Yummy! Chex Mix

Pictures mean more and more to me as the kids get bigger and I look back.

Things that didn't seem that out of the ordinary all of a sudden take on additional meaning.  They were so small!!  

Here we are about 2 years ago about this time of year:

Making pink rice crispy balls

VIDEO:  Sunday Night Making Cookies

Summer stirring the juice

Homemade pizza night!

Family dinner...

There is a reason that God gave us bodies that need to eat 3 times a day.  A time to serve each other by making a meal, a time to be together, to talk together...

Just as important to feed ourselves spiritually as physically...

Summer doing the dishes.

Summer and Silver eating homemade chex mix!

I LOVE this video!  VIDEO:  Girls eating chex mix.  Oh, I love how with kids you can tell very clearly if they like something or not!!  "This is the best ever"  or 2 thumbs way way up:  Only they don't say it, they show it!

Corndogs!

Quote Board

I can tell dinner was so scrumptious when Summer licks the sauce dribbles off of her shirt. Every. Last. Bit. That one's a keeper recipe!

Silver: Mom, I can tell you are getting Old!

Mom: How's that?

Silver: Your face is bumpy and my face is smooth.

Silver: There is a Whole World out there, waiting for us!

Summer: Me want to get BIG!

Silver: I want to stay small. Then I can play on the zip line longer and go father :) Mom, do you like being BIG?

Rain: "Aunt Karin, I like your rules"

Me: trying to keep the shock out of my face: Which rules do you like?

Rain: I like that we can't take blankets outside, that's a good rule!

Me: What other rules do you like?

Rain: That we always need to clean up a room before we watch a movie.

Me: Why do you like that rule?

Rain: Because it teaches good manners! My mom has good rules too - I like that we need to eat dinner at the table and when we're done we get to get down.

I realized through this that kids love structure and rules. If my kids understand why we make the rules, they accept it and follow it much better. The reason we don't take blankets outside is that they get dirty and then we need to wash them. I let them take towels outside, but not blankets, as they are easier to wash. "Oh, Okay!"

I love hearing "Ok Mom!" We've worked on our response to things Mommy asks. I was at the store the other day and it was time to go. Okay Mom! Aahhhh, music to a mom's ears :)

Mesa: "Aunt Karin, I'm gonna miss you"

Oh, Mesa, I will miss you too!

River enjoys asking questions to learn about her world and the people in it. She started asking Colt and I about stories from our lives. Every meal the girls have started to ask for mission stories, childhood stories, dating, college, etc. Summer will ask: "Yous tell me stories is yous lifes?" It's been fun to relate things that have happened to us and to hear stories from Colt's past. She has started to ask grandparents and aunts about their stories. It has been fun to hear stories that I've never heard before. The power of a question!

River enjoys relating things in her everyday life to the gospel: She will tell me and her sisters lessons that she learns. She took Silver outside and had Sugar and Flour in bowls. She taught Silver about choosing the sweeter path. She will talk a lot about how beautiful our world is and that man could "never in a thousand years" ever make something alive or as beautiful as a flower or a tree. "ONLY Heavenly Father could do that!" This is like the gospel she'll say and relate what principle it is like.

Silver was the first to notice that Tanzi was awake! Silver's excited gasp! "She's awake!" Summer then comes running over too: "Awwww! Her SO cutes!"

We set up a serve-yourself lemonade-stand by the side of the road for the girls. It has a sign that explains this is an early start for their mission fund and that they can help themselves and donate what they would like to. The girls think it's great fun to walk down to check their "money box". We swap out the ice daily and re-stock the waters and pop when they are taken out. It has been really fun to take inventory and do it together.

We had a fun family night scavenger hunt. We talked about treasure! And how special it is. Then we talked about gospel treasures and how precious it is. We then went on a treasure hunt to find different gospel treasures around the yard. They would run to find the next treasure from the clues that they were given about the hiding place. Then we would discuss the treasure on their card: Temples, Book of Mormon, Living Prophet, Gospel Truths, Baptism and Confirmation, Sacrament, etc. The very last clue led to a picture of the Savior, with his arm around a blonde girl. We talked of how the Savior is the greatest Treasure - his atonement and example to us.

The girls have enjoyed sitting with Tanzi on the bean bag. It gives them a place to sit next to her while she can be propped up a bit. They read stories to her and play musical instruments.

Flying like Tinkerbell, Beanbag and General Conference

We wanted a big bean bag for our family and were watching Craigslist for one when I mentioned it to my brother Mike he said he was going to sell one of his and would we like it?

We had a blast!

Super comfy

Colt would throw them onto the beanbag.  The girls would pretend like they were Tinkerbell flying through the air!

The following 6 links are videos to the girls flying into the beanbag :)

It was also a great place to watch General Conference!

River tied her own fly to go fly-fishing with during General Conference!

A Family Business - Memories and Hopes

Colt's Dad Ron and brother, Kin are artists, who makes beautiful rock sculptures.

