Dean's Academy

Christmas Eggs

2011-12-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

As we were setting up our Christmas Decorations, Roo was asking where were the "eggs" It took me a few minutes to realize what he was taking about. We have some plastic Easter Eggs that have scriptures in them, and little items to help remind us what Easter is all about. I told him those were put away with the Easter Decorations. Roo told me we should make some for Christmas, to remind us what Christmas is all about.
As we read the Christmas story over and over again, Roo kept coming up with ideas to go along with each scripture or set of scriptures- some items he made with melty beads (thanks Raellen for the inspiration!), and others we found laying around. Today, he reminded me that we forgot Samuel the Lamanite- a Nephite prophet from the Book of Mormon who prophesied of Christ's birth- and thus he was added at the very beginning, and the gift at the very end to remind us that Jesus has given us the ultimate gift- Eternal Life.

So here it is: Roo's version of "Christmas Eggs" (I think we're going to find some cheap stockings or boxes to put each item in, but we haven't found anything yet.

My little photographer-Roo

1- Helaman 14:1-4 And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written. And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five‍ years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign‍ at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day. Therefore, there shall be one day‍ and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born. (sun)

2 - Luke 2:1-5 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the‍ world should be taxed. (And‍ this taxing‍ was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused‍ wife, being great with child. (tax- coin)

3- Luke 2:6-7 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn‍ son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (manger)

4- Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (sheep)

5- Luke 2: 9-11 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory‍ of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good‍ tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born‍ this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (angel)

6- Luke 2: 12 And this shall be‍ a sign‍ unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (swaddling cloth)

7- Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory‍ to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (music note)

8- Luke 2:15-16 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (heart-,Mary, Hammer- Joseph)

9- Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born‍ in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. (king’s crown)

10- Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where‍ is he that is born King‍ of the Jews? for we have seen his star‍ in the east, and are come to worship‍ him. (star)

11- Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (treasures)

12- Doctrine and Covenants 14:7 And, if you keep‍ my commandments and endure‍ to the end you shall have eternal‍ life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. (gift)

Moon Party

2011-12-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

For the past year we've studied astronomy together as a family. We finished the book in August, but we had an amazing culmination to our studies. Bug has been trying to earn the Astronomy merit badge. For one of his requirements he needed to visit a planetarium, and do a presentation or something on it. So yesterday, Bug, Roo and I went on a field trip to the Planetarium in SLC.--Doodle's in public school this year- so he didn't get to join us :(--

Here's a few pics from the Planetarium.

studying how telescopes work

Bug the photographer took this one

Bug on the moon

Roo- on Mars

THEN this morning- there was a total lunar eclipse, We woke up early (5:45 was when it was supposed to start) and snuggled up. We sat outside on a blanket for a little while, then we decided to get in the car and turn on the heater and drive for a few minutes to where we could see it better. We drove just down our road and parked the car to watch. What an amazing sight! We had hot chocolate as we sat and watched the moon disappear. (we couldn't watch it re-appear, as the sun was rising and it got too light and hazy to see anymore)

Watching the eclipse from the backyard

Just beginning

In the nice warm car!

My camera isn't the best- but mid-eclipse

Almost total eclipse

What a beautiful sight!

"Gingerbread" Houses-

2011-12-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ok- so they are really Graham cracker houses- lol- but we had a fun Family Home Evening last night making and decorating our houses. I found the secret to getting them to STICK together- Royal Icing- I've tried just regular old frosting in the past- but this stuff really works!

Ben and Roo decorating their houses

Bug and Doodle putting roofs on their houses.

Bug with his finished project- he made a Temple

Doodle and his cool house- check out the snowman

Roo with his house- who only decorated with things that he liked to EAT

The finished villiage- back row- Ben's and Roo's, front row, Doodle,'s Roo's and Mine.

It's CHRISTMAS time! :D

2011-12-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Slacker that I am, I haven't updated the blog lately.

We had a wonderful weekend up at the cabin before Thanksgiving- and brought home a Christmas Tree with us! We've always wanted to get one from the cabin. Yes- it's a huge tree again this year- 20 feet!

Bringing in the Tree

Doodle putting the Angel on the top of the tree.

Picture of the finished version- We decorated with Stuffed animals again this year- Bug's bunny earned a prime spot.

Fall is in the Air- Pumpkin time!

2011-10-24T08:55:00.000-06:00

We went to a friend's house and he let us each pick a pumpkin from his LARGE pumpkin patch- Thanks again! We have had terrible luck with pumpkins- they grow about as big as baseballs, then the whole plant shrivels and dies. :/

Roo, carrying his pumpkin, with Dad's help

Doodle- scooping out the guts

Roo- by his finished pumpkin

Bug with his Pumpkin

Ben and his pumpkin

Doodle with his- he was pretty proud of this huge thing

The whole gang- Left to Right- Doodle's, Ben's, Roo's, Bug's, and mine

What we've been up to....

2011-10-14T16:27:00.000-06:00

Canning, Canning and more canning

Tomatoes- I LOVE the way the yellow tomatoes look in the jars along with the reds- it looks so pretty!

Peaches

V-8 (err rather I think it was only V-5) lol- no beets, watercress or spinach
And also some Chili con Carne

Salsa

Elderberry Jelly- yum!

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly (I LOVE this on cream cheese with crackers- my favorite snack!)

What's up next- Applesauce!

My Favorite Canning resource- http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm They have "how to's" on everything- complete with pictures.

Triathamom

2011-09-26T08:59:00.000-06:00

Ben's Sister, Amber and I decided we needed to do another Triathlon (ok- I think I might have pulled her leg a little, and convinced her this time)

Amber and I before the race

Me getting ready for the swim (my favorite part of the race!) I didn't want to post this embarrasing pic of me in my swimsuit- but if I was going to post the one of Amber below- I thought it only fair. lol

In the pool waiting. They had us line up by how good of swimmers we were, and then started us about every 10 seconds or so. It takes forever for those at the back of the line, but I'm not so sure I could do an open body of water swim- yikes- something about fish nibbling at my toes! lol

Swim/bike transition

Amber getting ready for her swim leg

Amber's swim/bike transition

Bike/Run transition

Awww The Finish Line! What a rush! THAT is the reason I do these silly things- I just love the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done. To be able to say "Yah- I did that!"

Results:

Swim time: 6:54

T1 2:14
Bike Time 54:42
T2 0:58
Run time 42:34
Overall- 1:47:19.6

My last race was 1:59 something or other- so I shaved 12 minutes off my time. :D My only goal was to do better than last time. So I was pleased! Amber did wonderful as well, she didn't get to do the run- as we had to hurry and get to the temple for Ben and Amber's cousin Mike's wedding.

I have to put in a few good words about the wonderful things they had for families at this race- they had a bounce house, free cotton candy, free popcorn, sign making activities, face painting, and so much more! As Ben told the boys mom was done- Roo's answer was "ALREADY?" He was having too much fun!

Soo.....Who's with us next year!? We are definately doing the Triathamom again next year.

Alaska Pics- final post-

2011-09-21T05:43:00.000-06:00

We had such a great time in Alaska- our final day we drove down through Ancorage and headed down to Whittier to Prince William Sound for a glacier cuise. On our way, we stopped and could see Beluga whales swimming in the bay.

Whale watching

Beautiful glacier!

Roo- standing near the shore
The gang waiting for our turn to go through the Tunnel

The tunnel- this tunnel was soooo long- it took 7 minutes to get from one side to the other!

Inside the tunnel

On our glacier/wildlife cruise

Amazing glaciers- we watched a HUGE piece calve off. It was neat!

Ben and Bug out on the deck of the boat

Some sea otters

MY waterfall ;)

The Whole gang on the glacier cruise

What a Wonderful dream vacation! Thanks SO much Pam!

Alaska pics part 4

2011-09-20T08:31:00.000-06:00

Just a few more pics from Alaska. One afternoon we left Ben, and the big boys (and L) at the lake fishing, and Amber, Tim, W, N, Roo and I went to a Reindeer Farm.

Doodle and W driving the paddleboat

Bug, Doodle and L on the paddle boat

This elk just LOVED these 2 boys, and followed W all the way up and down the fence.

Me feeding a Reindeer

Roo petting a baby reindeer.

Roo feeding Denali the Moose

Roo petting a buffalo.

Another day we went out exploring, took some nice country roads and found some beautiful scenery!

We took a drive and found this neat boat- it was in the Harbor at Knik, but after the Earthquake in 1964, the land shifted- and it wasn't under water anymore.

Another cool shot of the boat

W and Roo - best buddies

We went to the Iditarod Headquarters.- The kids got to pet some sled dog puppies- they were SOO cute!

All of us by a Dog sled used in the Iditarod

Beautiful view of the Bay

We had such fun blueberry picking- we went again to get some more.

