Modesty Through the Ages

Braedi and the girls from her activity day group participated in a fashion show. Each girl was assigned a decade and they were supposed to modestly dress like a girl from that time period. Braedi was given the 1930s. I'm so glad that I have friends that sew! I bought a long shirt and Ammanda sewed some material to the bottom to make a drop waist dress. It turned out cute. Then the girls walked down the aisle to show off their outfits. We got to watch and it was fun to see the personalities of each of the girls.

Happy Easter!

Easter was a 1 week long celebration with 4 egg hunts and lots of candy and a little of the true meaning. We started last week with a short Easter lesson at my parent's house, then had an Easter party with homeschool friends on Thursday, played with ward friends Saturday morning, shot decorated eggs on Saturday afternoon with the Mecham family and ended this morning with new Easter clothes and Easter lessons and songs at church. The younger kids love this time of year because of the candy, but I hope they start to gain an understanding and testimony of what Easter really means--the life and death of Jesus. What an awesome time for us to remember His life and sacrifice. To remember that we, too, can live again.

Bye-Bye Toys!

Earlier this week I decided to go through the kids' toys and get rid of some of them. Their rooms have been extra messy as of late and there has been a little more contention while playing. I wanted to them to have a say in what stuffed animals they wanted to keep. That was a big mistake. They had a hard time letting go. Look at what happened.
Dyllan and Faythe didn't really care.

Decorating Eggs

It's that time of year again--time to decorate easter eggs. I don't look forward to it because I'm afraid of the mess, but I guess my kids are getting older. We only had one little spill. We decorated two batches--one that was boiled for hiding and making into egg salad sandwiches and one that was raw that we'll take with us when we go shooting tomorrow. I'm glad that my kids still like to do these silly traditions. A friend of mine was telling me that her oldest didn't like to decorate and hide eggs anymore.

Say Good-Bye to Allergies

Spring is my favorite season--I love to see all the new growth and enjoy the beautiful weather--but it's a bitter-sweet time for me. The blossoms and flowers mean horrible allergies. My eyes itch, my nose gets stuffy/congested, my mouth and throat itch and I have a hard time breathing. I've tried all the natural stuff--honey, nettie pot, etc. I've tried drugs. Last year I broke down and got a prescription nasal spray. It was AWESOME! But this year I had a different experience.

Earlier this year, Faythe had a UTI. Jonathan suggested that we try essential oils instead of antibiotics. I'm not sure where that came from--maybe from his naturopath cousin. I contacted a friend and she gave me some oils to try. We tried for a few days. Faythe wasn't complaining about it hurting and she was peeing less, but it was still cloudy. Then the pain started again so I took her to the doctor. She put Faythe on an antibiotic. I gave her it and continued the oils. Turns out it was the wrong antibiotic. The doctor was concerned that Faythe would have a fever and other symptoms of an untreated UTI, but she seemed to be doing better not worse. I figured it was because of the oils.

Jonathan and I decided to learn more. He was intrigued with the stuff that helped with headaches and body/muscle pains. I wanted to find something that would help with my allergies. My friend told me that the liver cleanse helps with allergies. I started doing it and have had a wonderful spring. No stuffy nose! No itchy mouth and throat. Only one day of difficult breathing. My eyes still bother me a little, but I use lavender oil to help with that as needed. It has been amazing! The drink is a shock to my system every morning and totally gross, but definitely worth it.

Liver Cleanse
1 drop peppermint oil
1 drop lemon oil
1 Tbl. lemon juice
1 glass of water
Drink 1/2 hour before eating

Geography Fair

Braedi, Corbin and Dyllan participated in a geography fair with our homeschool group. We picked the country Uganda to learn about and present. I thought it would be fun for them to learn a little bit about where their dad would be this summer. We checked books out from the library and did some searching online and learned some neat things about Uganda. One of my favorites was the weather. Even though the equator runs through it, Uganda isn't hot. There are many lakes in this country that keep it cool.Braedi learned about the agriculture of Uganda and made a not-so-tasty dish from plantains.

Corbin learned about one of the languages spoken there--Swahili--and taught everyone how to say a few words.

Dyllan learned about the climate and the plants and animals.

They made a display that included a salt map, a flag, and other interesting facts. Then they presented what they learned in front of our whole group. We practiced how to speak in front of other people and I thought the kids were well prepared.

Photo Gallery

I promised that when we got our family pictures that I would actually print them and hang them up. Well, I finally got the last picture up. I decided to do a photo gallery. I bought lots of frames and Christy taught me an easy way to hang the pictures. I did the work all by myself. This is a first for me. Jonathan is so good at hanging pictures (a perfectionist) that I always let him do it. But he's been so busy with school lately that I didn't want to wait. I took pictures of the process. . .

I put the pictures in the frames, then laid them out how I wanted. A lot of the frames I bought were tabletop frames so I had to remove the stand and add hangers. This was a hard step for me and the frames might be a little lopsided because of it. I then traced each frame onto butcher paper (paper grocery bags work, too). I marked where the hole for the nail would go and used tape to put them on the wall. I was then able to visualize the finished product and move the papers around without putting tons of holes in my wall. Then I hung up the pictures. This part was so easy. I hammered a nail where the hole was marked, took off the paper and hung the frame.

