Joyful Liberation

Mara's Driving!.. and more...

2012-01-30T18:09:00.001-07:00

It's official. I have 3 driving kids! Mara will get her license sometime this summer once she has wrapped up her drivers education class...which brings me to my rant...

ok, if you read my blog, you know I am not fond of public school. I won't go into my opinions on the matter but will just say I am witnessing first hand the dumbing down of American kids through this system. Mara is dual enrolled in classes that she enjoys (drawing and ceramics) and one she has to take... Driver's Education ;)

In Utah it is mandatory to take Drivers Ed. Josh and Aspen took it through SLCC one summer and it was a 2 week long course and cost about $200 per kid. When Mara wanted to go to school this fall, we signed her up for drivers ed for a couple of reasons. One, she was going to school anyway and two, it was only $140. Big mistake. This class is the worst by far...it is on par with the horrible joke of a History class she was in for 2 months last term.

I had a sudden memory flash last night (while helping Mara with her homework) of reading the Utah Homeschool List and someone saying to never put your teen in the public school drivers education course. That it was a semester of busy work and a total joke. I wish I had remembered that!

Mara has only had 5 classes. We were told numerous times that she needed to pay in full for the class and get her driver's permit before the start of class. So, that is what we did. In fact, I paid for her class back in August and she got her permit the week before class started. Which meant going to the DMV at the break of dawn, waiting in line forever and paying $15.

Here is where it gets frustrating! Mara goes to school for the first class and over half the kids did not have a permit. So what did the teacher do? He gave them the test (less questions) and with an open book!!! Mara was furious! Yeah, I really want to be on the road with these slackers that can't even study for the test and go take it at the DMV. Not to mention, who are the parents of these kids? I am sure they were given the same information as we were and so why wasn't your child prepared for class?

Last night I spent 3 hours helping my child answer 87, yes 87 questions from the drivers handbook. The same book that she had to study to take the permit test. The test that she has already passed. She basically had to copy the freaking book! And to top it all off, the teacher didn't even ask for the papers. It was total busy work...so frustrating and completely meaningless. I would like those 3 hours of our lives back please....

Now, I could totally see if you were taking this class to prepare for the permit test needing to study the manual with a magnifying glass but she is taking the class to learn to drive. Apparently, she will get to drive 6 times in this class. And the 6th is a test to see if you are ready for the "actual" test. 6 times in 5 months! No wonder there are so many wrecks.

What is this doing to our kids? No one is being taught accountability or responsibility. Mara gets so overwhelmed in school with all the useless busy work. The sad thing is, the reason her friends don't is because they just don't care anymore. They are so burned out and disillusioned that they just don't do the work. I can only imagine what 10 years of busy work has done to their minds. Already this year 5 kids in Salt Lake have committed suicide from the pressure of public school And it is all for nothing!! It is so sad and heartbreaking.

So, why is Mara even bothering with public school. Well, we gave up on the homeschooling community here in Utah long ago when it comes to teens. Especially unschooling teens. Friends are important and when it came down to it our only option was public school. Thank god she can dual enroll :)

She went driving today in class. She had fun. I guess that is all that matters in the end. I will get off my rant and go back to my happy life of unschooling :)

Fascinating

2012-01-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Willow has been going to the gym with me and hanging out in the kids care playing with the babies :) The ladies that work there ask her lots of questions about being homeschooled. They find her fascinating. I think a lot of people have this idea that homeschoolers are these "religious, sit at your desk in your home, shut down, shy people" Well, if you have met my family you know we are a far cry from that!

I think she is pretty fascinating too.

It seriously has taken 4 months to undo what 5 days in a public charter school did to her. The anxiety is gone and her interests are taking charge. The fear of being wrong is gone and has been replaced with the idea that mistakes can turn into something really cool! The process of deschooling is interesting.

Willow's suspended egg :)

I am glad to have my self initiated learned back!

Life is good...

Mara's first Advanced Tumbling Class

2012-01-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Mara finally agreed to moving up to the advanced level at gym. Unfortunately, that meant leaving her favorite coach, but she loves her new class and is totally in her element.

Free Day at The Hogle Zoo

2012-01-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Free day at the Hogle Zoo. It was not crowded at all :) We headed out for some fun with our friends over at Dust Fairies and Darwin.

Willow taking photos with her DSI

Checking out the Mara :)

The zookeeper was kind enough to take Willow's DSI into the bat enclosure and get an up close and personal picture :)

This one is for you Katrina...your friendly neighborhood Gopher snake ;)

This was the coolest part. The girls got to go in and feed the giant tortoise! He was having strawberries :)

Then Willow took over my camera...

Us mom's hanging out...

Then it was off to Litza's for some pizza and then back to my house for homeschool swap :) Life is good as a homeschooler.

