Fall and Football

Chris was given some tickets to a Fresno State Football game.  There were 4 tickets, so I told him to take the big kids and enjoy some daddy/kids time.  They went and had a ball.  Hannah was totally into the game asking all kinds of questions.  Ella I think just liked being out and Jake got tired of the whole thing about 1/2 way in.  But they had fun all and all... especially when they were able to go onto the field!

Jake and his kindergarten class went to the pumpkin patch as his first field trip.  They got to ride on a tractor, learn all about pumpkins and he got to bring his baby pumpkin home.  He had a lot of fun and we heard all about it for days to come.  And his baby pumpkin became a ball for his younger brother. I can't tell you how many times Graham has thrown that thing.  I'm so surprised it has still survived.

New Calling - Activity Days!

I have been the Gospel Doctrine teacher for the last 2 years and I got released and called to the one of the best callings in the church.... Activity Day leader.  And to top it off, I am the AD leader to Hannah and her friends, so that is even more fun!

The best part is that I have a co-leader, so we take turns each month leading the activity... so how easy is that... I almost feel guilty :-)

A little note about my philosophy in regards to AD.  I try to have activities that help the girls pass off something in the Faith in God book.  I know not all girls get this done on their own, so I want to give them every opportunity to complete the Faith In God before  they graduate and move on to YW.  I can't say I will be perfect at this each and every time, but I will try :-)

Also, here are the elements I think I will try to incorporate into each activity:

1) the activity/lesson
2) a craft
3) a treat
4) a handout
5) corresponding Articles of Faith

So, with that being said, this is the first activity I led.  It came from the Learning and Living the Gospel section of the book.  It was about the Holy Ghost.

Mark these verses about the Holy Ghost in your scriptures: John 14:16–17, 2 Nephi 32:5, and Moroni 10:5. Discuss ways the Holy Ghost helps you.

I had each girl bring their FIG book and their scriptures.   Together as a class, we looked up the corresponding scriptures.  I had the girls highlight these scriptures, read and determine what the role of the Holy Ghost is from each scripture.  I got the idea from this blog (and then redesigned the worksheet to fit my needs).

I also bought each girl a photo book (the cheap plastic $1.50 ones from Target). I put their name on the front of each book and gave them this quote/handout to put in their books to remind them of the lesson.  I will have the girls bring these each time we meet, so we can add to it throughout the year.

This is the quote I used for this lesson.  I had it printed as a 4X6 photo and gave it to the girls to put in their photo book.

Here is a printable version of the quote (which comes from the Friend :-).

Also, I printed out this photo of the 1st Article of Faith to go with the lesson and to help them memorize it. They also put this in their photo book.  I got this image from this blog.  I love who we are all willing to share our talents and ideas to help each other in our callings!

Then for the craft, we made ghost and pumpkin lollipops.  They are the traditional ghost lollipops from your childhood (hopefully they look familiar) and then I added the pumpkins too.  (I didn't want it to look like I was trying to correlate the Holy Ghost with these halloween ghosts (being sacrilegious), but I wanted to do something that tied the lesson into the Halloween (since it is right around the corner)... so I made the craft more about Halloween and less about the Holy Ghost :-)

You'll notice one of the girls snuck a "Frankenstein" in there too :-)

I also, had the girls put together a FHE packet of this lesson to take home to their families, so they could teach the lesson.  I gave them a copy of the worksheet.  Lollipop and supplies for each member of their family and a cute paper bag, tag and washi tape to put it all together.  

Lastly, I made rice krispie treats sprinkled with halloween sprinkles (to add to the festiveness of the holiday :-) There yo go!  If you would like me to send you the girl praying image or the worksheet, just let me know.

Beginning of a new school year

It has become a tradition for the girls to go get pedis and manis the Saturday before school starts.  The girls always pick the craziest colors.  Like purple, bright red and turquoise.  But what can I do... it is their special day and that is what they want, so I just roll with it.

