Geobobbies

Daddy's Girl

2012-01-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

See this girl. This is a Daddy's girl.

Usually this is really cool.

Sometimes I get a little jealous.

Just a little.

Today was one of those days. We were sitting around the lunch table eating and Sadie's conversation consisted of things like, 'Daddy is awesome,' and 'Daddy is the funniest person in the world.'

So I made up a game.

Everyone had to give one compliment to the person on their left.

Uh yeah, I'm not above fishing for a compliment.

Sadie was the last person to go.

Her compliment?

'Mom, I love your new ring. Daddy is so nice to give you such a pretty ring.'

The Tooth Fairy

2012-01-24T12:53:00.000-06:00

Sometimes a tooth is lost and then, well, lost again. So a note is written and placed under a pillow explaining the circumstances with a hope that perhaps the tooth fairy can do something about it. The tiny response my daughter got this morning, wrapped in gossamer paper with a carefully rolled dollar bill, let us know what happens when teeth go AWOL.

My sweet friend, you can be sure that when you lose a tooth, I will always try to find it! There are times when those tiny teeth can get lost or disappear, but don't worry, I hold them precious and can look better than most!
You see, dear friend, when children are born they are full of natural magic. As they grow and are taught by some that magic isn't real the magic is slowly absorbed by their baby teeth. When a child begins to lose their baby teeth, myself and others come to collect them. It is only as you grow old enough to truly be wise that childhood magic returns. In the meantime we hold your little bit of magic safe and it helps to keep our world beautiful and lasting.
Dream lovely dreams......
Your Tooth Fairy

Reusable Grocery Bags.

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

I stole this. There, confessional over. I was browsing pinterest looking for the perfect way to make crunchy, not soggy, sweet potato fries and I came across this blog. It is called 'the art of doing stuff' and not only did she have a great way to make sweet potato fries (shake em in cornstarch, who knew?) she also had this little tidbit....which I TOTALLY agree with!

I firmly believe that the end of society is going to come about because of “green” reusable grocery bags.

I have thrown more of these things out into the garbage because they’re not recyclable than I can count.

I don’t need one with every purchase. I don’t need one from every event I go to. I don’t need them handed out at parades. Reusable shopping bags have become the Beer Logo tee shirt of the new millennium. What I do need, ironically are plastic bags (which are recyclable) which I can use to line my garbage can.

Super Secret Spy Party - Warning, Lots of Pictures

2012-01-14T17:10:00.002-06:00

Last November our oldest asked if she could have a party for her birthday. We said yes. Today we finally gave her and her little sister a combined super secret spy party.

Of course, the day before we HAD to get ourselves ready with mani/pedi's, experimental hairstyles, and a little blush. After all, even spys need to look good.

The party guests arrived the next day and were handed their spy kits. These included black hats, magnifying glass, notepad, pen, fake money, and a mardi gras mask (for a quick disguise). They were then told they had arrived to attend spy training. Step 1 was learning to go through the lasers. This proved to be tricky.

Good thing my girls have taken gymnastics. There were two routes and they had to try both in order to pass.

Next was nerf gun training. Four tries to hit the target and then trying to hit flying balloons.

A couple of quick games of hide and seek and they all graduated with flying colors. Little did they know that their new found sleuthing skills would soon be put to the test!

We explained how the new house was once smaller with a dungeon (i.e. the cellar). A captive of the dungeon had escaped and was looking for his lost treasures. Our mysterious prisoner had discovered his assailant was a man by the named of Ali Barbi , who had left behind clues in the house.
Clue number 1 was a letter hidden behind a framed photo. Holding it to the light revealed that the paper looked strange in some places. A hair dryer showed a secret message that lead the crew to the cookie jar. Inside was a snack and a message written in French.

Since no one spoke French Ben showed the new sleuths how to translate messages on Babelfish. The clue was a quote from Alice in Wonderland.
"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!"
One of the girls recognized the quote and we split in teams. Onegroup checking the bookshelf and the other searching for something in the house that resembled a crocodile. They soon found the croc head waiting to eat a bunny. The terrified stuffed pet had a letter in his paws. (Thank you Tyler for the croc head from Florida!)

The letter implored the girls to help save the bunny's eggs before the crocodile could eat them. Ten eggs hidden in all. Each egg had a piece of a map which, when taped together, lead the group to the alleyway behind the house. Here they discovered a GPS and two locations. We split the group and headed off to find our destinations. The coordinates both led to more coordinates which surprisingly lead the two groups back together and to the playground down the street.

Once the group was back together I found that I had to return home to change baby Hannah. Once I walked in I found that the cake and presents had disappeared! Only a lone walkie talkie was left on the table. Picking it up I heard Eliora's voice on the other end. They had found the other walkie talkie in a hole in a tree at the park. I explained to her what had happened and the group rushed home!

We had been DUPED! Ali Barbi was alive and well and had formulated the clues and the fake prisoner to get us out of the house and steal the cake and presents! It was not a very good get away though (having been surprised by my return) and trails of confetti revealed the various locations. Now we could finally celebrate!

Overall it was an awesome party. We had planned some simple games at the end but barely had time to hand out secret agent prizes and open presents. The girls had fun and the parents are exhausted.
Happy Birthday Eliora and Abby!

Happy Birthday Abby!!

2012-01-13T10:49:00.002-06:00

"Abby?"
"What."
"Is today your birthday?"
"Yes, I am four, and I like Barbie movies"
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"A ballerina."

"What is your favorite song?"

"Little Einsteins"

"What is your favorite book?"
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear."

"What is your favorite food?"
"Ice cream!"
"What kind of ice cream?"
"Green!"

"What is your favorite color?"
"Pink...no, purple!"

"Where is your favorite place to go?"
"The beach!"

"What is your favorite toy?"
"Stuffed animal. A toy. A doll. Dress-up!" (said really fast)

"What do you want to do this year while you are four?"
"Go to the park!"

Abby's answers were so cute and typical 'Abby' that I went back and found pictures from the last year to match. As always, the interview was not long due to Abby's short attention span.
Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

Caprock State Park

2012-01-12T12:39:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Anna, Jeff, and baby Tristan made the very brave decision to go camping with us. She did an amazing write up with cute pics of her family and mine so I will let you read her account and just throw in a few pics of my own ;)

http://www.tewinlove.com/2012/01/caprock-state-park.html

Ben and Hannah

Ben chasing the wild pigs. They were huge. He was brave.

Sadie catching a trout

Audrey getting frustrated at not catching a trout

Eliora was ecstatic when she got a bite. Wish I would have had a video.

Family picture. It was a little chilly but we came prepared and the hiking, wild life, fishing, and scenery were more than worth it!

Had to get at least one picture of our family with our dog Sushi. She's Ben's favorite. Just ask him ;)

Sushi

2012-01-05T09:04:00.000-06:00

Last year an amazing family gave us their dog for Christmas. She is a 7 year old beagle named Sushi who can fetch, roll over, play dead, shake, sit, and beg. She came to us fully trained and great with kids. The girls adore her. Since her previous owners are now living overseas and missing their canine friend I thought I would post a video for them of Sushi doing something she loves to do best.....opening her presents!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-30T22:53:00.000-06:00

This year I made cards....I really did!! However, when the cards arrived there was a wierd thing with the typing so that all my apostraphes and such looked like wierd symbols. The company credited back the money spent and I know I really should get on it and send out cards late but let's face it, I probably won't. So, instead of Christmas cards I will hopefully be sending out beautiful Valentine's cards and in the meantime enjoy the pictures that my awesome SIL took of our family this year!

2011-12-21T10:49:00.002-06:00

Wyman Meinzer's West Texas from Wyman Meinzer on Vimeo.

It's an old family recipe.

2011-12-19T15:23:00.000-06:00

Usually when I make fudge I use the recipe on the marshmallow cream jar. Sometimes it is beautiful, creamy, and delicious. Sometimes it's a little grainy. Then my mom gave me a recipe for homemade marshmallow cream. Holy goodness! Fudge took on a whole new dimension. A few days ago however I was at the store staring at the take home kit of fudge. How easy, how flawless. Maybe not as decadent and delicious as homemade fudge but well enough to eat and so much easier to put on plates for neighbors when Christmas is approaching and the to do list just keeps getting longer. So today I caved and busted out the fudge kit. I put in the ingredients and set it to a boil. I set the timer. I stirred. I didn't bother with the candy thermometer (not needed with a super easy take home fudge kit). I added the marshmallows that resembled super large tic tacs. I added the chocolate chips and I stirred. Then I stirred some more. Then I started to panic. My super easy flawless fudge was resembling ground cornmeal. Large tic tac marshmallows were not melted. So I did what only a true gal in the kitchen would do. I stirred in a little more evaporated milk, melted the whole thing, and stuck it in the blender. Poured into mason jar with a cute label and a bow tie it will go to an unsuspecting neighbor. When they ask me for my homemade fudge sauce recipe I will tell them politely that I could not possibly give it away, it's an old family recipe.

The Anniversary Cruise

2011-12-07T01:00:00.001-06:00

Why oh why. We have about three million pics of our eleven year anniversary cruise but somehow I cannot seem to find the cord that plugs in the printer that lets me install my camera card to download. Since trips are always more memorable to the people involved than everyone else however I will give you this.

Basically we ate ourselves silly, stayed up late, slept in, went ziplining in Jamaica, snorkeling in the Cayman Islands, and shopping in Mexico. Ben and I came back reconnected after spending months away from each other and we got to reconnect with old friends who we never once got tired of. Basically, it was awesome.

Playing Catch-Up - Audrey's Baptism

2011-12-06T02:02:00.000-06:00

Alrighty.....since I basically use this blog as an excuse for my journal I thought I would chronicle the major events one day at a time. Hopefully by the weekend I will be caught up! So...starting in September,

This beautiful girl was baptized. It is tradition in our family to go shopping for the white dress. It was an awesome day with Grandma Davis, Aunt Anna, the older sis Eliora, and Anna's cutie Tristan.

Wedding dress shops for white dresses are the best, cause they have 3 way mirrors.

Dang I was seeing the future that day!

And of course we had to go out to lunch after. Good thing we are serious about the whole thing!

Ben gave an amazing talk on baptism. Honestly, he completely put down the notes and just spoke. I wish I could have recorded it. Thanks to everyone who came, it was a very special day.

Happy Birthday Kid

2011-11-30T00:55:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile.

In the time since my last post we have had a baptism, gone on a cruise, moved, had some birthdays, celebrated Thanksgiving, and been in Utah. Tomorrow I am going to take a favorite pic of each event and post it to get us up to date but tonight I want to say something different.

Happy Birthday Nate.

Last year I did a blog post on Nathan's birthday. It was short. You can read it here if you feel so inclined. The only other time I have ever posted about him was here. Basically I said I wanted to smack him on the back of the head. Nate tended to bring out those feelings in people. He also made everyone laugh. He was great for a hug, an afternoon of food, a drive to the gas station or Baskin Robbins, an impromptu karoake song, or a movie no one else would watch with me. I don't usually write about Nathan and the few times I have the posts have been short.
Why?
Anyone who truly knows a Roundy can probably tell you. We tend to hold in hurts. Strange when we also tend to be loud social people. I have heard us complain about the weather, lack of sleep, a papercut......but then you take my brother Dustin. This guy is literally in huge amounts of pain everyday. Mostly he doesn't mention it and if he does it's in a joke. My brother Ryan tends to hold the world on his shoulders but he never even shrugs. I once saw my mom fall off a ladder. It was high. Bruised her from head to foot but she just got up and kept going. My Dad is nearing retirement. He has worked hard his whole life. I'm not talking about mid twenties up. The guy had it hard growing up. All hard labor kind of work since he was a teenager and probably younger but he still gets up everyday and keeps going. That is because behind the jokes, the laughter, the holidays and get togethers my family is tough. I'm talking about moving mountains tough. Individually we do okay but put us together and you better get out of the way. That's actually the secret. That's why almost 6 years later we are okay. Even if the posts, conversations, and comments are sometimes short we are all there for each other. Even Nate.

So kid, wherever you are we are still here for you. Happy Birthday - and yes, I am still planning on smacking you upside the head.

Before / After - Pictures of our home in Katy, Texas....Goodbye Katy!

2011-09-25T08:09:00.000-05:00

This was our kitchen about 9 months ago.

And this is our kitchen today.

The wallpaper is peeling, you just can't see it.

We went for 'very neutral'

The walls are now actually textured with a two tone color, it's just really light

We always used this room as a TV room

Back to the dining room it was meant to be

Here is just a few more

I love my house. I will miss it

I need to find a picture of the blue carpet. Lots of blue carpet, everywhere

This became the TV area

The wood floors actually have this custom design in the middle.

