Christmas Eve

We always look forward to Christmas Eve at Oma and Grandpa's house.  Oma is from Germany and her tradition is to do all the gift-giving on Christmas Eve so we exchange gifts with Jason's family that night.  Oma makes a table full of delicious appetizers, her homemade wontons and sausage balls are famous--Jason looks forward to them all year!  After we eat, we visit for a bit and then the present-opening-fest begins.  To say Oma and Grandpa are generous is an understatement, Oma loves to shop and give.

Kayla and Oma 

 Hunter and cousin, Kyle

 Tanner with Bonnie and Heather

 Uncle Steve and Grandpa

 Captain America and Spiderman

(aka Tanner & Hunter)

Jason always tries to bring some goofy gifts that will make people laugh.  This year he had 3 people open a "special"gift at once--a mousepad with a picture of him in front of an American flag.  As you can see, the recipients did laugh. :)

 Grandpa, Sloan, and Bonnie receiving a Jason mousepad.

The prize-winning goofy gift went to his godmother, Bonnie.  She is a big fan of Muse and particularly of the band leader--Matthew Bellamy.  Jason always teases her that Matthew looks like a leprechaun.  To prove it, he printed out a big picture of Matthew,  and attached it to a Lucky Charms cereal box.  That was his present to Bonnie this year, she loved it!

 Is that a special gift or what? :)

Away in a Manger...

After a 2 month hiatus from blogging, I am back in business! (Hopefully) I typically find time to blog late at night or on Sundays but I’ve been too exhausted at night and too busy on Sundays--too busy napping, hee, hee. :)  Pregnancy just zaps my energy so that is my excuse. We are expecting a baby boy on May 1st and we are all very excited.

Lately we have been busy with Christmas activities. For the record, I love Christmas---the lights, the trees, the baking, the decorating, the music, the stories, the movies, the presents, the family gatherings, the good will, the remembering of Christ--it is such a wonderful and exciting time of year and it is always over too fast for me. This morning, Kayla asked if she could do the Family Home Evening lesson tonight. Since I’m generally scrambling at the last minute for a lesson, I was happy to say yes. She planned a nativity pageant--wrote a script, assigned everyone parts, set up a scene, and gathered props and costumes. I realized why we should put kids in charge of this kind of thing because I wouldn't have gone to that much work! We decided to video it and it turned out really sweet. Everyone had two parts except for Tanner and me. I was the narrator and Tanner was asleep in bed.  Jason was an angel and a shepherd, Kayla was Mary and a shepherd, Hunter was Joseph and a shepherd.  This brought back memories from my childhood of acting out the Christmas story.  Then again, we usually had 10 children to work with (I have 9 brothers and sisters) or we were with our 30+ cousins doing it. We only had 4 people tonight but it still worked out beautifully. I was thankful to Kayla for putting it together. It was the perfect Family Home Evening on the Monday before Christmas, it helped us all focus on what it is really all about.

Utah--Part 2, Little Sahara Sand Dunes

I have very fond memories of camping at the sand dunes as a kid.  The sand is the softest sand you will ever feel, I love sinking my toes in it; it is very different from beach sand.  I wanted Jason and the kids to experience this one-of-a-kind place so we decided to visit while we were in Utah.  We were just planning to drive down for the day but my studly brother, Martin, offered to bring his trailer so we could camp overnight.  He also brought his big sand toy, the RZR (pronounced Razor), which provided more fun than any of us imagined.  We were so happy to hang out with him and get to know his darling wife, Katie.  We were thrilled when Grandma, Grandpa, Mary and Morgan (my bro. and sis.) decided to join us as well.  We had a blast.  In my fond memories of the sand dunes, I had forgotten about the sand storms--wind blowing sand in every nook and cranny--but it was totally worth it!

This is Sand Mountain, it is much bigger than it looks in the picture.  It is usually loaded with 4 wheelers, jeeps, motorcycles, etc., but we happened to camp on a Monday right after school began so we were the only ones here--how awesome!   

Tanner loved this place.

Grandpa, Morgan, Martin, and Mary in the RZR. 

When we first arrived, Martin took me on a crazy night drive--I wasn't sure I would survive.  I was screaming and hanging on for dear life.  It was a thrill-ride that I was glad to experience but it left me in no hurry to experience it again. :) I let the kids have all the thrills after that.

Tanner and Morgan getting ready for a drive.  Morgan took the RZR for a drive on his own at some point during the trip and didn't return in a timely fashion.  Martin went to look for him and discovered the RZR  lying on it's side, Morgan had rolled it (he was secretly excited about this I'm sure).  Thankfully, my kids were not in the vehicle at the time.  The harnesses kept Morgan safe.  Everything was fine but you see why I was scared for my life.

Catching some air as they went over the dunes, I'm glad it was them and not me!

Morgan brought sleds, hoping the kids could sled down the dunes but it didn't really work.  The sleds kept getting stuck.

