I'm about to be famous!

Had SOOOO much fun filming this...

Check it out! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0VV9G9KXXs&feature=youtu.be

Our Earthquake Drill

So, today is the Great Utah Shake-Out. All over the state there are earthquake drills happening. I decided to have one here at home with the kids.

At 10:00 am I turned on an air raid siren that I found on Youtube... REALLY LOUDLY. Then I grabbed Tessa and ran upstairs, yelling, "We're about to have an earthquake - get under the table in your room and hold on!" Sorry to say I freaked Tessa out a little bit and she started screaming and crying. I shushed her and said, "It's ok, you don't need to freak out. We'll be ok." The kids scrambled under the tables and Elise kept saying, "Mom, where is that sound coming from?" I just said, "Just stay under the table and hold on!" I stood in the doorjamb of my room with Tessa until the siren was done.

Then I said, "The earthquake is over. Our house is destroyed. Everyone grab your 72 hours kits and go downstairs."

We went through all of our 72 hour kits and replaced the clothing. We haven't done that for a year, so I'm glad that we did it. Most of the kids' clothes were too small by now. Tessa had diapers in her kit. We need to replace the food as well.

Here is a picture of what food I'm putting in the kit - as well as three water bottles per person.

72 hr kit list:

Food

1 napkin

2 tuna salad w/ crackers

1 15 oz can mandarin oranges

2 fruit snacks

1 pkg mini cookies

2 snack pack puddings

1 motts applesauce

1 beef jerky

2 juice boxes

1 pkg trail mix

1 pkg peanut butter crackers

1 pkg cheese crackers

2 granola bars

1 pkg cheese and crackers

4 hard candies

3 water bottles

All of this should fit in a one gallon size ziplock bag... Except the water bottles, of course. You might want to put those in separate ziplock bags so they don't leak all over your other things.

Clothing

1 long-sleeve shirt

1 pair of pants

1 pair of socks

1 pair of shoes

1 pair of gloves

1 winter hat (nighttime is cold, even in summer!)

2 pairs of underwear

1 lightweight jacket

Also put these in gallon ziplock bags to keep them clean and compact.

Miscellaneous

1 comfort object (for children)

1 bag hard candies

1 flashlight

1 small first aid kit

1 bottle shampoo and conditioner (I use the samples that I've collected from hotel rooms)

1 small bar of soap (from hotel rooms)

1 emergency blanket (the silver tinfoil ones)

1 rain poncho

1 roll of toilet paper

1 small package of wet wipes

1 Book of Mormon (in a ziplock so it doesn't get damaged)

How about you - did you participate in the drill today? Are you prepared for a disaster??

Halfway

Today I was searching for my journal (which I haven't written in in far too long) and I found a notebook wherein I had written goals for the school year, back in September. As I read through it, I realized that I have neglected a lot of things. Of course, I can give myself the excuse of moving into a new house and all that came with that... But, it's time to get back on track.

So then I went through all the goals with each child and talked to them about how we're going to keep track of what they should be doing each day. I know that I want to inspire them to have a desire to learn and study and gain knowledge. And in order to do that, I need to make sure they're taking steps to learn and study and gain knowledge.

We've been doing pretty well with having a devotional each morning, and I'm proud about that. We neglect to do them on the weekends, though, so that's something we can work on.

Other things we're focusing on doing every day:

Testimony: Each child reads one page from the Book of Mormon on their own.

Kaleb and Elise read one page each from the book We Believe.

Kaleb and Elise also both have a planner that they have to write their daily goals in. This way they don't get to tell me "I forgot" to do such and such...

Reading: Each child reads for 30 minutes on their own. We are focusing on either books about American History, or books from the child's topic of choice. But, it's a focused reading, not recreational.

Math: Each child has a specific math requirement each day.

Music: Each child must practice an instrument each day. Girls = violin, Boys = piano. Also, they have to work on note reading flash cards.

Journal: Each child must write a paragraph in their journal each day. Some days I give them a specific topic. Macy and Isaak also have a handwriting exercise to do each day.

We also have topics that we work on once or twice a week. These include:

Life Skills: Typing exercises, Setting goals, Cooking with Mom

Language Arts: grammar, spelling, writing

US History: We're going to learn about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to begin with

US Geography: Songs about the states and their capitals, map work

Art: K12 has a great art curriculum that we're using

Science: Whatever books I find at the library

Health: Human body, how it works, how to stay healthy

We also need to get back in the habit of our evening chore charts. The kids have been pretty good about helping and doing chores when I ask them to, but I don't want to have to ask every time. They need to learn that the house needs to be kept clean and tidy and we all need to do our part to help.

