Kindergarten Zoo Field Trip

What kid doesn't love the Zoo, and even better spending the entire day there with all your school mates?

I got to join Phoenix on he Field Trip to the Houston Zoo this year. I did it 2 years back with Aspen and it was just as fun this time. They split up parents in to pairs then assigned us 2-4 kids to look after. Our group had 3 parents and 4 boys, all our own sons and one extra whose Mom couldn't make it. We had such a great day.

Headed straight to see the Fruit Bats at their feeding time, but had to stop in on the ground squirrels first. That's Phoenix all on his own, I don't know why. The other 3 boys all crammed in together.
They do have a lion drinking fountain somewhere, but we got the cactus one this time around.
The playground was next. I love that they can see all these animals and all they want to do is act like them and play on the playground. Phoenix makes a pretty good monkey imitation.
The playground was next to the petting zoo, with goats and such. This awesome rooster was running the fences pool the entire time. And his spires were HUGE. I'm so glad all our chickens are hens.
They were a bit more interested in the play giraffe than the real ones.
This guy just had the coolest horns ever. I'm not sure what he is, but I know he was in the African animals section of the Zoo.
Also in the African section, so cool drums. When I first heard them being played I thought it was professionals. Who know kids could play so good when they all beat it out at the same time?
Cute monkey with an old man mustache.
This is our teacher, Mrs. Timmons. She's a sweetheart and I think has been teaching Kindergarten for 20+ years, so she knows what she's doing.
"Verde!" (if you haven't read this book you have to) He was so cute and tiny. He was in a little cage that was in a little cage where his Momma was sleeping. He even had a brother that was RED! Who knew they could do that. And when they're all grown they'll be bright Green. Cool!
The infamous white alligator. The boys were very very interested.
Shifoo, from "Kung Foo Panda"
Time to wrap up. We all met back at the front gates and they lined them up by class. And with 7 Kindergarten classes of 22 kids each, that's a lot of heads to count. That's Phoenix there with the red hat.
Whew! What a day. Phoenix shared a seat with Jaden and Dane on the way home. Phoenix got the aisle with Jaden in the middle and Dane at the window. He said Jaden laid down on his lap then Dane laid on Jaden. Phoenix pulled his hat over his face and they all slept the 1 hour drive home. The teachers always love the ride HOME from the zoo, it's always a bit more quiet than the ride TO the zoo. :) Gotta love 5-6 year olds.

Boys vs. Girls

It always cracks me up the difference between boys and girls. And this in never more apparent than at playgroup.

Girls (mostly) sit sweetly, play with their dolls, read books and sing songs.
Boys run, chase, wrestle, jump and basically try to kill each other all in the name of fun.

How are we all so different?

Football Snuggles

We always check our kids and tuck them all back in before we go to bed at night. Jared came in to get me after he'd checked the girls and then Phoenix. He said the girls had all been snuggled up to their dollies and teddy bears. So when he checked in on Phoenix this is what he found. Did I ever mention Phoenix's first word was "Ball?"

Frozen Strawberry Jam

I have a tendency when I cook to make WAY too much. I just put in a little of this and a little of that, and before I know it my pans are overflowing. So for Christmas last year Jared was sweet enough to buy me this great big soup pan, in my favorite happy color of red.

Well this time around we made something red in it and I was SOOOO grateful that I had such a large pan. Here's the ingredients that fit into this pan:

18 Cups Smashed Strawberries
9 Cups Sugar
9 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
9 Packets Unflavored Gelatin (Knox)

Heat and mix till warm enough to dissolve the sugar and you're done.
Separate it into containers of your choice and freeze. Use as needed. And though we do eat a lot of jam in our house, we end up giving some of this away as gifts too. YUM!! Last year we even added some blueberries to make Strawberry-Blueberry Jam, it was wonderful.
And of course this all tastes WAY better than store bought. You can actually taste the fruit, it's amazing.

Geckos Anyone?

