Visitor Day

Sarah's school hosted a visitor day for potential new students. Ben joined the class with his friend, Ethan. They were desk buddies for the day. Ben liked math, recess, and the fruit smoothie at lunch.

Meanwhile, in Sarah's class, she was excited to win a Jolly Rancher for winning a class game of geography Scattergories. We had lots of fun for both kids today.

Super Skiers!

We joined in a church group outing to go skiing today. It was the first time skiing for the kids. We couldn't have ordered better weather or snow conditions! It was perfect. We barely made it from the car to the lodge before Ben shed his jacket. Clint took his snowboard in the car, but ended up leaving it there. He had rented skis along with the kids, figuring it would be nearly impossible for him to help his kids learn to ski while he was on a snowboard. This was his first time on the new style of skis. He had lots of fun skiing with other parents. Becky kept an eye on the kids on the bunny hill.

As part of the church package, the kids received a lesson in the morning and then spent the rest of the day on the bunny hill. At first they were discouraged just trying to get from the lodge to the lesson location. But once the lessons were going, they really enjoyed themselves. They caught on to the concept of the platter-pull to get up the hill, and we just watched them go up and down all afternoon. It seemed the day flew by so quickly. It was a blast to see so many people we knew, and the kids kept running into their friends. At lunch most of the people in the lodge looked familiar. Before we knew it, we were heading back down the mountain. It was a perfect first ski day.

Clint's Birthday

This was a BUSY day for Clint. No relaxing for the birthday boy this year! He helped with Becky to lead out in Sarah's Sabbath school class and filled in as a deacon at church. Then we went to lunch with some friends, and they were prepared with a pie which worked well for a birthday dessert. Next we headed with a Sabbath School group to a retirement home to share a end-of-Sabbath program with the residents. After Sabbath, we went to the ski shop to pick up our skis for tomorrow. Then we went home for popcorn and fruit salad. We were too tired to do anything fancy, but wanted to sing "Happy Birthday." So we put the candles in his popcorn! This was a first for him! He enjoyed his gifts. Ben drew a picture of Clint smiling on the ski slopes, and Sarah gave him new ski goggles.

As he was enjoying his gifts, the kids surprised him with silly string! What a mess! He tricked them into letting him "check" the can, and he turned on them. Becky managed to stay out of trouble by hiding behind the camera. Never a dull moment in our family - especially on your birthday.

Crazy Costume Day

It was another day for silliness at Sarah's school today. Crazy Costumes were everywhere. Sarah was inspired by Ethan's Paris party, so she imagined she was a girl visiting from France. Her classmates, Krista and Sydnee were glad to join in too. Ben had music class at the school today, so he came as a football player, complete with his football. In music class today, they didn't do any music. They all worked to make pinch pots out of clay as part of a big peace project to be held in the future. Details were sketchy, but it all sounded worthwhile to me.

An Evening in Paris

Our friend, Ethan, has celebrated another birthday! We were glad to be included in his party, and volunteered to help out with the Paris party.

We enjoyed crepes, breads, cheese, and a wonderful cake. The kids had a mini-Tour de France on tricycles, and solved a mystery when the museum paintings were stolen. There was time for dress-up and time for French school. The kids learned how to sing Happy Birthday to Ethan in French. We also painted our own masterpieces. Sarah painted the Eifel Tower, and Ben painted LarryBoy from VeggieTales. Maybe someday we can really travel to Paris!

Family Egg Drop

Following the egg-citement of Sarah's class egg drop, and their class participation in the nearby college egg drop, Ben was in the mood to plan a family egg drop. He prepared invitations to the family members and planned refreshments. Then we worked on his design. Sarah and Becky also entered their designs. Clint was utilized as the "volunteer" to drop the devices off of the roof. All three of our eggs made it without breaking! Hurrah! It started to rain, so we headed insided for our refreshments. This may become an annual event. Stay tuned...

Vroom...vroom...

Our afternoon was so much fun! We were invited out to the farm to enjoy the warmer weather after a big potluck lunch. Dylan and Katelyn have dirt bikes and after some practice, Sarah, Ben and Charmaine were able to ride around the field. OH MY! It was actually a lot of fun. We also jumped on the trampoline, hiked down along the river, climbed out on a fallen tree, and found time to take our friends to a couple of geocaches. :)

Later we made a big fruit salad and homemade carmel popcorn - yes, yummy - and played some games after a group worship.

