April 2012 Summary

April blew by quick due to us being extremely busy in our household.  We had a couple birthdays, Easter, spring break, my dad from Vermont came to visit us, accomplished a lot of yard work, new church callings (hubby is a scout master assistant and second counselor to the young men while I teach 5-6 year old primary children), and our puppy Jagger kept me on my toes since he acts like a toddler eating/chewing everything in sight and occasionally has potty accidents in the house.

Big sister turned 13 years old on April 5th and had a birthday party with some friends!  I cannot believe that she is officially a teenager!

Her birthday theme was her favorite colors Orange, Purple, and Blue!

 The kids played the following games: darts with balloons on sheet rock, Goldfish catch, cartoon couples match game, truth and dare, bubble gum relay, etc. They ate pizza, bread sticks, cake, and ice cream.  The teenangers  appeared very happy and entertained.  Big sis even made a groovy play list on her iPod, which they jammed to during the party.

Our beautiful little sister turned nine years old on April 15th! She requested a very rich chocolate Reese's peanut butter cup cake.  We bought moose tracks ice cream, devil's food cake mix, chocolate frosting.  I did two round cakes and put ice cream in between the cakes. Then frosted it and crumbled Reese's cups all over... We stored it in the freezer.  YUM!  She loved her girly presents a pink fuzzy blanket, a purple kick ball, sock monkey slippers, fairy dolls, Strawberry Shortcake play set, and a purple Lego set.

Little Sis read to Grandpa Coleman while he was in town.  He visited for a couple days during the third week of April.  We had a lovely BBQ with my sister's family on a Sunday evening and hung out.  On another day, he and I went to my mother's grave and had lunch together.  Then we ate enchiladas at my place for dinner one evening and my sister stopped by after work.  It was a great experience for my girls to be reconnected with him since it has been over six years since he last came out.

Big Sis reading to Grandpa!

 Yard work and gardening is a lot of work!  I have already spent many hours weeding, ack! We trimmed rose bushes, thinned fruit trees, fertilized the lawn, chopped limps off our out of control English walnut tree, planted seedlings and flowers!  I absolutely love having a greenhouse!  It has been cool this spring and my plants survived thankfully.  I hope we have a successful harvest in the next couple months! 

I adore my little "puff ball" or "toasted marshmallow" bichon frise/poodle puppy! Jagger makes me laugh and smile everyday!  I enjoy taking him on walks, car rides, kissing him, and cuddling him. He is entertaining when he chases his tail, plays with his favorite squeaky lady bug toy by pushing it on our legs while we walk, and prances when he moves around the house.  He definitively has "The Moves Like Jagger!" John and I are determined to learn how to groom him (nails, haircut, etc) since taking him to the groomers costs a lot of bling bling! Isn't he the cutest puppy ever??? XOXOX

Teddy Bear Table Manners

For Activity day on November 30, 2011, I had the girls each bring a teddy bear.  They cuddled with their stuffed animal or doll while we discussed manners, table setting, and proper etiquette during sacrament meeting.

Sugar Doodle had some amazing ideas that I printed out (Manners and Etiquette Questions).   Martha Stewart came up with a cool way for kids to practice table setting, she included a template for download that could be printed out on paper-stock for the kiddos to cut out and practice. 

The Template by Martha Stewart 

We played a game using real paper plates, plastic cups, plastic utensils, and napkins. I had to girls practice a couple rounds then they started racing each other to see who could correctly set the table the quickest.   We ate Honey Teddy Grahams and Chocolate Chip Honey Grahams for a snack.

Next time I plan this activity I would love to do a small a tea party with some tiny cakes or pastries, sandwiches, veggies, and lemonade would be darling.  I didn't have much time to plan this activity due to my trip and school.  Hopefully they learned something new and had fun!

Bee Attitudes Activity Day Lesson

For Activity Day in September, we discussed "Bee" Attitudes. Here is my cute invite that I quickly put together for the girls.  

Credits: Paper and girl in bee costume doodle by Kate Hadfield @The Lily Pad. I used the following fonts: love ya like a sister, mool boran, and mareen's print.

Clipart from About.com

I had each girl read from Gordon B. Hinckley's article “The Prophet’s Counsel: The Six Bs,” Friend, Feb. 2001, 25.  I made visual aids from 6 "Bee" Attitudes Clip Art  which I printed out, cut out, and glued on a black piece of construction paper. I cut out "bee" attitudes from “The Prophet’s Counsel: The Six Bs,” article and taped each one on the back of the cute  honey bee clip art.  After the girls read a "bee" attitude, I either played a game, did an object lesson, or read a story from the Friend to go along with one of the "Bee Attitudes."  

