The Bells Rock!

Keep this in mind for next year

2012-01-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

Not sure what to do with your dead Christmas tree? Don't want to take it to the dump? Well, then just do what my kids did; take it out into the yard and beat the poop out of it!!

Our tree totally dried out a week before Christmas, despite all the water I gave it. So, the day after Christmas, I wanted it out! Mike took it outside and just left it there because I wanted the trunk for something. A few days later, the kids wanted to play outside. I let them. Since our yard is a bit small and doesn't have any obvious forms of entertainment, they turned to the dead tree for fun. They got other sticks that they had collected and stored back there and proceeded to beat that poor tree until they knocked all the needles off and quite a few of the branches. I didn't care. I wasn't planning on using those parts and I knew they weren't going to hurt the trunk. They had fun and got a bit of exercise. And our yard had a lovely pine smell for quite a while after.

Here are some pics of the fun:

What do I want the trunk for? Well, I have a little art project planned for it. If/when I complete it, I'll post pictures.

Baby Blaze!!

2011-12-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

On November 27th, my brother and sister-in-law had their first kid. His name is Blaze and he is super, freakin' cute! He came over for a visit the other weekend so his cousins and uncle could have a chance to meet him. They like him too. Here are some pictures of their first meeting along with their thoughts.

"I like to hold him. I like to see his eyes. I like him open his eyes up. I like to like his little toes."

"I thought he was cute and his hair was fluffy. His eyes were blue. And I liked his bear clothes. I like his little handies. They are so cute."

"I thought he was so cute. I liked it when he looked at me. I like his little feet"

"I thought he was really cute. I like him a lot. He's really little. I tried not to bite through my lip, I was so excited. And I decided I'm going to kiss him on top of his head every time I see him because that's what my Papa would do when he would visit us and Blaze is named after my Papa."

"Should have....sent a ...poet. Can't...find...words."

I've seen him since and he's even cuter. I don't think my lip is going last. I'm pretty sure his cuteness is going to make me bite right through it!

School Picture Progression

2011-12-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

I know school pictures aren't the best quality and whatnot, but I love getting them for this very reason. My dad also got them every year and kept them in the same frame, in order. It was fun/embarrassing to look at them when we added our new pictures for the year. I plan on doing the same with my kids. And I plan on sharing that fun/embarrassment with you. I think Eli's pictures have turned out great. Perhaps I'll stop posting them when he hits middle school and they start getting bad!

Preschool '08-'09

Kindergarten '09-'10

First Grade '10-'11

Second Grade '11-'12

I think he's getting more handsome with age, even with the missing teeth!

It's okay. I'm allowed to do this. I'm an adult.

2011-11-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

There's this cool road near our house that no one drives on and it leads down to a huge field. We've gone there a few times to play and lately, Noah and I will take a walk there while the other two are at school. The last time we went, I really wanted to just let our umbrella stroller roll down the hill to see what would happen to it. It was amusing enough that I brought my camera with me when we went today and captured the action. Here it is:

The Start

I promise Noah is not in the stroller. I had to hold him back. He kept wanting to catch the stroller. That would have ruined the whole experience.

I'm impressed by the stroller's course correction. It straightened out all on it's own.

Can you still see it?

And it finally crashed.

A close-up of the crash

Finally, I let Noah go after it.

The stroller didn't go very fast, but it did go far. I think next time, I'll take my double jogging stroller. It rolls a lot faster and smoother. Maybe I can make it to the grass.

Pics of the Faves

2011-11-16T12:42:00.000-08:00

Noah asked me to take this picture of him while he was crying. Strange boy!

I'm a professional designer now

2011-11-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

Or maybe I just pretend to be one. When we bought our house, I knew what the first project would be...painting the "Crazy Orange Bathroom". That's what I lovingly called the upstairs bathroom that the kids use. I called it that because it was crazy orange! It's the kind of intense color that can give you a headache if you look at it too long. So, it had to go right away. And it did. We actually repainted it in October, but I didn't completely finish it until today (meaning I just hung up the painting and took the pictures this afternoon). So now I get to post the pictures and you can see the crazy color.

Now let's remind everyone what it looked like before

The orange color actually kind of goes with the orange circles on the shower curtain. It's not a terrible color in small doses, but a whole bathroom of it is too much.

Now, the Reveal

There should be a nice white hand towel hanging there, but it was laundry day and it needed to be washed.
Isn't the color so much better? I love blue and this is such a nice, calm blue-green. I got it by finding a paint chip that was exactly the same color as the blue circles on the curtain and then I got a shade lighter. It ended up looking just like the circles, so I'm glad I when lighter, otherwise it would have been too dark. I got some fun red bathroom stuff--rug, soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, and garbage can. I changed the towel holders and toilet paper holder. (I only did that because I lost some of the screws to the original stuff when I took them down to paint.) Then I hung up some simple pictures I had painted a while ago to go with the curtain. And finally, I changed the light fixture. The picture of it is really dark. I should have put the flash on. It's actually nice and bright and I love it!

The project isn't completely finished. I plan to put a frame around the mirror and re-stain the vanity a darker brown, but that won't happen for a while. Don't worry, I'll take pictures of that too. For now, I'm very happy with my first room make-over.

And just so you know, the previous owners happen to be good friends of ours. I told the person who originally picked out the orange color that I thought it was a crazy color and it was getting painted over first. When it was all done, I showed her the bathroom and she really liked it! And she agreed that it was better than the orange.

Design Success!!

Maybe Halloween should be every week

2011-11-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last night for dinner we had quesadillas with salad on the side. The rule in our family is if you don't eat your dinner, you don't get any dessert. Noah didn't eat all his lettuce and threw his plate away with the lettuce still stuck on it (don't worry, we were using paper plates and the lettuce was stuck with ranch). When he threw the plate away, he knew Halloween candy was for dessert, but he said he wasn't going to finish.

Naturally, as Eli and Leah were picking out their allotted number of candies, Noah started to put up a big stink because he wanted some candy too. I reminded him that he didn't finish his dinner and that he wasn't allowed to have any candy. He started to fuss even more and exclaimed that he wanted to finish his lettuce. I then reminded him that it was in the garbage and it was too late.

So, while my back was turned, Noah reached into the garbage, took out his plate and finished the lettuce that was still on it. I guess he followed the rule, so he got some Halloween candy.

Tonight at dinner, Noah made sure to eat all his food before throwing it away.

Halloween Costume Review

2011-11-01T12:32:00.001-07:00

Noah The Piewick (this is how he says pirate)

Leah

She dressed up for preschool and the trunk-or-treat as a ballerina...

but, then she switched to her witch costume for trick-or-treat.

Eli, Dracula's Son

The cape was the only sewing I had to do this year!!

