Coolest Field Trip Ever...

Reason #9873 why we living near DC is so darn AWESOME.....

The Field Trips!!!!!

And today's field trip was about as cool as they come.... 


A whole line-up of Cub Scouts waiting in the hallway of Dulles airport...

to greet a bus full of WWII veterans who'd flown into town for a ceremony at the WWII Memorial in DC.

The looks on the veteran's faces when they saw the boys and heard their enthusiastic, "Thank you for serving our country." was a sight I'll never forget. 

Look at that joy...

and the pride in their country...

I was thrilled to have Ellie and Emma with me as well to participate in the amazing experience. 

If it hadn't been youth temple night tonight, I would have happily brought the whole family to show honor to our veterans.

In the end the scouts gathered round the veterans and sang, "God Bless America." 

What an unforgettable night...for me, for the boys, and for the veterans. 

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

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Family Home Evening in the Fast Lane

Part 1:  A trip to the school to see Emma's science fair project.  "Spritz! The Effect of Different Household Cleaners on Different Household Stains"  where they proved that Windex worked the best and that vinegar and water was equally effective as the eco-friendly Seventh Generation brand.    In other words, if you're going with organic cleaners, you may as well save your money and just use vinegar and water. 

 Part 2:  (no pictures)  Easter lesson in the car with Adam teaching us about the Last Supper and Ellie chiming in about Christ's birth. 

Part 3:  A family trip to Red Mango for the best darn frozen yogurt ever.  I am a fan of the  Pomegranate flavor and the kids just like that they can serve themselves.   

I figure that the fact that we had FHE at all will hopefully make up for the fact that we hurriedly put the kids to bed as soon as we got home...skipping story time, so Glen could work on our taxes and I could make a small dent in the disaster that seems to have consumed our house ever since I started focusing on organizing our bedroom. 




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RIP: Faithful Desktop

Our desktop died this weekend.  It was a virus that wiped out everything, then turned the computer off by itself.    I will take it in to try to salvage it, but I feel pretty sure that it will never quite be the same.  

It's the first time in our history of being computer owners that we've ever had a computer lose everything and it's quite disconcerting. 

I am mad that there are stupid people out there who take pleasure in creating havoc with people's computers on purpose. 

I am relieved that most of the important things are backed up on a back-up hard drive...pictures, documents, etc.

I am worried about our I-Tunes, since I never could figure out how to back it up  to our back-up hard drive and we have a lot of songs on there.

I am kicking myself that I didn't renew our virus protection immediately, but instead let a couple of weeks go by before renewing it.  By then it was too late.   

I am sad about having to spend the money to buy a new computer. 

I am excited to have a fresh start with a fast new computer that doesn't slow down to a crawl every time I open my Adobe Photoshop Elements. 

I am so happy that my friend emailed me recently and asked me to email her my sacrament meeting program templates, so that I had them easily accessible in my email sent file on Saturday, rather than having to figure out how to transfer files from my back-up hard drive to my mac. 

I am also grateful for another friend who was willing to stay up late on a Saturday night and print the program for me, since my laptop has no way to connect to the printer. 

I am already annoyed at having to share my laptop with the whole family. 

RIP faithful desktop. :(

Spontaneous Girls Day Out

What do you do when your daughter's homeschooling Statesman class is canceled for the day? 

Clean the house? 

Nah.

Do your logic assignment?

Nah. 

Go running?

Nah.

Go on an educational field trip?

Nah. 

You throw caution to the wind and spontaneously go to the mall and have some grownup girl bonding time.....

....including some spontaneous new summer haircuts. 

I admit that it probably doesn't look to different to most of you, but I did get about 4 inches off and a some layers that give it a little more style.    I like the new light feeling! 

 The hairdresser scooped out a big scolding about my grown out roots and unhealthy home-dyed hair, but other than that I totally enjoyed the time with Cami and can proudly say that I spent less than $10 on our mall trip (other than the haircuts).

Now I'm thinking it's time to lock Cami up.  

That and equip Glen and Spence with some big sticks to shoo away the guys!





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A Fresh Start

While cleaning out the feng shui disaster we like to call our bedroom, I found some long-lost items, a few of which we'd almost given up hope of ever seeing again.  Forget the couch cushions....after 10 years in the same house, it seems that our bedroom is a collecting spot for junk from around the whole house. 

We found things like....

our TV remote (missing for months)
the GPS (found "filed" with the bills if you could call a drawer full of bills "filed")
the fingernail clippers (long since replaced)
an unopened letter from a friend who has since passed away (postmarked in October)
my favorite pair of jeans (yay!)
Glen's black fleece jacket (he was quite frustrated not to be able to take it with him to China)

Can you believe it actually said, "Goodbye" on the envelope? 
It made us sad that we'd never responded. 

So now that we've thrown away the junk, rediscovered some treasures, and have a fresh(er) start, I decided that it's time to take control.