Crazy Hair Day

It was bound to happen sooner or later! Today was crazy hair day at Sarah's school, and Ben participated since we join a library class on Fridays. His hair looked crazier in person than in this photo, and Sarah's hair had all sorts of stuff going on all over her head. The hair "glue" we used on the kids could only come out with shampoo. Lots of silly heads were running around the school today. No, Mom did not participate in this school spirit day.

Pottery Painting

Our friend, Ethan, invited us to come paint pottery at the beginning of February. Sarah, Ben and Becky enjoyed letting our creative juices flow! Becky painted a bowl with a heart on the inside and several hearts and swirls on the outside. Ben painted a box with an American flag on the lid, and smiley faces on each side. Sarah painted a tile with her handprint. We have a small collection of tiles in the kitchen painted by the kids through the years. Sarah's handprint won't fit on the tile much longer! It is fun to paint the pottery, and exciting to see them after they've been through the kiln. We highly recommend a "paint-your-own-pottery" experience.

Signs of Spring

We are enjoying the early signs of spring weather. Some pansies are coming back from last year. Becky's Dad helped to supervise getting them in the ground, and we called with the good news that they survived the winter! We have daffodil, crocus and tulips pushing their way up through the ground. Birds are resting on every tree in the yard and singing their thanks for the food in our feeders. But you don't really know it is springtime until you spot a boy in your front yard on his scooter! Ben is working on a few new tricks with his scooter. Look out neighborhood - here comes Ben...

Poetry Program

Ben's homeschool group sent home invitations to attend their class "Mother Goose Poetry Party." Ben was chosen to be the master of ceremonies, and we believe he did a splendid job! He announced each student and the poem they would present. When it was his turn, Ben began by reciting,

"Lucy Locket lost her pocket,

Kitty Fisher found it;

Not a penny was there in it,

Only ribbon around it."

The program was in the library, and at the end the kids asked us to all "come have some pie." Pie seemed like something suitable for a Mother Goose afternoon. One of the teachers made some bite-size cheesecakes which Sarah is remembering fondly.

Egg Drop and Twin Day

Sarah's class has been working in teams to develop devices for a class egg drop competition. Their project has to deliver the egg off of the school gym without breaking the egg, and trying to land as close as possible to a frying pan on the ground. Sarah's team used a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza box, lots of soft packing and bubble wrap, plus a grocery bag parachute. Their team name was "Pizza Eggs." After four tries, their eggs all made it safely to the ground, but did not consistently land close to the frying pan. It was beautiful to watch it float to the ground. The class winner was team "Sleepers." They filled a pillowcase with sleepers and had the egg in a sock. All of the designs were very creative.

To add to the fun, it was the school "Twin Day." The kids were encouraged to dress alike with someone. Sarah matched with classmates Krista and Sydnee in their light green shirts and jeans. After raiding Clint's closet for a shirt, Ben and Becky decided to match and show our school spirit since we were going to the school today.

Frisbee Golf Geocache

Perfect weather for geocaching today! It was too nice to stay inside, but a bit cold so we're all in coats. We were lucky to run into the Nelsons at this new geocache. They had figured out the first part of the puzzle, so it made our job easier. We have run into them at geocaches several times. This is at a nearby frisbee golf area, but we had to use all of our skills to find this one! Afterwards, Clint and Ben were wishing they had a frisbee. :)

Pet Worms

Good news! We now have pet worms! You may remember the pet snow from January the kids introduced to our freezer. Well, the snow has since melted in our yard and now we're enjoying the warmer weather. Warmer weather equals digging in the dirt. Digging in the dirt leads to finding worms. In an effort to "save" our new pet worms, the kids are building a dirt home for them on our patio table. Ideal? No. Fun for the kids? Yes!

Handwriting is Fun!

Ben is enjoying his new handwriting workbook so much we've been finishing about three weeks each week! We are using the Reason for Writing books, which we used for Sarah when she was home for school. A happy student makes a happy teacher too!

