He did such a good job they asked him to teach High Priests group in a couple of weeks.

After church Lauren made me lunch and I received a new pair of pjs and a couple of books. That evening we had a picnic dinner at the park. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Waco Zoo

2009-05-13T12:39:00.004-06:00

As members of the Dallas Zoo we also get free admission to the Waco Zoo (which is about an hour south of Waxahachie), so Saturday afternoon we decided to check it out.

Since we've been here the weather has been pretty nice. There have been some hot days, but nothing too bad. I've been told that the Saturday in Waco was a good indicator of what is to come. It wasn't that the temperature was too bad- mid 80's- but it was the humidity. After walking 5 minutes the kids said they were "so tired." They've

never really experienced humidity and that was the only way they could describe how they felt. I gave them some new words- sweltering, sticky, and muggy. Evidently by July it gets pretty miserable around these parts and most everyone feels drained.

The animals were feeling it and pretty much hiding in the shade. Luckily there were a few fun indoor attractions that broke up the afternoon and a play area with water features to cool the

kids down. Our favorite exhibit showed animals that live in the Brazos river- complete with a huge turtle and a couple of little alligators that liked to go after the fish and turtles. We spent a long time in the air conditioned building waiting to see if the alligator was going to get some lunch.

On the way home we stopped in the small Czechoslovakian town of West, Texas (also known as the Kolache Capital of Texas). At the suggestion of one of Rusty's patients we stopped to visit the local bakery and sampled the local pastry speciality, kolaches. Well worth the visit, and a great way to top off the day.

Dinosaur Valley Park

2009-05-12T15:36:00.015-06:00

About an hour from Waxahachie there is a park where "Dinosaurs once roamed." Although many of the tracks were removed from the ground and sold when this was private property, there are still some remnants in the river bed. We decided that this was a great adventure for a fieldtrip.

At the park there are two dino statues- an Apatosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus. There is a funny story about how two competing paleontologists fought to uncover the complete skeletal remains of a sauropod. One of them

put together an Apatosaurus but it was incomplete. The other thinking he found a different dinosaur called his a Brontosaurus. In his rush to beat out the other guy he attached the wrong skull to his dino and released his findings to the world. Of course the people of the world embraced the model, drew pictures and made sculptures, wrote books and even re-created the skeleton for all their museums.

Unfortunately in time other scientists determined that the Brontosaurus was actually just an Apatosaurus with the wrong head. At this state park they went back and tried to change the head of their Brontosaurus, but it just didn't look right, so now instead of going for scientific accuracy they just put the old head back on, put up a sign to notify the public and chalked it up to a cultural learning experience. The funny thing is that neither of the statues on display reflect the dinosaurs who made the tracks at the park. I'm sure there is a lesson in this whole thing.

Here are some pictures of the kids and the tracks...

Of course a few muddy indentations didn't hold their attention long and soon the trip to see the dinosaur tracks became a trip to play in the river.

They found a nice mossy rock bed with a couple spots deep enough to float/swim, some mud, and a floating log. The day was complete.

Faire Weather Friends

2009-05-06T16:58:00.006-06:00

Last week we went to student days at the Scarborough Renaissance Faire here in Waxahachie. It was quite the event! An entire community re-created with entertainers, shops, demonstrations on trades like glass blowing, blacksmithing, candle making, sword making, pottery, etc. There were dancers, sword fighters, artists, magicians, jousters, belly-dancers, bird trainers. Obviously it was more than we could do in one day, but here are some of the highlights...

Dr. Kaboom- a Renaissance scientist extraordinaire. Everything you would hope for in a science show - fire sticks, jiggling cow gloves, catapulting bananas, egg flinging, smoke cannons and tons of corny jokes.
Here is Rusty assisting at the Turtle Races- he is the "ooga-ooga" guy, responsible for prompting reluctant turtles to endure to the finish line.
The Duke of Danger did a fun show with stunts, tricks and other feats of "bravery" and show-manship.
As we were leaving we snagged a photo with the Queen and King Henry VIII, and their various friends/court members. The queen even gave Lauren her rose. Overall it was a productive day. Rusty enjoyed a Turkey leg- he's wanted to eat another one since we ate one at the Iowa State Fair after we were just married. Ben acquired a whistle that looks and sounds like a bird- which he uses constantly, or at least until Mom calls it quits. Katie used her money to buy a pink rose and Lauren bought a glass heart necklace.

Dallas Zoo Two- The Day of the Deluge

2009-05-04T16:13:00.004-06:00

Saturday morning we cleaned the church. Afterwards we decided to put our zoo pass to use and spend the day at the zoo. The zoo was having a Cinco De Mayo event so there were fun, free games and activities available. The kids had a great time in the tiger bounce house and inflatable snake maze/slide. We were able to see the Reptile house and the Ghost of the Bayou. We caught the seasonal butterfly exhibit and as part of our membership we got 4 free passes for the monorail so we went on the tour of Zoo Africa as well.

Unfortunately after 4 hours of fun our trip was cut short by a major downpour. BUT, never fear, a few days ago I had purchased some emergency rain coats for just such an experience. I love the rain and actually like walking in a warm spring rain storm, but this was more than just a rain storm. As we waded throw water up to our ankles we decided to head home a little early. Rusty decided this was a good moment to document our trip so you can see some really sad faces below.

In spite of the rain we had a great time and because we have passes a little rain is really nothing to cry about. We will go back and see the rest of the zoo on trip three.