Braedi turns 11

WOW!  Braedi is growing up so fast.  Braedi got to choose a family activity  this year.  Her birthday present from us was a new bike, so she decided to do a family bike ride with ice cream afterward.  Amazingly we fit all the bikes in the back of the van.  We headed to a nearby park with a bike path and spent an hour or two riding around.  It was so  much fun.  I wish we had a bike path by our house so that we don't have to load up the bikes. 

Braedi requested cinnamon rolls for her birthday breakfast.  We decided to  try a new recipe that was supposed to only take 90 minutes.  It took a bit longer and they didn't turn out very well--they were hard and didn't rise.  I've decided that if we ever want cinnamon rolls again, we have to let someone else make them for us.  We put a candle in Braedi's and sang Happy Birthday during breakfast. 

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!

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.

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.

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.

Braedi Turns 9

There is something about a 9 year old. When someone tells me they are 9, I think that is old (at least so much older than 8). I can't believe that Braedi is 9!
Braedi requested a surprise for her present. I'm not good at surprises--I like to be told what they want. I just think it is easier and I'm a lazy shopper. I went shopping a was looking around and couldn't find anything that I thought she would like. Then I tried the game section and I found something I thought she would like. We were playing the game Clue Jr the other day and I told Braedi how I thought she and I should play the regular Clue. We borrowed it from my mom and were excited to play, but half the pieces were missing. We were bummed. I saw Clue at the store and decided to buy it. I hid it in the car until I could bring it inside without her seeing it. I put it in my room. Faythe got into my room and found the present and called to Braedi, "Is this your present?" Braedi saw it and it was no longer a surprise. All that for nothing! But, she was still grateful and we played a game of it this afternoon.
Braedi got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Garrett. They went to dinner and then shopping for clothes. The next morning they took her to a school carnival put on my sister's PTA.
Grandma Mecham brought over a special ding-dong cake and we ate it after Braedi's favorite dinner of tacos.
Braedi loves to play with friends and her siblings. She often says how grateful she is for her siblings because if she didn't have any she would be bored. She loves activity days and doing Faith in God activities with me. Braedi loves to read, draw and learn. She is excited to try new things and is a good helper. Happy Birthday!

Teeny-Tiny Tot Activity

As another of the Faith in God activities that Braedi and I work on each week, she planned a Teeny-Tiny Tot activity for Faythe and some of her friends. I helped her come up with a theme and some games and activities, and I tried to help her understand the attention span of almost-3 year olds and made sure she was over prepared. Braedi prepared a craft project for them, thought of songs and games, read a story, brought out theme-related toys and snacks and had fun playing with the kids. She's going to be a great baby sitter.

Piano Ensemble

Back in October Braedi's piano teacher asked if Braedi would like to participate in an ensemble. I didn't know much about it, but thought it would be a good opportunity for her and signed her up.

She started learning her piece, and in January she started having practices. She met with her teacher and her duet partner and practiced. Then she met with all the other kids who would be participating. There were about 10 pairs kids that would be playing the same duet on 10 pianos. There were a lot of practices. The kids had to learn to play the song together and with the same rhythm.

Finally the day of the event arrived. Braedi was nervous about the practices because she didn't know what to expect. But the practices helped prepare her for the event and she wasn't very nervous that night. They performed in a high school auditorium and it was packed. It was awesome to see all the piano players play. I was very proud of Braedi.

I forgot my camera, but my mom had her phone. The picture isn't very good, but it's a little memento of the night.

Mother/Daughter Service Project

A while back I talked about how Braedi and I spend one night a week working on activities for her Faith in God book. Our most recent activity was to plan and hold a parent-child activity. Some ideas were a picnic, hike or service project. We chose to do a service project. We decided tying fleece blankets for a shelter would be easy and fun. Braedi picked a few girls from her activity day group and invited them and their moms to attend. We bought the material and prepared it by cutting strips (fringe) on the edges. Tonight was the big night. We got together at the church, visited and tied. It was fun. I enjoy the one-on-one time I get to spend with Braedi working on these goals. Corbin can't wait until he's 8 and he gets to work on his Faith in God book with me.

I forgot to take pictures of the activity tonight, but here is one of Braedi cutting the strips.

Christmas Recital

Braedi and Corbin participated in another piano recital. Along with their regular pieces, they learned a Christmas song. I enjoyed listening to them learn the Christmas songs and can't wait for future years when they can learn more.

(Can't you tell that Corbin LOVES piano?!?! How do I help him like it?)

Easy Bake Cookin'

Braedi is not one to easily spend money. She will sometimes get money as a present or for doing a special job and will put it in her wallet. Sometimes we will go to the store, but she can rarely find something that she wants to spend her money on. Recently she thought that she would like an Easy Bake Oven so she put it on her Christmas wish list. A few days later we got a Target ad in the mail featuring all the new toys on sale for the holidays and several coupons. In the ad was an Easy Bake Oven. I "convinced" Braedi that she could spend some of her money and get one now. She liked the idea, but wanted to think about it for a couple of days and talk to a friend who had one. After much thought and recounting of her money, she decided to buy one. We went to Target and she purchased it. But we forgot to buy a light bulb. I bought one the next day, but got the wrong kind. A week later, with the correct light bulb, Braedi was able to bake her first cake. It was soooo tiny, but she said it was delicious. She shared a piece with each of her brothers and sisters and can't wait to bake the cookies. She followed the directions so carefully and precisely, that she could probably bake a real cake in a real oven. This is her frosting her cake (with her fingers).

Piano Recital

Braedi and Corbin preformed in their first piano recital today. I love seeing them overcome fears and do something even though they are nervous. They did awesome!


I would have posted the video, but it wouldn't upload.

Faith

I recently read on Conference talk about working with daughters on personal progress. I don't remember which talk--it was one of the many on how I can be a better mom. Anyway this talk and a conversation I had with a friend a while back pushed me to help Braedi with her Faith in God book. This is the program the church put together for kids ages 8-11. I decided that one night a week, after the other kids are in bed, we could work on an activity from the book. The first one we chose lead us on a search to discover how the sacrament helps us renew our baptismal covenants. We looked up the scripture in Moroni where Alma sets forth covenant of baptism and compared it to the sacrament prayers. Braedi made a list and planned to focus on that during sacrament. Then she prepared a family home evening lesson teaching us what we can do to remain faithful. We found a simple lesson/activity and she spent the week preparing. Last night she gave the lesson. I love when the kids prepare the family home evening lessons. It doesn't happen very often, but they always do a good job and are confidant. Braedi had us read scriptures that shared somethings we can do to strengthen our faith--read scriptures, go to church, show love, etc. Each scripture had a piece of a puzzle that, when finished, was a seed that grew into tree and had fruit. My favorite part was when she closed and shared her testimony.