Treehouse Museum! What fun!!

Last week we went to the Treehouse Museum.  It is geared to mostly younger kids, but our older ones found things they liked as well.  We were supposed to go with all of Mr. T's family who are in town visiting or just live nearby, but his parents ended up sick, so the thing was cancelled.  But, we had already bought our vouchers a month or more earlier when we found a deal on line for half price, so we decided to go ahead and go anyway.  Here are some pictures of the fun we had that day! Apple was so much fun, I love the joy and magic that little ones bring to everything they experience.

She didn't know quite what to think of all the dolls.  And the fact that she couldn't touch any of them made it so that it wasn't as fun as she'd have liked. 

She LOVED to gather all the 'horses' and thought it was great that she could carry them.  

Here she is gathering the horses.

A great team building activity that required many hands to make it work!

Fabulous building and bonding time with dad!  Love it! Mr. T loved all the planks to build with. 

And dad wasn't the only one loving the planks.  Dad went for height, Ginga' went for style!

This is the drawing station.  They were creating their own eggs.

It's a bit bigger and almost done...

getting closer...

Finished!  Wait til you see what happens next...

What baby can resist a tower?  Especially when her favorite game is, Timber?

She thought this horse was so cool..and she loved the hat too! 

It's not very often we can capture such a great smile on her! She was in heaven on this horse, obviously.  Isn't she adorable? Love this picture!

It was a fun day which we ended by having lunch at Tony's Pizza, which is a place Mr. T used to go get pizza when he was little.  The kids thought it was a bit strange to actually be able to go in and sit and order a pizza, instead of having it delivered.  :)  Over the summer we had reading goals, and we said that if everyone met their reading goal, then we would do something fun as a family.  We decided that this would be it, it was a fun time together. 

Nutmeg's piano recital and other artistic achievements

The other night, Nutmeg had a piano recital.  It was such a fun evening, but boy was she nervous!  She did fabulous though, I recorded it, so here it is.  Hopefully, it turned out.

She is turning into quite the pianist.  I love listening to her play.

She has tons of artistic talent that I'm blown away by, especially since I struggle to even draw stick figures.  Here are a few of the paintings she's done recently in the art class that I finally convinced her to take.

She's so funny, she was very reluctant to take the class, not feeling very comfortable with someone that she doesn't know.  Each week I'd ask her if she was enjoying it, and she would be really casual in her answer.  Not a lot of excitement at all.  Most weeks she would say, "I already knew how to do...what ever it was they learned."  But although she knew how to do it, she didn't always know why you do it.  So, I think it was good for her, and I think she's excited to start the next class in January.  

Waterlily

autumn tree

Moab?  Looks like Southern Utah anyway.

My favorite-a tree in bloom.  

Can I just say how interesting and sometimes challenging it is to home school a child who is so different than me?  She is so creative, and loves to make things beautiful, I am far more practical in the way that I approach things, that trying to find the best ways to help her learn are really trying on me at times.  But, she is coming along so wonderfully and it is so fun to see her very unique self coming out.  I can't believe she's 11 already.  Wow.  Love you Nutmeg!

Adorable sisters

Apple absolutely adores Nutmeg.  They have so much fun together.  Here Nutmeg is dressing Apple up in her hat and scarf, and apparently she is loving it!

Family School and Winter snow storms

This year we have started something here at home called 'Family School'.  It is an LDS based curriculum.  We have been really enjoying it, at least when the internet is working well.  I have had to change our plans on occasion because of technical issues, but for the most part the younger kids are liking it.  I like it because it helps me to focus on something and because it incorporates LDS principles into their otherwise secular learning.  I really, really like that.  I know that I could have put something similar together on my own, but this saves me so much time in finding the different resources that I just would probably never go look for, due to lack of time.  It has pictures, video, Mormon messages, plenty of worksheets (more than I would normally want to deal with, but when I asked them if we should just skip some of those, I got a big fat no!) all in one friendly place online.  Ginga' is a bit too old for it, and so engaged in all the other things that he has on his schedule, that he doesn't do it with us very often.  Occasionally though, he will join us, and I always appreciate his insights that he shares with us.  It has been a wonderful fit for Nutmeg and she is just thriving with it, most of the time.  (Except for those times when she decides that spelling a certain word, or some other minor problem, is the end of the world, and then, well...it's not very pretty.)  Squirrel tries hard, but her attention span isn't that wonderful, so she comes and goes with it.  If there's a video, or activity, we can usually get her to return to us, otherwise, she floats, and that's okay, she is learning a lot at her own pace, and we will just have to work with that.  Rock, is well, Rock.  He is hard to engage in just about anything, unless it's his idea.  But he's the who likes the worksheets best, so, perhaps he's just playing it cool.  His latest passion is lock picking.  He took some bobby pins and cut the ends off, and successfully picked his brother's filing cabinet.  Hmm.  Ginga' moved anything he didn't want him to take possession of.  I'm trying to figure out how I can use this to increase his educational pursuits.  (Any ideas Mary?  You probably just had an explosion of them as you read this, I sure miss having you around to tell them to me!:)  Anyway, back to the family school.  It's been so great, and I am excited about all that I am learning and re-learning with them.  That's the best part of homeschooling, being with your kids to see how they grow and learn, and getting to learn right along with them.

