Sunday, February 22, 2015

Weekly Wrapup

Monday:  President’s Day…it was our famliy’s third annual “Chopped” competition.  Our starting judges were Kessiah, Logan, and Mason.
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Ryan ended up being the champion with his Double Crisp Apple Crisp…he went uncontested in the final round because Jenessa didn’t feel like cooking anymore!

Tuesday:  Kessiah and Jenessa got a ride to book club.  I enjoy going to book club but I also enjoy the opportunity to stay home and catching up on some things.

Wednesday:  A quiet day with no where to go!

Thursday:  In my LEAP group we did an investigation with our senses to distinguish between a sample of sugar and one of salt.  Then we went on an outdoor scavenger hunt.

Friday:  Mason has been working hard with phonics this week.  I could see progress by Friday as he got more comfortable putting sounds together to make words.  On Friday he had made it to his first Hooked on Phonics book…and was very excited.  Jenessa helped me out by doing phonics with him.  Logan worked on a writing assignment…not his favorite thing!

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Sienna, Logan, and Mason had co-op…the family we do this with was gone on Wednesday (our usual day).  It worked out well…I watched Fiddler on the Roof with Kessiah and Jenessa while they were gone…it was a school assignment for Jenessa. It was fun to watch it…I haven’t seen it in a long time.  Ryan came in to watch occasionally as he was putting up dry wall in the bathroom and laundry room.

Saturday:  Ryan had to go to a ribbon cutting for a playground at a local park…it was nice of him to take the youngest 4 with him.  They had a great time.
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Ryan finished the stucco in the bathroom and laundry room.  We enjoyed a fun time at family dance at our church.  I had encouraged the girls to dance at least one dance with each of their brothers…which they did!

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Sunday, February 15, 2015

Weekly Wrapup

Monday:  We had piano lessons and watched the next episode of Pride and Prejudice.  It was Mason’s turn to pick the game, we played a crzy game of tag in the family room and enjoyed Texas sheet cake brownies for our treat.

When I went up to put the boys to bed, Corbin went right into Sienna’s room and got in bed…that’s where he has been sleeping for awhile.  He must have been tired because he didn’t even come in to listen to me read.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture when I went in to check on him…it looks like he read his own story.

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Tuesday:  We went to book club where Kessiah and Jenessa enjoyed a discussion about Pride and Prejudice and the younger 4 children had a great time playing.

Wednesday:  Co-op day…my turn to have the 2 little guys.  Mason, Logan, and Sienna were learning about the human body. We also got started making valentine’s for our homeschool group party on Thursday.

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Thursday:  In our homeschool group, my group discussed animal tracks.  We ended by passing out valentine’s and enjoying some healthy snacks.

Friday:  Logan has been excited about moving on to the next Hooked on Phonics book.  Now, Mason has decided that he needs to do phonics as well!  I have started the first Hooked on Phonics book with him…he knows the sounds the letters make pretty well…but he is a little frustrated that he isn’t able to move through the book more quickly.  I found some things online for him to do to reinforce what we are doing in phonics.
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We got 2 more bunnies for Sienna.
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Ryan started working on repairing our drywall from our water pipe break on New Year’s Day.  And to end the day very nicely, Ryan and I enjoyed a dinner and a movie date.

Saturday:  Valentine’s Day got started with Kessiah and I going to help clean the church.  After doing Saturday jobs, I passed out some treats to my loves!   Ryan did some reinforcing in the yard to keep the bunnies safe from Diamond.  There was some screen time while Ryan took Kessiah to do the grocery shopping… plus he came home with some beautiful  potted flowers for me! Jenessa had arranged to babysit a couple of families at our home…she is trying to earn money for an ipod touch.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Our Love Story


Kessiah needed me to write our love story for a Young Women's activity...I thought I would also record it here.  This is my point of view, sometime I will have to get Ryan to write it down from his perspective!

