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!