We started the first day of school!  Jake loved that he could finally wear with R2-D2 shirt.  He had to wait over a month to wear it.  And you can't see it, but he has a matching R2-D2 backpack to go with it.  One happy boy!  He is all about Star Wars these days.

I am not sure where all my pictures went.. but these are the best pictures I could find.  I don't even know where Ella's individual picture went.    Sometimes computers are so frustrating!

 But at least I got a picture of Ella with her siblings, so I do have documentation of her on the first day of school.    The kids are in 5th, 2nd grade and kindergarten this year!

I was able to grab this picture of these cute girls during the chaos of the first day of school.  such cute girls (Kylee, Ella and Blythe).

This week we were included in the national craze called the Ice Bucket Challenge.  We were out for a walk and ran into our friends the Smiths.  Robbie was doing the ice bucket Challenge and challenged Ella to do it.  Here is a picture of Robbie after his challenge (and my kids decided the water looked fun, so they literally dove right in).

For Memorial Day, we headed up to Bass Lake to enjoy the water and sun.  It is fun to be able to play in water with mountain and forests as your back drop.  Different scenery from the ocean :-)  The kids had a blast playing in the sand and sun all day.  But we decided to kick it up a notch and rent a waver runner and really have some fun.

Of course, Hannah loved it!  Ella was nervous but enjoyed the ride she went on.  But made sure I kept the runner below 20 MPH.  The boys loved it, but the surprise of the day, was that Jake was the one that loved it the most.  Graham had had enough, but Jake wanted to keep going.  He liked pretending their were riding an X-wing fighter and fighting Darth Vader :-)

Speaking of Star Wars, I made this blanket for Jake hoping it would help him be brave and stay in his bed at night.    I told him it would give him the FORCE and he could fight away all his fears.  Well, it was a good idea, but no luck.  He still comes into our bedroom every night.  I thought I had it with this idea!

We decided to go out to dinner (one of the nights Chris was gone) and since we were over by the temple, the kids all said they wanted to go.  So, we drove to the temple.  

I remember reading somewhere that "if you let your children touch them temple, the temple will touch their hearts."  So, that is what we do.  When we go to a temple, the kids touch it :-)  This just warms my heart :-)

And a picture, just because.  Graham decided to draw on himself with marker and then he wasn't happy about it.  Well, my son... don't draw on yourself if you don't like it!  If only, his little 2 year old brain would get that concept :-)

Summer in Utah

We made our annual trek to Utah this summer and here are some of the things we did.  It was a jam packed two weeks of fun!

We started out our trip by stopping at Bryce National Park.  This park might be one of my more favorite places to visit. It truly is SOO beautiful!

Pictures don't really do it justice.  But we went on a hike down to the bottom and then back up again. The kids were great and did a good job hiking.  There is so much for them to do (especially at the bottom) they just played and explored.

This was at the end of the hike.  We had to do switchbacks to get up the trail.  Ella sprinted to the top (she was done with the hike).  Hannah has slow and steady (no complaining).  Jake struggled, but he was having breathing problems, so he had an excuse.. poor guy! And well Graham, piece of cake!

After Bryce we headed to Ephraim for our family reunion.  We spent two days there doing family stuff.  One of the things we always do is go to the family farm/homestead to help clean it up and have dinner.  There is a huge climbing tree that the kids love and of course had to eat dinner in.

This little trio found their spot and enjoyed their meal.  Such cuties.

The family reunion ended on the 4th of July.  We stayed and played in Manti and enjoyed a good "small town USA" fourth of July celebration.  Here are the kids decked out in red, white and blue!

This is one of my favorite holidays, so I love finding cute things for the kids to wear to look festive.  Nothing like looking like a full-fledged American family (see next picture :-)

Some of the small town fun was gunny sack races.  The kids loved this and each one had to have a turn.  Jake might have cheated just a wee-bit!

