Spring Hike

Add caption

The weather turned absolutely gorgeous last week, and I was anxiously eyeing the monument for a little exercise with my kiddos. Finally, after a full week of school and some housecleaning, I felt we could head up the hill for a hike. We chose the self-guided nature trail, and the kids learned to identify juniper, pinion pine, sage brush, yucca, and green ephedra. We also saw a rabbit's burrow and some sandstone strata. S got fussy, so we had to cut our walk short, but I promised we would return another day.
I loved that we turned our outing into another learning experience. There is a wealth of information waiting to be discovered and absorbed into eager minds. It's fun when those minds belong to my children.

Jellybean Jars

I saw this link online about a Lent activity for kids using jelly beans and jars. Each color represents something different, and they have an opportunity to earn one of each color each day. White represents the grace of God, and it cannot be earned. On Easter they will find the remainder of their jars filled with white jelly beans.

I thought this would be a great activity to do with my kids over the next few weeks, so yesterday, I bought a couple of bags of jellybeans and some small canning jars. We sorted the jellybeans by color, and the kids were very curious as to how they could earn jellybeans for their own jars. Today, they went out of their way to model the appropriate behavior for each color, earning jellybeans for forgiveness, kindness, sacrifice, and more.

Although we started this craft a tad late in the season, I am looking forward to the discussions and behavior this activity will inspire.

Some Familiar Faces

Earlier this month, Timo and I walked into the school room to discover some familiar faces had been drawn on our whiteboard. AJ had decided to draw (from left to right) Hamm, Jessie, Buzz, Woody, and Zurg. I thought it was great that he was able to draw the characters from his favorite movies on his own.

Swedish Semlor



One of the semlor I baked. I forgot to put the powdered sugar on top
before I took the picture. 

 Since we no longer live in Sweden, I found it necessary to bake my own semlor this year for Fat Tuesday. Semlor are a blend of traditional Scandinavian flavors, combining a cardamom bun, almond paste, and whipped cream in a decadent dessert. I found this recipe online, and I decided it was as good as any. Having never baked semlor before, and having only eaten them a couple of times, I was nervous about the result. All things considered, I think they turned out great. I shared some with the only Swede I know in town, and he was impressed. My family enjoyed them, too, and that is what matters most.

Liturgical Ballet

K's ballet teacher put together a liturgical ballet performance last Saturday. K was the youngest dancer, but she didn't let that intimidate her. Upon arrival, she changed into her dress and dance shoes and waited patiently for her turn.

K's dance was second on the program, and she began by reciting the 23rd Psalm. She then danced to "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" before taking her bow and exiting the stage. Due to a mistake on my part, we missed filming the whole performance, but I do know that I couldn't stop smiling proudly the whole time.

I think it is great that she was able to get up in front of a group of people with no fear. It is a skill that will carry her far in life.

Birthday Cards

This year I received several home-made birthday cards. One was from my neighbor, but the rest were from my kiddos. My neighbor invited my older two over to make cards for me a couple of days before my birthday. Then, K decided to make an additional card on her own. These really are the best cards to get.



"Happy Birthday, Mommy. You are queen, and you are beautiful."




"Happy Birthday, Mommy! We hope you have a wonderful birthday. We want to play I Spy with you sometime soon. We love you." 



The card K made with our neighbor.

The inside of K's card.

The card from my neighbor.

Inside the card

AJ's card

Inside AJ's card

The back of AJ's card

The back of our neighbor's and K's cards

K's Home Party

The evening following K's Chuck E. Cheese's party, we had a home party with just family. She opened her presents from us throughout the day, and we made her wait until after dinner for the rest of her presents.

Her "spread"

Metallic Gel Pens from Auntie Sarah. She loves these.

Qwirkle from Grandma and Grandpa. She thinks we need to play this daily.

Her Baby Alive doll from Farmor and Farfar. She loves the daily feedings and changings.

She also received some clothes and other toys, all of which she is very happy with. Her cupcakes were the same ballerina-themed ones I did for her Chuck E. Cheese party. All I did for these was bake a chocolate cake, top it with dark chocolate ganache, and add a little ballerina. I just wasn't up for something more creative time-wise. These tasted great, and she was still happy with them.

Overall, K enjoyed a great birthday. She was full of smiles, which is the goal of a mother for her birthday girl. A happy daughter makes a happy mommy.