Music

 

Evelyn is doing really well with violin. Her teacher has commented that her sound is really improving. She does well when she remembers to practice. She has even taught her little brother Ezra on occasion a few moves on our smallest violin. She can play some Christmas songs, all of the twinkle variations and various other songs in the first book of the Suzuki method. I hope that she will want to continue to play but for next year. However, she has expressed some interest trying the Cello and I think that would be possible if she does the local orchestra program. We'll will see how this summer goes and what we can do. 

Hailey and Stetson are doing great at piano. Their dad and I couldn't be more pleased with their willingness to practice and all the progress they have made this year. I believe both have found it to be a creative outlet that they really enjoy. 

Dance Recital & Rehearsal

 Hailey and Bristol are done with dance for the year. There was a fun final class and practice at the church wear the recital was to take place. The teachers daughters were able to be there and volunteered to paint kids faces festively for St. Patrick's day!!! 

Practice was on a Tuesday, St. Patrick's on Thursday and the recital on Friday. 

For St. Patrick's day we had the traditional fair of corn beef and buttered cabbage. We eventually made cornbread over the weekend and also some very yummy cinnamon rolls that were are contribution to the treats at the recital. All were asked to bring a dessert to share. 

Grandpa and Janet were able to attend the recital with us although Dad, Evelyn and Stetson were not. They got to go on a little trip to see cousins and so that Dad could go to a Chiropractic seminar. 

Bristol was originally upset when I came to check on her in the changing room. She hadn't realized that being in 2 dance groups she was in 4 dances. She didn't realize that she knew 4 dances and got 2 costumes to keep. Once she realized she did knew the dances and that she was truly in 4 dances she calmed down and did wonderfully. 

Hailey's last dance they used glow sticks and one of hers was not staying on which proved a distraction, she stopped dancing so that she could try to put it on. I thought that she would be more upset but ended up finishing the dance. 

Life

We were driving home from violins lessons and had to wait for these cows to go down the road enough for us to go through. I then went around another way to take a picture of the scene. There were also 3 or 4 cowboys mounted on horses to direct the cows the right direction. It was a fun sight to see. Ezra was especially excited to see the cows. 

Play time at the park. Stetson had a meeting at the building across from this park on Thursday evening and Ezra saw the toys and wanted so much to play on them. Unfortunately we were not prepared to be out long as Ezra had no shoes or jacket on and the sun had started to set, so I promised him that I would take him the next day. So we wen ton Friday with the girls and had a great time while the sun was shining with shoes and coats on. 

Hailey is now a part of a group at church called "Activity Day's."  During their last activity they made these posters that are broken up into 4 different areas, physical, spiritual, social and emotional. Hailey then cut out words or pictures that represent things that she would like to learn, do or achieve in those areas. Some of the things that you may not be able to see are Jesus, a girl riding a bike, a tree, jewels and a sewing machine. 

These are some of the "Stain Glass" windows that Hailey and her Co-op class made as they learned about working together as a community and being kind to others. Hailey's is the one on the far right. They chose a design, traced it onto a saran wrap and then colored it in and placed it onto a tinfoil back ground. Some of the kids took a great amount of time for all of the details.   

We had another snow day and Ezra got all bundled up so that he could help his big brother shovel the snow off of the driveway. 

 

Birthday Fun!!!

Crown making and modeling.

Dressing up as princesses and having a dance party. 

Presents and piñata. 

Hitting the piñata outside while there was a break in the rain.  

Excitement about some of the gifts received. 

Hailey is officially 8 and we had a fun family party on her birthday. Then this week on Friday we held a friend party. Saturday was also a special day for her as she chose to be Baptized a member of our church. All of her favorite cousins came to town for the event and she got to have all of her living grandparents be here too. It was a good occasion. 

 

New Library

 For 7 years we went to the Logan Library. We have gone to lots of story times, group meetings, book clubs, play try outs, presentations and I'm sure other memorable events. We'll they are tearing it down now in order to build a new library and the kids and I have watched on two different occasions now as backhoes and other heavy equipment destroy the structure we once went to.  For Stetson who is 13 and loves change, modern things and all things new he is loving it. The rest of us have mixed emotions but now that we are in Hyrum we no longer go to this Library and so we are not even in the district. We are looking forward to seeing the construction and transformation of this area. 

We seem to be in transformation in this town as there is another area on Main Street that is under demolition as they tear down several buildings that have long stood in our town. We have also seen another area that has long been an eye sore that seems to be getting prepped for demolition. I guess 2022 is the year for structural change. Hopefully good change! Change seems to be our new normal.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Valentines

 

The month of February is a short but busy one for us. We celebrate Grandma Weyerman's birthday, Valentines, My husbands and I's anniversary, Hailey's birthday, Daddy's birthday and try to do many other fun things. Hailey is turning 8 this year so she is excited for two things, getting baptized as a member of our church and getting her ears pierced. Hailey's best friend moved to Montana at the end of last year so she is hoping that they will come down for a visit and that they can celebrate together. We will have a big celebration with family on March 5th when Hailey gets baptized. Hopefully baby won't come then.  

Wizard of Oz

 

Grandpa and Janet are very good to the kids and on Sunday they brought them popcorn, trail mix and the movie "The Wizard of OZ". They all watched it together for a bit and then Janet and Grandpa went home but the kids finished the movie. They are pretty familiar with the movie because we read the book a little while ago. The movie was a good distraction as Dad had a migraine and we had a visit from one of his sisters who didn't bring her kids and needed some care from Dad. Kids love company but can sometime monopolize attention and be rowdy.  We are very grateful that there were no nightmares due to the flying monkey's!!!