Mike, an Occupy Wallstreet Protester

If you don't know what that is, look it up.

Fortunately, this costume isn't as permanent as last year's.

The Gang

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

In our neighborhood, there's a trunk-or-treat every year. This was our first year participating. Honestly, I don't know why we have it because we live in a safe neighborhood, and it was originally created for those people who don't feel safe trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. But I guess people like it so, we decided to give it a go this year too. The way it works is people drive to the church, open their trunks, decorate them (if they want to), and the kids, in their costumes, walk around the parking lot collecting candy from each car. It goes really fast, so some kids make more than one round and collect lots of candy. Eli told us he made 3 rounds. His bag was clearly heavier than Leah's and Noah's. I'm not sure how that happened. I didn't walk around with them. I was a bit occupied at our trunk.

That's my head in the trunk. I got this idea from my brother who did it a few years ago. I just improved it a bit. I took a large cloak we have and covered the opening of the trunk. Then I folded the back seats down, climbed into the trunk from the back seat, and poked my head out. Mike helped decorate the trunk with spiders and snakes to add to the creepiness. It was really fun scaring the kids that came by and making the parents laugh.

And if you look closely, you'll see a white container filled with rocks. What's that for, you ask? Well, in a very witchy voice, I offered the kids a rock if they scratched my nose for me. Kids like rocks, right? There were quite a few children too afraid to do it. Some were almost too afraid to take a piece of candy from Mike, who was sitting next to me. But there were also quite a few who were brave enough to scratch my nose and get a rock. There were two or three kids who gave my nose a squeeze. I didn't like that too much. Perhaps next year, I should be a head with an arm so, I can squeeze the kids back!

Super Cutesy

2011-10-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law is having a baby in December and she had a baby shower last weekend. I'm so glad because I've been wanting to make a diaper cake for a while, so I made one for her. I think they are really cute and I wanted to give it a shot. There are different styles, but I got instructions for the one I liked best from this site. I put my own personality into it and this is what I came up with:

I layered three colors of ribbon and glued them in the back, but not to the diapers so I wouldn't ruin any. I cut colored scrapbook paper with fancy scissors and just laid them in between the layers. I got the little bear at Walmart for a dollar and just tied some ribbon around his neck. Then I hot glued white buttons on the front. I love hot glue!! The hardest part of the whole project was deciding what was the cutest way to do it. So many choices.

I think this is about the fourth cutest thing I've ever made. Can you guess what the first three cutest things are?

Exciting update!

2011-10-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

We bought a townhouse!!

We are so glad to not be renting any more! Apartment life was getting old, so we decided we needed a change. We bought a townhouse just around the corner from our apartment and just moved about two weeks ago. So stay tuned for future posts about house updates and decorating projects. My list is long, but I'm excited to tackle it. I've already painted a bathroom and changed some light fixtures. Don't worry, I've taken before and after pictures. But you have to give me some time to post them. I haven't gotten all unpacked just yet. We've been here for two weeks and we have just a few boxes left to unpack.

We already unpacked Eli so he could go to school, much to his disappointment. I think he would have been happy sitting in a big box for a little more time. As for the other two, it's just easier to leave in their box. They get into less trouble that way.

Something funny from Leah's party

2011-10-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

My friend, Esther, helped me out during Leah's party. She also took almost all the pictures during the fun. She took these and I just had to share them. These are totally going to show up in the slide show that will be played during her wedding reception some day!

How to throw a ROCKIN' Princess Party

2011-10-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Basics

Ambiance: Classical music playing in the background

Decor: White Christmas lights, pink streamers and balloons throughout (you can see it in some of the pictures) and big mirror so the princesses can admire themselves

Guest list: Cute little friends

Dress code: Princess dress is encouraged, but not required. Also, each guest received a crown as they arrive.

Activities

1. Lots of twirling and dancing

2. Princess crafts and coloring. These girls decorated a doorknob hanger with glittery foam stickers. (I love the Dollar Store!!) Then they drew pictures if they wanted to.

3. Place the crown on the princess. First we hid the crowns throughout the living room for the princesses to find, then they took turns placing the crowns on the princess while blindfolded.

4. Decorating cookies and having a snack. Look at how great these sugar cookies came out!! I've never made them this good before. Usually when I make them, the cookies puff up and loose their shape. But with this recipe from my friend Brittney's blog, they came out perfectly! I also have to add that all the princesses had the BEST manners! Everyone used their "Pleases" and "Thank yous"! I was so impressed.

5. Find Cinderella's missing slipper. They played "Hot and Cold" with the fancy slipper. Each princess got a turn walking around in one slipper while looking for the other. It was easy to see that each girl felt unsure while looking but their faces really lit up once they found the slipper and got to walk around in the pair of shoes for a minute.

6. Musical Thrones. Leah was a little too good at this game. She won twice in a row, even though I was peaking the second time and tried to help the other princesses win. After that, I had Leah help me with the music so someone else would win.

And don't forget....

The goodie bags! Each princess received princess goodies wrapped in purple and white tulle and tied with a ribbon.

Leah's birthday

2011-10-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

I guess I should post about this now. I think I have sufficiently recovered from her birthday-week. It takes a lot of work to have a family party and a friends party for a cute, little 5 year-old. Here's the recap of the events of her actual birthday and the family party in picture/caption form.

Leah woke up to a nice pile of presents and donuts. I didn't get a picture of the donuts, sorry.

I'm only going to mention two presents that she got, even though she got lots of cool things.

These are fairy wings from Grammy. She ordered them from Amazon and whoever was packaging the box accidentally put two sets of wings in. I think they'll get used though.

The wings in action

The second present is a nightgown I made without a pattern. The boys picked out the fabric and I used another nightgown she already has and kind of traced it and this is it. I can't believe it actually fits her! It looks super cute on her and it's very comfy. It's made of flannel and the butterflies are sparkly. The boys did a good job picking it out!

And here's the cake. I am very proud of how it turned out. I do owe it all to my awesome cake decorating skills......and to my sister-in-law's cake decorating tools that she let me borrow.

What a great way to start being 5!

Pics of the Faves

2011-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Just a fun thing

2011-09-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

The other week, we learned about shapes. To reinforce the lesson, we did potato stamping. I think everyone has done this except me. So, I was really excited. It was just how I thought it would be: fun, but something you only need to do once. Here are the artists deep in the creative process:

My picture

You know the real reason why I'm homeschooling Leah is so that I can do all the fun crafts and art projects. It has nothing to do with her.

