Valentine's Party

In February we had a Valentine's day party with cousins and friends instead of a field trip.  The girls had a great time preparing their party.

The girls grew the rock candy suckers for 2 weeks.  DeeDee made the cupcakes and we all dipped the vanilla wafers.

We played Valentine bingo, everyone made themselves a Valentine monster and we had fun playing a Valentine Madlibs.

I am thankful for Aunts and friends that helped us out with all of the kids and the clean up.

Everyone had a really fun time.

Little Feet

My baby has no shoes.  Mostly this really isn't a problem.  We have lots of socks and it is difficult to find shoes that stay on her cute little feet.

However, on Pinterest I have seen pins for crocheted baby shoes and sandals.  I have decided it is time to make some so that my sweet little 10 month old will have something cute on her feet on Sunday.

Here are the cute little baby sandals I made for MaeMae this morning.

New Homeschool Blog

I am starting a second blog focused specifically on doing Homeschool.  I have been working on it for a while and got a little burnt out.  I am now ready to start up again and share what I am learning with every one.

You are invited to my new blog, Book of Ruth: Mama of 5,  I will provide information about homeschooling and what I have learned. You will also find links for Common Core and what that is all about.  The above link will take you to my new blog you can also go there by typing in brmamaof5.com.

I will continue to maintain this blog also with our personal homeschool and family activities.  Thank you for your love and support.

January Field Trip

As time approached our January field trip the kids were getting excited and were wondering where we were going.  My husband suggested Hardware Ranch near Logan, Utah.  We have wanted to go there for a while.  It sounded good to everyone.  As the day approached the weather for the area wasn't looking to good.  Time for plan B.  It was time to go to the aquarium again.  My husband hadn't been yet and we also invited his parents who hadn't been their either.

 It is really nice aquarium.  It was a pretty busy day because one of the school districts was out for the day and there was a school group there as well.  The thing I have found wonderful about the new building for the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is its openness.  There is plenty of room.  Even with so many people it doesn't feel crowded.

DeeDee was in charge of the camera and took some amazing pictures of some of the animals and the exhibits.

The duck exhibits are so beautiful and interesting.
I asked once if the ducks wandered.  The employee said that during the day they stay in their exhibit but, when the aquarium is closed they have the run of the hall and they do wander.

I really enjoy their South American exhibit.  They have a variety of animals.  Birds, lizards, fish, frogs, snakes, etc.  It is amazing the variety and beauty of all of these tropical animals.

 I missed it but, Mark and the girls were able to watch the Anaconda move from the tree branch it was resting on, down into the water.  The employee said that the Anaconda doesn't move that much so to see it move so much was a real treat.

Their Utah exhibit is so much better than it was at the old building.  I never get tired watching the River otters.

The favorite of everyone is the Oceans exhibit.  They have many wonderful exhibits of ocean life and  they now have the room to have a much

and even a large tunnel.  It is truly a marvelous thing to walk through.  Because it is such a large thing you don't feel rushed to go through.  They even have seats for resting and watching.  The viewing windows on the other side of the tank are another amazing thing.  They also provide a place for resting and there is plenty of room for every one to wander and view the amazing aquarium of ocean life they have put together.

We all had a wonderful time and enjoyed our time together as a family.  As homeschoolers  I am grateful for the Loveland Living Planet Aquariums resources and discounts.  When you take in your affidavit your school age children get in for $4.95 and the Chaperoning adults for $6.95.  This is a huge discount.  You can also prepare before you go.  They have printable worksheets on their website that are grade level based.  They were perfect for my 2nd grader and 4th grader.

Just remember it is not a large aquarium compared to the one at Monterey Bay in California or even the the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (also in California).  For our little area it is a lovely, peaceful and fun aquarium.

December Field Trip

For our December field trip the girls really wanted to go see the Christmas lights on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

 The lights were beautiful and it was so much fun spending time together.  The LDS Church has a lovely nativity display with narration.  I always enjoy listing to the Christmas story along with the beautiful music.










The water features, as always were beautiful with the lights shining over them.

 I love the nativity display on the reflecting pool.  I am so grateful for the celebration of our Saviors birth that brings light to us in such a dark time of year.

 Here are Mark and me.  Our kids have gotten good at taking pictures.

MaeMae was so cute.  She just loved being in the stroller.

                                                   

 We realized the last time we had gone to see the lights was just a few days before Leelee was born.  It had been 4 years.  She had had the flu earlier in the week so wasn't super thrilled with the lights.

These were the new water feature and lights at the City center plaza.  It was a beautiful night and we all had a lot of fun.

Ears pierced...They are getting so big.

DeeDee & MiMi are getting so big and growing into such beautiful young ladies.  We decided it was time for ear piercing.  So, off to Claire's at Valley Fair Mall we went.

They had both been afraid that it would hurt so much.  MiMi decided first that she wanted it done and that convinced DeeDee.

                                     

They were troopers and the little star earrings they got are very cute.  It sure has gotten expensive.  $18.50 each.   I think it cost me $7 when I had mine done at Claire's.

And the Miracles keep coming.

Now, you might look at this van and think,"What an interesting color."and you would be right. We found this wonderful vehicle on KSL.com classifieds.  I was on there looking for a fridge and decided, what the heck, lets look at cars.  We were planning on changing out our van after the first of the year but you never know when a gem will come up.

I was looking at full size vans (which are not plentiful in our price range and the mileage we were looking for) and there it was.  A 1995 Dodge Ram Van 2500 with only 38,000 miles on it for $4500 dollars.

The next morning my Dad and I went to Bountiful, UT to Liberty Auto (which I highly recommend) and we couldn't believe it.  A full size van with only 38,000 miles on it in practically new condition.  The previous owner used it only to haul his boat and kept it in the garage the rest of the time.   I bought the van and when Mark was able to drive it, he was thrilled. The dealer even bought our old van for $1000 and we were able to get the fridge.

The interior was pristine and the captains chairs for the driver and passenger are super comfortable.  My children love having more space.  I cannot tell you what a blessing we feel this is.  I will always have faith that the Lord will always give us what we need when we need it.  Many times it is trials but, I am sure grateful when it is a wonderful blessing.

Now we have a great Field Trip vehicle.  We are all super excited to go camping next year.