Aerospace Fun

On Tuesday we went with some friends to the Hill Aerospace Museum. It's great because it's free and the kids love it- perfect for a winter outing!

I wish we would have taken a group photo, but we didn't. For my own memory I'll include who was there: Tara Keyes with Kara and Emmalee, Emily Briones with Aidan and Micah, Emily Child with Ambrie and McKenzie, Amy Forsyth with Braxton and Taevon, Sarah Phillips with Jack and Cache and Heather Berni with Keldon, Eva and Luka.

I love how Jason is smiling at his sister in this photo. Liesel was of course her adorable good-natured self. The boys trying out the flight seat with Keldon. We have been to the Aerospace Museum before, but never to the Learning Center (ACE). IT WAS AWESOME! The kids LOVED it! If you go to the museum, make sure it will be open. It's open every day, but sometimes mornings and sometimes afternoons. It was seriously cool, especially for being free. Here is Parker and Jack enjoying the cockpit. They have real simulator ones for kids eight and older, but my kids enjoyed this for about 20 minutes each. Watching the ball float. Can you see how Parker is all tensed up with excitement? Jas touching the plasma ball and watching the whirlpool. Liesel and I on the moon. Jason playing with the toys there. Parks on the moon.Creating our own whirlpool and rain: Jas in the cockpit (with Taevon). This last picture was actually taken the next day, but of course I want to include that smile.

Sleepovers and Caterpillars

My sister Angie came up for a sleepover visit last weekend. The kids were so excited! On Friday we just made homemade pizza and piña coladas. We spent the evening playing with the kids and talking.

On Saturday Angie braved spin class with me and then stayed to play until mid-afternoon. The boys had a lot of fun making these great caterpillars out of an egg carton. In the past Jason has been quickly distracted, but this time he was totally focused on the painting. He probably would have kept at it until it was completely painted, but I love my happy kid, which means naps are a must. Here are their finished caterpillars.Parker said so many funny things that day. They're all listed in the side column, so check them out for a good laugh. Thanks Angie for coming up! We all adore you! Saturday night the kids wore their new pajamas I picked up at Wal-mart for $3. Jason, always a comedian, was pulling them up as high as he could. It was hilarious! I love my funny Lovebug! Then my silly boys piled on the motercycle together for some fun. It was one of those moments I'm so glad a captured so I can remember those cute smiles!

1960s Valentine

The weekend before Valentine's Day our church put on an impressive party. My parents came up to watch our kids and we headed out for an evening in 1960s style.

So many people put in hours to pull this together for our stake. The decorations were incredible, the entertainment was indeed entertaining and preparing a meal for over 700 people is no small feat. After dinner small groups did covers for 1960s bands.

We watched and listened to hits from The Beatles, The Monkeys, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Sinatra, The Fifth Dimension, The Righteous Brothers, The Beach Boys, The Shangri Las, The Supremes, The Mamas and the Papas and The Temptations. They did a such great job with the mannerisms and singing. It was a lot of fun to watch! They also had a laughing wall and skits in between the numbers. What a fun night!

(You can click on the links to watch original videos. My favorite to watch is the Sonny and Cher- so cheesy awesome!)

We stayed at home on Valentine's Day. We had grilled steaks, mashed potatoes and piña coladas for dinner and then read the Valentine's we'd made each other last family night. Piña coladas will forever remind me of out honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas. We stayed at an all-inclusive hotel where we could enjoy them all day if we wanted (and we did). Brad became a pro at saying, "dos piña coladas sin alcohol". I also want to mention something really funny about Parker. The weekend before Valentine's we took around cookies and valentines to his little friends. I told him he could out them on the porch, ring the bell and run away before they saw him. I might as well have told him we were going to Disneyland. He laughed hysterically as he sped away from every house. I really wish I had a video of it, because door-bell ditching those treats was SO MUCH FUN for him. It was hilarious!

Life and Death

My cousin Spencer died in a car accident over the weekend and today I went to his funeral. Spencer was a very young father of two: his little boy is two and his baby girl is only five months old. His young wife, Mickell, is now a widow and single mother at twenty.

I definitely believe in life after death. I know that Spence is in a happier place now. My heart just aches for Mickell. She is so young and has to be strong for her two little children who need her. Luckily she has a lot of family who love her and will help fill in where we can.

His death has really made me ponder about a lot of things. I haven't really had time to sort it all out. My thoughts aren't organized well, so I'll just make a list.