Noah's picture

Leah's picture

Pics of the Faves

2011-09-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Pics of the Faves

2011-09-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Pics of the Faves

2011-09-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just a fun thing

2011-09-08T20:13:00.001-07:00

So I think I might have a new post topic for the next little while. I'm homeschooling Leah for kindergarten this year so that she can skip her actual kindergarten year which would be next year. We think this is a good way to go with her because she just missed the cutoff this year by 22 days!! Had she started kindergarten this year, she would have been ahead of many of her classmates already. We're worried that if she starts at the kindergarten level next year, she will be so far ahead that she'll be bored and hate school. So, I'm teaching her kindergarten things at home a few mornings a week this year and we'll have her tested to go straight into first grade next year. And she's attending a preschool to get that "away from home and being taught by someone other than me" experience. This will be a very busy year. Wish me luck!!

With that big intro out of the way, when we do fun activities or crafts for kindergarten, I thought it would be fun to post them. So, here's our first fun, postable craft from Leah's kindergarten:

Bubble Painting

In a small cup put one part paint, two parts liquid dish soap and a little bit of water. Stir until blended. Stick a straw in a start blowing. When the bubbles get to the top of the cup, lay a piece of paper on top. The bubbles will pop and leave paint on the paper in a fun pattern. Use more cups with different colors in them for more fun. Make sure you cover up your clothes because there will be paint splattering everywhere. Also, you can use a pin to put a hole in the top of the straw to help prevent little ones from sucking up paint and soap into their mouths.

Noah's Painting

Leah's Painting

My Painting (I get to participate too!)

Noah was the one who sucked up the paint into his mouth. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of it.

Time put to good use

2011-09-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is what Noah and I did with our time together this afternoon, while the big kids were gone. It's a good thing my friend had a birthday today, so I could give her some of the chocolate cookies we made and not eat them all myself!

Another "First Day" post

2011-09-06T14:56:00.001-07:00

Today was Leah's first day of preschool! My camera was almost out of battery power, so the pictures didn't come out that great, but you can still see how cute she is! She was super excited and had a great time. Good thing, because she goes again tomorrow!

Go Green Fire!!

2011-08-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was Leah's first soccer game. I have the privilege of being her soccer coach. At first, I was really worried about accepting this responsibility. Leah tends to be better behaved for other adults. I was expecting her to give me a hard time. Fortunately, that hasn't happened at all and I don't think it will. She has happily participated in practice and she had a great time at her first game.

This was the first soccer game for all of the kids on my team. I had a pretty good idea what it was going to be like. I was expecting something like this:

-All the kids swarm the ball at once
-The ball never really goes anywhere

-No dribbling at all

-At least one kid cries

-At least one kid looses a shoe

-Several kids stop paying attention completely

-At least one kid scores a goal for the other team

-Lots of pushing

-Several hand balls

-Kids dribble the ball in the wrong direction

This is how it really went:

-All the kids on my team paid attention to the game the entire time!

-None of my kids goofed off

-My kids dribbled the ball. Most of the goals they made were on break-aways. My kids dribbled the ball down the field, right into the goal.

-They were all good sports

-Two kids lost their shoes during the game

-One of my kids was "that one kid" that cried just about the whole time

-Unfortunately for the other team, most of their players had a very hard time paying attention and I don't think they really knew what was going on.

-A parent from the other team yelled at a kid on my team and then told me to tell him not to push. I wonder if she noticed that all the kids were pushing. That same parent also picked up a kid from their team and practically swung him at the ball so he would kick it. Psycho!

-No one scored against their own team

-My team actually stopped the ball and turned it around when they were going the wrong way

-There was lots of pushing, but only one or two hand balls.

- We won 12-0 (Leah score 2 of those 12)

I know this is a long post just to talk about one soccer game, but I am so proud of those kids. And I was really surprised! They played so well. It got to the point where I had to hold one of my kids back on defense so we would stop scoring so much. It didn't work, we just kept on scoring. The kids were aggressive (in a good way) and went for the ball every time! I hope they keep it up throughout the entire season!

And now, here are the super cute pictures of Leah in her uniform, playing. She's number 9, the biggest on the team (just like her mother was at that age! and pretty much all the years after that too)

Sarah Burgoyne, please note the complete lack of hair bows!

p.s. I don't know why there are tons of spaces between paragraphs and stuff. I tried to fix it, but stupid blogger just did what it wanted to!

This is the "First Day of School" post

2011-08-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of school for Eli. I think he finally managed to get excited about school yesterday when we went to back to school night and he met his very piraty teacher. Everything in her room in pirate themed. The Cat in the Hat is dressed up like a pirate. There's a boat in her room (no joke, it's a big plastic one the kids can sit in). All the cardboard pictures of animals and things on the walls have eye patches. She had pirate music playing. It was so fun! I asked her if she allowed 28 year-olds in her class. She just laughed at me. I think that means no. Sad times! Oh well, I'll just have to volunteer a lot this year.

Anyway, here's Eli's picture from this morning. And I thought I would throw in the pictures from the previous years. I like to see how big he's getting.

Today

1st Grade

Kindergarten

Dinner conversation

2011-08-20T21:36:00.001-07:00

Leah: Do you speak Spanish?

Mike: Si.

Leah: Do you speak English?

Mike: Yes.

Leah: THAT MEANS YOU'RE IN JAPAN!

Interesting logic, Leah.

Pics of the Faves

2011-08-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Leah got a haircut!

2011-08-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I had milk on my cereal this morning

2011-08-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

But I'm not the one that put it there. I never put milk on my cereal. I think it's gross. Why was it on my Cheerios's then, you ask? Well, that's because my super, sweetheart son, Eli, got up at 6:45am and made everyone in the family cereal for breakfast. He did it without being asked. He just wanted to do something nice.

Fortunately, I heard him in the kitchen and got out of bed to see what he was doing. That's when I saw five bowls of cereal with milk and five spoons nicely set out on the table and all the food put away. I didn't complain about the milk. I eat my cereal like a good girl and said thank you. (I poured the milk out though. I like milk, but when it's on cereal, it makes me want to puke.) And I ate it quickly, before it got soggy. Some family members weren't so lucky to wake up as early as me.

A Chubblit of Wisdom

2011-08-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Pokes are pokey, because they are pokey.

This Chubblit of Wisdom was brought to you by a complete lack of privacy in the bathroom. Thank you.

Pics of the Faves: Ben and Annie's Wedding Edition

2011-08-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

I thought only girls did that

2011-07-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while I was talking on the phone with my attention toward the calendar, Noah decided to pick up the scissors from the table and play barber shop. He skillfully lopped off a chunk of hair, cutting a line into the top of his head.

