Braces!

When the government said they would send money I started thinking what I should use it for. I ended up doing a bunch of things for the boys plus put most in the savings accounts I opened for the boys. Then, I decided I needed to do something for myself. 

When I look at myself in the mirror everyday I notice my teeth shifting and sliding around. It has bothered me for a few years and I finally decided it was time to do something about it. I shopped around and in the end went back to the same Orthodontist that did my first round of braces. 

The instant I walked into the office I felt right at home. It was in that office where I came as a newly wed and left with a 2 month old baby. So many, many memories. The doctor was also so kind and caring. He actually took the time to look in my mouth three times during my consultation. He then gave me a discount just because and then I got another discount for paying in full. It was still expensive.....but, it will be worth it. He also said the next retainer will be better and gripping my teeth into place. 

I've almost had them a week. It's been a huge adjustment. It hurts.....and it's horrible to eat food. The boys are always teasing me about all the food that gets stuck. My one saving grace is that they are only partial braces.....just 8 teeth on the top. With any luck I will be done in 9 months. My next appointment is in June. That's awesome because at that time I'll just have 7 months left. WAHOO!

 

Picnic with Uncle Alex

This past Saturday we spent time with Uncle Alex. It has been a few months since I've been down there and so it was super nice to go down for a visit. The boys were so excited to stop by the nearby store and get food to eat for our picnic. 

Luke was so happy to get Doritos, Lemonade (pink), and Hershey kisses. Peter just wanted a sandwich - 2, in fact. He first wanted to pick one up at Subway, but he changed his mind and just got one at Payson Market.

It seems so crazy that's it's been such a long time since Alex's accident. Eight years this year. Wow!

Here is a trip down memory lane.....

                                                                            2020

2019

                                                                                2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Cookie and presents

Peter and Luke had the chance to spend the afternoon with Brandon today since it was his birthday. Peter decided to make chocolate chip cookies for him. Also, no present from Peter would be complete without a little duct tape. LOL. 

 

Trampoline

With the stimulus money we got a while ago I decided to buy the boys a tramp. Brandon was awesome and bought it for us with his Sam's Club card. When it finally arrived we got all together and put it together. It was an adventure to get it up, but we have enjoyed it so much since. Luke has especially loved it. He is on it every day. It's been so good. 

Keep it simple

Last month one of our little friends touched this and the wood part fell off. No big deal, I thought.

Anyway....lots of weeks later and after lots of money spent I finally fixed it using hot gun. Seriously, why didn't I think of a glue gun weeks ago.

Faces

Peter drew these faces in school today. I thought they were so funny.

Random things with pictures

In China, it's a common thing to have noodles and eggs for breakfast. I'm not sure if they eat the egg scrambled, like this, or hard boiled. Regardless, I tried it last week and I'm in love. It is so delicious! The noodles are just so satisfying that early in the morning and the eggs are so healthy. The Chinese also eat tomatoes with this meal which I will do once I have some tomatoes from our garden.

Peter wanted to make a light saber for this tinker project in March. He did a great job with it. All I had to do was buy the duct tape. He has quite the skills. He also used the left over duct tape to create three masks (two for himself and one for Luke). He really does love to create things with duct tape. 

I recently found a really yummy recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies. The one thing that makes it even better is that the boys will both eat these cookies (a rare event for them to both like something). Peter decided he wanted to try making these cookies by himself one afternoon. He thought he would double the recipe so we could have tons.....but he neglected to read the recipe carefully and instead of 2/3 teaspoon baking soda he put in 2/3 cup of baking soda. Thankfully, he did read the part about mixing the wet ingredients separately. So, all was not lost. A valuable lesson learned on the importance of reading carefully.  I love that Peter is getting into cooking. 

Luke recently learned about volcanoes in science. We got a kit at Christmas time from a kind neighbor and we were able to build our own volcano. The worst part was waiting for it to dry. I love it because we can, and will, use it over and over again. We had a wonderful time making it explode. It was even awesome watching it bubble once the major explosion was over.  

The kit also came with pumice and a geode which we broke open. It was fun to teach Luke (once again) about geodes and how they are created. 