Valentine's Day Kids

All the excitement of Valentine's day has us worn out now. Sarah's school had Plush Pal day in addition to Valentine's day classroom activities. It was great to see all the animals the kids brought to school. Sarah's class made a paper mailbox to collect the Valentine's cards. At his homeschool classes today, Ben made a bag with a drawstring. It is fun to read all of the cards from their classmates. Both kids had too much sugar today.

At home, Clint surprised Becky with some lovely flowers. :) Sarah chose a Chinese Yo-yo for Ben's surprise, and he chose a small stuffed puppy for her. We can't get Ben to put down the Yo-yo for very long! He was inspired by the Chinese New Year activities.

Heart Pizza

We're trying to get in the mood for Valentine's day. At Sarah's school tomorrow, the kids can bring in a plush pal (stuffed animal). Sarah will take her bear and small puppy. Ben has music at the school in the morning, so will join the fun with Joshua, his alligator. After school today, Mom thought a heart-shaped pizza would be just what we needed after a long day. We got a kick out of it and it filled our tummies. Mission accomplished! Now to finish all the school Valentine cards before tomorrow...

Living Room Talent Show

Today we had a couple of extra kids over in the afternoon, and everyone thought of a talent show. It started with an obstacle course and race in the backyard. Some light rain shortened the outdoor competition, so we came inside for a 7 minute coloring competition followed by music. Our guests each sang a song, and Sarah sang with the piano. Ben also played the piano.

Becky was asked to judge the competition and declare an overall winner. How could she do it? She decided to award one prize to each grade level since we had four different grades represented. Whew! It was a lot of pressure for a Mom.

Corner Checkers

Ben and Tweety enjoyed several games this afternoon. First they played Chutes and Ladders, followed by Checkers. Ben was reading about several different options for Checkers including one called, "Corner Checkers." The pieces are lined up in the corners to start the game across the board diagonally. Ben won most if not all of the games, but Tweety just enjoyed playing and was happy for Ben.

Our company left this morning so our day seemed very quiet and rather lonesome at times. Becky took advantage to get more rest as she is still not over the miserable cold! Her cough lingers and she is tired most of the time. Hopefully some rest will help.

Montana Buddies

We were treated to a visit from our Montana friends for a long weekend. They were here for a basketball tournament so their schedule was full of practices and games. We did manage to squeeze in some reminicing and lots of playtime. After church we took a quick photo while they were all dressed up. Then after lunch the boys went geocaching while Sarah worked to surprise them with chocolate chip pan cookies. The whole house smelled so wonderful, and the cookies tasted wonderful too.

It has been awhile since we had a 4-year old to entertain us and ask us questions. They asked us to come out to Yellowstone area sometime this year, and we're tempted to take them up on the offer!

Chinese Celebration

Sarah's class got in the spirit of Chinese New Year with a big celebration. Her friend, Charmaine, and her family helped organize crafts, entertainment and fabulous food for the class today. In the group photo, Sarah is one of the two masked children in the back row wearing a red shirt.

Some highlights included a Chinese yo-yo demonstration complete with lots of great tricks, red envelope gifts and the dragon dance around the classroom. They made their masks plus some colorful paper lanterns. Everyone will remember this day for a long time.

Ski Jump Concentration

In Ben's PE class, they are working on circuit training. In this picture, Ben is doing the "ski jump." He has to imagine he is jumping with skis from side to side. Each station takes 45 seconds. He is really concentrating on this station - complete with his tongue sticking out! Last month his PE teacher focused on bowling, and they set up temporary bowling lanes in the gym. The PE class is one of his favorite parts of the homeschool classes he takes each week.

Misery and Dispair

Yesterday Becky was hit hard with a horrible cold with a pathetic cough. February has not started off well for us. She has been out of commision, and will probably be miserable for a few days. Clint surprised her with some "get-well" flowers, and Ben made a cheery card. She doesn't go far without a box of tissues, and keeps going back to bed. We can tell where she is at all times by following the sound of her cough. Yuck! None of the rest of the family wants this sickness, so we're trying to avoid her. Maybe the flowers and card will be just what she needs to get well again.