Today we did art.  I know, for those of you who know me, not my favorite subject, and I would never have done it on my own.  I even drew a fish and a bird and a face.  And you could even tell what they were.  I find myself getting so impatient to just have it finished already.  I guess it will be a good way for me to exercise my patience as well as my artistic pursuits.  We are doing art once a week, because I have this artist on my hands (Nutmeg) who just can't get enough, and is so much better than me at it.  I'm sure it helps that she loves it, but she is definitely gifted in this area.  So, today's lesson talked about the element of Line in art, and we talked about Walter Rane, who has painted many paintings about scriptural subjects.  Then we finally got to the part where she was able to do something, and we drew the 6 days of creation.  Needless to say, the rest of us were done long before she was, and I think she continued practicing her tree drawing skills for an hour after we had finished, love it!

The rest of this week we were working on Geography.  We are studying Asia right now, and so we talked about the latitude and longitude and located a bunch of places.  I don't worry to much about geography anymore though, because we have these awesome maps on our kitchen table and the kids are constantly quizzing each other anytime we have a meal, so they have learned a ton since I put them on the table.  The best thing about using the family school geography is that it goes into a lot of the less obvious things about geography and makes you think about it.  Like latitude and longitude, equator, time zones, etc.  Those things to me are just -there.  I don't really think about them very much, but it's good for the kids so that they will be familiar with them.  They have also gotten really good at finding things on the globe.  We really like geography around here.  We are reading the story "Young Fu, of the Upper Yangtze"  right now for our family reading time, and it's based in Asia, so it is helping connect things for us.  I just love historical fiction, really well written ones that really help you understand the culture and time that it takes place in are fabulous.  History is my favorite to learn about and study.  I think I will have to write a post sometime about all my favorites.  We'll see if I get to it anyway.  :)  It would be rather long.  

Here's the link for the Family School, if any one is interested.  http://network.latterdaylearning.org/

This is off topic, but I'm looking out the window right now, and we have TONS of snow.  I think we have gotten almost 20 inches in the last 26 hours.  The kids are having a blast though.  We actually postponed our school time today until the afternoon, because they just couldn't wait to get out into it.  They shoveled off the trampoline before breakfast (their choice, not mine), and then I managed to drag them in for smoothies and breakfast before they were geared up and back out in it.  I am sure glad that we didn't have to go anywhere today, because I would probably have just skipped it anyway!  The county even cancelled school.  I don't think we have had this much snow in a long while.  I am thinking that it's been about 8 to 10 years since we've been this snowed in.  The last time we had this much, Mr. T had to shovel it with a shovel and it would take him about 3-4 hours to do our humongous driveway.  After that season, he bought a heavy duty snow blower, and although he has used it some, this will be it's first really good workout.  Now it takes him about an hour.  Not to bad.

This blog thing is a great way to journal, hopefully any of you who choose to read it, don't mind my ramblings.  Better go start dinner! It's Rock's week to help me, so that he can feel capable of feeding himself one day.  He's not a big fan of helping, but he sure is about eating it.

Christmas 2012

What a beautiful day we have had. It was a smaller Christmas, and very low key, just the way I have come to love it. In days gone by I would have spent a lot more, and gotten caught up in all the latest and greatest. I am glad that I have gotten past that in my old age. :) As our family has grown, I have found that we really don't need a lot of things. I am glad that I can say that for our family, less is best. Each of the kids got something that they were excited about, and they got some things that they needed. Everyone is happy with the day, and it feels so great to focus more on the real meaning of Christmas, rather than what all the companies want us to focus on. My father in law made the comment after all the gifts were open, "Well, Walmart didn't make any money on you guys this year, did they?" That is mostly true, although I did shop there a little bit, since I had gift cards. Mostly food type stuff though.  Here are a few highlights:

Ginga' received a Kindle Paper white.  He loves reading, and lately he, Rock, and I are all trying to read the same thing, so the Kindle has become a very useful item in our home.  He also got that bottle of green hot sauce that is sitting on the desk behind him.  He loved that.  If you notice, his pj's have hot chilies and hot sauce on them.  The more spice the better, in his book.

