Fairy House

The kids took advantage of a little sink hole in the backyard to build a fairy house.

We're glad he's better

Last week Isaac was in the hospital for fever and dehydration. It was one of the longest, most draining weeks of my life, and Isaac wasn't even that sick. Once he was thoroughly rehydrated (thank goodness for IVs) and his fever was abating, he spent hours pushing this little pink and purple car up and down the hall of the children's ward. Clint took a few pictures before we came home.

Current Projects

The science fair is today. I know that one of the handouts they brought home earlier had the word "optional" on it, so given the crazy traveling, house hunting, packing and move preparation, we quietly decided to opt out. Oh, no, no. Last night the kids informed us that participation is not optional, and we needed something. Blargh!
Claire's experiment tested the rate at which food coloring dissolves in different temperatures of water. Jacob tested whether or not the length of string on a tin can phone affects the sound quality. Both wanted to do the 2-liter vortex we saw at the Eyring Science Center at BYU, but it was too messy and our 1-liter bottles were not quite big enough.
The stores in town were out of 3-part display boards, so they used colored posterboard instead. Happily, they wrote everything themselves, with only a little prodding to stay on task. I have no idea how their projects compare to other kids, but they enjoyed it.

The other project we've been working on is our new kid's desk. We found it in the trash on the side of the road. It had been painted flat mint green. So we cleaned it up, painted it with the shabby chic distressed technique (not Clint's favorite) and painted a chalkboard surface on top. We may even paint a chess board on the top after the chalkboard paint has had time to set up good.

(I can't find my camera cable at the moment. Will post pix later.)
4/29/09
I found the cable!
And it turns out that the distressed finish is perfect with the chalk. Isaac colors the entire desks, not just the top, but the chalk blends in with the finish.

How the kids see me

Natalie did this survey with her kids. I thought it was cute, so I decided to try it out on my little guys. Isaac, due to a lack of verbal ability, was excused from participation.

Jacob's answers are in green.
Claire's answers are in blue.

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
"I would never!"
Whenever Jacob accuses me of something that I've just done to him, like tickling, or flipping him upside down, I say "I would never." This used to upset him terribly until he learned to reply "You just did!" Now he enjoys the repartee greatly.
Dung beetle.
(Really?)

2. What makes mom happy?
When I clean the room without being asked. (That would make me happy ;)
Hugs and kisses.

3. What makes mom sad?
When she has to repeat herself. (Usually about getting the room clean...)
When we don't clean up our room quick.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickles me a lot!
Letting us watch funny shows, like Bugs Bunny.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don't remember. (True. He doesn't remember.)
I 'on't know.

6. How old is your mom?
Is it 31? Is it 30?
Thirty something? (I turned 30 at the end of last year.)

7. How tall is your mom?
Is it 5'2" or what?
Don't know. Medium. (5'4". I can wear petite clothes and regular clothes! Still not as good as making it up to 5'6", but that's just not going to happen for me.)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
I don't know. I know you like to do things, but I don't know what your favorite one is, so I'm not taking any chances.
Torture Jacob. (Apparently the interrogation of was a form of Jacob torture.)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
She goes on walks with Isaac, she watches some movies without me, she takes care of the house.
I have no idea!

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
(Shrugs shoulders.) No idea.
Uhh...torturing her children.
(That's terrible.) Huh, huh, huh. (And yet I continued to questions, so maybe she's right.)

11. What is your mom really good at?
Making homemade food. (Glad he thinks so.)
Folding clothes. (I've certainly spent enough hours at it. Thinking of which, Claire needs to put away her folded clothes.)

12. What is your mom not good at?
She can't really recall pokemon data that well. (I'm okay with that.)
She's good at everything. (Good answer Claire!)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
She's a housekeeper. (Close, but not quite. Housewives don't get paid.)
Same as Jacob's [answer].

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
What is your favorite food? That's not an answer! I'm asking! Aargh! (Jacob still doesn't know.)
Mushrooms. Artichoke hearts. Thai food. (Claire actually took time to think about an answer. They hate that we include mushrooms in stir fries and pasta sauces. We continue to torture them.)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
No idea. I can't really explain.
She's my mom.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Hmmm. (Giggles. Refuses to answer.)
Why are you asking that question?
I didn't make these up. They were just in the list.
(Claire flops on me. She does not have an answer.)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Snuggle.
A lot of stuff. Playing.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both have green eyes.
We're in the same family.

19. How are you and your mom different?
I like pokemon and she doesn't.
We're not the same people.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She tells me all the time.
She gives hugs and kisses to me a lot.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
(Shrugs shoulders.)
He's her husband.
(I think the lack of insight here is they just take both of their parents for granted. Of course we like each other.)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
I don't know.
The grocery store I guess. Fairway.

23. What does mom love best about you?
That's a question I can't answer.
I'm her daughter.

There your have it. Child torture over.
I love both of you. I'm so glad you are my little children.

Pine Wood Derby

Tonight the Boy Scouts had their Pine Wood Derby. Jacob's car was inspired by the Pokemon Giratina (thus the model magic tentacles). He especially like the flashing light on the top. With a dollar coin taped to the bottom, his car raced pretty well.