One of the not so fun times on the 4th of July was finding out that Jake is severely allergic to cashews.  He had some cashews because he was hungry.  Then minutes later he started to go into anaphylactic shock.  His throat was bothering him, his lips were huge and he started to cough.  My BIL told us we needed to get him to the ER right away.  But it was the 4th in a small, small town in the middle of the state, so it wasn't open.  Chris and my Brian drove 25 mins to Mt. Pleasant and the whole way Chris was yelling at Jake to keep him away and conscious.  They got to the ER and Jake throw up and they pumped him with tons of stuff to stop the reaction.  They said he had about 5-10 minutes and we could have lost my little guy.  

It is crazy to think that food can create this life-threatening situation and we didn't even know it.  I am grateful that we figure it out with family and a doctor with us.  I don't even want to think if this had happened while I was home alone.  I would have probably just waited it out and that would have been very, very bad.  

Jake remembers bits and pieces, but the thing he does remember and loves is his "cow-mooy".  that is the name of the stuffed animal he got from the ER.  Cow-mooy is not my favorite guy, since he reminds me of a very scary day.  But at least we know and now know that Pistachios would have been even worse!

After the reunion, we headed back to SLC to play with family some more.  We celebrated with family dinners every night and some birthdays too.

What's a trip to Utah without a shaved ice.  They are everywhere and they are so good.  The perfect reward for my kids for completing their workbooks.  

We made it to the Tracy Aviary.  The kids loved learning and looking at all the birds.  It was a hot day, so we hit the water feature at Liberty Park.  

We of course went swimming.  How many cousins can you fit in a hot tub?  Well, there might have been room for a few more, but not much more.  

We went to the new Living Planet Aquarium.  This aquarium is top-notch and so well done.  Definitely a must do, if you are visiting.  

I'm not sure why Jake is crying in this picture, but man he is upset about something.  

We took at trip up to Big Cottonwood Canyon for a campfire dinner.  The cousins played games in the woods and we told stories, sung songs and ate hot dogs.    This picture captures the fun my kids had.  

Ella found this gigantic dandelion.  I told her to make the biggest wish she could think of!

Here is most of the crew enjoying s'mores.

Another fun place we visited was the Museum of Natural Curiousity at Thanksgiving Point. Man alive, this place is amazing.  Crowded as can be (because it had just opened early that week), but it is worth all the hype.  It is quite the "children's museum"!  You could easily spend a whole day there.  

For instance, here is the amazing Graham!

And then ice cream... Thanksgiving Point has some of the creamiest and best ice cream around.

After we played hard in SLC, we headed to Provo Canyon to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa at the cabin.  I loved going to the cabin because it reminds me of my childhood and all the fun I had near Sundance and I love that my kids get to experience the same fun!

We rode the Heber Creeper.  Graham loved it, since he loves trains.  It is a long ride, but it a nice one and the kids loved hanging out the window and the "bandit" that came on the train looking for Loot.

We had traditional fun "no TV" kind of fun.  We practiced making giant bubbles.  That kept the kids busy for a long, long time.   And the magic of holding a gigantic bubble never got old.

Of course hamburger and hotdog dinner outside.

We went on a hike at Sundance to Stewart Falls.  We rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain.  The kids thought this was cool after they got used to the feeling of riding the ski lift.  It was even a little unsettling to me.  But that is because the older I get, the more afraid of heights I get.  I don't like it.  I hate to think of what heights will be like in a decade or two.

It was a nice long hike and a little on the warm side, but here was the reward.  It was so beautiful and the water spray was so refreshing.  Since it was summer, there were a ton of people there with us.  

I mean look at the view from the waterfall.  It is just gorgeous in the mountains of Sundance.  It might be one of my favorite places in Utah :-)

Here is a few on the hike back out.  With Mt. Timp in the background.  The kids were tired and it was starting to show on their faces.  But buck-up hikers, we still have a long ways to go to get back down to the resort!

Graham couldn't hold any longer.  He crashed big time!

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Well, there is our summer vacay in Utah.  Tons of non-stop fun.  We needed a vacation after our vacation for sure.  Good thing we still have our summer to go!