In our geography box this month we learned about the country of Kenya. Peter was super thrilled about it because he had recently watched the Black Panther Movie (Wakanda Forever) which takes place in Africa. He happily sat for an hour and made this cool bracelet. Each color has a different meaning. For example: 

Red - Strength and Bravery

Yellow - Hospitality and Kindness

Green - Healthy and Energy

Purple - Grit and Determination

Blue - Wealth and Good Luck

The kit also had a pair of binoculars that you could make along with these cute paper animals. Peter had a great time putting them together too. Luke isn't into making things with his hands. He mostly enjoys rocking out to music. I'm thinking about having him do a song writing class next school year. I think he would enjoy it. 

Lastly, the Provo City Library had an art exhibit that looked delightful. Funny enough, it was my cousin in Idaho who recommended we go. So, the boys and I went and enjoyed it. It wasn't too long which was good for the kids. I could have stayed there for a long longer. It was all about the happy dreams of a young girl. Fairies and lanterns and mystical magical things under the sea. This was Luke's favorite picture. 

Peter just really enjoyed watching the movie on how all the pictures were made (I'm sensing a common theme with that boy). 

The artist Adrien Bloom is pretty amazing. I went to his website and found it to be equally amazing. Some people are so talented.

Teaching highlights of the week

 

This adorable student Anilya drew a picture of me. I am astounded - especially because she was so engaged in the class and I never saw her doing to the actual drawing. 

Student Steven told me an amazing story all about a crocodile and the bird that flew into his mouth to clean his teeth.

I got to see a pet silkworm!

It was a fun week and I really enjoyed my classes each morning. But, I am really looking forward to my first class being at 3:45am instead of 2:45am which stars on Monday.

Candy - the 6 year old

 I just finished a 1v1 class teaching Candy. She was only six years old and she was in a Level 5 class. It is one of my most favorite classes because we are learning about how to plant flowers. Candy was a delight - she spent most of the class drawing me pictures as we were learning together.

We started with a pink watering can.....

Then, she got more excited and added more color to her watering can and a flower pot full of flowers.....

Then, we learned about a flower shovel (that's what they call it in this class), so she drew one. Notice that it is pink too.....

At the end of class all she wanted was pink roses.....it was such an adorable class. 

Hiking the P

For our Friday adventure this week we went to Payson and hiked the P on the hillside. Growing up down there I was always aware of it being on the mountain. I just never thought it was worth climbing up to. Fast forward a few decades and now I'm purposely climbing mountains with my boys. 

I figured winter climbing is actually probably better than climbing in the hot summer months. Today this theory proved true. Yes, we did run into a bit of mud, but I much preferred that over the blistering hot sun. 

On this adventure we brought along our homeschool friend, Talmadge. It works out great because Peter and Talmadge can go fast while Luke and I can take it slow.  

Finding the trail was a bit of a challenge. Thankfully Google maps knew right where it was. You take the road heading up to Payson canyon. Then, you watch for a dirt road right next to a house. Seriously, I thought it was the road leading up to someone's farm pasture. So I had to do a u-turn and come back.

The road was a little rough and I was nervous driving down it. It's a one way road so I was super glad we were the only ones there. I felt much better once we got to the large muddy parking area. Then, I was sure we were in the right place. The trail was easy to follow from there.

The beginning of the trail started out easy. At one point you have to climb a bit of a steep part to get to the actual mountain. Luke was very nervous about it, but he did it. It was so cute to see Talmadge come back down to help Luke up it.  Talmadge is an experienced hiker which really helped to motivate my boys. 

When we got closer to the P the boys could see a trail running up the side of it. It looked steep and slippery. It was - they love it! The thrill of the challenge was great for them. Luke and I took the easier/flat route. It was perfect for us. We stopped for lots of rests and drinks of water.  Luke seemed to be more comfortable with this hike (until we started coming down). I think (and hope) his confidence is getting stronger. 

I have been purposely choosing hikes the boys will continue to see throughout their lives so they can realize and remember that they did a hard thing by going and climbing it. 

 We hiked around for about 90 minutes. We all felt a little bit sore as we climbed back into the car. It was well worth the effort and we will be going again. I think taking a picnic next time would be awesome. There are so many flat places to put down a blanket and food. The view from up there is also pretty spectacular (can you spot the temple).