The Living Planet Aquarium

2012-01-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

There are river otters at the Living Planet Aquarium! So, we had to go :) It had been a long time anyway. Honestly, the aquarium here is great for a land locked aquarium, but having lived in Oregon for years and going to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Seattle Aquarium it doesn't even compare. They are expanding and moving into a new space so hopefully it will only get better. But, nothing beats driving to the coast for some Mo's clam chowder, touring the aquarium and then heading down to the docks in Newport to see the wild sea lions :) This spring, when we drive Aspen's car back to her, I am taking Willow to see all of these great things! It has been 4 years, way too long!

Her absolute favorite part is the Stingrays...

These pictures are terrible, but this sweet sea turtle was rescued because he was attacked by a shark and then hit by a boat in the same day! He has air permanently trapped in his shell which means he can never be in the wild again because sea turtles eat sea grass on the ocean floor. He constantly floats to the top :( He was amazing to see!

We got to e them feed the sharks...

so, you can't really see from this picture but those little glowing balls on top of the water are eyes from these fish that have 4 eyes and swim near the surface :)

Then it was time to check out the otters!

They are 3 brothers, about 8 months old and were born in the Long Island Aquarium. They are so freaking adorable!

And super fast, so again, crappy pictures :)

Willow wanted to feed the Sting Rays so we got her signed up. She was a pro!

They are like vacuums and just suck the fish out of your hand.

Seahorses are always cool :)

We got to see them feed the octopus too! She turned bright red and grabbed the fish.

The bird eating spider was molting..she is huge!

Willow wants a pet cockroach...no thank you!

The penguins are amazing! One day we will do the penguin encounter where you get to meet one in person :)

Willow took my camera at this point...

Then they had this guy out. Willow loves snakes...what am i saying, she loves all animals. She wants to be a wildlife biologist as of now...

After the aquarium, I had an acupuncture appointment so Willow came along. The treatment room is so relaxing that she drifted off to sleep in one of the chairs :) I seriously had a really hard time waking her up! oh, how I love my acupuncture :)

We had such a great day. Especially since I have been "under the weather" so to speak, for weeks now and feeling the need to get out of the house! But more to come on that later ;)

Luna the Ear Lobe Sucking Cat

2012-01-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, she is that weird. She prefers Willow's ear lobes most of all :) When she was a kitten, Aspen would carry her around on her shoulder with her nursing away at her ear lobe and cat drool running down her neck...ewww. Now, she has big teeth and it hurts but Willow still lets her do it.

Cabin Trip: January 2012

2012-01-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Cabin Trip: January 2012~

We headed up to the cabin for a weekend of relaxation, sledding and fun with our dear friends! When we got there, we were a bit disappointed with the snow levels but heard that some was coming that night. The boys "cleared" the drive as much as possible and we settled in with some great food and movies for the night.

Aric the mad snow shoveling man :)

Breakfast of champions!

Sweet Juniper Wren

The crew eating their pre sledding feast amongst the new kitchen cabinets :)

Yes, that is Willow in the dog crate :)

Snow Suit Up!

Someone is ready!

During breakfast and "suiting up" the snow started coming down. Juniper was covered!

So much for the plowed drive lol!

we had to melt snow to flush the toilets...the pipes had frozen over. We had plenty of drinking water but started running out of toilet water with 9 people :)

And then the fun began....

Lunch time... Eli made a masterpiece of a sandwich! He actually ate it all :)

And...Willow back in the crate this time with Snowy :)

Ready for more!

Josh gearing up for a night atv ride...

and then freaking us all out with this...

Lots of dog love...poor Maggie missed the trip because Mara did not want to come so s stayed home and kept her company.

what?

Here are some videos of the sledding fun :)

Floating Friday: January 6, 2012

2012-01-11T07:51:00.001-07:00

Back to the springs for another day of R&R with our dear friends over at Hiking Without Happy Meals...

Loving life...

Slowing Down

2012-01-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Time for a slow down. This time of year just brings it on for me.

The cold (although it has been more like Spring around here lately) is a big reason for my sluggishness. I hate being cold, I long for the sun and it's warmth all winter long.

Slowing down just means more time at home. More time just being. Lots of art and games...

Some knitting...

2 hats that I traded for a cranial sacral treatment for Mara :)

Some reading..

Here is to relaxing and being inward for a while...

New Years Eve 2012

2012-01-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year 2012!!!

We had such a great night!

egg nog...eww, not for me

Pizza night!

Becca demonstrating her mad dough throwing skills :)

I..I can't explain...

Looks like Aspen is ready for bed, long before midnight :)

Don't worry, those horns will keep you awake...

getting the champagne ready...

Happy New Year!

May this year bring you much joy and many blessings with family and great friends :)

Aspen's Home!