View from above- what a beautiful valley!

Ben and the boys went down to pan for gold, they found this old shack and thought it was pretty cool

Alaska pictures part 3

2011-09-16T12:00:00.001-06:00

One of the highlights of our Alaska trip was our day trip to Denali National Park. It was a long drive from our chalet to get to Denali

As we were driving there-This was one of the best views we got of the Big Mountain- Mt. McKinley-

The bus

The bus ride into Denali- they don't allow private vehicles past a certain point- you hop on a bus and ride in.

No one looks very thrilled about a bus ride!

Amber on the bus

Sometimes pictures just don't do those fall colors justice! The colors were amazing!

Bug, Pam and Doodle at one of the "rest stops" along the way.
The Bus stopped every 90 minutes for bathroom breaks and to stretch your legs.

Taking a break from the bus ride

Doodle at the top of the world- or rather close to it.

Doodle displaying some Caribou antlers-- Notice how well he's cooperating lately- :D I'm lovin it.

Roo and L taking a look through the scope

Bug displaying his antlers

Here's what made the long 8 hour bus ride worth it--- yes you read that right- 4 hours in to the visitor's center- and 4 hours back out.

Grizzlies! Here's a mom and 2 cubs...HUGE cubs- and 3 more belo

Another Griz

This one stood up and sniffed the air, and walked a few steps for us... All in all 13 grizzlies- (or if you go by Doodle's count- 18- because there were some we saw both directions, up the mountain and back down)

Some Dall Sheep

Some of my favorite Animals ;) My Jr. Rangers!

This Huge moose was waiting for us to spot him on our way out of the park.

The WHOLE GANG!

Denali was awesome! Ok- maybe I can fit all the rest on 1 more post....err maybe not- coming soon- Sled dogs, Feeding the Reindeer, & the Glacier Cruise.

Alaska Trip- part 2

2011-09-15T05:27:00.001-06:00

Rachel was asking for Fishing pictures- let's see what we've got- We were sort of in-between fishing seasons- missing the salmon run. So most of our fishing was done on the lake by the chalet- We did go out on the river and do a bit- but the salmon we were seeing were done spawning, and on their way to die. So here's the best fishing pic I've got for you Nate-

L with the "rainbow" he caught.

He was so cute, he kept saying, "I caught a rainbow"

L and his Rainbow

Happy Anniversary! 15 years! And this is where we spent it. ;) I love you Ben!

Doodle teaching L the finer art of tree-tipping

More motoring around the lake

Pam picking blueberries

Roo, L and Ben picking blueberries- we got a TON, and made a delicious pie with them.

Our family at Independence Mine State Park-

I love this pic!

Independence Mine

Amber and I hiked to the top, and looked down on the buildings

The whole Crew in front of the Matanuska Glacier

The Matanuska Glacier- it was huge! But we didn't feel like paying mega bucks to get any closer- :p

Picnic lunch

Roo, Bug and Pam taking a break on our glacier view hike

More breaks- with W and Roo joining in

More to come....coming soon- Denali National Park

Alaska trip- part 1

2011-09-13T09:46:00.000-06:00

We just returned from a fabulous adventure to Alaska. A few months back- Ben's aunt Pam asked if we wanted to go to Alaska with her (ummmm YAH! what sort of question is that- of COURSE we did!) So we've been planning for months, and the day finally came! Ben's sister, Amber, her husband Tim, and their 3 boys- W, L and N came too.

Roo and cousin W waiting for the airplane flight.

Doodle entertaining cousin N on the airplane. Doodle is SO good with N- who is 6 months old.

Scenery as we are driving North of Ancorage.

Beautiful river!

The Chalet we rented for our family to stay in- we had the top level- it had 3 bedrooms, and fit us perfectly!

Looking down from our porch- Wolverine Lake- we basically had our own private lake! There were other houses on the lake- but we only saw other people on the lake 1 time.

Tim and Pam Fishing in the boat

More fishing- Bug, Ben and Doodle

Bug getting his pole ready

Roo, playing on the boat dock- he's not much of a fisherman- he doesn't like to eat them, or catch them.

Doodle loved going out on the little motor boat.

Another beautiful river- we panned for gold in this river- hoping to strike it rich!

Ben and Doodle, panning for gold

Bug and Doodle

More panning-

Cousin L and Roo- thinking they found some!

More pics to come soon!

One of my favorite things:

2011-08-28T15:22:00.000-06:00

Seeing this as I am hiking along a trail:

All my Boys in front of me. ;)

We went for a family backpacking trip over the weekend. It was a beautiful hike, and those boys of mine are sure great backpackers- Roo packed ALL his own stuff- sleeping bag, hammock, clothes, & food

Silly Roo dancing with his walking stick

Doodle is a great backpacker- his pack was almost as heavy as mine. ;) though according to Ben, that's not saying much- cuz mine was rather light. :D

Bug the mountain man

See- I was there ;)

Beautiful spring we hiked to- it's a HUGE waterfall- that just comes right out of the mountain.

A little further down the waterfall

Indian Paintbrush is my very favorite wildflower.

Roo in his makeshift hammock. Everyone else had one- so Ben fashioned one for Roo- lol- only problem was he fell out of it in the night. But he didn't care. He slept through it, and woke up a while later and realized he was on the ground.

Doodle loves the hammock he got for his birthday.

Our little tangle of hammocks. Roo's the red one- mine the green one at the back, Ben's the one that looks white, Bug's blue one, and Doodle's green one. Can I just say that hammock was SOOO comfortable. Bug gave it to me for my birthday- and I was a bit leery- not sure if I'd actually be able to sleep in it- but it was great! And my back wasn't sore from sleeping on the hard ground. (Just from the heavy backpack lol!)

Me and my Silly Roo- playing around with the camera. It was a SUPER hike, and I just loved spending the time in the wild with my boys.

Happy Late B-day Doodle

2011-08-16T12:49:00.000-06:00

Sunday was Doodle's 9th Birthday. He's grown and is such a silly, energetic kid. (sometimes I think that energy will be the death of me! lol)

HAA! Has anyone else noticed- I've been getting a bit more cooperation in the picture taking area lately- lol- Cute cute kiddo!

Doodle wanted a Kayak for his birthday- and was absolutely THRILLED to get this. He's already used it, and loves it!

"Mom are you going to put toys on my cake for me?" he asked- so after a quick trip to town Saturday night- I found a toy kayak- the perfect cake topper.

Showing his cousin W how to work the kayak.

Doodle- you are sure a fun kid to be around, and bring such energy to our home! I am so grateful to have you as my son. I have enjoying homeschooling you, and pray for you every day. I pray that all will go smoothly as you go to public school in a few weeks, and that the teacher will be able to challenge you and help you to continue to enjoy learning!

Scouting is great!

2011-08-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting play a big role in our homeschool....well, actually in our lives. I truly believe in the scouting program. It teaches boys how to become MEN. From Cub Scouting's Core Values to the Scout Oath & Law, boys learn how to be MEN.

The core values of Cub Scouting are Citizenship, Compassion, Cooperation, Courage, Faith, Health & Fitness, Honesty, Perserverance, Positive Attitiude, Respect & Responsibility

As boys know and learn about these values, commit to live by them, and Practive living them they become better members of families and society.

Doodle just recently earned his Wolf badge (sorry- Roo was my photographer!) I am so proud of him for setting the goal to earn it, and to finishing what he started. He has had wonderful leaders, and is looking forward to his birthday when he can move up to the Bear Den.

Bug had a court of honor the other night, and he earned a bunch of merit badges and is currently a 1st class- waiting for Sept. when he can advance to the rank of Star. He also has wonderful leaders who have caught the vision of scouting.

Wouldn't the world be a better place is everyone was Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean & Reverent. (and Hungry- Bug likes to add!) We love the Boy and Cub scouting programs.

More cabin trips

2011-08-03T10:20:00.000-06:00

I think we've sure played a lot this year ;) This cabin trip was a "work" trip though- we built a new deck for the cabin. It turned out great!

Amber the awesome- cutting boards for the deck

Doodle loved to help drill.

The LAST board.

4 cousins eating their pizza on the deck....until the mosquitos about carried them away. Doodle- his buddy L, Roo, and his buddy W.

Taking a break on our hike in Yellowstone.

Hiking down the trail

Roo and Trish- great buddies. Roo kept Trish entertained with all his stories and imagination.

Cool kids

Wraith Falls in yellowstone

Maybe sometime we'll stop playing and vacationing...but maybe not- as we have a trip to Alaska planned next month.

Vacation Pics part 4- Oregon coast and Home again

2011-07-19T18:21:00.000-06:00

After a great time in Washington we drove through Seatle - the kids HAD to see the Space Needle. Can I just say- We are NOT city people- ugg~! it was a madhouse on a Sunday afternoon in the city. A quick drive by and we're out of there!

