February Wrap Up

Here are a few wrap up items from February:

Shantel has been visiting my parents every Thursday and working on different projects for them. A big project she has been working on is cleaning out their storage room. While do this, she found some really fun gems from the past including this below. 

It is my recipe for Pizza from when I was in Kindergarten. For context - I did not like Spaghetti until I was a few years older. It says, "Pizza: Well it looks like spagetti but I don't like it, no way. It tastes good! I think it takes half and hour to cook. It looks good. It's hot. It's like spagetti. I only like on topping on it. I don't know what there called - the red things. Pepperoni."

The storage room looks great and I am grateful for her service to my parents. 

When Shantel and I were first married we had a tiny little TV with a DVD player inside that we used. We held onto it thinking it might be fun to use in the basement someday. We recently got it out and the kids have loved it. They got a few pokemon DVD's at the library and we let them watch those on the little TV. One weekend we had the Haderlies over and we set Molly up to watch Daniel Tiger on the giant TV, meanwhile all the other kids crowded around the tiny little TV. It was so funny and they were so happy. 

For Christmas, I got Shantel a scooter and she got a chance to get it out and use it. 

My Dad has been working on finishing the basement in the house in Daybreak that Michael was living in. We have helped a little bit so he could finish the basement and then get it ready to rent out. Shantel and I (plus all of our kids watching a show on that little TV I mentioned above), plus Amy and Kevin, Wendy, Sam, Aubrey, Jacob and my Dad all went over to move Mike's stuff out of the house to Kevin's house for storage. 

Lydia getting a new pair of glasses. We had got a her a new pair, but they did not quite fit and stay on her face and we went back and she found a really cute pair that fits her much better. 

One evening when Shantel was gone Lydia decided she really wanted to make dinner and we had pancakes and muffins and the kids were so happy. You can see we also had juice and she set it up fancy with candles and everything. 

The kids snuggling together on the couch watching living scriptures on a Sunday. 

Lucy getting lots of love, reading with Shantel and then playing with Austin with his car track. 

February Snow!

We got a ton of snow during February and the kids loved it. Shantel took the kids sledding numerous times. Previously, most the sledding was just in our backyard, but this year, it worked out well to go find sledding hills. They even went into the mountains a few times. 

One of the storms was probably the biggest since we moved in here. There was so much snow piled almost fence high in some spots in the backyard. The snow was almost all the way up to the top of the rock well so the kids could just step right over to it. They were so excited and loved it. 

They also had fun playing in the snow during a visit to Morgan where they had even more snow than we did. 

Lucy Glasses

Last October Lucy had an Optomologist appointment where they recommended getting her glasses to start wearing. The prescription is so low that they normally wouldn't recommend glasses, but because we don't know what her vision limitations might be we want to give her the very best vision from the very beginning in any way that we can. 

It took us a while to find frames that we liked that would work for her but we are really happy with these cute pink glasses. I think that our favorite thing is that they turn into sunglasses when she's outside. I am hoping that this feature will really help us because although her vision doesn't bother her very much, she is very sensitive to the sunlight. I'm constantly reaching my arm around the seat to grab little sunglases for her to wear in the car, but I try to leave them in the car so they don't get lost. That means she spends her time walking to and from buildings, etc... without sunglasses. I think that these shaded glasses are going to be really nice to her. She calls them "my changing into sun - glasses". 

 

February Homeschool

Most of our February homeschool was focused on our preparations for the Science Fair, however, here are a few extra things that we wanted to remember:

We spent many days in the basement and it was the perfect hygge-homeschooling for a cold February. I would sit by the heater and the kids would alternate sitting by me to do their bookwork and jumping on the trampoline.

Lucy has been LOVING her weekly neighborhood music class. We go for an hour to sing songs and it's easily her favorite thing of her life. She loves each one of the songs, knows which song we need to sing before the snack, and simply enjoys the experience. I have noticed that Lucy is more musically inclined than my other kids. She likes singing more, she likes listening to music more, and singing these songs while at music class with a repeat performance each night before bed of her very favorites, is definitely part of her love language. 

Lydia and Ava have been working on their sewing projects each Wednesday. I have really enjoyed teaching sewing to Ava. We are working on a beautiful Sunday dress for her. I also enjoy watching Lydia learn to sew, although her projects tend to be whatever she is interested in making at the time and are mostly self-led. 

We rode on the frontrunner for a field trip to SLC during "Free Fare February". The kids always look forward to this and we had a nice time. We rode the frontrunner to SLC, walked to the Clark Planetarium, walked back, then rode the frontrunner back, and it was great. 

We spent a couple of days in Morgan, playing games, doing puzzles, helping grandpa forge in his metal shop (garage, ha), and making bread. 

A great February! 

Lydia Science Project

Lydia Peaden Science Fair 2023
Delicious, Daring, Donuts

Question:
“How do different cooking methods affect the outcome of a donut?”





Research
There are three main types of heat movement that we use to cook food:

Convection- the flow of heat caused by the motion of air currents. Example: The heated air in an oven surrounds the food and cooks it.

Conduction-the flow of heat from object to object. Example: Stovetop heats a pan then, the pan heats the oil, and the oil heats the food.

Radiation- the flow of heat between objects that are not in contact with each other. Example: A microwave sends tiny waves that target water molecules in food causing them to heat up.


Health Consideration: Deep frying foods in oil can lead to health problems if you eat too much.
Healthier options can help your health.

Hypothesis:


I believe that frying the donuts will cook donuts with the best texture,taste, and in the fastest time.




Supplies:
Donut recipe
Oven
Grill
Microwave
Frying Pan and Oil

Procedure:
Follow the recipe to make dough.
Cook the donuts in four different ways:
Oven, grill, microwave, and frying pan.
We will start with the grill
then move in order to the oven, microwave, and finally the frying pan.
Analyze the results.

Data:

Conclusion:
My conclusion is that different cooking methods do affect how donuts are baked.

I found that first, if we had taken the donuts out of the grill faster they would be perfect. I also found that you should never cook donuts in the microwave because they turn rock hard and still have a hint of dough. The oven I wouldn't recommend because they have a floury taste and also have a hint of dough, but maybe if we brushed them with butter first they would turn out better. As for the hot oil ones,I do recommend them because they are cooked very well and have a soft and fluffy taste.

My hypothesis was correct that the fried donuts would be fastest, taste best, and look the best. I learned a lot doing this,and am glad I decided to do it.

Presentation

Hi, My name is Lydia Peaden. 

My science project was”Delicious, Daring Donuts “ My question was” How do different cooking methods affect the outcome of a donut?” My hypothesis was that frying the donuts will cook donuts with the best texture,taste, and in the fastest time. I learned that there there are three main types of heat movement that we use to cook food: Convection- the flow of heat caused by the motion of air currents. Example: The heated air in an oven surrounds the food and cooks it. Conduction-the flow of heat from object to object. Example: Stovetop heats a pan then, the pan heats the oil, and the oil heats the food. Radiation- the flow of energy between objects that are not in contact with each other. Example: A microwave sends tiny waves that target water molecules in food causing them to heat up. For my science project,I made a donut recipe, then used the grill, the microwave, the stovetop, and a frying pan to cook the donuts. I then gathered my data, to see if my hypothesis was correct. It was! Out of those four methods, frying was one of the fastest, the tastiest, and had the best texture. The least effective was the microwave, it made the donut rock hard, but still had some dough. I was surprised at how well the donuts cooked on the grill, but I still think that frying was the best option. I also made a donut frosting machine. It works like this: This project was really, really fun and I am glad I chose to do it. Thank you.

Lydia won 3rd place!