2012-01-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Back in October, Aspen called to say that she was not going to come home for the holidays, but would spend her spring break with us. We were sad, but she had a plan. In November she called again...She asked if it was too late to get a plane ticket because they were playing Christmas music at kmart and it was making her miss us too much :) See...even at 20 they still need you ;)

Well, of course it was not too late. And actually, David ended up flying out to Portland and driving her car back here so he could do some much needed work on it. Some jerk backed into her car and left so we need to get that fixed. Plus all the the regular maintenance. We will drive it back to her this spring sometime.

We had to meet Grandma and Grandpa at chick fil a for their "waffle fry Wednesday" regular lunch :)

That made Willow and Beach happy :)

Then, Willow got a an idea to make something. A tree baby. Enlisting the help of her big sister.

It turned out so cute!

The girls and I had a day out. Aspen chose chick fil a again :) They aren't in Portland and she loves it so much lol. I am just glad their salads are gluten free!

Willow had been dying to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie so that is where we went. Mara refused to stand by the giant rodents :)

ok, so I didn't take many pictures while she was here. We were just busy enjoying life.

It was great to have all my kiddos under one roof, even if it was for only 10 days.

Aspen and her mini-me Willow :)

Till next time... We love you Aspen

Happy Christmas 2011!

2011-12-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas 2011!

Santa came :)

6 am, Rebecca Black's horrific song "Friday" blaring from the the speakers and 3 kids dragging David and I out of bed...

Christmas Morning Joy!

Santa brought her a G string...for her guitar of course :)

Josh got a lot of boxes with papers, because he asked for a bunch of games and books that have not even been released yet ;)

Thank you so much to Nana, Rene, Wendy, Chris, Granny and Steve for making our Christmas so great!

Vanessa, our acupuncturist, is a gamer and recommended this game...it is a hit!

David gave me a pendant from one of my favorite artists, Julia Watkins

Thank you Aunt Wendy, Uncle Chris and Jacob!

The animals went wild over their stocking treats!

Looks like Santa enjoyed his cookies and milk and even the reindeer nibbled on the carrot :)

Now were are off for a day of games, movies and hanging out...

I hope your Christmas was Merry!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our yearly tradition, Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpas with the Schiffbauer's!

We had a delicious dinner of Grandpa's famous chili and then entertainment courtesy of Willow, Sierra, Warren and Mara :)

Willow playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

Mara playing Lightly Row:

Mara playing Fall, an original song:

Mara playing Room to Grow, an original song":

Then it was time to open presents...

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa and Susan! We love our gifts :)

Then, home to open our traditional Christmas Eve Pj's...

Pure joy...footie pj's :)

And a special gift from Josh this year for our bedtime story... oh, we love you bud :)

ok, if you have not heard this by now, and you are not offended by the "f" word watch this :)

We were up when Santa made it to Salt Lake City, don't worry though, we quickly ran to bed so he would stop by ;)

Merry Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve Eve Date Night

2011-12-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve Eve Date night...

Great friends... ( Aric escaped all the photos!)

and family...

Brie, apples, rice crackers, chips, salsa, guac, fish tacos and yummy wine...

Rice cracker beak?

Then, the eating of the Daddy cookie...

sooo many sprinkles...

Happy Holidays :)

Cookies!

2011-12-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today was cookie making madness for me and the girls...

picking out the Holiday cookie cutters

ok, if you have not had these you must! Totally simple, pretzel, rolo and a pecan. So delicious! Of course we made a tray of gluten free ones for me :)

Then it was on to gingerbread men...

And a gingerbread humpty dumpty...

that morphed into this family of squids...cause nothing says Christmas like the Holiday Squid!

Moving on...sugar cookie time...

And icing...

My favorite part about the picture is my stack of gluten free cookbooks and magazines surrounded by wheat cookies :) Thank goodness I am not a cookie person!

yeah, there was no lid...the look on her face was priceless :)

The finished products...

The Daddy Cookie :)

Every year, Willow makes the most icing/sprinkle covered cookie she can and Dad has to eat it :) It looks smaller in the photo than it actually is.

Happy sugar fest :)

Sunday Soak

2011-12-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

where did she learn this? :)

I hate winter...seriously hate it. Don't get me wrong, I love to go play in the snow, sledding, tubing, skiing...but I don't like to be cold and I don't like the nasty inversions that we get in Salt Lake. But, I think I found a way to get through it this year...Thanks to our dear friends over at Hiking Without Happy Meals...soaking in the hot springs...

Warm water (ok, some so hot I can't get in it!) family, friends and a little bit of snow coming down. I'd say it was a great way to spend a cold winter sunday :)

Luminous Moon

2011-12-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mara, Becca and I went to an Luminous Moon event at Silvermoon Acupuncture. We had such an amazing time!!

