Summer Olympics 2012

Courtney hosted a summer olympics at her house last week.  Her kids, my kids and Ammanda's kids participated in 3 events.  It was very entertaining to watch. 

Event 1--Cotton Balls
The kids strapped on a kleenex box stuffed with cotton balls and shook their booties trying to get as many cotton balls to fall out in 20 seconds as possible.  I think the highest was 40-something.  Nice shaking!

Event 2--Ping-Pong
About 20 cups were set up in a triangle shape at the end of one table.  They were labled with the numbers 1-4 (4 on the farthest row and 1 on the closest).  The kids stood at the other end of the table and bounced 12 ping-pong balls into the cups.  Depending on what cups the balls went in was how many points they got.  It's harder than it looks. 

Event 3--Cheetos
For this event the older kids paired up with a younger kid.  The younger kids sat on a chair, put on a shower cap covered with shaving cream and sat still while the older kids tossed cheetos, trying to get as many to stick to the shaving cream as possible.  Yes, some shaving cream covered cheetos were eaten. 

Closing Ceremony
After the scores were added, medals were awarded.  There was a gold, silver and bronze for the older kids and one of each for the younger kids.  

To continue in the olympic spirit, my kids also participated in another olympic event at Jennie's house.  Her kids had been learning about the olympics and the great athletes.  As a culminatiing event they hosted the olympics at their house--Ellison's versus Mecham's.  It started with lighting the torch and ended with yummy chocolate medals being awarded at the closing ceremony.  Their events were more traditional with a spin.  For the javilne toss they threw popscicle sticks.  For the 100 yard dash they ran across the living room.  For the gymnastics they did sommersaults.  They spent the whole morning playing and learned a lot.  Too bad we didn't take any pictures. 

Thanks to family and friends for coming up with such fun ideas. 

The Warlord Series

We recently discovered some great picture books that give a fun little math lesson.  The Warlord Series contains several stories about a boy who "accidentally" solves many different math riddles.  The stories are entertaining and contain a short activity at the end of the book. 

In The Warlord's Beads the boy discovers a way of counting and keeping track of numbers.  He introduces the reader to the abacus.  Braedi and Ephram made an abacus following this tutorial.  Then Braedi and I learned how to count, add and subtract with the abacus.  It is an interesting tool.

In The Warlord's Alarm the boy and his friend discover how to make an alarm clock to wake up in time to get the Warlord to the palace in time. 

 And the same 2 characters build a land ship in The Warlord's Messengers.  This ship has a sail and wheels and travels 10 times as fast as a horse.  The boy and his friend need to reach the Warlord quickly to give him a message. 

 The Warlord's Puzzle is the legend of how tangrams came about.  An artist created a beautiful tile to present to the Warlord, then drops it and it breaks into 7 pieces.  The village is challenged to put it back together.  The boy is the only one who could do it and is rewarded with a new home for himself and his family.  We played with our tangrams and then read another story (not from this series) about a grandfather who tells a story to his grand-daughter using tangrams.  Braedi, Dyllan and I tried to build the pictures with our tangrams. 

We love learning from books!

Colorado Camping

After the wedding we decided to stay in Colorado for a few more days.  We originally planned on getting a hotel, but prices were too high, so we packed our camping stuff instead and found a nice campsite near Durango.  It was near a lake and a river and surrounded by beautiful trees. 

We had a lot of chipmunks running through our site and the kids wanted to catch one.  They set up a little "trap" and Corbin had fun tricking them into thinking that one actually came to take a drink. 

Our first day was Sunday.  We got setup and enjoyed some time together.  Corbin cooked one of our meals for a cub scout requirement--hamburgers and hot dogs.  Too bad that the nearby forest put fire restrictions on campers.  Camping isn't the same with out a campfire. 

We took a walk out to the lake after dinner.  It's not as pretty close up as was on the drive coming in. 

On Monday we spent the morning on the river fishing and playing in the water.  It was a bit of a hike. 

That afternoon we played some games and had a photo contest.  Jonathan gave the kids the camera and had them take 3 pictures.  I don't know who took what or who won, but the kids loved being able to use the camera.  Here are some of the hi-lights.