The Prophet’s Counsel: The Six Bs

“The Prophet’s Counsel: The Six Bs,” Friend, Feb. 2001, 25

Excerpts from President Gordon B. Hinckley’s Fireside Address, November 12, 2000 (“A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” Ensign, January 2001, pages 2-11.)

Be Grateful

Walk with gratitude in your hearts. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings, which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have. Be thankful to your parents who care so very much about you and who have worked so very hard to provide for you. Let them know that you are grateful. Say thank you to your mother and your father. Say thank you to your friends. Say thank you to your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way. Thank the Lord for His goodness to you.

Be Smart

The Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands, whatever your chosen field. Whether it be repairing refrigerators, or the work of a skilled surgeon, you must train yourselves. Seek for the very best schooling available. Become a workman of integrity in the world that lies ahead of you. I repeat, you will bring honor to the Church and you will be generously blessed because of that training.

Be Clean

Avoid evil talk. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. …

Choose your friends carefully. …

While you should be friendly with all people, select with great care those whom you wish to have close to you. …

Be clean. Don’t waste your time in destructive entertainment. …

How truly beautiful is a well-groomed young woman who is clean in body and mind. She is a daughter of God in whom her Eternal Father can take pride. How handsome is a young man who is well-groomed. He is a son of God, deemed worthy of holding the holy priesthood of God. He does not need tattoos or earrings or rings anywhere else on or in his body. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve are all united in counseling against these things. …

There is no need for any Latter-day Saint boy or girl, young man or young woman, to even try [drugs]. Stay clean from these mind-altering and habit-forming addictions.

Be True

Be loyal to the Church under all circumstances. I make you a promise that the authorities of this Church will never lead you astray. They will lead you in paths of happiness. …

Be true to your own convictions. You know what is right and you know what is wrong. You know when you are doing the proper thing. You know when you are giving strength to the right cause. Be loyal. Be faithful. Be true.

Be Humble

The Lord has said, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (D&C 112:10). …

I believe the meek and the humble are those who are teachable. They are willing to learn. They are willing to listen to the whisperings of the still, small voice for guidance in their lives. They place the wisdom of the Lord above their own wisdom.

Be Prayerful

You need His help, and you know that you need His help. You cannot do it alone. You will come to realize that and recognize that more and more as the years pass. So live that in good conscience you can speak with the Lord. Get on your knees and thank Him for His goodness to you and express to Him the righteous desires of your hearts. The miracle of it all is that He hears. He responds. He answers—not always as we might wish He would answer, but there is no question in my mind that He answers.

"Bee" Attitude Ideas 

These are the object lessons, games, activity, and stories that I used for my lesson.

Be Humble Object Lesson (Family Home Evening: Humility)

Materials needed: A lump of soft clay and a lump of hardened clay.

I believe the meek and the humble are those who are teachable. They are willing to learn. They are  willing to listen to the whisperings of the still, small voice for guidance in their lives. They place  the wisdom of the Lord above their own wisdom.  Demonstrate how the soft clay can be molded into any shape that you desire. Then try to mold the hardened clay. Express the difficulty you are having in shaping the hardened clay. State that hardened clay is unworkable.  Explain that we are like the clay. When we are humble we can be shaped and molded the way the Lord needs us. If we become stubborn we harden ourselves to the guiding influences of the Lord and we become unworkable. Discuss ways in which we can become more humble. (Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Building Blocks for Better Lessons, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998]  Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I believe the meek and the humble are those who are teachable. They are willing to learn. They are willing to listen to the whisperings of the still, small voice for guidance in their lives. They place  the wisdom of the Lord above their own wisdom."  (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, January 2001, 2.)

Be True: Story

Be True : In all circumstances

In some situations it may be inconvenient or uncomfortable to stand up for what we believe in. But it is still important to follow the commandments and live righteously. We must, as President Hinckley reminded the youth, “Be loyal to the Church in all circumstances.”

Tiffany Roy, of the Port Charlotte Ward in Florida, had an experience in which she was true to the teachings of the Church even though it was uncomfortable.