Vanessa Moon, the acupuncturist, holds these once a month. You get an acupuncture treatment, a mini session with Bobbie Baird of In Body Bliss (massage, cranial sacral, lymphatic draining) dinner, a cute goodie bag with essential oils and other great gifts and then mini sessions with 2 other visiting guests. Last night Bobbie was sick so there were 3 guests.

Tara Starling of Starling Beauty did our makeup and talked about expressing your inner beauty by utilizing makeup to accentuate your outer beauty. Tara is the owner of Anastasia's Attic in Gardner Village. I think we looked hot!! Mara was definitely the most striking beauty :)

Amanda Manheimer of That Foot Thing, did foot zone therapy (which felt AMAZING!) You can contact her at thatfootthing@gmail.com I could have laid in that chair all night having her work on my feet :)

Cassie Howard of Full Circle Connections is a certified Archetypal and Transformational Expert. She helped us figure out 4-5 of the 12 archetypes(personality traits) we were born with. This was really cool! I am a Nature child, Damsel, Artist, Athlete, Mother... I would say those all right on :) She is holding a workshop in January that I would LOVE to do.

I am so excited about next month's event! Here are the details...

Luminous Moon: Chinese New Year!

January 20, 2012 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Join us for an awesome evening celebrating the Chinese New Year and YOU! Bring a friend and get $5 off, better yet, bring a whole slew of friends and share the love! Space is limited (only 12 seats) so grab a spot while you can! Included with your ticket:

~Acupuncture Treatment, Vanessa Moon of Silvermoon Acupuncture ($40 value)

~ Mini Session with Bobbie Baird of In Body Bliss ($50 Value)

~Dinner ($15 value)

~Luxurious Luminous Moon Goodie Bag ($50+ Value)

~A session with 2 awesome guests (Deanna Valencia of Spa Valenciana and Marilyn Sorenson the illustrious hand analyst)

~A magical night of relaxation and joy (Priceless!)

All I can say is that acupuncture with Vanessa and Bobbie's mad skills have seriously changed my life. I no longer have fibromyalgia pain. I have come off one of the medications I have was taking for 13 years for PCOS and I am working on the other one. I am finally at peace with some pretty heavy stuff and I am finally starting to feel human again. I am back at the gym...training,training, training! I have been on a gluten free diet for a month today! I feel so great and I love having my life back :) I finally have hope and see a light at the end of the serious pain, depression, anxiety and serious health problems I have been suffering from. If you are thinking about acupuncture, do it! It works wonders :)

Strings Holiday Recital: December 8, 2011

2011-12-14T20:22:00.001-07:00

Willow, Mara and our dear friend Hannah, performed with their instructor, Debora, in a small family recital last week. It was so great! The girls did so well :) Debora is an amazing teacher and we love her so much! Willow was so excited to perform! They have been taking lessons for about 6 months now and blew us away!

Willow played 2 versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with Debora playing a harmonizing melody. It was beautiful!

Hannah went next with Lightly Row and French Folk Song and did an amazing job!

Mara played French Folk Song, Lightly Row and then moved to her guitar where she played an original song, Room To Grow with Debora accompanying her on the cello. It was so beautiful!!

Here are the performances on video! Enjoy :)

Thank you Debora for teaching our girls! We love you :)

Santa Claus 2011

2011-12-14T17:30:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to see Santa...I have been taking my kids to see Santa for 20 years!! Aspen has not been able to be in the photo for the last 2 years since she does not come home until the day after Christmas, but I am still torturing Josh and Mara hee hee....it is now a running joke, Josh has been wearing the same shirt for the past 5 years :) They grow up really fast...I know one day soon, too soon, I will not have any kids to take to see Santa...unless I have grand kids.. but I don't want to be that old anytime soon!

The Brave Little Tailor

2011-12-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Today Willow and I got all dressed up and went with our dear friends over at Hiking Without Happy Meals to see The Brave Little Tailor at the Children's Theater of Salt Lake. It was a field trip with other homeschoolers and school groups.

I cannot say enough good things about the performance. It was so great! The girls loved it. I was really impressed :) Last year, I took some of my students at Sego Lily to see Abe Lincoln and it was a great performance too! I was happy to be amongst the homeschoolers this time. It felt like home :)

We may just have to get season tickets...

I am sure we will be back for many more performances!