I know this sort of thing is a bit of a rite of passage for girls. I cut some of my own hair when I was little, leaving an inch-long chunk on top of my head that stuck straight up for a very long time. I just didn't know boys felt the need to do this, too. Am I safe now that my littlest has done it and my older two should be old enough not to do it? I doubt it. At least Noah's getting lots of experience getting his hair cut. I buzzed it even shorter to get rid of the line. Fortunately, he's still cute!

My Chubbs is getting bigger!

2011-07-17T13:10:00.001-07:00

Noah turned 3 on Friday!!! It was a very fun day. It started off with Noah waking up to some lovely birthday decorations. (The clever boy climbed under the streamers instead of breaking through them, which is what I thought he would do.):

Next came the breakfast of champions:

Then he opened some presents and we all enjoyed some bubble wrap popping:

Who's birthday present is that?

Then there was the mandatory birthday quiz consisting of one question: How old are you. Noah proudly displayed the correct answer:

After a picnic at a local splash park with friends, a greatly needed quiet time, and a tasty birthday dinner of pizza and corn, we had some family over for mini cupcakes, ice cream, and fun:

I think Noah approves of being three:

I am so clever

2011-07-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Eli wanted to wear his "How to Train Your Dragon" t-shirt. He also wanted Noah and Leah to wear theirs so they all could be "matchy-matchy". (We like that in our family. It's nerdy, I know.) Unfortunately for Eli, the other two didn't want to. He was really sad about it. He came to me, crying about it and that's when I was struck with a genius idea. I told him to take his dragon shirt off and save it for today. I also told him I knew how to get them to wear their shirts.

When I revealed the plan to Eli, he squealed with delight because he knew it would work. Last night, he and I put the plan into action. First, we went to Noah's dresser and took out all his shirts and even his pajamas and hid them in my closet. Next, we went to Leah's dresser and took out all her shirts and hid them in her closet. Finally, we returned one shirt to each dresser drawer. So in the morning when Leah and Noah went to get dressed, they each had only one shirt to choose. What shirts were they, you ask? Well, the "How to Train Your Dragon" shirts of course.

The result was just as we had planned. The best part was Noah didn't seem to really notice that there was only one shirt in his drawer. He just happily pulled it out and put it on. Leah noticed and made a surprised/laughing sort of noise and then put her shirt on too.

Eli, of course, was happy. And so was I. I discovered a new way to get the kids to wear what I want without a fight!

Pics of the Faves

2011-07-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Pics of the Faves

2011-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed

2011-06-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Eli has a hole in his smile. Cute, isn't it?

I wouldn't be a good mom if.....

2011-06-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't buzz the boys' heads for summer! Actually, I'm pretty sure I would still be a good mom if I didn't, but I did anyway. They both had fros that had to go. Here are the before and after pictures:

Eli Before

Noah Before (stock photo, I was too busy trying to get him to let me cut his hair that I forgot to take a before picture)

The Boys After

Pics of the Faves

2011-06-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

That's where she wanted to sleep!

2011-06-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

One day, Leah said she wanted to take a nap in the ottoman where we store our living room blankets. I told her, "Okay." And so that's what she did.

Mini-vacation

2011-06-20T13:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, the fam and I went to St. George for a little vacation. Here are some pictures of the things we did:

Eli was sick (not fun)

Leah and Noah were not sick (fun)

Lots of swimming

Lots of playing in the back yard which is mostly big rocks and little rocks. There's also a fountain which is really fun to throw rocks in!

A bit of hiking. St. George is so beautiful because it's so different! We went to a spot where there are petroglyphs. It was really cool and interesting.

Leah was being a butt (not fun)

How did ancient people know what Eli looks like?

Playing at Sand Hollow Reservoir (very fun)

Eli marked for battle

Oh, and I was there too! (fun)

Pics of the Faves

2011-06-20T13:31:00.001-07:00

I almost peed my pants!

2011-06-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Our little family was invited over to Mike and Shaina's (bro and sis-in-law) for dinner on Friday. We got there and were standing, chatting in the kitchen and Shaina asked me to get some paper plates out of the pantry. I thought, "Well, I have to pee, but I'll just grab the plates first and then take care of that." That was a bad choice because when I opened the pantry, I let out a loud, startled scream! There was a big guy standing in the pantry! Then I let out another scream because I realized that big guy was my oldest brother Will who lives in Colorado. Then I proceeded to jump around and scream for about a minute and scare the kids because they weren't really sure what was going on. Fortunately, I didn't pee in my pants, but I could have; I was that surprised.

Will came to town for a quick visit to pick up a couch my brother Mike was getting rid of and because his family is out of town; therefore, he's unsupervised. We had a really great time playing games indoors as well as outdoors. The kids had a great time playing with him too. They think the uncles are the best!

Last Day of School

2011-06-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today was Eli's last day of school. He had a really great year!! Here are pictures from his first day of first grade and his last day. Looks like he's grown in inch or two this year. Expect every school picture to be taken by his bunk bed. I think it's a good way to measure how much he's grown. And since he'll have to sleep on that bunk bed until he's grown up and moves out, we'll always have it for him to stand next to. How convenient!

First day

Last day

I don't know if I should put a picture with this post.

2011-06-03T13:04:00.001-07:00

Noah is almost completely potty trained. Every time he goes potty, he has a special little thing he says before he's sends his waste down the pipes and away forever. Just picture him bent over, facing the toilet, with his head practically in the toilet. While in this position, he says, "Bye pee pees! See you later. Oh, you want to go on a walkies with our stroller? I keep saying that!" It doesn't matter if he does #1 or #2, it's the same every time. And when he gets to the part where he says, "I keep saying that" he says it in a surprised sort of way, as if he can't believe he just said it again. What a nut!

Pics of the Faves

2011-05-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Putting the Polish blood to work!

2011-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

I meant to post about this quite a while ago, but I forgot. While Grammy was here during Easter, we decided to make good use of our Polish side (of which we are so proud) and make pierogies. The little ones got to help and proved themselves to be great workers!

The Helpers:
Not pictured: Grammy, Becca and Uncle Mike

Aunt Shaina's not Polish, but we let her help anyway.

Eli was sad because he had to wait for a rolling pin.

The Result:

The Reviews:

There were mixed opinions on the pierogies. We tried a different kind of flour in the dough, so they didn't taste as good as they normally would, but they were eaten anyway! We don't waste perfectly good food around here! My Polish Papa would be proud.

We need an Uncle Intervention!

2011-05-13T13:06:00.001-07:00

When I was younger, I received one of the biggest (in my opinion) compliments ever from one of my brothers. This brother (can't remember which one) told me that I spit like a boy. I can't even begin to tell you how good that made me feel. Sounds weird, I know, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. I grew up with three older brothers and no sisters. I wanted to be accepted by them very much. So, when I was told that I did something just like them, I felt one step closer to being one of "The Boys".