Yeah, we could use some bedroom furniture

pink is for little girls

but green works too

The game room.

Our pretty backyard. Sigh.

A Girl in A Whirl

2011-09-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!

You could do what I do if you only knew how.

I study the scriptures one hour each day,
I bake, I upholster, I scrub and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely.
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.

I help in their classrooms, I sew all they wear,
I drive them to practice, I cut all their hair.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires and fix the sink's leak.

I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all, oh no, that is not all!
I play the piano and work on my talents;
My life is a wonder of fullness and balance.

I read to my children, I help all my neighbors,
I bless my community, too, with my labors.
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.

I do genealogy faithfully, too
It's easy to do all the things that I do.
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.

My visiting teaching is done the first day;
I exercise, and I cook menus gourmet.
I can garden produce each summer and fall,
But that is not all, oh no, that is not all!

It's easy," she said,
And then she dropped dead.

Okay, so I totally stole this from Nancy Taylor who has one of the best blogs on the planet IMHO, but it made me laugh today so I had to repost!

My New Home

2011-09-09T22:13:00.000-05:00

My knees hurt. I'm pretty sure it's a sign of old age....or maybe the three hours I spent cleaning and waxing our wood floors last night. This was after Abby locked herself in the upstairs bathroom and peeled the wallpaper off the walls in her boredom. It was before I opened my cupboards and discovered a HUGE moth infestation that is now all over my kitchen, dining room, and living room.I still have to caulk the master bathroom, remove a few items to the garage, touch up some paint, and take care of my kids. All of this in a market where not only is no one buying but no one is even looking. So this afternoon I made a cup of tea, put a movie on for the kids, and looked at the future.

They say Midland skies are bigger. I'm starting to believe them.

They also say the sunsets are amazing. Maybe because you can see more of the sky?

Do you know what I think when I see this picture? Hard working people, baseball games, industry, picnics in the park, old fashioned gentlemen. All the things I love about Texas.

Downtown really can look bigger than this. When you are in the middle of it you can look up and see skyscrapers. Then you take a drive and remember where you are. They say five minutes will get you anywhere. They say the pace is slower. They say the people are some of the most friendly of anywhere on earth. Another month or two and I can find out for my own.

Showing a House

2011-09-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

This morning I babysat the nieghbor kids and had two air conditioning guys here for over an hour. Then the phone rang with a realtor telling me that they wanted to show my home in one hour. When I left (with my five kids and one dog) this is what it looked like.....

I realized after I took the picture that the camera lens was dirty - trust me though, this kitchen is clean.

See the plate of cookies, and the flier with 'things to do in katy'? What you can't smell is the lemon pound cake candle.

Thirty minutes before leaving this was covered in castle toys, cups, and dress up clothes.

I wanted to take a picture of every room in the house but the battery on the camera died. When we left it was all clean though. Even the drawers. If moving gives me a few grey hairs at least it will instill some really good habits.

Life is Really Not Hard

2011-08-01T14:42:00.001-05:00

This is the mantra I keep telling myself. Then I remind myself that;

I have five perfectly healthy kids. They do all have cavities and I haven't taken them to the dentist yet but other than that......
I have an amazing husband. He does have a few problems making decisions. Only big ones though, like where we are going to live......
I have a really nice house. Of course, according to our realtor it is seriously outdated and we have to pretty much redo every room to get it to a sellable condition.
We have a great moving package to help us get to our new city. Too bad the houses out there are all out of our price range.

But life is really not that hard. We are simply at a cross roads and when that happens sometimes the trivial starts to look enormous. So today I will think;

My Dad is flying into town in less than 2 days. I love my Dad. My kids love my Dad.
My husband will be home at five to help. He will also tell me I am amazing because when things get tough he is the kind of guy who always remembers to say it.
We will pack and sort and dejunk all that stuff we have meaning to go through for years and I will get a great feeling doing it.
We have time to find a house. We don't have to find a new one today.

There. I feel better.

Pride and Punks

2011-07-18T15:56:00.000-05:00

My poor homeschooled children don't really get breaks in the summer. That is usually because we had a baby in the last year/moved/saved the world or whatever it was that set us a little back. This means that mornings (or afternoons depending on the schedule) are spend doing the basics....reading and math.
Last week when I sent my oldest, Eliora, to do her reading she made a comment that it was SO EASY. Don't ever say that in front of a homeschooling momma.
I pulled down the full volume set of Jane Austen and we turned to Pride and Prejudice. Eliora is now reading it for a half hour every day and writing down every word she does not understand. Then she has to go and look up all those words in the dictionary and if she doesn't understand the definition she looks up those words.
Today her word list was;

resentment
scarcity
detest
insupportable
fastidious
uncommonly
tolerable
cordial
distinguished
gratified
inhabit
expectation
vexed

Yesterday she asked me if Grandpa was coming into town tomorrow fortnight.

Today I also had her write up a summary of what is happening so far. Below is the assignment typed out without any changes from me (well, except me making her capitolize a few letters here and there for names) -

Pride and Prejudice is a book about a family of five daughters. Everything is disrupted when Mister Bingley arrives. The daughters get to meet him at the ball where he brings his friend Mister Darcy. There Mister Bingley dances with Jane twice when he didn't with anyone else and Mister Darcy says that Lizzy is only tolerable. The punk!
Seriously, The Punk!!

A Few Fourth of July Pics

2011-07-13T13:35:00.000-05:00

Family, friends, and neighbors shucking corn

It's not BBQ here in Texas, it's grilling

Aunt Anna, Grandpa Davis, Eliora, and Paige sampling the appetizers

My awesome SIL Tiffany gave everyone gifts. Flag necklaces, bags of candy skewers and cookies, and my personal favorite - a hard plastic cup with my name with keeps drinks cool, doesn't spill, has a screw on top, and a straw that doesn't come out. I'm in heaven!

The afore mentioned amazing SIL. No wonder she's famous.

Negative

2011-07-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

The answer to the previous post is a no. I told Ben he was being mean but I think he just wanted to see how far down people actually read. It was an interesting experience though. We are in the process of trying to decide if our family is complete or not and I think this might have let us know that we are. Or at least we are for awhile. (No, we are not trying)

With the question of moving still in the air, vacation plans, baptisms, and whatnot on the horizon it was actually a bit of a relief. And yet there is always that thought of excitement right before. That moment when you consider the possibilities and wonder what other little spirit would join your home. Don't get me wrong. Ben and I are both exhausted most of the time. We wonder how we are going to pay for college funds and dental bills. We get white hairs over kidnappers, sugar overload, and whether Audrey will ever like her curly hair. But then again, each child we have had has been so interesting. I know that is not the word most people use when having kids but it's true in every regard.

I was amazed when Eliora was born. Ben and I were so young. We had no idea what we were doing and yet it brought us so much closer together. Eliora was so bright, happy, and outgoing. When we found out we were having Audrey I thought how fun it would be to have another little Eliora running around. Then she was born and was so different. Audrey was curious, a little more serious, and you could actually see her thinking. When Sadie came I remember being so excited to see what she would be like. By that time I knew how different each kid could be and I knew she would be her own little self - and she was. Our little tomboy who is fiercly in love with her Daddy. We actually had a job by the time Abbey joined us. With worries about 'can we afford dinner', and 'we have no more room' gone I thought Abbey would be a breeze, but that kid is a spitfire. Funny thing, I love her all the more for it. Now we have Hannah. At ten months I can already see the determination in her. That kid is going places.

So, there you have it. Our world of hugs and tears, ballet slippers and hair brushes. It looks like for now we will stay as we are. And I am perfectly okay with that. With each personality it is never boring around here.

Don't judge a white-trash book by its cover

2011-07-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

First, I was given permission to write this. Before you read on understand that I married a marvelous woman who enjoys rereading fancy books with phrases like "A Christmas frost had come at midsummer; a white December storm had whirled over June; ice glazed the ripe apples, drifts crushed the blowing roses; on hayfield and cornfield lay a frozen shroud: lanes which last night blushed full of flowers, to-day were pathless with untrodden snow; and the woods, which twelve hours since waved leafy and flagrant as groves between the tropics, now spread, waste, wild, and white as pine-forests in wintry Norway."
Back to English, and ten-points to whosoever can name that quote (without googling it). If you like tough trivia questions you should try http://www.agoogleaday.com/ where the questions are so hard that you are encouraged to google the answer. Love pointless side tracks...okay on with what I am suppose to be blogging about, not that I have to as I have finished school and now I can do whatever I want and don't have to do those "suppose to do" things like all those poor suckers stuck in government re-education ~~camps~~..I mean schools.
So anyways, Tonia has been getting car sick lately, which usually means another one is on the way, or I am driving like usual. So she decided for some peace of mind, that is peace not piece -no cannibal jokes, that she would run into a $0.99 store (were is the cent symbol?) and get a pregnancy test, because why not trust the knowledge of the future existence of human life to the cheapest lab test possible? She ran into the store, asked the clerk who took a look over her and then said "Aisle 6...good luck?"
As Tonia related this to me, I too looked over her and determined that buying a $0.99 pregnancy test, while not wearing a wedding ring because it got squished, with very tired eyes from dealing with sick kids, a dirty, food stained white shirts that says "Don't forget the compass because it's awkward having to eat your relatives", and multiple bruises on your arm (no idea how she got them- I think she is part banana) might give someone the impression that my sweet wife may not be the type that enjoys classical English literature. Just saying. And no I am not posting answer (please insert an maniacal laugher here).

Cracker Jacks and National Anthems

2011-06-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

June 29, 2011
Astros v. Texas Rangers
Waiting for the game to begin

Trying to get organized on the field. This group has been practicing once a week for 5 weeks now. We took a video but because we were in the nosebleed section it was hard to get a good shot. They should be posting it on youtube someday soon and then I can link it.

Dad figured they deserved icees, cracker jacks, and peanut m&ms.

Family who came last minute to watch. Not because they are last minute people but because we forgot to tell anyone. Sorry guys. Grandma and Grandpa are here too but they got better seats.

Singing the National Anthem at major sporting events seriously wears you out on the drive home.

Fashion Show

2011-06-29T14:03:00.002-05:00

Last night we picked up a bridesmaid dress that was on hold for my sister-in-law. The girls loved the dresses in the store and first thing this morning asked if we could have a fashion show with the bag of clothes a sweet woman in our ward left us.
The closest thing I had was my camera so excuse the low quality pictures!

The bridesmaid dress. Because moms have to be in fashion shows too. (Thank you Anna for letting me try it on!)

This skirt works well as is....

Or for fun can be pulled up as a top.

Skirt as a shirt? She is totally marketing this one.

Wardrobe help. Audrey decided the bow would work better on the side instead of in the back.

Abbey has to show Eliora how to strike a pose

This angle works well too.

Leopard print jacket? Check. Pink collar? Check. What else do you need for a night on the town?

More wardrobe help for Eliora.

I might veto this one. She just looks too grown up!!

Not so happy with the Justin Beiber shirt.

Abbey will take it though.

Pretty in a turquoise ruffle skirt, casual blue shirt, and a nice pair of shiny flats.

Sadie is perfect for an afternoon in the park,

or an evening of kung fu moves.

My room really was clean before all this, honest!

Extras

2011-06-27T10:36:00.001-05:00

What do you do when you have four extra kiddos at your house?

Mod Podge collages for the seven year olds

Monopoly for the older girls

Put on Kung Fu Panda for the younger three.
Then go to a friend's house so they don't mess up your own. ;)

First Steps

2011-06-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

10 months and two days old

She can get about three steps in before going down

She is awesome at balance though.

Heroes

2011-06-19T11:00:00.002-05:00

Every girl needs a hero.

Someone strong,

who helps them take that first step.

Who holds you when you're just too tired to go on.

Someone gentle,

who doesn't mind a little pink.

Every girl needs someone to help them weather the storms.

To help them take aim,

and be there when you get a little tangled up.

To encourage them in new things,

and make them smile.

To hold them when they're scared,

and give them a hug when they need it.

Every girl needs someone to lift them up when their down,

and be proud of their accomplishments.

This is our hero.
Happy Father's Day Ben

GOSSIP

2011-06-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

First official meeting of the
'Girls Organization for Secret Summer Ingenious Pursuits'
or GOSSIP for short.

Culinary Bliss

2011-06-08T00:45:00.001-05:00

I love to be in the kitchen. I love reading the cookbooks as if they were novels. I love measuring and sifting and making sure the oven is the perfect temperature. I love the smells. I love presenting my family with something I took time to give them. I love the logic of putting an exact amount of components together and knowing the end result will be something better than it's parts.