Martin tried pulling Tanner around with ropes but found it to be exhausting...

So, he came up with the brilliant plan of hooking the ropes to the back of the RZR.

It was a huge hit, even with the wipe-outs!

Happy kiddos.

Who needs the beach?

This is a picture of our campsite taken from the top of Sand Mountain.  It's pretty hard to see us, we're the small speck of white.

All 3 kiddos on the dunes.

Kayla & Tanner coming out of Martin's trailer.  Kayla has always wanted to sleep in a big trailer like this, she was more excited about sleeping in the trailer than she was about going to the sand dunes. :) 

We all piled in the trailer for lunch to get out of the sand storm.  Thank goodness there was plenty of room.

Tanner chillin' in the trailer with Pepe.

Martin, Katie, and Harley--what a cute family.

My Birthday

I may eventually get around to posting parts 2 -10 of our Utah trip, and I may eventually write about Hunter's birthday, and I may one day write about all the other things swirling in my mind; but for now, I only have a few minutes, so I'll just write about myself. :)  I turned 35 yesterday, hard to believe.  I remember when I was in high school and I thought 23 was ancient, look at me now!  I don't mind it though, life is beautiful.  My birthday started with my kiddies coming in my room and forbidding me to leave it.  They came back quite some time later singing "Happy Birthday" and carrying a tray full of a yummy breakfast--eggs, bacon, and oatmeal, plus homemade gifts (check out the coupons I received below).  Having your children grow up can be a bit sad but there are some really wonderful side benefits! :)  Oma and Grandpa watched the kids at night so Jason and I could go out to a snazzy restaurant, followed by some grand shopping at Wal-mart!  I love going on dates and we don't do it often enough, I guess that makes it extra special when we do go.  After our date, we picked up the kiddies and came home to watch our new favorite family show, "Lark Rise to Candleford."  We had slushie drinks AND brownie sundaes; massive amounts of junk food is okay on your birthday, right?  It was a wonderful day, I love birthdays!

I SHOULD take pictures of the cute coupon book Kayla made for me but that would take too long so I'm just going to share the coupons for now and take a picture later.

• FREE 10-minute foot rub
• FREE hair-do for half an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford
• Babysit 3-4 year old for an hour (when mom is home of course)
• Make your bed
• FREE 20-minutes at Kayla's Hair Salon (Can you tell I like to have Kayla play with my hair?)
• FREE lunch made for you
• Quiet time for an hour (Oh yeah!)

Bring on the pampering!

Utah--Part 1, Grandpa & Grandma House

We just returned from a fabulous 2-week trip to Utah. We had so much fun and I can’t wait to write about all our activities and adventures. It will take several blogs over several days but I’m determined to do it. I was hoping to write while I was there but we were too busy playing. :)

One of the things my children enjoy the most is hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. They have a big back yard that is full of fun stuff to do. It has a big tree fort with multiple rooms and levels, a zip-line, a giant rope swing, a spinning teeter-totter, a trampoline in a tree (for sleeping not jumping), and Grandpa’s famous train. The kids loved going on train rides in the back yard and around the neighborhood. The kids took turns sleeping in the fort, the tree, the trailer, and the house.

Kayla on the rope swing in front of the fort.

Notice the fort tower up in the tree.

This is a view of the fort from the backside.

Tanner inside the fort.

Cousin Jared on the zip-line, tree trampoline for sleeping in the background.

Hunter on the zip-line.

Swinging teeter-totter

Jason, the kids, and cousins trying to balance out the swinging teeter-totter.

McTrain--I didn't get a shot of the whole thing. :(

Tanner chillin' in one of the train cars.

Kayla in the caboose with Pepe.

In addition to train rides, we also enjoyed many rides with Grandpa in Old Henry. My dad restored a 1947 Ford several years ago and it has been in many parades and car shows since. Every night, he likes to take Ol’ Henry for a drive while listening to old radio shows. We often accompanied him to Utah Lake, Squaw Peak (a look-out in the mountains), or to Sonic for milkshakes.  We failed to take any pictures of Old Henry, but my sister, Mary, sent me this one. 

This is a picture of the view at night from Squaw Peak.

Kayla loved spending time with Grandma. My mom has 10 children and 19 grandchildren so finding time alone with her is not easy.  However, Grandma made time to be with Kayla. She helped her make pajamas and a robe for her American Girl doll. I rarely sew so it was a real treat for Kayla to be able to pick out the material, cut out the pattern, and create something beautiful. The best treat of all was having one-on-one time with Grandma, she is such a special lady.

Hunter loved spending time with my youngest brother, Morgan. He is the only one of my 9 siblings still living at home and we’ll be very sad when he is gone. We really missed Mickey and Monte (my other brothers who were married recently that used to live at home). Hunter followed Morgan around like a puppy and spent hours playing old school Nintendo games with him. Hunter’s video-game time is limited at home so he was extremely thrilled to have some unlimited time. He always wants me to play with him but I’m usually too busy at home.  Since we were on vacation, I made it a point to play video games with Hunter, his dream came true. :) Now, if only someone could explain WHY boys like video games so much???


