March Date--You're a Catch!

We had to skip our February date becuase of so many scheduling conflicts, but we made sure that we got a couple of date nights in March. 

Jonathan and the kids did a lot of fishing last year, but I never got a liscience.  Becuase of this I just had to sit and watch and the fishing trips weren't a lot of fun for me.  I would get excited for the kids and started to feel the thrill of catching a fish.  I decided to suck it up and have Jonathan buy me a liscience and let him take me fishing.  We went to one of his favorite local spots and he taught me how to fly fish.  We only had an hour before sunset so I didn't get a lot of practice, but I caught one.  Too bad it broke the line and got away.  Then Jonathan caught one and passed the rod to me so I could practice realing it in.  What a different experience!  That one got away, too.  Jonathan tried again and was able to bring one in. 

The we went and got some dessert.

I had a great time!

We also went on a double date with some friends, but I didn't get any pictures.  We don't double very often, but it was fun to do something different.

We met at The Goodwill and made each other a scavenger hunt list.  A couple of things that we had to find were an innapropriate item, something that went with our home decor and something neon.  We had them find an obsolete piece of computer equipement and a vegan cookbook.  Goodwill shopping is fun when you have someone to make fun with.  Then we went the Dollar Store and each couple had to find a dessert for $5.  Jonathan made a strawberry shortcake like dessert with mangos.  Then we went to the park and played a game and ate dessert and visited.  Fun time!

Braedi's Quilt

As part of Braedi's Faith in God program she picked an activity that required her to create something and then display it for others to see.  She has been working on a crib quilt with her Grandma Mecham and decided to enter it into the county fair.  We enjoy going to the fair to see the exhibits and this year we were extra excited because we would get to see Braedi's quilt as part of that.  Her quilt got 2nd place! 

no, the quilt above isn't the winner. 
we couldn't find the other quilts in her same category.

The kids also participated in the Read to Ride program--read 4 books and get 4 free rides.  Braedi had a hard time finding a calm enough ride, Corbin got sick on one and gave the rest of his tickets to Dyllan, Dyllan and Ephram couldn't get enough of the kid rides, and Faythe got scared on one, but enjoyed the slower rides.  I hope that some day I'll have a kid who will go on the big, scary roller-coasters with me.  The battery in my camera died so I only got one picture of them on the rides.

Thanks to Grandma for going with us to the fair and for helping Braedi with her quilt.  Braedi did an awesome job!  Maybe next year we can enter something else?

Braedi's 10th Birthday

I can't believe that Braedi is 10!  She got a denim skirt, a hula-hoop, and the game of Life from us. 

She couldn't decide what she wanted for her treat, but settled on left-over Boston Cream Cakes because she knew that she'd be making cinnamon rolls with Grandma Mecham.

Braedi decided that she wanted to go bowling for her family activity.  It was so fun!  I love seeing the kids cheer for each other.  Some hi-lights. . .

Not the birthday girl, but a cute picture!

We only got to play 1 and a half games.  The second game I got 4 strikes in a row
and had to throw an extra time so we could get my score!

Braedi got to spend a day with Grandma Mecham making treats and finishing her quilt.  She got a cut sock monkey from them.  She also got to spend a couple of days with Grandma and Grandpa Garrett.  They went mini-golfing (a new favorite for Braedi) and shopping and to a movie. 

Happy Birthday to my oldest!

United States--Michigan

I haven't blogged for a long time and, unfortunately, I don't remember a lot of what we did and learned.  Maybe if I get caught up I can do a small blog every other day or so. 

The only thing I can remember about Michigan has to do with our activity.  Henry Ford was from Michigan and he perfected the assembly line to mass produce his cars.  For our activity we learned a little more about assembly lines and made edible cars.  I gathered ingrediants from around the house and taught each kid what their job was on the assembly line. 

Faythe had to open the granola bars and put them on a plate (this was the base of the car),

 Braedi attached the bumpers (tootsie rolls),

 Corbin put in the seat (mini-candy bar),

 Dyllan added the wheels (they were supposed to be vanilla wafers, but those were too big so we used cut-up tootsie rolls), 

 and Ephram added the steering wheel (fruit leather on a tooth-pick).

We noticed that if one person fell behind there was a huge back-up in production.  If we do this again I'll have to do it with different food--our car was much too sweet and the kids didn't finish eating them. 

