Monday, July 26, 2010

Say What?

Saturday we were running errands and Cameron begins a very serious discourse on why Batman is NOT a superhero.
"Batman is a guy who battles villains and bad people, he's NOT a superhero."
***
Last week, for a treat, I took the kids to McDonald's for breakfast after swimming lessons. In the drive through Tyson is trying to decide what he wants, but just can't remember what it's called. I guess we don't go to McDonald's often enough (read that in the sarcastic tone it is intended to be read in. I don't like fast food).
"Mom, I want those things that are...um....you know....the things that are shaped like a trapezoid that's cut in half with the end rounded over. Like a cone with a circle on the end that's squashed flat. Those things."
Oh, of course. Hash browns.
***
Kay's new favorite game is to sit on your lap, with your cheeks in her hands, saying, "I love you."
Of course, you would respond with, "I love you!"
To which she yells, "No, I love you!"
Can you see where this is going?
She loves to go back and forth with "I love yous," escalating until she is literally shrieking it at the top of her lungs.
What a quiet, sweet thing she is.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Pioneer Primary Party

This morning was our Primary Pioneer Party. We (the Primary presidency) have been trying to get the kids excited for it since April. We made a map of the five states the pioneers crossed with our party date and time on it and moved a little wagon across the trail, telling a story, or just updating the pioneers location every Sunday in Primary. For the actual party we had six stations, each with a pioneer story to go along with it. We divided the kids into companies and gave them name tags with the name and age of a real pioneer child on it.
At the Sweetwater station, our secretary filled a kiddie pool with ice water, told them the Sweetwater account about the three boys that carried the rest of the company across the icy river and then died, and let the kids "ford" our little version.
The Primary president told a cute story about how the first school in Utah was started by a fourteen year old girl looking to entertain the children on the trail, then the kids sidewalk chalked around the church.
The second counselor did a pack the handcart relay with wheelbarrows and a cute story about how a girl was able to bring her fragile china doll across the plains.
Our CTR 7 teacher did the hilarious, but slightly disgusting, "Buffalo Chip Relay." We made "buffalo chips" with spray foam and spray painted them brown. The kids were divided into two teams and raced against each other to find a chip and place it in the fire (crumpled up red and yellow tissue paper), then tag the next kid on their team. She read them a story about a girl who was trampled in a buffalo stampede, but was healed through faith. We also made no bake cookies for the kids to eat here, because you know what no bake cookies look like.....
The chorister sang pioneer song with the kids while they shook up cream and salt in baby food jars to make butter. Then they spread it on wheat bread and had a snack.
I read the kids a true story about a girl who had nightmares on the trek West and was comforted by an Indian who made her a pioneer "night light" (a glass jar with fireflies in it). We had so many baby food jars donated, we HAD to use them up. So, the kids filled the jars with glow in the dark beads and glitter and water to make their own pioneer nightlights. They loved that they really glowed!
We had a ton of help from our wonderful CTR 5 teacher, two of the Beehives, a Deacon, and the primary presidents husband. It was so much fun, I forgot to take pictures, but here are Tys and Cam showing off their bounty.
Now we can start worrying about the Primary program....

Monday, July 5, 2010

Run, Baby, run!

Trent ran his first 10K today in the Freedom Run. He is prepping for the Red Rock Relay this fall, so this was good practice. He did great, especially when you consider the utter lack of running he has been doing lately. He had expected to do a 10 minute mile and came in just under an hour! Better than he thought!
The kids and I were going to go down and cheer him on this morning, then stay for the Freedom Festival Parade, but poor Cam was up and down all night with an upset stomach. Instead, they spent most of the morning making Dad a beautiful poster.