We are so proud of our little graduate!
We love you, Braydon.....our first grader!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Hello Again!
I know! My blogging is so cyclic, but that's the only way I manage !!
Anyway, our latest:
Anyway, our latest:
- Braydon has lost his first tooth!
- We are in process of fixing our pool (pool maintenance not fun) we could have been swimming for a while now, but hubby very busy with work and I don't typically mess with the outdoor chores!
- School is going well. Braydon will be finishing up Kindergarten soon and David has to work a tad bit longer than his brother to finish up his freshman year!
- Kindergarten graduation will be on May 23rd for Braydon.
- We are getting excited, but not overly as of yet, about our upcoming cruise in November.
- Staying healthy.
- I'm doing a workout routine that is extremely intense....for me, at least! (P90x)
- Still loving my elliptical that hubby got for me....
- T-Ball is happening and Braydon loves it.
- David has read his buhzillionth book this year! :) The boy loves to read!
- Preparing for the heat (yes, this takes months of self pep talks.)
- Chris works...a lot.
- Hubby bought me a new camera! Woo Hoo! I love it!!
- We visited Queen Wilhelmina a few weekends ago and it was beautiful!
- Rain and storms.
- Last, but not least.....loving my family!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Happy Anniversary!
I love you, Christopher! I am glad that I get to be the girl that spends the rest of her life with you. Thanks for picking me! I know you love me too....you always find a way to make me feel so special. I appreciate all you do and promise to treasure you forever!
Love you to the moon and back.....Shoog!
Love you to the moon and back.....Shoog!
Monday, February 7, 2011
4-H Sharp Shooters.
Here is a picture of the boys' 4-H shooting club that they are always talking about!
Schedule Change.
My husband is working second shift this week at work. He does this every once in a while, so we are kind of familiar with it. It does; however, mess our daily routine up entirely! So, this time I am changing things up a bit for us. Instead of starting school in the morning with the kids, I am going to have them start after lunch. This way, the kiddos will be able to hang out with him until he leaves. Otherwise, they work all morning and then they don't get to see him at all in the evening! Then, when the weekend comes, it is like he has been out of town on a business trip.
I am usually one of the homeschooling moms that is pretty rigid with our schedule, but I am kind of thinking, why not?? We are still doing our school, just later in the day....and it is only for a week! I suppose I am getting soft with age...:)
Now, don't get me wrong, I still totally agree with a solid school schedule for the kids...but we are just tweaking it this week...we will be back to "normal" next week!
I am usually one of the homeschooling moms that is pretty rigid with our schedule, but I am kind of thinking, why not?? We are still doing our school, just later in the day....and it is only for a week! I suppose I am getting soft with age...:)
Now, don't get me wrong, I still totally agree with a solid school schedule for the kids...but we are just tweaking it this week...we will be back to "normal" next week!
Friday, February 4, 2011
SNOW AGAIN!!
We were under a warning for a possible one inch of snow last night and today....well, the forecasters get a gold medal once again! We are at about four inches and counting....still snowing!
Braydon was inundated with a snowball attack from me! I got him once, he fell, and I just kept on throwing snow globs at him....he was laughing so hard that he couldn't get up from the ground....good times!
It is soooo much fun to go out and play in the snow with the kids. Unfortunately, we do not have the proper attire now that we are down south, this is just so unexpected! We bundled up, as best as we could, and played for about forty minutes....then we came in to a nice warm house and hot cocoa!!
We are all still in shock that we have seen snow twice this year! What a blessing for the kids to be able to play in it again! Thank you, Lord, for days like this where it is so fun to transform myself into a kid again!
The weather is so unpredictable here.....70 degrees this past weekend....four inches of snow today???
Braydon was inundated with a snowball attack from me! I got him once, he fell, and I just kept on throwing snow globs at him....he was laughing so hard that he couldn't get up from the ground....good times!