I didn't realize how great it is to be a good spitter until I had a daughter who cannot spit! Leah recently switched from non-fluoride toothpaste which can be swallowed to fluoride toothpaste which should not. From this switch we have discovered that she is terrible at spitting!! She gets toothpaste all over her face every time she tries to spit. And she doesn't get all the spit out of her mouth. I keep telling her and showing her how to do it. Eli and Mike try to show her too, but she just doesn't get it. I don't know what to do. I think the only solution might be to have her live with my three brothers for a week, so they can teach her the proper spitting technique.

So, Will, Ben, and Mike.....will you please teach Leah how to spit like a boy???

And just as a side note, that compliment still makes me feel good!

Pics of the Faves

2011-05-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

Pics of the Faves

2011-05-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Another brag post

2011-04-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was told by two different people that I should post about something else I've made recently. So if I seem too braggy, just yell at my mom and my sister-in-law Shaina! They talked me into this post.

I made this wall-hanging/bit of art/whatever you want to call it. It was really fun! I got the inspiration from two different blogs: this one and this one. Here are the steps:

1. Go to Mike's house and use wood he's got laying around and cut it up in strips.

2. Glue the wood together using wood glue and strips in the back to hold the pieces together.

3. Stain wood.

4. Take a BIG piece of paper and draw branch with leaves on it. I used a piece of paper that was about 2'x3' because that's how big the wood thing is.

5. Cover paper with clear contact paper and cut out picture with exacto knife, making a stencil.

6. Spray stencil adhesive to one side of stencil, place on wood and stencil with lightest color.

7. Move stencil and paint with next color.

8. See #7

9. Hang on wall with nails, step back, and admire.

I used metallic paint from a craft store. It's cool because it looks a bit different depending on the angle you look at it. You'll have to come check it out. It looks much better in person!

Craft Time

2011-04-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

My super cool Aunt Janet sent us some crafty things to have fun with this past weekend. I thought I would post photos of the creative process as well as the end products.

The Process:

The Product:

Creators of these pieces listed from left to right:

Elijah Bell, Becca Bell, Shaina Burgoyne, Michael Burgoyne, Leah Bell (tall piece in the back)

The pieces created by Leah, Becca, and Shaina are part of a collection entitled True Love. The blue creature is the prince and the white one is the princess. They are to be married and the tall tower is where they will live happily ever after.

So tired from walking she walked in her sleep

2011-04-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

Leah did the funniest thing last night. It was so funny that Mike and I both belly-laughed for a good, solid minute.

It was 9:30 and we heard Leah open her bedroom door. I got up off the couch to see what she was doing. As I got to the door, she came out, walked past me, walked over to the printer, took out some paper, handed me some as she past by me again, went in her room, put the paper on her table and sat down as if she was going to color. I probably should have let her color. It would have been interesting to see what she created. She didn't say a word the entire time. Of course she wouldn't; she was asleep.

I told her to go back to bed and she obediently climbed back under the covers. She's such a good listener when she's not awake. Now if I could just get her to sleep-walk during Saturday morning chores......

Pics of the Faves

2011-04-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Easter Fun

2011-04-25T21:02:00.001-07:00

On Easter Morning, the kids woke up and found this:

So then they did this:

The puzzle said, "Your baskets are in the bathtub!" They didn't quite get what they were supposed to do at first. I had to basically tell them. Once they got it, they did this:

But the baskets weren't in that bathtub. Fortunately, Leah said, "Let's go check the other bathtub." To that, Eli responded, "What other bathtub?" Since the kids never bathe in our shower, Eli didn't think there was another bathtub. I knew this would trick them and make it harder to find their Easter baskets. Is that mean? Fortunately, they went to the correct bathtub and found this:

After finding their baskets, the kids removed them from the bathtub and did this:

Not pictured: Noah eating all his jellybeans without us knowing.

I hope your Easter was just as fun and a lot less confusing!

Preschool Fun

2011-04-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, we had a preschool field trip to our local fire department. Fortunately, it was during Spring Break, so Eli got to tag along. It was lots of fun!! We got to take a tour of the Fire Station, meet some real fire fighters, and even watch one of them slide down the pole! The most valuable part of the experience was when one fire fighter put on his full suit including oxygen mask. It was good for the kids to see what he looked and sounded like. My kids all thought he breathed like Darth Vader. The fire fighters said kids are often afraid of them when they are in their full suits and will hide from them during a fire. Hopefully seeing him all dressed up will help the kids not be so scared.

I highly recommend scheduling a tour and bringing some friends along. The following Monday for Family Home Evening, we had a lesson on fire and earthquake safety. We taught the kids what to do and even practiced. We even set off the smoke detectors (so loud!!) and had the kids practice opening their windows so they can crawl out. Don't worry, we live on the bottom floor. They would actually have to climb up to get to ground level. Now I hope we never have to use this valuable information!!

A bit of a brag post

2011-04-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

But since I'm not the only one responsible for the creation in this post, I guess I'm not being too braggy, right?

A few years ago, we bought a new table and chairs from Ikea. That's certainly something I'll never do again. There's a reason why it was so inexpensive. That reason is, you'll have to replace the chairs not too long after buying them because they won't stay together, not even after re-gluing them several times.

We thought about buying new chairs, but I didn't want to pay all the money to do it. So, I came up with a better, cheaper solution.

Thanks to the help of my brother, Mike, his tools and garage, and about $12 worth of wood, we now have this bench:

We did keep the chairs that were still in one piece, but I don't expect them to last much longer. After all the crappy Ikea chairs have been thrown away, we will still have a very solid bench that fits lots of cute, little bums.

Apparently Noah can read

2011-04-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when we are at the grocery store, Noah picked up a bottle of chocolate syrup and said, "I can read this."

"Oh yeah?" I responded. "What does it say?"

"Says, 'Chocolate milk in mine sippy cup!' " he read.

It's a good thing Hershey's chocolate is better than it's grammar.

Pics of the Faves

2011-03-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

Good Mom Moment....continued

2011-03-18T13:27:00.001-07:00

In response to a comment left by my sister-in-law, Shaina, about my Good Mom Moment post, I am posting this picture:

Yes, I did hang up my pictures, just not on the fridge. Leah's other art overwhelms that location. But I did have plenty of wall space. Can you guess which three pictures are mine? (sorry it's not a very clear picture)

Good Mom Moment

2011-03-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

I did St. Patrick's Day crafts with Noah and Leah for an hour and a half today. This good mom moment did happen to come after a bad mom moment, which was letting them watch TV for 3 hours while I did stuff. I always feel bad when I do that, but it just has to happen sometimes.

Noah's crafty projects consisted mostly of him cutting paper with safety scissors. That's his favorite thing to do and so I let him snip away.

