Poisonberry

David: Do we have any jam other than Grape?
Me: Yes. There's Boysenberry in the pantry.
Kirsten: How do they get the poison out?
Me: (Thinking...What? Then laughing as I understood what she meant.) It's Boysenberry with a "B" not a "P".
David: (Laughing)
Kirsten: Oh...
David: I used to think it was Poisonberry too, Kirsten.

Justin and the Titans

Justin's grandparents and a couple of his friends came over this evening for dinner (KFC) and cake and ice-cream. Justin and his posse, Merik J. and Jeremy P., hung out and played some video games. Justin is a big fan of the Titans, hence the cake.

Update: Justin returned from the campout with his Longhorn's hat still WHITE. He told me that he decided to leave it in Bro. Corcoran's truck. Thank goodness! Justin has common sense after all.

A Whole New World

A whole new world has opened up for Dave-o. He can now explore the deep recesses of the bookshelves, the cave-like surroundings under the desk or table, or scrounge the floor for any thing to put inside his mouth.
I am going to have to baby proof the outlets, kitchen cabinets, and the school room. I need to teach Dave-o how to go down the stairs. The kids are going to have to get into the habit of closing the doors to their rooms and bathrooms. The floor will need to be vacuumed and swept at least once a day. We have a lot to do, but it's all worth it. I'd forgotten just how cute it is to see a baby crawl for the first time.

Rain and Shoes

At 4:30pm Kirsten, Dave-o and I sent the boys and man off on their beach camping trip with the threat of rain looming on everyone's heads. James and Steven were praying that it wouldn't rain. They heard loud and clear their dad's proclamation, "If it is raining hard, we will go home." David I'm sure was praying that it would rain because he hates camping. Although, he was excited to be sleeping on the beach (the sound of the waves lull him to sleep).I was praying that it wouldn't rain because I was excited to have a girls night with Kirsten (and Dave-o). And after they were in bed I could finally get a chance to watch some "chick flicks". Justin didn't seem too concerned either way. He left wearing his brand new WHITE Longhorns hat. I tried to convince him not to but, boys will be boys, and what was I to do. Justin just looked at me and said, "I'll just throw it in the wash if it gets dirty." *sigh*

An hour later, Kirsten, Dave-o and I finished our dinner at McDonalds (Kirsten's choice). Kirsten's flip flops broke recently, so I suggested we go to the mall to buy her new ones. She jumped at this idea and mentioned that her friend Fiona has some cute, comfy purple boots and by the way, she got them at Sears. Is Sears at the mall, Mom? I said, yes and we were on our way. But along the way it began to rain. Heavily. Drats! This probably meant the boys were going to turn around and come home. I checked in with David and he informed me that it was raining where they were, but they hadn't decided what to do yet.

Yes! There was still hope.

Sears didn't have Kirsten's purple boots, but she quickly fell in love with some comfy, beige ones at a different shoe store. I soon noticed that these boots looked a LOT like mine. In fact, they were mine, except 6 sizes smaller. Next, we went in search for flip flops, which we found along with purple sunglasses, a purple jacket, and white leggings. I couldn't resist. It's not often that I have a girl to go shopping with. And it's even LESS often that Kirsten wants to do anything girlie with me.

When we got home, I made Kirsten a chocolate malt, put Dave-o to bed, and snuggled with Kirsten on the couch while watching the new Ice Age movie (Dawn of the Dinosaurs).

Then, in walked my boys, minus one, and my man. The rain was too much for them. They were soaked in a matter minutes and their tents were beginning to flood before they could even get them up. But the boy who claims to hate, cross that out, LOATH camping decided to stay with a couple of his leaders and friends who were just as crazy as he was. JUSTIN! I was shocked.

Nothing should surprise me anymore.

Our Solar System

This week's science lesson was on our Solar System. On Tuesday, the kids made a mobile of the Solar System that showed them the sizes of the planets to scale. I learned an interesting fact: Did you know that the four "gas giants" (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) started out only a little larger than Earth? Their gravity attracted extra gas from a huge cloud that surrounded the young Sun. This caused them to grow far bigger than the other planets.

Thursday we talked about the planets orbiting the Sun at different speeds depending on how close they are to the Sun. Did you know that Mercury, the innermost planet, travels very fast to avoid being pulled in by the Sun's gravity? And it takes Pluto, the farthest planet from the Sun, 248 Earth years to to make one orbit of the Sun.
Each flag on the board is a planet. The rings represent the orbits of the planets around the Sun. The dots are the months given for each planet to orbit the Sun. For the outer planets they made 12 closely spaced marks (not enough room to mark 1,000 dots). The kids moved each flag along one dot at a time until they traveled 12 dots. They were able to see how the planets moved.

