The Texas Rangers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A Knight's Tale

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

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!

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