Sugar Land Museum of Science

Pre-School Loves Museums, and any field trip possible. This time we went here. Isn't this old building amazingly beautiful?!?
They had these super cool satellite dishes that sat across the room from each other, when you talked in them you could hear even the slightest whisper from across the room.

And of course the Geodes. The best part of this tiny museum.

And they didn't get mad at us once for he kids climbing on everything. Don't worry, where was plexi-glass covering the tops.

But the main reason we came to this museum was for their Frog Display. We were studying frogs this week and went to see them all first hand. Here's our resident and expert, Phoenix, teaching his fellow students about the tadpoles.

And the struggle ensues for the best view of the 2 fatest frogs on display. Actually they weren't the fatest, they were just the most convenient to see when you're only 3 ft tall.

Don't forget the skulls of 100 animals. Well, probably about 12, but they were cool all the same. Note Pre-School Mom's face. We just never stop teaching. :) Love you Kelli.

One more Mommy, helping the kids get so excited about a Petrified Tree Trunk. "How many kids can we wrap around?"

We also got to watch a little video Hosted by Big Bird and Elmo. It wasn't on a normal movie screen. We climbed, literally, inside a blow up igloo then the video was shown on the ceiling all around us. So much fun, we went to the moon and saw the Big Dipper.

And last but not least we got another view of the Narnia Exhibit. Sicily once again FREAKED out with the fake snow. We had to skirt around it so none of it actually fell on her. All the kids really seemed to love the exhibit, and the parents too. But I think the parents loved it the most because with the School Group rate we saw all of this for $5 each vs $40 or so it would have cost otherwise.

Blue and Gold

London and Jared decorated a cake to celebrate the 100th Birthday of Cub Scouts for our Blue and Gold Banquet. They even won a water bottle for "Most Unique." Do you like the "UP" theme. There's even a little Cub Scout! Way to go boys, you're great cake decorators.

Laundry Day

All of the bedrooms in our home are upstairs, but the laundry is downstairs. We have developed a very technical way of getting all that laundry downstairs. Throw it over the banister.

Once the laundry is all downstairs you have to load it into the basket to be put in the laundry room. If everyone's helping this usually takes a rather long time. Due to things like this.But in the end it all gets washed, folded and hopefully ironed all in one day. 2 Laundry days a week. This is just the ironing pile. I'm lucky enough to have a washer that will hold a Queen sized comforter. I kept track of how many dryer sheets I used in a month and discovered I do 1 load of laundry a day, Queen Sized Comforter size. That's what you get with a family of 6, just imagine how much more I'll get when they're all teenagers.

When all's said and done, and the clothes are all out of the way, we have a little fun throwing other things over the banister.

So Sad

Let's just say we've had some long weeks with Jared being away lately. And when Jared's gone, emotions run just a little higher than normal.

London dropped his favorite cup and in shattered along the top. I didn't know whether to laugh of cry because he just burst into tears, "That was my favorite cup!" was all he said. But he really wanted me to take a picture of it so he could remember what it looked like. :)We used to have this cup in red, yellow, green, purple and blue. But now we're just down to red. We bought them one at a time in Australia, they were jam jars that you could use as cups once the jam was gone. I'll let you know how long the red once ends up lasting.

Sisterly Love?

Now I know you all think Sicily is the sweetest little 2 year old to ever walk the planet, but she does have her regular 2 year old moments every now and again.

Phoenix was being a rather sweet brother for dinner a few nights back and was trying to help her into her seat. Apparently she did not want his help, because when I turned around she had a very firm grip on his harm and was biting down as hard as she could. I immediately ripped her off of him and put her naughty little butt straight in Time-Out. She was non too happy, but she new darn well why she was in that corner.

Phoenix was so brave. I wasn't sure how bad this was till 2 days latter I realized he had a perfect circle bruise leftover from his little sister. Man! Girls sure are mean sometimes.

You think it's cold?

Last winter we had about ten 3 inch icicles on our house. The kids carefully broke them all off put them in a Ziploc and we STILL have them in our freezer. Well, I just don't think we'll be able to put this one in our freezer, not too sure it'll fit.This is at Jared's cousin, Tenill's house. Not sure what our neighborhood kids would do if they saw an icicle this big.

Lewiston

As you drive North of Logan you will eventually hit the last city before the Idaho border. This is Lewiston, Ut.

And this is where Jared and I really began our married life.

This is our first little home. Jared did AMAZING work on this house. He redid the siding, added that beautiful Bay window, and opened up the attic to include 2 more bedrooms and 1 more bath. We only lived in this home for about 18 months. But it has a TON of wonderful memories for me. London turned 1 right before we left this home and started our life with Schlumberger. As you'll notice, the home is for sale. I would honestly like to buy this home just for sentimental value. You never know.

2nd Dam

This is Second Dam. As you drive up Logan Canyon you will pass 1st, 2nd, and I think 3rd Dam. If you keep going eventually you'll end up on Beaver Mountain and have a ton of fun skiing. But that's not why I took this shot.

