Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Happy 4th B-day Roo!

I can't believe my BABY is 4 already! Was it really 4 years ago that I practically begged the doctor to induce me so I could have the baby before the 4th of July?! lol We went into the Hospital on the morning of the 29th, and this little stinker wasn't born until early in the morning on the 30th.
Blessing Day- Aug 20051st Birthday- diggin into the birthday cake.Roo is a Daddy's Boy. He goes running outside to meet Ben every afternoon when he gets home from work.
Mom and Roo watching Old Faithful go off. Yellowstone and "Yellowstone House" (Old Faithful Lodge) is his favorite place to be.Roo has always been a go with the flow kind of kid. He loves to do what ever his big brothers are doing, and likes to be one of the Big Kids. He likes to listen to books, play his "Itty Cat Game" (webkinz) with Bug and play outside with Doodle. His favorite color is yellow- and I just had to smile- at chuch on Sunday when they called him up to sing the Birthday Song- he looked in the bucket and of course pulled out a lellow bracelet. Not sure what he would have done if there wasn't a yellow one. He loves Pancakes, Crepes, waffles, french toast and all other breakfast foods. We sure love him and are so glad he's in our family.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Yellowstone School

Warning- long post with lots of pictures coming up! We had a wonderful Yellowstone School this year (Each year when Ben's gone to scout camp we head to the cabin for "yellowstone school" and YES I would count them all as school days if I had to count days) This year Ben scheduled his scout camp for the wrong week- lol (actually I scheduled my cabin trip the wrong week) My camera went to scout camp with him before I got pictures off of it- so I'm a little slow getting these pictures up and posted. My friend Monica and her kids came to the cabin with us. The kids all had a blast exploring the geysers, seeing the animals and hiking around.

Highlights of the trip- Wolves! In all the trips to Yellowstone- this is the first time we've ever seen wolves. We saw a pack of wolves attacking an elk. The elk got away, and the wolves started chasing a buffalo and her calf. Sightings like this make me wish I had one of those super expensive cameras with the telephoto lens. So no pics of the wolves or the grizzly we saw.

Day 1- We drove to the cabin- stopped for lunch and just relaxed at the cabin.
Day 2- Old Faithful area-
The buffalo calves were so cute.Exploring the geysers and hot springs around Old Faithful
Waiting for Castle Geyser to go off.
The boys worked on building a Lincoln Log Castle- it turned out great!Day 3- Canyon, Norris and a hike to the Brink of Lower Falls
The new Visitor Center and Museum at Canyon was awesome!

Hiking in the rain
A picture with me in it- See- I was there!What a view of the falls! 3 Silly boysRoo and his friend B were SO cute together. They had a blast walking the trails and playing. It was nice for Roo to get to have a friend at the cabin.
The trails around Norris Geyser Basin
Any geyser or hot spring with "Dragon" is the name is bound to be awesome- According to Bug
Monica and all the kidsRoo and his friend B- holding their noses cuz this geyser should be named "rotten egg geyser"The big kids at the cabin working on the papers for their Junior Ranger Badges- if you ever go to Yellowstone, and plan to spend more than 1 day- the Jr. Ranger Program is AWESOME! Day 4- Sheepeater Cliffs, Mammoth Terrace, and Artist Paintpots
We asked the kids what they wanted to see- and this was the requests for the final day in Yellowstone-
S, Bug, M, Me, B and Roo at Artist Paint Pots.Climbing at Sheepeater CliffsThis cute momma Yellow-bellied Marmot was keeping close eye on us- she had about 4 babies in her den amongst the rocks. This is Bug and Doodle's favorite place in Yellowstone- the "hidden ampitheater" a short hike from Sheepeater cliffs picnic tables.
Monica and A- he's relieved to get to RUN instead of being strapped in the stroller.Ok- so the Grizzly Bear was too far away (again- wishing for the huge telephoto lens) so I got the "bear watchers" instead.Doodle with the Ranger after he was awarded his Junior Ranger Badge.Bug with the Ranger after he received his Junior Ranger Badge.All 4 Junior Rangers

Friday, June 12, 2009

Zoo trip

Last Friday- we went to the small zoo with Pam and our nephews. It was a nice day- the rain didn't show up until we were headed to the car lol.
The Crew watching the Monkeys
We watched this silly racoon for a long time- he was so funny- climbing on the roof of the cage. The zookeeping was washing the cage next to his- and he did not like the water at all.

More Airplanes

My kids love airplanes- Roo especially. Ever since my BIL Tim took the 3 of them flying when they were babysitting the kids almost 2 years ago- my kids LOVE airplanes.In March- we took a field trip to the university Flight School and the boys enjoyed it- We enjoyed this month's field trip even more- we went to the Brigham City Airport. They got to see all different planes- touch them, get up and close with them, learn all about them, and watch planes land and take off.There was a pilot (a homeschool dad in our group) that was taking the kids up for short rides in the plane. My kids were bummed that we had to leave- Bug had piano lessons. So someday he may call us and say "I'm going flying- wanna come?" Oh- they also gave the boys some balsa wood model planes- and they've enjoyed flying them all over the house.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Some weeks are more "educational" than others

I think this is one of the "others" lol- After fishing at the cabin Roo was very interested in fish- and "how can fish hear?" so I threw together a study on fish- we've been reading the book Max the Minnow (a book I'm sure Bug got when he was little because I definately have it memorized!) and learned about the letter M for minnow.
Of course reading about fish we HAD to have fish cracker math on Monday at math class- he counted the crackers and laid them out in groups of 10. Then of course- the best part about fish cracker math is subtracting them- so we told him how many to take away. Then to work on recognizing numbers- I pulled out some number tiles, and he had to subtract that many fish.

Any chance we get to pull out the ABC fishing game is always great- Roo pulls this one out at least once a week- it's just a simple homemade game- but it's a funner way to learn things than flashcards. The "fish" are metal juice can lids. The container is a bread crumbs container- and the fishing pole- a unsharpened pencil with yard tied to it- and a magnet tied to the other end of the string.

The story has rhyming in it- so we talked about rhyming words and did a rhyming file folder game, I think he's starting to catch on to rhyming.
We did get some art in- cut paper plates in the shape of fish- then used watercolors to paint them. I think they turned out way cute.
He played a few computer games online- Roo liked this simple computer game- http://www.candlelightstories.com/games/undersea-abc/ you help a lobster find the right letters. He also played a few of the games at PBSkids on Between the Lions page- This one- Monkey Match is a rhyming one, and Roo thought ABCD Watermelon was hilarious.

Today- he watched Finding Nemo. OK- so I'm not sure I can call that educational at all......but then I think back to my High School Spanish class- and I'm certain "Dulcinea" and Monopoly on Spanish gameboards might not have been all that educational either.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Cabin pics

We had a wonderful time at our cabin over Memorial Day. The kids and I stayed a few extra days, but Ben had to be home to work on Tuesday. Highlights of the trip-
Fishing:

Seeing the Animals (sorry- no pics of the Black Bear or the Mountain Goats- my camera just doesn't zoom in close enough- but they were AWESOME to see!) A beaver we saw when we were fishing, and a Marmot that was playing in the rocks.

Hiking in Yellowstone- Ben and Roo took their "adventure" in Yellowstone this weekend- and went hiking.