Perfect dough that has been kneaded, tested, kneaded, tested, kneaded and finally formed into the perfect ball of 80 degree suppleness

Cut a piece off and hold it up for a windowpane test. If it stretches then you are done. If it breaks roll up your sleeves and realize why our grandmothers had perfectly toned arms.

Let rise, punch down, and shape into perfect little knots. Add to the oven with a brush of eggwash for golden bites of heaven.

Add a hot seared and impeccably seasoned roast to a device which will spend the next 12 hours turning it into a mouth watering bit of deliciousness. Add potatoes, carrots, onions, and broth which will then combine to make the world's perfect gravy.

Swirl your own cobbler topping (no bisquick please) complete with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Set topping over bing cherries or blueberries that ooze into divine scrumptiousness. Serve with homemade fresh whipped cream or plain vanilla ice cream.

Then turn around and realize that your older children have given the extra blueberries to the 9 month old. Take a deep breath, put the clothing in vinegar (works like a charm), and enjoy a drink before dinner.

Railroad Tracks and Morals

2011-06-02T10:18:00.003-05:00

Once a week our family does something called Family Home Evening. Typically this includes a song, prayer, scripture, lesson or activity, and dessert. Most everyone I know has something like this to help them decide who does what -

We don't have that. We decide on the spot. They also tend to have cute little crafty type items to assist with the lessons.

We don't have one of those either.
After a tranquil evening of good morals given from parents other families retire to the kitchen where something like this has been prepared in advance,

Sometimes I dream of desserts like this.

In our house we occasionally attempt the above. Most FHE nights however goes a little more like last week.
5:00pm - Mom remembers that we need to do family home evening. She wants to get an early start so the kids can go to bed at an early hour.

5:30pm - Mom gets out older daughter's Faith in God booklet and decides to review it with all her children. We all decide we need to be better about morning prayers.

5:35pm - Mom remembers having a prayer rock as a child and decides this would be a good activity. (She probably got it from a great family home evening she had while growing up)

5:40pm - Mom knows the next door neighbor has great decorative rocks around his tree in front. They are the perfect size and smooth. She tells the kids to run next door and pick a rock. She figures they can paint them while she fixes dinner.

5:45pm - Oldest daughter approaches mom and with trepedation tell her she cannot pick a rock because it would be stealing. Mom tries to explain that the neighbor is nice and we will replace the rocks tomorrow.

5:50pm - Oldest daughter comes into kitchen crying. She went up to pray about it and felt like it would not be right to take the rocks since neighbor is not home and we can't ask.

6:00pm - Dad comes home to children piling in car and no dinner

6:15pm - Mom and Dad learn that local nursery with decorative rocks is closed. No matter, Dad is a geologist and can find good rocks. We pull through Chik-Fil-A for dinner.

7:30pm - Dad decides that all rivers in our area consist of nothing but mud. All other adequate rocks are on other's property

8:00 pm - Dad discovers rocks along railroad tracks

8:30pm - Kids fall asleep on the way home

Oh yeah, we have good family home evenings.

Why I Smell Like Deviled Eggs

2011-05-31T10:29:00.001-05:00

     A long time ago I took a psychology class that said happiness lies in balance. It is like the wheels on a car. If one is flat then the ride is not nearly as smooth. Since I tend to be a visual kind of person the image stuck. According to the professor the four wheels represented our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical selves. We always have to be giving a little to each.
     The spiritual in most people's lives are filled by church, meditation, and self reflection. Check. I go to church, I self reflect (mostly to my husband while he is trying to go to sleep) and I meditate (mostly in the car while my children are talking to me).
     The mental is hopefully filled by our vocations and hobbies. Check. I learn something new from my kids every day. I also like to read.
     The emotional is filled by our relationships with others. Check. Amazing husband, great friends, awesome family.
     The physical is how we view our bodies. Notice I said view. This is increased by working out, eating right, wearing nice clothes, and basically taking care of ourselves. Cheeeeee.......wait. I do run after kids all day. I am not still in sweats when my husband comes home, I did take a multivitamin in order to offset the leftover angel food cake I had for breakfast. But you know lately I have been feeling a little less than pretty. Go ahead and laugh guys, this is a big deal for a girl. Especially when you hit that point after having a kid where you feel that the 'I have a newborn' excuse is no longer valid. I was starting to feel like that particular wheel needed a little more air.
     This would explain why one early morning my daughter, Audrey, walked in the bathroom with a slightly wrinkled nose. She wanted to know what smelled like eggs. I told her that it did not smell like eggs, it smelled like apple cider vinegar. I do put vinegar in my deviled eggs so I could understand the confusion. I told her mom needed to start feeling pretty again. Apparently apple cider vinegar is a natural toner. It must be true because I read it on an internet site once with some very official looking pictures. The same site had also told me that baking soda was an excellent facial scrub.
    Audrey watched me finish my scrub and start to apply my 'toner'. Those of you who have taken chemisty 101 may now have their laugh. Yes, baking soda and vinegar. Turns out that even if you wash off the baking soda it can still cause a reaction. Audrey looked at me like I was nuts and walked out.
     I might keep it up though. Afterall, I do remember that site looking pretty official and nothing says pretty like walking around all day smelling like deviled eggs.

What Do You Do All Day?

2011-05-23T15:17:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine posted this on facebook. I read it, laughed, nearly cried, and decided to write my own response.
Dear Tacoma,
You wonder what I do all day. Sometimes I wonder myself. Well, let's review.
This morning I woke up to my alarm clock. She is nine months old and tends to go off earlier than I set her for. She also requires extra substance every few hours to keep working. I gave it to her and waited for her to reach snooze mode. Then I tried to lay down for my extra '15' but my second alarm went off. She is five and wanted the cookies we had made the previous night. Her owner's manual specifically said no refined sugar before 7am but seeing as how I am horrible at reading directions I allowed it in the hope of at least 5 more uninteruppted minutes. This was when my third alarm went off. (Yes, I have quite a few. I don't jump out of bed as easily as I use to). This alarm is the seven year old model. She has an established routine. She knows what to do in the morning. She still likes to ask though. I give up the sleep and try to hit a shower before the snooze button wakes up. While in the shower there is a constant pounding on the door. I turn the water to hot and try to ignore it. While stepping out of the shower I realize that the pounding has ceased. This actually worries me. I grab the nearest towel which happens to have a hood, doesn't fit, and makes me look like a butterfly - literally. Turns out the three year old alarm has woken. She was pounding to see if she could have some cereal. Seven year old is actually at the table pouring cereal and telling her to come eat but she needs me to verify the idea. She stopped pounding because the nine month old has awoken. I ask in a loud voice where my nine year old is. I recall that she is usually the most reliable. She is still asleep. The seven year old informs me that she stayed up late last night reading comic books under her covers. I do a quick change and brush my teeth while holding the nine month old. Grabbing the toothbrush is her favorite game. I look in the mirror and decide that the make-up game is over-rated.

Breakfast is an easier affair. They all are sitting, someone has remembered to feed the dog, we pray, they all are helping. I am feeding the nine month old who is hungry again. I try to grab bites in between. The nine year old finishes first and reads scriptures. I send them all to the bathroom to brush their teeth. The five and three year old need help. We brush hair and change diapers....again. I start the dishes while the older girls start their math work but have to stop when the three year old informs me she has had an accident in the bathroom. I stop to disinfect, throw her in a mini-bath, change clothes etc. When I am done I realize the others have stopped their math for a game of octopus in the living room. By now it is time for their kung fu class. The older girls change. We climb in the car and make it on time. While watching the older girls I struggle to go over the alphabet with the three and five year old while keeping the nine month old from crawling onto the mat and keeping up a civilized conversation with the woman sitting next to me. I notice she has make-up on.

After class is over they are claiming starvation. I load them up and we hit the five buck pizza joint and try to eat in the car. Then we head over to sign them up for a summer camp their friends are attending. I am hoping this will stop them from feeling unsocialized. I realize the camp is in a country club. There is a sign over the door that reads, 'proper attire required'. My kids have pizza sauce on their faces and are wearing kung fu clothes and flip flops. I wipe off the sauce with a wet wipe. There is no one there. A lady upstairs comes down and tries to tell me in spanish that children are not allowed. I wave my hands to show I don't understand. She gets a gentleman who lets me know that the summer sign up is in the building across the parking lot, next to the swimming pool, behind the tennis courts. I let him know that next year they should have a feature that lets people sign up online.

After the sign up is complete and my pocketbook is feeling lighter (notice how one check will do that?) I head home. I tell the girls they must all bring in three things from the car. When the babyseat is removed, the three year old unbuckled, and the seats let down for the older girls to climb out I recall that I was going to hit the grocery store on the way home. Oh well.

The girls change and we finish the math lesson and do a quick reading review. I am doing this while nursing the baby . Then I go in to make them a spinach multi-vitamin smoothie hoping it will negate the cookies and cheap pizza. They are good kids so they drink it. I lay the baby down for a nap then send the older girls to do their separate reading and start going over numbers with the younger ones. They are bouncing up every time they say a number. This is great until one of them knocks the other over and gives her a huge bump. I get the ice. The baby starts screaming from the other room.

And that is where I am at in my day. Sitting here nursing the baby again and hoping and knowing it will not make her finish her nap. The younger ones are watching a movie (one applying the ice) and I can hear a sound from upstairs that means at least one older child is not reading. It is 3pm. I realize I have not started the dishwasher after the interupption and I never made it the store which means there is not a lot to eat. The five year old has her class at 4:30, and its Monday so I have a family home evening to plan and dessert to make.

Does this mean my life is harder than yours? No. You have deadlines, office politics, and a whole slew of things I know nothing about. It simply means that our lives are different. Right now I commend you for 'getting it all done,' mostly because I know that someday you won't be able to. Whether it is a new harder job, a boyfriend, the loss of someone you love or perhaps kids of your own. I hope when that time comes you have a good friend who understands that a 'no call' does not mean you don't care.

Sincerely,
Mother of Five

Found a Good Quote

2011-05-22T16:48:00.002-05:00

"If man will not recognize the inequalities around him and voluntarily, through the gospel plan, come to the aid of his brother, he will find that through ‘a democratic process’ he will be forced to come to the aid of his brother. The government will take from the ‘haves’ and give to the ‘have nots.’ Both have lost their freedom. Those who ‘have,’ lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire. Those who ‘have not,’ lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got ‘something for nothing,’ and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift."

Howard W. Hunter
14th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Florida Day Three

2011-05-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

We decided to take a break from the sun, surf, and waves and went to the carnival on the beach. The girls loved the balloon ride but my favorite was the ferris wheel. Nothing like being up high and looking out over the ocean.

There were a lot of animals topiaries that the girls want to incorporate into our yard.

We also discovered that there was a biker rally going on that weekend. This meant a little more traffic the whole time we were there but also a lot of cool bikes to look at, burly guys to wave at, and loud vrrrrmmm noises for Ben.

We had pizza at a healthy place beside the beach. They had gluten free stuff. Made us think of Bregelle. Abbey liked the cheese.

Looking cool in Florida.

After a full day of walking around town, carnival rides, and motorcycles we decided to walk down to the beach at sunset. Not the best pic of me but the atmosphere was beautiful. We also discovered little white crabs that come out everywhere once the sun goes down.

Enjoying the gourmet popcorn we bought earlier.

Audrey wasn't as keen on the local fare Ben picked up at the grocery store.

They all went for the fudge though. Spent the night watching movies, painting toenails, and falling asleep in a big jumble on the fold out bed downstairs.

Florida Day Two

2011-05-09T16:53:00.001-05:00

Sadie on the left, Abbey on the right

Abbey, Eliora, and Sadie

Eliora at nine years old.

Audrey - age seven

Abbey at three

It was a double red flag day at the beach which means we let the kids play in the surf and sand but wouldn't let them venture out far. When they got a bit tired we went back to the house for lunch and then hit the pool.

The house we rented. The girls liked the name.

One of the three bedrooms.

Florida, Day One

2011-05-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

After ten hours of driving through tornado warning thundershowers we finally stopped in Destin Florida and stopped for dinner. This is Fudpuckers, a place recommended by a friend of Bens. Don't pronounce it wrong.

The best part was dessert.

We got two of these babies. Key lime ice cream with graham cracker crust bottom and lots of whipped cream.

The restaurant had alligators living underneath that you could feed with fishing poles.

And of course, you could get a big hug from your large friend.

Good thing we got two.

