Captain Cannon Meets Capain Awesome

I owe a big thank you to my sister-in-law, Melissa.  She is a children's literature expert whose advice I sought for recommendations on books for Cannon.  She gave many wonderful suggestions, several of which we checked out from the library yesterday.  I was looking for something funny that he wouldn't be able to put down.  Man, oh man! Did Melissa deliver!

Cannon and Faith both stayed up late last night reading-- sometimes aloud, sometimes silently-- on my bed while I folded clothes.  As a mom of seven, the sound of silence can be golden.  But do you know what's even better than silence?  The sound of children turning book pages.  It was a deliriously happy moment for me.

By this morning he had completed the first two.  As of writing this, he is almost done with the third Captain Awesome book.  Winner, winner!  I asked to take his picture with his books.  Then it got funny.  Have I ever mentioned how entertaining this boy is?

Energizer bunny comes to mind.

The Energizer Bunny with a flair for the dramatic.

I should mention that it is delightful to listen to him read, because not only can he easily decipher the words, but he totally understands the characters and emotions, so listening to him read is like listening to a really great audio book.

And F-U-N-N-Y! 

The good news is that when he finishes #3, we have a whole tote full of more recommended selections.  Yippee! 

The Sick Little Rascals

 

This will definitely affect the contest of fun. 

Colds and coughs have kept us home bound and unable to do most of the fun activities we had planned while Abe and the big kids were away.  George was coughing so much yesterday I took him and Peter to the doctor.  George got a prescription for an inhaler-- like Clark, I think he has cold induced asthma. 

Even so, we have had a very wonderful time together and we've made our own fun at home.  Before Faith came down with sickness today, she created "Baby Care" yesterday.  Her rates were very reasonable and her business was very professional (note the walkie-talkie).

I have missed my big girls helping out with Peter, but Faith as definitely done her share of helping this week.

I have found that Peter really likes the backpack.  I can get all sorts of things done while I tote him around-- namely, making meals.  But here's the great thing about it for me--- Peter gives me head and neck massages.  See below.

It really is quite relaxing.

We spent lots of time reading books and watching movies.  When the big kids are home and we're doing school and business as usual, I really try to make time to still read aloud to the little kids, but it can be challenging.  I think what I have enjoyed most this week is the time to do whatever we feel like doing.  

With the bigger kids around, understandably, we need to take our school work more seriously.  And with so many different schedules, we need to run a fairly tight ship to get everything done and get people where they need to be.  We can't just do whatever we feel like each day.  This week has been like traveling back in time to when Clark, Bethany, and Elinor were young and Faith was a baby.-- only I get to have all the experience of having already raised little kids.  I have been so relaxed and patient and I have enjoyed being able to really enjoy these little ones.   I can't wait to hear all about the cruise and The Crazy Cruisers adventures, but this week has been priceless to me.

New Year's Eve 2014

Putting aside the fact that this is not a very flattering picture of me, and that absolutely nobody cares about that except me, this was our super fun New Year's Eve 2014 gathering.  We figured that we've been doing New Year's Eve with the Johansens for seven years in a row.  It is the game night of game nights-- made even better this year with Jeremy home from his mission.  He was missed.

There was much junk food and running and shouting and laser guns.

I repeat my request for all friends and family to get these guns and let's battle!
You want to hear something crazy?  Elinor goes to Young Women's in two months-- SAY WHAT???  I know she looks the part, but Elinor has never been terribly anxious to grow up, so it is kind of wierding me out.

Just Dance was the most popular activity amongst the youth aged.  This activity carried over into the next evening when Clark and Bethany had friends over again for more dancing.  

Boys and girls playing together in my own home-- shudder.  Times is a changing,  May I now take this opportunity to apologize to my parents, my siblings, my church leaders and school teachers-- basically anybody I annoyed with overly flirtatious behavior in my youth.  What goes around comes around and it's coming around on my offspring.  I blame no one but myself.  And here I was thinking homeschooling would make them socially awkward!  They were supposed to be scared of the opposite sex!

Now I don't want to brag or anything, but as this picture clearly shows, I can really groove-- but as this picture clearly shows, I should never do so publicly.  

When the clock struck twelve the gang celebrated with Ryan Seacrest.

And banged pots and pans outside.

And slept.

And nursed.

Here is by far the best thing to come out of 2014!  Happy 2015!

The Contest of Fun

Abe, Clark, Bethany, and Elinor left yesterday morning for a week long cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  This trip is part of an incentive program with Abe's work-- which work he worked so hard at this year that he earned enough to completely pay for all four of them to go.
I like to think I was Abe's first choice of trip companion, but since Peter is less than six months old, he could not go.  And since Peter couldn't go, I wouldn't go.

So as it is, I am home with my four youngest children, also known as "Team Little Rascals".  We have challenged Abe and the older kids, AKA "Team Crazy Cruisers", to contest of fun.  Who will have the most fun this week?  You might think it's no contest, but The Little Rascals plan on giving The Crazy Cruisers a run for their money.

You be the judge-- here is day one and two as told in text message pictures and commentary.

DAY 1

 Betsy to Abe:  Team Little Rascals off on their first adventure this week--the dinosaur museum.  Love you all!

Betsy to Abe: Team Little Rascals challenges Team Larger Than Life (name later changed) to a contest of fun this week.  At the dinosaur museum.  Take that!

Betsy to Bethany:   The challenge is on like donkey kong!

Bethany to Betsy:  We are gonna kick your trash.  Just you wait!

Betsy to Bethany:  So that's how it's gonna be!

Bethany to Betsy:  Yep!  We are gonna rock this competition all the way!