These little guys just seem to know when the weather is right. You know Spring has sprung and summer is right around the corner when you start seeing these everywhere. This particular guy, thank goodness, is outside. But the light hit him just right so that I could see him from the inside of the window. I love taking my dog for walks at night right now. It's not too hot, just yet, but listening to the crickets, frogs, cicadas and geckos just makes me happy. Geckos make a sweet little chirping sound, they almost sound like birds, but since it's night you know it's a gecko. Take a listen on your porch next time your out at night. You'll love it.

Easter

What a good Easter we had at our house. We started out on Saturday night dying Easter Eggs. Jared boiled up about 2 dozen, which we end up going through pretty fast when you have 4 kids.
The egg kit we got this year was a lot of fun. After you dyed the egg you smeared a little glue onto the egg. Then we pretty much put on gold leafing, but all different colors. They turned out so pretty, and the kids had a ton of fun.
Phoenix showing off his pink, blue, gold and silver leafing that he added to make his favorite egg.
Easter morning we kind of run it like Christmas. They're allowed to check out their baskets and the 1 or 2 presents the Easter Bunny brought them. But then they have to wait for Mom and Dad before they can't start their egg hunt.

The Easter Bunny brought Phoenix this ever so cool plush football....
That is actually a pillow with a sleeping bag stuffed inside. He LOVES it, and sleeps with it every night.
The Bunny knew Aspen pretty well, and since she's not old enough to get her ears pierced he brought her some clip on and magnetic earrings. You can only guess how long it took for her to remove those from the paper and put them on her ears. And of course she wore the flashiest most dangly ones to church that morning.
London lucked out and got a new CD player. He's able to plug his MP3 into too, so that was a winner hands down.
Sicily, our little princess, got a Rapunzel (Tangled) dolly. She has long hair, clips, mirror, brush and a crown that just made Sicily's day.
I do have a video of our Egg Hunt this year, but if you watch it for too long you get a bit sick. I was following the kids around with the camera as they hunted, and though you do get to hear all their shouts of joy, it does make one a bit nauseous.

So here's the aftermath. The Easter Bunny hides all of our dyed eggs and a bunch of candy filled plastic ones too. We had to keep counting up the dyed ones to make sure we'd found them all. The Bunny finds it hard to remember where he/she hid them all.
One of my favorite traditions as a child was cracking our eggs. We would chase each other around the house and whack them on each others heads. Way more fun than whacking it on your own.

So this year I snuck up behind London and gave him a good whack. He retaliated of course. Phoenix wanted to jump in and get Dad, so before Jared realized what was going on I asked him ever so sweetly if he could get something for me that was on the floor in the front room and bring it to me in the Kitchen. This of course was just a rouse so he would bend over so Phoenix could reach his head. It worked perfectly. Then all chaos broke out. In the end I grabbed Phoenix's little face and was kissing him all over to distract him from the egg in his hand. This didn't work at all because he reached right around my arms and whacked me on the head as I was kissing him...the little stinker. :)

So we ended up with a bunch of cracked, and marble looking, eggs to turn into Deviled Eggs for dinner.
All in all it was a good Easter. I'm always happy for these traditions, but what makes me more happy is knowing the true meaning of Easter. I am so grateful for an Eternal Father who was willing to sacrifice his son so we can return to him someday.

Sicily Reads and Sings

Every now and then I'm able to catch Sicily being Sicily. She is such a sweetie. These little videos are a bit long, but I just have to show off my littlest girlie when I can.

This first one she's reading her scriptures to Aspens Oreo. There's a little mix of "Follow the Prophet" in there too, where she kind of sings her own words.

This is Sicily's Center Stage. She stands up on the trunk whenever she wants to sing. I love it.

He Got In!!

London is moving into Middle School next year, which is 6th-8th Grade. Our zoned school is ok, but there's lots of horror stories that you always hear. So we've been looking around.

We sent in an application to the Gifted Academy that's local here. London got his letter today and he got in!! It was like opening his Mission Papers, we were all so excited.

So now, starting in 6th Grade, London will start learning Spanish which normally they don't start until 7th Grade. He's so excited, and we're so proud of him.