Panama City Florida

2011-05-04T00:30:00.000-05:00

Sometime in the next few weeks I will hopefully post A LOT of pictures of Florida. I tried posting more than two tonight but the upload is taking forever and I have to get to bed. Basically the vacation was beautiful and serene and fun which means that I now get to sit down and organize over 500 pics and about 20 videos. Luckily Ben bought me a movie maker for Christmas so we can stick it all on a DVD and have it be a bit more interesting for future viewing. In the meantime here is a sneak peak....

This was our beach. Never really saw anyone else there.

Seriously, this water is not photoshopped.

Hannah

2011-04-26T00:42:00.000-05:00

Since last posting we have been to scout fairs, done Easter hunts, visited relatives, written short stories, and who knows what else. Mostly though we have been occupied with this little one. Eight months of crawling, moving, curiousity. The kid never sits still.

Life Is An Exciting Business

2011-04-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted as much this week but new and exciting things have been going on. The best was the arrival of our new nephew, Tristan Garn Tew. Ben's sister Anna conveniently waited eight days over her due date to have him on a day when everyone was together for dinner. We all thought it was very obliging of her. Poor girl had a HARD labor but look how beautiful he is!!

Jeff, our new daddy, is pretty happy about it too. 7pds. 9 oz of thumb sucking cuteness.

The girls also had their voice recital. I have been trying to load the video for about 4 days now but am having problems. Hopefully one of these days we will get the matter sorted out and you can all hear their melodious voices. Audrey was snazzy and smashing singing Cruella DeVil

Eliora made her own apron out of a pillowcase in order to look like the humble, meek, and beautiful Cinderella singing 'In My Own Little Corner'. Next stop - broadway!!

We also had pet show at our house this week (although the pictures are still on the camera). We had six contentestants; three dogs, one guinea pig, a bearded dragon, and a regular dragon. (We allow mythical creatures at our pet shows). Each family had to get up, tell us about their pet, and present anything interesting about them. Our beagle Sushi won the award for best tricks. She played dead, sat, shook paws, begged, and tried to roll over but got a little over excited.

School work all this past week has been laid back. Reading in the sunshine, math worksheets, and beginning cross-stitching. Finished works will be posted sometime in the next few weeks!

A Trip to the Zoo

2011-04-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were at Hancock Fabrics bright and early shopping for red sequined material for Audrey and her outfit for voice class when I got a phone call,

me: Hello (fumbling as I try to balance the baby and the phone)
friend: Hey! It is so nice today. Want to ditch homeschool and go to the zoo?
me: Ummm, sounds like fun but let me call you back
friend: Okay, I'm leaving in a half hour.

I looked at my 5 children. It was 9:30am and we were dressed, ready, and were running errands so that I could do a FULL day of homeschool plus clean the house because basically the rest of the week is already gone to other obligations. But then I looked outside. It was a pretty day.

Entering the new Africa exhibit

A favorite of Audrey's has always been the red panda. They were pretty active today!

Can you see the face of the koolookamba?

waiting for lunch

Bueschner State Park (a little late)

2011-04-05T19:51:00.001-05:00

Day one at Bueschner State Park. We got in around 2pm after an hour and a half drive, had some help from a fellow homeschool Dad setting up the tent, explored a little and got dinner going. Campbell's pop top beef stew. Loving the new gas stove Ben bought.

The traditional roasting of the marshmallows. We were going to stay two nights but ended up only staying the one. Good thing we did the marshmallows the first night. Night two we left right as it got dark and drove home in a thunderstorm. My favorite part of these campouts is putting the kids to bed, sneaking back over to the fire and sitting up with hot chocolate and twizzlers until 2am talking to the other adults.

I found Audrey this way when I came back to the tent. She is sitting up with the pillow in her lap and curled over. Hey, however you can get comfortable!

Only a three year old can get this dirty. This was after a three mile hike, skipping stones on the lake, looking for caterpillars and bugs to put in buckets, and playing on the playground. It cracks me up that they have a playground.

Believe it or not there is a kid under there. This is the only visible part though.

Field Trip Friday, by Eliora

2011-04-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I went to the museum with my friend Brandon to look at the minerals. We read comic books on the way up.

This is the jewerly we looked at.

This gem was clear. I had a list of minerals I had to find but have lost it and can't remember all the names now. Guess we have to go back now!

This is silver

I like this one because it is two gems in one.

Try to say this word

This is a saphire and a ruby

I like this [oh what should i call it] rock because of its green and white gems.

I like this picture because it is pretty

I like this one because its just beautiful and I think it looks like a star.

This is gold.

cubes

I think Mrs. Horst likes this one the best she says it looks like watermelon

we were bored on the way back so we messed around with the camera acting like we were smacking each other.

Simplicity

2011-04-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy week. Eliora had a field trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, I took five kids camping out at Bueschner State Park with a lot of homeschoolers and no hubby, we cleaned out our garage, went to a baptism, and tried to stream conference while cleaning our office.

This evening Ben came out dressed for priesthood. Not sure how but I had completely forgotten about it. I really didn't want him to go. I wasn't complaining about it but I wanted him to stay. I wanted help with the kids. I wanted some quiet time while he read to them tonight. But at six fifty he was out the door.

That was when Audrey took baby Hannah outside in her push chair and sang songs to her while swinging (Hannah loves to watch them swing). No one asked her to do it.
Eliora took Sadie upstairs and showed her how to make a bookmark with fabric. I had no idea what they were even doing until they came down with the finished product.
Abbey helped me tear basil for linguine pasta while singing me songs.
When I called that dinner was almost ready they all came in and helped clear the table, set the dishes, and get the little ones served up. I never had to tell them. We sat and Audrey sang us the song she had made up while being outside. Eliora helped Sadie show us her bookmark. We decided the leftover chocolate cake was in order for dessert. Everyone helped rinse dishes and we went outside to enjoy it. No one whined when I said it was time for bed.

I wouldn't have traded tonight for all the quiet time in the world.

April Fools

2011-04-01T00:27:00.000-05:00

Google 'best april fool's day hoaxes'. Some are pretty dang funny. Here is a favorite,

1915: On April 1, 1915, in the midst of World War I, a French aviator flew over a German camp and dropped what appeared to be a huge bomb. The German soldiers immediately scattered in all directions, but no explosion followed. After some time, the soldiers crept back and gingerly approached the bomb. They discovered it was actually a large football with a note tied to it that read, "April Fool!"

Here's another good one,

1980: Soldier magazine revealed that the fur on the bearskin helmets worn by the Irish guards while on duty at Buckingham Palace keeps growing and needs to be regularly trimmed:

The most hair-raising fact about the bearskins has been discovered by scientists recently. The skins retain an original hormone, which lives on after the animal has been skinned. Scientists call it otiose and it is hoped it can be put to use in medical research — especially into baldness.
The article quoted Maj. Ursa who noted, "Bears hibernate in the winter and the amazing thing is that in the spring the skins really start to sprout." An accompanying photo showed Guardsmen sitting in an army barbershop having their helmets trimmed. The story was picked up by the London Daily Express and run as a straight story.

And one more for good measure,

On April Fools Day in 1957 "Panorama", a news show on BBC aired footage of Swiss "Spaghetti Farmers" picking spaghetti from trees. The fake footage was aired as a joke, but viewers called in to find out how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. Instead of coming clean, the BBC cheekily replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

Saturday at Galveston

2011-03-31T01:36:00.002-05:00

Discovering the cuteness of baby sea turtles

meeting sea lions

adding to murals

spending time with Aunt Anna

And visiting the beach

Overheard Movie Conversation

2011-03-24T12:22:00.001-05:00

My brother Ryan does special effects for movies. He posted this on facebook and I thought it was funny.
These are actual conversations he has heard on set. I have been there a few times and he is not making this stuff up.

Setting: Laying out the position of the stunt drivers on a stunt vehicle we are building

Coordinator: It's looking good, except this seat is too far back. It won't allow for the accumulator tanks to fit behind. We'll have to move it forward.

Designer: If we move it any further forward it won't allow for the stunt drivers legs, it's got to stay where it is.

Coordinator: Just find a stunt driver with no legs... There's got to be a few of them out there.

Designer: I guess that could work, but before we commit to it I want to make sure that we have a guy

Coordinator: What are you looking at me like that for? At least I'm not a Producer, he'd be telling you to cut his legs off!

A little later in the conversation...

Designer: The other problem is he sits too tall, we can't have his head higher than 35".

Coordinator: Can't we just lay his seat further back so he's driving from more of a laying position?

Designer: The problem with that is it places his head right next to the half axle. If that half axle breaks, it's going through his head.

Coordinator: So just install an advil dispenser, or find me a legless midget to drive this thing. Either way, get it done!

Setting: Scout of a finished and dressed set with the director and dept. keys.

Director: Those fish aren't bright enough. I need them to pop!

Art Dept: The script called for an aquarium full of piranha, so that's what
we got.

Director: That's great, they just aren't bright enough colors. Can we put
some brighter fish in with them?

Art Dept: They are piranha, I'm afraid they will eat anything else we
place in the tank.

Director: Look, they need to pop! They need to be brighter! Can we glue some glitter to them or something?

-pause-

Art Dept: Sorry sir, they are rentals.

Setting: We've rigged flammable fluid to drip through a flame, and pass
through camera frame while on fire.

Director of Photography (DP): That looks great, but it's too fast. Can you
make the drip fall slower?

FX: silence...
FX: um, no
(Werner quietly mutters in the background, Sure, let me just through this
huge switch that reverses the laws of physics)

DP: What if we thicken up the drip, use rubber cement or something?

FX: the drip will still fall at the same speed.
some ranting and raving ensues, followed by camera adjusting the camera speed to catch the flamming drip falling slower.

.

Through the window

2011-03-23T08:20:00.001-05:00

Two days ago I looked through the window and saw this

All by herself, enjoying the sunshine

It's just that kind of weather people

Yesterday she spent most of the day on the new swing and smelling the newly planted flower pots

While my other kids spent the day inside spring cleaning.

Family Home Evening

2011-03-21T23:39:00.001-05:00

Have I ever mentioned that I own a book called Scripture Study? Mine is the Book of Mormon version but I'm pretty sure there is an Old and New Testament one out there somewhere. Basically I love this book. It explains all the parts of the scriptures that I basically don't get plus has cool quotes and activities. It is perfect for morning readings and family home evenings and since today was a little crazy I flipped it open to Alma Ch. 12

This is the girls after reading how we are judged by our words, works, and thoughts. We decided that thoughts are the hardest to control and sometimes there are sneaky little ones that get in our brains without us knowing. We started the night with a clear glass of water to represent our brains but added food coloring for all those thoughts we see and hear but don't mean to, such as magazine covers in grocery stores where the people are immodest.

Then we read a quote by a Bishop Peterson who said the way to get those thoughts out are by praying morning and night, doing daily scripture study, doing one kind act a day, and working on one commandment we are not so good at. With each good thing we added a drop of bleach to our watery brain and presto! we were clean again.

We then decided to make a goal to do each of those things. Our commandment we will be working on as a family is the sabbath day - or in other words trying to get to church on time with every child actually wearing their shoes.

Field Trip Weekends

2011-03-21T09:37:00.001-05:00

Spring is here and it was just too beautiful to stay home. Our weekend actually started a little early. Thursday night was corned beef and cabbage, green mashed potatoes, irish stew, soda bread, apple cake, and lime green sherbet drinks. Friday Ben had off and we needed to work off dinner so it was into the car and off to Palmetto State Park.

Audrey shows off why it's called Palmetto

Ben discovers a dragon on the walk and gets his sword ready to charge!

Good thing it turns out to be a petrified dragon.

After a mile and a half the girls were getting a little hot and tired so we started 'tracking' each other. Ben would take two or three and the rest of us would count to 120 and then track them. The ones he took would leave a hat in the tree or sticks shaped like arrows.

We then found an old swingset to cool us off.

It included the slide of death. You remember these from your childhood. Long, steep, solid hot metal ending in gravel. Kids today have it easy.
We then rented a paddleboat and explored the lake. Ben and I took turns on shore with Hannah talking to Doug, the paddleboat guy. He and his wife are retired and keep a house in Wisconsin. Every year they pick a different state park to volunteer at, load the RV, and disappear for 6-9 months.
A day like this wouldn't be complete without some Texas BBQ and we decided to try out the famous Blacks in Lockhart. Personally I thought they were a little overpriced and Ben's brisket tastes better.

This is how you know it's been a good day. We did put her in her carseat after watching her crawl in Eliora's seat, buckle, and immediately fall asleep.
Saturday dawned and since we had done a few hours of housekeeping we decided we were justified in joining some friends for a day of strawberry picking.

