Conference Pancakes and Crackers

Hooray!  It's General Conference Weekend!  I always look forward to hearing what the Prophet and Apostles feel prompted to teach us, and I love the feeling of peace and inspiration as I listen to them.

Our new ward apparently has a tradition of holding a pancake breakfast the first morning of Conference.  We ate a hearty breakfast . . .

. . . and tested our knowledge of the modern apostles . . .

. . . while the little kids ran around the gym.

Back at home, I think we've finally settled on a good way to help the kids pay attention during Conference.  I print off "Conference Squares" bingo cards, with a different Gospel topic in each square, and for every six spaces they cover during a session . . .

. . . they can choose a snack after the session.  Cheez Its and Gatorade tend to be the most popular items.

Between sessions, we went on a family outing to the YMCA pool.  Daniel and Anna were pretty excited to test out their swimming skills . . . 

. . . and Joy was excited to swim with Daddy (it was his first time coming to this pool with us).

Goggles, Crafts, and Latin

A few random September pics:

I bought Anna and Daniel some goggles to wear to swim class, and that has made big difference.  Daniel had been reluctant to put his face in the water, and now he does it even when the teacher isn't asking him to.  Anna had been asking to quit swim lessons, but now she thinks they're fun.  Todd didn't get goggles or swim lessons this month, but he still wanted to be in the picture.

I organized a Joy School group for Todd and some of his friends from church, and we had our first classes last week.  It was my turn to teach on a day when the big kids were off school, so they got to join us for the lesson, songs, and craft.  We all think it's funny that each of our kids has been enrolled in a Joy School group at some point, except for Joy.

Daniel has really enjoyed singing in choirs at his past schools, but alas, he won't be old enough to join Thunder Hill's choir until next year.  When I asked the music teacher about other choir options, he recommended a county children's choir called Cantus Chorus.  Daniel attended his first rehearsal tonight.  They learned their first song (in Latin) for their December performance, but they also played a few active games that involved singing in other languages.  I like the combination of multicultural musical instruction and fun.  Daniel seems to be enjoying it too.

My Two Gardens

Remember the garden I planted out front a few months ago?

I've had mixed success with it, possibly because our rather shady yard just doesn't get enough sun.  The basil flourished, but the peas and pumpkins didn't grow very well, and the habanero plant only produced one pepper.  The tomatoes are starting to die back (maybe they know it's autumn), but they have made a heroic effort to ripen all their fruit before giving up the ghost.  The pleasure of having fresh basil and tomatoes right outside our front door has made the garden worth the effort, in my opinion.

So what's next for this compulsive gardener?  I'll probably put some hardy, perennial herbs in the raised bed outside, and indoors I'm giving this book a try.

The author soaks seeds like peas or broccoli overnight, puts them in wet soil in disposable bread pans (or any other container you like) . . .

. . . then covers them with wet newspaper and stores them in a dark cupboard for a few days.

Once they start to sprout and push the paper off, he sets them by a window (it doesn't even have to be a sunny one) . . .

. . . to green up and grow a bit more.  I should have taken a picture a few days ago when the greens were tidy and cute.  Now they're getting a bit unruly, and half the broccoli sprouts have been chopped for a smoothie (don't look at me like that--they actually have a very mild flavor).

Will I grow more potted sprouts?  Probably.  They make a nice addition to salads, sandwiches, and even smoothies, and I can grow them even in the dead of winter.

Pumpkin Cookie Day!

Today is the Autumnal Equinox!

Translation: It's the first day of fall, and time to make our first pumpkin cookies of the year!

The kids helped me mix the dough . . .

. . . and eat some of it . . .

. . . then Cweepy helped us sample the cookies to make sure they turned out well (they did).

Wish you could have been here to share some with us, but don't worry--Todd ate an extra one for you.

Tree Houses in Our Family Room

I've been reading the Magic Tree House series to my kids for years.  The chapters are short, the books have plenty of pictures (Gaston would approve), and the later books in the series have rich stories that make even grownups want to read ahead.  By the time Joy was about five she would get tired of waiting until bedtime to hear the next chapter, so she started reading the rest of the book on her own.  At first it bugged me that she would read ahead and I would have to finish the books on my own, but then it dawned on me that it's a good thing for kids to voluntarily read books, so I just let her go ahead and do it.

Anna and Daniel have been more content to listen than read on their own, but lately Anna has started reading ahead in the Magic Tree House books too.