It is soooo much fun to go out and play in the snow with the kids. Unfortunately, we do not have the proper attire now that we are down south, this is just so unexpected! We bundled up, as best as we could, and played for about forty minutes....then we came in to a nice warm house and hot cocoa!!
We are all still in shock that we have seen snow twice this year! What a blessing for the kids to be able to play in it again! Thank you, Lord, for days like this where it is so fun to transform myself into a kid again!
The weather is so unpredictable here.....70 degrees this past weekend....four inches of snow today???
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Goings On.
I have just a moment to write a few things that have been going on:
We are all well now and just waiting to see what adventures God has in store for the Smiths in February!
- New life groups at church....fun! Chris is doing Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey and I am in a Mom's group. David is in powerhouse and Braydon does JBQ.
- COLD weather for this area! Today's high is 30 degrees!
- Braydon's birthday numero six is coming up in a few weeks...and we are going with the "camouflage" theme!
- David is raising money to go on a church youth trip to Florida!
- Chris is working really long hours and we miss him bunches!
- Planning on taking a trip to Indy soon....
- Braydon has a JBQ meet this Friday night and he is going to try for another quiz out.
- School, of course.
- I, personally, am trying to lose the weight that I gained on the cruise and over the holidays! I am using my elliptical that my wonderful hubby bought for me :) It is going well...and I am almost there!
We are all well now and just waiting to see what adventures God has in store for the Smiths in February!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Only In The South!
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| No window scrapers needed when there is cardboard around! |
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| Gassin' Up! |
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| This is an Arkansas snow plow....HAHA! |
Snow + Braydon = Happy!
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| When it started to snow...I just let him stand in it....we did not know we would get as much as we did! |
Let It Snow!
It happened! We actually had snow...and a good amount of it. At our house, I think there was around 6-7 inches of accumulation. It was wonderful! We went outside and Braydon was able to play in the snow for the first time ever! He probably shouldn't have went out because he really wasn't completely rehabilitated from the flu yet, but this opportunity doesn't come along very often, so I used my "fun" judgement indicator rather than my "mommy" indicator....and we PLAYED!! Chris pulled down our sleds from the attic and the kids had a blast...good times.
But, as I predicted...the town did shut down, and Chris didn't have work on Monday...so we let the kids skip out that day too! The locals got out an extra day (not sure why, roads were totally clear), but our kiddos were hitting the books again on Tuesday. Anyway, we needed to get new tires on the truck, so we drove to Kana and delved out the cash (SO NOT fun) for big ol' tires for the beast of a truck that we have! It was so pretty driving through the country seeing all of the snow covered farms/trees....I miss that! We had a great family day....and we were able to share it with our good friend, Steven!
Who knows how long we will be in this town.....maybe forever, but thank you, Lord, for letting the kiddos experience the snow...at least this once!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
ALERT!!
There has been a winter weather advisory for our area starting tomorrow morning! It is possible that we may accumulate 4, count them, 4 inches of snow!! What shall we do?? It is a blizzard in the making!! AHHH!
Ok, so you have sensed my sarcasm! I hope we do get the weather, but grocery shopping is usually a chaotic event when this sort of weather is coming. Of course, it would be time for me to go! Wal-Mart will be out of water, milk, bread, and the canned goods aisle will be close to bare, but I will push and shove with the best of them.
The city will no doubtedly shut down and turn into a ghost town....except for us hoosiers, we will be out checking things out...and maybe getting out our sleds (coated with cobwebs, I'm sure, located in the attic)for some playtime! I wonder if kiddos down here have ever seen sleds ?
This should be exciting.....
Ok, so you have sensed my sarcasm! I hope we do get the weather, but grocery shopping is usually a chaotic event when this sort of weather is coming. Of course, it would be time for me to go! Wal-Mart will be out of water, milk, bread, and the canned goods aisle will be close to bare, but I will push and shove with the best of them.
The city will no doubtedly shut down and turn into a ghost town....except for us hoosiers, we will be out checking things out...and maybe getting out our sleds (coated with cobwebs, I'm sure, located in the attic)for some playtime! I wonder if kiddos down here have ever seen sleds ?
