Even Mosquitoes??

 For Christmas Scribber got this awesome "Noah's Ark" Stained Glass kit from Melissa and Doug. (While I ADORE the Melissa and Doug line, the age on this kit was 6+ - an age that I thought was pretty accurate. There's a ton of SMALL pieces to be stuck to the "glass" and little fingers aren't the best at that kind of thing! So, I did what any sane mother would do... I hid it! 

Well, today she found it and begged and pleaded to do it. So, I gave in.

I was right, the small pieces were tough for her clumsy fingers!

But? It was an hour well spent - we had a blast. We talked about favorite animals (she really likes Bears - I think our recent trip to Alaska where we got to watch a Mama and her two cubs play may have had a hand in that answer! Where I'm more partial to cats, and Okapi's!) We talked about rain, which we both agreed would be fun to dance in! And we also came to the consensus that we don't get near enough of it here in Southern Colorado!

But we also talked a bit about the story of Noah's Ark. Sure, she's heard it before - in Sunday School and Awana's at church. And probably in a Veggie Tales episode. But we'd never really had a conversation - just she and I about it.

She got very serious, stopped what she was doing and looked at me.

"Mom, I wish Noah hadn't taken two mosquitoes. Then I wouldn't have gotten so many bites in Alaska. Or maybe he could've made a mistake. Maybe he should have taken two boys."

Man, I love this kid!!

(And I agree - he should have left the Mosquitoes off the Ark!!)

December/January Recap!

It's been ages since I updated - I don't really have an excuse. I suppose for the most part, our lives are pretty routine and there's not a ton to share!  But, the more I think about it? December was a bit crazy! So, here's a photo recap of our last two months!!

DECEMBER 2012

My sister was the Queen of her Madrigal Dinners at Wayne State! I got to ride up with my parents to watch the dinner, and it was a lot of fun! (I even got in a few of the photos!!)

Three days later? I drove up with my parents again to see her Senior Honors Colloquium. (See, I know big words!! More importantly? People in Wayne Nebraska know big words!)

 

Then? A few more days later? My dad, Skyler and I drove up to help her move out of her dorm. (Yep - are you keeping track of our time on the road? There will be a tally! I promise.) 

Then we drove back to Wayne (2 days later) for her Graduation! (CONGRATS KID SISTER!!)

 

Total driving time (from Lincoln to Wayne in December) approx 30 hours! 

Total driving time total in December (up until now?) 35 hours! 

But, we're not done! See, Skyler and I drove back to Colorado! Where we got home just in time for a big snow storm, where a tree fell on our house! 

And then, Ryan got home and we turned around to head BACK to Nebraska for Christmas!

Total Drive time now? (December 21?) 55 hours! BUT WAIT!! We have a trip to Iowa, a trip back to Lincoln and a trip back to Colorado still to come!! (Are you tired of my car yet? I am!!)

So, I mentioned Iowa? We spent 2 days with Ryan's sister and her kids! (Which was an absolute blast, and now I understand how horrible it was for my parents to drag Kate and I away from our family on trips to Chicago!)

Then back to Lincoln where we did the whole Christmas thing - which included this awesome cake ball tree!! (Drive time now? 62 hours.)

Then, we had Katie's birthday! (Geez, she's 23... that's like... old!)

Then back to Colorado - Drive time total? 73 hours. Yep - more than 3 full days in the car. THREE FULL DAYS!! (Ok, that's not a huge deal - I did drive a truck. So, it was actually enjoyable. But wow... just now totalling that up? EEEK!)

JANUARY 2013

After a quiet NYE at home (where I was asleep before Midnight - thank you very much!) Ryan hit the road and life returned to normal in Colorado!!

There were trips to the Children's Museum

And the Nature Center

And the Children's Museum Again

And some bike riding and picnics at the park

And of course we stayed busy at home...
We baked

And made silly Finger Puppets

We crocheted - Ok, I crocheted... while Skyler slept.

We played Dress Up

A lot of dress up...

We went for walks (when it snowed again!)

And we colored. A lot. (Because it's our favorite thing to do!)

I think you're caught up on our life now!! (Hopefully my next few entries aren't as photo heavy!!)

Homeschool? Preschool?

A few weeks ago a friend of mine was telling me about a literacy program called Five in a Row, after reading about the program I realized it was exactly what Skyler needed, and she would LOVE it!

So I headed down to the library, checked out a copy of Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear and started the program right away! (Jesse Bear was my sisters favorite book as a kid, and our family STILL has the book memorized!) Skyler loves the book just as much as Katie did, so we'll be purchasing the book ASAP now!

Her first week with the program was great - we got some printables from the Homeschool Share website and set to work!

Basically, we read the book every day. Talked about what we read, and then did some activities and worksheets about the book. She LOVED it! We made a lapbook with her favorite worksheets, and she has so much fun flipping through the folder she made looking at her activities.

 

So far, aside from reading her favorite part has been picking out patterns - now she looks for patterns EVERYWHERE we go!