There is something so comforting about FIRE

I caught your attention with that title didn't I? For the last three days my family has sat around a fire every evening. This is largely due to the need to get rid of a whole bunch of twigs and branches. We have one those little fire pits so don't go imagining anything grandiose. On Friday night it was our turn for date night swap and the swappers made a fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Saturday night it was just the girls and I and no marshmallows. And tonight it was all of us and the a few friends with marshmallows and starbursts(don't knock it till you try it, YUM).
I love fire. I always have. The smell makes think of the mountains and long walks, cold nights and good books all rolled into one. I love to watch the flames dance with the slightest change of the breezes that blow. The change of colors from yellow to orange and sometimes a kind of strange blue tint out here. The warmth that fire gives is always welcome even on a warm evening. But mostly I love what fire does to people when they gather around it. You can complete strangers sitting around a fire in the evening and by the time the last embers die out you have at least one new friend and no is really strangers anymore.
I have decided that one of my favorite things as a child was to sit around and listen to my grandma's stories when we would camp. Last night I started telling my girls stories from my grandma and from my own childhood. My grandma is no longer here to tell the stories she loved so dearly so now it is my turn to pass those on to my children. The girls enjoyed it so much that they started telling stories around the fire tonight. We have a lot more branches to go through which means we have a alot more stories to tell and starbursts to roast.
I recommend to you all to sit down by a fire and tell stories.
Good night to you all. I am off to revel in my smoke smelling hair while I sleep. The sheets will all need to be cleaned tomorrow but what a way to start spring.
NINA

Teia's 7th

Today is Teia's 7th birthday. It is also a little known day- Pi day. It is the day that we celebrate the ratio for finding the circumference of a circle. How do I know this? My dad used to teach math. The day I had Teia my dad got pie for all his students. Teia got her first nickname the day she was born, pi baby. My dad has called her pi baby ever since she was born. This makes her feel very special since Mara was born on Flag day.
For our family birthday parties are only held on odd year birthdays so she had a party this year. We had her birthday party on Friday. She got to invite 7 people because that's how old she was turning. Only 3 came, which was fine for me. The theme was Easter(so easy huh?). Teia wanted to let everyone make their own pizza and watch a movie. Then we had cake and opened presents. It was all very simple but fun.
Here are a few pictures of the big event.

Randomness from Nina

I realized that for the first time in my life Family Home Evening has become a regular part of my week. To the point that when our company left after 7:30 this evening we had F.H.E. It is not always on Monday because of Nathan's schedule but we have had it every week for months now:)Pat on back!

Last night while making truffles Teia came in and asked what Nathan and I were making. Nathan replied "grenades." Teia went and told Mara and Becca that mommy and daddy were making grenades. I will never again call them truffles from now on they are grenades.

I have a purple kitchen.

My children give away free ballroom dance classes to anyone who will let them lead. They don't actually know any steps but they sure know how to dip and twirl.

I hate doing laundry to the point that my 8 and 6 year old do all the laundry.

I love going to furniture stores and open houses.My kids and husband do too.
Here are a few pictures from couch hunting this weekend.
Until next we meet
Nina

free digital ecard customized with Smilebox

Can you believe it? The girls did such a great job! I love the curls, it only took about 2 hours to curl it all!Enjoy it!

advances in children's shows

When I was little (yes I realize I am going to date myself here) Sesame street was pretty much it for educational t.v shows for young children. Now we have shows coming out our ears! I thought I would tell you my favorite and why
Backyardigans - I love the use of music and classic dance steps. It is not overly condescending which is also a huge plus.
Little Einsteins - Again I love the use of music and the good social behavior trait they try to portray.
Nihoa KaiLan - I love the exposure to a different language that isn't Spanish. It also help to reinforce good social behavior traits.
Go Diego Go - explores the world of animal life and children learn interesting life science facts. They also get exposure to Spanish.
Special agent Oso - Teaches ordinal sequencing.
My least favorites are Wow wow Wubsy, Barney, Yo Gabba Gabba, Imagination movers,& Sesame street(shocking, I know). Most of these I find very condescending and annoying.
Coming later a list of my favorite children's movies.

kids VS. frozen foods

My children are incredibly helpful:) They make my life much easier, most of the time. Lately they have been helping in putting away the groceries. Most of the time it works out quite nicely. Last Wednesday, however, it did not go nicely. Mara didn't know what to do with the hamburger. She asked me but I was indisposed at the moment she asked. I told her if it was something that goes in the bathroom to just put it by the door. She did put it by the door. Thinking that I didn't need to put away right away... Can you guess where this is going? Nathan was the one who discovered what it was.Today when they were putting away groceries Teia decided that frozen pizza and frozen stuffed rigatoni went on the shelves instead of in the freezer. So who does the match go to? The kids, of course. Luckily, today we caught the frozen food on the shelves before they defrosted.

WEEK 2 WOO HOO!

Hello all,
I made it to week two. Man, I am so impressed with myself.
Today was a very eventful day at church. I managed to get us all there only 5 min. late(N was on alert). The minute we sat down Mara started complaining about itching. Before the sacrament had finished being passed she had hives down her arms and anywhere the dress easily allowed me to see. My very sweet VT happened to be sitting in front of me and she offered to take both my primary class and my other two so they wouldn't miss primary. Off Mara and I went to break the sabbath at wal-mart(my least favorite store) to get liquid benadryl. For any of you who don't know Liquid medicine absorbs into the blood stream quicker than pills.Once we got the benadryl life was "smooth sailing." Sadly Mara is very used to this sort of thing( she is allergic to everything).
Saturday Nathan was on alert until late evening. Poor guy will have a 12 day work week.The girls and I played host to a friend of ours who is having a rough time right now. We cleaned the house and went to the library. After Nathan got home we went to Ikea. I love that store! We were a little disappointed when they were all out of the chairs we have been waiting until tax returns to get. It is a 45 min. drive without traffic:(
Friday was spent with our friend and in piano lessons. The girls and I are having our first recital next Sunday. I am playing an extremely simplified version of "Fur Elise." I am very nervous about getting up in front of people with my elementary knowledge and yet I am also eager because I have worked very hard at the piano.As long ad I can figure out how to I will post video of the recital. Friday also brought the decision to not continue homeschooling next year. I want to be able to enjoy my children;)I feel like this massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Its wonderful!
Thursday was an uneventful day
Wednesday was a trip to the chiropractor and the pharmacy and the..... errands
Tuesday the girls and I went to the LDS bookstore out here and got caught in traffic for over 2 1/2 hours. It sucked big time bad!
Monday Nathan was off so we spent time catching every one's grade books up. We discovered that Mara had not been truthful when she told us she was done with her math all last week.She got to play catch-up all week. I think she learned her lesson, though, 2 lessons per day is not much fun.
I think that sums up our week. I hope you are all well.
NINA