Bread Bears and Catching Up

Hey, H! Where are all those cars going?

(Sorry, couldn't figure out how to turn it!)

I've started O on violin lessons during H's naps. He memorized all the parts of the violin and bow after just two days!

He's doing so well!

Fall Break was nice and relaxing. I promised O that we could make the bread bears from his Highlights magazine. They turned out pretty well.

The Project, Part III: Almost Done

After a few more colors, a few more coats of paint, this is what the project looked like:


However, since we bought blue cellophane for the water, we had to use it!


Master S, glue-gunning the moss on. The sand went on with Elmer's glue, and the rocks will go on tomorrow.


What do you think?

The Project, Part II

The second weekend in October, while I was in Bismarck at a cousin's wedding, J assumed the role of Mr. Mom. He and S worked some more on S's Geography project.

S painting the lake:

...and priming:

The next day they painted the mountains:

Pretty amazing!

A proud boy, and it's not even done yet!

Pirate Island

The Friday before General Conference we had J's sister's kids sleep over. For dinner we took them to Pirate Island.





They loved it! (With the exception of H, who was terrified of the skeletons and sham cannon fire.) The food was reasonably priced and actually pretty good. Recommended fun for all ages!


Argh!

The Teaching Moments

"Here, Son. This is how you do a headstand.

"First, kneel down, place your hands on the floor, and put your head down.


"Then, lift your knees up and rest them on your arms, balancing on your head.



"Finally, slowly lift your legs up and -- Ta Da! You're standing on your head!"


"Your turn, S!"

Yeah!

Just when I thought I knew all there is to know about J, he shows me his awesome headstand technique. These first ten years with him, I wasn't sure, but now I know that he is absolutely a keeper.

Whenever, Right?

So, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. Ah well. Sooner or later (probably later) you will get updates on S's project, my trip to Bismarck, J's numerous business trips here and there, and our life in general.

Later.

It Is True

A few weekends ago was the 179th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Due to the fact that our nieces slept over on Friday night and that H's attention span has yet to stretch, watching Conference on Saturday was, to put it mildly, a challenge. All 5 kids supplied with Conference packets, pencils, extra erasers (because H kept eating them off the pencils), snacks, and comfy places to sit, we settled down to watch. I didn't get much out of it besides the names of the speakers.

Sunday was a little better. J and I let the boys watch/play in the playroom while we listened in the living room. I absorbed just a little more than the day before, mostly observing that Sister Dibb sounded really cheerful while recounting the tragic story of the bridge. After lunch, I sat down on the couch to prepare for the final session and promptly fell asleep. That's right -- I missed Elder Holland's talk. I woke up in the middle of Elder Perry's and completely slept though Jeffrey R. Holland's talk. I'm ashamed to admit it. I did, however, just redeem myself by watching it (complete with ASL interpreter), and -- wow. That's all I can say. Wow. I understand now why it seems to have been the most popular talk of the conference. And I will try harder in April to stay awake through all the sessions!