United States--Hawaii

Aloha from the lovely state of Hawaii.  Aloha can mean hello, goodbye, love and friendship in the Hawaiian language.  The Hawaiian language consists of only 12 letters.  We tried to read some words in Hawaiian, but all the vowels made it difficult.  Braedi and I were fascinated with the fact that the Hawaiian islands are the tops of underwater volcanoes.  All but one of the volcanoes are still active.  Hawaii was the last state to become part of our nation. 

For our activity we tried to learn the hula.  I found a great teaching video on YouTube, but turns out you need rhythm.  It was fun to try though. 

We also made some leis.  Each of the main 8 islands makes leis differently.  Some use flowers, some use seeds, some use fruit.  Hawaiian people traditionally give leis to chiefs as a sign of affection. 

Thanksgiving Day

We rotate years for Thanksgiving dinner and this year was with the Mecham side of the family.  We had a yummy feast out at Jeremiah and Christy's new house.  There was turkey and stuffing and potatoes, steamed beans and other fresh veggies, rolls and cranberry sauce, and a butternut squash soup.  There were also several yummy desserts.  So much good food means that I had to try it all and even seconds on some.  Needless to say, I was stuffed! 

 

The kids and I (Jonathan had to work) headed over early to play.  We went to the park and played around then went back to the house and hung out.  After dinner there was more visiting and looking through the Black Friday ads.  It was a fun day. 



Arizona Living History Museum

The kids and I went on a field trip to the Arizona Living History Museum.  We've never been there before and it wasn't what we expected, but we had a good time.  Auntie Ko and Matt joined us and the kids loved being able to spend time with them. 

One of our favorite parts was the gun show.  The volunteers did a little gun safety presentation then they put on a show.  Ephram sat next to me with his fingers in his ears, shaking with fear the whole time.  Later he said that he loved it, though.  We also liked seeing the blacksmith, the jailhouse, the one-room school and some Victorian houses.  Braedi liked the houses and wants a house with a wrap-around-porch when she gets married. 

the whole gang-minus me

the gun show

lunch time--Matt and Kosette found us a shady spot--
I can't believe how warm it was today!

The kids got a kick out of these drinking fountains

Thanksgiving Activities

Yesterday the kids did some activities to help them prepare for Thanksgiving.  We started by reading a story about the first Thanksgiving.  Then we made a turkey that I found in a folder of stuff my grandma gave me.  The kids used water colors to paint a turkey, then used black glue to trace the outline of the turnkey.  It was supposed to make a neat looking turkey, but ours didn't turn out too neat looking.  Our black glue was more of a gray and it was too watery so that it spread too much. 

This is my grandma's sample glued to a piece of brown construction paper.

Here is a picture of how one of the kids' turned out.

Our next activity came from a new blog I found.  The kids took coffee filters and colored them with markers.  Then they sprayed the filters with water and set them aside to dry.  Meanwhile they took construction paper and made a turkey (circle head and smaller circle body, beak, waddle, legs, and eyes).  When the filter was dry they cut it in half and glued their turkey body to the filter making it's tail feathers.  I think these turned out cute.

For our last activity we read a short rhyming, repeating book about turkeys being all over the farm.  The kids colored turkeys and hid them throughout the house.  Then they wrote a sentence similar to the book: Turkey by the ______ and made a short book and went on a turkey hunt.  I love finding ways to get the kids excited about writing. 

Also, all month we've been making a gratitude chart.  Every morning I asked someone to tell me something that they were thankful for.  The trick was it had to be something new, something that no one had mentioned before.  Here's what they said:
Braedi--talents, the gospel, gratitude
Corbin--animals, puff pancakes, stoplights
Dyllan--my family, friends, clothes
Ephram--bikes, my mom and dad, firetrucks
Faythe--Jesus, swing sets, Heavenly Father
Jonathan--Ashlee, books, pickles
Ashlee--food, my husband, my garden
I'm thankful for this time of year where we can focus on our blessings.  I'm looking forward to our feast tomorrow.  Happy Thanksgiving!

8 is Too Much

We had 3 extra kids over the weekend and learned that our house is not able to support that many kids. 

A new-member family in our ward had to go out of town last weekend and asked the ward to help watch their 5 kids.  Jonathan and I volunteered to watch the 3 younger ones because they are the same age as Corbin, Dyllan and Ephram.  We knew it would be crowded, but figured it would be a good opportunity for them to see a family in the gospel. 