Can Hannah get cuter than this?

Lost in the strawberry fields

We even found a patch of bluebonnets.

The day of course had to end with another attempt at Texas BBQ. This place is not famous, half the price, and had AMAZING pulled pork and sides.

Eliora anticipating the strawberry peach pie we were going to make for Sunday night's dinner.

Part Two

2011-03-16T09:41:00.003-05:00

Tuesday (Part Two)
Montessori style spelling test (in the salt) for Audrey and out loud spelling bee style test for Eliora, voice class practice followed by;

Grading math papers (holey jeans are in right now for SAHM ;)

Correcting the problems they got wrong on their math papers

Reciting 'The Land of Nod' for Language Arts

Trying to find shamrocks in our Texas habitat

journal writing

About that time the baby is hungry again so mom retreats to the bedroom to read something above a 4th grade reading level, the girls run out the trampoline, and Dad comes home to a slightly messy house. Curry and teriyaki chicken for dinner and Dad reads them a chapter of Holes while mom cleans the kitchen. Then it is a cup of tea, an episode of Monk and off to bed.....at last!

Daily Schedules Part One

2011-03-15T15:12:00.003-05:00

Woke up a little late this morning. It helps if I get up and dressed before the kids but that doesn't always happen, which is okay. Sometimes it's more fun if we are all in our PJ's. First we do scripture reading. We are still working our way through Alma. Then we sing a Primary song we are learning and go over an article of faith. Eliora is marking them off for Activity Days and we are currently on number seven. It's fun trying to explain the meanings of them. Sometimes I realize I don't fully know. For instance why does number seven say 'the gift of tongues' and then later say 'interpretation of tongues'. Eliora wanted to know why that wasn't the same thing. We usually end by singing the theme song from Little Einsteins simply because Abbey has been begging for it all through scripture study.

Sometimes we are a little grumpy since we missed saying bye to Dad.

Hannah's favorite toy while her sisters are dragging themselves out of bed. She holds onto the antennaes of the ladybug pillow pet. Then she eats them.

After scripture study we either get into our Kung Fu uniforms (Mon. and Wed.) or get into gym clothes to practice for the Physical Fitness award. Sometimes we just get dressed and take Sushi for a walk. This morning the girl's opted for Kung Fu workouts despite the fact that class is not today. I turned on an exercise video and they followed along where they could. When they got bored they taught each other ballet Kung Fu (their own personal mixture).

Then it's a breakfast of oranges, smoothies, and cereal. The girls have to change into regular clothes, make beds, bring down laundry, brush teeth and all that fun stuff.

Our special smoothies of spinach, Greek yogurt, blueberries, bananas, orange juice, and water.

This is about the time that I finally get ready for the day while Eliora does her hour reading and Audrey goes over her sight words for spelling. Abbey and Sadie watch a shapes and colors video and I switch laundry and start some dishes that didn't get done last night. Then Eliora switches to Language Arts and spelling while Audrey reads for a half hour. Hannah goes down for a nap and believe it or not it's lunch time.

corn meal waffles with chili

Pointing out Ireland

Hard to get Abbey to change out of her ballet clothes

During lunch we tape up the map and go over the seven continents and four oceans. We talk about Japan and the earthquake and point it out. Then, because it's St. Patrick's Day on Thursday we point out Ireland and review what the difference between an island and peninsula are. We read some books checked out from the library yesterday about St. Patrick, the traditions of Ireland, a storybook about a girl who moved to New York during the potato famine, and a picture book about a leprechaun. Then we go to the computer to read a few limericks, learn the rules, and make up a few of our own.

There was a grasshopper called Fred

Who snuggled down deep in a bed

A girl came to lay

but had much to say

When the hopper got caught on her head

by Eliora and Audrey Davis with the help of their mom

There once was a kid named Ted

He was once very red

Then his pet died and now he is blue

And his name now is boo-hoo

And now he just lies in his bed

by Eliora Davis (without help)

There once was a boy from Prague

Who said he was scared of the fog

He went in to tea

but instead played the wii

And never came out with his dog

by Audrey Davis (once her mom told her Prague was a place that rhymed with fog)

There once was a kid and a cheetah

Who ate nothing but pita

Because bread is healthy

And I am so wealthy

I'll name all the pita bread keetah

by Sadie Davis (with a little help from mom)

After limericks we squeeze in a math lesson and go over the alphabet with Sadie and Abbey. About this time Hannah wakes up hungry so the older girls go upstairs to work on math worksheets and Sadie and Abbey get break time to play. While nursing the baby I check e-mails and update the blog. Tune in later for part two of our homeschool day!

Daddy Daughter Dates

2011-03-15T10:30:00.001-05:00

My girls love daddy daughter dates. I'm with them 24/7 but every couple of weeks something comes up and they get to go with just their Dad.

Take me out to the ball game....

Abbey running back to mom after a daughter date walk

Sometimes the two older ones get to go together

These can be as simple as a trip to the hardware store or a walk two blocks away to the ice cream shop. Sometimes they are out to a movie, a nice dinner, or a sporting event. Sometimes they dress up and get all ready. He opens their door, lets them pick the music on the radio, or just listens to them talk.

Going to the movie Tron with the neighbors
(Eliora had Activity Days that night)

Eliora has been to a hockey game, Audrey has been to the movies, Sadie loves the ice cream dates, and Abbey just loves riding in the truck. Sometimes it's a phone call on the way home from work asking which one needs some alone time. I get their shoes, sneak them out the front door and they jump in the truck as Dad drives by. It might just be for 5 minutes as he drops something off for his church calling or gives the missionaries a ride but somehow it's special when it is with Dad.

Favorite Sibling

2011-03-11T09:24:00.000-06:00

Today this is my favorite sibling. He is funny and smart and a good listener. He is good at empathy. He is good at making you laugh at yourself. He is nice when you wake him up from a nap to tell him you are bored. He deals with a lot and never really complains. He is always the life of the party. He lets my kids talk to him on the phone even when he can't really understand what they are saying. He lets them call him Uncle Bob.

We use to ditch classes together. We ate lunch together and had friends in common. He would take me out when a boyfriend dumped me. He was the one who made sure my husband showed up at the altar and had a Tylenol and a safety pin ready at my reception. These days he calls me on his way home from work and listens to all my petty woes while I cook dinner.

Happy birthday Dustin and thanks. You have always been there when I needed you.

Kung Fu and Popper's Penguins

2011-03-11T09:09:00.001-06:00

We tried to get our little Longhorn into ballet

But her favorite movie is Kung Fu Panda

She has been asking to quit ballet since the first class started. She is stinkin cute in her uniform!

For book club we read Mr. Popper's Penguins. We were in charge this time. Did you know the book, by the Atwaters, was written in 1938? It is the story of a man who has lived his whole life in one place but always wanted to travel. He writes to an antactic explorer who in return sends him a penguin. Then the adventures begin. Since the book is older than ones we normally read we did a timeline of stuff invented and happening from 1900 to 2011. The kids had to pull the stuff out of a pack and put it where they thought it would go (before or after the book). Some of it surprised them! The one that got me was youtube. It has only been around since 2005. What did we do without it?

We were also in charge of the snack. We dipped double stuffed oreos in chocolate and either made them look like penguins or added a swedish fish

The girls did them all by themselves. I only showed them the pic of what it needed to look like. I think they did pretty good!

confessions of a suburban homeschooling mormon mom

2011-03-06T18:22:00.001-06:00

Thursday my house was a disaster. We have had so much laundry lately and keep dumping piles of stuff upstairs and out of sight. Ben called and said he decided to take a half day off to come home, help with the kids, and do a little yard work while I cleaned up. While he was out mulching I was going to clean but he needed a little help and Hannah got hungry and then....I don't remember what happened but I know cleaning didn't end up being on the agenda.

Friday Ben had off as well but there was a buddy that called who had bought a cool mustang he wanted to look at plus he had to get ready for a field trip he was leaving to go on (I think only geologists still get field trips after graduating school) and I had to get ready for a baby shower I was co-hosting on Saturday and I really was going to clean up for the babysitter on Saturday but I figured I could always wake up early and do it so it didn't happen.

Saturday dawned early and I was totally going to be in cleaning mode until the cousins called to say I should just bring the kiddos to the baby shower and so I cancelled the babysitter and if she wasn't coming then I could totally do it later....right?
Saturday I was going to come home early and clean but we stayed a little longer and once I got home I was kinda tired and so didn't.

And so here it is Sunday at 6:06 pm and the house is still a total disaster.
Now, as a suburbanite I should have a pristine yard with a white picket fence and an alphabatized pantry. As a homeschooler I should have color coded organized files for every piece of paperwork and art project out there. As a mormon mom I really should have the floors swept, children bathed, laundry done, and a crockpot meal ready for Sunday dinner.
However, we do have chocolate left over from the baby shower (I am not above bribery), frozen pizza, a moveable laptop that can play movies or music as background noise, and a hubby that does not come home until tomorrow, plus a few daughters who are very understanding.
Ladies, we are pulling an all nighter. Pictures of pristine pantries and organized schoolwork will be posted in the morning.....if the baby doesn't get hungry ;)

Bio

2011-03-03T10:21:00.001-06:00

My Relief Society Group spotlights someone once a month so we can all get to know each other. This month I had to do a brief write up of myself. Always fun to pick out which details you want others to know about you. Anyhow, since major homeschool projects are on hold while we withstand the ebbing tides of germs in the house I thought I would post this for fun. Since we didn't have a full family pic with the newborn that I didn't look like a dork in I put these two pics with it as well.

Hi! My name is Tonia and my family and I have lived in the Nottingham Country ward for almost 3 years. I was born in Utah but my family moved in with my grandparents in Southern California when I was 6. I then spent 11 years at the beach, raising bees in the backyard, and visiting the Hollywood movie lots my Dad did special effects for. In high school we decided to brave the cold and moved back up to Utah. I traded rollerblading for hiking and camping and loved the autumn colors and big bonfires up the canyons. I also did cross country running and graduated as the first Senior class in a new high school called Lone Peak. Having too many different ideas about what career I wanted I decided to get the basics out of the way at Utah Valley State College (which I'm pretty sure is called something else now).

While working a full time job at Borders Books and Music and attending school I had most of my big life plans altered by one skinny returned missionary from Texas in worn out shoes and 70's jeans. Ben Davis and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 2000 and immediately took all our hard earned savings out in order to ditch school for a semester and backpack Europe. (Highly recommended).

We then returned eight countries later to live with his parents in Texas to save up money again for school. We then returned to Utah and both went to the University of Utah (sorry BYU fans), worked, had two daughters, lived in the tiniest of apartments, and had a blast. In 2004 Ben got his undergrad in geology and was accepted at the University of Texas in Austin. We packed up our things, traded our red shirts for burnt orange and moved into another tiny apartment on the hottest day of the year.
Austin was quite a culture shock for me but after getting use to big bugs, ants that bite, and sweating while you run I had a great time being a graduate widow with the other stay at home moms of student life. On the rare occasion we did see Ben we spent the time at the many music and art festivals, taking trips to the San Antonio Zoo, and getting lectured on why the alamo was the greatest historical event of all time. After three years I agreed with it all and to prove it had another little girl who could officially declare herself a Texan.
While I could have stayed in Austin for years to come our life was altered again when Ben graduated with a Master's in Geology and accepted a job offer in Houston Texas. We moved to The Woodlands for a year, had another daughter, and finally decided to do a very adult thing and buy a house in Katy, Texas. Perhaps through all of this I read Pride and Prejudice one too many times because six months ago we decided to seal our fate as the Bennet family and have a fifth daughter who hopefully will turn out nothing like Miss Lydia Bennet.

Now that life has gotten a little less mobile I spend a lot of time devising lesson plans for my homeschooled children, trying to cook spectacular and interesting food, trying to lose wieght from the spectacular food, reading, attempting to write on our blog, and attempting to keep a clean house. Both my husband and I love to get together with friends for geocaching, potlucks, and football games so if anyone is ever interested give us a call!

105.1

2011-03-02T09:34:00.000-06:00

No, the title is not my favorite rock station or the coolest band since 98 degrees. It is the temperature Eliora hit yesterday afternoon. What with all the kids being sick constantly since Christmas and all the other stuff going on I wanted to dedicate this post to the one thing in my life I can hold onto, trust, and love. The one thing that gets me through the sleepless nights......

