Homeschool Adventures

We did several really fun Field Trips this month and I thought that I'd record a little about them. 

Bald Eagle Day

I found out that there was an official Bald Eagle Day at the Farmington Bay research center so we spent some time learning about Bald Eagles through our homeschool and then went to explore. We watched a really neat presentation, walked around the wetland area, did some Bald Eagle Crafts and saw some live birds. We didn't actually see any wild Bald Eagles- which was a little disappointing, but I didn't come prepared with binoculars or anything (and even if I had - I don't think the kids would have been able to see anyway). But it was still a successful field trip! 

Utah State Capitol Building

I wrote about this in a separate blog post, but this month we've been doing a Utah Unit Study and learning all about our state, it's symbols, and other fun things. We went to the capitol building with my family and looked for all of the symbols that we'd been studying about. It was a fun trip and I have just really enjoyed this study with Lydia.  

Lydia: Last day of Gymnastics (For now)

Lydia is starting Soccer in a few weeks and so here are a few pictures from her last gymnastics lessons (for now at least). We'll probably do Soccer, then Swimming and then decide what she wants to do next year after summer. She has been loving gymnastics. Especially the last month or so she does cartwheels constantly. She cartwheels to the dinner table, she cartwheels down the hall, she literally has been cartwheeling constantly. It has been fun to see. The other huge success was seeing her really accomplish something that she could not do. They have been working on "back bends" where she has to lean back and land on her hands and then balance on her feet and hands. She has been working on it for a long time and when she started earlier this year, it was not even close. Then each month she got closer. Suddenly one day, she could just do it. It was amazing. She was so proud of herself and I am too. Here are a few pictures from the last day. 

insta-february

insta-february


{2.1.19}
Wrapped up our Solar system mini-unit with a trip to the Planetarium. As always, cousins make everything ten times better and we ended the trip with a walk through the gateway and eating a giant bucket of popcorn by a big firepit while the kids ran around. I'm soaking up every minute we get to spend with this sister of mine. She's the best and I wish she'd move right next door to me and never ever ever leave.



{2.3.19}
Today during the testimony meeting following the Sacrament, several of the primary children who were affected by the YW/YM transition age stood and bore their testimonies. As I listened to them, and the others who stood and bore witness of the Savior in their own life- I was filled with the thought that Heavenly Father know each of us and He gives us the things that we need. He wants to give them to us, and if we just ask him- he will give them to us. Last year, our Primary Presidency felt prompted to start a special primary class focused on helping our 10/11 year olds really prepare to go to the temple, receive the priesthood, and join the Youth Battalion of the Lord. Six months later and every single one of those 12 youth are prepared for the big changes in their lives (mostly due to amazing teachers). The Lord KNEW them, He KNEW what they needed. I've recently seen this same miracle in my own life, He knows the things I need and all He wants me to do is to have enough faith to ask him, and then He gives them to me in abundance. He knows reach of us, and He is willing to give us the tools that we need for our own individual journeys, even if those things are different for each of us. I am grateful that He knows my kids, and what tools they are going to need in their toolbelts, and that as I try to give them spiritual opportunities- HE will teach them. And so on this Sunday, that's my testimony of Him. That He knows we need different things this year than we needed last year, or today that we didn't need yesterday, and He loves us enough to give them to us as we come to him. #sunday #hisday

{2.6.19}
I just hit 21 weeks today, and I'm feeling pretty good about that. Also, we're excited to announce that we are having a baby sister! 💗💕

{2.17.19}
My little Valentines.♥️♥️♥️ Also, here are some Sunday musings: I am the happiest I think I've ever been. I feel the most fulfilled and the most at peace when I'm with these children of mine and really feel like I'm growing into the mother that I want to be. I'm dropping the ball and falling short all over the place, but the thing that I'm doing well? Loving these kids.
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Also me: laying on the floor of the bathroom while the baby takes a bath because I'm so exhausted that I literally can't move and can't bring myself to even care about the wet diaper and dirty clothes that are on the floor with me.
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I've been wondering lately how both of those thoughts and experiences can be true. The details vary day by day, but I feel SO happy and peaceful and then SO exhausted and overwhelmed. Plus a whole lot of mundane thrown in the middle. Can those things coexist?? This year has been so amazing for me and I've learned so much about my power as a mother. More than anything I've learned that I need the grace of God to help me do the things I want and need to do. (Grace: a divine means of help or strength.) So maybe that's the answer. Life isn't about perfection or even constant high points. It's about leaning on Him through the happy and the hard and having faith that my efforts will be enough if they are strengthened by Him.