Do you see that sweet little bridge over there? Well, this is where Jared took me on our first date. It was after an Institute Dance, and I'd asked him for a ride on his new motorcycle. This is where we ended up. It was a beautiful warm night in May, a full moon was just rising over the Mountain, and yes...he did try to kiss me. :) But I held out! Not for too long though. ;) He was such a cute boy...could you blame me.
For those of you that are unaware, Sicily is NOT a fan of the snow. This was her reaction when we open the car door for her to get out. She saw that snow falling and that was that.But eventually we all made it out of the car safe and sound. These Mountains are just so beautiful. Some people think it's crazy to living in freezing cold Logan, but Man do I ever miss it.

Favorites in Logan

The Wedding Luncheon was held at Logan's famous Blue Bird Cafe. In my 4 years of college at Utah State University I never had actually been to the Blue Bird. It was really nice, much nicer than I thought it'd be. Directly across the street is the Logan Tabernacle. We had Stake Conferences here a few times and I got to sing in the choir. It's a very, very, very old building and so beautiful.

Right next to the Tabernacle is this statue of a family of early Pioneers. They are looking towards the Temple, towards an eternal family. So neat.And then of course there is the Logan Temple itself. One of the first 4 Temples to ever be built, my kids thought it looked like a castle. It's built on a hill, so no matter where you are in Cache Valley you can see it's spires rising above the trees. It's so inspirational.

So many things I miss in Cache Valley, I'd move back here in a heart beat if Jared's job would let us.

Best Buds

Liam and Phoenix are only 4 months apart, guess who's older?

Liam, crazy huh!

As soon as they figured out the other one liked to wrestle there was no keeping these 2 apart. Man! I wished we lived just a little bit closer to family sometimes. Cousins are just built in best friends.

So Cold

Proof that it was a bit cold today! One of the latest additions to the family, Colt. With his cute little bald head he looks a lot like Jared's Dad. :)

This is our little nephew Liam. He was FREEZING enough to steal his blanket back from his baby brother. Weddings in Logan in February are not all they're cracked up to be.

Snowballs at the Temple

Getting your picture taken is no fun no matter how old you are. Especially when you're all fancied up and freezing your butt off. Not sure who started this whole thing, but we all got in plenty of trouble from the photographer. Phoenix spent plenty of time with his head in the snow thanks to Uncle Ryan.
I love Dad's smile in this shot. Pretty sure his snowball had been aimed at Aspen.

Dad never realized that snowball was following him around. Got stuck right in his suit jacket.

Aspen got a little ahead of herself going after Uncle Ryan. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing any tights, big ol' nasty black muddy knee following this fall. But luckily enough no blood. Ryan even rubbed it down clean with a snow ball then kept the snow on there to help with the pain. That was some quick thinking, Uncle Ryan.

Then, of course like all Walker men, Uncle Ryan then rubbed the snowball into her hair. :) Don't worry though, she jumped right up and chased him down again.

Took us a good hour to warm up all their hands after this. London was the only one that actually had his gloves with him.

Emily and Jon

Jared's baby sister got married on Feb. 5, 2010. Aren't they just the cutest couple ever!
They got married in Freezing cold Logan, Utah. Then the reception was in more freezing cold Rigby, Idaho. We all had so much fun and really do love our new brother-in-law.

These are Jared's siblings. Left - Right. Katy, Jared, Em, Ryan and Dana. One of those rare occasions when you have the whole family together. Gotta love it. Oh, also rare occasion, Ryan Smiling! I took 3 different shots of this pose before I actually captured a smile. :) Love ya Ryan.

Jared's Mom did just about everything for this wedding. These 2 crazy kids got engaged over Thanksgiving and from then till now Mom made Emily 2 Temple Dresses, the beautiful quilt shown below, organized all the decorations for the reception and....

Made this beautiful cake. Isn't it gorgeous. Oh and did I mention? Jared' s Mom is a 4th Grade teacher, so she did all of that plus work full time. Craziness! But well worth it.

Emily and Jon are so cute together. All the nieces and nephew serenaded them with this sweet song while they danced their first dance. (Don't mind the lady talking in the background of the video, AUGH)

And what's a reception with out a bit of decorating!?! You can even spy London and cousin Ryker helping out. Oh, and by the way. Stuck on Oreos really STICK when you're in Rigby, Idaho. Seriously, they were frozen on by the time Em and Jon left the church. Too funny.

Happy Valentines

I got the opportunity to substitute for the Primary Choir Director at Church today. It was so much fun to see those cute kids trying to sing all those "Love" songs with me. I was shocked how many songs are actually in the Primary song book that talk about Love.

So I made this cute heart puzzle and taped the pieces under their chairs. Each piece had a song # written on the back. The kids knew most of the songs. I realized I didn't know some of those songs as well as I thought I did. I did get a little help from London's teacher, who sat right up front. He had all the words on his I-Phone, so I just followed along with him and London a few times. Thank goodness for modern technology.
I have the best Hubby in the world. $$$'s been a bit tight so for my Valentines gift he did ALL the dishes for me. Given he does do this most nights (bless him), but tonight he even hand washed all the pots and pans. And for a Sunday, there were A LOT of pots and pans. I love my Jared, he's the best!