 Rock keep asking for night vision goggles.  Yes, he always seems to want things that are a bit off the beaten path.  Well, we looked at them, but decided that they cost WAY to much, and the long term usage of them would be rather short.  We figured that the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.  So, Mr. T (aka the Genius) found instructions on line on how to build your own night vision goggles.  So, for a fraction of the cost, we bought him the components to build his own.  Watching him open his gifts was hilarious, since he couldn't really figure out what all these strange looking parts were for.  It isn't easy to stump him, so it was pretty fun.  I'll have to check back after he makes them and let you all know how they worked out.  The upside to this is: when the night vision gets boring, he can take it apart and use the parts for other things.  At least that is what Mr. T tells me, don't ask me, I'm not the tech master. 

Last year Nutmeg got a violin for Christmas.  Then she grew, a lot.  So much so, that she needed to go up to the full size violin.  So for Christmas number 2: she got another violin.  That's okay though, she was excited for it to be more comfortable.  It already sounds so much better than the smaller one.  She just couldn't get her fingers in the right places anymore.  She also got another crochet book, this one: 

 and is already planning which animals to make first.  

This is a super fun project that I did for the girls for Christmas.  This is the process of dying play silks.  You use kool aid.  It smelled really good.  I felt so strange buying all the kool aid for it though, since we don't drink it here.  These two pictures are about all I have of the process, after I cleaned off my black hand, I wished I had gotten a picture of that too!  Oh well.  The silks start off white, then you mix different kool aid packets together to make different colors.  Here's a link to the one I used:  http://www.gerberadesigns.com/triedandtrue/?p=390

Here are the girls, loving their new play silks.  Seriously, hours of fun here.  I can't wait to see what else they will come up with.  I also made hankerchief sized ones for them to use to dress their dolls and stuffed animals and whatever else they can think of to do with them.  Say good bye to all those dress ups!  Woo hoo!! 

Apple didn't really need anything.  I mean really, baby number five.  With two older sisters.  She got a few teethers, like the one she's chewing on, and clothes.  Since I thought we were done after Squirrel, I had gotten rid of most of the baby stuff.  Oops.  :)  

 We also got a family pass to the zoo.  I couldn't decide how to 'wrap' that one up, so I put a bunch of their stuffed animals and animal figures around under the tree, and told them that they all had something in common.  They couldn't figure it out.  Some of the guesses were great though.  Here's a few I remember:  Rock guessed, "I know, they are all vertebrates!"  Well, yes, they were, however not the answer I was looking for.  Nutmeg guessed, "They are all God's creations!"  She is so sweet, true statement though.  We finally had to tell them.  They just couldn't get it.  But they are excited to go.  The first thing Ginga' said after that was, "We have to go with the Halls', they have a pass too."  Why, yes, they do.  I'm sure we will do that.  Their aunt has one as well, so I'm sure we will go with them as well.  So, if any of our other good homeschooling friends have passes, let us know.  It would be fun to meet up there.

I am so grateful for my family, the gospel and all that I have been given.  I am so blessed.  What a wonderful day.  Mr. T and I didn't do much for each other, we got shoes.  We both needed them.  He got rechargeable batteries, and I am a proud owner of a food steamer.  My old one broke a few years ago, and I am excited to have one again.  I received a wonderful Christmas email from my dear friend in Hungary, and it just finished my morning off wonderfully.  I am so blessed to have wonderful friends.  I am excited for the upcoming year to see the growth that will come from my children.  I love homeschooling for many reasons, but that is one of them.  I get to be with them so much that I see how they are growing and learning.  Fabulous.

Nutmeg's Newest Talent

This is the newest obsession of Nutmeg.  She has been making these cute crocheted animals like crazy.  She made a bunch for her cousins for Christmas, they are the ones with tags on them.  She has made several since I took this photo, she now has a whole octopus family.  I think my favorite is that yellow dog.  So cute.   She makes them hats and scarves and is exploring other clothing type options.  I guess we can get rid of our stuffed animals now, she can just make whatever they want to play with!  She's busy making them presents for Christmas, and has a whole Christmas morning planned out for them.  The hardest part of her having new talents is that she wants to work on them, and that is really hard for Squirrel, who wants to play with her, or wants to do what she is doing, and is frustrated that she can't crochet too.  Oh, it's hard to be the little one.  I just love seeing Nutmeg develop into the amazing young lady she is becoming.  What a jewel she is to have in our home.