peter pan

I think we might just live in one of the best neighborhoods around. We enjoy wide streets, parks and walking trails, a summer family festival, AND the elementary school play. The elementary school has a theater program which is truly amazing.

Emma was in Young King Arthur last year as a narrator. Despite having a wonderful experience last year, we basically had to force her to participate in the production of Peter Pan this year. She was cast as Wendy. Slade decided to be in it also and was a pirate. With my neighbor and good friend as one of the directors, I was also recruited to choreograph one of the dances and take lots and lots of pictures. Not to mention making 4 Wendy costumes. There was a lot of time involved for me and the kids but it was definitely well worth it.

Our beautiful Wendy Darling

I wish there was a way to fully convey how wonderfully done the play is. You'd likely dismiss an elementary school play as being merely passable in quality and entertainment. Peter Pan was not that. It boasted a cast of 130 children in grades 4-6, a cleverly written script, two dances, a cool pirate ship set, great sound and video effects and even lights. Here is a video with some small clips:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150629314833517

I took a LOT of pictures. 1759 to be exact. Here is a smidgen:

banished from the nursery

"Can I give you a kiss?"

Let's fly!

Pirates. ARGH!

"While we're gone, I want you to tidy up the hideout, get dinner prepared and make sure to be all ready for bed by the time we get back."

 

4 darling Wendys in the 4 costumes I sewed

You can see a few more pictures HERE. If you really want to see even more, you can go HERE.

Emma says, "The best part was the flying scene. It felt magical. I am glad that my mom made me do the play because I had a great experience. I was sad when it was over. And by the way, Peter 2 is really cute."

Slade says, "I was a little nervous but I just wanted to try it. I will remember being up there with my friends. I had a great time."

Perhaps the best indicator of the play's awesomeness is that Slade, who generally hates doing anything in front of people, wants to be in the play again next year. Hurray for that!

evening at the park

Nathan chose to go to the park tonight for our Family Home Evening activity. The weather was lovely today so everyone was happy with that idea. I took pictures while...

Nathan and Slade skateboarded.

Dave, Emma and Sawyer played soccer.

Anne climbed at the playground and did some twirling in the grass.

Ben smiled and crawled.

Slade actually (almost unbelievably) decided to join in the soccer game.

Dave worked hard to earn Best Dad in the World status by playing soccer and then tag. My favorite quote of the evening came when Dave was chasing down Slade in the game of tag. Slade took off across the field with Dave following behind. Dave settled into a jogging pace and said to Slade, "How long do you think you can last? I ran 11 miles on Saturday so I can go for quite awhile."

My picture taking came to an end when Ben decided he was done crawling and wanted to walk instead. Unfortunately walking requites assistance (which he demands all day long!).

Darkness fell upon us so we returned home for another round of Easter candy. It was a great night which left me looking forward to more evenings in the park.

digital overload

Today I read this list in the Ensign:

10 Signs of Digital Overload

1. Slipping away from activities with people to check e-mail or social networking sites.
   
2. Checking the same sites repeatedly within a short period of time.
3. Spending little time outside.
4. Finding it hard to complete a task such as writing a report without frequently breaking away to check e-mail or unrelated websites.
5. Spending little time in face-to-face interactions with friends.
6. Going online or using a digital device when you feel stressed or want to avoid an unpleasant task.
7. Family members spending most of their time at home in separate rooms interacting with screens.
8. Frequently using digital devices to entertain a child instead of talking, singing, playing, or reading with him or her.
9. Checking the computer first thing in the morning, or getting up during the night to use digital devices.
10. Spending long stretches of time surfing for content, often viewing content that is inappropriate or borderline.

I see far too many of those signs in my own life. Not that you would know it from my blog, right? I haven't been posting on here but I definitely haven't been away from technology. I've been reading lots of blogs, checking email far too often, looking at Facebook, pinning on Pinterest, playing games on my iPad, and watching TV (Downton Abbey, anyone?). Well, I consider myself called to repentance by the Ensign. I need to rethink screen time for both myself and my children. I could never give up screen time altogether. Technology is far too awesome for that. Still I think we could all use stricter limits.

leaves are falling

Just an ordinary day. I was sitting on the front porch playing a game on my iTouch. I was outside with Anne and Ben because it is the only place Ben seems to be happy lately. Anne had just begun to play with the pile of leaves when Dave got home from work. They grabbed handfuls of leaves, threw them in the air and yelled, "Surprise!"