We were given this by some family friends. The Kenningtons, Jenny made this cutest basket and I just loved it. The kids did MAKE us share, but that's ok. I just had to take a picture before we let them dig in, I knew it wouldn't last all that long.

One more cute Valentines shot for everyone out there. Aspen looked to cute on Valentines day, I just had to share. She was "Gator of the Week" (spotlight) at school and got to bring a Show-and-Tell. So Gus-Gus, her doggy, got dressed up for Valentines too. Aren't they just the cutest?

Happy Birthday My Jared!

Just kidding he's only 34!

I know, you're all making the same confused face he just made. But I didn't have a #4, only a 1,2,3 & 5. Don't know why we don't have a #4. So he got four magic candles instead.

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you.

My parents sent this card to Jared last year for his B-day, and I had to record it. Too stinking funny, it needs to live in infamy.

Pine Wood Derby #2

So here's the car. Dad helped London cut it out, London sanded the entire thing, I drew the Scout on top, London painted him, then I hot glued on the googly eyes.

We thought he was ready to go but he just wasn't fat enough.

Jared had to add on quite a bit. Drilled a few holes, added a few screws, taped on some nails and he was good to go.e in most cases this is how they really look.

So here's an actual race. We have the coolest race track ever. All computerised right down to the Thousandth of a second. No room for error with this Pine Wood Derby. Here's how it works. Each car is placed on the track by a leader, no boys allowed. Each car gets to race on all 4 tracks. Then all 4 times are added up to see who the overall winner is.

London's car did Awesome, of course, he won 3 of his 4 heats.

Check out that final time as London comes in first again.

But overall there were a few times faster than his. We came in 6th out of 16. Only lost by 0.378 of a second. Dang those computers! Oh and yes that 225.9 MPH is an accurate speed had this been a real car. Cool eh!

Everyone of course got a Ribbon and a Pine Wood Derby Patch. Good times!

Here's my Den showing off their cars. I love teaching these boys. We have so much fun. And I'm ever so glad I don't have to teach their Primary Classes...

Because in most cases this is how they really look. Absolutely CRAZY!!! I don't know how I'd ever keep them reverent. Thank goodness Scouts is all about having fun!

Aussie or American?

So it's 50 degrees outside, what do you do? Most people would do the whole pants, warm coat socks and shoes, maybe some gloves. No, not London. We'll just throw on a sweat shirt and call it good. True Aussie right there!

He may have been born in the States, but I think this boy has some Australian blood in him after all.

Ice Cream Man

I know it's officially still considered Winter in North America, but we had some rather warm weather recently (not currently), and the Ice Cream Man made his official first trip around the neighborhood. It was Family Night anyhow, and everything was the same price (which never happens). So the kids all spent their own money and got themselves a treat.
Gotta love watching a 2 year old lick the Biggest Popsicle Ever.

Christmas Bows

My Aunt Kathy sends us gifts every Christmas. Normally we are REQUIRED to go to the Family Christmas Party to receive our gifts. But since we're just no longer in Utah she's the best and mails them down to us. This year we got the best stuff.

Jared and I: A Date Bucket full of movies, popcorn and chocolate

London: Gift Card to Wendy's (awesome)

Aspen: These cute bows that Sicily is borrowing, and a head band (they match everything)

Phoenix: Chick race car from "Cars" (he loves it)

Sicily: The sweetest Baby Doll (perfect for her)

So I know it's late but I just wanted to thank the Best Aunt in the World for thinking of me and my kids every year. Thanks Aunt Kathy! We love you!

Peanut Butter Anyone?

For those that didn't know (I didn't) Houston, Texas has the ONLY Latter-Day Saint Food Storage Packaging Plant for Peanut Butter in the world. It's open and running Mon-Sat, 24 hours a day. No one is paid to work there, it is all volunteer from the local Members of the LDS Church. Cool eh!

Well, I got the joy of volunteering. Jared and I were going to do it together but we'd have had to leave so early that it just didn't logically work out for a babysitter. So I went on my own. It was such fun to work with the other members of the Ward.

I got to sort through roasted peanuts, taste testing if we wanted, plus fishing out dirt, rocks, or the random corn kernel. Then I got to screw on the lids (not a hard job). Scariest part was putting the empty bottles in line to be filled up with Peanut Butter. The Peanut Butter is hot when it first comes out, and looks a bit like Butterscotch Pudding. I was so nervous I'd miss a spot for the jar and have an entire 16 oz of Peanut Butter splotch down all over the floor and then they'd have to shut it all down just to clean up my mess. But luckily that never happened. I also got to stick on the Peanut Butter Sticker Labels, and help package them into boxes of 12.

All in all, it was A LOT of work. We were there for 4 hours. We did get to take breaks whenever we wanted and have as many Peanut Butter and Jelly/Honey Sandwiches that we could eat, even free cold milk. It was a lot of fun, but I think I'll let Jared do it next time.

So grand total we made 5,630 jars of Peanut Butter in one night. And I didn't get home till 11:30. Definitely Jared's turn next time.