Stake Activity Days

This past weekend Emma, her friend, Isabel, and myself made the trek down to Roswell for a Stake primary activity for the Activity Day girls. It was pioneer themed and the girls even wore pioneer outfits. They had four workshops planned and the girls and their moms rotated around to each of them.
The first one we went to was line dancing. The girls learned the electric slide. Emma practices all the time now. Only 6 more years till she can use it at dances. :)

Next we made 'pioneer' cornbread which we ate with our chili at lunch. It was pretty tasty!

Then we went on a little handcart trek. Emma was so excited to pull that cart around.

Our final stop was making hankerchief dolls. Emma got to sew which made her very accomplished. She made one for Abby too.

All-in-all it was a wonderful day (despite the long drive without cell service). Emma really enjoyed out 'mother-daughter date' and I'm really glad that I made the time to do. It was definately worth it. When we left after lunch, Emma and Isabel were tired and decided to 'doze' for a bit...which meant they slept the entire 1 hour 45 minutes back home. :) Thanks to all the ladies who put in the work to make the activity a success!

Painting!

One of the things we have to do before we can move out of base housing is to repaint any walls that we painted. Since I have 3 rooms to paint, I decided to put the kids to work on Columbus Day. Afterall, what good is a holiday if you can't get some slave labor. :) They were so excited...for about 1 hour. Thankfully, they didn't last too much longer because supervising four children with paint brushes took a little work than I had planned on. They had a blast and are so proud of the walls they covered! After they left, I finished priming everything (well almost) and Josh helped put a second coat on.

Today I'm going for the finish. I just want to be able to check painting off my list. Wish me luck!

Parachute time!

I remember playing parachute games during P.E. in elementary school. It was one of my favorite activities! The other weekend, Josh and the kids did some backyard camping. When they were putting the tent up the next day, somehow the rain guard was transformed into a parachute. They had a lot of fun with it. Being in New Mexico, there was plenty of wind...in fact at moments, too much. The kids would hold on and hope it didn't blow away.

Riley wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Abby liked to run under the parachute.

Emma and Aaron were pros. If only every chore (putting away the tent), could lead to so much fun. Then again, we might never get anything done. :)

What a puzzle he is!

Aaron has always loved puzzles. Earlier in the year he did his first 100 piece puzzle. Then this summer he bought a Disney puzzle set that had 4 150-piece puzzles, 2 300-piece puzzles, and 2 500-pieces puzzles. He did the 150 piece puzzles while we were at the cabin this summer. After school started back, he decided he needed to finish ALL of his puzzles. He did the 300 piece ones by himself, but he wanted my help on the 500 piece puzzles. Luckily, I love puzzles so we had some very enjoyable bonding time. Not only does he enjoy puzzles...he's quite good at them too. Once he was finished, I was grateful to get my dining room table back. :)

Little helpers

This evening, after family prayers, I told the kids they could read a bit. I usually read to Abby and Jacob during the daytime, but for some reason, at night they like to 'read' by themselves. I guess they just want to be like their big brother and sister. I usually don't mind because it gives me a chance to finish picking up. Sometimes I'll catch Emma or Aaron reading to one of the younger ones. It's so nice when they help each other without having to be asked.

Tonight, Jacob was a little more tired than usual. With watching conference, and having a different schedule, he did not get a nap (something that has become a part of his routine lately). And by 7 o'clock it was obvious that his nap had been missed. He was throwing a tantrum and telling me 'No!'...so I put him in bed. I guess Emma had a bit more compassion than I did because a few minutes later I heard her singing to him. It was so sweet that I had to capture it on camera!
Everyone should have a big sister!

I know Jacob is glad he does!

Since I was taking pictures, I walked over to the girls' room and caught Abby 'reading' to herself. She is such a character. I think she could read/sing to herself, make crafts, or do 'schoolwork' all day long. She is one independent girl!

Aaron was reading a Junie B. Jones book to Josh. Aaron is such a good reader that he put Josh to sleep!

I love all my little helpers!