It

Friday morning while we were eating breakfast, Kyler grabs a piece of scratch paper, writes something, and shows it to me.

K: Mom, can you read this?
M: Yes, it says "it".
K: I just actually wrote that in cursive! Can you believe that?!"
I: Cursive is for 3rd Graders....
K: We just started it for the whole class! (He's in a 2nd/3rd grade split). I'll do it again.
M: Do you know any other letters? (thinking I could put together other words for him besides "it".)
K: No. I'll just keep doing this one. Don't you love this little one? It's so cute!

Cub Scout Cake Night

So Kyler's Cub Scout pack had a cake night. It was an auction, and everyone who brought a cake went home with a cake. The boys did it with their dads. The only catch was that there was a theme. The cake had to be decorated to represent the boys' favorite book. Hmm. That's a little harder... Kyler had just read a book from a series called Horrible Harry, and it had a Kitty Litter cake and included the recipe and instructions. He asked me if we could make it. I said NO! Ilea read the book, and asked if we could make it. I said NO! The next week this cake auction came up. Kipp figured that if you were ever going to make a Kitty Litter cake, Cub Scouts would be the right occasion for it. It's a chocolate cake, with vanilla frosting, crushed Nilla wafers, and melted tootsie rolls. I'm sure it tasted really good! Only got 2 votes, but that's because there were so many other creative cakes. The sideways pic shows R2D2, which won the kid's choice as favorite cake. A few Parent Judges picked Charlotte's Web, which I thought was the best too. There were some very well done cakes, and everyone went home happy.

Cute dinner

I loved how this came out! It was a bisquick dinner called Pizza Pumpkins, and had sausage, onions and pizza sauce (or any meat or pizza combo you like), put a little cheese on the meat/sacue, and then mix Bisquick and hot water. It makes a dough and you can pat it out. I kept it a secret from the family, and they were all suitably impressed by the cute dinner. They even liked it, except next time I think I'd use hamburger or half hambr/half sausage, cause it was a little spicy. But fun.

A New Adventure

Kipp took the day off today, and the kids had no school. We had such a great day! We slept in, always a treat (for mom and dad - the kids are now old enough to go QUIETLY downstairs, and not bang cupboards if they get food, and to turn the TV on quietly). We had our new favorite breakfast of Light and Crispy homemade waffles. In the middle of the day we went to the Federal Way Community Center Pool. Kipp hadn't been before, but I took the kids there in the summer with our friends the Littles. It was pretty crowded because of school being off, but it was still fun. We all went on the slide, and the lazy river. The kids found a few friends both from school, and made new ones, and had a great time playing. We also all spent time in the hot tub. Kipp and I were finished a little earlier than the kids, so we walked around the rest of the community center. There is a huge rock climbing wall. We asked about it, and the guy was helpful. He said there was an open session that night from 5-8. As we left, we found out that our armband was good for the whole day. We could come back that night if we wanted (there was a small fee for equipment).

The same guy, Patrick, was there. He was very helpful and encouraging, since this was the first time for all of us (besides the kids on short, playground walls). Kyler went first, and like the monkey he is, made it up pretty well. Ilea followed, and also did very well. Her longer arms made it look a little easier even. Patrick held us (belay), and when you got to the top, you got to repel back down. The kids of course showed no fear. Then it was my turn. I'm not afraid of heights at all, and I knew it would be hard, but it was even harder than I thought. I thought I had OK upper arm strength, and I can do some pretty good bench presses for a girl, but this killed me. It was much slower going for me. People kept saying where to put my foot or arm, and I kept thinking, Are they crazy? I can't reach that! But slowly I did it, and even hit the Kitty goal at the top! Then he wanted me to let go to get down. That took some faith for me too! Coming down was fun, once I let go of the rocks. Kipp did the first section easily, and looked great. The kids did another, and Kipp got a harder one to try next time. The kids kept taking their turns, and making it every time. Kipp did 4 or 5 climbs all together, and finally got too tired. I tried to do one more, but after an awkward reach with my foot I felt a tweak in the ankle I sprained a few weeks ago. I called it quits. Kipp's sore on his knuckles mostly, but pretty tired all over. The kids don't seem to be feeling it much at all. Everyone was able to go as much as they wanted. It was a really neat experience. What a great, safe environment. I still think people out on actual cliffs are nuts though!

Crazy Socks

Grandma and Grandpa Howard sent the kids a Halloween package. In it were these fun crazy socks! The kids loved them! Kyler wanted to wear them out today, WITH SHORTS. I said no. So he changed to long pants.

Cub Scout Popcorn

The fundraiser for Cub Scouts is popcorn. Here is Kyler doing a great job of selling popcorn at one of our stores. He's put in 2 shifts, which means he can go intertubing for free. He did a great job, and they sold a lot of popcorn!

Girl Scout Fall Encampment

This last weekend was Fall Encampment. Because of some conflicts, and my unwillingness to spend the weekend outdoors, Ilea went up just for the day. It was at St. Albans Camp in Belfair, which is over on the Hood Canal. Unfortunately it wasn't great weather. The activites centered around Fairies. The girls made Fairy Rings, which were biscuits in doughnut shape, and they melted chocolate on top. They also made Fairy Houses, which were wine bottles filled with flowers and leaves, for a fairy to live in. And we went down to a lagoon to collect shells to make Mermaid Bracelets. We saw the camp and the cabins, which were extremely rustic. In fact, they only had 3 walls. Not my idea of fun. We had lunch there. The afternoon activities sort of fell through, and because of the rain, it wasn't a good day to go hiking. So we headed back in the afternoon. Hopefully Spring Encampment will be better!

Girl Scout Grad

Ilea completed her year of being a brownie last year. There was a grad ceremony, but we were out of town. So the first meeting this year they had a ceremony just for Ilea, called a Bridging ceremony. We used a bridge on the playground of the school we meet at. After Ilea crossed a bridge with her old vest, Dustine, our leader, met her with her new vest, and all the girls gave her a new handshake. It was great! Ilea is now a Junior.

Books of the Bible

I had challenged my small group to memorize the books of the Bible, and included the kids in the challenge. In our family, we worked mostly as a group, although sometimes without Kipp to memorize all of them in order. When the deadline came, Kyler was the one in our family who could say the whole thing! Ilea is close, and so is Dad. I brushed up the books between Daniel and Malachi, and was good to go. Here is a video of Kyler singing the New Testament song that I taught him. I was so proud of him! (Sorry this is sideways! I don't know how to rotate it here)

Little stressed?

Ever feel like your head will explode? I get that way more often than I'd like to admit! Today has been busy and full, tonight we are sitting 3 more kids, who will be here until 11pm. Tomorrow I am leaving at 7am to take Ilea to Girl Scout Camp in Belfair (about 1 hr 15 min away) for the day, and my coal is to get back in time to host a dinner party for 8 at 6pm. So tonight Kipp and I are cleaning, I'm cooking lunch and dinner for tomorrow night and I've hit a new low. I just burned hard boiled eggs. You might not have thought that possible, but yes, it is. When an egg bursts, continues to cook, and then the water all boils away, the cracked egg can burn! Luckily I have more eggs, and I'll just try again. Stay tuned for camp pics in a few days...