Certiport Holiday Party 2011

2011-12-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

It is that time again...time for Becca and Mara to dress me up, do my hair and makeup and send David and I on our way to his work Holiday party...I am not sure how this became a tradition, but it did and it is a lot of fun :)

I thought I was going to have to beat these two old ladies off my husband. Several times in the night they came up to him and kept going on and on about how great he looks dressed up and "wow, just wow" :)

My husband is so weird :)

We had a great time. Yummy food and great entertainment by Comedy Sports Club Utah. There was a skit where they asked for people to lend them their IPhones, so David passed his up to them. They ended up using the texts as the dialog in the improv. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Most of the texts they used from David's phone were to Josh ...aka..gaming, get your dog!...take out the trash and recycling... but the other guy's phone had an angry text from his wife "F your pizza!" LOL that was the best part, especially since the scene was set with these guys being lost in a blizzard in the mountains :)

It was a fun night for us :) Thanks for making it great Becca and Mara!

Floating Friday: December 9, 2011

2011-12-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we headed back up to Crystal Hot Springs for our weekly soak...

Mara came along this time and loved it :)

She loves it here...

How could you not love it? Jumping in the pool in the middle of December with your best friend in Utah :)

Of course the moms enjoyed the 108 degree pool...but then we dared each other to jump in the unheated pool :)

Everyone needs some R&R every once in a while...or every week ;)

Life is good :)

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas...

2011-12-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

The house is looking festive!

Decorating the tree is a yearly tradition...

It is always fun to pull out the ornaments and have all the memories of when we made them or who they were from :)

It was Josh's turn to put St. Nicholas on the tree :)

Looks beautiful!

The Advent Calendar is hung and loaded with kisses :)

The stockings are hung ...

The Santa photos are up...still gotta go see him for this years picture!

Even Willow's playroom is decorated :)

Our Family of snowmen are happily out :)

Snowmen fairies are watching over us...

And David even made some snowflakes when he was volunteering at Barnes and Noble for Sego Lily School's Bookfair the other night :)

Keeping it magical :)

Happy St. Nicholas Day 2011!

2011-12-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, David took Willow and her cousin Sierra to the Old Dutch Store to see St. Nicholas and Black Peter.

Then it was time to put their shoes out and see what goodies were left :) Sometimes he leaves candy, sometimes money and sometimes a little gift :)

This year, he left Josh some D and D minis, Mara some new nail polish and Willow a baby Webkinz...

Hope you St. Nicholas day was fun :)

Keeping the season magical...

Floating Friday

2011-12-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday our good friends over at Hiking Without Happy Meals picked Willow and me up for a day at Crystal Hot Springs. It was much needed as my detox from gluten had not been so much fun ... We had a great time. The guy working there showed the girls the crystal formations that grow and told them all about them :) It was cool because Willow had just grown some salt crystals!

can you tell by the pictures she had a blast?

Our picnic feast on the side of the pool :)

Willow peeling her peas :)

And cooling off with her drinking water...

the steam rising up on my "statue of liberty" :)

of course, Swedish fish for the ride home were a must...

Can't wait to go back this week! I felt amazing after soaking :) Thanks Misty for getting me out of the house!

Some Homeschooling Fun from November

2011-12-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

We made a "music station" for Willow. She loves it and is playing beautifully!

We had our weekly kid swap days...sometimes lunch was to go when we had things to go explore!

Lots of cooking...

Learning cursive...

Lots of art....

Friends are the best...this is what you get when you given then a camera :)

continuing science with crystal growing...

Snowy love :)

Life is good :)

Happy Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-12-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

This year we celebrated at home with just our family. The main reason was beacuse I found out that I am allergic to gluten and wheat and needed to be sure what was in the food.

The feast...

My yummy gluten free rolls!

So grateful for my beautiful family :) Missing you Aspen!!!

Hope your day was great :)

Phoenix

2011-12-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

David and I went to Phoenix in November...it was lovely. It was warm and sunny and totally relaxing...at least for me :) David had to work and I spent my days, sleeping in, playing WOW and meeting David for yummy food :) It was a much needed break! A huge Thank You to David's parents for being the taxi divers for the kiddos and all of their activities :)

On our drive out we stopped at Thunderbird Restaurant in Mt Carmel Utah right outside of Kanab :)

Of course we had to have some "Ho-made" pie! The coconut cream was yummy!

Looking forward to more of these "get aways" :)

Where did November go?

2011-12-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Seriously? It is December...I don't even really remember November! But, when cleaning off my camera I did find some pictures. Time to catch up the blog!

Meet my cooks, Becca and David. They like to make yummy food :) I keep them entertained with stories while they cook away...it is a sweet deal LOL

This particular date night...beer can chicken...if you haven't ever had it...try it!

Two of my sweet girlie's...

Needless to say, these were devoured...nothing left :) Thank you to my friend Katrina for sharing her mad cooking skills with us!

what we were drinking...

We love date nite :)

Vicky Christina Barcelona

2011-11-05T12:52:00.001-06:00

Thursday night...great friends, food, wine and movies! We watched Vicky Christina Barcelona...if you haven't seen it, it is great!

