Spearmint with Treasures

Today we did a science day since I am such a jerk and forgot about Art with Chrystal! I was telling Lucas that we were going to do an Experiment. We were going to learn about ice. He smiled and thought this was cool, and then ran upstairs to get dressed. He asked me if he needed safety glasses and I said, probably not and he looked sad so I told him if he really wanted them he could get them. (His sunglasses lasted all about two minutes)

He yells at Bridget "Hurry and get that diaper on and come down, we are going to do a Spearmint!" I tried to correct him but he insisted he was saying it correctly. (I blame Nathan's stubborn side, because remember...I am perfect.)

I explain to the kids all about water. See this is how I use my degree at home! :) Or act like Alton Brown in my kitchen whatever! :)
When water is a liquid it can take any shape of the container it is in. This is because the molecules can move around easily. (picture a ball pit) The molecules in a liquid can not be squashed nearer together or pulled farther apart, so liquids cannot be compressed or expanded by force. So we splashed a little and then filled the ice cube trays.

I told them I was going to do magic. I pulled out a tray that I froze last night...

What happened to the water? Lucas - "It got hard" I said yep, we made ice. Lucas - "No that ice comes out of the ice maker on the fridgerator-ator" I said okay is this ice the same as that ice? Lucas - "This ice is just smooth" I let them touch and play with it and then they tasted it. I made 4 lemonade ice cubes in that tray. Lucas "This ones like juice" "Popsicles at Robert's house" Yes, that is the same.

Then I explain about ice.
Ice is solid water. Can you splash it? Nope. In a solid like ice, the molecules can only move a little. So a solid stays in the same shape as it's container unless it has powerful force like crushing or twisting. The molecules are in a tight frame and are bonded together.
(I drew pictures do help them understand) My kids are in this need-to-know-why mode.

I asked them if they were ready for the Treasure hunt...

I put several small toys, rocks, and shells in a bowl of water and froze it. Then Bridget and Lucas had a great time trying to get the toys out of the ice. They used a spray bottle, salt, a fork, etc. Lucas was very determined to get "Dude" (my Tony Hawk action figure) out of the ice, and they had lots of fun!

I then showed them how hot and cold water could make the ice melt. They liked stirring the ice blocks in the bowls.

This is what freed Mr. Hawk

We then went outside to see which was faster--sun, water, fork, or salt. They were trying to rescue Buster and Arthur out of the ice. Which do you think won?

Water.

Scarlett was just happy to be outside with the rest of us. Does this outfit look familiar? It should Bridget wore it when she was 3 months...SEE. My girls just have the cutest smiles don't they?

Another successful Science Day!

*Tips* Use distilled water for clear cubes. Minerals in regular tap will make the ice white.
This Science Fun can also be done outside, but it will melt faster.

Exhaustion

Has finally hit me. It took 3 months but today it just hit me. I am tired! :)

Here is the day...
6:30am - Up and making Muffins...Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins, MY own recipe7:30am - Clean up and hit the showers while the children watch "toot and paddle" (puddle)
8:00am - Make necessary calls to ward people for the big move to the new building
8:15am - Pack up van for the long day ahead.
8:30am - Drop off toy donations to Gwen's for the new building
9:15am - Stop at Kathy's to cut letters for the bulletin board
9:55am - Call Lisa to see if she will watch #1 and #2 so I don't have to take them to church
10:15am - Pick up pictures from Ward Luau and get hassled about taking a stolen credit card.
10:45am - Stop by old church to get last minute stuff
11:00am - Hit up Banks to get bulletin board stuff! ARG!
11:15am - Drop off kids at Lisa's (THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH)
11:30am - Get to new building and realize there is NO stapler!!!
11:45am - After going to 2 places and calling 2 people in the neighborhood for a stapler go back to new building feeling defeated.
11:55am - Scarlett screaming because I need to feed her. Realize there is a stapler in the clerk's office the entire time!
12:00pm - Finish feeding Scarlett (30 minutes late) and do bulletin board 1 of 2, never knew we had 2! AAH
12:30pm - Get stuck behind construction traffic
12:45pm - Pick up kids from Lisa's
1:00pm - Get home and throw the kids in bed for nap (1 hour late)
3:30pm - Lose my car keys after loading up the kids in the car!
3:45pm - Hear my kids singing "I like fish" from Yo Gabba Gabba in the car
4:00pm - Arrive at Daddy's work...SURPRISE!!! Happy Father's Day! We couldn't wait to surprise you with our present so we came to your work to deliver it! 2 weeks EARLY!

4:30pm - Hear all of the oohing and aahing over our adorable kids. Nathan showing Lucas what he does all day.

Bridget testing a new system...I think she's got it!

4:50pm - Leave Daddy's work and head to 3 Margarita's. Mmmm. Scarlett stretching and tooting the entire time, like she had beans or something.