Then we dropped Ben off at the airport, -- he went home to work for the week. (what an amazing husband I have! Lets me stay and play while he works!) I wish he could have stayed and played the whole week too- but alas, somehow we have to pay the bills. ;) Then we picked Pam up at the airport. She got to explore the coast with us.

First day- Mount Rainier and Mt St Helens

Mount Rainier National park was beautiful!

A cool bridge that we had to go check out

Mount Rainier

Beautiful waterfall we hiked to

I just LOVE the Junior Ranger Programs that the National Parks have! And so do my boys.

After Mt Rainier- we journeyed to Mt .St. Helens visitors center. Sorry- but what a dissapointment. Apparently fron the visitor's center you can't even SEE the volcano. :p Cool visitor's center though.

Earning Ranger Badges at Mt. St. Helens

Awesome cabin at a State Park in Oregon- Monday night's resting spot

Day 2- Down the Oregon Coast

As we passed through Tillamook at lunch time- some boys saw a sign for 2 foot long jerky for .99 and convinced us to stop- what a cheap lunch! lol- we had string cheese and crackers in the cooler to go with it.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse- Cool stop!

Sea Lion caves we stopped at- a favorite of everyone'se

Pics of the Sea Lions in the cave

Pam and the Boys waiting for the elevator to come back to get us

Doodle was excited he got the bunk bed in our cabins on Loon Lake- our resting stop Tuesday night

Day 3- Crater Lake

Happy Birthday Pam!
We celebrated Pam's birthday with her at Crater Lake National Park

The Beautiful Lake

Earning Jr. Ranger Badges at Crater Lake

Roasting Hot Dogs over the fire at our final State Park Cabins- La Pine State Park.

We had such a great time! Thanks Uncle Dallas for planning a fun reunion for us to go to! Thanks Pam for venturing out on this vacation with me and the boys.

Vacation pics part 3- more Washington pics

2011-07-18T14:39:00.000-06:00

Just more vacation pictures to share

Sunset over the Bay

We rented Kayaks, Here's Roo and I paddling back to shore. My boys ALL loved kayaking (yes- even the big one) and think we need to buy us some kayaks.

Doodle kayaking

We loved exploring the tidepools, and found this cute little crab in one of them.

And this anemone

See- I was there ;) Too often I'm the one behind the camera.

Roo- exhausted after a long day of family reunioning, and exploring- fell asleep in the car on the way back to our campsite.

More Tidepools we found- Roo found a little jellyfish

It wasn't the stinging kind

More tidepools!

Drawing the ocean and bay in his sketch pad for his Nature Journal

Bug drawing in his nature journal

And if we make him ;) even Doodle can sit still and draw in his nature journal too.

Vacation Pics part 2- Washington

2011-07-15T11:09:00.000-06:00

After our 4th of July Cabin trip- Ben went home to work for a few days, the boys, Pam and I stayed there. Ben came back up Wed night, and Thursday morning we headed out on a road trip to Washington state. My uncle lives near Seatle, and we were having a Family Reunion there.

Picnic lunch at Lewis & Clark Caverns

Cave Formatiosn in Lewis & Clark Caverns

Starting a fire at our first campsite- a beautiful spot along the Clark Fork river in Montana

If you want lunch- smile pretty!

Relaxing by the campfire

In the Cascade Forest- it's SO pretty and green!

Short side trail we took to explore the ferns and trees.

The Bay at Deception Pass State Park

Exploring the Beach

Bug by the Ocean

Roo and his Smore

Doodle eating his Smore

Bug

More Pics to come!

Vacation pics part 1

2011-07-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Warning- these posts could get LONG ;) We've been vacationing for 2 weeks straight. lol- First off- cabin 4th of July pics

exploring at Sheepeater Cliffs- one our favorite Yellowstone Hangouts

Birthday boy with his Birthday cake

Gibbon Falls

Wading at the Railroad Bridge

Doodle found a COOL sled at a yard sale- and used it as a kayak out on the river

More wading pics

Some cool crafts the boys made- sailboats and pirate ships

Roo's Pirate Ship

Bug built a model car

We had such a Great time at the cabin! Can't wait to go back for the 24th. ;) We're going to be building a new deck on it over the 24th. Should be fun.

Happy 6th Birthday Roo!

2011-06-30T07:35:00.000-06:00

Time flies on wings of lightning...you cannot call it back....
Roo is 6 years old today- He's such a fun kid! He's so funny and cute. He's getting to be a good little reader, and loves following after his big brothers. He recently lost 3 of his 4 front teeth- such a cute toothless grin!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROO!! WE LOVE YOU!

Latest happenings

2011-06-23T21:03:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we worked all morning- and decided to go fishing in the afternoon and evening- so we went up the canyon- The fishing was great- the catching....not so good- lol But we had fun.

Doodle playing in the float tube

Roo- practicing his casting

Then we tried to find somewhere to have a fire and roast hot dogs for dinner- finally found a place-

My 3 sons. :D

YES- That is a PIZZA
Doodle is roasting it on the fire- we had leftovers from lunch, and he wanted it for dinner.

Monday- I got to go to Cub Scout Day Camp with Doodle and the boys in his Cub scout den.- I probably have cute pics of your boy if he went with us! ;)- (Rachel & Brenda)

Archery time

They have a cool BMX course that the boys had a great time riding on.

Doodle and his friend K shooting BB guns

Doodle on the Zip Line- the highlight of the day.

Friday Field trips part 2

2011-06-10T20:23:00.000-06:00

Today we went on a great Friday Field trip- We went to the Treehouse Children's Museum

WeSaw THIS as we were driving through Brigham City- YEAH!!

The steeple is going up on the New Brigham City Temple

"Milking" the cow

My little Indians in front of the teepee

3 little fishermen- Roo, and cousins W and L

Future President Doodle (hey- he'd do a great job!)

Roo's arch

I LOVE it when Doodle's in a posing mood- because it's not often I get great pics of him actually looking at the camera- Doodle the Astronaut

Doodle the Policeman

Cooking over the Fire

my Indian Chief- "Chief- Little-Talks-a-lot

We stopped for Farr's Ice cream on our way home- YUM

Friday Field trips part 1

2011-06-10T19:57:00.000-06:00

Field trips are the best! Last week we went out to Kennecott Copper Mine for a field trip- We learned all about copper, and about the biggest open pit mine- one that can be seen from outer space. It was fascinating to watch and learn about-

3 boys looking out over the edge

A view from the top- a picture just doesn't do it justice - it's HUGE

one of the tires from off the trucks

exploring different minerals through microscopes- the visitor's center is way cool

We had a great time!

Bug's big Race

2011-05-31T07:38:00.001-06:00

Warning- proud momma brag ;) A month or so ago- Bug came home from school (he takes 1 class- currently Band- at the local public school) and told us about a Biathlon that his school was having, and asked if he should he sign up for it. He was hesitant (probably because he didn't want to go talk to the teacher who was in charge of it! lol) And finally decided to go for it. He debating asking a friend to do it with him, and do the run part of the race, but decided he could do it all. It was a 3 mile bike ride followed by a 1 mile run.

Friday was the big day- Here's Bug Before his race

I let him borrow my new road bike

The Starting line- 6th and 7th grade boys and girls Iron man Biathlon

Coming around the corner before the bike/run transition

Just starting out on the run- I love this pic- it's so cool!

Coming into the finish line- the boy in the orange shirt was right behind Bug the whole run leg of the race- and passed him up just at the end.

Results: Bug's time was 17:20, bike time was 10:15, and run times was 7:05. He took 2nd place in the 6th grade boys! and 4th place overall! I'm so proud of him for his hard work, and great accomplishment-- Great job Bug!!

Inspiring Triathlon video

2011-05-24T07:19:00.000-06:00

Doodle's Primary Teacher at church gave him "homework" do go home and watch this movie with his family. So since Doodle had our Family Home Evening Lesson last night- we watched this movie. SO inspiring! What a great example of Christlike Love!

Women of Steel Tri

2011-05-21T20:38:00.002-06:00

The big day came again. After last year's triathlon, Amber and I decided to do it again. Amber is amazing- having just had a baby 3 months ago. Here's Roo after the race holding baby N, sitting by her middle ds L.

Here's a few pics from the race-

We did the 300 M pool swim first- but our photographers ;) --wonderful husbands-- were waiting with the kids along the route, so we don't have pics from that leg-

On the first biking leg-

More Biking pics

Off on the Run- a 5K- YOUCH! It's Sooooo hard to run after biking 12.2 miles! Major leg cramps

"Running"--- ok- so Ben says when I go that pace- it's not really running, but whatever. So cute- as we went running by the kids- I hear Roo pipe up "ok- I saw them....NOW can I have a treat?!" my hungry boys...

