Prepwork/ Lists

I have done a ton prep work lately. Packing for trips, laundry to pack for trips, packing diaper bags, shopping and packing for camping, packing for camping. The list goes on and on. As a mom I think that I do more prep work then work after the fact.

Some of the things that I have forgotten lately are towels for camping at the lake, cutting board for camping, and I'm sure that my husband can add a few things. Anyway, my point is list work only if you add every thing to them. I now have a master list for camping. I can only hope that I won't forget anything major in the near future.

What have you forgotten and left at home?

Funeral potatoes

Only in Utah would a delicious side dish be called after a funeral but it is. Another name is sour cream potatoes. It is one of my favorites.

8 med potatoes, skinned and grated.

Heat together
4 T butter
1 C cream of chicken soup
1 pt sour cream
1/4 C grated onion
1/2 C grated cheese

Mix all ingredients together and place in 9x13 pan, top with grated cheese.Bake 350* for 30 minutes

Things my kids learned this week

My kids have learned some of the basics of life this week.

First is how to install batteries, that they have a (+) and a (-) end, and it matters when you put it in the Geo trax train. Which we love by the way.




Second, Don't play with matches. I was cleaning out the camping box from a recent camping trip and had collected all the matches into a Ziploc bag but that didn't stop my 10 yr old GIRL, I came out of my room and smelled that distinct smell. She had only lit them and blown them out but... she did get to hear her daddy's story about setting a whole field on fire. I don't think we will have any more problems with matches.

One Word

I was thinking today about my life and the thought entered my head, What one word would I use to describe my life. Many would work:

Crazy, Well with 6 kids and a hubby yes
Busy, yes that works too
Stressful, I must admit that at times this is the case,
but the one word that stuck out was content.
I love my life, I love being the mom to 6 kids, Getting them to school, Church, sports, playing with them, reading to them..., I love being a wife, talking with Brian about our kids, his school, or even golf,and spending time with him. I love to do my craft projects and I love that I have space for them here. I am just content.

What word would you use?

New Sunday Movies

We TRY to only watch uplifting things on Sundays, We have fallen in love with Liken the Scriptures. They are reenactments of scripture stories that are musicals, along with modern day kids learning something. I think my kids favorite is Daniel and the lions. It has a great song about eating meat and then vegetables, sung by the lions. They love to sing along and when we have things like stake for dinner then the "meats in the menu" song is also in order.





I got a few new ones this week and am ready to put them on. I wonder what the songs will be. I was just checking out the web site and you can even download mp3's of the songs, but they are not on I tunes.

Girls New Room

I just finish all of the sewing/quilting for my older daughters room. They are very excited not to have baby blue and pink any more. I love the way that it turned out. I still want to do something for the wall but that will have to wait. I have another project that needs to be done before a friends baby gets here.



10 yr olds bed



12 yr olds bed



Up close of the quilts



Curtains




Keepsake boards

Reading Hour

Summer is now here, the kids are out and we have a few weeks until Daddy finishes and we can take a vacation. So what to do to keep the kids busy and not the TV or Computer.
Ok I will admit that they do use both but I also do other things.

We have a reading hour everyday. The older kids either read a chapter book or they can read books to the little ones. I also use this time to do reading lessons with the ones that can't read or are beginner readers. I love the book, How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. If you decide to use it I would strongly recommend having it spiral bound first. I am on my second copy and need to get a new one.

FHE Resource

I have found a great resource for Family Home Evening lessons. It even comes from the church. It works great for my kids even with the 11+ year spread. It is the new nursery manual, Behold your little ones. The lessons are simple and easy to give, and each comes with optional extra activities that you can choose which one works best for your kids. My older kids can even give the lesson. I know that this is what the church wanted the book to be used for and it works great. We are on a roll we haven't missed a week in 2 months and yes that is a record for us. We are trying and this manual is making it easier.

Free Books

I love summer reading programs. I think it started as a kid being drug to the local library to do the summer program. Thanks mom!! I now take my kids every summer to the local library to participate. This summer Barnes and Noble is getting in on the fun. They have a great program for elementary kid ages. Go to http://images.bn.com/pimages/bn-junior/resources/2009/Summer_Reading_Journal.pdf, print out the paper, have your child read 8 books, have them write their favorite part, and take it in to Barnes and Noble to pick out their book. I understand that the list to pick from is short but there are some great books on the list. By participating you also get entered to win a free signed copy of a book in the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. These are a favorite of my 12 yr old. They are great for both boys and girls.



May the summer reading begin. Enjoy.

New Camera!!!!

Well we finally got around to getting a new camera, I am very excited. My favorite feature is the zooooom! I am still getting to know it but soon pictures will be popping up on my blog. I cant wait to show you my girls room as I finish it along with other projects.

Great FHE

I love the Friend it has great ideas for FHE. Tonight we played a game in the friend. There are 14 collections of words that if said aloud make other words. It worked great as a activity and All had fun guessing and taking turns reading. Can you guess them?

1 Pie on ear chill drain

2 Sawed legs it he you tall

3 Are tickles off ace

4 Me shun hairy

5 Chew see riot

6 Sir chip on door end purr ray

7 Loaf won an oath air

8 Fall oath he pro fit

9 Paw pick horn paw pink

10 Chair ink tie I'm

11 Bee shipwreck

12 Prime air eat each her

13 Broth hers send see stirs

14 Primer he yak tiff it he


Enjoy