“I had just moved to another state and started school. There was a group of girls who found out that I was Mormon and started asking me all these questions. When they found out that I would not swear, this little group of girls blocked me from going inside the classroom. They told me that they would not let me go in until I would swear. I told them that we would be sitting there all day because I would not lower my standards for them. The girls let me go inside because they knew I wouldn’t do it. They avoided me the rest of the year. I did not care what they thought of me. I stood true to my faith by doing this.”

Be Smart: Being Smart Story

Be Smart: The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost … shall teach you all things (John 14:26).

Olivia smiled as she uprooted a reluctant weed. The sun was warm, and it felt good to be weeding the vegetable garden with her family. It felt even better to be finished with school for the day. As they worked, Olivia’s older brother, Jake, started talking about President Hinckley’s six “B’s” that he was studying in seminary.

“Six bees? Like bumblebees?” Olivia asked, pointing to a fuzzy bee busily gathering pollen from a bright purple flower.

“No,” Jake said. “They’re things that we should try to be. They are be grateful, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful, and be smart.”

Be smart! Olivia’s eyes opened wide with dismay, and her heart seemed to drop into her tennis shoes. “President Hinckley says we should be smart?” At her baptism recently she had promised to keep the commandments, and that surely included following the prophet. But if there was one thing she could never be, it was smart.

Olivia dreaded school. Mr. Blaine, her third-grade teacher, was nice, but he made the class do multiplication tables, which tangled up in Olivia’s brain like barbed wire. She felt dumb when she got bad scores on her tests and worksheets. She tried hard, but her best just didn’t seem to be good enough. The rest of the evening Olivia worried that her grades were a terrible disappointment to Heavenly Father.

The next day at school, she felt even worse about “be smart” when she missed five words on her spelling test and couldn’t find Madagascar on the globe. She was relieved when recess came.

As Olivia ran across the grass with her friends, she noticed a group of fifth graders looking at something. Forgetting her problems for a moment, she went over to investigate.

“What are you looking at?” she asked a tall girl.

“Oh, we found a needle, like the ones doctors give you shots with.” One of the older boys bent to pick up the needle. A sick feeling came over Olivia, and she knew somehow that this was not a thing they should be playing with. “Wait!” she yelled. “Don’t touch it!”

The boy stopped short, staring at Olivia with raised eyebrows.

“Well, it’s, uh, way bad to t-touch stuff like th-that,” she stammered, feeling stupid for telling an older boy what to do.

But then a recent family home evening lesson came back clearly to her mind. “If we listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, He will help us know when something is wrong,” Mom had said.

Olivia looked the boy in the eye. “We should probably tell a teacher to come get it instead.”

One of the other third-graders ran quickly across the grass and brought back Mr. Blaine. “Olivia told us not to touch it,” the older boy said as Mr. Blaine bent over the sharp needle.

“Smart thinking, Olivia!” Mr. Blaine exclaimed.

Smart thinking? A warm glow replaced the sick feeling that had filled Olivia moments before. Wow! She had remembered her mom’s counsel about listening to the Holy Ghost, and she had followed His promptings. That was something a smart person would do!

Running across the playground, Olivia felt much better about trying to be smart.

Be Grateful: Game (Spin the Honey Bottle)

We played "spin the honey bottle" for a few minutes.  Each girl had a couple turns sharing what they are thankful in their lives. They had a lot of fun playing this game!

Be Clean: Object Lesson

I showed them a fresh bar of soap. I allowed them to smell it and hold it.  I asked them the following question, "What does it mean to be clean?"  Then we talked about how our bodies are like temples and we should keep them clean by not thinking bad thoughts, no wearing immodest clothing, no swearing, and no gossiping. Then discussed avoiding harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol, tea, coffee, and smoking.  We briefly talked about no tattoos or many body piercings.

Be Prayerful:  Discussion

We discussed when we should pray (all day long and pray to Heavenly Father like you are talking to your best friend). The Lord listens to our prayers and may need not get the answers we need right away.  We need to be patient and trust in the Lord about the things we pray for.

"Bee" Attitude Bookmarks  

For our last activity, I had the girls color a "Bee" Attitude bookmark. Supplies: Bee attitude bookmark print out, colored yarn, hole puncher, scissors,

and markers.

Treat: Butterfingers

You can get more B attitude ideas from Sugardoodle.

Back to School Water Party

For our last summer activity day, we decided to have a back to school water party!  I designed the invite of course and hand delivered them to each girl's home!  I was in charge of coming up with some "cool" fun water relay games!  Sister Jensen came up with a snack, craft, and back to school prizes. 