Coconut Cracking

I know you get the perfect Hula Dancing Coconuts if you saw these babies open, but where's the fun in that. Break out the hammers. It's like Birthday Pinatas, everyone wants to have a whack. But in the end Daddy's usually the one to actually bust it open.
We even made some rather yummy Thai Food with the Coconut Milk. Yum! There's all sorts of benefits to buying these things.

Houston Astros

Jared's work got us some super cheap tickets to take the family to see the Houston Astros. What a fun night, it was perfect. Not to hot and we were right in the shade.
As we entered the stadium we found these super fun baseballs. Someone was not too happy that there were only 3 baseballs. Phoenix was sweet enough to hop off for Sicily right after I snapped this shot.
Sometimes even my photo skills amaze me. Who knew that even the pros had to warm up, just like the little boys on the street. Though this ball was moving slightly faster than the neighborhood kids do.
I was even able to convince Jared to take a hold of the camera. Here we are all lined up and ready for the game to start.
Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd, buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks (though in our case hot dogs, nachos, ice cream and cotton candy), I don't care if I ever get back.....
We really weren't that far away, but binoculars are always fun to use.
If there was ever a home run this train would chug along, music would play and everyone screamed and cheered. It is nothing like watching it on TV, being there is WAY better!
So since these were work tickets, all the Schlumberger folks were kind of in the same area. We were right next to Jared's co-worker, Nick and all his buddies. Aspen and Sicily took right to him (he did bribe them with a bit of cotton candy though) and were soon right on his lap singing songs and playing games.
Phoenix was just in it for the Blue Bell of course. Baseball Cap Bowl and all.
The rest of us got waffle cones. There was even an ice cream station, you know, like a hot dog station. But instead of ketchup and mustard it had sprinkles and caramel sauce.
Being only 6 the novelty of the game ran out once the food did.
Fun family activities are always funner when work pays. Thanx Schlumberger!

Chicken Soup for the Soul

There are few things in life that are more comforting than Chicken Noodle Soup. It has always been one of my favorites, and as such Sicily and I have it for lunch about once a week. (The other 6 days of the week are typically Mac and Cheese. But back to the topic at hand.)

This particular bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup really wanted to make my day. Check it out. I did not pose these noodles, I literally scooped them up and my Soup smiled back at me.
I told you Chicken Noodle Soup is good for you.

Minor Surgery

Sicily has had a rather large wart growing out of her left nostril for almost 2 years now. It hasn't been that big of a deal, but it's started to get bigger and was looking more and more like a permanent bugger every day. So we took her to a few Dermatologists who mostly said the only thing they could do was freeze it off. Like I was going to let them put my 3 year old through that kind of torture.

In the end we found a wonderful Pediatric Dermatologist who said they could just cut it out, no stitches and it'd be healed in less than a week. So Jared and I went together to the Medical Center with our little Sicily. They were the sweetest people ever. Talked to her, visited with her, let her watch Tinkerbell while we waited our turn. The Dermatologist, Anesthesiologist and the Nurse all came in and introduced themselves to her so she wouldn't be scared. Then they wrapped her up in her favorite Bear Blanket and she walked right into surgery with them, leaving Mom and Dad behind.

They gave her a little sleeping gas and less than 30 mins later we came back in to this. She only slept about 15 mins after we got back with her, and then woke a little groggy but more or less ok. They even left her little Bear Blanket with her while she slept.As we waited in the recovery room she asked me, "Am I going to sleep? Is the Dr going to fix my wart?" She was so cute, she had no idea that she'd already been asleep and it was all done.
It's been a good few weeks now and the little tiny scab that was all that was left is totally healed. We'll go back in in about a month so the Dr can make sure it's not growing back. But otherwise, we're done. Simple as that.

Dad's and Donuts

Twice a year they have a fun gathering with the kids and their Daddy's. At the start of the year it's for grades K-2, so Jared went then with Phoenix and Aspen. This time around it was for grades 3-5, so only London, which he was all to happy to brag about to the other two. It's so nice that Jared's job is such that he's able to do these kinds of things with his kiddos. They love it!

Just Swinging

Sicily wanted to help Daddy build the new Chicken Coop, but the concept of holding screws for very long tends to loose it's novelty rather quickly with a 3 year old little girl. Especially when the weather is nice and there's a swing set right next door.

