Countdown to Halloween Paper Chains

Early in October we made paper chains out of orange and black construction paper as a Family Home Evening activity. I pulled out some scrapbooking paper and we cut out designs to decorate paper plates... Each of the kids had a lot of fun with the plates! Then we attached the chains to the plates and hung them up above our breakfast nook to rip off one chain per day. Eventually I had to move them over to our back door because they were too high up to be reached. The kids really enjoyed watching the chains disappear, even though it took Charlie about half of the month to learn how to gently tear only one chain each day.


On Halloween we were down to just one chain left, and both of the kids were really excited! We are planning to do paper chains for Christmas as well!

Skeletons: A Third Grade Tradition

Every year 3rd grade students at our elementary school spend the first quarter learning about bones. Each week they learn about the function of at least one bone, and then trace and cut it out of lightweight cardboard paper. They keep the bones in a folder until it is time to assemble their full skeletons. As far as anyone seems to know, this is a tradition that goes back to the opening of the school in the early 1990’s.

Lynnae’s third grade class was fast at work during the last two weeks to make sure all their bones were cut out. They even spent last Wednesday working only on Science to get it done! The teacher asked the volunteer parents to come in and help with the assembly on Halloween. Of course, I wouldn’t miss it... And I brought Charlie along for the fun too.

It was mass pandemonium. The desks were moved to the outsides of the room, and in the middle of the class 20 children had bones spread out all around them... As they learned how to attach the breast bone to the ribs, slide the vertebrae in, attach the neck bone and cocyx, the head and the pelvis, and on and on... Six parents and one teacher rushed from child to child to try to help them figure out how to align shoulder bones or help cut out missing bones. Finally, the project was done and it was recess time. I grabbed my camera with about half the kids still in the class and snapped a few pictures.

The kids had so much fun, and Mr. Bones proudly took his spot on the window by our front door to greet the trick or treaters that night. At least one set recognized that we must have a third grader in the house!

Sit and Spin Fun

We went to the pumpkin patch about three weeks ago with our good friends the Boschees. The Boschees are very special friends for us... They were our first close friends in Washington and we have many, many memories of fun times with them. We had drifted apart for a year or two, but when the kids came to live with us that quickly changed. The Boschees have a daughter that is about a year and a half younger then Lynnae, and a daughter that is exactly two months younger then Charlie. And our kids have become best friends... So we have been enjoying a lot of time together as families. It has been very nice. One tradition we reignited this year was our pumpkin patch visit. We had so much fun, took a lot of pictures, (blog update will follow another time,) and then came back to our house for dinner. After dinner Natalie found Charlie’s Sit and Spin.

Mind you, Charlie has had this Sit and Spin since August. He saw it in Toys R Us with me, and it was a great bargain, so I picked it up. But he played with it for about two days and then it sat and collected dust. However, once Natalie brought it out... That was all over. Natalie and Charlie figured out how to get themselves both on... And proceeded to spin for about an hour! I think it actually worked much better because of the weight balance of two children instead of one. Charlie was having the time of his life steering, and Natalie was holding on under the steering wheel and squealing with joy. It was a great moment. After awhile... About an hour, which is incredibly long by toddler standards... Natalie wanted to get off, but Charlie was still steering. Eventually Natalie wanted to get off and started crying. Charlie looked at her with concern and tried to console her... While continuing to spin at the same speed. I think they got off shortly after that!

I am so happy that Natalie and Charlie have so much fun together. Charlie often tells me he is going to marry Natalie. I don’t think he even knows what that means... But I would be totally happy if that happened!

One Year and Fifty Gone

One year ago this week, my friend Candice and I walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and enrolled. It was not the first time I had done this. In fact it was the fourth. On three previous occasions I had resolved to lose weight... once by myself, and twice with other friends. I had always done really good at first... and then lost momentum after a few months.

This time I had decided that it would be different. I was actually starting to worry about my health, and I decided that I needed to just believe that I was going to do it. So I made a secret goal to lose 50 pounds over the course of a year. Despite my resolve to believe in myself, I actually was not sure that this would happen. After all, I had already attempted it three times!

So I did really well at first, even though we were just going into the holiday season when we started. And then I had a health scare in February. After that, I really got serious. Then the kids came in April... but I still did not let myself comfort eat into an oblivion.

This summer Candice found out she was pregnant, (congratulations again Candice!) And I decided to spend my money on other things then Weight Watchers, and go it alone. I took 3 months off while Lynnae was out of school and didn't try to lose any weight... but I successfully maintained what I had lost. In August I started losing weight again... and it took me a full four weeks to lose my last pound, but I did it! (And a few more dropped as well.) Today I am 53 pounds lighter than I was this week last year. I can hardly believe it.

I had to share before and after pictures, so here you go. Unfortunately, I don't have very many pictures of just me, so the before picture is actually almost 3 years old... but I weighed about the same in it as I did a year ago. Here's to 25 more pounds in the next year!

Andy's Birthday

Last week we celebrated another birthday for Andy. It was also his first birthday since the kids came to live with us, so we got to do some fun new things. I took the kids out birthday shopping with me and let them each pick up a present for him. They thought it was the best thing ever, although Lynnae really didn't undertand why I wouldn't let her get him "Spongebob the Movie." She finally settled on a golf ball monogrammer and the card game "Hit the Deck". Charlie confidently picked up a DVD of the "Smurfs". I was actually surprised that they both found things that Andy would really like.