• I would like to have "Families Can Be Together Forever" sung at my funeral. I am so very grateful that those lyrics are true.
• I want to take more family pictures and videos, especially with Brad and I. If something were to happen to one of us, our kids are young enough that they wouldn't remember well. I want to be sure my kids have those pictures and videos to help them remember how much we love them and how much fun we have together.
• We have life insurance, but I think we should get even more. If Brad were to die, I would fall apart. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that would be. I certainly don't want to risk adding any financial struggles as well.
• So often when things like this happen, we don't know what to say. I want to make sure I show that I am there to support and listen to others, even if I don't have any words of comfort to impart.
• Life can change so fast. You never know when someone you love could get in an accident and die. I want to be sure to show my family and friends how much they mean to me. I don't want to procrastinate playing with my children or spending time with loved ones. I can't be sure it's not my last chance.
• Spencer's brother gave Mickell one of the best compliments I have ever heard. He said, "You really brought out the best in Spencer." I really want to live in such a way that I bring out the best in others, especially my husband and my children.
• Without omniscience, it's hard to know why bad things happen. Certainly adversity can help us improve. Often our characters are strengthened as we endure trials. Struggles help us rely on our faith in Christ and help us learn patience and empathy. Hard times bring family and friends closer together. I don't know why it Spencer's time to go when he was still so young and had such a promising future ahead of him and his young family. I love one of the scriptures the bishop used in his remarks at the funeral: "And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Nephi 11:17). I don't know why Spencer's life ended so soon. I do know, however, that the scripture is true. Our Heavenly Father loves us very much. He loves Spencer and He loves Mickell. He loves their two sweet little children. He loves all of us. I think of how much a love my husband and children, yet it can't compare to how much God loves us. I know it's true; I feel it deep in my soul that it's true.
• I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ who made it possible to live again. Through His atonement, my cousin's little family can be together again someday. I cried a lot for my cousin's family today. I'm sure they cried and will continue to cry much more. Death is very devastating. We don't want to be parted from our loved ones. It is comforting, though, that the parting is only temporary. Thanks to the atonement "the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ" (Mosiah 16:8). I will be forever grateful for that.

I'd Probably Squander It

We had ward conference today at church. Our bishop was one of the speakers and some of the things he said really gave me pause to think. He started out talking about the parable of the talents in the Matthew 25. The first servant received five talents, the second two and the third one. The first two are "good and faithful servants". They double their talents through their wise stewardship and industry. The third sevant was "slothful" and buried his talent in the earth. If you are like me, I've heard this parable dozens of times. Our great bishop pointed out a few things that I haven't ever thought about before.

He asked us if we had ever wished for more time, money or energy. (Parker actually raised his hand. He was coloring and I hadn't realized he was even listening, but apparently he was. We were right at the front, so everyone could see little Parker with his hand raised in sacrament meeting. Ha, ha.) Of course most of us have often wished for more time, money and energy. Then he said that sometimes he fails to use the resources he has very well. I do that too. I started to think that if I were granted more time, money and energy, I would probably squander much of it. I'd like to think that I would help others, but I'm really afraid I wouldn't. I might just spend it on myself. That would not bode well with my desire to be a "good and faithful servant". It's certainly something to think about.

Blessed With Great Vision

Jason has 20/20 vision! This is super exciting! In this photo Jason is trying out Parker's patch, but luckily he has no need for them himself!

If you have never had glasses or contacts, you have no idea how great you have it. Of course I feel very fortunate to see at all, but let's face it, glasses and contacts are a pain. If I had the spare cash, I would definitely get Lasic. Hopefully someday that will work out. For now, however, I'm grateful to live in a time and place that blesses me with corrective lenses to correct my poor vision. As a young child I had a patch too.Parker got glasses at 2 1/2 and started wearing a patch at four. He only wears it a couple hours a day, but it's working. At his last appointment he had 20/20 vision with his glasses. Yay! We'll probably phase out the patch pretty soon. I have worn glasses and contacts for almost three decades (yes, that dates me). I got my glasses at 2 1/2 as well. I switched to contacts just before 7th grade. I am farsighted (hyperopia), which is a condition you are born with. Brad also wears glasses, but for nearsightedness (myopia). He got his glasses around 5th grade, which is typical. We don't know yet if Jason might need glasses sometime in the future, but for now this cute little face will remain glasses-free!

I'd Rather Not Remember

You know those lousy moments? Those times when you're so frustrated you want to cry? When your house is a disaster, the kids are non-compliant and unkind (too put it lightly), you've tried on half your closet and can't find anything that seems even remotely flattering, you have a million different things should do, but you don't want to and feel horribly guilty about it. You've been angry at your kids, you let your spouse down, you feel lonely, . . . basically you just feel like throwing a giant pity party?

