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.

Ninja Warrior

I can't believe this is the first time I'm mentioning "Ninja Warrior" on my blog since it's such a big thing at my house.  Maybe it's because I don't have much to do with it.  Also, we didn't have any photos until today, only video footage.  Kayla took a public speaking class today and she had to write a presentation to share with the class along with a visual aid.  Jason snapped these photos when I wasn't around.  The basement is in an atrocious state but I'm posting the pictures anyway.  One of these days I'll put some video footage on here to show what Ninja Warrior is really like.  Here is Kayla's speech:

Hello everyone! My name is Kayla LaFroth and I would like to tell you about something neat we do in my basement called “Ninja Warrior.” This is my basement.  

 My dad has put up wood-structures, ropes, a castle, and more! At least twice a year we do something called Ninja Warrior. My dad got the inspiration for this from the Japanese show called Ninja Warrior! There are four stages of obstacle courses that you try to pass. Each stage gets harder as you go along. If you don’t pass a stage, you are eliminated.

There are obstacles such as the Cliffhanger, 

  

  the Swinging Bars, 

the Can Walk,

the Peg Board,

 and The Tarzan Swing.

We invite friends to come do it and only the best make it to the end. If you complete all 4 stages, you receive a medal and $20.00! My dad films us as we go through the stages and edits it into movies that we call seasons. We have done 5 seasons so far, each season getting harder than the last one. Doing this has helped to increase my strength, balance, and overall physical fitness. Ninja Warrior is challenging but also very fun. Maybe some of you could join us for Season 6!

Harpers Ferry

A few weeks ago we visited the historical town of Harpers Ferry, WV where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet.  This town changed hands between Confederate and Union forces 8 times during the civil war.  It is also the place where the abolitionist John Brown led a raid.  The kids love to visit this place, not because they are interested in the history, but because they love to play in the river and eat ice cream afterwards! :)  The river is full of goose droppings and it is a painful place to walk barefoot, but if you can get past that and remember to wear your water shoes (I'll be bringing mine next time), you should be fine! 

Learn more about Harpers Ferry here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry,_West_Virginia

What a mess!

Have you ever accidently let a piece of paper slip into a load of wash? You open the washing machine and find tiny shreds of paper stuck on everything, it’s a royal pain. Well, today I did something a million times worse-- I somehow let a PULL-UP slip into my load of wash! The mess I found upon opening my washing machine is difficult to describe. A million—no, make that a billion—particles of super absorbent polymer all over everything. IT WAS A DISASTER!!!! I don't wish it upon anyone!

Book Review--Les Miserables

I just finished reading the unabridged version of Les Miserables, 1488 pages. I read an abridged version in college and thought it was absolutely wonderful. I imagined the unabridged version would only be more wonderful. This is what I expected when I began:

• To finish the book in less than a month and most likely in less than 2 weeks.
• To love, love, love it, as much as Jane Eyre if not more.
• To be moved and inspired.

 What was the reality?

• It took me almost 6 months to read. That sets a record for the longest amount of time it has taken me to read a classic.
• I loved parts of the book but I felt extremely irritated and annoyed at other parts.
• I was moved and inspired but not nearly as much as I expected and mostly because the feelings of irritation and annoyance heavily overshadowed the positive feelings.

What went wrong? How could I not love this book that is so beloved by so many people? The fact of the matter is, I do love the story. Jean Valjean is a character to remember and reflect on and try to be like. The story is a classic that everyone should read but please, READ AN ABRIDGED VERSION! It pains me to say that. This is the first time in my life I have recommended an abridged classic and I wish I didn’t feel that way but I do. As I read, I felt like I was pushing my way through thick forests of historical side notes and unnecessary diversions, trying to get back to the beautiful story, it was very frustrating. And I love history, I devour history books, I don’t know why it bothered me so much. As soon as I finished the book I went to the used book store to pick up an abridged version. Why? Because the story really is that good and I wanted to find a version that I could recommend to others. I was actually tempted to edit the book myself to make sure nothing important was missed. I so wanted to love this book but I didn't. (Big sigh).  Read this story, but try to read a version that is 900 pages or less.

I wrote this a couple weeks ago but never posted it.  I'm posting it now but adding that this book did affect me in a good way and I'm feeling its effects at the weeks wear on.  Every time I've been faced with the choice of doing the right thing even though it's hard and I don't want to do it, I've thought of Jean Valjean and it has inspired me to do the right thing, even when it's hard.  Wonderful story.

Mothers

I've been wanting to get on and post the happenings of the LaFroths lately but I just haven't found time to download photos and write the posts.  So, I'm just posting a clip to a little video I saw today and loved. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYLKVgwztY

I love being a mom, I really do.  It is a dream come true.  Some days are hard, some days are exhausting, some hours are exhausting, and sometimes I feel that I just can't do all that I should be doing.  But...I wouldn't trade this life for anything.  There are wonderful days, wonderful hours, and priceless moments to treasure forever. 

More Stamping

I finally had my friends over for a card-making party. I say finally because I used to do this all the time when I was selling stamps and I meant to keep doing it when I stopped but this is the first time I've actually managed to do it. :) I meant to take pictures of the party but I was too busy stamping so I'm posting pictures of the cards we made instead.


First, the bird card. (Yes, I posted this previously, I’m modifying my post). I like this card because I almost created it. That means I didn’t exactly copy it. I used other cards for ideas and came up with a quasi original. I need more cards for men, I think this works.

Second, the car card. I saw a really cool car card on my friend’s blog: http://www.insteadoflaundry.blogspot.com/ and I HAD to buy the stamp set. My dad has spent years fixing up an old Ford and this was the perfect set to make his Father’s Day card with. I also wanted to make wedding cards with it because my Dad often drives the bride and groom off in his sweet vehicle with cans trailing behind.

This is a picture of my cute Dad with Ol’ Henry, it looks black in this photo but it is actually burgundy.

This is the same card modified to be a birthday card.

I made the next card at a friend’s Close to my Heart party and liked that I could also use it for boys so I decided to make it at my party too.

Of course I do love to make girly cards too!  This was my favorite card. You can’t see the crystal effects on the balloons in the picture but it looks snazzy in real life.

More girly cards:

It was a fun party and I want to do it again soon. I just don’t want to do all the prep work again soon! :)

Kayla begged to make all the cards with me the next day. We spent a few hours stamping together and had a great time.

Anyone need to buy a card? :)