We were all in charge of an activity.  Braedi and Ephram made a mini-golf course.  I tossed a beach ball in the air and challenged everyone to keep it off the ground.  I can't remember what Dyllan came up with.  And Corbin had us play pine cone baseball. 

We decided to head back to Phoenix on Tuesday so that Corbin could be home in time for his cub scout pancake breakfast fundraiser on Wednesday.  We had a nice relaxing day at home and watched the fireworks that night. 

Colorado Wedding

The kids have a new uncle!  Auntie Ko and her long-time boyfriend, Matt, got married last week up in Durango.  They rented a bed and breakfast and invited family and a few close friends to spend 3 days celebrating.  The weather was a little warm, but the Ranch was beautiful and so were the festivities. 

We went up a day early.  We did some hiking.  Such beautiful mountains!  We saw smoke from the fires--everyone prayed for rain.

We saw a lot of animals--several deer, a bear on the side of the road, a beaver in the pond, fish and bugs. 

The first night was a bachelor/bachelorette party (dinner at a restaurant).  Then home to bed.  During the days we were on our own.  There was wedding stuff that needed to be done so not a lot of family visiting.  We spent Friday morning fishing.  A great river runs right through Durango and we had access to a private part.  Too bad the fishers didn't have much luck.

Friday night we had a rehearsal dinner.  All of Matt and Kosette's nieces and nephews were the wedding party and Faythe was the flower girl.  They paired up and practiced walking down the aisle.  They were super cute! 

Saturday morning Jonathan went on a fishing trip with another guest and the kids and I relaxed then went for a little hike.

 
Then back to the ranch to get ready for the wedding.  I met Jodi the night before and she offered to come over and do the girls' hair for the wedding.  I'm so grateful that she did becuase the 'dos turned out better than I could have done. 

The boys looked sharp and the girls looked beautiful.  They did a great job of walking down the aisle and standing in on the ceremony.  Faythe was funny, though.  She and the girl next to her traded flowers back and forth.  Faythe also played with her shoes and showed her underwear a couple of times.  The ceremony was beautiful and the vows were well said. 

Then afterward there were pictures, a yummy dinner, dancing and cake. The kids danced the whole night. Ephram took a while to get out on the floor, but once he was there he couldn't be stopped. They were fun to watch and dance with.  The photographers did a great job with pictures.  To see some more of the wedding check out their site. 

the only one of us. . .and my eyes are closed

Saturday night was a late night, but it was fun.  The next morning meant time to say good-bye and checking out.  We extended our Colorado stay and spent a few more days camping--but more about that in another post. 

CONGRATULATIONS MATT AND KOSETTE!

Bear Flats

It is so nice to have Jonathan home this summer.  We've been able to do some fun things together.  A few weeks ago we decided to go camping.  Actually it was supposed to be with a homeschool group, but that trip got postponed so we decided to go on our own.  We headed north (or maybe it was east--I don't know where half the places are that we camp at) to Bear Flats.  It was a nice little area with a lot of trees, a little stream, a few bears and no bathrooms. 

Jonathan and Corbin had fun fishing.

Braedi, Dyllan, Eprham, and Faythe had fun playing in the water.

And I had fun reading.  I did fish for a little.

Corbin was working on a fishing pin (or belt loop) and had to clean a fish--gross!  He had to cook it, too.  He shared a little with everyone. 

Jonathan and the kids made a crawfish trap and tried crawfish for dinner.  Seeing them crawl around in the bowl was a little freaky for me--I sometimes wonder why I'm not a vegetarian. 

Jonathan and Corbin got up super early to fish the next day which meant that I was in charge of breakfast.  I don't normally do the cooking when we are camping, but I was able to figure it all out.  The rest of went on an out-of-control-hike and were glad when we finally made it back to the campsite.  We spent the rest of the day on the creek--fishing and walking the trail and playing in the water (and reading). 

I tried to take a few pictures of the kids while they played.  It would be fun to learn about photography, but I think that will be for another phase in my life.

Faythe didn't climb the rock.