Credits: Template is from the Coffee Shop Blog and papers/elements are by Kate Hadfield from the Lily Pad.  I used Kids font and Love Ya Like A Sister font.

Sponge Ball Craft

Credits:One Charming Party inspired us with this cute craft idea!

Supplies: 

Sponges, sharp scissors, and dental floss.

Directions: 

Cut the sponge into strips by cutting the sponge in half and then cutting it in half again.  You should have four strips from each sponge. You will need three sponges (12 strips total for each ball). Have the kids arrange the colors how they like them.  Squeeze the sponge pieces tightly and give them a little twist.  Then with a helper wrap around dental floss tightly in the center of the sponges and double knot it.  Cut any excess floss at the end and fluff the sponge ball.  

Rainy Day Relay 

Credits: Beat Boredom Fun Water Activities

Supplies:
 Two paper cups with holes poked in them all over Four buckets or large containers for water. 2 full, 2 empty
Instructions:
Have the kids line up in two lines by the 2 empty buckets. In relay style, have them run across to the other bucket (full of water.) Fill the cup, and holding it over your head run back to your empty bucket. Dump whatever water is left into the empty bucket. Hand the cup to the next person in line. Continue over and over. At the end of a predetermined time, see which bucket is more full!
Wet Sponge Relay: 

Credits: Water Games for Kids

Supplies:
  Two buckets filled with water, two empty jars, and two large sponges (like car wash sponges). Instructions: 
 Form two teams. Each team makes a line next to a bucket filled with water. When the game starts, have the first member of each team put the sponge in the water, put it on their head, and run towards a jar at the other end of the playing area. Squeeze the water into the jar and run back. Continue on with the rest of the players. The first team to fill the jar to overflowing wins. 
Waddle Walk

Supplies:  Water balloons (fill them up large so they pop easier).

Instructions:

Divide the group into two teams. One goes at the time.  He/she carries a balloon between their legs across the yard and drops it in a large bowl or bucket. Then runs back and the next person goes. If they drop or break a balloon their turn is done.  The next person goes. The team to get a certain number and the most unbroken balloons in the bucket wins.

Tip:  I used the regular balloons with water instead of actual water balloons because I couldn't find water balloons at the stores.  Using water balloons would break easier and my balloons would not pop during this game, ugh!!!
Afterwards, the girls had a water fight and played on the slip and slide.

The whole group of girls!

We ran out of time quickly, but these are some other games that I wanted to play.

Duck, Duck Squirt

Supplies: One sponge or spray bottle.
Instructions:
 Gather in a large circle. The person who is it has the sponge/spray bottle does duck duck then squirt (squeezes the sponge or squirts water on them).

Water Guessing Game

Supplies: Spray bottle or water gun. 
Instructions:
 Have the kids get into a large circle.  The person in the middle will think of something: what is my favorite________? (food, color, song, sport, holiday, candy, subject in school, etc). Then everyone takes a turn guessing what the answer is. The person who guess gets it correct will be sprayed wet with the water bottle or water gun and in the middle. Everyone should each have a turn in the middle.

The Prizes: Back to School Supplies

Pencils, crayons, notebook, and glue.

The Snacks

Vanilla/Chocolate ice cream bar. 

Easter Weekend Highlights

We had a fun Easter Weekend!  John's parents came to visit us for the weekend.  They stayed on an air mattress in our living room.   John was able to to finish our box garden.  I will be blogging more later on that subject!

Saturday afternoon, we ate lunch at Olive Garden with G&G Free, Mike, Rachel, and Jessica Free.  My nephew Justin Silva was our waiter. We had a great time visiting with everyone as well as indulged on some amazing Italian food!  We even got to sample some delicious desserts  free of charge!  Thank you, Justin!

Granny and I enjoyed watching the mini series of North and South based on the book by Elizabeth Gaskell while the guys went to buy some raspberry plants.  The kids dyed some Easter eggs.  We absolutely loved the movie and cannot wait to get our hands on the book!  If you haven't read or seen this beautiful masterpiece please do!  We highly recommend them!

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed attending church with G&G!  I made some cinnamon rolls with a zesty lemon frosting for an afternoon treat while the girls played games with Granny and the men were taking naps. 

They played Pretty Pretty Princess and Apples to Apples Junior!

