catch up

 

I haven't blogged in so long that I know you are all going through withdrawal, so here you go... just to feed your addiction:)

After having lived here for over two years I have decided that I want an actual yard that the children can play in.  I also did a bit of vegetable gardening this year.  We had to do container planting due to the lack of a yard.....

Here are the babies playing in the potting soil and compost, oh yeah.....

Some of our yard as it stands now....

While weeding we found this under our fence line. we were very excited, but the next day we checked on them and there was a hole in one that looked like an animal had gotten to it.

It has been extremely hot out for our part of the country.  This is Tristan's favorite way of cooling down....

And my hubby has decided to forgo the Amish look and has not only cut off all his hair but is now also clean shaven.  Here is my new man.

"Tis a Shakespeare Thing, thou wouldst fathom it not"

 

As many know Seri has been taking an intense Shakespeare class with the "Carpe Diem Academy" this past year.

She has truly loved it in every way and it was an incredible experience for her. 

In the first semester they did an in depth study of "Merchant Of Venice" along with a presentation and fulfilling other expectations.  ie.. writing papers, reading and discussing seventeen other Shakespeare plays, participating in class discussions and the like. The way the class was set up there are no grades. There are however, expectations and once you meet all expectations there were honors and awards you were entitled to receive.  Seri was pretty self-motivated and completed all the expectations and was crowned (this was in another post earlier in the year).

The second semester they worked on producing a full length play of "Twelfth Night".  There was a lot of acting games, character analysis, bonding and trust activities and other things going on.  Seri was cast as the fool, Feste.  She had a great time with this role and really got into it.

The week of the play was tech week and all the children worked together from 9:00-5:00 Monday thru Thursday.  Friday and Saturday they were there from 9:00-10:00 and performed two showings per day.  That is quite the schedule for children this age and yet not a single one of them ever complained. They looked forward to it and did it eagerly.

The night of the play I was amazed at how well the class did, a full length Shakespeare play is a feat in itself.  these children were between 11 and 18 and all but the oldest were first year students.  They were amazing!!!!  I didn't even recognize Ser until she spoke her lines, and it wasn't even her voice, it was that I recognized her lines after having gone over them with her quite a few times. A question the director got time and time again was, "how long has this troup been together?"  the answer that this was their first year always left them astounded.

Aside from the play and how well they did, I was amazed and grateful at the relationships between the children and the bond they shared.  There were no "cliques" in this group.  Everyone was accepted and seen as an integral part of the process.  This is why my children are home schooled, so that they can experience this type of collaborative environment  without fear or boundaries.  I think this is a main reason the play was so successful, they all had a bond with each other and recognized their responsibilities to the group, it was not an individualized effort.  Somehow along the line they made up their own language where numbers took on the meaning of sentences for example 62 means Prince charming, 10 means I don't know, 35 means that's not very nice and so forth.  On a road trip to see another groups play they even made a dictionary for their "language"

When it was over I asked Seri if she was relieved, now she wouldn't have to work so hard and could enjoy a little free time.  Her response was that she felt incredibly sad that it was all over.  She did not want  it to end.  Good thing they will be teaching again next year!!!!

 

The funny thing was that neither Tristan nor Sariah recognized her either, even when she spoke with them and held them.

 

Seri's good friend came on the last night and as the cast was running around speaking to each other in "their language" she looked at me and said "I always knew those home schooled kids were odd."  we laughed, but for me it was poignant in that what she thought was odd to me was amazing.

Tea Party

Our interest in political activism started this past summer.  With the election coming up and various things happening in the world, I was dismayed at how much I actually knew about what was going on politically so when I was handed a flyer to attend a Republican rally entitled "Freedom on Fire" Matt and I excitedly packed up the family and took off for a day of enlightenment and knowledge.

One of the classes was on the constitution and was a general overview of the subject, but the teacher encouraged us to have a copy of our own and study it frequently.  I was inspired and so I taught a class on the constitution at co-op the next session.  The children memorized and learned what the pre-amble meant and then learned the seven articles and what each included.  While teaching this class it dawned on me that very few of adults have this knowledge. (This is where I insert my plug that this is not surprising, as most of us were educated in public schools).   If we don't have this knowledge and understanding how can we know if the standards in the constitution are being upheld and protected?  For me, at this time, it was a scary thought.

When Serenitie had the chance to enroll in an intense class on the constitution called "Key Of Liberty". I jumped on it.  It was becoming very important for me to raise children who are aware of what is going on in our nation and who can objectively see what is happening.  I also wanted them to have the knowledge to not only see what is happening but to also stand and fight for the things they hold to be true and self-evident.  It is my desire that they become involved for the good of society, not just sit around and judge and talk about what is going on, but to be involved in what is happening- to be actively engaged in making our society better.

Thus, Matt and I must lead by example if we want it to be a lesson that they will learn.

When we heard about the 9-12 project and the Tea Parties that were being held nationwide, we knew that we would be participating.  Unfortunately he got called into work and so the children and I were off to Olympia.

We wrote on the car, made our signs, packed our lunches and joined close to 5,000 other people on the steps of the capitol in an effort to make our voices heard and let law makers know that they can not continue to steal from us in the form of "taxes", they are held accountable to us (which they seem to have forgotten somewhere along the way), and that we don't believe you solve a money problem by spending more money or bailing out those that have failed to manage their resources of their own accord.

It was an amazing experience and one I hope my children do not soon forget!!! 

