You Hit me First! No! You Hit Me FIRST!

So I've been noticing all of the visitors to my blog and I'm grateful ya'all took a minute to stop by.  I'm guessing that you probably hopped here from a comment I left on your blog or a blog that you read.  And yet when you arrive you have been greeted with messages that are months old and truly the last year I have not posted much of substance or consequence.

Well that is all about to change!  (maybe I'm feeling grandiose and motivated at the moment just in case you couldn't tell)

I'm Writing it on the Wall (so to speak) to give myself a wee bit of accountability.
  So If I fall behind comment and get me back on task.


So here are some bullet points of what I've been up to:

*  The Tyrant embarked upon the great adventure of potty training and he has mastered all the necessary skills in record time (that is what you came her to learn isn't it?  :P )

*  The Engineer has been working with his hands of late and learned how to use sand paper, a coping saw, paint and some tape to create his first Pinewood Derby Car.  The big race is tomorrow night!  He is SO EXCITED!

*  The Comedian has been dabbling in the literary world once again.  He has written, illustrated, and published several short books about dragons in addition to the short stories he has shared here on the blog.  He is also embarking on a journey of writing and illustrating  a 6 chapter book about different kinds of dragons and how they help children work through their fears and problems.  I've promised him that when it is done we will see if we can get it published in a real book format.  He's also invited two of his dragon friends to come and live with us for awhile to help him with some of his worries.

*  Mr. Music Man had the opportunity to present at a DJ conference a month or so ago and came home totally reinvigorated and full of ideas on how to improve our business.  He's had some great ideas and is really throwing himself into steering the business in a new direction.  It must be working because he's booked practically every weekend for the next couple of months.

*  I have been so excited to be a little bit involved in some of the planning and even more excited to be able to attend the 2011 Utah Mom's Retreat the second weekend of May.  So excited in fact that a couple of weeks ago I told the children at church that we had to really work on getting ready to sing for Mother's Day because it was only 5 weeks away.  It only took me 48 hours to come to the realization that I want May to be here so much that I had in fact misled them as at the time Mother's Day was 9 weeks away.  But whose counting?

So for now there's the update on us in a nutshell.  Thanks for stopping by!


But uhm....hitting isn't nice!

Science Fair 2010

Equipped with his five senses, 

man explores the universe around him 

and calls the adventure Science.  

~Edwin Powell Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954

The older two boys have been hard at work exploring and making observations for a science fair project.  Their friend SP joined with them and the world can now rest assured that they have sufficiently tested and proven their hypothesis.

So just in case you ever need to know:

Hot water does indeed dissolve candy 
at a faster rate than cold water.

and further more, if you happen to need candy to quickly dissolve your best bet is "Pop Rocks" (this of course is limited to the types of sample candy tested in their experiment).

Last Thursday they were able to set up their finished display board and share their findings along with others in the school who participated in the Science Fair.  There were quite a variety of projects.  Some that stand out in my mind is coloring vanilla ice cream (brown and pink) and having 3rd and 6th graders identify the flavor (most were fooled by the coloring into identifying the ice cream as chocolate and strawberry), there were several experiments testing density of liquids (most notably oil and water), a group explored how clouds were made, what shapes made the best bubbles, and so many more.

It was so fun watching the boys get animated as they explained their project over and over again as other students, teachers and parents came by.

So now, watch out 'cause we've got scientists in the house!

 

(Day13) Thankful for. . .

my "helpers"

I have such great boys that are almost always willing to pitch in and help out. One of the prized jobs is taking out the recycling. I wonder if they will still prize it as the cold weather sets in?

Pumpkin Carving 2009

We hope you enjoy the witchy days ahead. We have had quite the preparation for the all important carving of the pumpkins. We started off by spending some time earlier in the week scooping out the goop in preparation for a Ward Pumpkin Carving Activity. This is really the first year that the older boys have really been brave enough to touch the goop and as you can see from the pictures they really got into it. We may have been cheating at the Ward Activity by having our pumpkins pre-gooped; but can you imagine two adults helping 3 children de-goop pumpkins all on one night and still finish the carving by the end of the activity?

The older boys designed and carved their own pumpkins this year. Unsurprisingly the Engineer's is a clone trooper (from the new Starwars Clone Wars cartoon). He was able to use the pumpkin carving knife and placed all the shapes exactly where he wanted them. It was fun to see his creative side and willingness to move outside of the usual jack-o-lantern pumpkin designs.

The Comedian got a free pumpkin certificate from his Kindergarten class and so he and I went to the store for him to pick out whatever he wanted. He chose a ghost pumpkin and was hoping that it would have green,purple or white insides; he was a bit disappointed when it was orange just like the others. He recovered however and made a stunning ghost tiger, which won the ward pumpkin carving contest.