On Friday, I picked them up from school (a new adventure for me) and brought them to our house.  They kids played well together and had a fun time.  Saturday we went fishing and then to my parents house for a family activity.  We had to take 2 cars everywhere.  Sunday was church.  Getting 8 kids ready for church--bathed and dressed and looking decent--took a long time.  Bedtime was another adventure.  The only place for extra people to sleep is on the floor.  They crowded into the kids' rooms and giggled and talked until they finally fell asleep.    Eating was another adventure.  Our table only fits 8 people so Jonathan and I stood while eating.  We used so much more food and had to wash more dishes.  Monday morning I had to get them up and take them to school.  I've never had to do that.  Luckily they eat breakfast at school, so all I had to do was wake them up, get them dressed and pile them in the car.

I'm glad that we could help the family and have these kids in our home.  I'm also glad that they all got along so well.  It was a fun adventure, but I'm glad that it is over. 

 

United States--Georgia

We visited Georgia this week and I couldn't help talking with a southern accent.  Georgia is known as the peach state, but peanuts are more prevalent so we renamed it the peanut state.  Actually, Georgia is known for it's 3 P's--peanuts, peaches and pecans.   Georgia was the 4th state to ratify the constitution.  Georgia has the largest granite outcropping on earth and there is a huge statue/carving of Stonewall Jackson, General Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis on the side. 

The kids decided that they wanted to make a peach smoothie for our activity.  I found a recipe online that looked good, but it turned out not so good.  The taste was OK--a little too much nutmeg.  And I like my smoothies thicker.  If I make it again I'll add some frozen bananas. 

Peachy Keen Smoothie
1 c. sliced peaches
4 cubes ice (optional)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp honey
2 tsp wheat germ
1 Tbl rolled oats
1 c. vanilla soy milk (I used regular milk)

Place all ingredients into a blender.  Cover and puree until smooth.  Pour into glasses to serve. 

I didn't take any pictures this time.  Can you guess where we go next week?  It starts with an H.

Free Enterprise Day--2011

The kids participated in their 3rd free enterprise day last week.  Every year I say that I wish I had done more teaching and this year I finally did.  The kids came up with a plan (chocolate candies) and then we priced out how much stuff would cost.  Our initial cost was $6 per kid!  (That price included $1 spending money.)  Braedi had the idea to borrow molds from Grandma and we found some coupons for the chocolates and that brought the cost down to $3. 

We talked about how they could get the money to fund their project--borrow from and pay back mom or earn the money.  They voted to earn the money.  I made a list of jobs and the kids did .25-.50 cent jobs until they had enough money.  Some of the jobs were: clean a shelf in the pantry, vacuum a vent, give dad a back rub, clean the back window, sweep the patio, water the tree and so much  more.  On a side note, I kept the list of random jobs to use as possible negative consequences. 

After they earned enough money, I had them practice buying the chocolates with a coupon.  The cashier at Michael's was super good with the kids as they went through her line.  Then we came home and made the chocolates.  They also made signs to advertise their product. 

Next we talked a little about how much they could sell their chocolates for.  We did some math problems to figure out how many they would have to sell at a certain price in order to break even or make a profit.  I also talked to them about how lucky they were to not have to pay for advertisements and the molds and overhead (electricity to melt and cool the chocolates and storage).  If this was the case they would have had to charge a lot more for the product. 

The big day arrived.  We went to the park and set up our table.  The kids got ready to sell. Here is where I want to do better next year.  We should have kept track of how many we made and how many we sold.  Talking about how many they needed to sell wasn't enough, we should have kept track to see if they actually made any money. 

The kids had fun supporting the other booths, too.  There was a lot of food, some games and crafts, hair clips, bags and a few other things.  I only got pictures of one booth--a calf roping booth.  It was a favorite of the kids.

I think it was a successful event.  The kids are getting an idea of what the free market is.  They are working to earn money and having fun. 

About Faythe: She didn't participate in the selling (she would have rather eaten than sell), but she loved making the chocolates and claimed one box as her own.  I did have her do a few chores to earn spending money because I knew that would be her favorite part. 

Happy Birthday, Corbin!

Corbin turned 8 on November 3rd.  What a special age!  Corbin picked his favorite foods to eat and picked what presents he wanted me to give him.  He said I could surprise him with one gift, but he told me what that gift had to be. 

We didn't do a family activity because this is a party year for Corbin.  Corbin wanted an animal themed party.  As the kids arrived I had an animal foam craft on the table for them to do. 

I decided to do part of the party at Pratt's Pets.  They do free tours and are just down the street from our house.  Corbin invited a three friends to come to his party.  It had to be 3 because that is all I could fit in the van to take to the pet store.  The tour was neat.  The guide talked about the animals and let the kids hold a few. 

Then we came back to the house and had cupcakes and a snack and opened presents. 

