So far so good. . .

I have so many blog posts that I start to conjure up in my head and so few of them actually make it here. So much to do, so little time! Like the one about The top 10 reasons why it's great to be married to a farmer, or Why I love living in California, or all the crazy things the kids do and the funny things they say. Wait, I do need to mention a couple of those while I'm at it. Pull up a chair, this may take a while! So, this morning, I was exercising and the kids were up and decided they needed breakfast, or at least a snack to get them through to breakfast time. Arianna decided she needed a bowl, so she climbed up the step stool onto the counter and stood there to open the cupboards. The only problem was, she realized as she stood there ON MY COUNTER that she had to go to the bathroom! And she couldn't get down fast enough. So there she sat on the edge of the counter and emptied her bladder. Kenneth was on his way out the door to work and helped her down and then came to tell me there was a puddle on the counter. Upon finishing my workout I went into the kitchen to check out said puddle. There was not a puddle ON the counter, no, it couldn't be that simple. She was literally sitting on the edge of the counter when it happened, so it dripped down into the cupboards below, into the plastic containers stored there and on the shelving and finally puddled on the floor. What a lovely start to the day! That crazy little chicken!!

Arianna also has special prayers as of late. She used to just say a super short prayer that was over before some people had a chance to fold their arms. Then she got into longer prayers which mainly consisted of her talking about whatever she saw around her as she looked around the room. Now, her prayers consist of her thanking Heavenly Father that we can do "all the things we want to do and the things we really want to do and all the things we really, really want to do." She cracks us up!

Well, there you go. There is some of the craziness chronicled for you. But, moving on, as I was doing the dishes tonight I realized I had not yet given an update on how homeschooling (Joy) is going! I think it has been almost 3 weeks since we had the 'first day of school!" Well, so far so good. In fact, I feel happier than I have felt in a while! Partly due to the fact that I believe I am finally mellowing somewhat as a mom. (Except for that small incident this morning when I was trying to get us all out the door for an 8 am Doctor's appointment and no one was cooperating!!!!) But really, I am feeling more relaxed and letting go of things I used to allow to make me crazy. I am also just letting myself enjoy these incredible children!!

Normally we do 'school' in a couple of chunks during the day. I have had to readjust my schedule to allow us to do this, however. I get up between 5:45 and 6:15 to exercise. Unfortunately, the children are following suit and get up when I do and lay on the couch and watch me sweat. They were sleeping in for a while there. Until 6:30 or 7, that is. Oh well.

Then after breakfast we do a little bit of learning. We sing some songs, do the calendar, practice patterns, or phonics, addition or subtraction. One day we studied about worms and then harvested the castings out of our worm bin. Yes folks, the worm poop; And they've made a lot of it! I have visions of it really helping out our sad garden. The soil definitely needs some fertilizer. By the by- we have replanted! With such a temperate year round climate we are taking advantage. We have beans and peas up already and looking great! (Okay, enough with the tangent, Heidi!)

Then in the afternoon, while Grant is napping, we will read books or do workbook pages, or some math on the computer. Emma just loves to learn, so she makes it quite easy on me! Arianna will join in sometimes, or not. Even Grant joins in on the fun sometimes.

On Wednesday, we had a particularly wonderful school time. We dropped the little two off at preschool (yes, Grant is now in preschool!) and went to the park just down the street, spread out a blanket, pulled out Emma's school bin and had a ball together! In addition to the learning we were doing in the books and with the math manipulatives, we watched birds searching for worms in the grass, we watched flocks of geese circle and soar and finally form a 'V' and fly away. Heck, we even experienced the movement of the earth as our blanket, once shaded, was in full sun again. Emma was so amazed to have witnessed that! I feel so grateful that I can homeschool. What a privilege! Later that same afternoon I told Emma how much I liked learning with her. She said, "Yeah, me too, Mom, that's why I call it Joy- because it's fun!"

Of course, other days, like last Friday, we went to the beach! Kenneth has every other Friday off and we needed to go to the learning resource center for our Charter School, which happens to lie half way between here and the beach, so, off we went! On the way there Emma did math with Daddy in the back seat and we practiced spelling (on Emma's request). We also talked about verbs- thinking of all the -ing words we could. So much natural learning happens. All we have to do is encourage it!