What I should remember:
--Anne looking a bit like a ragamuffin. Hair all askew. Nose running. Somewhat mismatched outfit since I need to go shopping for fall clothes for her. She brought me that dress out of her drawer that morning and proclaimed herself a princess when I put it on her.
--Dave immediately going to play with her when he came home. He's a Super Dad indeed.
--The weather was beautiful today. Its supposed to turn cold tomorrow.
--Ben actually sitting in his bouncy chair contentedly. Those moments seem to be rare lately.
--Enjoying "Where's My Water" on my iTouch. I really love technology.
--Dinner ended up being a bit late. Dave reminded me yet again that the simple act of holding the baby or sitting outside with my toddler actually can count as doing something.

Anne's babies

Anne is bursting with personality which brings us nearly equal doses of laughter and aggravation daily. Her latest obsession are her "babies". She loves dolls and little stuffed animals. She carries them around. They get stuffed into purses. She wants me to hug them. This morning, she lined them up at the counter for breakfast.

 

Anne often comes to tell me that her babies are sad. This morning the babies were hungry so she fed them and then they were happy.

I love this Anne-girl and her almost-too-big-to-handle personality.

afternoon at the park

Because Nathan asked if we could.
Because it was a gorgeous September day.
Because we can.

smiles

Ben is starting to smile and coo at us. I love it when a baby's personality starts to show. It makes the sleepless nights and fussy days a little easier to handle.

back to school

Dear me. It would appear my blog has been rather neglected. Never fear, faithful readers, I have returned! I will be "catching up" eventually with a few posts about the last two months. Check back and scroll down. There will be more!

Last week, when the rest of the neighborhood was heading back to school, we were busy having a few more days of summer fun. On Tuesday, Dave took the older kids to Trafalga. Then we went to Pizza Pie Cafe (an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffet) and finally, we finished the day at Seven Peaks. We brought two cars thinking I would need to leave early with Ben and Anne. No such luck for me. Ben slept for two hours and then was happy in my arms for the next two hours so we stayed until closing. Dave and the kids had a fantastic time. On Friday, we spent the afternoon at the pond with our wonderful neighbors. We were there for three hours of fun in the water and sand.

Now, like the rest of the rank and file, we are back in school. I should clarify. We are back to our regular routine. Slade thinks I'm the meanest mom since I make them do schoolwork all through the summer. They do a page of math, twenty minutes of reading on their own. Plus, our history and science co-op continues through the summer. Monday was the day to actually get back to a full school schedule. The week so far has actually gone really well. Our schedule looks something like this:

8:00 Practice Time
9:00 Breakfast
9:30 Chores
10:00-12:00 Math and Language Arts
12:00 Lunch
1:00 History and Science
2:00 Quiet Time (I don't think there has been a day when we've actually had "quiet time" but I still keep it in the schedule because hope springs eternal.)
3:00 Free Time

For the record's sake, this is the curriculum we are using this year.
Math: Math-U-See
Grammar: First Language Lessons (Nathan and Slade), Analytical Grammar (Emma)
Spelling: All About Spelling
Vocabulary: Wordly Wise (Nathan and Slade), Vocabulary from Classical Roots (Emma)
Writing: Writing with Ease
History: Story of the World
Science: Botany from Apologia Science and The Elements

This is our 8th year of homeschooling. It took a few years of trial and error but I feel quite settled in our routine now. I do try to tweak things here and there but we've been doing things this way for about five years now. Adding a new baby into the mix is always a little tricky. On Monday, Ben slept from 10-12. The next day, he had a major diaper blow out during the middle of Math. Today he was fussy and wanting to be held the whole time. When things get tough I just try to remember the great ideas from this essay: The Baby is the Lesson. Our school time definitely does not always go smoothly but somehow we usually manage to get things done.

Happy Learning, everyone. Here's to a great year!

6th grader

4th grader

2nd grader

preschooler

cutest two year old

darling daughters

handsome boys

biggest and littlest

all six!