Education Fair--March 9, 2011

Another post that was in my "drafts".

This was Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The elementary has an Education Fair every spring.  It is like a science fair, but the displays aren't always science projects.  And the school hosts a book fair.

Emmalee by her desk--with a painted turtle and the earth (paper-mache on a ball--and she got to bring the "earth ball" home!) 

She was more than eager to show everyone her projects!

Callum had lots of projects that he worked on for about 6 weeks.  He had to pick a book & complete 6 or 8  different assignments about the book.  Here you see his homemade TV version of the book, "Wild River".

He also wrote a "prequel" chapter for the book, made a map of Idaho out of salt-play dough, gave a speech on why someone should buy the book, and then various other projects at school.  He did an excellent job!

Here he is demonstrating how to poke a stick (wooden skewer) through a balloon without popping it. 

Ta-da!!

And Benjamin parked himself by our turtle & fish--that live at school in Rusty's room during the school year.

Every time we are at the school, he likes to sit by them.

Brienna, Rusty & Emmalee 

Benjamin's Hearing Test

I thought I posted this one, but found it in my "drafts".

This was around March 10, 2011.

When it was determined that Benjamin was delayed in speech by 10 months, they decided he needed his hearing tested.  This is one of the tests they did.  He sat so still, and cooperated 100%.  I really couldn't believe that this well-behaved child was my little Benjamin!!!  

And the good news:  He has awesome hearing & no build up of any fluid in the ear canals.

One Year Anniversary

Today is my 1-year anniversary of being sugar-free.

Well--refined, white sugar-free.  For more clarification, read this post.


I don't have any desire to start eating sugar again, so I guess I'll just continue on my journey in life--minus the sugar!!


PS--it's been 2 months since I drank a pop.  I have to admit that I miss my caffeine-free diet Dr. Peppers!  I'm not sure how long I'll go without pop (Brienna gave me "permission" to drink pop again.  She was the one that challenged me to quit drinking pop).

Spring Fling Week--Day 1

Monday was super hero/villain dress up day at the for Zane & Brienna.

Brienna wanted to be a minion, but we couldn't find everything she needed for it.

 So she decided to be Cat Woman.

 Meeee-ow!

What a great Cat Woman she was! 

 Zane started out as Megamind, but ended up deciding he was a jedi (I think that's what he told me) from Star Wars.

We tried to get something for his hair to make the bubble/light-bulb head, but it didn't work.

Tuesday is Pirate Day!

The Pigs are Home!

Alright--by "pigs" I don't mean my children!!  (hehe)

 Brienna, Emmalee, Zane & Callum on top of the shelter for the pigs.

 Emmalee seeing the pigs (& boys) right after getting home from Aunt Pamela's.

 The pigs (especially Callum's) have really grown!

 Zane's pig--Black Powder--settling in the pile of straw.

 Callum petting his pig (Wilbur).

 The pigs settling in at their new home.

Wilbur just knocked over the bucket of food.  Rusty is planning on building a wooden self-feeder for them so they can't spill the food all over.  (Although they cleaned up the food they did spill). 

So far, the boys are keeping up with feeding the pigs, but they know if they aren't taken care of before we eat (dinner), then Mom or Dad will feed the pigs & charge them a fee.  

Earthquake

Shortly after I finished posting the "Girls Weekend" post, I experienced this:  

WESTERN MONTANA -- A 4.1-magnitude earthquake was reported by the U.S. Geological Survey early Tuesday morning north of the Idaho state line.
The earthquake hit at 1:05 a.m. about 18 miles northeast of Spencer, Idaho, or about 31 miles north-northeast of Dubois, Idaho.
A smaller earthquake hit six minutes later in the same spot. It was a 1.8-magnitude quake.
The earthquake happened on the Centennial Fault in Western Centennial Valley.


Here is another link about the quake.


At first I thought it was a thunderstorm, then I thought, "I feel like I'm right next to the train speeding by."  And then I realized it was an earthquake.  I could see out our window onto the back porch & saw the porch light "move".  It was more like being on a roller coaster & seeing the scenery moving.  But my whole body felt it.  I would also compare it to an unbalanced, high-powered washing machine in the spin cycle.


By the time I truly recognized it was a quake, it was almost over.  (I would say it lasted 15 seconds).  So I didn't jump up to get into the bathtub or "panic".  I was just getting ready to go to bed, but I was "shaken" for about 15 minutes.  Then I "calmed" down & went to bed.

Girls Weekend

On Friday afternoon, Brienna, Emmalee & myself drove Pamela's for a girls weekend.

First we had to stop in IF for some shopping.  We needed a few groceries & Brienna was looking for some dress-up clothes for Spring Fling week.

We left later than we wanted to, and we had to stop in Swan Valley for a bathroom break.  So we drove around Palisades in the dark.  And we saw lots of deer--thankfully none on the road.   But I was thankful for the bathroom stop since Emmalee fell asleep and didn't wake up until Saturday morning.

In fact--she was really upset--she said that next time she comes to Pamela's, she wants to go to sleep at her house for 2 nights--not one!  (since she doesn't remember being at Pamela's the first night).

 I brought the flowers, ribbons & craft stuff to make hair bows.

 We all had fun being creative with the ribbons & flowers.

 Emmalee wearing Pamela's giraffe hat.

 This was Emmalee's favorite cereal--the TV show cereal!  (Flintstones)  Emmalee, "Pamela ONLY has sweet cereal!"  

 Emmalee playing in the toy container.  It was nice that she didn't have to share the toys with the boys.

 There were too many movies to choose from.  Saturday she started (but didn't finish) more movies than I can remember!  She finally settled on one & watched a whole movie!

 She put 2 toy bins together & watched the movie inside

 Brienna working on hair clips.

 Putting a circle puzzle together

 Girls weekend was a blast!  And according to these 2:  "No more stinky boys"--well, at least for 2 days.

 Emmalee watching a movie while the rest of us watched General Conference.  I was able to listen to all sessions without having to be a referee to a bunch of rambunctious boys.  I was also able to take notes & look up scriptures.  It was heavenly!

Here are the fun hair clips we made over the weekend.  

We drove home Saturday afternoon.  When we first got home, Benjamin didn't want to give me a hug--he a mad at me.

He discovered how to bang the coat closet door against the front door knob.  By doing so, the door knob cover will pop off & he can escape.  So I guess that happened on Saturday.  Thankfully Zane was jumping on the trampoline & saw him.  He yelled at Dad (who also was outside) & they were able to get him.  And thankfully our street is a dead end with very little traffic.

And the pigs are home!  (pictures coming next)