I do realize that we are still in the honeymoon phase of this grand adventure. I am sure we will have hard days and hard weeks. But, I am very glad of this decision that we have made. One thing's for sure: Kenneth sure is jealous that he's not the one home with them! I am so thankful that he provides so well for us so that I have this privilege and opportunity! Thanks, Kenneth!

Here are some of our recent adventures:


Here is our trip to the Fire Station. We made the trip with the Preschool Co-op Group, but of course, Emma got to be a part of it, too!

All the kids got a turn in the driver's seat of that big fire truck!

Does she look happy, or what?!

Grant taking his turn

Grant in his fire hat.

A little piece of heaven on a Sunday afternoon. I just love these times! Oh- don't you love our new US Map rug? Emma loves it! She is going to know the States in no time. She likes to have me say the name of a state and she has to try and find it.

Emma and I were making patterns with these math blocks and the younger two had fun joining us. How many kids get to do school in their leotards? Isn't it fun?!

One more bit of news: Emma had her first ballet class today! She loved it! I should have taken her picture, but I didn't. She was wearing the same leotard in the picture above, just with white tights, ballet shoes and her hair in a bun. She was beaming from ear to ear during the whole class.

Birthday Celebration

Mostly, the celebration is all about food around here. Since Grant is still so young, the rest of us chose the foods, except for the birthday treat, which Grant chose: chocolate mousse.

For breakfast I made one of Grant's favorites, German Pancakes. Here he is awaiting their completion:



The kids had a fun day of doing what they do: playing.

Here is Grant playing in the backyard with tomato juice all over his face. He had raided the garden for his snack.

What is a fun day of playing without 'Pillow Jump!" It sure is nice to have a set of couches that you got for free so you're not worried too much about the kids destroying them!

Here is Grant enjoying his birthday dinner of Swedish meatballs and broccoli. Emma chose the meatballs. Her hands-down most favorite meal. Grant likes it, too.

If it weren't for this, however, he probably would not have finished the broccoli. He loves chocolate mousse. I loved that I didn't have to make a cake!

Yum!

Even after it was past bedtime, he still wanted to play with his Birthday presents! Kenneth got him a firetruck and another vehicle that he has in his hands and he carried them around for days. He also enjoyed the Little People Town that I got him (off Craigslist). He loves the Firestation Garage and the ramp to drive his cars on. The girls enjoy playing with it too!

And finally for the Grandmas and anyone else who might be interested, here is the video of the Birthday song and the blowing out of the candles (Grandma Larchar was actually on the phone - in case anyone noticed the fencer ticking and wondered):

Happy Second Birthday, Grant Man!

Taken just a couple days ago.

Oh how I love this little guy!!!! I know I am an overly doting and silly mommy, but I still call him my baby boy. I really need to stop and let him grow up. (After all, he does regularly use the word 'actually' in sentences- as in "Grant, would you like more cheese?" "Yes. . .actually, no". That was a shock when I first heard it come out of his little mouth!)

I can't believe he is 2 years old today!!!!!

This little man has been all over this beautiful country of ours in his short little life. He was born in Rockville, Maryland- just outside of D.C. Just 6 weeks after he was born we took a car trip to Orlando, Florida. When he was just 4 months old we drove up to New York to be with family for the Holidays. At 10 months old we moved across the country to California, where we now live- driving to get there, mind you. So, at 10 months old this little guy had already been in 19 States! Wow!

Grant's favorite things are cars and trucks and trains. He loves to hook things up- trains, trailers to tractors, cars to tow-trucks. You name it, he wants to get it hooked up. He loves fruit and really doesn't care much for meat. He will eat chicken in the form of a meatball or a nugget, but other than that he really doesn't like it much, either. He loves cauliflower, edamame and cold peas and will eat whatever vegetable is being served if it means he gets to have fruit afterwards!

He enjoys playing with and often terrorizing his sisters. He sure doesn't take much from them, however, and is often heard shouting, "STOP!!!!!" He wants to color, but only with pens and markers. He is OVER crayons. He also wants to cut things with scissors, but hasn't quite figured them out yet.

He has an extensive vocabulary. He even surprised the Nursery leader on Sunday when she gave him a construction sticker and he correctly identified it as a 'scraper'. He loves to talk!

Grant is still a little guy, which I am grateful for!! So much easier to carry around. He still sports some 6 and 9 month onesies and his 18 month khakis for Sunday are STILL too big for him, so many weeks I revert back to putting him in 12 month pants.