Amber made us some AWESOME shirts for the race- Rosie the Riveter with "We can do it" on the back, and a swimmer, biker and runner on the front- WAY cool.

Here it is.....The FINISH Line!!

WAHOO! Here's my results 1:54:14- almost 2 minutes faster than last year's time. ;) YES- I know it's not fast- and I'm sure it wasn't pretty- but I did it. (and I wasn't last!!)

WE did it! Amber- thanks so much for racing with me. It's been such a great thing to get me in shape, to set a goal and accomplish it. After last year's race, I felt a little let down- I'd planned on doing a triathlon, and weather changed it to a biathlon. I can now say "I did a tri"

That is a smile- Yes, I think I might need to do this again.... maybe a relay instead? who knows.

Rockets to Saturn

2011-05-20T12:13:00.000-06:00

We are really enjoying Apologia Astronomy this year. It's been such a success, and we've learned so much. We just learned about Saturn, and the hands-on project that goes with that chapter is to make film canister rockets, and use alka seltzer tablets as the "fuel"

Roo and his rocket

Getting ready to launch

I was too slow... lol- here's Bug retrieving his rocket

Filling them up again. Went through a whole box of alka selter....they were SO fun

Roo can Ride

2011-05-13T16:46:00.000-06:00

Roo is the most cautious of all my kids, and takes his own sweet time when he's learning new things- there's no rushing him.

But he Finally learned to ride his bike with no training wheels! I came home and saw THIS riding down the road towards me.

I think the grin says it all.

Way to Go Roo!

Doodle the gymnast

2011-05-12T07:18:00.000-06:00

Doodle has been taking Power Tumbling classes, and (proud momma boast) He's pretty good. ;) Here's a couple of videos of his class last week

Pretty cool! :)

Hope those worked! ;) and that you don't mind my proud momma brag post.

LOL! Doodle says "You posted it on there?! Now I'll have people calling me left and right!" (ok- whatever!)

Lake Powell Trip

2011-05-10T08:17:00.000-06:00

For Mother's Day weekend- we went down to Arizona to visit Ben's mom and dad. (And his brother and his family, and his other brother's wife!) Pam, the kids and I left Thrusday- and stopped in at Kolob Canyon in Zion's National Park on our way down.

Kolob Canyon is beautiful!

Hiking a trail in Zions.

More Hiking

A Little Lizzard that SCARED Bug to death-- Good thing he has his littlest brother to protect him from the lizzards.

We went to the Glen Canyon Dam visitor's center- Roo's doing his Jr. Ranger papers.

Pam, Bug and Doodle waiting for our tour of the Dam.

How's that go? "On the dam tour"

View from the bottom- it's just MASSIVE!

Earning their Jr. Ranger Badges. (I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Junior Ranger Program. We earn the badges everywhere we can!)

Bug, Doodle and Nana in the house in the Rocks near Lee's Ferry.

I Look around, can't find Doodle- where is he? On top of the BIGGEST rock he could find.

Roo and his cousin C playing in a cave in the rocks.

I thought this was so sweet- Roo's helping C down the rocks.

We rented us a boat and went out on Lake Powell on Saturday- It was GREAT fun!

Getting the fishing poles set up

Me and My fishin buddy "C" (I had the pretty pink pole- so she got to fish with me. ;)

Bompa driving the boat

Doodle's hungry (again!?) so he decided to try a worm.

Nana and Pam sitting on the beach having a picnic.

Amber (Nick's wife) and Pam.

Burried in the sand

We had a wonderful time in Page- THANKS so much to Ben's mom and dad, and Bill and especially Raellen for letting us come visit!

Fishin with Dad

2011-04-29T20:23:00.000-06:00

Ben and Roo got a date this week- and they decided to go fishing. (On the ONE beautiful sunny day we had this week- ugg!) They caught this nice fat trout, and we cooked him up for dinner. YUM!

"Ok- I'll stand by you- but I'm NOT touching the fish"

Ewww!

Easter at the Cabin

2011-04-27T17:28:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend at the cabin- lots of snowmobiling, cross country skiing, Easter Egg Hunting, and just relaxing.

Doodle's FAVORITE spot- on the snowmobile

Roo- sitting on top of the shed- YES- there's still a TON of snow

On the roof searching for Easter Eggs---- did they REALLY think I would climb on the roof to hide them?!

Headed on a ride

Bug- searching behind the cabin for eggs- on the right side is all the snow that slid off the roof of the cabin.

Candy- the best part about Easter Egg Hunts

I love this picture- Ben at the Big Hole fishing, with the mountain in the background

Going sledding at the "Hill of Death"

Favorite typing resource

2011-04-21T10:15:00.000-06:00

One of our FAVORITE resources is Dance Mat Typing from BBC- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ Is a GREAT free online typing program. It starts with the home row keys and moves all the way up to using all the keys. Roo has just started using this, and Bug and Doodle have used it as well. We give it a huge thumbs up!

Roo playing Dance Mat typing (YES- that is one o-l-d computer- but it works great for kids school games)

Doodle playing Dance Mat typing.

You might be a mom of boys part 2

2011-04-20T18:05:00.000-06:00

If your Sandbox looks like THIS:

This is AFTER mom and dad made them fill in most of the hole- the picture doesn't do it justice- all 3 boys can EASILY get lost in the hole for hours!

"Mom- we're going to FIX this lawnmower"

And this tiller too

You might be a mom of boys...

2011-04-18T12:00:00.000-06:00

If you find This:

In your refrigerator- and spend the morning researching Worms with your 5 and 8 yr olds. Fun Worm Website that explains all about worms- did you know that worms have 5 hearts, and no eyes?! http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/neighborhood/01-intro.html

"New" school ideas for Doodle

2011-03-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

After trying Time4Learning- We've begun to "tweak" Doodle's school assignments- He really likes doing things on the computer- and I found some NEAT sites- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2_lessonplans/ is an awesome site- with all sorts of links, interactive stuff, ideas and fun. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ is a great help with our history plans. Here's a few things we've found, and basically this is his assignment sheet for today-

Doodle School Assignments:

Calendar Math
Pam’s Math & PT Sheet
Spelling- http://www.spellingcity.com/student-spelling-practice.html TEST today- do test online or on paper-
English- Power point presentation- Game on types of sentences and types of sentences worksheet
Handwriting- Cursive workbook
History- (he wanted to learn about the Romans do a Lapbook piece- home, family, food, clothing Read from bbc website - about the Romans, and book. Doodle read the Magic Tree House Book Vacation under the Volcano and will do the quizzes found on this site
Science- Read, play, quiz Do activities on this page and worksheet

Then together as a family today, we'll do Apologia's Astronomy (LOVE IT!) and writing journals.

Time 4 Learning Review

2011-03-10T14:40:00.006-07:00

We were able to try the online curriculum time4learning free for 1 month in exchange for a candid review of the program on the blog- so here goes. First off, a bit about time4Learning- It's an online curriculum covering math, language arts, science, and history. It covers pre-K through 8th grade. When we decided to try time4learning- I decided to only put Doodle (2nd-3rd grade) on this program. Bug (6th grade) and Roo (K) were left out. Poor Roo- he loved watching and listening in on the Time4Learning video clips and such, and was wishing he could do it too. We didn't use the math portion of the program at all- as we have a wonderful math thing going on- and ya know- if it ain't broke- don't fix it. :D Pros-

Doodle LOVED it. He liked the fact that mom was taken out of the equation (I'm not so sure that I liked that part of it) But there was definitely less head-butting and frustration when it came to school time. Doodle liked the fun interactive Language Arts lessons.
There were fun lessons on synonyms, antonyms, and homonymns, complete with cheesy movie clips, and quizzes for each one. There were reading comprehension activities that were great for Doodle to work on. *He never once complained about the Language Arts protion of the program. (If LA was offered seperately- I'd be SOOO tempted to get a subscription to the site.
Site was easy for Doodle to navigate- it had "done" stamped on the lessons he'd completed, and arrows to show what he should do next.
We had no problems at all with the connection to the site- I worried if the internet was down, what we'd do, but no worries there. :D
Doodle Loved being able to play games in the Playground (many of the games are educational too ;)) and I liked that I could set a time limit for how long he could play the games- lol

Cons

We found the science and Social studies sections very dry and boring. (sorry- but they were!) After the fun language arts, we were both disappointed in the other subjects. I realize that they are added as a "bonus" and not really part of the program- but that was the part of what I was most searching for something "more" for.
I would like to be able to go in and pick and choose assignments and put them in a "folder" or something for him, and pick my own order. I guess I could pick my own order now, but I'd have to show him which ones I wanted him to do. I'd rather do a few reading comprehension at a time, a few grammar type lessons, a few lessons on different topics, rather than all one topic, then all another topic.
cost- although it's only a small monthly fee- it adds up, especially since we would only use the LA portion. IF they were to offer just the language arts section for a reduced price I'd really be thinking seriously.
Lots of time on the computer- Doodle learns well with the interactive type stuff on the computer- but I didn't like him being on the computer quite that much.