Remember those moments? Well, I'd rather not. In a way it's comforting to read about other people's struggles. It can give me strength to know I'm not alone in it. That said, I still tend to avoid posting about the daily trials. Sometimes my blog might make it seem like I live in a pretty rosy place. It's true, I do. Just in case you were wondering though, I'm not exempt from those super-lame, makes me want to scream and cry, lousy kinds of days. I prefer, however, not to post much of a reminder of them.

Liesel's New Tricks

Liesel just learned to roll back onto her back from her tummy. She's been a pro going for back to front for over a month. She spends most of her days either smiling, sleeping or eating, in that order. She is DELIGHTFUL! If every child could be this angelic, the world would be a lot more populous.

I hope everyone can find something to help them smile like she does.

Jason Identifies a Dingo

Jason is really a little chatter box now. He loves to play with his little Toob animals. He knows the names of most of them and says them so cute in his little two-year old voice.

Sanity Saver

I've been on another organizing kick. I've been saving the bulk of the boys' clothing and was running out of room. I had them all stored in eleven filing boxes. Yes, Parker is only four and we had eleven filled to capacity. I just went through Parker and Jason's drawers again and pulled out their too small clothes. Unfortunately I didn't have room to store another box. That's when I remembered hearing about Space Bags. I picked up some large multicolored ones at Walmart and was very impressed! I fit two boxes per bag, so now I've got all eleven boxes worth at the top of Liesel's closet in the place that five boxes fit before. One of the bags is only half full too.

I was lazy and didn't keep everything folded, but just kind of stuffed them in there (hence the bulgy look). I also got two jumbo size for our linens. In one I fit two king-size pillows, a body pillow, six couch throw pillows and some throw blankets. It shrunk to the size of about two regular pillow. Thank you Space Saver and therefore sanity saver. Now I don't have to feel like all of our closets are exploding with too much stuff. (We do, of course, have too much stuff, so I've also been filling boxes to send to the D.I., but it's nice that I can save things too.) I was going to take an old dvd shelf to the D.I., but as I carried it to the car it fell apart- well only in half the bottom part fell off. Suddenly I wanted it. It had been twice as tall, but now it's just right for the boys' toys. I also solved a problem with our children's books. I wanted to organize them by topic, but knew they wouldn't stay that way just sitting on the shelf. At Office Max I picked up this great sorter, so now we can find what we want and even Parker knows where to put it back.Speaking of books, we just got some fantastic new ones from Usborne. The boys have been reading for days. Hooray! I ordered this puzzle rack on Amazon. . . but so far it hasn't been very helpful. Hopefully the novelty will wear off and they'll be less interested in playing with the rack. I also bought this pocket organizer on Amazon. I love it! I know it's a little OCD, but I wanted a more organized way to store Liesel's headbands. Yes, I'm absurd to have so many, but I have so much fun dressing her up. I haven't put anything in the pockets on the back yet, but I'm sure I will eventually. This isn't an organizational thing, but it does make me happy. At a baby shower I won this amaryllis flower. This is it's second set of blooms. It basically grows by itself with very little sunlight, so anyone could grow one. I'd highly recommend buying one if you can.

Academic Parker

Parker often enjoys doing academic things. He used to love "letters and numbers", but sometimes I can't bribe him to read or do math. Today, however, he was willing. I taught him how to add multi-digit numbers today. He picked it up brillantly. This video shows Parker with his characteristic attitude and humor while he adds. He refused to demonstrate how he uses his hands to add or subtract, but he did it in this video I took back in October 2010. Starting at the larger number, he then adds on. This clip also shows a reading exercise I sometimes used with my students. This is probably the only time I did it with Parker, but I've gained a new resolve to work with him more. This is a little clip from him reading today. He reads well for someone who isn't quite five, but he often lacks in desire. Hopefully he'll become a little more interested in reading more soon.

Can't Get Enough of This Face

I just can't get enough of this adorable face. . .

and I'm not the only one!

Honesty Can Be Hard

Parker had a tough lesson on honesty and repentance over the last couple days.

Yesterday morning I found a bunch of plastic size rings in a pile by his bed. We had gone to the store the day before and I'd seen those all over the floor there. Apparently so had Parker. We had a little discussion about ownership and how if you take something without asking or paying for it, it is called stealing. I told him we'd be returning to the store so that he could return them and apologize. He also had a little chat with Daddy. Parker absolutely hates disappointing his dad, so he was in tears as he explained what he had done. Because this was a first offense (we hope), returning the items and apologizing was the extent of his consequences. He was very nervous to go back into the store, but was brave and apologized very well. Afterwards I asked him how he felt. He said he was "very happy". It was an opportunity to help him recognize the Holy Ghost and the peace that comes when we choose the right. I am so proud of Parker for how well he corrected his mistakes. Hopefully we can all strive for that "very happy" feeling.