After the boys checked out the presents we played a few games.  The first game was find the dog bones.  I cut out a bunch of dog bones and hid them around the back yard.  They had to find them like and easter egg hunt. 

For the next game I wrapped one of the party favors in layers of newspaper.  The kids sat in a circle and passed the present around.  They had to stop when the music stopped and whomever was holding it got to take of one layer of paper.  The favors were animals that grow when you put them in water.

Another game we played was pin the bill on the duck. 

The last game I prepared was a bean bag toss.  I layed out a few animal shaped plates and they had to try and toss the beanbag onto a certain animal to win the prize. 

I'm not a big fan of parties--they are so much work for me and I'm not very creative.  It's always a relief when they are over.  One of the difficulties with this party is that I was nervous about having boys.  It's easier for me to think of stuff girls would like to do.  I must have done OK, though, because Corbin had fun. 

Corbin also got to spend some time with his grandparents.  My mom and dad took Corbin and his cousin Dyson for the weekend.  They got to out to eat and birthday present shopping.  Corbin picked a pair of rollerblades as his present.  He's still a bit wobbly, but hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon.   





Lola likes to do something special for the kids when they turn 8.  For the girls she will buy their baptism dress and for the boys she will buy their scout uniform.  She took Corbin to the scout store to get his scout stuff and they also went to lunch.  Corbin was so excited to start scouts.  He's been looking forward to it since he was 6. 

Happy Birthday!

Cave Art

Have you ever had a kid that you didn't know what they were interested in?  That you couldn't figure out what they wanted to learn about?  And neither can the kids?  I have one of those kids--Dyllan.  Dyllan is so easy going.  She just goes with the flow and doesn't express an interest in anything in particular. 

A few months ago I learned about a way to inspire kids--build off their sparks.  How do I do that if the child doesn't show a spark?!?!  Last month at my leadership education family builder meeting a friend mentioned how she follows Dianne Jeppson's idea using the Core Knowledge books.  I have thought that is was a great idea just not something that would work for my family, but that night I had an epiphany.  I felt that I could use those books with Dyllan to give her a place to start picking something that she was interested in.  I found What your First Grade needs to Know at the library and today I pulled the book out while working with Dyllan. 

She went right to the art section.  The first chapter in that section was about the first artists and their drawings.  These artist were the "cave men" that probably living during the ice age and their drawings were cave paintings.  We talked about what kinds of pictures they would draw and why.  There was an activity idea at the end of that part: get a cardboard box and pretend it's your cave and draw your own cave painting.  Dyllan was very excited to do this project.  I didn' have a box, but I had some large paper.  We taped it to the wall and she went to work.  While she drew I read some more from the book (in the History section) about the people that lived during the ice age.  Now maybe we can get a book about the ice age and learn a little bit more.  It was fun to see her get excited about something. 

A Stuck Comb

After showers Thursday night, Dyllan brought out the comb to have me help her comb her hair.  I guess she got bored waiting and started playing around with the comb.  She ended up getting it tangled in her hair.  I tried to get it out, but it was too twisted and I only made things worse.  I called a friend for advise and she told me I would have to try to pull out the hair strand by strand or I could try to break the comb.  For almost 3 hours I worked on pulling out Dyllan's hair strand by strand. 

Then Jonathan came home and we broke part of the comb.  That didn't work.  I pulled out more strands and got it so that only a little in the front was left in the comb--the worst part.  I told Dyllan that as part of her consequence she would have to help buy a new comb.  Her response was "but I didn't break it!"  By this time Dyllan and I were both tired. I put her un-tangled hair into a french braid so it wouldn't get more tangled, pinned the comb part to her head so it would be too uncomfortable and sent her to bed. 

The next morning she decided that she didn't want to sit through more hair pulling and wanted a fast fix.  I took her to Great Clips for help.  I hoped that they would have a simple solution to getting the comb loose, but they had to cut the hair.  Thankfully all that was left in the comb was enough to cut into a side-bang.  There are no bald spots in her hair and the bangs look cute.  I hope she learned her lesson and won't do that again. 

Family Fun With Tying Flies

My newest obsession is fly fishing. Some of the reasons that it is so enjoyable for me are: the challenge, the outdoors, a great community, time with friends and family, and a healthy break from my hectic schedule.

I'm particularly pleased that the kids have taken to fishing. Braedi and Corbin learned a bit about casting and gave it a try at Deadhorse Basin. I'm excited for another outlet to spend time with the kids and develop our relationship. Long car rides = captive audience!