After the rally we figured out where the offices of our district Rep and Senator were in preparation to deliver a tea bag to each and ask that they remember to whom they are accountable and then we attempted to go on a tour of the Capitol building.  Alas, my little two could handle it no longer and in an effort to ensure this would continue to be a good day we headed home.

The children were great, considering it was a three hour rally with lot's of screaming and so many people you couldn't move even if you wanted to (I am so glad no one had to pee!).  However, lesson learned, next time I will leave the babies home so that I can do more and enjoy it more with the older ones.

I am excited about being on this journey to become more knowledgeable, more aware, and more involved.  I am excited to see my children take an active interest in the world they will soon inherit.

"Honk if we pay your mortgage"	I loved how creative the signs were, this lady had a huge tea bag.

"My Daddy works hard, so those on welfare don't have to". "Why an I paying YOUR mortgage"

"It's Time For A Tea Party" "Do you want my allowance to?"

"Keep Your Hands Off my dad's paycheck"	"Joe was right, look out Obama thinks your rich!"
My little "extremist"	She loved holding the signs, the hardest part was making sure she didn't smack anyone else!

Tristan loved it that he could scream as loud as he wanted and noone told him to shush.

  This little guy is holding a sign that says "Future Indentured Servant"

And my favorite one of all.......

"I'll keep my Freedom, guns and money.  You can keep the CHANGE!!"

My babies

Go fly a kite!!

Isaac's bunny

Awhile ago I purchased a pattern to crochet little animal purses.  Isaac was browsing through it one day and asked me to make him a bunny.  So I did, and they have been inseparable since.  He takes it everywhere with him, even to church!  Who would have thought the boy would become so attached to the silly thing?

Salt Lake or Bust

Vacation was great and I am so glad that we got a chance to go. 

We left home at 7:00 and drove through the night in 3-4 hour shifts.  It actually wasn't too bad and the kids slept a majority of the time.  We rented a condo in Ogden for a great price and it was a fantastic condo.  Living space and kitchen on the first floor, two large bedrooms and two baths on the second and a third floor that was a loft area.  It was a great space for the kids to run around in.  Much thanks to Chrissy for the referral of VRBO.com!!!!

After sleeping we ventured into Ogden on foot and walked around.  We came across the Salomon center which had indoor surfing, A huge game area with bumper cars, and a flying air tunnel that literally simulates sky diving.  It was soooo cool.  If we ever go back we are taking additional funds!!!!!

There was also a great place called the Pizza Factory, the food was outstanding and they had the best breadsticks!!

We also found the Ogden temple and wandered around their grounds a bit.

I love all the statues on the grounds of the temples, especially this one.  Hopefully this is Matt and I in fifty years.

But for now, this statue accurately represents my life.

It was daddy's turn to do double duty.  We thought about taking the stroller, but it would have taken up precious space in the van.

Tuesday we were back in the van and headed for Red Feather Lake, Colorado.  Truly in the middle of nowhere.  My aunt said if we needed anything we should stop in a town about an hour out.  She was right, between there and her house there were no establishments!!!!!  Their house is three miles up a dirt road.  And as if we didn't see enough snow this year, there was a ton there to keep the children occupied.

The purpose of this trip was to visit my Grandmother for what will probably be the last time.   It was great to see her!  She is a fantastic painter and we came home with quite a few of her recent paintings which means a lot to me.

We stayed through Wednesday and then left on Thursday after meeting Grandma's hospice worker.

My grandmother's name is JoAnne and  we named our daughter Sariah JoAnne after her.

Friday we spent the whole day at Temple square.  Tristan took his first steps in the Joseph Smith Memorial building while we were watching "The Restoration".    

We also ate at the Blue Lagoon.  A lot of our friends had said this was the best place to eat and they were so right!  We loved the food.  The menu listed a Big Burrito and then said if you could eat it all you would get a free dessert, so of course Matt, I , mom, and Seri all ordered it.  Yeah, we should have figured out that it was going to be beyond huge!!!  One of them alone could have fed my family!!  Matt made a valiant effort and ate it all with the exception of probably three bites.  We still got dessert though, thanks babe!!!

Sorry for exposing you to the bite protruding from Sariah's mouth, she was attempting to help Dad.

Not sure why Matt is boycotting the concept of smiling.

one tired cookie......

Saturday we all hung out around the condo watching conference while Dad went to the priesthood session.

Sunday, Serenitie and I went to the afternoon session.  She turned twelve this year and we want to take each of our children to a session of conference after they turn twelve.  It was amazing!!!!!  The conference center is huge, beyond huge!!!!!!!  It was a great feeling to be able to listen to our prophet in person with my daughter.

Of course there were protestors screaming that we were going to hell and the such, but what was nice were there were also members lined up on either side of the sidewalk singing hymns, quite the contrast.

I don't think I have ever seen so many members!!!!  It was amazing.  Have I already said that?

The condo had a garage, but the entrance was only a single car entrance so it was hard to get the van in and out of.  On one such entrance Matt completely scrapped the side door and chipped off some of the framing.  I would just like to point out that it was not me!!!

On the way back home I looked up just in time to see us go over a huge mass of something.  Matt ran over a deer, didn't hit it, just went over it.  The big mass of fur and bone that got stuck fell off in the driveway yesterday and I made him go collect it .  Our undercarriage is still covered in fur though.  turns out all the car washes in the area don't have undercarriage wash.

It was such a great trip. I am glad to be back home though.