Tiny Tyrant was eager to participate and directed every move of mom whilst she was carving. Triangle nose, here, eyes, mouth....and we had to get creative with the ears and whiskers. However the Comedian got some good ideas from our creative adventures and we think that maybe those ideas are what put his pumpkin over the top.

I hope you enjoy the picture of the process and their creations!

Happy! Happy!~Screamy! Screamy!~Witchy! Witchy!
Halloweeny!

Wonder if anyone has ever tested them?

As wonderful and exciting as it is for the boys to head back to school, it brings with it shorter days for playing and of course the stress of homework and being a bit diligent about practicing reading, writing and arithmetic. So one day we coerced Papa into taking a break from all his work cheerfully headed off to an advertised Elders Quorum ice cream social for a much needed change from our new back to school pace. However once we arrived nobody else (including the organizers) were there.

So we decided to head to a local ice cream parlor because now that we were all in the car, we all were convinced that a change of pace was a great idea. When we arrived at Caspers I fell in love with their Customer Only Parking Sign all over again!



Just in case you can't read that they claim that non-customers parking in their lot will be. . . .


I think I want to try it one day!

The Tiny Tyrant was carefully guarding both the banana flavored with mini M&M's coated ice cream bar and the little paper box it was given to him in. He was displaying some concern that someone was going to take all this yummy, sticky, drippy goodness away from him with no warning (and I admit that I did sneak a bite or two!)

The engineer used a delicate bite with surgical precision to carefully (and neatly) consume every last bite. (He even licked the box and yet not a speck got on his face or his white school shirt.)

And the Comedian, well he was determined to enjoy the unexpected treat with every one of his senses. (That's what spot wash and wet wipes are for after all....right?)

All in all it was a great time relaxing and having a little family time.

On Father's Day....

The boys and I want to take a moment and tell you all how much we love their Papa.

He's always there to help them learn to choose the right, and answer their gospel questions.



He encourages them to step out on a limb and try new things but is always right there to keep them safe and encourage them.

When their legs are tired, he is the first one to pick them up and give them a ride.


He loves to play cars almost as much as they do and always takes time to teach them how to work new toys.

He's almost always up for an adventure, whether it be playing in the snow, climbing rocks, or going on a bike ride. He loves to have fun with his boys.


He lets them help build speakers even when it means that it takes longer or he has to refine some of their efforts. Everyone gets a chance to be involved in the projects.



He encourages them to help one another and perform acts of service both for members of our family and others.



But the best thing about our Papa is that he loves us and we want to grow up to be just like him!

Happy Father's Day 2009!

New Snow Elimination Plan.....

My Engineer has decided that if Mother Nature won't cooperate in removing the snow that he'll take it into his own hands. here he is using his shovel to remove the snow from our yard. I'm not sure what he is going to do when it snows again later this week.

While the boys were getting into the van the other morning to go to school he and the Comedian were arguing. I came in on the middle of the argument and the Comedian was already in tears and wanting to know if big brother made all the praying rules because he felt like he still wanted to pray for more snow. I'm not sure that my Engineer totally agrees that we each get to pray for what will meet our individual needs. He is now lobbying for a new family rule that will prohibit any more praying for snow. Luckily for us he is not in charge of prayers for tonight's Family Home Evening, although he is the song leader. It will be fun to see which songs we will be singing tonight.

As for the mommy she is ready for warmer weather so we can get outside and play. I am truly getting tired of being cooped up inside these four walls.

Wishful Thinking. . .

Snow, Snow Go Away!
We want you to melt so we can play!

We miss all the things we used to do outside we want to play ball and ride our bikes.

We miss our family walks and don't want to wear our coats.

We want to go camping, fishing, 4-wheelin' and ridin' in boats.

So Old Man Winter go fly a kite!

No Need to Fear. . . .Super Dishwasher boy is here!

Ever since we instituted an allowance system where
the boys can earn a few coins for different jobs around
the house I have been blessed to have great helpers that are
always willing to pitch in when I need an extra hand.
Here 2 of the boys are splitting the 10 cent job of unloading the dishwasher.

My comedian reminded me that they'll wear their
capes and super hero gear for "No Extra Charge"

So if you need some extra household help, let me know.
I can even share with you the going rates.
However for you the costumes might cost extra!

Am I really going to miss all this?

You're gonna miss this

Your gonna want this back. . .

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These are the good times


so take a good look around. . .
You may not know it now. . .
But you are gonna miss this. . .

Yes, I really think I will someday even the never ending messes will be precious memories.