Tradition

Twice a year we make ableskievers...they are a traditional Danish food that is so delicious (and so not healthy). I have early childhood memories of Grandma Esther making these for us when she'd come for Christmas. We make them in April and October. I think the kids would revolt if we skipped making them and that is the sign of a great family tradition.

Fabulous Fashion Skills

Taryn is my awesome fashion girl. She has been taking sewing lessons for a while now and creating cool things is definitely her passion. Even though she has been sewing for a while she usually does it at lessons because my sewing machine is still packed in a box in the garage....there's just no good place to put it inside and I really don't use it that much...well my niece, who saw Taryn's poodle Halloween skirt, asked Taryn if she would make her one for a school dance. Taryn was very flattered but nervous. I thought it was kind of a good way to test her skills and let her gain confidence/independence. So we went to the store and she new exactly what to buy and how to read the back of the pattern to get supplies. I was floored at how easily she navigated JoAnn's. Then came the cutting out part and she stressed. But after a few texts to her sewing teacher she relaxed and got it done...until it came to the zipper and apparently I don't have a zipper foot for my sewing machine....who knew? Anyway she took it to her lesson and used her teachers and finished it. Then she had to readjust the size a little and look and what she did....very independently and amazingly. She has a talent and I'm so proud of her hard work. Patterns and puzzles just make sense to her. I love it! And her cousin seemed to love it too.

Giving you a piece of her mind...debate style

This year Cami and her friends came up with  the idea of starting a debate club. One of their teachers had some experience and got on board. They learned parliamentary procedures and how to look at two sides of an issue. They even had a debate. It was awesome. I think it has been a really good opportunity for her to think about both sides of issues and practice good communication. Learning to defend yourself without getting offensive is a skill that is sadly lacking in the world today but hopefully cam is learning it. I'm proud of this good thinker.

Winner Winner chicken dinner...science fair style...

This year Cami and Jocelyn won at their school science fairs. Cami did a totally involved project growing germs from different house hold surfaces and then tried to use household cleaners to kill them off. It was eye opening and disgusting that the most germy surface was the kitchen sink....worse than the toilet even. I definitely have been more generous in my kitchen cleaner down the sink drain since then. It was fun how independent she was. I didn't help at all and she did a fabulous job! 

Jocelyn saw Cami's germs growing and loved petri dishes...She came up with her own project of seeing if she really had to wash her hands every time she came inside from playing (are there more germs on outside toys?). So she grew swing and bike germs from outside and plastic horse and tablet germs from inside....All toys had a lot of germs and she is convinced she just needs to wash her hands all the time now...She too worked pretty independently and did a great job. It is fun to see your kids be curious about something and figure it out and learn. And this year Taryn was all about sitting the science fair out....and that was OK too. 

And just for the record germs in petri dishes totally stink and next time I am not going to incubate them on the kitchen counter for a week each project....

Class Zoo Cheetah Girl

Jocelyn dreams about being a vet when she gets big...which is funny since we don't actually own a single pet and she hasn't really been around any animals. She HAS always had an affinity for lady bugs...and rolly pollies....and cougars...and the past couple of years she has been a die hard cheetah girl. For her class zoo project she got to research cheetahs and she was SERIOUSLY committed.

She watched several discovery channel/national geographic videos and was not only not grossed out by cheetahs eating gazelles (a shock for me) she was kind of impressed by it. She also learned that once upon a time people had cheetahs as pets to assist with hunting and she now insists that she is going to have one for a pet when she is older....like I said she is REALLY committed to the idea of cheetahs. 

The day of her presentation she insisted on a cheetah hairdo and cheetah clothing (head to toe and not necessarily matching), a face painted cheetah whiskers/nose, and a cheetah blanket as a table cloth and several of her stuffed cheetah friends. It was quite the sight to see and I had so many internal laughs. I love this girl and when she does something she REALLY does it!

Spring Break 2017

Spring Break 2017 was pretty epic. We did the traditional sand dunes and Menchies trip. We spent  time at the library and then rode the carousel downtown. Wednesday we packed up and headed to Cathedral Gorge State Park in NV. It was AWESOME! The campgrounds were relatively empty...our kids were the only ones in sight. Jocelyn and Creed could "mountain bike" on the gravel road. Cami and Taryn had a stash of books to read. There were great hikes with lots of pretty rocks to pick up and carry...There were awesome cave tunnels to explore too....just watch out for birds and big beehives...The stars at night were amazing and Cami taught us about light pollution. After two nights everyone could find the little dipper, big dipper, and O'Ryan. We also took a day trip to other state parks within driving distance, Kirchow Ryan and Rainbow Canyon. In Rainbow Canyon we saw the longest train that totally whistled for Creed as it passed him waiving. We ate lots of smore's and everyone slept really good. It was so fun to explore our own "backyard" and just spend time with each other. 

So long, Farwell

So my mom left for the Cleveland Ohio Mission at the end of February. It was fun that all of my sisters were able to be here to send her off. She left feeling terrified but hopefully very loved. We will really miss having her around but we really hope she enjoys her service.