I started a little internet business on Ebay and Etsy.  

We would do it together, the kids and I.  The girls and I would go over to Paca's rock shop to pick out the rocks and then River, Silver and Summer would help me wrap them up and take inventory of what we were buying - mark down how many of which kinds we were taking. River learned about invoices and writing checks.

We then took pictures of the rocks and listed them on the internet sites.

We also named each rock - to give them a personality - lots of people commented that they liked the personalized touch of a name for each piece. 

We then would package up the rocks that would sell - all the girls loved helping crinkle the newspaper and pack up the box, then tape it shut and add the address label.  

We would look on the map as to where our packages were going:  Holland, Canada, and all over the United States!

Trivet

Diffuser

Aquarium Rocks

Stone Sculptures

TeaLight Candles

It has been a neat thing for our family to do together.  

We have learned about expenses and profit and savings.  

A true family business!

It's been fun to hear what people say about the rocks once they receive them in the mail.   They are so much more beautiful in person they say!  I've been surprised at how much repeat business we have had - once they see them, they have to go on and buy some more :)  

They buy them for memories of past vacations and as motivation and hopes for future vacations.

Silver having fun making corrals out of the rocks for her stuffed animals

VIDEO:  Silver helping me to unwrap them to take pictures.

She looks on the bottom to see if they have cork :

Cork = Sculpture

No cork = Aquarium Rock

Summer helping me package them up!

Scrunching up the newspaper!

Silver getting the aquarium rocks wet.  I list these with a couple of pictures when dry and a couple pictures wet so customers can have a realistic view of what they are buying.  

Silver gets such a kick out of helping!

VIDEO:  When the rock is put under water, air bubbles stream out.

In the video you can hear Silvers voice asking if they will get smaller - they start out lots of bubbles, and then as it gets saturated, the bubbles slow down and get really tiny.

Oh what fun it is to work together :)

Easter Eggs and Heritage

Dying Easter eggs with Tomi

Silver with her special eggs.

She LOVES this reindeer shirt.  Her "littlest petshop" kitty shirt is underneath with her reindeer pocket shirt.  Seriously, does life get any better than this?  Sometimes the simple things bring the most enjoyment!

River's egg!  She wanted to do one for Daddy.  Green = Daddy's favorite color and green like camo.  Then she drew a hunter (i took a picture of it and had it right here, but can't find it - she did a good job drawing daddy with a gun).  She then asked me for a deer.  This is what she got:

River showed it to Tomi when she came over and she said "Is that an eagle or a turtle?

An eagle turtle deer!

Summer's egg!

Crayon first and then dip in dye.  

L-R:  River, Summer, Silver

Easter Egg Hunt at the Ranch!

Summer, Silver, River and Mommy

Summer

Moving Silver's hair out of her eyes again!  She is 4 and this is all the hair she ever got!  She does NOT like me to cut her hair - even her bangs because she wants to have long hair "just like River's" 

This Easter was really neat as we got together as extended family on Colt's side.  The major part of the day was teaching the girls their Heritage and where they come from.  The story of Grandpa's family Homesteading on the Arizona Strip.  We then headed out to see the different sites of family history. 

With PacaMa

River was a good explorer!  She and I walked around where the old dug-out was.  We made a pretty big loop around the area and she found this old metal airplane.  We showed it to Grandpa who was so happy to see the toy airplane that belonged to his brother!

River decided after this experience to become an archaeologist! 

Can you even imagine living in a dugout?

With small children?

We all joined in a cedar berry fight!

Summer

VIDEO:  Cedar Berry Fight!

Shoes on the wrong feet.  We call these "duck feet". 

I am pleased she can dress herself.  So what if her shoes, shirt, pants or all 3 are on backwards?  She is learning!

Click on this picture to see it bigger - her face is so precious!

Running along!

Dirty Faces and clothes - oh how fun to be a kid in a sandy place!

Doesn't this shirt just say "Easter"?

Silver writing in the dust on the truck.

Silver with her FAVORITE shirt on!

It has a pocket for toting all your treasures with you!

On the dirt roads Silver driving with Daddy!

She got such a kick out of it with the radio turned up!

VIDEO:  Driving the Truck!

VIDEO:  Driving with Daddy in Truck - Having fun with music :)

Summer's turn!

River with her special peacock feather she picked up at the ranch.

Summer is looking at the cows out the window

A couple of days later we took the old Easter eggs up the canyon to our "sandbox" 

Of course we HAD to take pictures of our favorites!

2 eggs together make a dalmation - spotty head and body

We rolled several down the ramp we made and then set them up in the "wall" of the sand.

We grabbed small rocks and threw them at the wall, knocking the eggs down.  We set it up over and over again :) 

VIDEO:  Daddy and River playing catch with eggs.

Daddy swinging girls around and around in a circle.  I love the light in the evenings with the warm evening glow that casts long shadows.  

There is so much in life to enjoy and be grateful for!  

Find the Joy!  Create the Joy!