Seafood Date with Lincoln

Lincoln is doing a report on Seattle for school.  I thought it was high time for a little mommy/son date with Lincoln so on Saturday we headed to pick up some supplies for his report and we went to Red Lobster for dinner.  I wanted to do something "Seattle-y" and couldn't think of anything Seattle-ish besides seafood.  Lincoln has declared that he doesn't like seafood, but promised he would try it.  It was a score for me because I on the other hand adore the stuff.  We happened to go at "Lobster-fest" and I definitely indulged. 

Can I tell you how wonderful one on one dates are with my kids.  I loved all of the sweet stories that Lincoln told me though dinner.  We talked and talked and I loved every minute.

Lincoln tried one of my shrimp and said "hmmm that's good" You see Lincoln used to love seafood until he decided that he didn't.  I was so excited he finally tried it again and said would you like some more...he said no.  Oh well, baby steps.

He gave me the funniest faces when I was taking pictures of him.  He is such a fun boy and I loved spending time with him!

Winter Soccer Game

 My cute little brother Nathan is on the soccer team and happened to be playing against one of the high schools that we live by.  My sister and I decided to take our kids to the game to cheer Nathan on.  We made our plans when it didn't happen to be WAY cold, but by the time we got to the game with our kids all bundled up, it was WAY cold.  We had both brought treats to keep the kids happy while watching the game...it was so cold that most of the treats I brought froze.

 I couldn't get very good pictures of Nate as he played, but he did so well!  It is fun to watch him play.

If you can't tell what this pile of blankets is, it is actually Lincoln and my nephew all bundled up. 

Hunter was thrilled with the treats and didn't even want me to do up his coat!

McKay did pretty well for a while with all of the treats, then the coldness got a little more intense and the wind picked up and well...we were done.

Just after this we all ran for the car and headed to Deb's house for hot chocolate.  It started snowing as soon as we got in the car.  I felt so bad for those poor kids in soccer shorts out there FREEZING!  It was fun to get to watch Nathan for a little bit though.  I love having brothers that are such good boys and that my boys idolize.

A Story of Satruday Swimming at What Occured Afterward

That title totally got you interested right? :) On Saturday we took the boys swimming (sorry,no pics).  We had a great time and the older two boys even remember how to swim, which I was a little worried about.  The big hit was the huge water slide and even McKay went down it with Josh and laughed the whole way down.  Hunter got me to take him and is was pretty fun.  I have to be honest, I am constantly cold in the winter.  The thought of swimming this time of year just makes me cold, so I was pretty much the lame one and just sat and played with McKay while I shivered in the water (It actually was kind of cold...)  Hunter owes me big time for taking him on the slide (he doesn't swim well enough yet to go on his own.)

The boys had a ball and I was glad that we did it.  After we were done, I took McKay and got him showered and dressed while Josh took the other boys.  McKay was pretty wild and DID NOT want to sit still for me to get him dressed so it took me a long time to get him and me ready.  I was sure that the boys would be sitting in the lobby waiting on us.  Well, they weren't and they didn't come out for a LONG time.  Luckily I saw a friend from USU that I chatted with to pass the time, which was fun. About 20 minutes later, Palmer came out of the locker room to inform me that he had "accidentally" locked Lincoln in a locker!  Apparently they were playing and Lincoln had gone inside a locker (I think it was one of the tall ones for all of you who are currently squirming with claustrophobia).  There just happened to be a open pad lock on the bench (where in the world did that come from???  What are the chances???)  Palmer picked it up, slid it through the lock space and clicked it shut. 

I went up to the front desk to see what we should do, but they already had it under control...luckily they had a pair of bolt cutters and were attempting to cut the lock off.  In the end they were able to get our poor Lincoln out of the locker (not without collecting our phone number so we could pay for damages...)  Josh said that Lincoln was a champ and didn't panic too much.  There was a funny moment when a bunch of teenagers came in the locker room and Lincoln let out a scream from the locker to "get him out".  Josh said it scared them pretty good :)

Well, I guess chalk that one up for a story to tell the grandkids one day right?

Dr. Seuss Day

Our family definitely has a special place in our hearts for Dr. Seuss.  Our boys have spent hours being read and reading all of the goodies that this brilliant man wrote.  We usually have green eggs and ham for this day, and last year we tried to make it a little more of a party, which was really fun.  I added some Cat in the Hat pancakes to our traditional green eggs and ham.  Palmer called it the "Cat in the Hat Stack." 

 

The boys' school is so fun and I love how the go all out with things.  They invited the kids to dress up as their favorite book characters to commemorate "National Reading Week," and Dr. Seuss' birthday.  Palmer and Lincoln wanted to be "Thing 1 and Thing 2" so I made them these little shirts. 

I got the shirts at Michael (4 for $10 total deal!) and cut up one of the boys undershirts for the white fabric :), then I just appliqued the white circles and used iron on letters for the words and did a little blanket stitch around the circle with black thread. 

Lincoln and a few of his friends had decided to be "Jack" from the "Magic Treehouse" books that they love so much.  He had a great time that day. 

That night for dinner we had "Rare Who Roast Beast", from the Grinch that Stole Christmas (this was actually pot roast).  "Who Hash", also form the Grinch that Stole Christmas that was potato hash (I slice up potatoes and fry them in butter, cover the pan until they are soft and then put in a cup of milk and cook until it is all absorbed and then cover it in shredded cheese.  We LOVE this side dish and now it has a new name :).  We also had apples ("10 Apples up on Top") and pink ink (One Fish Two Fish) to drink (I was going to do Pink Lemonade, but we decided to do strawberry milk).