I think I'll start by wearing my favorite jeans to bed and keeping the GPS in the car.  And maybe posting a sign like this on our door. 

I'm sure it will work, but on the off chance it doesn't I've also decided that a trip to Ikea might help too.   Any words of wisdom for me before I go?     




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super hard quiz

What's the best part about General Conference weekend? 
(see correct answer at the bottom)

a)  a week off from our church callings


b)  our Sunday morning traditional homemade doughnuts

 c)  the chance to work on some long-forgotten projects




d) the chance to stay in our pajamas all day

e)  the chance to snuggle and, um, relax for a couple of hours at a time

f)  or for those under age 10, the chance to expend a little energy

g)  the chance to listen to our prophet and other General Authorities testify of Christ and instruct us on how to be happier people

h)     All of the Above

Happy General Conference weekend! 

ǝʌoqɐ ǝɥʇ ɟo llɐ--ɥ    :zınb pɹɐɥ ɹǝdns ǝɥʇ oʇ ɹǝʍsuɐ

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This Week's Gratitude List

I'm grateful to be eating  April Fools' Day meatloaf cupcakes, while Glen is in China eating crocodile.  (he said it tasted like chewy chicken)...

I'm grateful for an up-to-date AAA membership that could come take care of our flat-as-a-pancake tire that happened the day Glen left town. 

 Oh yeah, and I'm also thankful for Glen's comfy coat that he left behind to keep me warm in all this cold drizzly weather. 


I'm grateful for fun food, like these "mashed potato" cupcakes.  They looked surprisingly realistic and were totally worth the cheat day. 

Which brings me to being grateful for holiday traditions, in general, although it is a little shocking at how many of them revolve around food at our house....

I'm grateful for amazing people that have made Cami's year of homeschool all the more fabulous.  This is a glimpse at her Statesman class, which was 1000% better education than any public school social studies class ever could have been. 

I'm grateful for modern technology, because I love technology, but not as much as Glen, you see, but I still love technology.  Always and forever. 

Oh wait, I guess I got a bit distracted there.   

I'm grateful for the technology that makes it possible for Glen and I to exchange texts while he's in China. 

And I'm also grateful for friends that would never judge me based on the number of fingerprints that happen to be on my phone's screen right now. 



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True Blue?

Here's a glimpse at Ellie and Emma all geared up for college spirit day at their school.  BYU had sadly just lost their game to Florida the night before, keeping them out of Elite Eight, but it didn't dampen Ellie's and Emma's Cougar spirit whatsoever.  Ellie even  wore pants for the second time all year, since she didn't think that the shirt matched with any of her skirts!   

Here's a little glimpse at Adam, though,  that very same day : 

Nope....not a stitch of Cougar apparel.  Apparently he believed  that wearing a cutesy Cougar on his shirt would drop his manliness level down a few notches, and that was definitely not a sacrifice he was willing to make for showing a little Cougar pride amongst his peers.  I'm thinking a little updated Cougar apparel might be in order sometime soon!

Just for the record:  I would happily wear the cutesy Cougar any day of the week! 



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One of the coolest perks of homeschooling....

....is Cami learning to cook and help in the kitchen.  Her help with chopping, sauteeing, continuing with dinner while I pick up a child from somewhere,  and making side dishes  each evening is an invaluable service to me.  Of course, I love the help and even better than me loving it....she loves it too! 

This past week, she gave the grill a try for the first time. 

I didn't grill for the first time until a couple of years ago, so she's approximately 24 years ahead of me in this department.

Look at these sweet skills...grilling, spooning on the bruschetta, AND talking on the phone at the same time. 

And the finished product....freshly grilled bruschetta chicken. 

I think I might give her an A+ on her report card for home ec....what do you think? 


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Weekends

A little note: I  feel like I've been complaining here on the blog a bit too much this year, and I just wanted to say for the record that I am the first to acknowledge that I live a very blessed life.  My kids truly are great kids  (most of the time) and I totally adore Glen and am grateful every day for the kindness, love, and devotion he invariably shares with us (even when we're having bad days).   It is my hope that it doesn't offend anyone or make me seem ungrateful when I get a little negative.  I view it as one of my biggest challenges in life, keeping things in perspective and keeping the negativity at bay.  For better or for worse, I use blogging as a way  to get out of my system.    
In any case, I also wanted to thank all of you who read my random posts, whether they be goofy, boring, or complaining.   What started as a tentative step into blogging nearly four years ago, has become an outlet for me and brought me  a network of friends that I never imagined.   Thank you for being awesome!  :)


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Back when I was in high school and college, I lived for the weekends.  I couldn't wait for the break from routine and mostly for the opportunity to sleep in.   For the same reasons that I loved weekends as a kid, I find them extra challenging as an adult.  The routine is gone, everyone's sleep gets messed up,  and the list of things to do is always long.   It's kind of sad, but weekends are often my hardest couple of days of the week as a mother. 

