Monday, November 29, 2010

Fun Run - Brrr!

Last Wednesday was the annual Panda Fun Run, and it was freezing. But at least they were running around to stay warm.
The younger grades ran first, and it was so cold I had to go home early and put on more layers. Then I came back to watch the older boys.


My friend took this picture of me with Brennan and Levi. I bundled them up in coats and blankets, so they did fine. Plus it warmed up a tad for the older group of runners.




I accidently switched it to this interesting color setting. You can see Spencer and his cousin Jacob in the middle.

Here's Tyler speeding past some walkers.


And Jacob giving me a what-are-you-doing-Hilary?-look.

Afterwards they got hot chocolate and cookies.


I'm so glad they do this every year. It's my favorite fundraiser (100% of the money raised goes to the school), and the boys love it.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Soccer Tournament

This past Saturday was the soccer tournament. We had 3 games, and it was possibly the best our team ever played. They won the first two and tied the 3rd, which got them into the next round. Unfortunately that was on Sunday, so Tyler didn't participate; but we heard that they came in 4th place overall.

Coach Stacia congratulating them on their 1st win of the day.

"Good game!"

My friend Joddy's son, Ethan, is a year older than Tyler, but they were on the same team. This really helped out with carpooling to practices.

Tyler had so much fun playing soccer. He said the season went by fast, and he's sad to see it end. He got the award for most improved, and coach said it was because he was at every practice. I was especially proud of his attitude. He was super happy after every game, whether they won or lost. Dave had fun being the assistant coach, and it was a good experience for everyone. However we're grateful to have our Saturdays back.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Leaf placemats

I love our new placemats! And we had so much fun making them. I got the idea of collage pictures made out of clear contact paper and tape from the internet (can't remember where), and I thought it would be really pretty with leaves. So on Monday I told everyone to collect leaves after school, and then we put them together for our family home evening activity.
First I cut the contact paper into 13.5 X 18" pieces and took off the backing. We put them on the counter, sticky side up, and covered them with our leaves. When we were done, we put another piece of contact paper on top and pressed them together. Then we took black duct tape and folded them over to make clean edges. So easy and cute.
Spencer's


Brennan's


mine



Tyler's


Dallin's

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Gratitude

I'm going to be honest with you. This has been a lousy week. Dave was in Florida for a conference for 5 days. 4 out of 5 of my kids had the stomach flu. I never wanted to fix dinner for fear of seeing it later that night. I couldn't leave the house. We all missed Dave. A lot. The older kids were pretty easy to take care of, but Levi was m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e. We had to miss church because he started throwing up as we were walking out the door - that was a real bummer because I'd gotten up extra early to iron all the clothes and have plenty of time to get ready. Plus my friends had a violin/cello duet that I was really looking forward to. On Monday for Family Home Evening I talked about gratitude. I told a story by President Monson from last November's Friend. It was about a woman who was almost completely blind but had a happy life because she was always so grateful for every blessing. When her sight was restored later in life, she appreciated all the little things. The phases of the moon, a bird in flight, light reflecting in the dish soap bubbles. I explained to the kids that although we'd had a rough few days (they all nodded), we had so much to be thankful for. We missed dad, but we were grateful for his job. We had lots of sickness, but they only 24 hours each and we appreciate our health so much more when it's over. Then we made a huge "Welcome Home Dad" sign and hung it on the garage door. That night Dallin got sick. One tender mercy was that I woke up for no apparent reason about 30 seconds before he started throwing up. So I was able to get there quickly to help him. The next morning I asked him how he felt. He said, "I'm happy. Even though my tummy hurts, look at that beautiful sunrise." Dave got home last night. And then I got sick early this morning. As I sat on my bathroom floor feeling miserable, I thought - well at least I got it after Dave came home. He was able to help the boys get all ready for school this morning while I slept in. If we look for things to be grateful for, we'll find them. Even during stinky trials.


Dave brought back this real alligator head for the boys. They love it.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

G is for giggles

I taught Brennan's preschool last week (was that a quick 5 weeks or what?!). Well at least I taught on Tuesday - Thursday was cancelled due to the stomach flu. Which is a real bummer because we were going to have a little Halloween party. But Tuesday was a lot of fun.

I told the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff using popsicle stick puppets. I also read a book about a gorilla and another about a goat.
We played a game called Guess Who. This was a big hit, although it was pretty much impossible for one little person not to peek and see what his picture was. The idea is to ask questions to figure out who you are.
This is Kejia, who I haven't managed to get pictures of before. Brennan just adores her.



For science we learned about gas and did some experiments involving balloons. First we put baking soda and vinegar in one and watched it fill with gas and overflow with bubbles. Then we opened a bottle of 7-Up and immediately put a balloon on the top. The kids loved watching the carbonation blow up the balloon. When it slowed down I shook the soda a little and it kept on going. No wonder we burp when we drink soda.


For our craft we made golden crowns with glitter and gems. Brennan loved his and wore it for days.