Code Red Birthday

Justin has been counting down his 15th birthday for weeks! It finally came (to the relief of us all). He wasn't thrilled about having to attend early morning seminary, but went with the knowledge that French toast with cinnamon syrup was waiting for him at home.
Justin's seminary class remembered this special day by signing a birthday crown for him (I bet he's glad he went after all:)

I sent Justin off to school with a big bag of Skittles and birthday love. I spent the afternoon preparing for his dinner; chicken rolls, ambrosia, and corn with apple enchiladas for dessert. This has been his birthday dinner choice for many many years.

Justin walked in the door at his usual time, 2:20pm. The first words out of his mouth were, "I thought I was going to die today."

This of course got my attention. I ushered him to the couch and listened to his first and hopefully last experience of a school lock-down.

While in the library with his period 6 class, there was an announcement over the loud speaker saying, "This is Code Red. This is not a drill. I repeat...This is not a drill."

Justin's class went into a room in the library, turned off the lights, closed the blinds, and ducked down. They sat this way for about 15 minutes. During this time, Justin felt safe, but the thought did cross his mind, "Am I going to die on my birthday? That would stink." The loud speaker turned back on with a voice saying, "It's all clear. We're all safe."

I received an email from Branham High School explaining what had happened. Here is what it read:

"Today's lock-down was the result of a 911 call from a community member who observed a person on campus with what he believed was a weapon. Rapid response from both the Branham administration and San Jose Police quickly ascertained that the person observed by the community member was an instructor for the JROTC program who was transporting a color guard ceremonial mock-up rifle to his classroom. The community member took the appropriate action, and Branham followed lock-down pro to col with SJPD response and support until the situation was identified and confirmed as a non-threat..."

This will be a birthday Justin will never forget. Even though this particular situation wasn't a real threat, it makes one think and worry of the possibility of a real one happening. I am grateful that the school and teachers responded quickly and calmly. And I am grateful that my Justin is safe at home asleep in his bed right now.

Justin is modeling his birthday presents:
A Longhorn's hat (from the kids) and a Chris Johnson jersey (G&G Zinn).
He also has an Aaron Brooks Houston Rocket's jersey on its way.

Happy Birthday Justin! I love you more than you'll ever know.

Eight Months

Sometimes when I look at Dave-o I see a little boy growing up too fast.
But then, I'll peek in his crib while he's asleep and see the baby boy
that I took home from the hospital 8 months ago.

James summed up Dave-o's life the best when he said in a conversation with Steven:

James: I wish Dave-o liked us equally.
Steven: He does like us equally.
James: Come-on. We all know he loves Mom...And he thinks the rest of us are his servants.

This past month, Dave-o has learned how to sit up from a crawling position,
although he can't crawl yet.
He can throw a full fledge tantrum
(to the delight of his brothers who think it's hilarious).
He sleeps better in the day (Two-2 hour naps).
He drinks from a sippy cup.
He tries to clap his hands,but it ends up being his right hand
hitting the left hand that's rolled in a fist.

He LOVES being pushed on his wagon by one of his "servants".

Dave-o has figured out how to take off his bear hat....But not his cowboy hat.

He loves his girl "servant". Kirsten says that Dave-o thinks she's his mom too.

He prefers our food over baby food (a smart little fellow).
But who can turn down crepes with chocolate, strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream?

I love my little guy!

The Rules for a Teenage BOY Party

This past week, I was given a crash course on the do's and don'ts of birthday parties for 13 year old boys. Who was my teacher? David, of course! I was given explicit instructions to:

Not decorate with balloons (although I think this was because David has a deep hatred for them and will find any excuse to ban them from our home).
Not decorate at all.
Not make a character or themed cake.
Not plan any games.

But, I could...

Buy lots of pizza and soda.
Bake a very chocolaty cake.
Cook caramel and chocolate popcorn.
Have bowls of various candy for the taking.
And provide a good action movie (Spider Man III)

I think I did pretty well. Although, I have to admit that while I was in the party store I was VERY tempted to buy balloons. Instead, I bought some black lanterns to decorate the windows. I couldn't NOT do any decorations.

Matthew G., Blake W., Ryan H., Andre,Nathan A., James, and Matthew S

Grandma and Grandpa Zinn joined the festivities as well.

I can't believe we have 2 teenage boys now!

James' Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
James!
I love you!

It's a Food Thing

For Dave-o, it was LOVE at first sight....

Fence Post

Well...

Maybe storms aren't so fun.
David's not looking forward to fixing this.

A Stormy Day

Dave-o is glued to the window pane watching the rain fall non-stop.

Mother Nature displayed a lightening show and hail for us to enjoy.
Poor Justin was pelted by this hail while walking home from school.
We were also under a tornado warning for half an hour.

