Monday, February 22, 2010

Geography Fair 2010





Today we participated in the annual Geography Fair with our school. Jacob presented Japan, Kathryn covered Switzerland and Sarah, Emily and Samantha learned about The United States of America. They each created a poster to show off what they had learned and brought a dish from their country to share with the other participants. Jacob brought Coconut Mouchi - basically a cake made from rice flour, brown sugar and coconut milk. It was fairly decent. Kathryn brought Swiss bread - a family favorite, and the little girls brought chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately other children at the fair made main dishes to share so we had a well rounded lunch. After everyone told about the country they had studied we had a Geography Bee. The children were shown a map with country boundaries and were given a card with a country's name on it, then they had to point out where the country was on the map. We started with South America, then Central America, on to Asia and finished up with the Middle East. The competition was open to children of all ages. Jacob, Kathryn and Emily all joined in the Bee. Emily held her own in the Americas, but she hadn't really studied Asia or the Middle East so she went to play with Sarah and Samantha during those continents. Jacob came home with 1st place and Kathryn got 2nd place. I am so impressed! Before you think I am a master teacher, you should know that the kids studied all of it on their own using a website called www.yourchildlearns.com. They currently know WAY more than I do about where things are in the world, I plan to start playing the games too...one of these days.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Basketball Season








This year we are all involved with basketball - such a great family activity when it is too cold and rainy to be outside. I am coaching the team Sarah and Emily are on. It is Emily's first year to play and she is super excited. Kathryn is getting really good and has some great girls on her team. James is coaching Jacob's team and they are having a blast together. Samantha is the Walker Team cheerleader. She does a terrific job of cheering at all the games each week. We play with the Upwards basketball league. It is put on through different Christian churches in the area. It is a wonderful program that teaches the kids the skills of basketball in a fun, nonthreatening way, where 'every child is a winner'. Google 'Upwards Basketball' to see if they have a league in your are. We are really enjoying it. As an extra bonus I am getting a lot of practice taking action shots, I think I will get the hang of it soon...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
Here is the traditional Christmas Eve pageant. They did a terrific job!





My favorite part is all the hugging.



Friday, December 18, 2009

Sad News



So far as I have had this blog I have never had to report sad news - that changed on Dec. 6, 2009 when my mother passed away.  The funeral was held in Tucson, AZ last week and I was able to see all my brothers and sisters.  We are all still in a bit of shock as it was totally unexpected, but I have found great joy as I have studied the scriptures this week and have been reminded yet again why the true meaning of Christmas really is a gift to each of us.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and have lots of opportunities to tell the people that mean the most to you how much you love them.  In loving memory to my mother, Mary Ann Brown, 12/26/46-12/6/09.

Ice Skating is Awesome!






A couple of weeks ago we went ice skating as a family.  It was a lot of fun and the kids caught on really quickly.  We will definitely go again!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

A new member of our family


Introducing Mittens, the newest member of our family.  We picked her up from the pound and she lives in the barn.  She is a good mouser already (the purpose for her joing our family), and the kids love her.  She has had to climb a tree a couple of times to get away from Buster, but I think he will get used to her in time and she can defend herself just fine.  She is very cute and purrs alot, so we think she likes it here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Happy Halloween!







Such cute kids!  Jacob was an indian, Kathryn was Princess Leah from episode 6 of Star Wars, Sarah was an indian, Emily was a pumpkin and Samantha was Cinderella.  My favorite part of Halloween is seeing the kids dress up!