This review is entirely my opinion, I was offered a free month in exchange for this review. Time4Learning was a nice shake-up and change of pace in our school. Will we continue- no probably not. Though I have learned that since Doodle learns so well with this type of cirriculum, I will try and add a bit more interactive things to our homeschool.

100th day of school

2011-02-28T14:49:00.006-07:00

Last year we started a fun tradition of celebrating the 100th day of school. Today was our hundreds party. (Not that I truly care how many days of school we get it, sometimes it's 180, sometimes more, sometimes less, but we have many days that don't get counted but could be) So really- it's 100 days that we've kept track of- lol

Since it's monday- we had math class- and went to Pam's for school today.

Roo's counting page shows 100 days of school.
Doodle and Roo made necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal.Pam found a ton of fun games to play from the Minute to Win it website- only ours were 100 seconds to win it. ;) - We had to balance 5 dice on top of a craft stick held in our mouth for 3 seconds.

LOOK- another use for craft sticks! Balance a plate with blocks on top of our headBuild a "crane" out of string and pencils, it hooked over Doodle's ears, then Bug pulled the strings, and pulled it up with a piece of candy on top, Doodle had to eat the candy. We had to do this 3 times in 100 seconds.
Pam is so wonderful! She made us a 100's pie for dessert. :D Thanks Pam for a FUN Hundreds Party!

Annual Science Fair

2011-02-24T07:03:00.005-07:00

Yesterday each of the boys entered a project in the Homeschool Science Fair on the other side of the mountain. They all did an amazing job, and I was so pleased with the way they told the judges about their projects.

Roo did a Science project on growing borax crystals. He hypothesized that the crystals would grow better under a heat lamp. He put them to grow in the window, under a heat lamp, in the freezer, and outside. His hypothesis was wrong- after weighing his crystals, the ones outside grew the most and biggest crystals.
Doodle did a great project on microwave popcorn. He thought that the more expensive popcorn would pop better, and have more to eat, and less that remained unpopped. His results showed that the more expensive brands didn't pop any better than the cheap generic brand.

Bug's project was on heat absorbtion of different colors. He dumped some ice on pieces of plastic tablecloth, and thought that no matter where he put it, the ice on the black plastic would melt the fastest. His results were interesting, the black definately melted faster in the direct sunlight, but indoors and in the shade, it didn't hold the same results. He did a great job with his project, and took first place in the older kids division. Because he's in 6th grade- he gets to go to the state science fair next month. It'll be a great experience for him, and we're all excited.Roo got to set up his project right by his cousin H- who did a fun volcano for his science project. Here's Bug getting his award- Way to go Bug! We are so proud of you and your hard work with this science fair.

President's Day Cabin fun

2011-02-23T20:14:00.005-07:00

We went to the Cabin for President's Day--- it was a great, snowy, fun weekend. A picture of the front of the cabin- yes- that is the front door in the middle there- and yes- the door is up on the porch which is about 3 feet off the ground- that's a LOT of snow! Our Nephews W and L and Ben's aunt Pam came with us. Doodle and L are best of buddies. L was always on the lookout for his "buddy"

Doodle is my snowmobile boy. He LOVES to drive the snowmobile, and he's a super good driver. He's so careful, and cautious, and always aware of the other people around him.Doodle, L and Bug on a ride. Roo and W out playing in the snow by the river.
Pam and I out for a ski Playing on the cabin roof. Crazy! More playing on the roof pics! Ben, W and Roo dug a snow tunnel. It was fun to crawl from one entrance to the other. Roo thinks a rabbit is going to find this cave, and claim it as it's home. Popcorn and movies one night before bed.

What a fun trip!

Blading fun

2011-02-04T20:31:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderfully fun homeschool party today at the roller rink. We had some fun science experiments and demonstrations (more fun with polymers- Roo really thought it was cool!) After the science stuff, we were able to go roller blading.

Doodle has his own pair of roller blades he got for his birthday- and he was fast and furious on them. Roo did great for just learning. Bug was so neat, helping his little brother. Roo would skate along the holding onto the wall, until the wall ended. Then he would wait for big brother Bug to come along and hold his hand and help him the rest of the way around the rink. Then he'd skate along the wall again, while Bug got his chance to go fast.

Thanks Tammy for planning such a fun day!

Getting ready for the Science Fair

2011-02-01T13:25:00.004-07:00

We are getting excited for the Homeschool Science Fair over the mountain. Last year, only Bug did a project. This year- their teacher (aka- ME!) decided that each of the boys needed to do a project and enter it in the fair. So we've been busy. A HUGE thanks to Pam who is always so willing to help with Math and Science in our homeschool. She's judged many science fairs, and is able to tell us what sort of things the judges are looking for.

So here's a sneak peek at the boy's science fair projects:

Roo's experiment:

Checking his results

Doodle's experiment- it was delicious- leave it to my boys to find a way to make science Edible!Bug- you are so cool- lol- found this pic on my camera-

Wintering Elk

2011-01-24T16:45:00.004-07:00

We went on a great field trip last Friday to Hardware Ranch with my SIL and her kiddos. We had a fun time seeing the elk, and riding the sleigh. We saw TONS of deer on the way back down the mountain. This poor fella- apparently he had a run-in with an electric fence- and brought the fence with him. I guess it'll get untangled when he loses his antlers this spring

Doodle- studying the animalsWe thought this was a nice size animal. Counins C and H along with Bug, Roo and Doodle in front of the horses that pulled our sleigh.

Thanks Natalie! We had a fun time!

Cures for the Winter blaws

2011-01-18T08:18:00.004-07:00

Winter is getting long and old. I am SO ready for spring. Bug always says "I can't wait until....(fill in the blank)" and recently it's been "I can't wait until summer" and I'm right there with him. Last week we went cross country skiing for Family night- It was just getting dark- so the pictures are a bit dark- I haven't photoshopped them yet- Roo falling down- silly kid- he's really good at skiing- but he gets going too fast and falls plop! on his back.

2 bigger boys skiing around the park-On Friday for Bug's Birthday we went sledding. Here's Bug- taking flight after a jump. Doodle and Bug on their way back up the hill

Roo was so funny. We got to the sledding hill, and he takes one look at the hill and decides he's NOT going to go down it. So he sat at the top for a while, then kicked his sled down the hill. We told him he'd need to go get his sled. So he tromps to the bottom of the hill. a few minutes later he walks up the hill 2 feet, sets his sled down and climbs on it, and sleds down. He decided that wasn't too bad, so he pulls the sled back up the hill, about a foot higher than the last time, hops on and slides down. So Ben and I walked halfway down and told him to bring his sled up to us. "Nope," he replied, "I'm just going up by inches." Ben and I walked down to about where Roo was putting his sled on the hill (now about 5-6 feet from the bottom) and watched him sled down. As he went down, we took a few steps back up the hill. And Roo would come back up to us, set his sled down and go on down the hill. Eventually he was more than 3/4 the way back up the hill, and Roo looks at us from the bottom of the hill, "HEY, you guys keep moving up!" Yup- we had. lol. Me and Roo on the sled.

12 years!

2011-01-14T05:47:00.004-07:00

HaPpY 12th BiRtHdAy BuG!

Hard to believe it- but it's been 12 years since I became a mother. 12 years ago I remember driving on a rainy January morning to the hospital to have a baby. I was excited, nervous, scared, happy, worried and thrilled.

Bug is such a great kid. He is such fun to be around. We are so blessed to have him in our family. He is so looking forward to Sunday when he will become a Deacon and receive the Priesthood. We LOVE you Bug! Hope you have a great day!

Polymer Science fun

2011-01-12T08:17:00.003-07:00

For Christmas Doodle and Roo both got some cool science kits from my grandma. Roo has had a blast with the kit- one of the tubes had some tiny polymer beads. He soaked them in water- and they grew to the size of marbles. We all spent Saturday trying to find ways to make them shrink back to the small size quickly. We tried the blow dryer, the food dehydrator, putting them in a pan on the stove, dumping salt on them (Bug's idea- he said it worked for slugs- it might work for polymers- good hypothesis- but no luck!)

The beads- about the size of a pinhead- (not a real good picture- they are inside an orange plastic cup- lol)

Here's the "marbles" at various sizes- the ones in the ziplock bag didn't shrink at all. The circle of balls on the right were Doodle's experiment- he put a glass over the top of them. It slowed their shrinking.In Roo's kit also were some "Ice cube" shaped polymers. the left is before, and the right is after soaking in water overnight. They more than doubled in size.Roo- writing his observations We have had a blast with Polymers!

slacker!