The winner was....  GRANDMA!   She had the most bling!

For Easter dinner, we went to Marilee's house (my sister in-law).  We had ham, cheesy potatoes, vegetables, fresh fruit, home-made rolls and salad.  It was a lovely meal and the best was dessert!  Marilee made a scrumptious strawberry shortcake!

 Strawberry Shortcake by Betty Crocker

Strawberry Shortcake

4 cups of strawberries

1/4 c. sugar

2  1/3 c. Bisquick mix

1/2 c milk

3 T. butter, melted

1/2 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven 475 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix strawberries and 1/4 c sugar, set aside.  In a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 T. of sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. On a ungreased cookie sheet drop dough by spoonfuls or in a round cake pan.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Meanwhile in a small bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.  Split warm shortcakes or large cake, fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.

After dinner, my father in-law talked about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He always does a wonderful job in sharing his experiences and testimony!  Next, we played some games such as Do You Love Your Neighbor, Boggle, and Book of Mormon Trivia.  The kids jumped on the trampoline and played baseball in the back yard.  Some people went for a walk while others just talked with each other.  Afterwards we came home and the kids wanted G&G to see Tangled.  They absolutely loved Tangled especially the silly horse!  Overall, it was an enjoyable weekend with John's parents that went by so quickly!

My Crafty Child

Apparently creativity is a strong gene in my family.  Last week my oldest daughter decided to make a small pink hair clip and a couple bookmarks. The next day she gave the flower hair clip and one bookmark to her teacher, Mrs. Day.  As for the other two bookmarks, she gave them to her friends in her class.  She expressed to me how much she loves making crafts for other people!  I was quite impressed with her designs and happy that she enjoys making things!  Way to go, girlie!

Pink Flower Hair Clip

She picked out the pink scraps (left overs from other flower projects) and I glued it together since she didn't want to burn herself with the hot glue gun!

She wanted to model the new pink flower hair clip! So pretty,eh?

Funky Paisley Bookmarks

We used paper flowers, gems, blue ribbon, and I printed out some digital scrapbook paper "Splendid" by Shabby Princess.  We used the glue gun to stick the scrap papers and embellishments on the bookmarks!

She was so excited to to give them away the next day!

On Tuesday February 8, the six graders were assigned to present a science fair project for the invention convention.  She had to come up with a creative idea, that hasn't been made before that could be useful.  Since we love to play board games in our household, she made the game organizer!

The Game Organizer

Supplies:

a cardboard box
 a sharp tool to cut out the pieces
 duck tape
 scrapbook papers
 glue gun and lots of glue sticks
 scissors
modge podge
paint and paint brushes

Directions: The box had the following dimensions: 10 3/4" X 13" and the four corners were 2 1/4".   There were three different sizes of dividers, which we cut out four of each size. Large-3 5/8" X 1 1/4", Medium- 3 1/2" X 1 1/4" and Small- 2" X 4 1/4".  We duck taped the box pieces together, painted the inside of the box blue, and applied modge podge over the outside and inside with digital scrapbook papers.  We applied scrapbook paper on the dividers with the glue gun (folding the paper around the cardboard pieces).  Next, we hot glued the orange strips of paper on the edges of the box and glued the dividers inside the boxes.

Explanation:  The game organizer holds eight money slots and space for other game pieces.  You could also roll the dice in the empty space, which would reduce the problem of the dice rolling off the table!  

Purpose:  Are you tired of scattered paper money and games pieces all over the place while playing board games?   The game organizer makes it easier for the players to keep track of their money and other game pieces.

Little Sis playing the Game of Life

 without the Game Organizer!

The game cards and pieces using the Game Organizer!

A close up of the poster at school.

Little sissy playing Monopoly
 without it.

Has she convinced you that you need one of these while playing board games?   There were several parents that made the comment, "I would buy the game organizer!"

Big Sis did an incredible job on her project and worked very hard on it!  John cut the pieces out with a sharp knife tool thingamajig and I hot glued the small pieces together. It was a good thing she didn't do the gluing because I got a second degree burn from the glue gun!  Duh! She duck taped the box together, applied the pretty paper "Splendid" by Shabby Princess, and designed her poster.  There are some talented kids at her school!  I was very impressed with all the six graders science projects! I'm so glad this project is done, out of the way!  The next big school project for big Sissy is a country report on Japan in April.  Hopefully, she is working hard on it during class and we won't be stressing at the last minute to get it done!