Leah on the other hand is a bit more colorful. First she made a picture of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Then she made a heart flower out of paper and a popsicle stick. Finally, I printed some leprechaun coloring pages off the internet for her to color.

Now don't think I didn't participate!! I also created a rainbow and pot of gold picture as well as completed two coloring pages. I like to color too, you know.

Classic 2 year-old attire

2011-03-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

This is what Noah picked out to wear today: bright orange Halloween shirt with glow-in-the-dark eyes, blue pants, green frog boots, Batman cape (that's one of his fashion staples).

This is the crazy person that let him wear this outfit.

Pics of the Faves

2011-03-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

2011-02-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

Our big guy turned 7 yesterday!! It is so crazy to think that I've been a mom for that long. I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough (or mature enough), but for whatever reason, Heavenly Father trusts me to have him in our family. He's so funny and cute and he has the softest cheeks and the skinniest arms!!

He had a great day yesterday! We had a special birthday dinner of corn dogs, home-made mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli and carrots. Then some family came over for presents and dessert. Eli wanted ice cream sundaes, which I gladly provided.

Since there's no school today, we let the kids put the tent up in the living room and sleep in it. Only one of the three made it all night. Noah only lasted about 30 minutes before he was kicked out.

This morning, Eli got breakfast in bed (part of the reason why we let them sleep in the tent. Can you imagine trying to give someone breakfast in bed who sleeps in a top bunk?) Ironically, Eli had been out of bed for an hour and a half before he got his breakfast in bed. He even came to the store with me to pick out the donuts. Then, when we came home, he happily climbed back into the sleeping bag!

As for the rest of today, Eli's allowed to stay in his pajamas all day and play video games! I'm pretty sure for him, this is the best day ever!

Official review for the last weekend in January

2011-02-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

The official investigation has been submitted and accepted. The Bell/Burgoyne girls did successfully engage in girls' weekend the last weekend in January. All criteria were met and enjoyed by the participants. Here is the list of required activities along with proof of completion.

General cuteness

Modest swimsuits for swim-time fun and for catching the lifeguard's eye

Pretty Sunday outfits, including hair, make-up and accessories

A little jewelry catalog shopping

Sparkly nails

Ice cream sundaes

A little bit of cardio at Pump It Up to work off the ice cream sundaes

A cruise in the sports cars

Not pictured: Chick Flicks and lots of chitchat

We apologize for the delay in the report. This was due to illness, nap time, etc.

It's so entertaining being a mom!

2011-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just have three quick, funny stories to share. They made me laugh, so maybe they'll make you laugh too. And all three happened on the same day.

1. All three kids really like to put the dish washer soap in the dispenser, so I have to make them take turns. Usually, Noah does it because he doesn't have any chores, but the other day I asked Eli to do it. Noah heard that he wasn't chosen and started to fuss. Before he could get really mad, I asked him to show Eli where to put the soap. Noah loved the idea of telling his big brother how the job is done and he got really excited. I said to him, "Noah, tell Eli what to do." In a really excited voice, Noah then shouted, "ELI, WHAT TO DO!! WHAT TO DO!!"

2. I was playing dolls with Leah and she wanted the dolls to play "Hot and Cold". Her doll went first hiding the object. When my doll started to move to find the object, Leah just kept saying, "Colder... colder... colder." It didn't matter which direction I moved my doll; I kept getting the same response. I told Leah, "That's not how the game works. You can't keep saying colder. The temperature has to change when my doll moves closer to the toy." My doll tried again, moving in different directions. This time, instead of saying colder, Leah said, "Temperature... Temperature." When I asked her what that meant, she said, "Temperature is warmer than cold." Fortunately, by the way Leah was saying the word temperature, my doll figured out where the hidden toy was. We stopped playing "Hot and Cold" after that.

3. I was cooking dinner and I had two ingredients left to add to the soup I was making. I had them ready on the counter next to the stove. Leah came over to where I was standing and asked about the two ingredients. I told her, while pointing to each, "This one's sour cream and this one's heavy cream." Right after I said that, Leah proceeded to pick up the measuring cup with the heavy cream in it. I'm guessing she wanted to see if it really was heavy.

I love to compare

2011-01-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

The other day, Noah was sitting in his laundry basket, being silly. As I looked at him, I was suddenly taken back about 5 years to a time when Eli did the exact same thing. Noah was even wearing clothes that Eli use to wear. I knew I had taken a picture of Eli in that exact laundry basket, so I quickly grabbed the camera to catch Noah doing it too.

Now, you get to see the two pictures.

Eli

Noah

They don't look that much alike in these two pictures, but after looking at some other ones of Eli in order to find this one, I realized that they really do look alike. In the future, I'll have to dress Noah up like Eli in one of his old pictures so I can get another comparable photograph to share.

Snuggle Buddies

2011-01-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

This is my brother Mike snuggling with Leah on Grammy Christmas (held this year on January 2nd). Grammy made her this princess blanket and it had to be used right away!

Something interesting

2011-01-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

I do this program called BzzAgent. I get to try out new stuff and tell my friends about it. It's a lot of fun. Recently, I had the opportunity to try out a program called Factor Tree. It's a online program that's supposed to help kids with their math. I thought I'd give it a try for Leah, since she doesn't know any math and this might be a good way to get her started. Unfortunately, I only ever signed up. I didn't actually have her do it. It was just one more thing added to my "To Do" list, but wasn't important enough to actually do. Also, we don't let the kids play on the computer during the week, so there was less time for anyone to actually try it. So, I have no idea if the program is even any good. If you've ever used it or heard of it, leave a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Pics of the Faves

2011-01-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

Pics of the Faves

2011-01-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

I have discovered the real identity of Batman

2011-01-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

Batman came by the other day, but forgot to bring his mask, so we discovered his true identity.

As you can see, he wasn't too happy about that.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently I have no idea what's going on!

2010-12-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Noah is so much smarter than I am. Let me give you proof by telling you about some of the conversations we've had recently.

Yesterday morning while smelling the distinct odor of poop in the air:

Me: Noah, are you poop poops?

Noah: No, I'm a boy.

Yesterday evening in the kitchen after he got himself completely wet while playing with water at the table:

Me: Are you all wet now?

Noah: No, no. I'm a boy, not all wet!

This morning right after I got out of the shower:

Noah: Are you naked?

Me: Yes, I'm naked. Are you naked? (he still had his pj's on)

Noah: No, I'm not naked. I'm happy!

Pics of the Faves

2010-12-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

Where you find your two year-old when...

2010-12-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

...you're on vacation and he learns how to climb out of the port-a-crib.