I'm so proud of myself, so no negative comments. :)

Faythe Joins the Chore Rotation

Our family rotates chores weekly. I figured this keeps them from getting bored with a chore and helps them to know there is an end in sight to chores that they don't like. We had 4 main chores that needed to be done everyday--setting the table, emptying the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher and swishing and swiping. That worked fine until Faythe was old enough to join the rotation. Now I had to think of another chore. I added washing the breakfast dishes and wiping the table to list. Faythe has gone through 3 rotations and does a pretty good job. This morning as she was loading the dishwasher she asked me to take a picture of her.

Hand Wash

Braedi got a new dress for her birthday. She wore it for the first time and spilled orange juice on it. Before I put it in the washing machine I thought that I had better check the tag to make sure that I washed it right. I'm glad that I did because it was a hand wash only item. I HATE hand washing clothes so I decided to teach Braedi how to do it. Luckily she enjoyed the process, but hopefully she'll be more careful and will be able to get more than one wear out of each wash.

Some sisterly love - Kiwi style!

My sister Kosette sent me this card and a Maori hook. (I'm sparing you the picture of a rotund Russian dude taking a stroll in the snow wearing nigh but a speedo) I appreciate both, but they pale in comparison to the words and the sentiment they deliver.

(Click on the pics for a larger image.)

Leadership and safe journey - the purpose and hope of our lives (and my summer!).

Thanks, Ko! I love you!

French Braids

When we went to the carnival awhile back, Braedi got her hair french braided at one of the booths. That night, after her shower, she asked me to put another braid back into her hair. Unfortunately, I never mastered that skill. I've been taught a couple of times but with no success. I recently bought a girlscout handbook and one of the pages in it taught how to do a french braid. I followed the directions and came out with a pretty decent french braid. Tonight both Dyllan and Braedi asked for one and I decided that I could use the practice. I'm pretty proud of myself. It feels so good to learn something new. I still need to figure out how to get the sides smooth (a comb didn't help), but with more practice I'll get it.

Garden Update

The kids and I spent the afternoon working in the garden. We picked weeds, cleaned up the yard around the garden and even picked some radishes. The kids as excited as to be able to pick produce from our garden. There are a few things I like about gardening. I love how neat the beds look right after planting. I love when things start sprouting (especially beans). And I love when things start producing. The radishes are a little spicy, but they'll be good in a salad or a salsa. I can't wait for tomatoes and beans!

O-R-A-N-G-E

Faythe and I have been working on the color orange. We read Matilda and the Orange Balloon, sang the orange song, looked at orange things and made orange balloons, an orange fish, and an orange jack-o-lantern. I LOVE that she loves to work with me? "Can I work with you mom?"

Ephram's Adventures

I forgot to tell about something cute Ephram did when we came home from the carnival. He had gotten a pencil as one of the prizes. He pulled it out and a couple of pieces of paper and drew a picture of all the activities he did. I was impressed. I took a picture of the drawings. . .

Carnival

Remember when I told you that Braedi stayed with my parents for her birthday and then went to my sister's PTA carnival? Well we met them there. It was in the school parking lot and there were all kinds of booths--face painting, hair-doing, games, balloon animals, a cake walk, food and much more. We didn't get to stay long, but we had fun while we were there.

We all got a cheek or a hand painted and played some games.

Then we had lunch (hot dogs and nachos)

and went down the huge bouncy slide before we had to leave.

Who knew school carnivals could be so much fun?

Horses, Horses and More Horses

My homeschool group decided that it would be good if the kids could participate in book discussions. Every month we read a book and meet before PE to discuss. The kids generate the questions and I help lead. In March we discussed Little Britches by Ralph Moody. It was a great book! And a true story. Ralph and his family move to Colorado in the early 1900s and start a ranch. Ralph learns about horses and some lessons on character.

The book inspired us to want to learn more about horses. I checked out a bunch of books from the library. Corbin read Black Beauty and The Black Stallion, Braedi enjoyed the How to Draw Horses book, Dyllan liked wearing her cowboy boots and Faythe and Ephram loved playing with the farm animals. We learned about the different breeds of horses, drew and labeled a horse, practiced the different gaits of a horse, discussed the jobs of horses (past and present), talked about grooming and tack, AND visited a horse farm!

I found out from Christy about a horse farm in the area that lets kids ride for cheap, so we decided to check it out. We went for a tour, met and fed the horses and set up a time when we could come back and do a horse camp.

One week later we were back ready to groom, ride and muck. The kids got a chance to brush a horse then we watched as the teen instructor put on the saddle and bridle. They got a chance to lead the horse, then the kids got to ride the horses. They had to know how to control the horse and follow directions. They also had to take turns (and no one complained)! Afterward we all went back to the stalls and cleaned them. While we were cleaning some of the kids got to help clean the horses. I had no idea that keeping a horse was so much work. But that didn't stop Corbin from saying that he wanted a horse!

Walking or Trotting or Cantering (I can't tell).

This is part of our tour Faythe was scared of the horses. We took this picture to help prepare her for the camp and it worked. Grooming and Leading Riding around the barrels Mucking the stalls The kids worked hard and had a lot of fun.