For dessert we had One Fish Two fish jello. 

It was fun and festive!

We were going to first read all of our favorite Dr. Seuss books and then watch "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat," but we got a little carried away reading our favorite books and read until it was bedtime.  I have to say my favorite Dr. Seuss book called "I wish that I had Duck Feet."  We had a great time and can't wait to celebrate again next year!

Palmer's Second Grade Program

 In January, Palmer's wonderful school teacher came to me and asked what I thought of Palmer memorizing the Gettysburg address for his second grade program.  I was a little stunned for a second and I am sure I asked her "do you think he can do that?"  I love to see my kids take on challenges, but never in a million years would have thought a second grader (even one as bright as I believe my Palmer is), could do that.  She told me she thought that he could do it and then asked Palmer if he would like to do it.  He looked a little bit scared at first, but then decided that it was something he would like to do.

We started by giving him a line or two and as soon as he had that memorized, I would give him another one.  His agile mind ate it up and he memorized the entire thing pretty quickly.  Josh and I just sat and watching him in awe as he rose to this challenge.  He worked so hard on it.  I would ask him multiple times a day to give me what he had learned of the Gettysburg Address, and he would smile and recite.  He never complained, he never said no.  This boy really is amazing to me. 

 This past Thursday was the second grade program.  The day for him to finally recite what he had been working so hard to do.  We had bought him this cute Abraham Lincoln costume for the occasion and all of our boys have decided they want to be Abraham Lincoln for Halloween so they can wear it.  There was another boy in his class that was asked to do the Gettysburg Address for the school program, and Palmer was asked to do it for the parents program.  I was TERRIFIED for him.  He however, was excited and happy and couldn't wait to do it. 

 This program was amazing.  It was entitled "Heros".  The kids went through 4 heros and the things that they had learned this year from studying them.  They did George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr.  and Helen Keller. 

 I was teary through the entire thing.  It was so touching and talked about so many things that I hope my kids will internalize. 

 Palmer stood out front as they talked about Abraham Lincoln.

 The kids all had their parts memorized.  I could tell they had all worked so hard.  It really was so good.

 Palmer stepped up to the microphone and began his speech.  I don't think Josh or I breathed through the entire thing.  He did it perfectly.  At one time he ran out of breath and had to stop a second to catch his breath that the audience got a kick out of it.  It really was so cute. 

 I was in tears the whole time and at the end the audience erupted in a huge round of applause.  I also let out a huge cheer (of praise and relief that he had accomplished what he has worked so hard to do).  It was an incredible moment. 

 Josh and I could sit back and relax for the rest of the program (I am so glad his speech was toward the beginning).

 The program also paid tribute to the scouting program and the wonderful things that program teaches.

 Palmer and Mrs. Inderrieden.  I can't even begin to express how much I appreciate this amazing woman (we seriously have always lucked out in the teacher category).  I am especially grateful for all of the potential she sees in Palmer.  She is always encouraging him and the other kids in her class.  She is incredibly patient and I want to be like her someday.  She is definitely one of my heros. I truly feel like some of the biggest blessings in our family's lives have been the teachers our children have had.  I feel like all of them have become our friends. 

 Lincoln had seen the program earlier in the day at school and McKay would have had a hard time with it, so my wonderful sister Debby said she would babysit them for me.  Hunter came with us though and was so good for the whole program!

It was definitely a special night for our family, especially Palmer.  He left that school on cloud 9 as he told us all about the goals that he was going to achieve next (I think he mentioned wanting to memorize Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" next ).  After watching him work so hard I don't think I will ever doubt that he can accomplish what he wants to again!

As soon as we can figure it out we will get the video we took of him reciting up on the blog.

Mad Scientist

Palmer has been looking forward to the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet for a very long time.  I have too for that matter.  I am in the Primary Presidency over scouts and had the chance to help with it.  It was definitely going to be a night to remember...and then Josh and I spaced it and planned our trip to Seattle the weekend of the Blue and Gold banquet.  What a disappointment for Palmer.

The theme was "Mad Scientist," and it was (from what I hear), incredible.  We have some seriously amazing people in our scout program.  I love being around them.  I love a good party and was so sad to miss this one! I thought I would post a few of the things that I got to help with. 

We asked the men in our ward to donate old white church shirts and then we cut off the cuffs and the shirt tail and sewed them up to look like a lab coat (Palmer's is still a little big, I need to hem the sleeves a little more). After sewing 16 of them (that is only half of our group...we have a big scout program) I got pretty fast at sewing these little numbers :)  It is so easy and you don't really need to know how to do much but sew a strait line (that is pretty much the limits of my capabilities).

Our amazing Cub Committee Chair made these felt mustaches for all of the boys to wear and even brought some extras to Palmer, Lincoln and Hunter, which they were THRILLED about.  I thought they were hilarious!  What a good idea.

The whole outfit got Palmer acting a little "mad".

He wanted me to get a picture of him doing his "mad scientist" laugh.

I made name badges for all of the scouts.  I photo shopped Einstein hair on to a picture of each of them.  You know you are never official without a name badge :)  I am going to make some for Lincoln and Hunter as well.

As fun as these were for something big like a Blue and Gold Banquet, or a birthday party, I think they would be just as fun to do as a family.  It is always fun to throw a little something fun into play/learning time.  We love science at our house and now can perform our fun science experiments in style :)