At least he thought to throw his pillow, puppy, and blanket out before he got out. And it's nice that he covered himself up.

They always ruin everything!

2010-12-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

Mike and I were trying to have a magical moment and look who has the nerve to sneak in and mess up the picture!! And don't even think about trying to leave a comment saying they actually make the picture better!!

Pics of the Faves

2010-12-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

School picture progression

2010-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to post all the school pictures Eli has had taken so far. It's fun to compare them to see how much he's grown. As you can see, he just keeps getting better looking every year. It's no wonder why he has girls at school trying to kiss him all the time. I just hope he learns to run faster too!

Preschool '08-'09

Kindergarten '09-'10

First grade '10-'11

Pics of the Faves

2010-11-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

Pics of the Faves

2010-11-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

What I found under all the stuff

2010-11-10T13:20:00.001-08:00

After helping the Sparkle Clothes dolls organize and de-clutter, I discovered a possible reason for the hoarding,

To hide this:

This little scene was buried under enormous amounts of Polly Pocket accessories and other stuff. I think the couple was trying to use that stuff to hide their questionable activities. I have since had many long talks with this Sparkle Clothes doll about why it's not good to be "buried alive" with anyone until after you're married. I also sent the Lego guy home and talked to his parents. Hopefully, this won't happen again. Rest assured that all the Sparkle Clothes dolls will be keeping their trailer tidy from now on. I think that little doll has learned her lesson.

As for the Lego guy, I'm not so sure. Judging from the arrogant smirk on his face, this isn't the first time he's been caught "snuggling in a pink sleeping bag under a pile of stuff" before. And I don't think it will be the last.

Time to fast-forward all cartoon love scenes!

2010-11-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

This is a conversation I had with Leah in the car today.

L: I wish I was in love.

M:Why aren't you in love?

L: Because I don't have a boy.

M: Why don't you have a boy?

L: I don't know.

I know the reason she doesn't have a boy. All two boys she knows are her brothers. They're good boys, but she's not allowed to marry them because that's illegal and gross! I don't plan on introducing her to new boys any time soon. Hopefully she'll just forget about all this love nonsense!

Hoarding: Buried Alive

2010-11-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I was in Leah's room and I discovered something pretty disturbing.

Her Sparkle Clothes dolls (this is what she calls her Polly Pockets) seem to have developed a very destructive habit. They are hoarders. Do you see how much stuff is piled into their camper? They don't even have room for their table in there! They are reduced to eating dinner at the table OUTSIDE. I'm really worried for them. They need to resolve this problem soon or one of their neighbors might call the Fire Marshal and report them. They could end up in jail. I recommended that they seek psychological and organizational help for this problem. I hope they are able to find the root of this problem and remedy it soon.

Just as a side note...do you find it at all ironic that these hoarders live in a camper?

I did make two other costumes this Halloween...

2010-11-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

...and I guess I'll tell you about them.

The first one was Mike's. He likes dressing up for the Halloween work party and he wanted to be something new this year. While I was going through my Halloween decorations, I came across a monk costume I had made for him a few years ago. After lovingly asking him to just be that again, he agreed since he had only worn it to a party at another company, years ago.

Last Thursday, the night before his work Halloween dress-up day, I was just finishing up Eli's costume, assuming that was it for me as far as costume preparation. I was asking Mike if he had everything all set for his costume when I jokingly, and oh, so foolishly said, "Wouldn't it be funny if you shaved your head to look like a monk?" That's when I saw a sly twinkle in his eye appear. He wanted to do it...he wanted to shave his head!

I tried talking him out of it, but it was no use. He used irrefutable reasoning on me. He said, "Becca, sometimes you just need a change." (referring to a change in hairstyle) There was nothing I could say at that point. And there was no turning back. So, we looked up a picture online to see just how it should look. Then, at about 11pm, I sat him down on a chair in our bathroom and did the unthinkable. I shaved a circle in the hair on top of Mike's head!

After I completed the follicle massacre, I could barely look at him. It just grossed me out too much. He apparently got similar reactions at work. Many of his co-workers complimented him on his costume and what they thought was a bald cap he was wearing. Upon closer inspection, they all realized what he had done. Some gasped. Others shrieked. One person almost fainted. But most just laughed. He did win them all over with his dedication to Halloween as evidenced by the number of people who voted for him in the costume contest. He won by a landslide. Having the knowledge of the $50 prize he won made it a little easier for me to look at him when he came home.

Fortunately, we both agreed that he wouldn't keep the new hairdo for very long. That night, I shaved the rest of his head to match the already bald patch. And once again, I find him attractive. His hair is regrowing fast. Soon, I will have something to run my hands over that feels more like hair and less like peach fuzz.

Now, as for the second costume I made, well, that was mine. I went as a Wife-that-seems-normal-but-is-really-crazy-because-she-shaved-her-husband's-head-so-he-would-look-like-a-monk-for-Halloween. Oh, and I put fake spider tattoos on my neck. It was a little abstract, but still accessible, I think.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the Halloween recap:

Eli was Raphael, the red Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. I made the shell out of cardboard and paint. I will never make costume parts out of cardboard again because that stupid shell kept ripping and breaking. It did look really cool, though.

Leah was a sparkly bat. She tried to change several times after the costume-decision-deadline, but I would not allow it since I had already made the wings. She had lots of fun running up and down the hallway in our apartment, with her bat wings on, though. Noah had a great time stealing the bat glasses from her, putting them on, and calling himself Batman. I guess I know what he's going to be next year.

Finally, Noah was a dragon. You may ask yourself, "But isn't he wearing a dinosaur costume?" Yes, yes he is, but I told him it was a dragon costume. He wasn't too sure and did point out to me that there were no wings. I insisted enough that it was just a dragon without wings enough that he went for it.

This is Noah showing me that he has no wings.

We went trick-or-treating with some really good friends on Saturday. It was a little rainy, but not enough to keep us inside. We all had a really great time! And now, as I sit here with my tummy full of the kids' candy, I am excited for next year and wonder what costumes I'll make.

I don't think Leah likes her new hair clip

2010-11-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Eli is a good, good boy!

2010-10-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Now that Eli is in school all day, he gets to have lunch there. Sometimes, he buys the school lunch. In order to prep him for this, I had a long, serious conversation with him about it. I made sure he understood the beauty and deliciousness that is those little cartons of chocolate milk. He did voice some concerns about being able to open them. They can be tricky. I instructed him to try his best and if he still couldn't open it, he could ask a lunch aid.

When he returned home the afternoon after his first school lunch, I asked him about his experience with the school chocolate milk. He confessed he couldn't open it himself, but a good friend aided him. Then he described how delicious it was. He told me that I was right about it and he was not disappointed.