On the day of his birthday, we worked together to make the house clean so that Andy could come home to a nice environment. (I'd let it get pretty messy that week!) We then all worked on decorations. We blew up balloons and I let each of the kids color a sign for him... can you guess which one was made by the 8 year old, and which by the 2 year old?


Andy requested breakfast for dinner, (a Kovar favorite.) So we had homemade buttermilk pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, and real breakfast sausage. Since I'm allergic to pork I never make real sausage, but I figured he deserved it since it was his birthday. :) After some time we went to open presents. Here is a picture of his loot.

Overall, it was a golf birthday... he got a lot of golf stuff! Not just the golf ball monogrammer from Lynnae, but also golf balls, a golf tool, the new Tiger Woods golf game for the Xbox and a thing that will help him improve his swing. He has been into golf lately, so he was happy! He also got a really neat globe from his dad.

Andy is such a nice dad that he gave Charlie and Lynnae each party favors. Lynnae wanted one of the golf balls, and Charlie got "blue" which was a blue M&M guy that my mom tied to the front of his present. The kids were very excited! Overall it was a great birthday for Andy!

Rapid Reading Progress

It's probably not news to many that Lynnae has had a struggle with reading. When she finished 2nd grade last year, she was reading at a mid-1st grade level... a little over a year behind where her peers were. So, our house has always been a place of reading for Lynnae. We read every night, (and all day long.) At first, we were doing most of the reading to Lynnae, and she was only doing the minimum that she had to. Over time, she gradually started enjoying reading and wanted to be the one reading to us. We took a reading class this summer that worked on phonics and digraphs. It also gave me the tools to help her with more independent reading, and at some point over the summer she started actually reading to herself without being asked. I could tell that she had made a lot of progress in reading, it was so obvious. We didn't have to sound out every word anymore... she was getting more comfortable with the different vowel sounds... and most importantly, she was having more fun and definitely had more confidence.

I had some natural curiousity at how far all of our summer work had brought Lynnae. I am a room parent for her class this year and have helped the teacher with a few tasks already, one of which was scoring some reading placement tests. I also volunteered to lead a reading group once a week in an effort to bond with Lynnae and show her how much I care about her progress.

My curiousity was killing me. I couldn't wait to find out where she was, so I asked the teacher where Lynnae was placing in reading. The teacher has given three different type of placement tests, and in every one of them Lynnae tested at a THIRD GRADE level! In fact, she is placing about a month ahead of where she should be right now.

To go from 1st grade to 3rd grade level over the course of a summer is outstanding, and more than I had dared to wish for. We are so proud of Lynnae, and all the work that she has put into her reading. Her confidence is really showing, and we can't wait to see where she ends up at the end of this year... she's one intelligent little girl. She has impressed us so much with how quickly she has learned things since she came to live with us!

Finding Joy in the Journey

This past Sunday was General Conference, which is a Sunday twice a year that we wake up and don't rush around to get to church. Instead we get to wake up and watch the big meeting that is broadcast from Salt Lake City on our own television. This was the first conference that had happened since the kids came to live with us, and Lynnae was pretty excited to be able to watch church on TV in her pajamas. I woke the kids up at about 8:30, we ate breakfast, and started watching the talks. There was one that Lynnae and I agreed was our favorite. It was the final talk of the morning session, by President Monson, and it was called "Finding Joy in the Journey." Lynnae enjoyed his comments on the inevitability of change... the unfair truth that change will always happen, both good and bad, and often without our control. This is something that she is very familiar with. He went on to speak about living each moment, making the most of what you are given despite change that may be difficult or stressful... Enjoying every bit of the "journey" of life. This spoke very strongly to me. As he spoke, I found myself questioning whether I had been doing that with the kids lately. Had I been spending too much time worrying and nagging? Were we enjoying our very new journey as a family, or had we already slipped into a different pattern?


When conference ended we had lunch as a family, and I looked outside and noticed the sun was out. (It hadn't been out in awhile... this is Seattle!) I decided to do something different with the time that we had before the afternoon session, and enjoy something new with my kids. Poor Andy had an obligation and missed out on the fun! After lunch we put on our clothes and headed over to the park near our house. We spent the next hour and a half gathering leaves of every shape, size and color. (We also gathered cedar, pinecones, and many sticks!) It was so much fun for me, and the kids really enjoyed it as well.



After the afternoon session, we sat down to do something with the leaves. I really had no idea what to do with them... so I took out some paper plates and had the kids finger paint the rims. We then taped the leaves to the surface. Lynnae made a "leaf man" on her plate... and Charlie just told me where to stick the leaves and then helped me press them down! After dinner we went upstairs and hung their creations on their doors.



One day does not equal a changed habit... but this was one fantastic day that has inspired me to want to change. I hope that you are all doing well, and trust me... take time to enjoy the journey. It is so worth it. Again, I apologize for the lack of pictures of the kids, but until we can post those up - I have tried to get better at taking pictures of other things!!!