He has asked to have Chocolate Mousse for his Birthday treat. And since we are not much of cake fans around here anyway and it is way easier I was all for it. (He has been craving and asking for Chocolate Mousse since the last time I made it- which was a couple of months ago!)

So, since he is such a talker, I thought I would try with the Birthday Interview. Here's all I got:

How old are you today?
good

What is your favorite animal?
elephant

What is your favorite food? What do you love to eat?
Chocolate Mousse

And at this point he was finished with the questioning and told me to STOP!


We are so thankful to have Grant in our family. Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!

Here are some pictures of his first 2 years:

Just born

One of the first days at home- with Emma

About 6 months old- loves those toes!

Especially loves watermelon- almost 12 months old

16 months old- playing dress-up with his sisters

A man on a mission! About 19 months old

Just recently- such a charmer!

Emma's First Day of School!

We can hardly believe it, but Emma is already old enough to be starting school! She had her first 'official' day on Monday. Here she is:

She chose her own outfit. Monochromatic- very interesting. Too bad she had to change at 10 am when we went to the park!

Because I couldn't choose, you get to see another.

And another.

Here she is with her school box. It was like Christmas around here this morning!

As almost an afterthought I made up a little box for Arianna, too. I didn't want her to feel left out. What is that face?! She is a crack-up.

As you may have noticed, we are homeschooling. I know this may come as a shock to many of you. The responses I get when I tell people are varied. Many are almost horrified (partly because they just think I am crazy to take on such a responsibility and partly because they think I am going to somehow 'ruin' Emma) and some are intrigued. So you all understand how I came to this difficult decision I will give you a little bit of background.

First of all, Kenneth has always been pro- homeschool. If he were the one here at home with the kids, that's what he would do, no question. He is a homebody. He loves nothing more than to just be at home with family. I, on the other hand, love to go and explore and see new things and be out. This is changing as I grow older, but still, as a rule I would prefer to be out more than Kenneth. You should also know that I myself was homeschooled for a portion of my fourth grade year. And all I wanted was to go back to school, so I did, after a few months. I just didn't like the whole idea of doing my schoolwork at the same table where I ate breakfast lunch and dinner. And I liked to be out and about among other people. I also feel as though I had a very positive experience all throughout my schooling. I loved school. So, part of my hesitance in keeping Emma home was that she would miss out on all the great things about school.

Back in March, I signed Emma right up for Kindergarten at the Elementary School. Before I did so I went to observe a Kindergarten Classroom. It was very colorful and they sang songs and it seemed very organized. But, for some reason, I couldn't quite feel comfortable with something, even though I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I tried to put it out of my mind, thinking it would just be fine. But all around me my peers were discussing the same decision I was facing: Homeschool vs. Public School. So I started listening. And thinking.

In our current ward, every mother who is able to stay at home with her children, with the exception of one, homeschools. I started to talk to all of them, and some mothers who did homeschool their children, but who are now grown and gone. I was intrigued by the things they were telling me. So, I started to talk to more people about it and read books about homeschooling and the more I read and learned, the more the idea was growing on me. And the more excited I was becoming about the idea. It is a great privilege to be able to witness your child learn about and discover the world and to learn with them! These books I was reading talked about inspiring your children to greatness. So much of what happens in the public schools squelches their natural creativity and excitement for learning. Emma is so excited about learning that I don't want to do anything to put out that spark. She is reading like a champ! I don't want her to be bored or held back in Kindergarten. I want her to be able to read whatever she wants. I also felt very strongly that allowing her more time with her siblings will strengthen their relationships and that that is very needed for them.

Basically, I feel right about Homeschooling right now. Does this mean I will Homeschool her right through High School or even Elementary School for that matter? Not necessarily. But, for right now this is right for us for where we are.

Finally, one of the straws that broke the camels back was this: Just recently a bill was passed that states:

"Instruction in social sciences shall include the early history of California and a study of the role and contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society."

Thus is, of course, just one portion of the bill. But, basically, the teachers, textbooks and instruction are to portray all these different groups in a positive light. I am all for celebrating the positive contributions of all people, but what does their sexual orientation have to do with anything? Most certainly, my 5 year old does not need to be introduced to such a confusing concept (homosexuality, etc.).

