What do you do with your Duplo?

Saw this idea on the Filth Wizard blog and loved it so I commandeered all the Duplo blocks and started writing. It worked okay but was a little wonky. Later on I got a label maker and went to town putting words on all the Duplos. Still have a few Duplos left and am on the hunt for some more. I'm thinking this will help build reading skills with the four year old and the six year old. We've had a lot of fun coming up with silly sentences and adding words to the collection. What's your favorite word?

March Madness-Brackets

My latest addiction is learning to quilt. Along with learning to quilt, you look at lots and lots of beautiful fabrics. If only my budget would accomodate all the lovely fabrics I would like to own. As a genealogy enthusiast, I've often used family tree charts to show the descendant or ancestry of a family. I find this chart very similar. If you would like to play along, check out the fabrics for round one and print your chart at http://www.fatquarterly.com/march-modern-fabric-madness-is-here.html. This will be a great way to see some of the top fabrics for the year. Have fun.

Learning about Seeds

My sweet six-year-old had a project in school to see how a seed develops. We "planted" some seeds in plastic bags with some wet paper towels then recorded how they grew and developed over a ten day time period. He was amazed at how quickly the roots developed then the stems and leaves. His measuring skills may not have been exactly accurate but the rapid growth and development certainly made an impression. He was pleased with the test and has planted a few seeds in our little garden outside.

Tiger Cubs visit the Porterville Recorder

The Tiger Cub Scouts visited the Porterville Recorder for their final requirement for their Tiger badge. Mr. Rick Elkins, editor, provided an excellent tour showing the boys how technology is the way the newspaper is created each and every day. He showed us the various centers where the news is written, the front page is created, classified ads are collected, advertising is purchased and how the newspaper is developed. In Porterville, the newspaper is created online then sent to Visalia for printing then returned to Porterville in the wee hours of the morning for distribution. All papers are delivered by adults these days so there are no longer any newsboys making deliveries. The printing press in Porterville no longer operates. It was originally purchased in the 70's and the cost of upgrading it was more than having the printing done in the neighboring town. Mr. Elkin's also showed us a paper from 1926. It's rather amazing to see how the newspaper has changed since then. Yea for Tiger Cubs completing their final requirement.

New Plants!

I'm so excited. We have some new plants in the backyard. In our last two houses, we had beautiful Japanese magnolia trees which bloom right around Morgan's birthday. When we had this house built, we failed to get another tree so FINALLY I bought one and the kiddos planted it for me. I love it.
The other tree was purchased is a hybrid that Morgan really wanted. It's a combo of a peach, apricot and plum. Hopefully, we'll have fruit in a year or two but it's just a baby for now. James was outside without his shirt so Thomas decided to forego his shirt as well. Notice the muscles on the four-year-old. He's growing fast.

I am so looking forward to having these trees thrive in the backyard. The blooms on the Japanese Magnolia are incredible and even more stunning in real life. Next year it should put on even more of a show. Now for the rest of the yard work. Obviously, I have quite a bit more to do as we get the yard in shape for spring and summer activities.

Knitting

So, I recently started taking a knitting class. We meet a couple times a month at the local quilt shop. It's been so much fun that I can't wait to get started on the next project. The first completed item was this quick and easy "showstopper scarf". It is knit with a turquoise yarn with little bits of shiny silver throughout. Neat little pattern, knit two rows, then knit a row with YO, then knit back releasing the YO. It's so fun, fast and I think it came out great.

The other project took me a little bit longer but it's a really sweet baby sweater. I did this one in a newborn size and when I looked at the finished project, I laughed. None of my babies would have ever fit into something this small. Perhaps the 10-11 lb birth weight had something to do without that. However, the little sweater and hat are super cute. I'll stash them away for a gift when someone has a little baby.

Overall, I'm delighted to be learning some new skills. Each project pushes me just a little bit to try something new, a new stitch, a new combination, a new yarn type. Now, I'm working on my first pair of socks. Not sure how they will come out but I'm really looking forward to having a nice, comfortable pair of socks to wear.

Happy Knitting!

Family Photo

Finally, we have a family photo! The group gathered up for Thanksgiving and we spent a long day taking photographs compliments of our friend, Sara Risvold. She did a great job and worked tirelessly with lots of different personalities and poses. I'm delighted with the results!