Lego Club

Caden wanted to start a Lego club, so today was our first meeting. It was a great success. Our theme for this week was "Castle," though we had kids building submarines, trains, and playgrounds, as well. The kids built a dungeon inside their castle which held a prisoner. The castle also included a pirate with a treasure chest, a working drawbridge, and a kracken gaurding the moat.

All of the kids played well together. It is so fun to watch their imagination go to work!

Homeschool Fun

This year, we are going on a grand homeschooling adventure. Though I was apprehensive at first, we have had a great time so far. Caden is really happy, and Vance is learning so much from his brother. Even though we have only been at it for a few weeks, I have already noticed that the boys seem a lot closer to each other and fight a lot less.

This is a picture of Caden on the day of his first school outing. Also, a picture of Vance on his first day of "preschool." He is a crazy little man!

Here is Caden's Lego reenactment of Horatius at the Bridge. He was teaching Vance about the famous Roman (Horatius) who defended the city of Rome from the Etruscan army. I love teaching history to boys who love Star Wars. Caden says, 'Hey, Mom. If you take away the "e"and the "r" and replace "army" with "raiders," then you have "Tuskan Raiders."' Also, Star Wars came in handy when trying to explain the concept of senators (i.e. Palpatine and Amidala).
I tried to explain to Caden that I don't think the Roman soldiers had guns or blasters. He replied, "I know, Mom...but, I don't have any more weapons!"

Celebrate the family!

This month, we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." I was in my second year of college when this proclamation was released by the prophet, President Hinckley, and to be quite honest, I did not come close to fully understanding the significance of its contents. Now, we see throughout our society blatant attacks against marriage and family. The words of this proclamation mean so much more to me now that I am raising a family of my own. Check out some wonderful ideas and blog entries that help us celebrate families at one of my favorite sites, Chocolate on My Cranium.

"...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God..."

I love my husband! He has great integrity, a wonderful work ethic, and a marvelous talent for being organized and getting things done. He's my go to guy for dealing with pushy people, conflict resolution, and discipline issues with the boys. I am often admiring how he can just plow through and get things done.

It is so comforting to know that we have God in our marriage. That knowledge helps us get through the difficult and stressful times. As long as we are striving to keep our covenants, we will be okay. As we strengthen our relationship with each other, we become a strong companionship that can accomplish many important works, including raising our two wonderful boys. "...the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

Not to brag, but I have wonderful qualities, too. I firmly believe in the whole "honey catches more flies than vinegar" theory. I find it easy to see the beauty in those around me and hand out compliments accordingly. I long to nurture others and teach gospel principles.

Despite the fact that Tevye and I have totally different strengths from each other (which differences come not only from our personalities, but also from our gender differences), we work well together in raising our family. Our children benefit from both of our strengths to receive a well-rounded upbringing.

It is in our family that we learn important skills, such as working and playing well with others, serving one another, loving unconditionally, obedience, leadership, and effective communication. I love knowing the many quirks of my family members, and I work hard to let them feel safe to be who they truly are around me. After all, I have many quirks of my own, and they let me be me!

Enjoy this month of familiy celebration! I hope that this post inspires you to strive to strengthen family relationships and stand up for this divine institution known as "family."

Flooring Woes

Long story made short:

Ordered flooring from Home Depot about three weeks ago with a supposed 3-5 business day delivery.
Home Depot took way longer than 3-5 days.
Home Depot or UPS lost our floor.
Last Thursday, UPS brings flooring to our condo complex but says the truck doesn't have a lift gate, so they can't get the flooring off the truck.
Today, brings the flooring in the right type of truck but won't carry it upstairs.
Only option- put it in our carport where I am almost positive that it will be stolen.
Despite my great efforts, I break down and cry as I sign the delivery slip infront of the lazy UPS guy (he wasn't one of the guys that has delivered to our door before- they would have done their job right).

This brief account ommits all of the stupid calls that Tevye and I had with the two companies (mostly Tevye).

Moral of the story: Next time- Lowe's and Fed Ex

Fun in the Hidden Sun

The boys, Calee, and I made a quick trip to the beach this morning. I wanted to make the trip there (our first of the summer) this week since we have been learning about sharks and shells at home. As we were getting closer to our destination, the marine layer got thicker and thicker, and it looked very cold. Fortunately for us, it was a wonderfully mild day, and the water wasn't that bad, either. For some reason unknown to us, thousands of sand crabs and little clams covered the sand where the waves lapped onto the shore. We probably would have spent more time in the water, but it was creepy standing on them. Most of our time was spent making sandcastles. I quickly discovered that sand architecture is not my forte, so I switched it up a little by making a sand fish. Calee still has to email the picture to us, and then I will post it. I am so thankful to Calee for going with us, because I probably would have been afraid to take the boys by myself. Thanks Calee!

This summer, to avoid all-day video game sessions, I have been trying to keep the boys busy by doing an unofficial "summer school." We are using a program called the Itty-Bitty Bookworm, which uses literature-based lessons for pre-schoolers. I try to add in related activities that are more difficult so that Caden has something to be entertained with. This week, we have been doing an ocean/beach unit based on the book Five Little Sharks Swimming in the Sea. So far, we have finger-painted, made playdough (well, sort of- it did not turn out right), and painted with sand. I am hoping to make a trip to the beach soon. To add in a gospel element, we have also been studying the account of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a big fish. Our memory verse is Jonah 2:1.

Swim Class

We signed Caden up for swim lessons this summer. Even though he gets very cold, he loves it! The teachers had all of the kids jump off the lowest diving board on the third day of class. Caden jumped twice, but he later informed us that he did not like it at all. My mom told him that he would like it after trying it a couple more times. They jumped again the next day, and after the second jump, Caden tells me, "Mom, I'm not scared anymore!" Way to go, Caden! His class started out with about seven kids, but now it is down to four, which is nice because he gets more one on one time.