United States--Massachusetts

Massachusetts has a lot history--the home of the Salem Witch Trials, home of the first Thanksgiving, home of the Boston Tea Party and many other Revolution events. 

We determined that there was a witch in our midst and held our own witch trials.  I secretly gave each of the kids a "character".  One was a towns person whose chickens died, another was person who got sick, another was the witch, another was the judge and another was the mob of angry townspeople.  Corbin drew the witch card so after a short, unfair trial where all the bad deeds were blamed on him, he as burned at the stake.  The kids had fun with the activity, but we had to remember our recent reading of Witch of Blackbird Pond--how unfairly the people treated the "witch" just because she was different. 

We also made some mini-Boston creme cakes.  I combined 2 recipes (so that I wouldn't have to go to the store for more ingredients).   We made the mini-cakes from a cake mix and we used the cream from the first recipe instead of pudding from the second, but it didn't really set--it was too runny.  We followed the first recipe on how to create the cream cakes.  They weren't very pretty, but they were yummy.

Letter Uu

There are some letters that are harder than others and Uu is one of those.  For our first activity I hid a Unicorn Under an Umbrella.  Each umbrella had a review letter.  Faythe had to guess where the unicorn was hidden.

Then we made Ugly boats,

 found things that are Up in the sky,

 and stood Up-side down.

Ephram Lost His First. . .

Tooth!  The 3 older kids lost their first tooth when they were 5 years old.  Since Ephram's 5th birthday he has been waiting for one to fall out.  It finally happened last week.  It's kind of hard to see the hole, but it's there. 

Our Busy Week

Last week was a crazy, busy week with too many days away from home!  After the first day, I was ready to cancel all the other activities, but chose not to because of promises made to the kids. 

Monday and Tuesday were fairly regular days--school, doctor's appointments, projects. 

Wednesday was when the business started.  A couple in our ward went through the temple for the first time and then were sealed for time and all eternity.  I love sealings!  What an awesome experience it was for this couple and I'm so glad that we were invited to share in that moment.  In the evening we went to Christy and Jeremiah's house.  Jonathan's aunt and cousins were in-town visiting so we got together for dinner.  We ended up staying late visiting and laughing.

Thursday was a trip out to Queen Creek to attend the Estrella Wars.  Last year we went with some homeschool friends and Corbin saw a sword that he wanted.  Unfortunately he didn't have enough money, so all year long he has been saving for that sword in hopes that we would go back again.  I wasn't pleased about making the drive again, but I couldn't disappoint Corbin--he worked hard to save that money.  He found a sword, but our experience this year wasn't as good as last year.  For one, it was much hotter.  For another there wasn't as much to see.  We saw 1-2 sword fights, but not the big battle.  We saw some armor, but not the blacksmith where the armor was made.  There weren't as many learning opportunities/booths either.  I was disappointed and hopefully we can avoid the adventure next year. 

Friday we went to Arizona Game and Fish's Youth Day at Ben Avery.  Last year we had a ton of fun at a similar event--Tres Rios--but this year we were unable to attend, so I promised the kids that we would try the Youth Day.  Another disappointment.  The kids got to fish in this giant pool and they enjoyed that, but the line was super long and we spent more time waiting than fishing.  There was one interesting walk-about where we learned about Arizona animals and plants.  Then we went to the educational booths (usually my favorite part).  This had the potential of being great, but all the booths were under one tent and it was overcrowded.  We hardly had a chance to see anything before getting pushed out by another group. 

Saturday was the ballet--or at least I thought it was the ballet.  We were supposed to go to the ballet on Thursday, but I double booked the Estrella Wars that day so I rescheduled the ballet for the 31st.  Turns out the person in charge of the school matinees for the ballets didn't understand what I wanted (because I didn't tell him clearly).  He said we could come on the 31st, but he meant May 31st not March 31st.  It wasn't until I paid for parking and was in Symphony Hall that I realized my mistake.  UGH!!!  So we spent the day running errands and hanging out at my in-laws.  I got a lot done, but it could have been more relaxing if I hadn't made such a dumb mistake.  Oh well. 

Sunday was a day at home watching General Conference.  I especially loved President Uchtdorf's talk about contention.  It was exactly what our family needed to hear. 

The lesson I learned this week: Field trips are fun, but not all in the same week.