Family History

 

Our church put on a evening for learning about family history and our whole family went. The kids learned about what an ancestor is, where many came from, grandparents, journaling, scrapbooking, sang songs about families, and what a family tree can mean. We will be focusing on family history for the whole year as a church and so the kids should hear lots about what they can do at such a young age. We are hoping that the kids will take more interest in learning from their living grandparents and relatives. 

Girls Weekend

The kids were doing a little "Sound of Music" line up as I was getting ready to go to my girls weekend. They wanted to show the baby sitter who was tallest. Looks like for now it still is in order of youngest to oldest. 

Mom was able to get away for two nights and connect with 12 other homeschool moms. We eat lots of good food, discussed out book for the month "Little Men" went to Lava Hot Springs and exchanged books in a gift exchange. There was also a lot of talking and laughing as we learned about each other and the good things that we are all doing. There was also some crying as we shared how these great books impact our lives. 

The kids got a lot of time with their babysitter Hannah, also a homeschooler, and with Dad. The house was still standing when I returned home and no one was ill so I think it a win. 

It is good for mom's to feel connected with other moms who think and teach their children in similar ways. 

School even was accomplished during this shortened week and lots of books were read. I also have proof that some country dancing was leaned by both Hailey and Evelyn. 

Mom's are really important but life still goes on with or without mom being at home. Mom still needs to remember who she is without all the kids because someday they will be out of the house and she will still be at home. 

 

Fun Filled Weekend Adventure

Dinosaur Museum 

We loved seeing all the different sections of the museum and learning lots together. It was great that Dad was with us and we could experience so much. All of the kids really enjoyed being in the hands on area and making Dams and bearing their Dinosaurs in with the sand. Cousins also got to go with us so they were a great addition to all our fun. The kids were amazed at how big the Dinosaurs were.  Evelyn admits that they were so tempted to touch the Dinosaurs, thankfully I think all the kids did great at resisting the temptation.  

Children's Museum 

Our favorite part by far was the Jungle area of the Museum. We stayed there the longest. We did also enjoy all of the other areas but didn't do all of the water works area because we saw so many people leaving the area very wet that we didn't want to have our kids experience that too. It worked well for us to have a house rule of staying in the same area together until everyone was ready to leave that area. With 7 (5 of our own, 2 cousins) kids it is important to set up those kind of expectations. 

We also enjoyed eating out for lunch together and had a great time going to a healthy place were we got lots of stares due to the amount of kids we had with us. 

We are super blessed that our cousins have an apartment attached to their home and we were able to stay there for two nights so that we could enjoy things that we don't normally get to go do. 

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium 

We spent a good amount of time here on Saturday and really enjoyed all of the different plants and animals from all over the world. It was nice to warm up in the Jungle and too touch some sea animals. Some of out favorites were the River Otter's and the Penguins. They were both very active and playful as we observed them. With the large amount of people we were grateful that our large family stayed together and no one was lost. We really enjoyed the Aquarium!

So we crammed a large amount of learning into one weekend and also a great deal of fun. When we returned to Logan we were also able to participate in a Shakespeare performance by Stetson's class together with a family dinner. He did well in all of his parts and participated well! 

 

Braces

 

We had a family field trip to the Orthodontist this week to witness Stetson getting on his braces. The procedure was rather fast. All the girls were very interested in helping him pick out the color of his first rubber bands. We went with a nice blue color. Ezra was more interested in the snacks that were in my purse but all wanted to watch as he got a 3D digital landscape of his teeth and the brackets glued on. Some of the girls feel they will need braces too but others do not want them. By the end of the day the discomfort had increased and Stetson had soft foods for several days. All things seem back to normal now. The assistant gave a very educational rundown of all the tools that they sent home for Stetson to use and the importance of good hygiene. 

January

Morning scripture study! Or piling of all family members into mom and dad's bed!!!

Playdo creations by the all the children. 

New cloths and photo shoot! They are ready Italy!!!

Hailey enjoyed learning about Electricity and "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" in her Co-op class. She also made potato stamps and her own pinwheel. 

Stetson has been discussing agency and liberty. When its good to demand these and when it is needful to be more submissive. He really loves the class discussions and the kids that are involved in his class.

He has also been taking apart and putting together computers as usual. 

Evelyn has loving Gymnastic however she was very sore after her last class and needed several days to recover. She is still taking violin and has great talent if she can only remember to take the time to practice. 

Bristol and Ezra have had great fun playing with Duplo's. They create great houses, villages and make hours of fun activities for all of there siblings. There is also dress up, forts, lots of movement and other fun together. Bristol has really been interested in the way the body works so we have been reading a Osborn book about the body and how it works. All the kids like when this book comes out and they listen in to the knowledge being shared. 

 

Snow

The family has had many fun outings! This represents our family sledding trip this week and all the fun the kids had even among wipe outs and broken sleds. 

We also had a lot of fun as a family on Christmas Eve as we went to Ellen Eccles Ice Arena and went Ice skating with some cousins. All of the kids had a great time. 

Christmas and New Years have been filled with yummy food and lots of games, fun and friends. 

We hosted a big family gathering on December 23rd where all of the Wade family was gathered for the first time in several years. It was a great event!!!

On New Years Day we had one of me nieces and her husband come to visit and we enjoyed time with them. We are super blessed to have lots of great  family that we enjoying spending time with. 

The kids really enjoyed the time away from our regular scholastic learning and ample time to play with new toys and incorporate new ones. I am trying to clean out unwanted and unused items now that the splurges of the holidays are over. 

We began back to school today and the kids are doing fairly well to get back to their books and learning. Ezra has been asking every few days when we will return to Co-op, thankfully that day is Wednesday he is so excited.