Honestly, this weekend was filled with mostly good things---running kids to various activities, trying to rally the kids into happily doing their chores, hosting a few of the kids' friends for a movie night, and attending the YW broadcast. But because Glen has been flat on his back since Wednesday night with a fever of 104 degrees (he was sick enough with kidney stones + bad flu symptoms that he ended up having to postpone his business trip to China), it meant that for the last few days that  I've been  doing mommy and daddy duty (instead of dividing and conquering).   That, combined with my feelings being hurt, made yesterday seem very, very long.  

This morning we woke up to a very unusual freak late snow covering.  Despite it making me very glad that we live in Virginia, rather than my homeland of Minnesota, where they just got several inches of the white stuff this week, the powdery start to the day seemed   symbolic of fresh new day to me.  After going to church, we spent the afternoon reconnecting as a family.  We had nowhere to go and nothing important to do. 

 The antibiotics finally kicked into Glen's system and he was up and at 'em for the first time since Wednesday night.  He was still pretty weak and sleepy today, but his fever finally broke  and we actually got to converse without him falling asleep.  We played "Ticket to Ride", where I lost soundly, had family home evening, and afterward the kids were only too happy to engage the newly recovering Daddy in a good post-FHE family dogpile tonight. 

Afterward, I let Glen put the kids to bed, where Ellie informed him that she really, really wanted to do a science fair project on what makes ice melt.  She thought of cutting up little bits of apples and placing Cheerios on the ice, to see how it affected the rate of melting (I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff).  I don't know if I should burst her bubble and tell her that she's  past the deadline of entering the science fair or just let her do her own thing  and we can call it a science fair project. 








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Done

This week is done. 
Tomorrow is a new day. 
Glen will get over his flu from hell. 
I will not care about things that I can't control. 
I will not take what seems like an intentional slight as a personal insult.
I will think the best of others.
I will be happy for the blessings I have. 
I will stop dwelling on all the things I can't do. 
I will stop hiding from people and life under the guise of being too busy. 
I will react more slowly and think before I speak.
This week is done. 
Tomorrow is a new day. 

It's Her Birthday and She'll Giggle if She Wants to....

Since today is Ellie's sixth birthday, I've dedicated this post to sharing six things about Ellie that you may or may not know yet.   Following the list are some pictures of her special day today!  

1.  Since the day she was born, Ellie has been a ray of sunshine in our home.   She is very even tempered and rarely loses her cool. 

2.  She is very thoughtful and is constantly asking me thought-provoking, deep questions beyond her years. 

3.  She's a giggler.  From the time she was a young baby, she has had a contagious, happy little giggle that is music to my ears.
 
4.  She loves skirts and dresses layered with leggings and has only worn pants to school, one day this whole school year. 

5.  Ellie is a very verbal child.  In addition to being able to express herself very well, she also loves to answer questions (whether she knows the answer or not)  and tell stories.  Her teacher tells me that she is also quite talkative at school.  :)

6.   She's one of those personalities that's always going, going, going....constantly in motion.  In some people this trait can be exhausting, but because her energy is so positive and cheerful, it's actually contagious and fun to be around.  


Now here are some pictures from today: 

Decorating her ladybug cupcakes that she shared with her class today. 

She was very meticulous in trying to spread the frosting just right.

In the end, she wasn't very pleased with that particular cupcake, but since it was just me and her making 26 cupcakes ourselves, it ended up in the batch anyway!

Here's a glimpse at the final product, except I didn't have time to put antennae on most of them.  Nine were complete and the rest were sadly antennae-less. 

Posing with a batch of the half antennaed ladybug cupcakes...

I walked Ellie into her classroom today to help her in with the cupcakes.  As she walked in the door, her entire class yelled out, "Happy Birthday Ellie!"  She was beet red and as excited as can be at the surprise party-like greeting.  Of course, everyone knew it was her birthday since she'd been excitedly counting down to it for the last 10 days! 

After school, it was time for some birthday pictures with Mom and Dad.... 

And the birthday dinner she'd picked out all by herself....hot dogs, fruit, and chocolate milk. 

Here she is with one of her favorite gifts of the day...a horsey for her American Girl doll.  She also received a play drill set, coloring book, dress (from Grandma Sandy), light up pen (from Cami), puzzle (from Emma), and Barbie (from Adam). 

After Spencer got back from his lacrosse game (where he scored 3 goals), it was time for cake and ice cream. 

I'm forbidden from mentioning the child's name who made the cake, but let's just say that despite it's, um, awesome appearance, it actually tasted dynamite! 

Flourless chocolate cake with fresh strawberry frosting....yummmmmmm! 

I'm still adjusting to the fact that my "baby" is now six-years-old, but I sure hope I can catch a little of this enthusiasm and excitement when my birthday rolls around in a few weeks! 

Happy birthday to our sweet Ellie Bellie!  
We love you!

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