C is not for Cookie

Christian Thomas
September 10th

Loves:
drawing
music
legos
cars
science
computer games (lego Star Wars 2, Supercow, Professor Fizzwizzle, all Need for Speed games)

Hates:
arch-enemy hoty dog man
barbies
kissing shows
sponge bob

Wishes:
my alter-ego "Super Hoboe" was real
Sponge bob and barbies didn't exist


my make shift drum set

I'm an ape
Super "Hoboe" my alternate ego notice the signature cape ( an extra shirt)

Super "Hoboe" in flight!

He loves Me!

A picture is worth a thousand words and this one moves me to tears.

Gardening

Last week, I bought myself a rototiller. I found a mantis tiller for sale on Craig's list and Kenneth went with me to look at it. It is well used but came with a lot of attachments to do cool things like aerate your lawn and cut a nice edge along the border. It was hard to start. The guy selling it had advertised that it was hard to start but that with a little tuning up it would be great. I got it home and tried to start it but all I got was a little chug and a nice blood blister. So I ordered a tune up kit from the Mantis web site. The tune up kit came on Thursday so that night, Kenneth worked on bikes while I worked on the tiller. I was really pleased when it started up strong, then it was time for bed. Friday I got up and tilled the garden and got ready to plant. I really love fresh tilled soil and all the potential it holds! I am sure that it will be a great garden because the dirt is great this year and Nate often fasts on fast Sundays for things growing in my yard.

Pioneer Children

Our ward is having a pioneer party and they have invited everyone to come in pioneer clothes.

The girls wanted to learn more sewing skills.

These two events led to a whole day of sewing( I think it was Tuesday). It was really fun. I cut ($1/yard Walmart gingham) out, the night before and we set up 3 sewing machines on the kitchen table. The girls did a really great job sewing. I let them do all the work they wanted. It was Rebekah's first time using a sewing machine and she is mighty proud of her little pioneer dress, she did it all except the buttons, sewing on the collar and attaching the gathered skirt to the yolk. Syd and Abby still have more to do because they left for the afternoon to play with friends. Truman feeling left out, sewed Hazel a new "jingle skirt".


Nate and Hazel did a good job playing together, they played play-dough and took photos of eachother doing silly things, and they ate a lot of Popsicles.

20 HALF-LAPS TODAY!!!

Happy Birthday

Today was Sydney's birthday. She got lots of good loot, it is one of the benefits of having a lot of siblings. It is hard to grow up because you still want to want toys but there aren't very many toys that you really will play with. We were having a hard time coming up with ideas for what to get her, so I asked her what she wanted and she said "Oh, anything, only not all books like last year." We did finally think of some good ideas. She was an especially good sister to Nate. In his 5 year old excitement he told her what he got for her, a bike lock. She how excited she is. I was really proud of how well she handled it.


Our kids get to choose what to have for dinner on their birthday. Sydney chose fondue. We had cheese fondue for dinner with bread, some ham and chicken rolls that Rebekah made, and broccoli/cauliflower for dipping. For dessert we had chocolate fondue and to dip : marshmallows, angel food cake, strawberries and bananas. It was really fun. Hazel really enjoyed the chocolate.

I'm just a little black rain cloud

Today we attended the Baby blessing of Tegan Hill Cornwall, who is my cousin's new baby. After church we let them have a party here so all the blessing attendees could visit and eat. I'm telling ya, having a party where you only have to provide the house and everybody else brings the food is the way to go. So we are having this great party and the rain started. Beautiful, cool, torrents of monsoon rain. 1.26 inches to be exact and more predicted tonight!!!

Fishies

Hazel finally figured out how to swim last week, meaning that she can actually propel herself through the water instead of bobbing. (still working on using the arms with the legs) Now she is truly dangerous in the pool because she thinks she can swim really well (probably because we all tell her so) and that leads to her running around to the other side of the pool and cannon balling in. Most of the time she makes it back to the side on her own. I think that panic/sprint swimming should be an Olympic event.


The kids and I decided that it is too hot to go running even at 5:45am (temperatures of 90+). So we had this great idea to swim laps. But since we weren't feeling very confident in out lap swimming fitness we started with 6 half-laps. We measure in half laps for 2 reasons; 1. the length of the pool is only half a lap and 2. It makes us feel more successful. So everyday we add half a lap to the regimen. Today we swam 15 half laps!