This should be exciting.....
Friday, January 7, 2011
The "Ick".
Poor Braydon has been struck again with the "ick"! He has had quite unfortunate luck with sickness the past few months....but we are praying the plague will soon be over! :)
David is trying to stay clear of him because he is going to Alabama with our church next weekend to the Youth Ramp...he is very excited about going, so we are praying that the germs do not spread his way!
Braydon will be missing his JBQ (junior bible quiz) meet tonight and is quite upset about that, but like we are telling him, there is always another meet! He has been practicing so hard on his questions/answers....he is even able to do the interruptions for the ten point questions! We just keep telling him how proud we are and it seems to be helping him cope with missing the meet and his friends tonight. Well, that, and we told him we could watch a movie of his choice tonight! A little bribery never hurts...:), haha.
Oh and our fish, a midas cichlid, really does have what is termed, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, or in short, "Ick". This is a parasite that attacks a fish and is better known as white spot disease! He is getting better, though, as my wonderful hubby is nursing him back to good health. He is on our prayer list as well, per Braydon's request!
The turtle, dog, cat, and parental figures are still well and trying to get the rest of the household back to "norm"....or at least what we call normal !
David is trying to stay clear of him because he is going to Alabama with our church next weekend to the Youth Ramp...he is very excited about going, so we are praying that the germs do not spread his way!
Braydon will be missing his JBQ (junior bible quiz) meet tonight and is quite upset about that, but like we are telling him, there is always another meet! He has been practicing so hard on his questions/answers....he is even able to do the interruptions for the ten point questions! We just keep telling him how proud we are and it seems to be helping him cope with missing the meet and his friends tonight. Well, that, and we told him we could watch a movie of his choice tonight! A little bribery never hurts...:), haha.
Oh and our fish, a midas cichlid, really does have what is termed, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, or in short, "Ick". This is a parasite that attacks a fish and is better known as white spot disease! He is getting better, though, as my wonderful hubby is nursing him back to good health. He is on our prayer list as well, per Braydon's request!
The turtle, dog, cat, and parental figures are still well and trying to get the rest of the household back to "norm"....or at least what we call normal !
Our Engineering Competition!
One of the families in our homeschool group has devised a toothpick bridge building competition! This sounds really fun and we cannot wait to participate....David will start constructing this weekend! Here are our guidelines:
This will be a fun and exciting project provided you, the participant review these rules closely and keep in mind this is a competition of you using your entire mind. Skills used are; thought, reasoning, hand to eye coordination and interpolation.
TOOTHPICK BRIDGE BUILDING:
Each bridge must satisfy the following requirements:
R 1. Each student will submit one toothpick bridge for testing.
R 2. The bridge will be constructed only from
a. Diamond or Forster flat, round, or square tooth picks approximately 6.5 cm in length from a box labeled accordingly: Flat, Round, or Square Toothpicks;
b. Elmer'sTM woodworkers glue.
R 3. Toothpicks may not be broken.
a. Imperfect toothpicks may be traded in for new ones.
R 4. The mass of the bridge shall not exceed 35 grams.
R 5. While resting on a table the bridge shall allow for a 5 cm x 5 cm x 30 cm board to pass under the bridge parallel to the length of the bridge, and with the movement of the board perpendicular to the roadway along the table top.
R 6. The roadway of the bridge shall be a minimum of 4 cm wide along the maximum length of the bridge and at a height from the table top of not more than 10 cm. The roadway shall consist of at least a rail along each side, which is continuous along the maximum length of the bridge. It need not have a travelable surface. When a 3.5-cm wide by 50-cm long 1.9 cm board is laid along the roadway, there shall not be more than a 1.0-cm vertical gap between the board and roadway on either end.