We were celebrating Teresa being in town, Lori's upcoming big move to Barcelona and Becca's upcoming trip to Barcelona!

Don't ask...just watch the bananas from Costco...they have fruit flies that LOVE wine!

Time for 80's hair...listening to some great 80's music!

we are so hot...

so classy...

crazy dish doing lady :)

We will miss you guys!!!!

The most amazing stuffed peppers! We took the stuffing and made burritos for the kids...they said they were the best they ever had :)

Fun night for the ladies...David was sure glad when Aric arrived LOL

Adventure Thursday: Classic Fun Center

2011-11-04T10:13:00.000-06:00

Today's adventure....Classic Fun Center

We had the honor of having Teresa, Wolfie and Addy join us!

Addy the ticket master....

My ladies.. :)

I was busy finishing my "Goblin Valley" knitting project....

Teamwork pays off...Eli and Willow combined their tokens and set forth to win as many prizes as possible!

Tons of fun...bouncin, climbing, swinging, scootering (is that a word?)

Eli and Addy

Willow and Wolfie :)

For Teresa....

My real monkey...

Finished! My knitted monkey

Chatting about life I guess...she is gonna miss them so much :(

Someone is happy :)

The loot :)

Of course the older 3 had their own adventure....Wow adventures.... :)

Adventures are a good thing :)

Willow, Wolfie and Addy

2011-11-03T17:54:00.000-06:00

Willow was beaming with excitement. Wolfie and Addy are here!! Our dear friends are in town for a visit. We miss them so much but we are so glad we get to see them several times a year. I think a trip to the Bay area to see them is in store soon! There is something about that Willow and Wolfie. They have some soul level connection :)

Halloween candy and netflix....trampoline and blankets...Halloween candy and netflix... trampoline and blankets...

Then Teresa brought home Happy meals :)

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Joy, Joy, Joy!

A Couple of Weeks Gone By...

2011-11-02T08:51:00.000-06:00

It is amazing how time flies when you are having fun! When did November get here? Things are growing and changing around here so much!

Some of the things we have been up to...

More cooking! ...this time a Giant Puff Pancake :)

Which I hear was quite tasty...I was doing a cleanse and could not have wheat :( I think this is a keeper for future breakfasts...maybe add some blueberries or strawberries?

It is getting colder and that means "new" uniforms at work :) The collar up was his bosses idea.. Hey? that was the style back when I was a kid!

We have had fun making salt crystals. ever heard of Mrs Stewart's Bluing? I had not heard of it before this project...but you can get it in the laundry section of most grocery stores..

My hot man and his beater truck...god why does he love that thing? I would not even know where to start with me of the projects he has done to that truck...removing the truck bed? Well, interesting, except our front yard kind of looked like Samford and Son for the day...{you can here the theme song playing now}

he had some help putting it back on...

Balloon ghosts... a fun project that soon became my project... That turned into Day of The Dead sculls!

"I don't like this...it's too messy and I just finished peeling the glue off my hands from the last project"

ok...so they were really messy because I improvised with the supplies...

But I think they turned out cool :) Still a work in progress...

Life is sweet :)

An Unschooling Moment

2011-11-01T09:10:00.000-06:00

This is a typical unschooling moment in my house... A moment to answer that question that I am asked so frequently. "So you unschool? How does your child know what she needs to know when she does not know what she needs to know" Ok, I won't go into what a strange question that is, but you want to know how? Because she has a life, and she lives it. I don't keep her locked away. She knows what she wants to know just like we as adults know what we want to know. I don't need to force feed her a bunch of information.

So, you may be wondering what this has to do with Helen Keller. Well, one day, Willow comes to me and says "who is Helen Keller?" I said, "oh, well, she was a woman that lived a long time ago who was deaf, blind and mute. She learned to communicate with the help of a woman named Annie Sullivan." Willow said..."I want to learn about her" ...I said, ok, let's go to the library after kid swap. The very next day Hiking Without Happy Meals happened had a book we could borrow :)

One night, as I was reading to Willow I asked her "so, how did you become interested in Helen Keller?" She said, "on the radio there is this song that says...

"Hush girl
shut your lips
do the Helen Keller
And talk with your hips "

I started laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Ok, those lyrics are horrible and the song (if you even want to call that music) and video are disturbing but you never know what will spark your interest in something.

By the way, this one story has us researching Braille, the Presidents of the United States, reading, sign language, time lines and geography.

Life is amazing!

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-11-01T01:39:00.000-06:00

Halloween! Our favorite holiday around here :) We did not have our huge annual party this year...we all decided we were kind of sad, so next year for sure!

Willow decided to be a black widow spider so we came up with a costume...

She did not want me to sew the legs on for 2 reasons. One, she wanted to wear the sweatshirt after Halloween and two, she wanted to make some creature out of the legs LOL

It was fun to make :)

I think it turned out pretty cool!

