...........part 2, Backpack Buddies continued...

The 3rd & 4th stations were games and songs.  Above, is a photo of the kids playing some new games they learned.  Below they are learing campfire songs.  They all received a list of the games & songs they learned to keep in their 72-hour kit.  The list of games included instructions on how to play them & none of the games required any equiptment, so they could be played anywhere.

The girls 8-12 year old girls taught the songs & games to meet a requirement for their "Faith in God" program.

Above, Senior Primary, ages 8-12.  Below Junior Primary, ages 4-7.  They had a really good time!  We had 28 kids in attendance.  Our primary has about 40-45 kids each Sunday.  I was happy with the turn-out for a Saturday activity.

A January Visit

We had some family come to visit in January. Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle D, & Uncle B are on the couch with my hubby, their brother. Our family came to town to go to chuch with us because my oldest son received the priesthood and was ordained a Deacon. I didn't get a picture of my son because he was busy running around with his cousins.

Grandpa was resting up before the long drive home.

Sweet cousin J. helping our little girl cut her food.

Pray for You - Jaron and The Long Road to Love (Official Video)

Maybe I have a twisted sense of humor, but I thought this song was really funny! Enjoy!

Global warming?????.........Not so much!

Photo above taken January 18, 2010. Photo below taken January 29, 2010 on the same swingset in my backyard less than 2 weeks apart. I'm not deceived by the teachings of global warming. Heck no, I have my own theory. I call it Weather ADD, or WADD! Sounds catchy, don't cha think! It's just nature's way of multi-tasking. It goes like this---a few days of below freezing temperatures, add a little snow, get distracted by a high  pressure system from the south, drop a few 68 degree days, oops forgot it's still January, toss in more snow, drop temps below freezing, and here we sit hoping for another distraction soon.   Sometimes I'm a little ADD too so I don't mind living in a part of the country where the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather...wait a week, it'll change!"

Speaking of ADD, watch this funny SNL video of "Phillip!"
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/phillip/263296/

Birthday Fun!

Our 10yr. old girl showing off her bedroom to Granny Sue & Papa T.  She decorated it all by herself.

 

The sisters are making funny faces.  The older kids love that their 2 yr. old sister will mimic anything they do.  They enjoy teaching her how to be silly!

 

Opening gifts.

 

My baby is growing up.

Our birthday girl turned "2" in January.  She loves to wear jewelry and play dress-up! She also loves animals, especially cats, dogs, squirrels, and bears (anything furry!)   For her birthday she got lots of beaded necklaces & jewelry, playdoh, and a "fur real" chipmunk that is very cute!

She also loves her baby dolls.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!!!

 

Martin Luther King "I have a dream"

Celebrating Christmas!

How we spent our Christmas vacation....

Where the heck are these crazies?

We were here,

but, we got in this

and passed by these...

   ...and ended up HERE! Where are we??? Any guesses? Add a comment!

What Shall We Give?

Another beautiful Christmas message. Watch and Enjoy! Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit

When the school calls.....

I get nervous when I see that familiar number on my caller ID.  When the school calls, it is either the nurse or the principal.  This time I heard the principal's voice on the other end (yes, I recognized her voice right away; we keep in touch way too often!)
 
Principal: "Your kindergartener is in the office with me now"
Me: "OH? Why?"
Principal: "Your son gave another boy in his class a bloody fat lip."
Me: "Really??? What set him off?"
Principal: "Your son came into class this morning very excited and announced to the other kids that today was his grandma's birthday.  A fellow classmate said, "Oh yeah,  your grandma is a big fat meanie."  Your son said, "no she isn't," then he clocked the boy on the back of the head forcing the boy to the floor.  The boy hit his lip on something on the way down & got a fat lip."
Me: "Oh sorry, I always tell him not to overreact.  We'll talk about it when he gets home."

I was secretly thinking, that snot-nosed kid deserved what he got for provoking my son.  To make it more interesting, I was in the process of preparing a talk for church that Sunday.  As I prepared my talk, I found the perfect scripture that would allow me to share this story in my talk.  It was: "Ye shall defend your family even unto bloodshed." Alma 43:47 
Enough said!

Birthday Boy Turns 6!

I made cupcakes for his kindergarten class and took them to the school during snack time. 

He really liked his motocycle transformer and his new t-shirt!

 

It was a beautiful day for Nov. 21st, with a high temperature around 60 degrees, so we took our birthday boy to his favorite theme park.  He rode his first big roller coaster with his dad and LOVED it!

Riding the train around the park to view all the beautiful Christmas lights.

After our visit to the theme park, we stopped by Granny Sue's house to enjoy a yummy birthday cake & presents!  Granny Sue treated us to a feast of our 6-yr old's choosing ~ pigs in a blanket & raman noodles!

The girl has skillz!

From the sun room, checking in on the progress of the turkey & giving the window a little extra shine!

Our 22 month old girl is balancing, on her tip-toes, on the door of the lower cabinet so she can admire her reflection in the mirror. She loves climb up on the sink to brush her teeth then she fills up cups of water and spills them everywhere! I am in awe of her climbing skills. I see a bright future for her saving cats from trees or climbing mountains.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Enjoy this video! Perfect for Thanksgiving!
In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

...........a van down by the river!!!!

We had a really fun day down by the river.  We took our kids down there in the van on a Sunday afternoon.  Everytime I think of the words "van" and "river" I think of the Chris Farley~ motivational speaker~ SNL skit.  See Skit Here Watch it for a good laugh!

There was a really cool giant tree swing that the kids loved.  I tried it too, it really was fun!  A fabulous way to spend a beautiful November day with the fam!

Oh, the horror!!!

Our frightening family from left to right: Pegasus, Knight, Cowgirl, Ladybug, Farmer, Frankenstein Gone Funky Bride, and Cowboy.Eating donuts off a string.
The barn we built out of cardboard. For our church party, each family made a "house" out of cardboard and the kids went trick or treating house to house. Everyone was so creative and all the houses were adorable.

My "cowboy" handing out candy.

Playing games.

Visiting big sister's class.

Pumpkin bowling in kindergarten.

Sweet little ladybug.