Interactive Children's Websites

As most of you know I was an elementary teacher for five years. Because of that experience, I learned about a few good websites for educational learning. Now that Parker is almost five, he loves to play on the computer. Sometimes I let him just play fun games, but mostly I prefer to have him learning as he plays. I've researched to find good games and there are A LOT! Here is a list of some of the websites we like. It isn't a comprehensive list and some are definitely better than others. I would check them out first before letting your kids loose with them, but here is a place to start:

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help.htm This is a site that has tons of links to games and tutorials for every grade level. Choose your level, subject and topic and you'll see a whole list of possible games. We haven't tried them all out yet, but we've been pleased so far.

http://www.starfall.com/ Starfall has lots of fun reading games for pre-K through the lower grades. It's a closed server, so there aren't any adds, which is a plus. Starfall also has some great printable worksheets too.

http://www.abcya.com/index.htm This one has lots of games for each grade level. Some are very educational and some are just for fun.

http://www.kidport.com/default.htm This one has different subjects and grade levels as well. Parker mostly does kindergarten and 1st grade math, so I can't vouch for the whole site, but it does have some great learning games.

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/math.html This has a list of different educational games. This link brings to the math list, but across the top are other subjects. It has adds, but some of the games are pretty good.

http://roythezebra.com/reading-games.html This has simple games for days of the week, months of the year, blends, simple grammar, etc.

http://www.sesamestreet.org/browsegamesbysubject Some of thes games are just for fun, but I'm impressed with many of them. Parker loves this site and learns great words like "hypothesis" and "excavation". He also learns great sorting techniques and the scientific method.

http://www.learningbox.com/i_index.htm This only has a dozen games, but some are pretty good.

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/ This site doesn't have anything interactive, but it does have some good math and reading printables if you want to print them off for your child.

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interactive.htm This has a list of links to lots more educational websites.

http://www.squidoo.com/interactivemathsites More interactive math sites that have been selected by a teacher to be good.

http://www.opencourtresources.com/teaching/index.html Another teacher-made list of educational sites.

http://www.ixl.com/ Excellent math games by topic. There is a daily limit that you can play for free. If you wanted unlimited access you would have to pay for it.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/search/ This is the mathbook brand that I used in some of my schools. A few of the games are good.

http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/math-games.html More interactive math games.

http://www.teachingistechrific.com/interactivemathgames.htm More interactive math sites.

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic86.htm#1 Another link list to more educational websites.

http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html These games are way too hard for my kids, but if you have older kids and teenagers (or if you want to practice math yourself) this has some great games.

http://www.weeklyreader.com/subcategory/74 This doesn't really have games, but it has current events in a child-friendly way.

Here are some more sites that have fun games:

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/index.pperl

http://pbskids.org/

http://www.funbrain.com/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/play/games/

Friend magazine

Like I said, there are A LOT of possibilities. Check them out if you want to find some fun educational websites. Please let me know if you have any favorite sites too.

"Uncle Jim's" with Grandpa

I have THE BEST in-laws ever! They are both so kind and thoughtful and really fun to be around. I feel so fortunate to have married into their family. Last Saturday we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday. He decided to have a birthday party with the family at Jungle Jim's. It's hilarious that a grandpa would choose to have his party there, but it fits him perfectly, because he is so genuinely happy when his grandchildren are happy. Well, happy they were!

We hadn't ever taken our kids there before, so Parker couldn't remember the name. On the way he kept asking about "Uncle Jim's" ha, ha! Parker and Jason loved the rides and we all enjoyed spending the evening together.

The birthday boy with Jen and Will

Parker and Jason on the jeep ride Isabell, Isaac, Jackie, Kade and Grandpa on the coaster Isabelle, Parker, Jason and Isaac Parker and Isabelle eating their pizza Jake, Isaac and Jackie

Eric, Adam, Jen and Will

Adam, Jason, Belle, Isaac and Parker on the swings

Jax and I (with a funny expression) and Chase and Kade

Isaac, Jason and Parker and Will with Brad

Kade and Janelle and Isabelle and Parker

Jason and Isaac (Jas actually figured out how to get them to fly high.)

Will and Liesel (Can you believe these two are only two months apart? She isn't even 2/3 of his weight. They are both so cute!)

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a wonderful party! We had such a great time! I made a family memory game as a gift, since we love the one my sister gave us for Christmas. I had a lot of fun making it, especially finding all the fun old photos. I think I enjoyed making the box the best.

I've decided if I can possibly get creative enough to think of ideas, I need to do more crafty things like this.