Aunt Amy

I was initially going to post about this fun date that David and I went on to Hale Center Theater Orem, but then I remembered we have a separate "Hale Center Theater Plays" post drafted for the year. But when I looked at these pictures I realized that what I actually wanted to blog about was Amy and how wonderful she is. 

Amy gave us tickets for Christmas to go and see a Hale Center Theater play. It was such a kind and thoughtful gift and the best part was that she also volunteered her babysitting services for the date. 

We are so blessed to have Amy in our lives. My kids love it when she comes to babysit. They love to talk to her and play games with her. We were lucky enough to convince her to stay and watch General Conference with us and we had a lovely day with her. 

Here are some things that we love about Aunt Amy:

-She listens. She listens to the kids telling her about the random things they are thinking about. She listens to the things that are important to me. I remember telling her about how I was feeling when considering homeschooling and how well she listened to me without inserting advice or judgment. 

-She likes to play games. We love playing games with Amy. She is an expert Nertz player and any chance to play any kind of card game with her is an excellent way to spend a day. 

-She is kind. She never says unkind things and is always gracious and patient. She knew that I had been struggling with some other extended family relationships and wrote me the most beautiful letter expressing her love and thoughts about me. It is a treasure.  

There are many many more things - like how great she is at taking care of her parents, what a great gift giver she is, how fun she is to talk about what books we are reading together, what a great aunt she is, how kind she is to babysit,  etc... 

We love you Amy and we are grateful for you! 

March Wrap Up

March wrap up pictures. 

Lucy is such a cute little 3 year old. 

Lucy clearly showing she is sad about something. Then also her playing in her room and making food for her baby (and probably for us too). 

The Perkins daughter is Lucy's age and she had a Little Mermaid themed birthday party that Lucy and Shantel went to. 

One more picture from the party, plus Lucy singing I am a Little Teapot (with actions) for us. Lucy and Shantel have been going to music class every week and Lucy loves it. 

Lucy with a giant cookie from the party. Plus, one day she got her blankets and stuff and put herself down for a nap in the hallway. 

Shantel was making dinner one day and after putting the pasta in the strainer and leaving it there for a little while, it had hardened. Shantel decided to dump it out and cover it with sauce and cheese to make a "Pasta cake." Then she cut it up just like a cake to serve to the kids!

One of the kids favorite games to play with me is "Chase the Monstor," this game has evolved over the years as Lydia has gotten bigger and now we almost always play "Poison Ball" chase the monster. This involves me trying to get all of the kids frozen at the same by hitting them with the ball when they are out of their safety. The kids try to defeat me, but capturing my call in their safety (where it won't freeze them), and then hitting me with my freeze ball without catching it. They also have a ball that unfreezes them and I try to capture that ball so they can't use it to unfreeze themselves. Also any unfrozen kid can touch a frozen kid to unfreeze them as well. The kids love it and it really is fun. One day Shantel came down and after watching 5 or 6 rounds with each side winning about half, she commented that she had no idea what the rules could possibly be. However, the kids and I know the rules well and we love playing together. 

We got from a neighbor a new bed for Austin (it was so nice of them to give it to us, it was basically brand new, but they were repurposing a room and did not want it anymore). With that, we decided to rearrange Lydia and Austin's room. Shantel did this with the kids while I was at work and somehow they convinced her to put their two beds together to essentially make a giant king bed. They love it and it is super fun. Here they are snuggling Lucy in bed and you can see both beds pressed together. 

When Shantel was at stake baptisms I was doing lunch for the kids and I got some broccoli out with our lunch. Caleb did not want whatever I had made for lunch, except he wanted broccoli and requested a giant broccoli piece. I happily gave it to him and he chowed down on the whole thing and asked for me. Kids are so funny with what they will and won't eat. 

March Snow!!

The snow kept coming in March and has been so wonderful. Sometimes we get a strong snow season early on, but then it fades, but this year March has been so snowy and we are nearing record levels of snow for a year. Shantel was able to take the kids out for more sledding days. 

There are also a few pictures from Shantel's Homeschool retreat in Midway and there was so much snow up there. I'm grateful that we have been getting the snow and water we need. 

March Homeschool

Here are some homeschool highlights from March: 

-We are really enjoying our Coop (now called SPARK Cooperative). I am teaching two age groups of an "America the Beautiful" class and have really been enjoying it! The kids are in three classes per day and it's been great. Lydia loves her crochet class, Austin loves his chess class, and Caleb loves his gardening class. I love that I get to teach each of them in one of my America classes! 

-A Journal Entry by Lydia Peaden 

-Lucy still adores her Music Class on Wednesdays. 

We've been memorizing "My Brother Built a Robot" by Jack Preluztsky and as a final project the kids got to make "robot rice crispies". 

The Haderlies came and the kids got really into making leprechaun traps + we went for a bike ride. 

One of my very favorite things from this month is that we started hosting our "America" parties in preparation for the Hope of America performance and to help the kids in their efforts to earn the "Great American Award." The kids are memorizing all 50 states and things like the Gettysburg Address & Premble, etc...  Plus we are trying to learn 16 songs for the Hope of America Performance. I loved this group gathering so much! The kids were so great with each other, even though half of them were from SPARK and half of them were from Ali's Coop. Lydia was the only one who knew everyone, but I left thinking about how great these kids are and how grateful I am for them in Lydia's life! 

Other things: I'm currently reading Prince Caspian to the kids + Ava's sewing project (church dress) is really coming together! 

Field Trip to Hill Areospace Museum - learning about Helicopters. 

Field Trip to Ogden Nature Conservatory - it was SO snowy and wet and beautiful! 

Some more random homeschool photos: Bookwork, art projects, country study, etc...