The downpour provided deep puddles to jump in.

Stormy days are FUN!

Blue Monday

This afternoon I saw an article on Drudge that caught my eye. It was titled "Feeling depressed? Welcome to Blue Monday-officially the most miserable day of the year". I laughed and had to find out why this particular day was found to be miserable. Some of the causes that the article stated were: Arctic temperatures, Christmas debt, etc. Do people actually get paid to do these studies?

After choking down the article, I thought about our day:

• The kids had a day off from school (Martin Luther Day).
• We all got to sleep in (including David and Justin because of no seminary).
• James and Justin spent the afternoon at Eric W.'s house hanging out with their friends.
• Kirsten and her friend Fiona spent hours riding bikes and digging up worms from the muddy earth. They were intent on finding a family for the solitary worms.
• Steven and I played Scrabble.
• Steven's Family Home Evening lesson was called, "Just Smile".
• Before sending the kiddos to bed, we had brownies and milk while playing a hilarious game of Sequence.

I am officially calling today, January 18, 2010, "Yellow Monday". A combination of smiles, laughter, and love has left us bright and cheerful (even though it rained for most of the day). Because of today, we are able to face tomorrow and the next day and the next.

How much do I get paid for my study?

Peek-a-Boo...Where Are You?

Dave-o is learning how to play Peek-a-Boo.
He's fascinated with the curtains.
And I am fascinated with him.
He's so adorable!

Mr. Fix-it

David made an eight year old girl very happy today. He finally fixed Kirsten's tire. Hooray! David also tried to fix Steven's remote control car. He has spent countless hours and days trying to figure out what is wrong with it. So, hopefully soon you will see pictures of an equally happy 11 year old boy.

Thank you, David, for keeping a promise to your daughter.

An Edible Castle

We have spent a couple of weeks studying the Norman invasion into England. The kids learned about William the Conqueror (from Normandy) who became king. William believed that the king owned the land that he ruled. He preceded to give his favorite knights (lords) land in exchange for money and service in the army whenever he called them. The lords then gave smaller parts of land to the serfs, or peasants, in exchange for part of everything they raised. Every person in England served someone else, and the person that they served had a duty to give them back something in exchange. This was called feudalism.

The castles that the knights (lords) lived in were originally built with wood. But after the Norman invasion and the start of feudalism, the peasants began to riot, burning down the castles. After this, castles were built out of stone.

So, for a fun project, James, Steven, and Kirsten built a castle out of Rice Crispie treats (we mixed Cocoa Pebbles in to give it a stone look). James even built a "keep" which was placed in the center. It wasn't a very sturdy castle. In fact, it collapsed right after the picture was taken. That's okay. This made it easier for the kids to eat it.

Starry Patterns

James,Steven & Kirsten applied what they learned in Science to their art project today.
I've been teaching them all about stars and constellations.
So, they picked out one or more constellations to plot on black paper.
The stars were made by flicking paint using a toothbrush.
For the constellations, they used glitter glue.
I think they are OUT OF THIS WORLD!

James designed the Big Dipper.Steven chose the Little Dipper,Cepheus,and the Milky Way.

Kirsten created Draco, the Dragon, with a comet flying overhead.

Lego Cake

Here is how I made Steven's Lego cake:
I first made an over ambitious cake that literally collapsed in front of my eyes (I've been watching too many Ace of Cakes episodes. He makes everything look so easy.)
So, I started over with Plan B (a much simpler design).
I baked a 9x13 and a 9x9 (or it might have been 8x8) cake.
Then, I frosted it in the colors Steven chose.
I used marshmallow fondant to make the Lego, uh, bumps
(I don't know what to call them) on the square cake.
The Lego Man was the easiest part.
I purchased the cake mould from a Lego store at the mall (on clearance) with the intention of using it to bake a cake in.
Then, I saw a recipe for gummi candy and had the brilliant idea of doing that in the mould instead.
Much, much easier than the cake would've been.
There's a candy store in our mall that sells candy that looks like Lego blocks.
I purchased a bag full of it and used it on the cake as well as scattering it on the table.
I threw a birthday hat on Lego Man and he became the hit of the party.
The boys loved dissecting him and fighting over the body parts. Boys!!!

Spare Time

Here is how we spent our spare time today:

Steven drew targets on the window using dry erase markers.
Then he used his new Nerf gun to see how many points he could get.

Dave-o enjoyed taking the darts off the window.

Justin played catch with his friend, Alex.

James re-read the 5th Harry Potter Book.
He and I also dusted off our running shoes to start our exercise routine together.

And Kirsten took pictures with her new camera and started her own
blog called "Picture Girl".