R 7. The bridge shall allow for a test rod of 2 cm x 4 cm x 15 cm to be placed across the bridge at the roadway level and with both bottom 15 cm edges within 3 cm horizontally of the center of the 30 cm span roadway. A 5/16 thread eye bolt, 7.62 cm long will be placed in the center to pull downward.
R 8. The maximum bridge height shall be 22 cm.
R 9. The bridge must be "free standing".
R 10. Specified tooth picks and glue are the only materials to be used.
R 11. No discoloration of the bridge will be allowed.
a. No paint, stain, markers, etc.
b. Other decorations may be used, but must be able to readily remove the decoration(s) so the judge may review the bridge.
The Competition –
The bridges will be tested as follows:
C 1. The bridge shall be placed on a testing stand, which will consist of two flat level surfaces, which will be level with respect to each other and separated by approximately 25 cm.
C 2. The testing apparatus will be placed on the bridge with the test rod placed on the roadway as specified above. (Maximum bridge height is 22 cm.)
C 3. Force will be applied slowly by the student adding weight to a bucket while the judge calls the scale reading until the bridge breaks or the maximum weight is reached. The bucket will be weighed.
C 4. The bridge must be free standing or it will be broken on its side.
C 5. All bridges will be broken.
C 6. The bridge that is able to hold the most weight before breaking wins the contest.
Will let you know how we do......
This will be a fun and exciting project provided you, the participant review these rules closely and keep in mind this is a competition of you using your entire mind. Skills used are; thought, reasoning, hand to eye coordination and interpolation.
TOOTHPICK BRIDGE BUILDING:
Each bridge must satisfy the following requirements:
R 1. Each student will submit one toothpick bridge for testing.
R 2. The bridge will be constructed only from
a. Diamond or Forster flat, round, or square tooth picks approximately 6.5 cm in length from a box labeled accordingly: Flat, Round, or Square Toothpicks;
b. Elmer'sTM woodworkers glue.
R 3. Toothpicks may not be broken.
a. Imperfect toothpicks may be traded in for new ones.
R 4. The mass of the bridge shall not exceed 35 grams.
R 5. While resting on a table the bridge shall allow for a 5 cm x 5 cm x 30 cm board to pass under the bridge parallel to the length of the bridge, and with the movement of the board perpendicular to the roadway along the table top.
R 6. The roadway of the bridge shall be a minimum of 4 cm wide along the maximum length of the bridge and at a height from the table top of not more than 10 cm. The roadway shall consist of at least a rail along each side, which is continuous along the maximum length of the bridge. It need not have a travelable surface. When a 3.5-cm wide by 50-cm long 1.9 cm board is laid along the roadway, there shall not be more than a 1.0-cm vertical gap between the board and roadway on either end.
R 7. The bridge shall allow for a test rod of 2 cm x 4 cm x 15 cm to be placed across the bridge at the roadway level and with both bottom 15 cm edges within 3 cm horizontally of the center of the 30 cm span roadway. A 5/16 thread eye bolt, 7.62 cm long will be placed in the center to pull downward.
R 8. The maximum bridge height shall be 22 cm.
R 9. The bridge must be "free standing".
R 10. Specified tooth picks and glue are the only materials to be used.
R 11. No discoloration of the bridge will be allowed.
a. No paint, stain, markers, etc.
b. Other decorations may be used, but must be able to readily remove the decoration(s) so the judge may review the bridge.
The Competition –
The bridges will be tested as follows:
C 1. The bridge shall be placed on a testing stand, which will consist of two flat level surfaces, which will be level with respect to each other and separated by approximately 25 cm.
C 2. The testing apparatus will be placed on the bridge with the test rod placed on the roadway as specified above. (Maximum bridge height is 22 cm.)
C 3. Force will be applied slowly by the student adding weight to a bucket while the judge calls the scale reading until the bridge breaks or the maximum weight is reached. The bucket will be weighed.
C 4. The bridge must be free standing or it will be broken on its side.
C 5. All bridges will be broken.
C 6. The bridge that is able to hold the most weight before breaking wins the contest.
Will let you know how we do......
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