I had just returned from my mission.  I was not looking to get married...in fact, I had a plan.  I was going to finish my degree and then get my Master's Degree...and then get married and start a family.
One evening, about 2 weeks after I got home from my mission, I was at a friend's apartment when Ryan came in with some of his roommates who had been playing basketball.  (Yep, a bunch of sweaty guys!)  After I left he asked my friend for my phone number.
Our first date was on February 3rd…a Chinese dinner and a play at the USU theatre (Sunday in the Park with George).  We spent some more time together and continued to get to know each other over the next several weeks.  Since I was a recently returned missionary, it was a little strange for me at first to be sitting by a boy…but I got used to it!
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On Valentine’s Day, his ward had a talent show that I went to.  Afterwards (about 10:00 p.m.)  I got a special delivery of a card and flowers!  I still remember how happy and excited I was!  At some point in February Ryan went to a dance with someone else, he had already asked her before he met me.  I thought he was so sweet when he apologized to me about it…we were obviously getting serious!  On March 5th, we went together to a girl’s choice dance.  Ryan was in the USU Chorale and I enjoyed going to a few concerts Ryan was in.  We enjoyed several other theatre events at Utah State...definitely a perk of being a college student!  I remember Ryan showed off his culinary skills by making me a dinner of beef stroganoff at his aprtment.  We also enjoyed going to the Logan temple together several times ...one of the benefits of being a returned missionary!
Something that really impressed me with Ryan was the time that he put into his church calling and the fact that he made attending the temple a priority.  I knew that someone who put the Lord first would make a great husband.

I knew he was getting ready to propose.  Sometime during April or early May, we had gone to visit my family.  At some point during that visit he spent some time alone with my dad.  I knew he was asking permission to marry me...my mom and I paced around outside waiting.  Ryan and I had recently gone shopping in Logan to look at rings so he would have an idea of what I liked.  (I found out later that when he went to pick up the ring, my good friend and her fiance were at the ring shop as well...so she knew before I did!)

We went to Idaho Falls during May so that he could stand in the reception line of his good friend.  While we were in Idaho we went to the Idaho Falls temple, I really thought he was going to propose while we were in the temple because I had had a few friends get proposed to inside the temple recently.  But he had other plans!  After the reception,  we went to the drive-in movie theatre and then went for a drive and ended up at the green belt (the area in Idaho Falls overlooking the temple).  What a romantic guy…in a tux (from the reception), overlooking the temple, holding a dozen red roses and a ring.  (His mom had somehow brought the flowers to him during the reception and he had put them in the trunk of his car)  He knelt down on one knee and asked “Will you marry me?”  Of course, I said yes…and the rest is history!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Weekly Wrapup

Monday...piano lessons and 4H leadership meeting.  I recently redid our Family Home Evening chart and added Mason to the mix.  He was very excited today because it was his first chance to pick the treat.  We had no bake cookies (for the second week in a row!)




Tuesday...Logan finished the first Hooked on Phonics book.  Teaching my kids to read is still one of my favorite things about homeschooling (2 more to go!).


Tuesday evening was New Beginnings.  Since Jenessa turns 12 this year she was able to attend and be introduced.  She is super excited to join Young Women's and can't wait for Girl's Camp this summer.

We went to book club in the afternoon where Kessiah and Jenessa discussed Pride and Prejudice, and the younger ones played.

Wednesday...my last day of this unit to do co-op.  We finished our unit on invertebrates by talking about butterflies.  Afterwards, we did our 4H cooking club and made fudge for Community Meeting.



Thursday...I was in charge of the Logan's and Mason's group in LEAP.  We played Clue Jr. and looked at our fingerprints.

As we were getting ready to go to 4-H, one of the kids yelled "there's a cow coming down the road". Sure enough, it came right by our house and into the field next to us.  It wandered away as we were getting loaded up...hopefully it found it's home.



It was the annual valentines treat auction at 4-H Community Meeting.  Sienna made a chocolate chip heart cookie and also took the fudge we made on Wednesday.  Jenessa started to make a treat but didn't like how it was turning out...so we just ate that one at home.  We came home with Sienna's fudge, a pumpkin pie, and some homemade sweet cream ice cream.

Friday...Ryan took Kessiah to an orthodontist appointment where she added a few more brackets to her mouthful. I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and took mason as my shopping buddy.



Saturday...Ryan finished the chicken coop and got Sienna's rabbit hutch lifted up off the ground.  We had the missionaries over for dinner.  Jenessa got to go babysit a nearby family because Kessiah was gone.  Kessiah went to Phoenix for the day with a couple of friends.  They went to the mall and did baptisms at the temple.  She came home with a few new clothing items that made Jenessa jealous!  It is interesting watching these girls become more interested in clothes.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Life on the Homestead...Chicken Coop and Rabbit Hutch

Ryan finished the chicken coop...Logan and Kessiah were his main helpers.  It is large and grand as far as chicken coops go...and most importantly we are pretty sure it is coyote proof.  Gwen (our lone chicken) seems to enjoy it...I wonder what she will think when she is invaded by several new chicks.  We are excited to get our new little fluff balls next month.









We haven't had much luck with Sienna's pet bunnies.  Diamond has killed 2 of them.  Ryan got our rabbit hutch raised off the the ground.  I hope this does the trick...I'm not sure I can take more bunny heartbreak.