Mail for Mom

This Mother's Day, we sent out cards for our moms.  Miles saw me making cards, and then he insisted that he and Molly should make cards for grandmas, too.  Luckily, the May issue of the Friend had  the perfect card for them to make!

Here's the cards that Miles and Molly made.  I helped them trace their hands, and then let them write and draw on them.  Miles was also able to cut his, but we can't let Molly have scissors.  Then, we accordion-folded a strip of paper for the middle.  Again, easier for the five-year-old than the two-year-old.

Front

Middle

Back


And here's the cards that I made!  I haven't made cards in a long time, so it was fun to actually have some spare time to do some :)

 For my mom.

 For Gerrit's mom.

Museum of Natural Curiosity

Thanksgiving Point just opened a new children's museum this month.  I have been excited about this museum ever since I saw it on their website three years ago, so I was thrilled when we got to go on a member preview day!  (Actually, this new museum was most of the reason I wanted us to get a membership in the first place...)

The museum is enormous.  There are four parts, and we didn't even make it to the fourth one.  That's what return visits are for!

Part One: Children's Discovery Garden.

This used to be part of the original gardens, but we had never actually been there.  We showed up at 6, so I wanted us to check this out first before it got dark.

They both love fish!

I was surprised by how well Molly could balance on this log!

Bear hug!

Part Two: Kidopolis

This is mostly aimed at younger kids, but there are some elements that would appeal to the 8-12 crowd too.  It's set up like a little city with a different mini-exhibit in each different shop.

Feeding the rabbits little vegetable-shaped beanbags in the under-3 section.

For some reason, they aren't this excited about laundry at home.

Giant bubbles!

This was one of Miles's favorite areas.

Daddy had to build too :)

Miles chose to write "Mom" and "Dad" on the marquee.

Gerrit chose to write "Higgs Boson"

Puppet show!

This is only about a third of the little shops.  There was also a fun bank, train station, library, doctor's office, magic store, video studio, and so many more!

Part Three: Rainforest

Doesn't this just look awesome?  Everything is rainforest-themed, but there's a wide variety of exhibits and activities.

One of my favorite things was that each section had a 3 and under area, so Molly could have a great time there when Miles was trying the sloth hang for the tenth time.

This is the sloth hang.  Miles would have probably tried this all night.

Of course, since Miles loved it, Molly had to try it.  She couldn't quite get the hang of it :)

Trying out the frog leap.

                                               

Molly liked the sari until we wrapped her up in it.  Then she was less amused.

There's a giant climbing area inside the monkey's head.

Again, this is only about half of it.  This museum is huge!  We didn't even see the water works, and they also have space for traveling exhibits.  I'm so thrilled to be able to take them here in the winter when outside is just not an option.

Long Hair, Short Hair

Molly is finally getting some longer hair!  She was bald for such a long time and then had hardly any hair for even longer, so it's quite the change!

I really needed a change with my hair, too.  I like my long hair, but it starts to get really heavy and uncontrollable.  If it gets to heavy, it won't really hold the curls as well and it just gets frizzy.  That's my cue that it is time for a cut!  I found someone that's good with cutting curly hair, which is always a relief.

Here we are, right after the haircut.  I have too much hair to straighten on my own!

And here it is a few days later, curly again.

I haven't had my hair this short since before Miles was born, but I'm really enjoying it!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

We took Miles and Molly to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  Of course, their favorite things had absolutely nothing to do with tulips.

First off, whoever thought of making a scavenger hunt for children is a genius.  It really kept Miles from crossing the threshold from occasionally whiny to full-fledged meltdown.  He was delighted to win his plastic frog at the end!

Happily taking his paper around the park :)

Other favorites included the trolley ride from the parking lot.

The koi pond.

This nesting goose.

Random columns.

Playing in the dirt.

And statues.

Of course, there were also a lot of beautiful tulips.  The gardens are really gorgeous, but I think I prefer going to the gardens when it is a little quieter so that you have the extra benefit of them being peaceful AND beautiful.  Nevertheless, nothing says spring like millions of tulips!

 Family pictures are complicated with small children.  This was the best one of several.

Personal Progress v. 2.0: Integrity

I finally finished my second set of YW value projects!  (See more about my first set here)

For the second value I worked on, I decided to focus on integrity.

Flashback to 2001:

For my integrity project in high school, I made modest Halloween costumes for me and three of my friends.  We were the four elements (Earth, Air, Water, and Fire).  My mom helped with a lot of the sewing, but I designed them and did a lot of the work, too.  It was really fun!  

And now, 13 years later, here's what I did to complete the Integrity requirements.

Required Experiences

*Read some scriptures and ponder how the Lord's standards differ from the world's standards.  Record your own standards and make a plan to keep them.

I made some extra goals to turn off inappropriate songs on the radio, speak more kindly to my family, and put some books down.  They were small things, but they really made a different in the spirit present in our home and in our interactions.

* Conduct a self-assessment of your personal integrity and write a plan to improve your own integrity.

I was glad to see that I felt good about most of the topics involved.  I decided that one thing I would do is try not to exaggerate in situations, and therefore approach them with more honesty.  It really helped me to handle situations with less stress and more positivity!

*Read about examples of integrity in the scriptures, including Jesus Christ, Joseph, Esther, Job, Daniel, Paul, and Joseph Smith.  Reflect on times you have shown integrity.

I loved reading these scriptures.  It also reminded me of a time when I was at the grocery store.  It had been a long trip, but when I was unloading the groceries, I realized I didn't pay for some oatmeal.  The kids were already in their car seats, but I got them out and we went back to pay for them.  I really wanted to be honest, but also to set a good example for Miles and Molly.

Optional Experiences

*Look up the word integrity and interview a family member about integrity.

I interviewed Gerrit.

*Fast with a purpose in mind on one fast Sunday.

I was fasting for a few things: Emily's health in childbirth, and for Joel and Brooke to find a job.  These things actually did happen!

*Research issues that affect the family and make a plan to strengthen your own family.

That kind of research is something I do with the class I teach already!  It's always nice to think about ways to improve your relationships

Ten-Hour Project

Helping instructors get those good ratings :)

For this project, one of the suggestions is to keep your commitments in a leadership position.  I also have a leadership position in my job with BYU-Idaho, so I decided to focus on fulfilling that with integrity.  I made a list of all of my duties (answering instructor questions, modeling best practices, participating in discussions, attending meetings, making phone calls, etc.), and then tried to focus on how I would best fulfill them.  It was a good motivator when I didn't really want to do something, and also encouraged me to do a little bit better.