We had such a great time with cousins, grandparents, and siblings. Stay tuned for more exciting Utah adventures!

Some things are worth paying for.

About 6 months ago, Jason and I read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  It's a great book, I highly recommend it.  Since reading it, we have been on the lookout for ways to cut spending.  We have a hypo-allergenic, non-shedding dog.  Sounds wonderful doesn't it?  We love it but there is one drawback.  She needs a hair-cut every 6 weeks or so (I can stretch it longer) and it's over $50 every time.  I decided I HAD to learn how to do it myself.  A friend came over a few months ago to show me what to do and it didn't seem too bad.  Still, I've procrastinated doing it myself.  Every time a haircut has been needed, I've gone ahead and paid for it....until today.  My dog desperately needed a haircut and I needed to put the money elsewhere so I set out to do it myself.  Dog grooming is a long process.  First comes the bath (I don't mind that part), then comes the blow-dry and brush (that part is okay too), then comes the cutting.  I couldn't exactly remember what my friend showed me since it has been so long.  I just started clipping and cutting.  The poor dog seemed to hate every minute of it and I didn't like it much either.  By the end, I was exhausted and covered in dog-hair (sort of negates the benefits of a non-shedding dog); my bathroom was also covered in dog hair, and the poor dog was bleeding a little on the stomach where I had somehow nicked her.  I felt terrible.  How does she look after all that?  She looks like she is going to need another hair-cut in about a week!  Next time, I don't care what I have to give up, I'm taking that dog to the groomer! :)

Education Choices

I haven't updated for awhile. I have so many things I want to write about but I haven't found time to write about any of them.  The past few weeks have been full of study and research for me as I gear up for the next school year. I've attended several education conferences and classes trying to learn all I can. This will be my 5th year homeschooling and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to help my kids (and myself) get a great education. I've been reading a lot about classical education based on the trivium model; it fascinates me as it is very different from the modern way of educating (read wiki article here). I've been reading Leigh Bortins book "The Core" which explains classical education in a way I can actually understand and makes me want to try it.  Classical education appeals to me in many ways but I'm still trying to decide how much I want to follow it.  I've been consumed with making curriculum decisions for next year.  This is always fun yet overwhelming.  I love reading what curriculum other homeschoolers use so I'm posting my curriculum choices for all my homeschooling friends out there.

Math
Teaching Textbooks (our main text)
Critical Thinking Activities and Patterns
Math for Smarty Pants
Math-It

Writing
Institute for Excellence in Writing (this is an amazing program)

Grammar
Easy Grammar for Hunter
Essentials of the English Language for Kayla

Spelling
Spelling Plus --Maybe...I tend to abandon spelling after a few months.  Maybe this year will be different.

History
Story of the World, Volume 3: Early Modern Times--We use this as the text for our History Club.

Foreign Language
Rosetta Stone Spanish
Getting Started with Latin
This will be my first year trying to add  foreign languages to our studies.  I can't promise it's going to work out, I never seem to have enough time to do everything I want to do.  Jason is SO excited that I'm finally going to give Rosetta Stone Spanish a try.  He bought it a couple years ago.

Fine Arts/Music
Themes to Remember
Discovering Great Artists
Drawing with Children
Piano lessons for Kayla

Science
I don't know what we are going to use yet. In past years, we've participated in a co-op but we couldn't fit it in this year.

P.E.
Nothing formal right now unless you consider Ninja Warrior training formal! :)  Rope swinging is probably the main form of exercise my kids get.  After one season of soccer, we decided to put-off spending time and money on team sports for awhile.  The kids have fun playing baseball and basketball with Jason, not to mention the regular jumping jack competitions he challenges them to! :)

Group Classes
We LOVE getting together with friends for classes and clubs.  This is our group stuff this year:

History Club--We read our history text at home and then meet twice a month with friends to do activities based on the readings.  We rotate who hosts the club meetings and plans the activities.  Last year we studied the middle ages and the kids had a blast shooting arrows like Robin Hood and dressing up like knights to participate in a medieval tournament.

Variety Class--This is a class I started to force me to get to some subjects my kids enjoy that I wasn't finding time for.  Last year we focused on fine arts, music, geography, and some creative writing.  This year we may do things a little different, I'm still figuring it out.

Classical Conversations Essentials class--This will be new for Kayla this year.  It is a weekly class that focuses on English grammar, writing, and math.

How are we going to fit all of this in?  I have no idea, I'll get back to you on that one.  How am I going to afford all of this curriculum?  I'm still figuring that out, donations are accepted. :)

Although homeschooling is time-consuming and challenging, it is the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.  I truly love this lifestyle for our family.  Eventually I'll write about my homeschooling journey--how I went from thinking it was strange and crazy to actually deciding to do it myself--but that is another post for another day.