Cleaning out my Desk

On Saturday night I bought a set of cubbie hole style shelve thingies for organizing my fabric collection in the sewing room closet. The kids were doing a good job all morning of playing nicely and practicing. Then during Hazel's nap boredom set in. So the girls started digging through my desk. First they painted and used glitter, they found some fabric markers to make sock puppets, and then they used some fimo clay. There were also some wooden wind chimes that they want to paint but the puppetshow was so much fun that they ran out of time. Using up the stuff in the drawers is my favorite cleaning method.

My Brown Eyed Girl

Rebekah LaRue
Born November 16th


Favorites:
Color: Brown
Food: Coffee cake
Toy: Kirsten (My American Girl Doll)
Book: American Girl Books
Song: I Am Like a Star Shining Brightly
Thing about school: reading
Place to visit: San Francisco (riding the ferry)
Thing to do: Play with my doll Kirsten



I am really good at: drawing, reading, soccer, swimming,
taking care of Nate and Hazel, planning games.


When I grow up I want to be a mom!


Next year in school I will be in Mrs. Rathkey's 1st grade class. I am excited to learn more math.

Banana split is a kind of bad sunday.

I don't like banana splits or bad sundays.

I had to teach Relief Society today, I don't mind teaching so much as I have a difficult time trying to choose a topic. I chose to teach it about being content, I think it went well.

I stayed up too late preparing for the lesson and then I slept in long enough that I was awakened by Nate screaming to no one but me, in the living room about the general unfairness of his five year old problems. I got the little kids a bowl of rice krispies and went back upstairs to work on my lesson.

I have been feeling short tempered all day and I think my kids are (were. we put them to bed.) feeding off my impatience and they have spent the day picking at each other. Dinner was late getting on the table and to distract the girls until it was ready I sent them to take pictures of each other. I think this picture summarizes our not-so-perfect Sunday.

We have a book called "Lily's purple plastic purse" She has a bad day at school and finds a note in her bookbag that says "today was a difficult day, tomorrow will be a better one." I hope that I find that on a note pinned to my PJs when I go upstairs.

Call Me Tiger

Abigail Cleone
Born December 21st



















Favorites:
sport: Soccer
color: cerulean
food: chicken cor'don Bleu
school subject: math
dessert: apple pie with ice cream
summer activities: swimming, making sno-cones
best friend: Cailee Benford
talents: drawing, imaginary friends, talking on the phone to Cailee, playing the piano


















toys: My Little Pony (collecting and playing with)














When I grow up I want to do trick pony riding in the circus.



















I do not like to sit in the sun
I will be in Miss Vickers 3rd grade class in August

Dr. Seuss Day

Today was Seussical! We read as many Dr. Seuss books as we could stand. The kids made grinch masks. (Hazel is in her own picture because she was a crying mess when it was time to take the picture. It was terrifically funny to see the smiling grinch mask and hear the wailing behind it.

The kids had packets to work on with coloring, mazes, dot-to-dots, and trivia about Dr. Seuss. I am always pleasantly surprised that even at 11 and 12 my big boys like to do the goofy stuff I make up. One of the pages in the packet had body parts from "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day" and the kids were supposed to create their own characters this (below) is Sydney's end result.

We had a soda sipping event. (From the ABC book) Where Seven Silly Siblings Sipped Soda and got Sick Sick Sick. (not very sick since it was only 1 can)



And then after dinner for dessert we had "Scholp, Schlop, beautiful Schlop. Beautiful Schlop with a cherry on top." (From the book: Oh, The Thinks You Can Think)

Cause and Effect

Any Guesses at the relationship between these two items?








Football Shaped Whistle









New Cadet 3 Advanced Flushing System

Faux Birthday

Last Christmas my mom bought American Girl dolls for my girls. We talked about it and I decided that Rebekah was too young to care whether or not she had one. I suggested that we wait to get her one until she was 8. I was wrong.


Yesterday we had a "Pretend 8th" birthday party for Rebekah. The purpose of which was to present her the Kirsten Doll that was purchased to repair my reputation as "the best mother ever".The girls spent the morning decorating the house and planning games. We played musical chairs, pin the petal on the flower, flower flower weed (duck duck duck goose), ate daffodil cake, Then Rebekah gotto open "presents". The kids had wrapped random things for her to open, like her old flip flops, a spoonfulof frosting, a pieceof pineapple. Then when se was sure that all the gifts were goofy, we gave the the Kirsten doll. And now all is right with the world.