Melting Chalk

At the beginning of the summer we make a list of things we want to do and places we want to go over the summer. Brittany was super dilligent about making our list this year. We like to do some science type experiments. Pinterest was great for this kind of stuff and so she found this recipe for frozen chalk. Basically it was cornstarch, water and food coloring that she put in ice cube trays and froze.

Then the kids took it out into the hot sunshine and let it melt!

Of course after it melted the cornstarch goo was pretty fun to play with too.

Thanks Brittany, the melting chalk was a hit!

Soccer Boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you believe this kid is only ten? I took this picture to download for his soccer registration and couldn't believe how old he looks. And he won't even be eleven until September. We have been through such a couple of weeks with soccer tryouts. Matthew knew he wanted a new team instead of the Hornets this year so the hunt and the tryouts began. I will spare us all and sum it up. Five tryouts of which he made three teams. I think we changed our minds about which team to go with four times. But hopefully now we have the perfect fit. It better be, no way am I going through that again any time soon!

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Josh and the Snake

Josh came inside the other day and insisted I come see what he found.   There in the flower bed a freshly shed snakeskin. Before I knew it he bent over and picked it up. You would not see me doing that!

There it is! He is a pretty awesome kid!

Josh's Last Week

We are two days into Summer.  So far so good. In an effort to update this poor old blog let's detail Joshua's last week of first grade. I got to go with Josh on a field trip to the Tracy Aviary. Hadn't been there before so it was lots so fun. I love this picture, it is perfectly typical of field trips.  See every kid is looking in a different direction.  They run that way too.  They actually were good kids, I volunteer in their class so they know me and that I'm not a total push-over.

Josh absorbed in the bird show.

Those are flamingos behind him. Note to self: do not cut this kid's hair yourself. Yikes!

Joshua's amazing teacher Mrs. Warburton. First grade was such a great year. We are really hoping that she moves to second grade so we can do it all over again!  Love the kid photo-bombing in the back.

Did I mention these kids know me?  So they insisted I take their picture too. Which I didn't mind in the least. They are great kids! Good bye first grade!

Mother's Day Weekend

Oh, poor neglected little blog! I have lost my drive to blog I guess. Instagram and Facebook are so much faster. But I was looking back over old posts and realized as much as I felt like I was blogging in the past I wish there were even more details of our lives. So I am going to try again! Even if it is just a summary of what is going on and it is only for my own enjoyment. So here is last Saturday.

 The morning started as it usually does this time of year with soccer. This time it was Joshua's. Josh is so much more engaged in the game this season. He even made a goal last week!

 After soccer William and I went looking for flowers. Maybe a little foolish on the weekend of Mother's Day but it was such a beautiful day it still seemed fabulous. And look at this miraculous picture, no people in that greenhouse! At least at that moment. We went to three different nurseries. Then later in the day William snuck out and went to another. He came home with a tree. Again. That boy has a serious tree addiction!

Part of the hunt through the local nurseries was the need for two yellow rose bushes for the front yard. Of course my man found them, bought them and planted them. As my neighbor said to me, he just gave me roses for Mother's Day forever!

This was my real Mother's Day gift. New bird bath right outside my kitchen window. Now someone inform the birds it is open for business.

In the afternoon Brittany and I went out to search for the perfect flowers for the yard. My mom has trained her since she was tiny to be an expert flower planter.  Of course the super-reader cannot be without a book for any length of time.  We went to a couple more nurseries and found just what we needed.  I have spent the last couple of days trying to keep them alive until we can plant them tomorrow.

I did plant these in the front yard. For some reason Brittany does not consider the front yard her domain.

While we were out we had to stop at DI to see if they had more books for Super-reader and we found this gem. I still feel a little bad we didn't bring her home. There is just something about a Barbie wearing that much lace that I just want!

The next day was Mother's Day. Because it was Mother's Day and they had to do anything I wanted I made these three awesome kids who have made me a mother pose for a picture after church. I am so glad I get to be their mom.

We later spent the rest of the day with my amazing mom. Love this picture. She made both of our matching dresses. Aren't we both adorable? Yep, I absolutely won the Mother jackpot!

Moab 2013

This week is Spring Break around here.  For our family that has meant going down to Moab for the last two years. I admit to some reluctance. I am not a naturally born hiker and I have really bad ankles that I spend the whole time babying in an hopes that my family won't have to carry me off a mountain someday. But, all that said, we really had a good time. We just got home tonight and I have to post these before I forget everything. This is going to be picture heavy, but who are we kidding, it is mostly just for our family.

The first afternoon we got there we thought we would try a new hike. Corona Arch had been in the news lately, unfortunately because of an awful accident. Our main goal was just to hike to it so we were perfectly safe.

 Ta-dah!

 Brittany and her dad taking a break.

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Josh thought it was a great place for sunbathing/napping.  Silly kid!