Daniel hasn't been an eager reader in the past, but I think Anna has inspired him to start reading and rereading the Magic Tree House books as well.  The first time I saw him pick up a book of his own accord, I wasn't even tempted to dissuade him; I wanted to do a happy dance (in another room where he couldn't see me).

While Daniel and Anna read Magic Tree House books after school today, Joy decided to teach little Todd about numeric place values.  You're never too young to start.

Grilled S'mores

I recently bought a little Weber grill through Craig's List.  I didn't get it so we could grill burgers or steaks (that would have been too obvious).

I bought it so we could make s'mores at home without building a campfire. 

We set up our folding table, laid out our s'more ingredients, and got roasting.

Here's Anna sporting marshmallowy smears on her cheek and a gap where her loose tooth used to be.  We pulled it out today the way my dad used to do it--by tying a string to the tooth, tying the other end to a doorknob, then closing the door really fast while pretending to make final adjustments to the string.  The good news is that it pulled the tooth right out.  The bad news is that the tooth somehow slipped out of the string and landed in some hidden spot in our front room.  We can't find it anywhere.  That's the third tooth that Anna has lost and then lost.  We keep having to write apologetic notes to the Tooth Fairy.  Fortunately, she's very understanding.

Back to School Picnic, 2017

Thunder Hill Elementary hosted a back-to-school picnic this evening.

We swung by Little Caesar's on the way there.  Some days I just need to push the "easy button."

After our sumptuous meal, the kids played in the bounce house . . .

. . . and on the playground . . .

. . . then waited in line for a popscicle.  Simple pleasures of childhood.

The Old Mill and Some Juicy Cereal

Last week, Todd and I explored . . .

. . . an old spinning mill that has been converted into a commercial center.

Buildings that used to house lots of spinning and carding machines are now home to antique malls, restaurants, and even a yoga studio.

Apparently we were there during a non-peak hour/season, because the only other living thing we saw in the courtyard was this sparrow.  I hear the place is fun and festive at Christmastime, though.

In other news, one of the women I visit teach gave us a bunch of books her grown-up kids no longer read.  The box included some classic picture books like Go Dog, Go! and Ten Apples Up on Top.  It is fun to see my kids enjoying books I remember reading as a child.

In other random news, this morning Daniel asked me to put apple juice on his cereal instead of milk.  He swears it was good.  I'll take his word for it.

Reading Day at Thunder Hill

The Thunder Hill hosted a special reading day today . . .

. . . so parents, grandparents, and grownup friends of the students could come read to them.

Daniel asked me to read this book to his class . . . 

. . . then I snapped a picture of Daniel with the other Daniel in his class.  They even sit at the same table.

My next stop was Joy's classroom.  Instead of having me read to her classmates, Joy asked that we sit behind these cupboards . . .

. . . where I could watch her silently read a chapter book.  I tried to read along too, but I discovered that Joy reads a whole lot faster than I do.  Fortunately, I had read that book many years ago, so I wasn't completely lost when she turned pages I hadn't finished.

Once we finished the book, I snapped a picture of Joy with the other Joy in her class.

I would have gone to Anna's class too (and no, there is not a second Anna in that class--what are the odds?), but she was sent home with a fever yesterday and couldn't come back to school today.  She's feeling a lot better today, so I took her and Todd to a playground instead.

Squirrel Food

Fall is approaching . . .

. . . and the oak tree outside our front door is starting to drop acorns in our yard.

Joy recently learned that acorns are very nourishing (after you shell them, grind them up, and soak the bitter tannin out of them), so she decided to harvest some and give them a try.

I thought her experiment sounded intriguing, so I pounded a few acorns with a frying pan in the kitchen.  Unfortunately, as we later learned from our friend the internet, early acorns are hard to shell, and are more likely to be infested with acorn weevil larvae.  Of the dozens of acorns we pounded, only a handful were usable.  Maybe we'll try again in a month.  Or maybe we'll just leave the acorns to the squirrels.

Swimming with a Bobcat

Daniel and Anna started swim lessons at the local YMCA today.

It was sweet to see their teacher gently and patiently coax them to step (or swim) a little outside their watery comfort zones.

Last night at Cub Scouts, Daniel earned his Bobcat rank.  I don't know if every pack has this tradition, but apparently in our pack the mom of the new Bobcat gets to paint symbolic designs on his face . . .

. . . then he gets to paint his mom's nose.

I thought the tradition was a lot cooler than Daniel did.  Oh well.  Good job, Daniel!