Many of you may be thinking, "What about socialization?" Truthfully, I don't really want Emma to be socialized the way most children are socialized in the schools. I do intend to give her opportunity to interact with many different people of many age groups. We will sign her up for classes, have joint school with a couple other families and regular play-dates and seek out many other opportunities to meet and learn from a variety of people.

The first 3 days have been great. Emma is such a joy to work with. She loves to learn and read and draw and write. Monday night at dinner she almost begged for homework!
"Where is my homework, Mom?!"

"Uh. . .Sorry Emma. I'll have to give you some for tomorrow. "

Arianna joins right in the fun when she feels like it and does her own thing when she doesn't. So far so good. I am sure that we will have challenging days and even weeks. But, I am excited about This opportunity. Oh- Emma also chose a name for her school: Joy. My sentiments exactly.


Here are some pictures of other adventures in the last week or so:

'Graduating' from Preschool. Emma and Mom.

The Preschool Bunch.

The favorite part of Preschool. Playing!

Emma reading to Arianna. Boy is it nice that she can do that now!!!

Emma decided Grant needed to be dressed up to be able to dance with them. Yes, that is a skirt he is wearing!

We had a lovely visit to the temple this weekend. We took turns watching the children.

Picnic at the Temple.

Dad reading Grant his favorite book as of late: Richard Scary's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go.

Finally- here is our version of P.E. (On this particular day anyway) The girls picked out this silly animal exercise video from the Library. They are so funny. Enjoy!

Fabulous Las Vegas

We spent 4 days in Las Vegas last week to attend my niece's wedding reception and spend time with my 2 sisters who live there. We had a great trip, but my children, who have really acclimated to the Bay area weather, had a really hard time with the heat- as you can see in this picture in front of the New York, New York. All three of them are covering their eyes trying to somehow escape from that sun! We were even told it was cooler than is usual for this time of the year. Only 107 or so when it usually is up to 115 or 120!


Emma said the funniest thing on Sunday afternoon on our way home from Church. We all loaded into the car after attending my sister's ward there in Vegas and Emma immediately started belly-aching about how hot it was. Here is how it played out:

Emma: Turn on the air conditioning!!!!!

Mom: We are just going to open the windows for a while and let some of the heat out first.

-----short pause-----

Emma: It's not going out, it's coming in!!!!!

Kenneth and I couldn't stop laughing.

We stayed with my younger sister and her family. It was especially fun to meet her youngest son and fifth child, Tate, who is just 3 months old. Our kids had so much fun playing with their cousins and their toys. (Their own toys at home have been confiscated for the past 2 weeks due to non-compliance in the clean-up department.) We spent just a few hours down on the Strip on Saturday morning. Kenneth had never been to Vegas at all, so the casinos were a new experience for him. It really is a different world; not one I would like to be in very often. But, I must say, they do some really cool things with the stylizing of those hotels!!!

The Paris

Inside the Bellagio (my favorite one). Those are all glass blown flowers up there on the ceiling. I also loved the fresh arrangements in the lobby with the roses and lilies.

Kenneth and I in front of a landscape 'painting' using flowers for the medium. This was also at the Bellagio.

Here are the girls and myself with my niece, Natasha, and her new husband, Doug. What a great guy and a happy couple!

Here is a picture of the reception. They had a fire pit going for roasting marshmallows. How cool is that?! (Too bad it was over 100 degrees outside!)

The beautiful bride and 2 of her sisters.

Here I am with 2 of my sisters.

My little girls are getting so big!

Fun was had by all dancing to the music. Here is Emma dancing with her cousin, Madeline.

Emma and Grant had a ball dancing together.

We went swimming twice at my sister's pool. The girls loved it!! As you can see, Arianna was happy as a clam! Grant, not so much. He is just not a water guy. We coaxed him in both times, but he was not too pleased about it. He did warm up to the idea the second time after an hour or so.

The girls were in heaven playing dress up with their cousins!

Grant discovering the fun of light sabres. He was also in heaven with all the boy toys that belong to his older boy cousins.

Arianna and Mikelle with Lulu the bird.

Goodbye kisses for Lulu.

We made a quick stop right outside Edwards Air Force Base. Here are the kids and Kenneth in front of a retired B-52.

Here they are up close and wind-blown.

All in all we had a great time. The kids were very good travelers on the 9 1/2 hour drive each way. Too bad my lead foot got the best of me on the way down; I got my first speeding ticket! Kenneth drove the whole way home. I guess that's one way to get out of driving!!