Swinging is one of Sicily's favorite activities. It is impossible to go to a park and not have to push her in the swing at least half of the time. I literally have to bribe her to get off the swing and go try something else. She loves the slides and sand, but those swings are still her favorite.
We actually had our first mishap on the swing this morning though. She wanted to go extra high, which tends to mean an Under Dog. If you don't know what that is, it means as I push her on the swing I follow through and run underneath her as I push her, thereby putting her rather high into the air.

Well the park we were at the swing really was probably too short for me to do a proper Under Dog. So as I came under her and then let go on the other side she lost her balance and fell a good 3 feet from the ground landing flat on her back. And since there is no sand at parks any more she was covered head to toe in mulch. I felt like the worst parent ever.

But knowing how much she loves to swing I didn't want her to develop a fear of the swing. So once she calmed down we got right back on. She was laughing and giggling in moments, but a little too much. I was in front of her tickling her and as she started to go back away from me she let go with one hand to try and tickle me back. Of course, sending her off of the swing a second time. This time, thank goodness, I was able to catch her. So no injuries, the second fall, but just a very frightened little girl.

She did get back on our swing set once we got home, but she much prefers little pushes for the moment.

From Dog House to Chicken Coop

This beautiful blue house once belonged to our humongous Golden Retriever Charlie. Jared built it almost 5 years ago and it's still in one piece and has never leaked. Due to the fact that our new dog is a quarter of the size as Charlie was, we no longer are in need of such and huge dog house. So the Chickens now have a new home and a new place to rest their little stinky feet.

After lifting it off of the ground, Jared cut out the one wall to install 2 nesting boxes. Then giving the base a chicken wire floor he cut out one hole in the corner and made a ladder/ramp for them to climb up and down (took them about 3 days to figure out that concept).
Last, but not least, was adding a few windows for beautification. One arched one on the front and 2 (not yet finished in picture) cute ones on the side. He even added little window boxes to each one so we could add some herbs of flowers for a little more garden space.
Jared never ceases to amaze me in his building skills. I took the box of the dog house, designed and drew what I wanted it to look like and somehow with my little drawing Jared is able to make something become a beautiful reality.

So the finished painting will begin tomorrow. And once I have the herbs in, you will all be the first to see it, chickens and all.

OWWW!!!!

My kids have definitely inherited my clumsy gene. But this time around it had nothing to do with being a klutz.

As we left the church after the Young Woman's Dinner London was exiting in his flip flops, with Jared close behind. I'm not really exactly sure how it happened, but as London walked out of the church building the door was closing behind him so Jared caught the door and pushed it forward so he could exit too. Now these doors are metal, heavy and have very sharp pointed corners on the base. Imagine it as getting ran into by a shopping cart, but one that was a sharp pointy door.

Whacked London right on the ankle. I've never seen a boy go down that fast or that hard. Jared was in a panic, because a fake cry and a real cry are 2 completely different things. But after a lot of ice, and limping for a few days, he was ok. I always hate it when my kids get hurt. But I have to say I hate it even more when it's our fault.

Girls Camp Fundraiser

We recently participated in the best Fundraiser I've ever seen. Our Ward (our church congregation) had a dinner, that was sponsored by the Young Women (girls 12-18). The main food was donated by Olive Garden and Carino's Restaurants. YUMM! Salad, Pasta and Bread Sticks. Then for the desert, each family was encouraged to make and bring something that was then auctioned off to the highest bidder. All funds going directly to the Girls Camp Fund.

Desert items included: Cheese Cake, Trifle, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Bunt Cake with Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Sauce (we won this one), Cookies, Cupcakes (stand included), Flan, Mint Chocolate Brownies (which everyone was fighting over), warm Peach Cobbler...etc. There were over 35 treats to choose from. I decided to make my family's very yummy recipe for Fruit Pizza. I actually made 2, one for us and one for the activity. My pizza ended up selling for $35, and the Chocolate Trifle that was made by a genuine Aussie sold for $65, man I wanted that one!
It was a nice evening of food and friends, and it helped out the girls so that's what's important.