Josh was one of his D and D characters...

Josh and his gang at Sego Lily :)

I got these cookies for the kids...they were so cute.

Willow and I made bloody witch hands for out cauldron punch on Halloween :)

It was creepy to open the freezer and see them hanging there!

Then Josh, Willow and I made cookies... Josh was trying to look like a creepy kid from a magazine shoot about sugar cookies LOL

Awesome!

While those were baking, Willow and I made these cute Witches Hats...

Ready for the trick or treaters!

my sweet Dia De Los Muertos candle holders :)

The cookies turned out great! Willow did a great job with the sprinkles...what is it with her and spiders lately?

Pumpkin carving time!

Mara's...

Josh's...

Willow's...

After the Aviary (see previous post) it was time to celebrate Halloween!!

Which means Becca and family, of course!

Willow and Eli helping to put the bloody hands in the punch...one of the fingers broke off :(

ok..this looks kinds gross...the raspberry seeds really give an effect!

Our famous Make Your Own Pizza Bar! Sam and Mara taking a break from band practice and candy eating to join us for some dinner :)

Then it was time to hit the streets...Snowy did not like his witches hat :)

The scored tons of candy!

I got to hang out with these two all night...my husband carrying that animal bone that Willow picked up from the mountains...

Candy!

Happy, Happy!

Then Aric got off work and we decided to go check out a cool haunted house...he took his pizza to go, unfortunately, we could not take the beer to go ;)

When we returned, Mara and Sam played a cover of Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd...They were amazing!

Josh, Hannah and James took a break from their all night wow-a-thon to watch some old 1950's movies :)

And have some milkshakes :)

Then back to WOW :)

Happy Halloween Everyone! I hope your day was as great as ours :)

Trick or Beaks...maybe both?

2011-11-01T00:16:00.000-06:00

A black widow spider...

Thing 2....

A witch and a sailor...

and a cool mowhawked photographer...

went to the Tracy Aviary for "Trick or Treating" on a beautiful Halloween Day...

But there was no "treating" as in years past, just a scavenger hunt(that they were out of) and a goody bag at the end...which the kids were given even though they could not complete said scavenger hunt.

The birds were cool, the kids were disappointed..but it was an ok way to spend Halloween day :)

Empty Candy bags = Sad faces :(

But there were peacocks to pet....

Flamingos to watch...

graveyards to visit...

funny birds with beautiful eyelashes :)

And sweet old men with Halloween tales to share...

And of course, some loot at the end...

Happy Halloween!

See ya next year...

Goblin Valley: October 2011

2011-10-29T13:14:00.126-06:00

On Friday, October 21st we headed out for our 2nd trip to Goblin Valley State Park. Our last trip was back in October of 2009 (see Goblin Valley:2009) It was fun to look back and compare. Everyone had long hair, including David! We were also fostering a Golden named Gus :) My how my kiddos have grown!

Juniper was so excited!

Snowy could hardly contain himself....

I had a little sock monkey project to keep me busy :)

We got a late start so when we got to the BLM land to camp, it was full! Then we remembered...last time we left on a Saturday and camped through till Monday. In Utah, everyone leaves on Saturday to go home so the place is empty :) Oh, well. We managed to find a spot even though the rough BLM roads were not fun in the RV!

Willow took right to climbing trees, building up the fire pit and setting up camp :)

Maggie wanted to explore!

Snowy love :)

Mara the photographer

Cincinnati chili and smores abound...

some of us like our marshmallows a bit crispy :)

The next day...gotta have my tea...pancakes and bacon on the menu and then off to explore the park!

But first, some playing around with the pups...

campsite day 1

Junie loves to run free...

After exploring the campsite, we packed everything up in hopes of getting the same spot we had 2 years ago. Sure enough, the canyon had pretty much cleared out! So we set up camp and headed into the park.

We had a great time exploring the goblins....

Me and my sweet Mara

Look closely and you will see Josh :)

we left the dog bowl in the rv so the kids had to use their hands to give water to the pups...

cool lizard...

Duck Goblin!

For Josh.."The Fiend Without A Face"

poor tired Snowy..he is not as much of a hiker as the Borders...

Lunch!

Snowy is starting to turn brown :)

Junie looking cool...

Me and my love :)

After lunch we headed over the Little Horse Slot Canyon to do some hiking...Last time we hiked Bell Canyon so this was a new adventure for us.

Josh helping us all down...

who is that? It is "Super Rock Climbing Girl and her sidekick Stones" :)

this is where is got fun...

Thirsty pups...

After the hike we headed back to camp to play and eat dinner....My camera battery died so I don't have any great pictures of that night :) We went back into the park and played tag in the goblins under the stars and then had smores around the fire... The next day more playing on the cliffs...