Dear Washing Machine,
     I wanted to write and say thank you for your loyal and dedicated service through the past few weeks. I know you must often feel unappreciated as your water slushes in a continual cycle for twelve hours straight. Never a friendly word as you wash and rewash those same sheets, those same towels, those same clothes often twice in one day. I wanted to explain and to let you know that life would be so very different without you (I know, I've done it before).
     You see, there is a baby in the house. This baby spits up a lot. Sometimes it borders on projectile. Even with the bib and the wipes she often gets her little pants and socks. More often she gets me and I hate to smell like baby spit up. This last week she also has a cold. This means a lot of snot which she gets on her pants, her socks, and mostly on me.
     Then there is the other four children. They got sick before (you remember) and now their little immune systems keep picking up every little bug that comes their way. This month it is the flu. We try to quarantine. We try to make sure they are not eating after each other or using another's toothbrushes but somehow they keep getting sick. Then we have to wash all the sheets, and the pillow cases, and the blankets used and once they are all clean someone pukes again and the routine all starts over again.
     So you are wondering about my hubby and I. Well, besides the spit up snotty spots upon our attire we both decided to stick to that New Year's resolution and start working out. So we have been every night for a little over a week now. We do it once the kids are in bed, or at least in their rooms. Problem is that we live in Texas, which means humidity, which means you sweat. A lot.
     So there you have it. It is not that I don't love you. It is not that I don't appreciate everything you do for us. It is simply that with the business of the day I sometimes fail to express how much I rely upon you. How much I need you. How if there were ever a fire I just might get stuck trying to drag you from the house. Thank you dear washer. Life would be so much harder without you.

Sincerely,
Me

Family Home Evening

2011-03-01T09:50:00.000-06:00

Monday was a pretty typical school day. Worksheets and basics and I even managed to clean my kitchen floor (scrubbing on my knees no less). Right before Ben got home I told the girls they were in charge of family home evening and sent them upstairs to figure it out. Unfortunetly my camera is saying I have no internet access right now (it keeps having that problem) which means I can't download the pics I took with it and our other camera is still out of commission but trust me when I say they came up with something awesome.

We started the night by donning our newly made paper firemen's hats. Eliora explained that the firemen from Friday told them to go home and come up with an evacuation plan and meeting point in case of a fire. For a song we did 'Do As I'm Doing' with the stop, drop, cover face, and roll (it's changed since I was little). They then gave us fire facts and tips and I made a mental note that we needed new batteries in the smoke alarms. We learned how to see if a door is hot (back of hand, not front) and looked at exit routes. We learned that if you are on the upper story and can't get out then you should open a window and throw something soft at the firemen below to let them know you are there. Then Audrey lowered the 'smoke' she had made from the upper balcony. It was about 100 sheets of paper stapled together with the top cut to look like swirls. She had cut out a 'window' and lowered it into our living room with yarn. We had to pull our shirts up over our noses and crawl through the smoke and out the window because smoke rises and one big breathe could knock you out. At the end Eliora asked us each a question (or three) that if answered correctly awarded us with a homemade sticker of an F surrounded in water and flames. This certified that we know knew our firemen safety precedures.

If this is how they do all family nights then I think they might be the ones in charge from now on!

Field Trip Friday - The Firestation

2011-02-25T16:42:00.000-06:00

Fridays are catch up and field trip days. I was excited that today we were heading over to the Firestation to get some serious fire safety lessons. We had to skip ballet but I thought it was worth it!

Eliora asking why we have to get up so early for breakfast. Funny thing was that it's the same time we get up every morning. I just don't usually rush them through it!

They watched a fire safety video and then filled the 'house' with smoke. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face! Then they had to check the door with the backs of their hands. It was hot so out the window they climbed. Audrey was an expert (as you can see). Sadie got scared and had to be rescued by a firefighter.

Showing off the gear. As long as you can get a big enough group most firestations (plus a whole lot of other places) love to do presentations for homeschoolers. The best part is that it's free!

Pretending to be Darth Vader. Eliora commented on the way home that she was glad we had seen Star Wars so that she knew the reference. I'm not sure if she knows that there are other Star Wars beside the 80's videos but that is okay by me!

Me trying to console a crying Abbey. You have to be four to get your lungs fill of smoke and get rescued by a firefighter. Poor girl is only three. At least Hannah didn't mind!

Afterwards we met up with Ben for lunch at Clay's burger joint. They have ponies, lamas, chickens, and the like to pet and feed so your kids don't get bored waiting for the food.

A tuckered out Abbey. Little does she know that after we pick up Eliora from voice class there is a chance of going to the rodeo tonight. Hmmm, we will have to see if she is up for it before we decide to go!

The Trumpet of the Swan

2011-02-25T13:49:00.000-06:00

I am horrible about calendars. No, really. I tend to put everything into my head and then usually remember the night before. It's amazing I ever made decent grades in school. Despite the fact that we have book club every other week I still have those weeks were I look at the calendar and think, again? So soon? Then we run out and get the book, drop all other assignments and spend the whole day in our pajamas, eating popcorn, rolled up in blankets, and reading. Hmmmm, maybe I subconsciously do it on purpose ;)

This week was The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. A story of a swan without a voice. I remember reading this book as a kid and liking only certain aspects of it. I remembered the swan breaking a window to get a trumpet. I remembered him playing his trumpet in front of a swan boat and staying in a hotel. That was about it. After reading it to my kids I realized why I couldn't remember much more. I was too young when I read it. The book has a lot of passages where the cob (male swan) is making a speech and for a five year old they go on a little long. There are also a lot of little facts that sort of threw the five year old off. My seven and nine year old however loved it and got the humour. As an adult I enjoyed the antics, the problems, and the little quirks (the arithmetic lesson and the boy Applegate being two). I think John Updike reviewed it best,
"While not quite so sprightly as Stuart Little and less rich in personalities and incident than Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan has superior qualities of its own; it is the most spacious and serene of the three, the one most imbued with the author's sense of the precious instinctual heritage represented by wild nature".
So much for the review, now on to the activites. The woman hosting this week had a basket of plastic eggs that each child got to draw from. They then went around in a circle and got to break their egg and answer the question inside. She then had a 'slate board' or white construction paper glued to black construction paper with two holes punched atop and threaded with yarn. The kids took a crayon and had to write their names with their feet and put the slates over their necks. They then got to hear and see a real trumpet and each got their own little toy trumpet. They divided into swan families by answering questions; those who play a musical instrument to the left, others to the right....and so forth until they were about evenly divided. The first group would use the trumpet to call to the other group and back and forth until they were loud and hungry. Overall, the kids had a blast and I got to listen to the little tweets of toy trumpets all the way home.

Journals, Feminism, and Family

2011-02-24T13:00:00.001-06:00

     Yesterday my older kids were doing their weekly journal assignments. They get to write in their journals whenever they want but once a week I post a sentence at the top of the page they have to finish. Sentences have ranged from, 'If I could change the color of the sky I would make it.....' to 'Bears hibernate in the winter. Other facts I know about bears are.....'. Yesterday's assignment was 'When I grow up I want to be.....' When I asked my kids what they had written they both replied that they wanted to be moms when they grew up. My little warning bell went off. Without reading their entries I began a mini lecture about how they could do anything they wanted. How Dad and I wanted them to go to college and get a degree. How girls could be in the Olympics, be arquitects, doctors, astronomers....
That was about the time that I drew breathe and Eliora said, "Mom, we put other things too." Turns out Eliora wants to be a mom and work with endangered animals. Audrey wants to be a famous inventor and be a mom.
     Later that night the whole thing still kind of bothered me. Why had I responded like that? The greatest joys in my life have come from being married and having my daughters. Right before bed I picked up an article by Julie B. Beck and read,
"Evidence is all around us that the family is becoming less important. Marriage rates are declining, the age of marriage is rising, and divorce rates are rising. Out-of-wedlock births are growing. Abortion is rising and becoming increasingly legal. We see lower birth rates. We see unequal relationships between men and women, and we see cultures that still practice abuse within family relationships. Many times a career gains importance over family.
     Many of our youth are losing confidence in the institution of families. They're placing more and more value on education and less and less importance on forming an eternal family. Many don't see forming families as a faith based work. For them, it's a selection process much like shopping."
     Wow, what a crazy world my girls are growing up in. The roles are undefined. The possibilities are endless and yet the stress and strain to be everything and do everything is incredible.
     With all the craziness the world is throwing at them I would like to have a do over. The next time my girls say they would like to be a mom I want to smile. I want to tell them what it was like the first time I looked into each of their eyes, rocked them softly back to sleep at night, kissed their skinned knees. I want to explain that I chose to stay home because they were more important than anything else I could be doing. I want to let them know that their Dad also chose his profession so that we could make enough to enable me to stay home. It was important to him too. I want them to know that being a mom is one of the most unselfish and noble professions they can have. This does not mean that I will stop saving for their college funds or quit encouraging them in their interests. It just means that sometimes it is okay to have distinct roles at different times in our lives. Right now my role is to be a stay at home mom and I would consider it a great compliment if my children choose to follow the same path.

Where Did The Weekend Go

2011-02-22T16:16:00.001-06:00

Do you ever have those weekends? The ones where you have a HUGE list of stuff you need to get done but then a lot of other crazy stuff pops up and by Monday you are looking at the hurricane that swept through? We just had one of those weekends. Friday my adorable husband was off work....but still had to go to a conference downtown. Since he usually dresses in business casual I had to snap a pic in a suit...

especially with the glasses. I think he looks pretty cute in glasses. Then came sleepovers, birthday parties, a wedding, out of town friends, and babysitting. It was crazy enough that Monday we took off school to put ourselves back together (hey, it was Presiden't Day!) By this morning we awoke refreshed and ready to....

Do our sit ups, push ups, flexibility test etc. so we can get the Presidental Physical Fitness award. I think it's awesome that homeschoolers can get it.

Start reading The Trumpet of the Swan for book club Thursday. I love that she can read out loud to everyone while I do laundry.

Try desperately to occupy Hannah while doing Language Arts. My six month old has stopped taking naps. Why?

Let Sadie do her first ever, all by herself, math worksheet. She usually gets help. I love that there are sites were I can put together and print off my own worksheets.

Fall asleep. All that math wore her out.

But now we are back and picking out our favorite pictures in books.

Math on the table, math on the floor, perched like a bird, oh, what a bore!

Audrey sort of disappeared today. She wanted her assignments and then went outside to do them. She would come in for help, a lesson, or a snack, and disappear again. I should have gotten a picture of her perched on the chair in the sunshine with Sushi at her feet. I personally agree with her that there is no better way to do school.

Scheduled Homeschool Days

2011-02-18T09:11:00.002-06:00

In the past I have had our homeschool schedules down in my own lesson plan book. I open it and orchestrate the day. Lately however I have realized that a lot of the older girl's work could be getting done sooner if they knew what they were doing beforehand without having to ask. Last sick day we created the binders. Yesterday we put them to use. The one on the left is Eliora's. She opened it in the morning to to a list of subjects that needed doing and a checkbox next to each item once it was done. Worksheets were in the front, when they were finished they moved to the back for me to pull out, grade, and file. She still had to wait to do some of it with either myself or Audrey but overall I think I'm going to like the new system.

This was the history project for the day. The chapter was on the African Zulu tribes. Without written communication they used beads to send messages. Each color meant something different. An hour after the project I was presented with a beaded message and cipher asking if they could have the leftover Valentine chocolate.

We do our spelling tests in salt on baking sheets. Audrey has vastly improved since we started doing it this way. I got the idea from a mom who also has a dyslexic child. I think she got it from Montessori. Don't ever leave it unattended around a three year old!

Eliora doing her practice for voice class on my bed. What did we do before the ipod?

An hour of reading a day. Right now she is working her way through the Dragon Series by Patricia Wrede.

Audrey doing cursive practice before moving on to math worksheets.

Sick Days

2011-02-16T10:53:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty sure that at least one of my kids have been sick since Dec. 26th. It was inevitable that I would finally catch something. In truth I didn't feel well all last week. Friday night I finally felt justified by runnning a temperature. Then I felt better. By Monday though it was back to a runny nose and sore throat. Now the temperature is back. I hate being sorta sick. If its going to happen I want the all out, get in bed, tell the hubby to take off work and crash kind of sick. The kind where you feel horrible for 24 hours and then it is done. These lingering, slightly achy, stuffed head, two weeks things are not for me. So come on sickness! Just get it all over with already! My poor kiddos....they keep getting sorta sick too.