What he said next surprised me. He told me that one day he intended on saving his milk and bringing it home for me so I could have some too. I was very flattered and touched, but I insisted he didn't have to. After all, it is part of his lunch. What kind of mom would I be if I took that from him?

One day recently, Eli came home from school with a twinkle in his eye and slightly heavier back pack. I was a little suspicious, but when I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised. Inside, there was a little carton of chocolate milk. He told me he had saved it just for me! What a sweet, little boy!

I enjoyed that chocolate milk! It was just as good as I remembered. Now I wonder, if I gave Eli enough money, do you think he would be allowed to buy two cartons of milk, one for him and one for me?

Leah's first field trip

2010-10-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Some friends and I are doing a joy school this year with our three- turning four-year-olds. We didn't want to pay for preschool and figured we can just do it ourselves. It's been going really well so far. Leah loves "going to school".

She recently had her first field trip with preschool. A field trip for joy school is really just us getting together at a predetermined place and playing, instead of teaching a lesson. This particular field trip was to the pumpkin patch. It was lots of fun! Since Eli had fall break at the same time, he got to come along.

Leah made a new friend at the pumpkin patch

The corn maze

Noah really wanted to take this pumpkin home

Noah's sad that I wouldn't let him get the big pumpkin

He eventually decided that his little pumpkin was a good one. He actually carried that little one around for several days. He even slept with it a few times.

Interesting application

2010-10-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we talked about faith. I explained to the kids that faith is hoping for and believing in things that you can't see, but that are real and true. (see Alma 32:21) Then I asked the kids if they had any examples of people who have shown great faith or ways they show faith themselves. Eli immediately raised his hand. Here's what his example was, "I have faith because I believe that there are lots of other kinds of Lego sets that I've never seen, but I know they're real."

Pics of the faves

2010-10-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

Isn't this the cutest picture of Leah sleeping?

2010-10-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

What's that? You don't see her? Oh, that's right. That's because she's sleeping behind the couch, not on it.

Pics of the Faves

2010-09-14T20:44:00.001-07:00

Time to put away the big guns

2010-09-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Summer's over. The pools are closed. It's time to trade in swimming suits for school clothes. That means it's also time for these hot bods to be covered up for the winter. Sorry ladies. You missed your chance to check out these big guns. But don't worry. May will be here before you know it.

Pics of the Faves

2010-09-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

I stole this picture from my sis-in-law's blog. It's so cute. I couldn't resist. Good job, Sarah!

Red Ninjas.....ATTACK!

2010-09-04T12:50:00.001-07:00

The new soccer season has begun! Eli is number 9 on the Red Ninjas this year. He had his first game last Saturday. It went.....well, it went. The boys stayed really positive throughout the entire game and kept trying their best! That's the whole point of kiddie soccer, right? The score was something like 15-1. We lost count after a while. We did get one point......which was actually kicked in my a member of the other team, but we cheered anyway.

Eli had a great time! He loves the sport and it's great exercise. He has improved since last year. Hopefully as a team, they will learn to work together and improve. Perhaps they will achieve total victory at the game next week!

What goes on inside Eli's head

2010-08-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Eli: If I had a pet snake, I would kill it and sell the skin for money. Then I would make shoes out of the skin. One shoe would cost $5 and the other one would cost $5. So the pair of shoes would be $10.

Me: Oh, $10. That's a good price for a pair of shoes.

Eli: Yeah. And if someone wanted to, they could buy just one shoe for $5 and then someone else could buy the other shoe.

Anyone want to buy one snake-skin shoe? It's only $5!

The first day of first grade

2010-08-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that was yesterday. It went surprisingly well! Eli picked out a special outfit for the first day. An R2D2 shirt and Wall-E pants aren't exactly the combination I would have picked out (and I tried to talk him out of the pants), but that's what he was really excited about. He said it was cool because they are both robots. He does have a good point.

Last year

This year

Wow, he looks so much older!

I got to pack him a lunch. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I did include a little love note though. Since he can't really read yet, I just put "I love you" and a picture of the two of us holding hands. (We were in stick figure form) He has a thing with pictures of him and Mike holding hands. I hope it worked with me too.

When it was time, Eli was happy to get on the bus. Noah was the only one to shed tears because he didn't get to go on the bus. When he came home, Eli was still happy. He said it was way cooler than kindergarten, just a lot longer.

We celebrated the day with corn dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Then we went to Thanksgiving Point to get some ice cream cones and play with friends.

Noah's little friend, Nadia, helped him take his mind off the whole bus thing.

Noah's Photo Shoot

2010-08-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Noah's considering a career in modeling. Here are some of the more recent shots from his portfolio.

The charming smile

Full body shot.....for the ladies

The pensive look

Just one of the guys

Pics of the Faves

2010-08-22T13:02:00.001-07:00

A little experimentation

2010-08-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

During our lab today in Bubble Blowing 101, we experimented with a new bubble recipe and some unconventional bubble blowers. Let me review what my students' findings were.

First, our new recipe was as follows:

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup liquid dish soap

1/4 cup light corn syrup

Note: This is only HALF of the original recipe. If we do it again, we will reduce the proportions by half again because it made quite a bit!

Items used as bubble blowers:

Spatula with holes

Slotted spoon

The claw-like spoon used for pasta that has a hole in it (this is the technical term)

Beaters from an electric mixer

Pipe cleaners

Twist ties

Drinking Straws

Here are some photographs taken during the experiment:

The Results:

The Recipe

The recipe worked well. It attracted some bees at first, due to the corn syrup, but they quickly flew away. It was very sticky, so make sure you have a hose or some other source of water near by for clean-up.

The Bubble Blowers

The best bubble blowers were the slotted spoon and twist ties. We connected several twist ties together to make a circle with a handle.

The worst bubble blowers were the beaters and the pipe cleaners. The beaters didn't make any bubbles at all, we think, because we couldn't completely submerge them. The pipe cleaners just soaked up the bubble solution.

The students were graded on participation. Leah unfortunately received a D for Distracted. She only participated for a short time and then left to play on the playground that is right next to the "lab". Noah earned a C+ for Concentration. He tried really hard to blow bubbles. He only succeeded a few times in that endeavor, but managed to get the messiest. Eli earned an A for Attentive. He stayed with me the whole time and was really interested in the experiment. He helped me perfect the twist tie bubble blower and made sure all the bubbles were popped in a Ninja-like fashion. He was the only one who was sad when it was time to clean up.

Eli's grade, however, had to be lowered to a B for Bummer. When he was questioned later by the Professor's spouse, Eli claimed to have not enjoyed the experiment at all.

There is a chance for each of them to earn extra credit to help bring up their averages. Perhaps a few extra chores tonight will give them the additional percentage points they need.