2011-01-10T13:21:00.010-07:00

My mother informed me I haven't updated the blog in a while ;) Sorry, Mom! I'll do better! So what's been going on around here?! We took December off from school work, and just enjoyed Christmas crafts, books, movies and activities. A few highlights:

Trip to Temple Square to see the Christmas Lights:It was surprisingly warm that night- usually we pick the biggest blizzard of the year to make our trek down. It was nice!
Kids on Christmas Eve
We repainted Doodle's bedroom. The paint seemed to get EVERYwhere ;)Even Roo helped The finished project- He picked a beautiful blue color- and we put barn wood up around the windows.
This is Doodle's corner- behind the bed where his stuffed animals stay, and where he likes to hide. We painted 1 wall as a chalkboard- it turned out great! And he loves to draw on that wall. Since his nickname is Doodle- my wonderful SIL made some vinyl words for me-

Ok- we'll do lots better keeping up to date on here! Upcoming- fun science projects we've done lately.

Our Christmas Tree

2010-12-03T10:52:00.003-07:00

One of our family's favorite Christmas Traditions is to go cut down a tree with Ben's sister Amber and her family. We had a blast- and found a beautiful tree. We went to a different area this year than we've been before- and there was SO much snow. We took the snowmobiles, and we were glad we did! Roo- tromping through the snowBug digging in the snow

Our tree this year is a bit smaller than the past couple of years- only 15 feet ;) instead of 20. But it looks beautiful. ;) The angel at the top is just centered in the top windows.

Frosty the snowman

2010-11-22T07:43:00.002-07:00

It was the first real big snow of the season yesterday- and some boys were SO excited they could hardly stand it. (I definately didn't have the same emotions!- snow- UGG!) So after church they were begging to dig out the snow stuff and go play in it.

And here's Mr. Frosty It's snowing and blowing now. BRRR!

Wind, oh Wind!

2010-11-17T05:37:00.004-07:00

In the words of Marie Hall Ets in Gilberto and the Wind, (a picture book I've read with each of my boys as we do a unit study on wind) "Wind, oh wind, I don't like you today!"

The wind was just a howling yesterday- And the boys told me "Mom, Come look at the Trampoline!" It had blown from the back yard to the front yard, and crashed on the fence near the truck. Right on top of my rose bushes. Smashed the fence, smashed the tramp, luckily it missed the truck by a foot or to. Here's what it looked like after Ben and Bug moved it off the roses.Needless to say- it's not fixable. :( Doodle said "Maybe we'll have to ask Santa for a new Trampoline." Maybe so.

Car Time

2010-11-16T08:09:00.006-07:00

It seems sometimes as homeschoolers we are never really at "HOME" And we spend a fair ammount of time in the car. I began to realize that this was prime time- they are a captive audience with nothing to do- and I wasn't using it well enough.

Every morning I have to run pick Bug up from his class at the public school- he's taking a first hour class this year- he has PE right now- and will have Band the next 2 trimesters. So every morning- We pile into the car to go get him- it takes about 10 minutes there, and another 10 back home- not to mention the few minutes we spend waiting for him to come out- so there's lots of car time.

On our way to and from the school we practice the songs and poems that the kids will perform at the care center each month. Doodle and Roo practice their poems, and we go through the songs. It seems to be perfect timing- we finish the last song right as we pull up to the school.

The car seems to be a perfect time to practice memorizing poems, they have to say them loud, so I can hear them over the car engine. After they have their poem memorized, we work on Articles of Faith, Math facts, spelling words, or other stuff that needs memorized.

As we are waiting in the car- I keep the newest copy of The Friend magazine Each boy takes a turn chosing a story to read while we wait. We also have a copy of The Big book of 5 Minute Devotionals and we read a story from it. On the way back home we practice the songs for the care center again, with Bug's help.

Other times when we are out running errands or in the car- we have a book on CD to listen to. The library has wonderful selection of children's books. I've found if the kids are listening to a story, they are less likely to fight amongst themselves (maybe I'm the only one who has kids who like to fight in the car- but I kinda think not)

Science Saturday!

2010-11-07T08:27:00.003-07:00

We have been studying astronomy this year- so when we read that the Ott planetarium was offering free shows along with Science Saturday- we decided to go. We were a little dissapointed at the shows that were at the planetarium- we were hoping for something more "astronomy like" the Nature of Science and the Legend of Orion that we saw were good- just not what we were expecting. BUT-- the Science Saturday stuff was AMAZING! :D As we went in- each kid got a passport to stamp after they did the various activities, and a book bag with a science experiment in it- complete with all the necessary materials. Also there were rules, pencil sharpeners, a small notebook, and other cool stuff.

They taught us about snakes and bearded dragons- Roo looks a bit scared! ;) He's like his big brother Bug- who stood at the door-

A neat Magnet game-

Bug's trained termite- the termite followed his pen line around the paper Testing to find out "Who did it" and solving a crime.

While we didn't learn more about the solar system like we set out to- we did learn a lot of other cool science stuff- We'll have to fit Science Saturdays into our schedule more often!

Just a few- Roo-isms

2010-11-02T06:33:00.002-06:00

I love learning along with my kids- it's one of my favorite things about homeschooling, is learning new stuff with them. Quite often, they are the ones teaching me- Last night Roo taught me a lesson. It was our family's turn to clean the churchhouse building, so Roo and I had our paper towels and window cleaner and were working on all the doors and windows in the foyers. We were just about finished when Roo told me "This is like cleaning Jesus's feet." I was confused. He told me "Yesterday at church we talked about how Jesus cleaned his apostles feet, and now we are cleaning his house- and it's kinda like cleaning his feet. We are serving others." I told him how right he was. I'm amazed at the ways he can remember his church lessons and simply apply them in other situations.

A few days ago he was upstairs playing with his cars and trucks, And told me that one of them was broken and went to the shop to be fixed. He said we were like cars. - me halfway listening- "ok Roo, how are we like cars?" "A broken car is kinda like a sinner" he told me "They have to go to the shop to be fixed, and a sinner needs to repent to be fixed"

We're the Chipmunks....

2010-11-01T07:42:00.002-06:00

Alvin, Simon, Theodore....do do doo doo doo...

3 boys have been planning their halloween costumes since LAST year- so here's the chipmunks- Doodle is Alvin, Bug is Simon, and Roo is Theodore

Happy Birthday Ben

2010-10-24T10:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was Ben's Birthday- and ever since Nick's wedding and the kids did THIS:

They've been anxiously waiting for Ben's birthday so they could carry out their plans of THIS:

Happy Birthday Ben! You are the BEST!! You are such a wonderful husband and father, and we appreciate you and all you do!

WHAT?!

2010-10-22T12:46:00.004-06:00

You mean Andrea actually updated the blog! (shocking isn't it!) I've been a huge slacker lately- mostly because I'm frustrated with blogger lately- and I can't get it to let me drag my pictures to where they are supposed to go. :p So here's a few random pics of our recent goings-on- hope they will drag where I want them.

From a recent drive up the canyon to see the fall colors.
Last month's field trip out to the Golden SpikeThe boys at the Rocket Display on our way to Golden Spike We went to AZ for Ben's little brother Nick's wedding. Congrats Nick and Amber!

We are happy for you two and wish you the best!Fishing at Lee's Ferry in AZ- We were so bummed when we went down in July that we didn't get to go fishing- so we made SURE we got to fish this time. Stopped at Cedar Breaks again- decided this is a beautiful place! Silly Doodle- just barely in the picture-

Cabin trips....awww! Fall is the BEST time to go. (okay, and spring and summer and winter too) This one is taken in Yellowstone near the East Entrance- We don't usually make it all the way over that way- but wow! It was beautiful.

Gotta be sneaky to get Doodle's picture!Roo and Trish- hiking around Mud Volcano areaAnd what's a Yellowstone trip without a Bear sighting! He's a small black bear we saw not too far off the road. He didn't seem to care that we were there. Ok- now I'll try and do better about staying caught up on the blog! ;)

Online learning games

2010-09-22T12:26:00.003-06:00

In Doodle and Roo's workbox drawers each day- one of their drawers has "Computer time" written on a card for them to do. Pam usually has some fun math game for them to play, and I have a few other websites I rotate between- and I thought I'd share some of our favorite online learning games. (ha! This also puts all my links where I can find them when I forget where that fun game was!)

