METRO PIZZA
PUMPKIN PATCH
Family Date Night was that much more fun because of the company that joined us. We don’t see Tio Rob’s face as much lately because of his MBA program schedule so we were grateful to have a few precious moments of fun with him.
We have yet to carve our $20 pumpkin for fear it will rot before Halloween. I guess I really have learned a thing or two since moving to the desert. Although, I suppose it is finally time to break out the knives and scoopers!
Wherever we go, he goes. We love having the little guy around for school and field trips!
Did you know that he is actually a geography whiz? Okay, really he just likes our plastic blow up globe because it looks like a ball. He likes it so much that his mommy caved and bought him his own. I like to think he’s just plain ol’ genius. Having the little guy around makes missing my other nephews and nieces bearable. :)
He even took these with my camera (no help…okay maybe a little):
Having our resident student around has been so much fun. Can’t wait for the Holidays.
We Love Fridays!
FIELD TRIPS
Great Harvest Bread Company:
The children learned about every step in the bread making process from harvesting the wheat to baking the finished product. They each got to take home a delicious loaf of bread and cookie. We L-O-V-E Great Harvest Bread Company.
Park Excursion:
We didn’t think the turtles were real because they sat so still on the rocks, but then started to head for the shore:
As you can imagine, the children now want a pet turtle. We are actually more likely to cave to this request than the ever so popular dog request. What we didn’t get a picture of was the rabid birds attacking our Cafe Rio deliciousness. We ended up throwing a bunch of our food away because the pigeon problem was so bad. They were even dumpster diving right in front of us. I try really hard to forget their beady red eyes staring up at me from my Pork Salad. Note to Self: No More Eating at the Aliante Dinosaur Park!
CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS
Language Arts:
–mastered beginning blends…difficult accomplishment for ELL learners
–copywork, copywork, copywork
–definition of a noun…lots of proper noun practice
Memory Work:
–Articles of Faith #7, 8, and 9
–Poems: Caterpillar and Work
Mathematics:
–counting by fives and tens (Nikki)
–carrying and regrouping (Ezzy)
–Times Table memorization: zeros, ones, twos, and fives (Danny)
–basic math facts (Juan)
History:
–discovering all things Ancient Egypt
–Making Cuneiform Tablets (Sumer)
And just for fun:
THINGS TO ADD:
Science–curriculum just arrived last week
Piano–still trying to find my pedal and plug from the move
Book List–for the blog
Thank you for the gifts, Auntie Jes.
Cards have been made,
Books have been read,
and t-shirts have been worn.
All in the name of Aunt Jessica!
We love you.
Found these photos on my phone from this summer…
Danny at Camp Invent with his church buddy, Spencer:
Petting Zoo at Terrace Heights Library in Yakima:
Settlers, Settlers, and more Settlers:
Setting Up Grandma’s Classroom:
Gymnastics at the Rec Center:
While in Washington this summer, my sweet friend, Ginger, invited us swimming at her mom’s house. Oh, the memories. I spent much time there when I was a teenager. It was wonderful to see G’s mom and sisters and daughters. Ginger is one of the kindest people I know. It is one of her greatest qualities.
While we were there, all four ninos conquered their lingering fear of the “deep end,” once and for all. The deep end at this pool was a whopping nine feet! It was each nino’s first time on a real diving board, which was so fun to watch. Another thing I take for granted because I grew up with one in my backyard. There was no stopping them after the very first jump.
Another dear friend from high school, Jenny, joined us. Jenny and I have experienced so much together…even traveling across Europe. Man, I miss those days. We had so much fun together growing up and maturing into adulthood together. She is one of my best friends. We’ve known each other since we were nine.
I love peeking into both of my friends’ lives whenever I visit Yakima. I love them dearly. I just wish we lived closer so our children could really get to know each other. I also wish that I had more time to see them when I am in town. I never feel like I have enough time there…but we try to make the most of it.
Gone are the days of AAU basketball and sleepovers and Friday nights on the north hill of the football stadium. We have all traded up for great husbands, and gardens, and staying home with our beautiful children. I wouldn’t trade any of that.
To my friends–I love still having you both in my life. I smile when I think of each of you, and all the memories we possess. True treasures!
“In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other…We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship.”
–President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Saturday Morning Session
General Conference, 2010
In an effort to walk The Path a little straighter, we pledge to:
1. Watch less TV
Although this might seem a little silly coming from us who have no TV. We still have a TV, and access to the internet where we download our faves like: NCIS, The Mentalist, V, The Biggest Loser. Lately, we have been watching two, three, four episodes after the kiddos are in bed. So, specifically, we have pledged to turn the TV off by ten on weeknights, and to keep the TV off completely on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Hopefully, we will develop enough self-mastery to eventually keep it off entirely during the week. We set no hard and fast limits for the weekend. There is just so much more we can be doing with the precious time we have been given.
“Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.”
–Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Saturday Morning Session
2. Text, iphone, and laptop less
I pledge to not text during direct school time. I feel like this is one small thing I can do to show the children how much I value their education and their presence in my life…you know, that whole leading by example thing. It is only be example that I can teach them to not be beholden to electronic tools. They are useful, and I love my super cute pink flip phone with full touch pad. I LOVE IT! Which is why I should probably limit my usage of it.
Adam and I both pledge to be better at staying completely unplugged between dinner time and the kids’ bed time. We do a pretty good job of it most nights, but we also mindlessly surf or fiddle with the phones while playing/talking with the children, and each other…more than we probably realize. We pledge to be better. To unplug a little more. To be a little more purposeful. To utilize that valuable hour of precious daddy time that we anticipate all day long for good.
We are raising Children of God, and they watch every single thing we do. We set the patterns that they will follow. And time-wasting activities is not a habit I ever want to be guilty of passing to my children.
“We must be alert not to let sin grow around us. Forms of sin are everywhere—even, for example, in a computer or cell phone. These technologies are useful and can bring great benefits to us. But their inappropriate use—such as involvement in time-wasting games, programs that would drive you to carnal pleasure…is destructive.”
–Elder Jairo Mazzagardi, Sunday Afternoon Session
3. Buy a Modest Home
…And pay it off quickly! Since we live in Las Vegas, we have the pick of the litter right now, if you will. There are so many amazing homes on the market at very low prices, which is good for us (bad for others ). But as we look at what we can buy, it is easy to lose sight of what we should buy. It goes back to the age-old debate of our needs vs. wants. But we are resolved, remembering are long-term family financial goals that we have set, and are diligently working toward.
“To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so…There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master.”
–President Thomas S. Monson, Saturday Morning Session
We have very specific long-term goals that require mucho dinero (as Adam would say), and freedom of time. So the more we sacrifice now, the more we can serve and give back in the future. (As if buying the $150K home over the $400K home is much of a sacrifice in most of the world. Being where I’ve been and seeing what I’ve seen makes me ashamed to even write this phrase)
We find shiny new houses posted in our housing search with gourmet kitchens and pools with caves and “huge” backyards, and we totally salivate. But we don’t need any of it to be happy. That is the exact trap we are trying to avoid. I am more excited about the prospect of having a paid for house in a few years. That makes me most happy because that will mean that we are one step closer to full-time service in the work of the Master.
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My heart is full this week as I try to “go and do” what I have heard and learned. Until the Spring!
You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks…And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.
–President Henry B. Eyring, Sunday Morning Session
TODAY
1. Nikki decoded the difference between the “ones” and “tens” columns–FINALLY
2. Ezzy proved mastery in carrying double digits–FINALLY
3. Danny melted down during reading–UNEXPECTED
–my little perfectionist. We are so much alike. We want to be great the first time, at everything. So we had a long mommy-son talk about it. The great thing is that I connected in a way that I haven’t really been able to with him before.
4. Juan P. woke up on the wrong side of the bed–YUCKY
–he has yet to do his reading lesson, which proves that everything is not peachy all of the time!
5. All four ninos are on the cusp of memorizing Article of Faith #9–in one afternoon
6. We had time to discuss (not just read about) Christ’s Atonement
–the ninos’ questions were so good, they are slowly emerging into Logic stage. Sweet!
7. We checked on our clay Cuneiform tablets (pictures coming), which are in the process of drying. And we read about Cleopatra.
8. Perhaps most important, we continued learning the beginning blends.
–these are so hard for my ninos. They love substituting (r) for (l) in words like blood, flock, click, etc…I spent almost an hour with each child plucking through this for the second day in a row. Attention they just simply can’t get in a full classroom. Plus, I love them more so I push them harder.
9. Right now they are using their Cuneiform chart to make up secret codes for their daddy, just for fun. School was out 45 minutes ago.
I guess I know what Adam will be doing after dinner. :)
“Mommy, can you print me off a Halloween project to work on?” “Mommy, can I have more work today?” Mommy, can I work at the table instead of watching the movie?”
Seriously? When did he start growing into his age. Juan’s growth has been so gradual that we do not always notice the great amounts of headway he is making. But today was one of those days when I stopped and noticed that his behavior was much more age appropriate. Juan is our most emotionally driven nino. He is our most affectionate. He is our most sensitive. All of these wonderful qualities have made raising him up out of make-believe dreamland into reality a most challenging project.
Hard work does not just mean physically demanding labor. Raising Juan is a true labor of love and compassion and consistency. The work is tedious and constant. The fruits of this particular labor, however, are ever so slightly starting to bud. And that is such a sweet reward.