Oh well......in the meantime we have spent the last two days alternating between lighting the fire to ward off the chills from the fevers and opening all the windows when we get too hot. This is usually when we ignore the dishes, pretend the laundry isn't there, and catch up on crafty type projects.
Making binders for the kids schoolwork
I thought it might be easier to have a place where I can put the days worksheets, coloring pages, etc. so all they have to do in the morning is grab and go! Then at night I can gather the bookreports, letters, math worksheets and the like to grade and file.
We have also been collecting songs on Itunes and are on our way to purchase a docking station for the ipod. We have our classical playlist for study work, our cleaning playlist to get us going, and the girl's voiceclass playlists for practice. If anyone knows of good upbeat songs for the kids to listen to in the morning then please share them!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T21:17:00.003-06:00

It has always made me laugh that my oldest daughter calls Mother's Day 'Saint Mother's Day' but has never inserted the Saint for Valentine. Personally, I think all mothers are saints, especially after helping to fill out x number of cards, bake a scrumptious meal, and remember to pick up the dollar store box of chocolates for the kiddos and the slightly more expensive one for the hubby. Still, although we learned today that Valentine was in fact several martyrs and that the card company did in fact promote Valentine's Day as early as the Victorian Era, I still think the day is fun.

This morning I happened to wake up very tired. I had made the mistake of staying up late to finish reading a Julie Klassen book (totally worth it). I think one of my biggest dangers in homeschooling is thinking too often 'oh well, we can catch up tomorrow.' I don't mind being flexible but I have to think of teaching my kids as a job, albeit one I greatly enjoy, and if I was late to work I would get fired. So, I dragged myself out of bed and we got the day going.

After a walk with our beagle, Sushi, we went over multiplication tables, some out loud reading, and a review of our last Language Arts lesson we headed to the store in order to get ready for our rendezvous with Ben.

We met at a park near Ben's work and had a lovely meal of baguettes, raspberry cheese, salami, chocolates, little bottles of marinellis, and girl scout cookies (cause it's that time of year). Hannah got bits of bread and cheerios.

Then is was a few quick slides on the playground and back home for a lot math work. Poor kids. I have them not only doing their regular Saxon lessons but we also downloaded the last years TAKS tests and we are going through them question by question to make sure Eliora can pass for her grade at the end of the year. One of the things I actually love about homeschooling is really knowing your kids strengths and weaknesses. Poor Eliora has my brain for math. She knows it but tends to get mixed up on those pesky word problems and fractions. Meanwhile Audrey is sitting in the back rolling her eyes at us. Audrey is a bit dyslexic though and needs the help in reading.Put my oldest two together though and you could solve about any problem thrown at 'em.

And since we didn't buy the super fancy strawberries at the store we ended the day with dipping our own. We also went around the table a few times and let everyone tell one person they truly loved and why. Sadie really loves Daddy....A LOT....every time. Abbey meanwhile really loves Little Einsteins, her dolly, and Hannah when she doesn't have chicken pox.

Ben's Birthday!

2011-02-14T10:29:00.004-06:00

Ben has awesome sisters. This year he has two in particular who did awesome blog posts about him. They will make you laugh, I promise.

http://www.tewinlove.com/
http://mwvasquez.blogspot.com/

A Conundrum

2011-02-14T09:57:00.005-06:00

Question: If there is one romantic holiday, one husband's birthday, and one cute little girl's birthday all within days of each other, which one do you focus on to celebrate?
Answer: All of the above

Friday night Ben and I got a babysitter and went out on an actual date. We decided to try a new (for us) restaurant called New Orleans Seafood. Ben ordered the red beans and rice.
This place was awesome. A live band played sultry jazz complete with white suits, green guitar strings, and an old guy playing a washboard.

Saturday we had the family over to enjoy brisket, steaks, and warm weather. The best part was watching the dogs. We had our beagle, Sushi, Tiffany and Paul brought their huge labradoodle, Miller, and Anna and Jeff brought Chunky the chihuahua. We then gave the little kids lessons on big, medium, and small.

The birthday kid looks a little bored.

But she loves her presents

Thanks everyone!

Book Club Thursdays and Ballet Fridays

2011-02-11T08:39:00.005-06:00

Ahhh, the joys of cameras. Our first got dropped and never worked the same again. Our second disappeared mysteriously although our 4th child was really into throwing things away at the time. Now our third is acting up. Am I allowed to walk into a store with five children and promise that they never touched it and I treated it like gold? I might have to get a babysitter, put on a little lipstick, and check out the warranty for this one. In the meantime my cell phone is pulling double duty.

Thursday dawned with the knowledge that bookclub was at 2pm and I had just downloaded the book the night before (thank you Kindle!) I hadn't known the book beforehand and so put us on the list for the library. In the future I might just realize that if there are five copies of a book and they are all checked out then it might mean the book is worth buying. Before spending the rest of the morning reading though we had to do math worksheets and our hour of reading. This morning turned out to be more amusing when I started hearing screaming from the bedroom. When I came in I saw this.... While I was in my bathroom getting ready our second child Audrey had put her school work from that morning on my bed. She then started playing and became oblivious to the fact that our fifth child, Hannah, had gotten hungry and reached for the math work. She is crying here because Audrey tried taking it away. Lends new meaning to, 'the dog ate it'. I couldn't help it, instead of being sympathetic I mostly just laughed.

Before we left she was cute and docile again.

Into the car and a 45 minute drive to bookclub. On the way up Eliora got the ipod to practice her voice class songs. Audrey got it on the way back. The book this week was Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins. Geared toward K-3 it was adorable on all levels. Lumphy, Sting-ray, and Plastic are the playthings of a little girl. Instead of being an indepth plot, the book focused more on little stories from their lives. While Plastic is trying to find out exactly what he is, Sting-ray discovers why she is dry clean only, and Lumphy the buffalo gets to meet the washing machine Frank who is not nearly as scary as they thought.
This week's host sent the kids on a hunt through the house to find 25 items related to the book. They then got to get up and say how their item fit into the story (like the green ribbon that Lumphy had tied to his tail). Beforehand we were told the kids could bring their favorite toy. They LOVED getting to do show and tell. This is Sadie standing up to walk to the front and introduce the world to her stuffed beagle named Calla. Afterwards we had peanut butter cookies (peanut butter plays a part in the book) and my kids got some playtime while the moms planned out the upcoming camping trip.

Fridays are our catch up days. Most school we do is done Mon.-Thur. and Fridays are reserved for field trips, anything we need to catch up on, and mostly cleaning. Sadie and Abbey do have ballet class though.

She will be on time if I can get her attention away from Blues Clues.

Valentine's Party

2011-02-10T10:38:00.004-06:00

One of the best things about homeschooling in Texas is the support. There are A LOT of homeschoolers out here which means you get to pick and choose a bit for how involved you want to get with other homeschool groups. Currently I belong to several on line groups that chat, swap recipes, share woes, and review curriculum. The best part though is when someone decides to throw a party!

The golden, glittery, Valentine boxes. Spray painted and decked out with glitter.
The decorations. I'm still trying to figure out how she got it up there. This is a seriously high ceiling.

Our host, the fabulous Audrey Gross. For some reason I am drawn to Audreys in my life. This is one cool chick who knows how to throw a party (with a newborn and four other children)

Boxes awaiting cards. I loved the mailboxes, the robot box, and the one made out of legos.

My own Audrey. Grinning in anticipation of sugar cookie decorating, card making, and HEART bingo.

Cindy Scott posing. I really, really, really want to be her when I grow up.

Ahhhh, adult conversation. How I relish it! (And doesn't Tia look great in her hat and scarf?)

The food.

My cute Sadie.

Passing out their cards. There were 48 boxes total times four kids who wanted each card to have a Hershey's kiss glued to it. They had fun despite Abigail's meltdown halfway through and all but one fell asleep on the way home.

A Day in the Park

2011-02-09T08:56:00.004-06:00

We Texans have been watching the weather forecasts with growing trepidation. Snow? Ice? We handle rain pretty well but are ill supplied for cold hands and pink noses. Yesterday however dawned beautifully and with a threat of dropping temperatures later in the week and a handsome husband coming home early we spent the morning with a few math flashcards, a book report, and then headed out the door for some much needed vitamin D. Eliora with our new dog Sushi. One of the moms later informed us that dogs are not allowed on the playground. Looks like we are still learning the rules of dog ownership.
So we took Sushi to the nearby dog park and duck pond. She immediately jumped in and made the discovery that warm days do not equal warm water.

Our star of the show.

Tired Mommies

2011-02-08T08:34:00.002-06:00

I logged on this morning and re-read the post of yesterday. I remember being tired and frequently interuppted when I wrote it. I noted the huge amount of mistakes. The irony made me laugh. Yes, we homeschool! No, I cannot spell or diagram a sentence correctly!
Today Ben is coming home from an overnight conference early. That usually means we do a few math sheets and our hour of reading and then enjoy that Daddy is home for lunch. It makes for a very happy day :)

Home and Schooling

2011-02-07T12:45:00.002-06:00

I have always had the ambition to document our day to day homeschool happenings on a blog. I started a separate one a few years back but maintaining two proved too much for me. This is not so much to share with the world but more of a fun way for me to keep track, look back, and enjoy what we are doing. I was going to start in January as part of a New Year's resolution but I have since discovered that all resolutions should not start until February; especially if all your children get chicken pox. So without further ado......

This morning was the introduction of the alarm clock. With the addtion of Hannah into our lives our schedules have been slipping ever away and so that old school, buzzing, one button black alarm clock has been found a place amongst the dolls and pink tutus.

We then moved immediately (well, after breakfast and heartfelt goodbyes to Dad who will be away tonight) we curled up on mom's bed for history reading. (We may not stay in our PJ's but we do like comfort while reading). They are studying abolitionists today. (History of the World by Susan Wise Bauer). It is always interesting to me to see children's reactions to something they think is unfair. It was interesting to them to discover that in the United States although the North was against slavery they were still willing to make slaves only three-fifths of a white person due to worry that if they counted as a whole the south would gain more political power. They also learned about William Wilberforce who was a member of English Parliament and a strong advocate against slavery. When the Emancipation Act was signed in 1833 England stood to lose 20 million pounds due to the breakup of plantations. Eliora thought it was great that they could no longer afford coffee and tobacco until I explained that it was also sugar and cotton and the English could still buy it from America. They did decide however that they would have given up sugar in order to stop the slave trade and made anti-slavery posters with slogans like, 'they have families!' and 'have mercy!'

We then moved on to math (Saxon, I love the repitition) were they are continuing to learn their memorize addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems. We are working on patterns at the moment and getting them to see just how many patterns are in mathematics. Today they filled out a master sheet with all the addition problems in 0+0 through 9+9 in rows of ten. They then had to color in any patterns they saw. I think it helps a lot with their thinking to use a mindset of 10+9 is equal to 19 so 9+9 must be 18 instead of using fingers and toes. We are still working on speed with Audrey and accuracy with Eliora.

Right now they have an hour of reading time. Eliora gets to pick her own and Audrey is still in reader books. After this we will listen to a little Beethoven (he is our composer of the week), do some adjectives in Language Arts, and practice cursive and typing.

Frozen Water Works at Houston's Children Museum

2011-02-03T08:44:00.002-06:00

In the words of Dr. Debbie, 'Die Mosquitos, die...Live palm trees, live.....Die fire ants, die.....Live water pipes, live!'

A Few Christmas Pics

2011-01-31T16:28:00.004-06:00

January photo. Hannah started smiling once we introduced solid foods. Coincidence? I think not!
The prolonged chicken pox. It started with Eliora the day after Christmas and slowly progressed through the rest of them. It was bad. We are just now recovering. And yes, your kids can still get it with the vaccinations!

The BIG present for Christmas. We had been dog sitting for two weeks and Christmas morning they discovered that Sushi the beagle was in fact ours.

The TARDIS cookie jar. Its bigger on the inside.

Eliora got a bell from Santa's sleigh.

Making gingerbread houses with A LOT of other girls.

Looking pretty in Christmas dresses

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-01-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

She was the one who listened to cooler music than I did as a kid. She drove a Jeep Wrangler and loved the beach. She woke me up for late night trips to Jack in the Box for the spicy tacos and then we would stay up watching our movies (the ones the boys didn't like). We took long walks at night where I would talk her ear off about school, friends, and I don't even remember what else. We have inside jokes about french fries and fruit. She taught me how to drive, how to shave my legs, and how to jump off a cliff. She is both an extravert and an introvert. She lets me not take myself too seriously and always tells me that my kids are perfect. I think that she has always felt that somehow she is not enough but for this birthday I want to tell her that she is, and I could never imagine my life without her.

I love you Mom.