Abe to Betsy:  Fun in da car

Betsy to Abe:  Fun with friends

Abe to Betsy:  Wendy's in Vegas!!  We are so ADVENTUROUS!!

Abe to Betsy:  Hyatt Hotel FUN with... Team Crazy Cruisers!! (Sorry your team name for us was shot down) LOVE YOU!!

Betsy to Abe:  Puzzle completed.  Score for The Little Rascals.

Betsy to Abe:  Storytime:)

Abe to Betsy:  Goodnight!!

Betsy to Abe:  Goodnight.  Faith is sleeping with me tonight.  We're watching Austenland.

I declare Day One goes to... Team Little Rascals!

DAY TWO

Abe to Betsy:  The Vegas strip at six am.

Betsy to Abe:  Probably the best time to be there.  Have a good drive.

 Abe to Betsy:  LONG BEACH, California!!!

Betsy to Abe:  You win this round, Crazy Cruisers.  We'll get you next time!

Abe to Betsy:  Elinor BEING Elinor!!!

Abe to Betsy:  Crazy Cruisers in the OCEAN......now that's fun.....on Jan. 4th!!!

Betsy to Abe:  About to leave for church to meet new teachers!!  Now that is fun!

Abe to Betsy:  That is REALLY fun, too.... and honestly I'd LOVE to be there with you, as well!!!

Abe to Betsy:  In a cab heading to the cruise ship!!

Betsy to Abe:  Awesome!! We sat with Johansens for Sacrament.  Love you all so much!  Have the best time:)

Abe to Betsy:  Tiny room for 4 Crazy Cruisers!! HUGE Adventures Ahead for 4 Crazy Cruisers!!

Betsy to Abe:  Should be fun to get ready in the morning.

Abe to Betsy:  Hawaiian Clark-a hooky (his Hawaiian nickname since he was a baby).

If I'm being honest, I have to give Day Two to the Crazy Cruisers.  
They are out at sea now and I we probably won't have a lot of reception for the week.  As it stands we are tied at one to one.  Stay tuned for more!

Christmas Break Happenings

My little Cannon wanted to test out his new scriptures.  He's six and a half and we have a pretty lofty goal for he and I to read the Book of Mormon together all the way (separate from our family reading) through before his baptism in June 2016. 

I feel quite confident that we can do it, but even if we don't meet our goal, I will treasure time spent reading with Cannon.

George going to sleep with his new blanket.  And his Kitty is going to sleep with its new pillow and blanket courtesy of Faith and her new sewing machine.

The teen gang playing games.  May I draw your attention to Clark.  He is looking angry and has food hanging out of his mouth.  This is his lastest "thing" in many of his recent pictures.  Charming, isn't it?

The adults doing Christmas crackers.  Abe and I do Christmas crackers for Christmas Eve dinner, but we didn't know that the proper method was doing it hand-over-hand in a circle.

We did a "Favorite Things" gift exchange.  Abe picked a gift first.

Whatever could it be?

So beautiful! 
Have you ever watched little kids do a gift exchange in which they can steal something someone else has already opened?  It always ends in tears.  Always.
Abe didn't get to keep the quilt because someone stole it from him.  I really wanted to cry.

The little kid gift exchange.  Let's not mention how Andrea saved my parenting bacon by dipping into her on-hand supply of gifts because I forgot/failed to bring little kid gifts.  I don't know what my problem was.  I think that because the party was after Christmas I had used up all my present planning powers and I had nothing left.  Even still, shame on me.

Big kid gift exchange.  I think everyone was happy-- no thanks to me.

Today I helped organize and execute my first funeral luncheon as Relief Society president.  It was remarkably easy to do considering the wonderful women I work with and the women who stepped right up to bring food with very little notice.  The luncheon went very well and was very nice for the family of the older gentleman in our ward who passed away.

Abe and I went to see Unbroken this evening and what there was, was well done.  However, I felt that in the book, when Louie left the Japanese camps at the end of the war, he was kind of broken.  I mean, he was alive, but he was angry and had major PTSD.  It wasn't until he was healed through Christ and forgave those who had hurt him that he was unbroken.  Also, the movie was full of so many true, but really horrible events.  I needed more of the forgiveness and redemption at the end to make all the awful parts worthwhile.  A few words on the screen at the end were not enough to bring up out of the depths of the sadness of the previous two hours.  It made me want to read the book again, or at least the last 1/3.

Laser Tag, You're It!

We invited the Schramm family over for dinner and games a couple nights ago.  Keith is the coach of Clark's robotics team and I have taught Schramm kids piano for several years.  They are wonderful.  We love them.  The Fox family held their own in card games.
But there was one game we didn't stand a chance.  We were decimated over and over again.  It was quite humbling.

Laser tag.  Nerf Laser Tag.

You see, their family has experience with real fire arms.  Laser guns are child's play for them.  Well, actually their children play with real fire arms, but you know what I mean.

They've had their Nerf  laser guns since this summer.  We just got ours for Christmas.  They schooled us pretty bad.

These guns have been so much fun for the whole family.  I would like to strongly encourage everyone I know to buy them-- then we can have a big huge battle for my birthday this summer.  Doesn't that sound fun?  You can do indoor or outdoor setting, team or solo battles, 10 lives or 25 lives.  They are a bit pricey, but just think-- you never have to buy Nerf bullets for them!  But you do have to buy batteries.

Mom versus mom.  Guess who won?
Not really even close.

 This was the final battle of the night.  It took awhile because they Schramms wisely rearranged the furniture for protection.  My children barricaded themselves in the basement for some serious trench warfare.  Another win goes to the Schramm Fam.