Any Guest of Mine . . .

*Note: This post is an advertisement to promote tourism in Washington (err, ok, visits with us) and to say congratulations to myself (uh, can I do that?) for sorting, labeling, and moving ALL of my teaching stuff out of the dining room and (somewhat) out of the way. By the way, I did pass on 4 whole boxes of stuff to Kyler's teacher. See, I don't keep everything.*

When you come to stay with us in beautiful, non-stop rainy Washington, you will be escorted to the guest living quarters where you will retire for the night.

The Brazilian flag hanging above your bed will both brighten up your white walls and remind you of "Ordem e Pregresso" (order and progress).

That may or may not be the theme of this room.

Though, the bed looks very comfy and seems to beckon you to dreamland, you surely will not drift off to sleep without practicing your letters and the sounds they stand for.

Or maybe you want to complete a few file folder games.

You could also do a little research on one of many topics, such as plants, space, or the author Patricia Palacco (one of my personal favorites). Depending on the month of your visit, you may want to check out the seasonal box for a good Valentine's, Halloween, or Thanksgiving story. There are plenty of books at your fingertips.

 When you head off to bed, you are welcome to cuddle with one of Grandma Neff's singing frogs or Grandpa's belt buckle (don't forget to admire the pictures that came in the frame when it was given to me. one thing at a time.)

If you can't sleep, or just wake up for some late-night fun, swing open the closet!

You can make words with the letter tiles, break out the balance and compare counters to unifex cubes, do a little measuring with rulers or square tiles, or play any number of Math games with the dice (big foam, dots, numbers, double dice--you name it, I have it).

If Midnight Math is not your thing, open up the Art tubs. There's plenty of glue, feathers, glitter, beads, and paint to create to your heart's content.

Any guest of mine, will certainly have the opportunity and the materials in order to progress.

**All visits include free Q-tips to prevent your ears from getting moldy (due to high humidity, not overload of learning or lack of cleanliness in our home) during your stay.

Alien Invasion!

The Time: 4:02 pm

The Sighting: Two 5-eyed, green and blue aliens were first seen hiding behind shelves and sneaking through bedrooms. They quickly took over the kitchen. Though the reason for the invasion is still unclear, it is believed they were searching for nachos and cheesesticks for dinner.

The aliens quickly disappeared when the carrots came out.

2010

Goodbye 2009:

We were happy with our growth and accomplishments last year, and excused ourselves from some of our goals due to moving twice in six months.

We are ready for a great 2010!

Hopefully one in which our address stays the same throughout the entire year.

2010 Family Theme:

"Love should be our walk and our talk."

-D. Uchtdorf

2010 Family Scripture:

Mark 12:30-31

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

2010 Family Goals:

studying the Articles of Faith, 3 service projects, speaking nicely to eachother, visiting 5 new places, and greater temple attendance

2010 Personal Goals:

We each wrote 4 personal goals: One goal was based on a new skill to learn (cooking, piano, etc.), one on physical development (play baseball, being able to touch your toes, etc.), one on knowledge (reading a chapter book, studying Portuguese, etc.), and one on character (staying calm, respecting others, etc.).

On a Walk

*For Stefanie*

When you walk through our neighborhood, you will see . . .

. . . and then you are back home.

**Look below. All updated.**

The Secret Garden

Two notable things happened tonight

 as I watched The Secret Garden with my boys.

1. Kacin watched the ENTIRE movie. This is a first. No falling asleep. No playing with toys. No running around. No asking when it would be over. He just watched (and asked a lot of questions).

2. (I know someday they'll be mad at me for this) They both got tears in their eyes. One boy cried at the sight of the beautiful garden. One took off his glasses and wiped his eyes when Collin walked into his dad's arms. One boy asked for the sequel and wanted to know why they haven't made other movies about them. We concluded by making plans for our backyard--we each get a spot of earth--and deciding we should read the book when we finish the other chapter books we've started.

Who knew The Secret Garden would be

 so inspiring for my rough-and-tumble little boys?

French Fry, Anyone?

Thus Far

24 hours, even spread out over 3 days, is too long to be driving in a car. I am soo glad my parents helped us with the move to help with the driving and entertain us all.I am now over my head in boxes.

We have too much stuff. I blame teaching school. I gathered and collected too many cool learning tools. And I blame our food storage. We did not want to leave it all behind and start over.We were quite the parade driving along--2 moving trucks, 1 car trailor, and 1 toyota highlander.

Washington is sure wet, but not as cold as Utah. And no snow! We had a nice neighbor bring us fruit and offer coffee. We appreciate the friendliness.We're excited to meet the rest of the neighbors and hope there are some little boys around!

My dad woke up at 6 this morning and organized the boxes in our garage. He has been nonstop helpful in sorting and unpacking boxes. My dad is the most caring, giving man.

My mom has been so supportive of me during all the stresses of moving and decision making. She endured a tour of my kitchen shelves and cabinets after we miracously got everything put away.

She has been a lifesaver with my boys.

Everybody needs good parents like these guys.

The house we are renting should work out great. Besides the all white walls and the handle coming off into my hand when I opened the microwave door, I can't complain much. It has the biggest master bedroom and kitchen we have ever had. That is a lovely thing.

For the next little bit, my life will consist of unpacking boxes and going through all my teaching stuff.

Pictures thus far,

Visiting Luke and Megan in Oregon . . .

The sights of Seattle . . .

On a chilly day . . .

The stench of fish does not agree with Kacin's nose . . .