Within the last couple of weeks I started learning how to tie my own flies. A good fishing buddy hooked me up with a vise, some tools, and a lot of materials. The kids expressed interesting in learning how to tie, so today the oldest 4 had a chance to try it out. It was a lot of fun. They did quite well. Here's a few pictures:

Choose to Become

Christy and I attended Time Out for Women this weekend (the tickets were a gift from our in-laws, but it's something we've attended together for the last 3 years).  The theme for this years conference was Choose to Become.  The speakers and musical presentations were all about choosing to become what we are meant to be. 

At the beginning of the conference we were asked to think about what we want to become.  This was not meant to be something else to add to our checklist, but more like a vision of what we are meant to be.  I pondered this question throughout the event and felt the spirit prompt me that I need to work on being a better mother.  More specifically, I need to build better relationships with my kids.  And I felt that the way I need to accomplish this is to be less selfish. 

On our drive home, Christy and I discussed the question posed to us and our answers.  We decided that we are going to try to share our journey on our blogs.  This is my first step: I am choosing to become a self-less mother. 


A little more about what I learned and some favorite quotes:
--Elder Scott: "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day."
--Learn, Work, Serve, Love (and I added Play)
--The Optimist Experiment: pray with faith, think with faith, live with faith
--"We can pierce the darkness as He shines through us."
--Don't be the thing that stands in your way.
--A God that requires nothing of us, is making nothing of us.  I thought that I could replace the word God with parent. 
--I need to think more positive thoughts.  President Hinkley: "How can a person become what his not thinking?" and Grant Van Harrison: "Your thoughts will be a determining factor in what you accomplish during your life."
--I need to teach the principle behind some of the things we do.  I need to teach why we have family home evening, why it's important to keep the sabbath day holy, why we don't fight, etc.
--Ask "What is the most important thing I need to do today?"  Then stop and listen.
--Focusing on the darkness won't bring us to the light, we need to focus on the light to get through the darkness.

It was a great break from life and an uplifting experience. 

United States--Florida

Welcome to the Sunshine State.  Florida has more than 1000 miles of beaches and produces 75% of the nation's citrus.  Florida is home to the Everglades (a "river of grass") and the Kennedy Space Center and the oldest American City--St. Augustine. 

We made Florida Sunshine Shakes and wrote Haikus.

1 c. Florida orange juice
1/2 c. Florida grapefruit juice
1 ripe banana (we used a frozen banana)
1/2 c. vanilla yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Braedi's Haikus

Oranges and grapefruits

Put them in a yummy shake

Drink the shake, yummy!

It is creamy orange

Oranges and grapefruits in it

Guess.  It's an orange shake!

Corbin's Haiku

Oranges are awesome

You can make them into shakes

I like grapefruits, too

Dyllan's Haiku

Yummy drink that's orange

Made from oranges and grapefruit

Drink it with a straw

Ashlee's Haiku

Oranges, grapefruit, yum!

Cold, refreshing, drink it down

Makes a yummy treat



Ephram's Horns

"Look, mom!  I have horns!" 

United States--Delaware

What did Della wear to the party?  She wore a New Jersey!

Fun times in Delaware.  My brother and his family recently moved to Delaware so we had a personal connection to this state.  Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution and became the first state of the new nation.  One of it's nicknames is the Diamond State given by Thomas Jefferson because it is "small, but valuable."  The state animal is the horse-shoe crab.  I tried to talk the kids into making crab cakes, but was turned down.  Instead we made an origami crab.  I found simple directions on-line. 

The Letter Mm

Faythe had a lot of fun learning about the letter M. 

She played with magnets,

made 5 little monkeys,

made a mouse mask,

made a monster puppet,

and made a monster counting book.

Pumpkin Craft

I was at a friends house and saw a cute pumpkin craft.  I thought it would be fun to make.  It looked easy enough and my friend gave me a simple explanation of how to make it.  I should have asked for more instructions (like the size of paper and how to glue them together).  They didn't turn out quite the same. . .

I cut strips of orange paper and the kids rolled them around a pencil.  Then they glued the end down.  This made a cylinder.  They glued the cylinders into a pumpkin shape and added leaves and a stem.  It was kind of a frustrating activity.  I should have known better--I usually like to have good directions when I do a craft.  I can't look at something and figure out how to re-make it.  Next time I'll know better. 



Halloween Costumes

We shopped at second hand stores this year to find Halloween costumes.  I'm not sure if I save any money, but at least the costumes are better quality than the crap you normally find at Wal-mart. 

Braedi the Witch

Corbin the Cowboy

Dyllan the Fairy

Ephram the Pirate

Faythe the Fairy

The Whole Gang

We weren't able to attend our ward's Trunk-or-Treat activity so we invited ourselves to my parent's.  It was a nice night and the kids got just the right amount of candy.