Happy Birthday

Abigail is Turning Three

2011-01-13T08:48:00.002-06:00

Abigail - Joy of the Father

(Interview)

Abbey, how old are you?
Nine
You're not nine!
Yes, I am.
Are you three?
Yes!
What is your favorite color?
Princess colors
Like....
Like (finger to mouth - thinking pose) pink. Like Princess cake pink.
Abbey, are you getting a princess cake for your birthday?
I'm coloring my cake
Abbey, what is your favorite animal?
Ummmmmmmmmmmm, Little Einsteins
Is that your favorite TV show?
OK

And then she wanders off. I ask if she would like to continue the interview but the attention is waning. She goes to see what her sisters are doing.

I'm Related To Santa Clause

2010-12-17T09:21:00.000-06:00

Last night I was telling my kids about my Christmas as a kid. I was telling them about Grandpa Honey Bear who would hide presents all year and take two days to wrap them and how Aunt Laurie would wake us all up even though she was an adult and we all had to wait for Grandpa Roundy to take a shower. I showed them a picture of Grandpa Honey Bear. Afterwards they went to bed but were still awake. Eliora has had a fever so I went upstairs to check on them and could hear Eliora and Audrey talking. The conversation went along these line....
Audrey- "So Grandpa Honey Bear was married to G.G.?"
Eliora- "Yeah"
Audrey-"And he died?"
Eliora- "Mom said he did but I was just wondering... Grandpa loved Christmas and Mom said he bought presents all year long"
Audrey- "Yeah"
Eliora-"What if he wasn't buying them, what if he was making them? You know he was big and he always shaved and his kids like Christmas. What if he was Santa Claus and he wanted to come live and have a family but then he had to go back to North Pole? Mom would never know it because she never saw his beard."
Audrey-"What about G.G. Eliora. That would mean she was Mrs. Clause."
Eliora-"She does travel a lot Audrey and mom said she was a good cook"

Congrats G.G., I think you have been labeled as having once been married to Santa Claus.

Holiday Fuzzies

2010-12-15T14:10:00.002-06:00

I love the holidays. I love the twinkle lights. I love the tree. I love the smells, the abandon of the diets, the stories, the anticipation, and even sometimes the shopping......sometimes.
Last night my husband was patting us collectively on the back because we will not have to venture into a store for the next 10 days due to the fact that all Christmas shopping is done,
wait,
what was that?
Done?
Seriously?
And so starts my story today. I ventured out with my five children to grab a few things from Hobby Lobby. I knew I could have waited until tonight but the kids have a Christmas project they are working on that requires embroidery thread and on a foolish whimsy I told them they could pick out the colors they will use. Each girl got to pick three colors. Four girls are doing it. That is a lot of deciding. Once inside I quickly 'helped' my two year old, Abbey, pick her colors and then started letting her hold the chosen others my three older girls were picking out. If you have never been to that particular aisle in Hobby Lobby you would never know that there are probably over a hundred colors and shades of thread. They are also divided so that the common ones are on one side and the special sparkling ones are on the other. We were almost done and facing the sparkling ones that each girl could pick one of when I heard crying. Turning around I saw that an employee had taken the threads from my two year old and was putting them back.
She smiled at me and asked me not to let my little one play with the threads. I grabbed the yellow she was holding, gave it back to my crying daughter, and informed her that we had planned on purchasing them. Sigh.
Over on the other side of the store we spent another hour picking out a few small items for the '12 days of Christmas ding dong ditch' we are currently doing to our neighbors. Most of this was me explaining that I did not want to spend twenty dollars on four santa statues for the fourth night. It also involved a man asking me if I was missing a little girl.
"No, got all mine."
"Oh, I was just wondering because there is a little girl who has been hiding behind those holiday boxes for awhile."
I casually smiled and tried to nonchalantly stroll over to the boxes. Guess Abbey wasn't in the cart like I had thought.
By the time we had left Taco Bell sounded like a good idea. I figured we could go through the drive through and then I could nurse in the car. Only problem, the line was REALLY long. So, carting five children across a parking lot I was ready to order and then cart them back to the car. We could eat at home. As I walked in however a manager saw me and came out from behind the counter. He scooted two tables together and came out to clean them. He then got water cups for all the girls and helped them get what they wanted while I ordered. He made sure to ask if they could have the caffiene drinks or if I would prefer lemonade for them. No charge. After ordering he took my reciept and told me he would bring the food out. Shortly after he came over and said he had noticed that I had ordered bean burritos and was wondering if I wanted the onions out of them for the kids. He brought napkins, he refilled drinks, he asked the kids if they were excited for Christmas. I sat in the chair and nursed the baby into quiet slumber while he basically watched my kids for half an hour. As we were leaving I walked over to thank him. His response?
"Tis the Season, Merry Christmas."

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

2010-12-08T09:49:00.004-06:00

Sweet little babies who smile and chatter
Abbey's who seem to have gotten over new baby 'itis' tantrums

Bubbles with cousins at Old Town Spring

Thanksgivings with Great Grandmas.

The 29th or the 30th?

2010-11-29T08:15:00.003-06:00

He was just cool enough for two birthdays.

Every year I think about what we would have done, talked about, and liked. This year it would have been long phone conversations of me complaining about being pregnant and him telling me to go ahead and eat the chocolate. It would have been figuring out how to fly him down for Hannah's blessing. The final installments of Harry Potter and how lame it is that we have to wait until summer to really see the end. Lady Gaga and all her dramatics plus the fact that my kids know one of her songs. It would have been him getting mom's cannolli recipe for me.

Every year the list adds up. I think if I had one more phone conversation though I might tell him that there is still a hole. That I'm still a little mad. That I will always love him.

Happy Birthday Nate.

Eliora Sarah Davis

2010-11-18T10:43:00.002-06:00

Just Keep on Scrolling!
Today I got up to do the 'interview' for Eliora's birthday. She decided to make scrapbooks of the pics of the last year as well. So, if you have the time you can watch her scrapbook masterpieces (done completely...mostly....by herself) and read her interview. Enjoy!

2010-11-18T10:42:00.000-06:00

Personalize your own free scrapbook design

2010-11-18T10:16:00.002-06:00

Make your own free digital scrapbook

2010-11-18T09:44:00.001-06:00

Make your own scrapbook design

Eliora is Nine !!!

2010-11-18T07:40:00.003-06:00

Eliora's Birthday Interview

How old are you today?

Nine

Where were you born?

Utah

What is your favorite color?

Umm, I have always liked all the colors but I've liked pink and purple the best.

What is your favorite movie?

Umm, I don't know. Something besides Barbie. (Her little sister always wants to watch Barbie) I like Robots. I like the more grown up movies now that I am nine. I like the first Harry Potter. That movie...whats it called? I know I like it. What's that movie, the one where the farmers and then one of them becomes a princess and another becomes a pirate and they get captured.

The Princess Bride

Yeah, the Princess Bride

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Ummm, I have always like animals. I have always helped mom so I think I would be good as a mom. I have always wondered what it would be like to be in outer space. I want to take a moon bounce to the moon. It would be extra bouncy. That would be funny.

What is your favorite toy?

Ever since I got Hugo, the dragon (webkinz) I have liked him. I like elephants. I really like all my toys. The magnets are really cool and I bet I will like the present Grandma Roundy sent me.

What is your favorite subject?

What's a subject?

Favorite school activity.

Ohhhh, I have always liked the history projects and science. I LOVE reading. Math (shakes her hand back and forth), it depends on my mood.

Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

Probably talk to mom. I have always liked spending time with grown ups. Maybe reading a book that I want to. Going to get Hannah. Like I should right now, cause she's crying...(she leaves to get Hannah)

(Get back) This is what I mean when I talk about helping mom.

You're a good kid.

Thank you.

What do you want for Christmas?

Every since I saw that movie, the one about the boy who goes to the north pole, I have wanted a bell from Santa to see if I really believe in him. When people get older they start to not believe in fairies or Santa.

Do you think you believe in Santa Claus?

YES. You have to believe.

What was your favorite thing about this past year?

I don't know. When Grandma Roundy was with us. When Hannah was born. Remember that time when we went to the sleepover at Grandma Davis house? That was fun. I got to stay up until one or two in the morning. Then I had to go to sleep. Swim team was fun. I was good at backstroke. It was like relaxation. For swimming you have to be strong, and not scared, and hold your breathe.

What is one thing you would like to do this next year?

Ride on a ferris wheel so I can see the traffic down below and feel how high you are. Stay up late and watch Psyche with mom and dad.

Hmmm, we have to watch them first.

I could just stay up tonight. I wouldn't have to watch Psyche.....

2010-11-05T17:41:00.002-05:00

Today I finished the book Dracula. No one sparkled. There was no swooning teenagers. High school was never mentioned. I could see why it is a classic. ;)

The Fun so Far

2010-10-26T17:17:00.007-05:00

At the scout jamboree to see the world record be broken by shooting off the most rockets at once. Only Ben would take five girls to a scouting event.

Wednesday arrived and Grandma brought lots of fun toys. You can make really cool stuff out these things.
Grandma also means delicious goodies. This one we bought at the store. Who knew that chocolate covered apples could taste so good. We are going to make some later.The next weekend was spent at a ranch with a rope swing. The pygmy goats were cute.

All this fun wears us out though.

More yummy goodies. Tombstone cupcakes

Hannah Claire in her blessing dress. It has been worn by all five girls.

Days at the zoo and blessings wear out Grandpa Roundy too.
At Le Madeline.
We were very sophisticated and put our pinkies up while eating the strawberries and drinking lemonade.

Birthdays

2010-09-30T10:41:00.004-05:00

Last year was one of the best birthdays I have EVER had. It was mostly due to these two people.

My birthday is later in the year than either of theirs.

After last years shopping, dinners, VIP haunted house tours, presents, dinner, plantation tours, parades and the like I knew I was going to do something special for them this year.

Aug. was my Dad. He got a package of drawings from the kids (late). Today is Ryans. He got a lot of e-mail wishes.

As I was thinking about this last night I realized what I was watching.

This is my all time favorite show. They have been having marathons of past episodes which I have recorded and I have been watching every episode in anticipation of the new season.

Now, I'm pretty sure that the only reason I love a car related show is because of my Dad's race car driving genetics and my older brother constantly working on cars in the garage while we were growing up.

That got me thinking to how else they have both influenced my ways of thinking. I do expect all men to be able to fix any and all things around the house, I don't understand it when my cars break down (I guess I thought a magic fairy fixed them at night while I was growing up), I can break down and analyze any special effects movie and have been heard to say, 'the rain is crooked' to people who look at me like I'm nuts. I would never expect a man to get mad if a four year old leapt off the couch and landed in his lap. If you don't like the interior color of a car, the paint color of a room, the cabinets in your kitchen, or the way your yard is laid out then you are simply suppose to change, build, or fix it....by yourself. Brothers and sister are never suppose to fight and even if they get in trouble together as kids they are suppose to relate those stories at family get togethers for a good laugh while playing cards.

I think the best thing I have learned from both my Dad and my brother though is that you never give up on your family. Even if you make mistakes, even if times get tough, through the best of it and the worst of it you hold on, you say sorry, you go above and beyond what anyone would expect and you stick with them.

So, despite my lack of gift giving I wanted to say thank you Dad for still being here and having a relationship with us. I truly cherish it.

And thank you Ryan. You have always been the one to hold us together, you've always been the one I look up to, you have always been the one to sacrifice time, money, and self to make sure we are happy. Basically, you are irreplaceable. Happy Birthday.

Cousins

2010-09-02T13:26:00.004-05:00

Andie is in front and Hannah is in back. Andie is 6 weeks older than Hannah. Tiffany would like me to say that Andie is not huge. She was born at an average weight and weighs exactly what she is suppose to. Hannah on the other hand.....

Hannah Claire Davis Has Arrived!

2010-08-25T15:04:00.003-05:00

6 pds. 3 oz and 18 inches long. She was born 12:34 am on Aug. 24th. She was 37 weeks and so a little earlier than expected. She was also a lot longer labor than I am use to, posterior, and with her head turned at a funky angle (I have since learned this is called star gazing). We are sure this is the most trouble she will ever cause though and from now on be a perfect angel. She is nursing like a pro and her sisters are delighted. Hopefully I will post the three zillion other pics we took sometime tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to Terry for the camera rescue!
After much debate on what her name should be we finally decided to let Audrey have her way and name her Hannah. Good thing we like the name....you know, since it is Audrey's middle name. Before you think we are nuts there is a reason for it. Little Hannah Claire happened to be born on Audrey's birthday. Whether or not we end up calling her Hannah or Claire will be decided in the next few weeks. We're just happy we got something on the birth certificate ;)