First off- Ones Roo likes-
Starfall.com is one of my favorites, it's a complete reading program, lots of games, books to read, alphabet games
Fun4theBrain has a bunch of fun games- along the top click addition, Roo especially likes the Monster dentistry (he answers 10 add problems then gets to clean the germs off the monster's teeth) silly- but he likes it. Another favorite is under English at the top- there is a popcorn words game that works on sight words.
BBC has lots of fun and simple games
Sight words with Samson is a simple sight word game, it goes through 4 steps- learning, the spelling of the word, identifying, quizzing, and a fun ocean themed game of recognizing the word
UEN has links to other games that are helpful (a lot of them are pbs games)

Doodle's websites-
Multiplication.com - Melinda over at Homeschooling a Houseful introduced me to this site- and it's perfect for Doodle who is just starting learning multiplication this year in math
Academic Skill builders is another great site with math games for multiplicaiton, as well as addition. They also have a few English games that are fun.
Dance Mat Typing- is SUPER for learning to type correctly. Doodle has just started working on this game- but it goes through all of the keys on the letters on the keyboard. I don't think it does the numbers.
A few others that Pam has assigned Doodle to play games on are mathplayground.com and coolmath4kids

Bug uses many of these sites along with bigiqkids (just the free version works great for us)

Fishing and Leaves

2010-09-20T06:32:00.006-06:00

We had a great weekend! Saturday we decided to go fishing at a local Reservoir, It was a beautiful day- and we caught a bunch of fish too.

Doodle playing in the float tube Pam and Roo catching a fish

Ben took Doodle for a ride on the back of the pontoon boat

Roo and Bug playing in the float tube

Skipping rocks

Roo- building rock castles

Doodle had a kite that he got from Cub Scouts- so he and Bug were flying it. (until it crashed into a tree!)

Roo's turn on the pontoon

Sunday after church we went for a drive up the canyon to see the beautiful leaves changing color. The fall colors were just beginning to show. So we're going to have to head up there one more time this fall.We drove to Old Ephraim's grave (the same place we hiked to earlier this summer) and had cake for dessert. Doodle and Roo at the Stone that marks Old Ephraim's grave.

Doodle's Baptism

2010-09-04T14:06:00.004-06:00

Doodle has been anxiously counting the days since he turned 8 until it would be his baptism day. The day finally arrived. Doodle was Baptised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today. It was a wonderful day as Ben was able to baptize Doodle. I am so thankful for a wonderful husband who holds and honors the priesthood, and was able to perform this sacred ordinance. I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life, for the direction it gives me. I'm proud of Doodle and for the decision he made to be baptised, which is the first step in Following in Christ's footsteps. For making the covenant with the Lord to Always Remember him, and to Keep his commandments. I am so thankful for a wonderful and supportive family. We love you sweetie!

We are loving astronomy

2010-08-27T07:34:00.003-06:00

Or as Roo calls it "Pastromomy" For a bit of extra sicence fun we are using Apologia Astronomy We finished the first chapter this week- and made our model of the solar system. The distances to the sun are not right- and the sun should be Bigger- but we had a fun time with it.

Boy- some of those planets were tiny! The boys keep asking "When can we pop the balloons?" I told them after we study about each planet, they can pop it. Luckily The Sun is the next chapter.

Doodle tying a string onto Jupiter

Doodle is 8!

2010-08-23T15:31:00.007-06:00

We were on vacation at the cabin when Doodle had his birthday- but I'll not skip posting about my boy- even if it is a bit late- so here's a few reminiscing photos of Doodle- (I still can't believe he's 8!) It's SO hard to find good pics of Doodle- Here's one I took to put on his Baptism invitations-
Doodle is....well Doodle is Doodle! He IS who he IS, and there's no changing his mind. He is a leader, and likes to have people follow him. He especially loves playing with his younger cousins- because they do just that- look up to him and follow him. He is a goer, a mover and a shaker, he's not one to let life pass him by. He is always on-the-go and loves to move, go places and do things.

Big brother Bug, and Doodle just after he first came to us.

The Adoption Day! :DDoodle LOVES being outside- camping, hiking, fishing, exploring, This is what pictures of Doodle *usually* look like- The Back of his HEAD! (unless it's blurry because he was running!)
Doodle and I building a sand castle. Doodle- We love you! And are so blessed to have you in our familiy!

We didn't drop off the edge of the earth...

2010-08-23T15:22:00.003-06:00

But we did climb to the top of the world! At least that's where we told Roo we were driving to- We went for a Sunday Drive yesterday- and drove to the top of Willard Peak- WOW!! In Roo's words "This is amazing!" It was stormy- so we couldn't see the valley very well- but we could see the clouds-

Here's what the sign said- lol- not sure about that lower case i in POiNT - A view on our way back down the mountain. I LOVE the mountains...(how does that old camp song go? something about mountians and rolling hills, flowers and daffodils)

Lovin the Zoo

2010-08-02T11:15:00.004-06:00

On Friday we went to the zoo for a fum family outing. Pam went with us- and we met Amber and Tim and their boys W and L, and also Raellen (Ben's brother Bill's wife) and her 3 girls, K, C and A.

Walking up the hill in the HEAT! It was a hot day!

The ostrich were HUGE!

There is a new baby elephant- it was SO cute!

K, C, Doodle, L and A watching the elephants. Cousin K and Bug- these 2 are like 2 peas in a pod- both obsessed with Harry Potter and both have crazy imaginations. :D
The Iguana was COOL!Making the world sping backwards

Roo's Kindergarten plans

2010-07-30T15:01:00.001-06:00

LOL- if you ask Roo is he's going to be in Kindergarten his answer is "NO, I'm going to homeschool" I told him that Kindergarten is "school for 5 year olds" I can't believe my little Roo will be in Kindergarten already. I remember when Bug was just starting out with Kindergarten, and I was SO thrilled to be able to find the perfect curriculum for our family- Five in A Row and here I am starting Five in a Row volume 1 with my 3rd and last little boy. It's sort of a happy/sad idea!

Workboxes worked so well last year- that we will be continuing them. Here's what will be in Roo's Drawers-

1- Math Folders- I love the way these worked last year- so we're going to use them again.

2- Pam's Math assignments- Just a simple Kindergarten workbook, and fun activities that Pam plans

3- School games, (phonics games, math games, puzzles, etc)

4- Five in a Row Volume 1, along with copywork using startwrite, and lapbook/notebook components from my favorite site Homeschoolshare and parts from enchanted learning- decided this one is worth the $20 per year to have access to their maps and such.

5- PE- Get up and MOVE!

6- Handwriting without Tears on MWF and on Tue/Thur he will be joining Doodle for Astronomy

7- Computer time- various online sites and other school games

8- Read to mom/phonics games, library books, easy readers,

9- Explode the code 2 & 3

Planning for the new school year- 2nd grade

2010-07-30T14:45:00.000-06:00

More planning posts- Here's Doodle's plans for next year-

Workboxes- I can't say enough about how wonderful our drawers have worked for school time. It's a visual checklist for Doodle so he can SEE when he's finished. No surprises- when he's done with #9 he's done. :D We will continue to use the workboxes- and the order may change around a bit- but it's pretty much the same in each drawer each day. So here's what will be in each drawer-

1- Math Folders- Doodle will also graph the high and low temp each day with a line graph, and count out money to show the number of school day it is- for instance day 132- he counts out $1.32.

2- Pam's Math assignments. Doodle is great at math- he'll be starting the 3rd grade mathbook when we start school up.3- School Games, art projects, nature journals, and Computer Time (cool websites I like will have to be a whole new post!)

4- Five in a Row Volume 4 We LOVE Five in a Row- and vol 4 is one of my favorites. We usually do each book for 2 weeks, as there is so much good stuff I don't wanna miss! He'll also do copywork using Startwrite, and make a lapbook/notebook using stuff from Homeschool Share and Enchanted Learning5- PE- Drawer 5 HAS to be a get up and MOVE drawer- I have index cards in there with various activities for him to do "Ride bike for 10 minutes" "Play H-O-R-S-E" or "Jump Rope for 10 minutes"
6- Explode the Code books 7, and 8 7- School Games, art projects, etc.

8- On MWF Doodle will do Growing with Grammar and on TTH we will do Apologia Astronomy with lapbook components I found on Homeschool Launch

9-Spelling workbook I'm unsure how this will work for Doodle- he may need something more hands-on for spelling- but we're going to give it a try. He didn't do well with the bigiqkids site- because he'd get mad when he spelled a word wrong, and blame the computer lol-
Extras- Gymnastics- Doodle has a real talent for gymnastics- so we'll continue this. Cub Scouts- Doodle is excited to turn 8 in a few weeks, and be able to do Cub Scouts with our local troop. Also Doodle will do Book Club with our Homeschool group.

Planning for the new school year- 6th grade

2010-07-29T14:05:00.008-06:00

I am a planner- I LOVE to plan ;) Maybe I have an obsession with planning. I can't plan my whole school year at once- because then I have to constantly re-plan- lol- but I've begun planning for next school year- we go year-round- and usually take July and December off, along with a couple of weeks in the spring, and a couple of weeks in the fall. So we're gearing up for next year soon. Bug will be in 6th grade, Doodle- 2nd grade and Roo will be starting Kindergarten. Here's what we're planning for Bug's 6th grade year-

Bug will be using the following
Language Arts- Growing with Grammar, Online Spelling game- Big IQ Kids, 6-trait writing, I think a few Literature Units from this site, lots of reading great books, and various reports as assigned.

