Idleness vs Productivity

I am sure that no one would think we are idle but this week we took that to a whole new level. With the anything goes garbage week we had set a goal to finish cleaning out the garage, so we began our week with a great work day for Family Home Evening. We were very productive and the garage looked so much better! On Wednesday we spent the afternoon helping a new friend unpack. We then went back on Thursday to preserve peaches and tomatoes with the same friend. James was even able to take a few hours to come and help us. We dehydrated peaches and roasted tomatoes. We had never done either of these and had a great time learning and getting to know our new friends better.

By Friday we were very excited to work on preserving more food but knew that we needed to finish getting shelves in our storage room, set up our shed and clean out the garage. So, we started on Friday by getting our shed set up. We were a little overwhelmed by the idea of setting up the shed but after we got started things went pretty smoothly and in about 4 hours we had a shed!

It was date night, so the boys came in and made their own dinner and we headed out for a nice evening out together. They are becoming very good cooks which is great for both us and them!

On Saturday we spent the morning at soccer-I'm sure this is a real surprise. We had a great time and all of the boys played well.

We then came home and worked on putting up some new shelves in the storage room. The first shelf is always the hardest, but once we got into a groove things went well. We didn't get all of the shelves filled but at least they are up and ready to go. Then, we found a great deal on some tomatoes which we couldn't pass up, so James spent the evening roasting tomatoes and making salsa. And now our kitchen smells yummy and we have some great salsa and roasted tomatoes. I am afraid they won't last very long because they are so good, but we will enjoy them while they last!

It is amazing how much you can get done in a week! It has been a lot of fun and it is great to see the product of our labors! Now to figure out what to accomplish this week!

GAME DAY 1

Well, Liz is off having a weekend of fun, and we're here batchin' it the way guys do when their pretty lady is out of town. I'd love to say we sat around watching television and eating pizza and chips and belching, but we didn't. We did, however, run three soccer practices in the rain at the same time last night, and ran ourselves through three soccer games today. Lucky for us, we lived. Sometimes you can't ask for more than that. We even won all three games, 6-1, 6-2, and 8-2.

It was my first time coaching, and I probably won't do it again. It reminded me why I don't teach public school . . .

THE PARENTS.

They actually sent an ambassador to advise me on proper technique. Apparently we were winning by too much, and they wanted me to pull back. Seriously, I can't win, even when I win. We were the 8-2, just in case you were wondering. I'm glad I stick religiously to my sports parent motto: let the coach do his job and cheer loud, no matter what, because I sure can't do it any better. I think next year I'll go back to just being a parent.

We made some jam, pear butter, and broke in my new dutch oven with one fine chili. The boys also enjoyed some time at the park, and watching the old biplanes do tricks over the city. It was a great day, but we'll be glad when our pretty lady is back.

Mommy and the Boys

James was gone this weekend visiting family, so the boys and I partied all weekend! On Friday we met friends at the park and enjoyed soccer practice. Then, finished the day with ice cream and a movie.

Saturday was predicted to be the last hot day of the summer, so we spent the afternoon at the pool. The boys get free passes with the summer reading program, so I thought it best to give them an opportunity to use. Joshua loved going down the big slide over and over and even talked me into going down once. Michael sat and chatted with me a bit and we watched Jacob eying the smaller slide. I asked him whether or not he thought Jacob would go down and he pondered it for awhile. I told him that I didn't think that he would, so what did he do? He walked over and played with Jacob and talked him into going down. He even met him at the bottom! What a great brother! After going down a couple of times he was a pro and enjoyed going down the slide many more times. He even got faster which was super cute! Afterwards we enjoyed going to a baptism of one of Joshua's friends at church. It was a great baptism and I am glad we were able to go. Of course we ended the day with ice cream and finished Friday nights movie.

Sunday was calm and relaxing and we enjoyed a great day at church. In the afternoon we made cookies and took them to a new family from church. We ended up staying for quite awhile playing and talking! It is nice having a new family whose children play so well with mine!

Monday was Labor Day, of course, so we went to a pancake breakfast that our church puts on and the boys stuffed their faces-literally. Jacob sat and ate for over an hour. It was no surprise that they were not hungry at lunch time. After the breakfast we headed over to the parade, which we had never been to. Look at us moving out of our comfort zone . . . ok, well, my comfort zone. But we went with friends and that makes everything better. Now I must tell you that a friend told me that they don't hand out very much candy but I beg to differ. Here are the pictures of the boys sorting their candy. They were adamant that I not take any of their candy away (they have figured me out). So, I had to come up with the new plan . . . they each made small bags of candy and we labeled them with a date; one small bag for each day. It was a win-win because they don't eat too much candy in one day AND the candy lasts longer which they love!