{2.23.19}
Celebrated my baby brothers "golden birthday" today. #23onthe23rd We visited the Golden Spike exhibit at the Utah State Capitol (our third-great grandfather was at the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promotory Point so #familyhistory) then we ate lunch at the Golden Corral. We are pretty fun, and think we are funny. I love these people of mine. Happy Birthday Baker! @jacobcolvinwalker #allthegoldthings




{2.28.19}
Free fare day on UTA today (and tomorrow!), So we woke up this morning and decided to go on an adventure. I was just planning to ride the frontrunner to SL and back because the kids are always asking me to ride the train, but David wasnt in his office today. We ended up taking the TRAX to temple square and even though we didn't stay long, we had a great time. The older two read books on the train, looked out the windows, and they were exhilarated by getting on and off the trains. I loved being with them all morning.#calebdidnotlikethetrain

Golden Spike Exhibit at the Capitol Building

150 years ago this May, the First Transcontinental Railroad was joined together, connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads together. There was a ceremony where a Golden Spike was used to officially complete the railroad at Promontory Point, Utah. Not only is this an amazing piece of history for our country, but it's always held special significance to our family because my Great-Great-Great Grandpa Richard Todd Brown was in attendance at the Golden Spike Ceremony. #familyhistory He's in the lower half on the far left side raising his hat. He was a baker/cook for the Union Pacific Railroad near Ogden for (and received the nickname "Baker Brown" there). I've always been proud of this little bit of heritage. 

An excerpt from his family history says "[Richard and Helen] lived the first winter [after crossing the plains] in Salt Lake City. Richard Todd cooked for 6 months for the men who were building the railroad near Ogden. It was in the winter months and the weather was bitter cold. He said there was many mornings when he couldn't get the fire started. He would put bacon on the logs to get them to burn."  (Afterwards, they moved to Payson and eventually Koosharem (he died in Richfield) Utah.) 

I don't know why a cook from Salt Lake City made it into this most famous photograph, especially when there were so many others who spent years of their lives working on the railroad who did NOT make it into the photograph. But instead of feeling guilty for that, I'll just keep this neat bit of history that connects me to my ancestors. Richard Todd Brown was pretty cool, but his wife Helen was amazing! Just a few highlights: She crossed the ocean from Scotland to America (for the second time) when her baby was only three days old, despite doctors telling her she would die and be thrown overboard. She crossed the plains from Nebraska to Utah with a group of Latter Day Saints by Ox Team where she was placed in a different company than her husband and she had to tend her own camp with all of her children on her own. She defended her families food from an Indian who came into her home and wanted to take the very last of her bread. She stood her ground because she didn't know how else she would feed her family. Those are pretty amazing things. I hope to be as brave and determined as she. 

Another excerpt from their history says "Richard Todd and Helen lived very useful lives, knowing all the hardships of the pioneers. Their courage and determination never faltered. Their religious faith was most outstanding and carried them through all their hardships. They did well everything they had planned to do in life." That's a pretty amazing legacy. 

SO... 

Because this year was the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike they had an exhibit at the Utah State Capitol. My mom had said that she wanted to get as many of us kids as we could and go see it together - so I had some prep time beforehand. It worked out perfectly because we were just starting our Utah Unit in homeschool. So we learned about Utah and all its symbols and I incorporated a mini-unit about the transcontinental railroad. It was SO fun and both Lydia and I (and hopefully Austin) learned a lot. 

When it was finally the day we got to go to the exhibit, we gave Lydia/the kids an old digital camera and told her to take pictures of all the state symbols she saw at the Capitol building. (So many beehives!) It was fun for her and fun for me to walk through the exhibit about the railroads with my family.

 Plus Melissa took some family pictures of everyone on the big steps and they turned out really nice.

















And, because my family loves a good pun - we took Jacob out to eat at the Golden Corral for his 23rd birthday (which also happened to be his golden birthday - 23 on the 23rd). It was so fun that it worked out to be such a Golden weekend.

Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! We had a great valentines. Lydia worked really hard on preparing valentines to take around to her friends after school. We have valentines pancakes, pizza and a few little treats to give the kids. We also gave them valentines notebooks and Shantel wrote special notes for them in each of the notebooks. I am grateful for this family and the love that we share.