Cousins and Conference

For the last week, my parents, sister (Debbie), two nieces (Hannah and Rachel), and a nephew (Seth) have been visiting at our house. They came from California and Nevada for LDS General Conference and some fun cousin time. Despite a few sick days, we have had lots of fun!




The first day we had a field trip to the BYU Planetarium, where we saw a show about the solar system. Then we played with the science experiments in the lobby of the Eyring Science Center for about an hour. Everyone was begging to go back the next day!



The next day was Hannah's 5th Birthday, so we celebrated with birthday pancakes, an outing to Chuck E. Cheese, a butterfly birthday cake and opening presents.





The day after that was Friday, and my brother, Kevin, came down from Salt Lake and we spent a day at the Provo Temple. Then Hannah got to go to Sarah's dance class at BYU and they had a great time dancing.


Saturday and Sunday were Conference. My Dad had six tickets to three different sessions. Saturday morning everybody (except Will, who had a band practice) dressed up and headed up to Salt Lake City. Jared, John, Paul, Robert, Jacob, and I got to go to the first session while everyone else sat in the Tabernacle or wandered around Temple Square. Afterward, we had a yummy lunch at Cafe Rio. Saturday evening, the men went to the Priesthood session and on Sunday, Jared and I tended all the kids and my parents and siblings went to Conference.




Monday, we all enjoyed a rainy/snowy day by painting with watercolors, reading, watching movies, and practicing instruments. What a great way to spend a week!

Anatomy

John, Paul, Robert, and Jacob are taking an anatomy class from another homeschooling mom in our area. They have learned a lot about different body systems and with nearly each system they have done a dissection. This month the kids learned about the brain and had the opportunity to dissect a sheep's grey matter. I'm grateful I wasn't the one to host this class! They have also dissected chicken feet, pig eyeballs, and chicken bones. They have heard several lectures from professional health care providers. After every class the boys do a write-up in their lab books and they have plenty of cool facts to share with the rest of us.

Paul (right) and his lab partners

(Photo taken by Kim Kehrer)

Jacob, Robert, and John dissecting a brain

(Photo taken by Kim Kehrer)

Surprises at Hogle Zoo

Today was homeschool day at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. We all got up early and loaded up in the car prepared for a chilly and possibly rainy day. It actually turned out to be the most beautiful day of the year so far. Instead of frostbite, I ended up with sunburn. No complaints here! It was a nice surprise. As we entered the zoo, we noticed that since the weather was so nice the animals were all active and entertaining. Many were still eating their breakfasts and even the giraffes were scampering around (I never even knew giraffes could scamper). Most of the projects that had been under construction the last time we went to the zoo were completely finished. What a difference! The area for the large cats was especially improved--I never even sneezed once. The best surprise happened when I got a phone call from Jared. He asked what animals we were looking at and I told him we were watching the cougars. I explained how they were really active and interesting and then I said goodbye and hung up. A few minutes later, I turned around and there was Jared! He had surprised us by coming to join our family for a few hours. What a treat!

Favorite things about our trip:

Dad--Surprising everyone by coming, enjoying my family in the sunshine for a few hours

Mom--The fresh spring air, happy kids

John--When Elizabeth saw the giraffes and said, "Dragons, guys! DRAGONS!"

Paul--Watching the penguins (we watched the penguins eat and fight over the food)

Robert--Everything

Jacob--The train ride

Sarah--The train ride

Elizabeth--The giraffes

David--Being outside, the birds, squirrels

The only thing missing from our perfect day at the zoo was William (who had school) and all of you!

St. Patrick's Day

We had a festive St. Patrick's Day this year. John and I had the idea to make a bunch of shamrock-shaped sugar cookies and deliver them around the neighborhood and a few other places, accompanied by live bagpipe music. I got up extra early and made two triple-batches of sugar cookie dough. Then after it had chilled for an hour, I cut out cookies, baked, and frosted them as fast as I could while John put on his kilt and warmed up his pipes. The kids ate green French toast and then we headed out.

Our first stop was Timpview High School. Symphonic Band was in session. We marched in (to the great surprise and delight of the 100+ students in the room) and announced that we had a special delivery for Dr. David Fullmer and his award-winning band. Then, John struck up the pipes and played a rousing rendition of "Clumsy Lover." The applause was deafening. Dr. Fullmer then had his daughter, Hillary, dance to a repeat of the tune. We left to more rounds of applause while the students passed out the cookies.

During the rest of the day we continued to bake and frost cookies in between our other activities. John performed for Paul's beginning band in Lehi, for Jared's office at Bowen, Collins, and Associates in Draper, and for his cousin, Matt, at Heritage Halls at BYU. Matt said, "No one has ever done something for me for St. Patrick's Day before!" Paul's band teacher said, "I've never stood this close to bagpipes before--they are really loud!" Someone at Jared's office said, "I don't know too much about bagpipes, but I think he sounds really good!" Everyone agreed it was a real treat.

For family night, the kids delivered cookies to dozens of the neighbors while John played tunes for them. All in all, the day was a green success.

Utah Museum of Natural History

While John and Paul were playing chess, I had the opportunity to go the Utah Museum of Natural History with Robert, Jacob, Sarah, Elizabeth, and David. We had such a fun time! We saw American Indian artifacts, real dinosaur bones, precious gems, and lots of other cool things. There was even a talking dinosaur head that ate money! Elizabeth wasn't at all pleased with that, but last night I overheard her saying in the same growly voice, "I'm huuunnngryyy. I want some moooonneeeey." We can't wait to go back again.




Robert and Jacob playing chess on a cool rug by the dinosaur exhibit












Jacob lying down in a dinosaur footprint


















David sitting in the dinosaur footprint

Robert, Sarah, and Jacob sitting in a teepee

Elizabeth leading the tour

Chess

Our family loves to play games. One favorite is chess. Last week, John and Paul competed in the Utah State Jr. High/Middle School chess championship tournament. It was held up at the University of Utah. There were over 160 kids competing and each one played seven games--three on Thursday and four on Friday. Our kids were playing for fun, but you could tell from the stress level in the building that some kids were playing for life or death. I never realized how true-to-life the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was. John and Paul are great chess players, and by the end John had won 3 games, lost 3, and had one draw (tie). Paul won 2 of his games. They had a fun two days and received medals for participation, vowing to return again next year.

A Better View

Last week, Robert and I went to the eye doctor. Robert had an eye exam and it turned out that he needed glasses for the first time. He was a little bit nervous about getting them, but after we picked them up he noticed that the mountains looked a lot clearer! I think he looks really handsome with glasses, don't you?