Our campsite

A rousing game of Settlers of Catan...I won :)

Of course Willow got her Junior Ranger...again ;)

Then we drove into Hanksville for lunch at Blondies and to go into the Hollow Mountain Gas station...

The kids said the milkshakes were good, but I say the food was totally gross and made me feel sick :( David decided that the only reason it was "world famous" is because people that have been boating in the sun on lake Powell for 2 weeks at a time, drive into Hanksville starving and it tastes delicious LOL

Another great adventure! :)

"We Can Do That Next Week"

2011-10-19T22:33:00.000-06:00

Today was one of those days...in fact, this week has been one of those weeks. Nothing I had planned has really turned out the way I thought it would...some of it better, some not so great...but today, out of the mouths of babes...

I was going to take the girls up to the mountains to get some beautiful leaves for making these cool place mats and as soon as they heard we were going in the car they both said "can we go to Sonic?"..ok, I took them to sonic like a year ago... it stuck. I think they just really wanted the silly toy and the slushee :)

In the car on the way over we were listening to the radio and Cake came on. Willow said turn it up..Then I heard her say to Beach "I really like the band Cake but my true love is Oingo Boingo" :) Then Beach started singing "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas and said that was her favorite song...who are you girls? LOL

Then we stopped by Michaels to get some supplies. The girls said "can we look around and shop?" I told then they could choose; If we shopped then we would not have time for the project...they both looked at each other and Beach says "we can do that next week, today is for shopping" Now, how can you argue with that!

Of course, they spent an hour deciding amongst all the items that Michaels carries that cost $1 :) Lots of thinking, weighing their options. It was quite entertaining :) These are the treasures they ended up with. Apparently the week after next is an all day shopping spree.

Some days are like this. Some weeks are like this. It is life and we are always learning. Before I was ready to head out the girls were playing the Wii and then running outside to get water samples from Millcreek so they could look at it under the microscope :)

It is never the same around here and I would not have it any other way :)

Gotta love unschooling!

Sunday Morning

2011-10-16T20:33:00.000-06:00

It was a beautiful Fall day in Salt Lake City today. We headed up Emigration Canyon for a delicious breakfast at Ruth's. Nothing like the "mile high" biscuits! Just be careful, the coffee is very hot. You will be left making this face the rest of the day :)

Strawberry pancakes...yum!

Then for a drive over the peak to see all the magnificent fall colors. We are so lucky to live 20 min to the top of a mountain.

Life is beautiful :)

Adventure Thursday: Hee Haw Farms

2011-10-16T09:30:00.000-06:00

For Adventure Thursday this week...It's the annual trip to Hee Haw Farms! Time for some corn maze fun, farm animals, pumpkin picking and hay adventures...

But first, the tradition...making THE BEST pumpkin bread on the planet..no, I am not bragging about my cooking skills, seriously this recipe is AMAZING! Lemme know if you want it...

Ahh, Leroy...you never change...

Having fun petting the cow...I see that look on Willow's face...no, we cannot get one...

Baby pigs born the night before...Just way too cute!

Then Willow took off after the run away goat that kept escaping from the petting area LOL

I told them that they had better put away those cigarettes...

Willow and Beach the Birthday girl! Happy Birthday Beach :)

Snow on the mountains!

My, my how my children have grown...especially my oldest here..

Willow was not amused...

Time to get lost in the corn maze...

Josh, our faithful leader...

Catie literally eating the corn as we walked along...

Catie picking more corn for lunch...

Willow and her corn stalk

Hay ride...

Hay Adventures!

Time to go look for some pumpkins...

Becca needed a quick shower first...

Seriously, I hit my head on one of these sunflowers and it felt like a rock! They were amazing :)

Gourd phone...very important call for Willow...

Everyone found the perfect pumpkin..

Time for lunch...leftover homemade pizza, veggies, hummus and of course the pumpkin bread!

Then Willow and Eli headed off to the corn bin...apparently it makes your skin soooo soft! ;)

After the corn bin, I went to snap some pictures of the kids on the slide and my camera was broken :( I have no idea what happened...it has been acting weird for a while, I guess it is time for a new one...

Loving life!

Time

2011-10-12T16:36:00.000-06:00

Time for bird feeders in the trees...

Time for "Old Granny" apple heads... Can't wait to see these all shriveled!

Time for Fall Family Potlucks and Birthday celebrations...

Time for making some fall crafts...
Today in homeschool swap with Hiking Without Happy Meals we made these awesome leaf print T-shirts.

Of course this time the mud monkeys had to trek through the deep deep forest to find the perfect leaf...

They had a lot of fun creating these cool shirts!

So Cute!

And then we made these cute little Halloween Vampire Bats...

Life is sweet!