spring break

Last week Beau took the week off from work, because he had the week off from school as well. We had so much fun!!

First, let me back up a little, because I have slacked off a bit with blogging.....

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the symphony for a school field trip. Beau was able to come with us. We all enjoyed the performance. Even Eliza was captivated by the music and dancing.

For science, we have been learning about insects. We ordered a butterfly kit from http://www.insectlore.com/. So cool!! We received in the mail a small cup with a lid and 5 baby caterpillars. We got to watch them grow and grow and grow! They made their chrysalises after about 10 days. It was neat to see the caterpillars make them. However, they grossed me out quite a bit, so I made Beau remove them the cup and place them in their mesh habitat. We waited another 10 days for them to go through metamorphisis. One morning, we actually got to see the butterflies emerge! We all were amazed. We have since lost one, but the other 4 are thriving. We are waiting for the weather to be above 55 degrees, and then we can release them outside.

A friend of mine let me borrow the best book. "The Parenting Breakthrough" talks about how to teach our children imdependence in all areas of life. From household chores, cooking, finance, car and yard maintenance and so much more!! I'm going to have to buy this book to add to our library, so I can reference back to it over the coming years. I have started having Abi and Everett do their own laundry, vaccuum, and empty the dishwasher. Wow! What a huge help these small acts have been. I look forward to implementing more of the book, and have the kids do more around the house!! The next thing will be cleaning the toilet. Abi was not happy AT ALL when I told her about that. But when I told her that once she has it mastered, she'll get to teach Everett, she was all for it. "I'll get to tell him what to do? And not get into trouble? COOL!!"

And now for spring break....

First things first.... I got to go visiting teaching and to the commissary.... without children in any shape or form!

We went to small but awesome children's musem in Annapolis. Actually, it's hard to call it a "museum" because it's just a smallish building with TONS of different toys to play with. Granted, it is very cool for the kids. We purchased a recipricol membership so we can attend other museums. The one in particular that we wanted to attend was the Port Discovery Children's Museum. Oh man! Now that was a chilren's museum! I think Beau might of had more fun than anyone. In the center of the entire 3 story building is a MASSIVE playplace. Think McDonald's playplace on some serious steroids. Abi and Beau went off on the playplace together, and the boys and Eliza and I didn't see them for a very long time. It's OK, because there was plenty for us to do. We attended the storytime, and afterwards, the kids wanted to stay and read books. I guess they just don't get enough of that at home! We glanced at everything, and finished our day in the waterplay area. Note to self: take a change of clothes for everyone next time! I'm glad we have a year membership. We will definitely be heading back there again!!

Of course, business had to be attended to. We had to register our van in Maryland, since we still had our Hawaii plates, and the tags were about to expire. YIKES!! I never understood the phrase, "In life only 2 things are certain: death and taxes." Now that I'm adult, I understand that COMPLETELY!! We get taxed heavily for everything. Next, they'll be taxing us to breathe!! But, we do live in a great nation with tremendous freedoms. Although, that could change in the future... well, that could be another post entirely. I'll leave that up to Beau. :)

Also, Beau made some purchases to help us complete our emergency preparedness. He's quite proud to have joined the "man club" because he now owns a firearm. He tells everyone he meets about it. Whatever.

The most exciting event during our week was the opportunity to attend the temple. We did a babysitting swap with some friends at the temple grounds, since we both have young nursing babies. We got to perform quite a few sealings. I love to be able to do that. Poor Zachary. He was running outside with his hands in his pockets, tripped, and fell flat on the asphalt. Luckily, he used his face to slow himself down. Of course, he had to have his clumsy moment when our friends were on duty. I'm glad that they were there to clean him up.

Of course, what would March be without a little March Madness? Beau has been wanting to watch the NCAA tournament, and I didn't think we would be able to, since we don't have cable. But, there is a webiste dedicated to helping people like us out. :) We were able to watch a few games. When I first turned it on, Everett looks at the screen and asks, "What's that?" Beau said that he's failing as a father if his son doesn't even know what basketball is. After he finished cleaning the kitchen, he sat down with his sons and watched a game with them, and tried to explain it to them.

Our final excursion took us to the circus! I had only been to one when I was about 6, and Beau had never been. Ringling Brothers was in town. The kids loved it! Everett loved the motorcycles that rode in the metal ball, and Abi loved the acrobats. I loved the tigers and elephants. I don't think Beau and Zachary blinked the entire time. I couldn't believe the prices for the concessions!! $12 for cotton candy, $9 for popcorn, and $7 for a snow cone. Holy moly!! We watched everyone around us hand out the money like it grew on trees. Maybe we're just cheap? I don't know.

I included a couple of pics in the slide show of Abi and Eliza. Abi stayed up late every night last week reading in her bed. We found her quite frequently asleep with her light on and books all around her. She reminds me so much of myself. I finally attempted to tame Eliza's crazy hair. Instead of fighting her curls, I decided to go with them. I put mousse in her hair, and I loved the result! Curls, curls everywhere.

We had a fun week. It was great to have Beau home for an entire week. Albeit, a very expensive week, but we did have to take care of business and add more to our storage. We're not at 100% yet, but we're getting there!