The rest of the afternoon was just relaxing which is always nice. For Family Home Evening I had the boys work together to act out scripture stories and see if I could guess them. It was a blast!

So, we had a great weekend without James but missed him and are glad he is home!!! Next weekend is his turn to have boys weekend! I know they will have some great adventures!

Growing every day

I thought we were past due on an update, so here we go! First, this summer has been super hot in case you haven't gathered that from previous blogs or by walking outside (if you live in the midwest). So, by the end of July we were getting stir crazy, so we chose August first as our first day back to school. I know it was early but why wait until the weather is nice to start school? And I just have to say that it made all of our lives much happier! We are trying a few new things this year. The first is school checklists. I don't know if it is because I am their mother but they are working fabulously! First, it helps me to not forget things and second, they have a sense of accomplishment when they get to mark something off. Second, we start school with scripture packet. A great friend of mine recommended this program which is great! For some reason when you start school by studying the scriptures things go so much better! Who knew? :)

As usual we choose a lot of our topics based on the boys' interests. So, what have they been interested in? Michael has been pretty interested in WWII. We talked about President Uchtdorf in Family Home Evening and ever since he has wanted to learn about Germany and WWII. So, we have studied WWI and WWII, and let me just say that I have learned a ton. It is amazing/sad how history really does repeat itself.

Michael has also been reading books on different countries. He has been doing this for quite some time, but has now just decided to start at the beginning of the alphabet and go from there. He is writing down recipes he finds in these books, so it is time for me to start making them. It is really fun to see the boys get excited about things, dive in and learn about them and then get to use the things they are learning!

Joshua has been having great fun reading a book that we found at Borders called "Earth". So, while I am sad that Borders is closing I am loving their great sales! This book is super huge and I'm pretty sure that I will take a picture of it before I post this blog, so you can see it. He was studying volcanoes the other day, so I asked him to teach a lesson on it for school. He was so excited that he jumped up, found a pen and paper and started taking notes on what he wanted to share. Then, for art we got to paint different volcanoes which was super fun. And Joshua was just thrilled that he got to teach us. I have to remember to watch for moments like these because they are always amazing!

Joshua is also in love with playing the piano. I don't know what happened but something has clicked and he is now playing the piano all day long. It was actually funny this morning when it came to almost 11 AM and he noticed that he hadn't played the piano yet. He couldn't believe it. Super cute. I also believe that his enthusiasm is rubbing off on the other boys. Michael was stuck in a rut because he didn't know his notes, so we played an online game and then in just three days he was back on track and loving the piano again. It is amazing that when we find the real problem and fix it that everything works again. Trying to fix the symptoms never seems to help.

The boys have also been having a blast learning German. I will admit that I am not very good at learning German but James is great at it and the boys love it when he talks to them in German.

Jacob, who would never allow himself to be left out, has been really excited about math. He was still finishing up his kindergarten math books when we began but then decided he wanted to get into a new book, so we had some super math days and he worked really hard and is now in his 1st grade math books which he is quite proud of. He also had a lot of fun today looking at pictures of tanks and airplanes used in WWII. Yes, he is a true boy who loves blowing things up!

So, school has been awesome! James is now back in school as well which is always bitter sweet. It is always nice to get back into the routine but sad to have him gone all day. And sad that I have to make dinner again which really I don't mind, but the meals just aren't as fun. :)

Then, today we had a super treat. It is always difficult for me to adjust my schedule but it paid off this morning. The circus was in town for the day and invited the public to come and watch them set up the tent. The elephants were supposed to help which is really why I wanted to go but apparently animal activists have protested this, so we got to watch a bunch of men do what one elephant could have done. Very sad. But also we got to see them bring out all of the animals including a couple of camels, llamas, 3 elephants, goats and much more! The kids got to pet them and feed them grass. They also got to see a trainer play with an elephant (I didn't get a picture of this because Jacob was on my shoulders trying to see. :(

And then they got to see a man walk across a wire above the tent. That was one of my favorite parts. It was a great morning! (And we got all of our school work done by lunch which made me even happier!)

This evening we even went back and were able to take a ride on some of the animals. We let the boys choose and Michael and Joshua chose the elephant and Jacob the pony. So, yes we are having parties with pony rides at our house and now you are all jealous. ;) I have to tell you that I decided to ride with Michael and Joshua and well, I don't regret it. It was pretty awesome! Epic, if you will.

Michael was a little nervous at first and it took a bit to get him on which is why I look like I am squeezing his arm off. But in the end I think he was glad he did it.

So, that is what we are up to and we are having a blast doing it!