History- Story of the World with notebooking pages from this site-

Science- finish up Apologia Zoology 1, with notebook/journal, (we are LOVING this!) and begin Zoology 2. He will also join in with Doodle and Roo when they do Astronomy because he just couldn't decide whether he wanted to do Astronomy or Zoo2. Math- Pam will be teaching Math again next year- Bug is about halfway through the Pre-Algebra book- and will be using these online resources that go right along with his book. Merit Badges- Bug will also work on Boy Scout Merit Badges as part of school- there's SOO much good stuff to learn in those.

Art- hopefully we can find a better time to fit this into our schedule better- but Ben will teach art. :D (delegate!)

Music- If we can get it to work like I want- Bug will take Band at the local intermediate school, and he'll also continue Piano lessons.

PE- Karate, Swimming- using our family pass, and he will probably play Basketball in the winter.

Extras- Field trips with our wonderful homeschool group, PE days, Book club- I'm excited about this year's club- another family will be doing the Famous Americans books- and I'm going to do a group with older boys- more info to come!

Adventures in Zion

2010-07-26T11:51:00.012-06:00

We were planning on taking our "Yellowstone Adventure" backpacking trip this past weekend- but after Bug and Ben's trip to Shoshone Lake- with the hoardes of mosquitos- we decided to try something different. So Wednesday after Ben got off work- we headed South- planning to make it to Page, AZ Friday night- and the rest was just take it as it came. Poor Bug- who is SO much like his mom was a little nuts without a plan all laid out.

We spent Wed night up the mountains from Cedar City somewhere ;) The next morning we got up and headed to Zion's National Park. The last time we tried to go- there was too much snow for much hiking- so we were excited! Bug- as we were headed out on our Hike up the Zion Narrows Me and the boys- not too far up the canyon- A neat waterfall along the way
Silly Roo with his Water Backpack

Bug riding the river back down the canyon. Doodle riding the river.

Bug found a few deep holes that he liked to swim in- jump off a high rock and spash down. What Gentlemen- holding up the rock for me to go under- lol ;)
Us- after hiking the narrows- dripping wet.

Thursday night we found a nice campground east of Zion's- and we relaxed.

Ben and the boys roasting Hot Dogs for dinnerBreakfast the next morning Friday we head about a nice little slot canyon near our campground that we decided to go check out.

Watch out for the cactus! These were growing everywhere near the trail head.

The Boys and me at the Entrance-

A little way up the canyon- it was SO neat- pics just don't do it justice- The canyon sort of dead ends a little way up- there are webbing attachments for those climbing down the canyon- but we decided this was a good stopping point.After hiking we headed the rest of the way to Page- and met up with Ben's mom and Dad, and his Brother Bill and their family. Also- his sister, Amber and her family were down visiting. We went to Lake Powell to do some swimming. The water was SO warm and wonderful!

Tim and Doodle wrestling in the water.Some of the crew swimming
Then we had a nice cookout with everyone- and got to meet Nick's girlfriend Amber- she's sooo sweet and nice!Some of the crew at the cookout We spent Friday night at a campground in Page, and went to Amber's baptism Saturday morning. What a neat day it was! Congrats Amber!

After the baptism we had a wonderful meal at Bill & Raellen's house- then headed for home. We stopped at Cedar Breaks National Monument WOW!! What a view!
A nice picture of our little family. We had a super adventure! And can't wait for the next big adventure....somewhere!

July 4th Cabin Trip

2010-07-13T14:58:00.007-06:00

As usual we had a great time at the cabin- The weather was just right, and the company even better- with Pam, Amber, Tim and their boys W and L, and our family.
Uncle Tim wrestling with the boys- my boys think Tim is just the coolest!

Bug caught a couple of fish- David and Goliath ;) The big one is a beautiful brown trout- the small one a nice pan-sized rainbow
When we were fishing at a new spot- Bug and Doodle went exploring, and before long- they were across the river on top of this Beaver Dam.
Doodle came in the cabin all excited- "Mom, come look- it's a doe!" And he was right- a Doe walked right through our yard.
Roo and his cousin W sharing cheese at the fish bridge. These two are so cute together!

Amber and Tim went home- and left their boys at the cabin with us for the week- they had a super time with the cousins.

Pam, the Boys and I and their cousins went to Virginia City, Montana to take a little train ride The Boys and their cousins sitting on an old train car The Playdough got plenty of use this trip

Wednesday night- Ben came back up, and took Bug and the Boy Scouts from our ward backpacking in Yellowstone- here's the whole crew Thursday morning as they are setting out-
Playing in the water
At Lone Star Geyser

Unfortunately the mosquitos were TERRIBLE for them- and they cut their trip a day short. After looking at Bug's arms- the mosquitos really liked him- he's like one huge bug bite. ;)

Now back to real life and LAUNDRY!

Happy Birthday Roo!

2010-06-30T13:15:00.007-06:00

My how Time flies! When my babies were babies- I'd get frustrated when people would tell me to "enjoy them, they grow up too fast" I guess I just didn't "get it" Now I do. Wow! Time has simply flown by, and my baby has grown like crazy. 5 years ago today we were blessed with another son. Roo was always a happy, content baby. He loved to smile and his big brothers were the best entertainment ever. Roo's first Birthday Roo is still a happy camper- and quite content to be dragged along on whatever expeditions (or as Winnie the Pooh in our bedtime story says "expotition") our family goes on.

Snomobiling at the cabin as a baby-
Yellowstone School" almost 1
Exploring Escalante when he was 1 1/2Hiking to White Pine Lake (3)- I still can't believe at 3 he hiked the WHOLE way! Hiking in Moab last fall
Roo likes learning- and homeschooling is working great for him. He loved learning about volcanoes a few months ago- and making this volcano. (I remember making this same type of volcano with Bug and Doodle when they were about the same age- what memories!)
All this to say "Happy Birthday Roo!" We love you!
Silly kid!

Blessings

2010-06-22T14:56:00.006-06:00

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family. I am blessed to be able to live nearby to my parents and grandparents. My kids are so lucky to know them! They are such a great example to me. My grandpa Earl passed away Saturday night after a battle with Alzheimer's . He is truly a wonderful man. Always kind, honest and hard-working.

A picture of my Grandparents from a Christmas party a couple years ago.One of the biggest blessings I've found through homeschooling was being able to have my kids spend time with their Great Grandpa. About 2-3 times a month we'd stop in at their house and let my grandma run her errands, and the kids would entertain him, play, watch TV with him. Had I not been homeschooling- they would have been at school when I went to help out. They would have missed out on SO much! Bug worked on his reading merit badge for scouts and read books to his Great Grandpa. A few months ago when he had to go to a Care Center- my kids were excited that now when they did their Homeschool Service, he'd be there to listen to them sing, play the piano and recite their poems. Bug looked forward to reading stories to Grandpa, especially Dr Suess stories. Doodle liked to tease him (and put the brakes on his wheel chair) And Roo loved it when he came and said "Hi Grandpa" and Grandpa replied "Hi Grandpa" Roo said, "He called me Grandpa!"

Grandpa- We love you, and will miss you dearly.

Backpackers in-training

2010-06-20T09:14:00.007-06:00

In preparation for our Yellowstone backpacking trip to Pebble Creek we went on a mini backpack trip Friday night. We decided to hike in to Old Ephraim's Grave We were originally going to take a hiking trail, but took the road that said "Ephraim's grave this way" So we took the road instead. We were driving in Ben's car- not the truck- so it was a rough road. We got within about 2 miles, and decided that there was a great place to park. So we hiked the rest of the way along the road.

The Crew- just as we were starting out-
Ben and Roo hiking along- yes Roo (who will be 5 in a couple of weeks was carrying a pack- and carried his pack the whole way-though he only had to carry his sleeping bag and his camelback) Bug with his new pack- Bug has been working a bit for a neighbor and saving up money to buy camping gear- He earned the money for this pack- and was so proud. The whole trip he kept mentioning "I like my new pack" and guarenteed he'll take real good care of it too.
Doodle is an awesome backpacker. Even with a pack that's twice his size. We're looking for something smaller before we go to Yellowstone. We MADE IT!!!

The Grave MarkerBug trying his hand at starting a fire without matches
Roo Loves his "Spoonknifefork" that he got in his Christmas Stocking- it worked great for the 4+ bowls of oatmeal he ate the next morning. Doodle eating his dinner.

Getting a fire started

On the way back out Saturday morning- Doodle decided to lay down and take a rest. (it was all downhill Friday night- which meant- yes- all UPhill Saturday morning.

Ben feeding Doodle some trail mix. There's the CAR!! We made it!