6:50pm - Realize I missed our Art date with Chrystal and her girls! Dang it! I need to email her a HUGE apology!
7:30pm - Kids in the bath and realize this is how my life is going to be for a while. CRAZY busy and jam packed with stuff to do and places to go.
7:33pm - Realize I need a vacation! Whew!
7:41pm - UPS rings my doorbell with an UNEXPECTED package just for me...
Thank you Grandma, I really needed this today! Now I can take my vacation in an incredible cookbook! :) The best part is that my husband is the one who truly benefits from this package! :)
8:00pm - Taking a hot shower and RIPPING off yellow squares of a certain TY card per Stephanie's request! LOL!!!
I think it's going to be an early night. I am tired and my feet are starting to hurt! :)

Proud

This entire post is to make all of you who are not in Woodglen totally JEALOUS. Why? Because you missed the best activity EVER!!! I would also like to say that Courtney and I totally pulled it off with minutes to spare! :)

Our Ward Luau on Friday was so much fun! Even the performers from the Westminster Ward said this was the best Luau they had been to in the states! (pat on the back to me and Courtney!) I made sure that we stuck to the itinerary and Courtney made sure that the food tables were full. I took 244 pictures and most of them were great! Brian Hennuse was gracious enough to make the delicious roasted pork and my in-laws made the dessert. Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake. When I was serving it to the tables, people asked if it was made the "Witte Way" I laughed and said "why yes, yes it is!"

There were game stations, and Polynesian Dancers courtesy of the Tora's and Schwalger's and they did a super job. The boys in our ward even got to perform their "Haka Dance." After the activities and show and dessert we headed out to watch the fire show and that was pretty cool.

My kids had a great time, and Courtney and I received many compliments. Not bad for doing a first for our ward (A Luau) I am so grateful that Courtney and I are on the same team and that we are a perfect tag team when it comes to planning and executing an awesome activity.

(the Loughe's feeding Scarlett)

I am glad that I am in a ward where everyone looks out for everyone else. Scarlett was taken care of by so many people, and Bridget was with a different person who was willing to keep her fed and happy the entire time. Lucas hung out with Uncle Alex most of the time and it was just nice to know that my kids were safe and that I didn't have to worry.

I am also grateful that Nathan and Russ (Courtney's husband) helped with whatever we needed like dishing out the 17 cakes! We had a great turn out of about 200 people, several visitors, and almost EVERYONE dressed up! I am pleased and proud that I had something to do with this activity.

3 Months Already?!?!?!

After a CRAZY night and about 244 pictures to edit from last nights Luau, I thought I would take a break and recognize that wee Scarlett is finally over my least favorite part of babyhood 0-3 months! It is so funny how once they hit this great lil' birthday they seem to be totally different babies.

Scarlett is doing great! She still sleeps through the night. She loves the swing and play gym. She is starting to fatten up in the face. She loves to sit in the bumbo and watch Lucas and Bridget fight , err I mean play. She has so many faces...

I love her double chin, both of her dimples, her lips and her eyes. I love her skin and her cheeks and that as soon as Nathan starts talking she starts to look for him. It is so CUTE!



She is such a sweet little bundle and we think she is pretty awesome.

She is 11 pounds 2 oz.

She eats 5oz every 4 hours, with a little cereal mixed in.

She is in 6-9 month onesies because of her length, but can still fit into 3-6 month stuff.

She still has that squeaky cry that is so faint it is sometimes hard to hear.

She looks like Lucas with Bridget's cheeks and chin.

She makes a fist with her thumb tucked inside.

She can roll from back to front and likes just chillin' on her tummy.



Oh Scarlett we can't wait to see what this month will bring! :)

Fall Baking in June

Well, June seems to be promising with the first 2 days of it so far drenched in rain. Perfect timing for our ward's Hawaiian Luau this Friday that Courtney and I are in charge of, (sarcastic) yea!!

The kids looked outside in the gloominess and when it rains in our house I open all of the blinds and let the natural light in so we can see the water falling down. I love the rain. I love that I don't have to turn the sprinklers on. I love that I don't have to have the A/C on in June. I hear the rain smells nice too. I love that it is a little hint of fallish weather and for that we must do something about it...bake!

I let the kids pick out a recipe out of one my grandmother's cookbooks that she sent me. When I realized I didn't have enough butter to make the ones they picked out I suggested my French Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies. They heard chocolate and were in! Hahaha.

I moved Scarlett to the kitchen so she could join in on the fun. Then we got started...

I have secret aspirations to open a dessert shoppe, but not with 3 little ones in tow...
maybe one day, maybe one day.

Even though Lucas always has firetrucks on the brain, he is an excellent at following recipes. He is really good at cracking the eggs too...I have yet to see shells in the bowl, he is very careful about it. It must have been all of those episodes of Ace of Cakes we used to watch last summer! :)

Here is Bridget revealing our Secret to the recipe...French Vanilla Pudding!

Don't forget the Chocolate Chips Lucas shouted!
She isn't even on the seat of the chair! Hahaha.

I went to open the door for a dutch oven delivery and I come back to this...

I asked Lucas what they were doing and he said liking the white powder. The dough is dangerous because of the wet eggs! (I felt dumb for asking after that)

The doorbell rang again so I went to open the door to the post man and Lucas was taking pictures...I thought nothing of it until I hear Lucas yelling at Bridget "Scarlett loves those cookies Bridget, let me take a picture"

Nooooo!!!!! We had a talk about how if you don't have teeth you can't have cookies, or food. Hopefully chocolate doesn't affect children like it does dogs! :) At least it wasn't a box of raisins, like Lucas did to Bridget last March when she was like 4 months old!!!

After nap we played some games and watched Bolt for the 45th time. My kids love Bolt, but not as much as the Blue Toy Story or the Red Toy Story (#1 and #2)
I can't wait for #3 to come out in June next summer! Wa-hoo!

We also finished the invites for Lucas's Big Party in July. We will deliver those on Sunday! :) They are so cute! :)

What a great day and all of this before Nathan came home. CRAZY! Really this was a distraction from getting stuff ready for the activity on Friday! Hahaha.