The next day we started with the hike to Delicate Arch, the major attraction. Matthew really does not love this hike. It involves slickrock which for some reason he hates.  Also, he has discovered he has a fear of heights to we you get to the very end he has to make himself push to the top. I was really proud of him for making it. We can do hard things! I kept telling him that and he kept telling me he didn't have to like it. I agree, and the sooner he learns that one the better!

 Josh got new sunglasses for the hike. So cool!

 See those two tiny specks under the arch? Those  would be Brittany and her dad! Crazy people!

 
 The next day we left Moab and headed for Goblin Valley. The kids love Goblin Valley. It is a bizarre place full of fun stuff to climb on.

 

Brittany and Mom, trying to prove that I actually was on this vacation.

 Brittany the climber! Is there a sport where we can channel this girl's love of climbing? Every time you turn around she is climbing something really high!

 Guess she gets it from her dad.

 If you climb high enough you can pretend you are flying!

 Matt found a cave.

 My two oldest! Brittany is the tiny head on the left.

 The boys hanging out with the goblins.

Brittany on top again. 

 These kids love Goblin Valley, it is worth the extra time in the car!  And that says a lot for this group!

 Crazy weird! Wish I could take a panoramic shot, the whole little valley looks like this.

Josh likes to climb too.

 After we left Goblin Valley we decided to go home the route that took us around Capitol Reef. It was beautiful. Unfortunately the kids had hit the wall and were not interested in anymore rock formations. William and I liked it though.

So very pretty!

Pinterest Projects

 It has been awhile since I have posted crafts. Too long since I've blogged really. I blame Pinterest. Love pinterest! But that is where I have spent my screen time lately. I have found some fun projects thought. This flower is now hanging in my niece Libby's new teen room. I liked it so much I made myself one in yellow. Çan't get enough flowers this winter.

 I made the word love with my crafting buddy Mandi after I saw it on Pinterest.

 This is one of my favorites that Mandi found on pinterest. We have made this one two ways. This one is fabric glued to a mat, duct taped on the back and then covered it with polyurethane.  We also did it on a piece of linoleum I got at Home Depot.

Finally, Matthew's Perry the Platypus valentine box. We found this one on pinterest too. Love that Pinterest!

The Winter that Will Not End

 This winter just seems to go on and on. I can only post these pictures because it doesn't look like this anymore. The icicles finally  have melted and although there are still huge piles of snow we can actually see grass. The snow was a lot of fun though. The kids continued to have fun with the luge their dad made. They sort of had to keep digging it out but it is still out there, at least most of it.

 BIG pile of snow!

And there goes Brittany!  I am so ready for Spring.

A Book and a Movie

Once upon a time I used to blog about books and movies. I just checked, the last post I did about a book was Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt in  August 2011. The last movie was when The Help came out the same month. I have actually seen quite a few movies and read a lot of books since then. I can't say any that I loved quite as much as The Help but I am going to try and blog some favorites more often because I like having an ongoing list of books and movies I like on this old blog. So in that spirit this is a post about a book and a movie.  I have lunch with some dear friends every Wednesday. We discuss and attempt to solve all the world's problems. Let me tell you, it hasn't been easy lately. I have been reading this book, Safe Passage lately. It is the story of two sisters, unmarried due to the small numbers of men who came back from World War II, who are able to use their resulting independence as single women to acheive amazing things. First they discover opera in the 1920's which sounds like an amazing, beautiful world. They don't have a lot of money so they wait in line for long periods of time to get cheap galley seats. As they do this they meet some of the opera stars, eventually getting to know them well and become friends with some. These friendships eventually morph into a huge refugee project to save people before the outbreak of World War II. They would have their opera friends plan performances in Austria and Germany to give them an excuse to go over so often. They would wear people's jewelry out so that when they got out they would have some money to live on. They also arranged sponsers so people could get out of Germany to England. They saved 29 people. It was an inspiring book, a little heavy on the opera in the first hundred pages for someone who knows very little about it but still really enjoyable.

While reading Safe Passage and during those conversations with my friends I found myself wondering if people are still like that. How many will risk their lives, use their personal funds to save someone they don't know just because it is the right thing to do. Would I? Then I went with my mother to see the movie The Impossible. Amazing movie. Exhausting movie. Just in case you aren't familiar it is the story of a family vacationing in Thailand when the Tsunami hit. The kind of story that has to be true to work because no one would believe it otherwise. Fair warning though, during the tsunami scene I kept wondering why I was putting myself through this. Hard to watch, you feel like you are drowning yourself. But there were some answers to my question as to whether people are still good like they were during World War II. There is a scene where the mother and one boy are trying to get to a safer spot in case there are more waves. Severely injured, she and her son hear a child crying. Her son tries to talk her into continuing on arguing that she doesn't even have the energy to move herself let alone save another person. But even though she may be dying she tells her son they have to, even if it is the very last thing they do. There are several instances like this throughout the movie, I guess that is part of what made it so good!