So, that's what we're up to. Lots of things to work on! The hardest thing is to not get burned out. I just need to remember to take it one day at a time and I like President Monson's quote: "Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, 'I'll try again tomorrow.'"

Isaak and Macy's baptism photo shoot

I'll post pics from the actual baptism soon, but I had to post these right away - they're so beautiful! :) Enjoy.

Thank you, Holly's Hobby's Photography!

"Before" Photos...

We're closing on our new house today! Here is what it looks like, before we go and paint it and move everything in. :D

Looking at the corner of the living room where I will be teaching lessons. (Standing in the kitchen.)

Family room, right next to the kitchen. That color on the walls has got to go.

View from Master bedroom into *dun dun dun* ... a MASTER BATHROOM! (we've never had one of those!)

View of Master bedroom from the Master bathroom

Girls bedroom

Master bathroom mirror :D

Kids bathroom

Yes - that wall is ORANGE. And the ceiling is YELLOW. I'm going to paint the other walls each a different color. This will be the toy room.

Boys bedroom - I'll be repainting this. It's too dark, even with the windows open - three walls are blue and one is green...

Downstairs bathroom... yay for three toilets!

Laundry/mud room - in between kitchen and garage

Kitchen - I like the green color, but they didn't remove any of the outlet covers, so it looks bad, and I don't think I'm going to be able to match that color exactly! :(

More cupboards in the kitchen

Kaleb's Baptism

July 30th, 2011

Kaleb was baptized! It was a wonderful experience. We're so grateful that Gma and Gpa Pemberton were able to travel here for it, and for all the family that attended. Kaleb has been working on overcoming his fear of the water for a long time, and we're so pleased with his decision to be baptized. There were two previous times that Kaleb attempted to be baptized and just couldn't overcome his inhibitions. So, it was a huge blessing for him to be able to do this.

We're also grateful for all the missionaries that have come to teach Kaleb about getting baptized and helping him to recognize Heavenly Father's love for him. Elder Peterson (on the right) was there for Kaleb for a few months before his baptism. His companion (we can't remember his name) had just gotten transferred, so we don't know the name of the Elder on the left.

Gma Pemberton gave a great talk about baptism. She spoke about when she became a convert to the church. Then Robert, Kaleb, the missionaries and Bishop Nelson went to the font. Kaleb didn't want everyone there to watch him get baptized, so we all waited. After about 45 minutes, Kaleb still had not returned, so I went to check on him. He was still too afraid to get in the water. Robert and David and I talked to Kaleb for a few minutes. I asked Kaleb if he wanted me to get in the water with him and Robert, and he said yes. So I went to change my clothes.

By the time I was ready, Kaleb and Robert were in the font, waiting. Robert and I spent another 15 minutes or so talking to him about his decision and that we would not force him to be baptized. We told him that we would both lift him up out of the water immediately, and we would not let him drown. He was finally ready to trust us. He placed his hands on Robert's arm, Robert quickly said the prayer, and immersed Kaleb in the water. We immediately pulled him up, he looked at us, and started crying, with a big smile on his face. A group hug ensued, as we spoke to Kaleb about the love that we all felt from the Spirit of the Lord at that moment. Kaleb couldn't stop smiling, and neither could we.

Later on we found out that during the 15 minutes we were in the water with Kaleb, Robert's brother David had requested that the family waiting in the other room pray with him. He offered a beautiful, humble prayer on Kaleb's behalf - that Kaleb would be strong enough to overcome his fears. Many special things came to pass to allow Kaleb this wonderful opportunity, and we are so grateful that he made the decision to follow our Savior Jesus Christ's example and be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Gpa Pemberton gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost after Kaleb came back in the room. Kaleb was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost the next day during Sacrament Meeting.

All the family in attendance (that we could round up. I think Macy, Rachel, and Mackenzie were running around somewhere.)

Kaleb with his buddy Chris Anderson, who also attended with his family.

Suzuki Institute 2011

For those of you interested in seeing pictures of the girls at Suzuki Institute (violin camp) this summer, check out this link.