Second Track and Field Meet of the Season

Benjamin is preparing for his race very soon.  One of his coach's came up to him and bumped fists together.

Benjamin was going to

Two Little, One Little, No Little Fishy

These two little fish that Emma and Justin earned at the Jefferson Family Fun Fair on April 20th, have gone to a better life.

Although I didn't want the fish to begin with and sort of hoped they wouldn't last long, I didn't really expect them to die within 1 1/2 weeks of receiving them.

I'm not sure if they were overfed (which is more likely), underfed (a few times Justin and Emma may have forgotten to feed them), the bowl (actually a large vase) ended up too dirty, or some other reason.  Justin's fish actually died on Monday and Emma's fish was gone tonight.  I figured it was best to show a picture of them in their bowl alive instead.

Justin's fish is smaller than Emma's.  So long Nemo, so long "Daph-fin-e."  You will be missed by Justin and Emma.

I Love My Squash

Cameron has been eating cereals for a while and his yellow veggies, too.  Here he is eating up some yummy squash.

He does have a highchair, but it is still in the garage and hasn't been cleaned off yet from when it was stored.  Once that happens, then he can sit in it.  Until then, he gets laid in the bouncer for his mealtime.

Cameron seems to be a pretty good eater so far, so hopefully it will continue.  It sure is nice when they eat well for you!

English and Science Research Paper

Although Benjamin has a smile on his happy face, he normally wouldn't be smiling while working on homework.   Write more later.

Band-O-Rama Performance

Anna, Justin, Cameron, and I were off to Justice, IL where Anna and the rest of the FYB (First Year Band) was scheduled to perform and compete.

Although it was a Saturday and Anna would have a soccer game, we decided to have her participate in the optional band performance and show up late to her game.  I feel that any opportunity to have her practice and play music is well worth it.  As it was, we showed up just before half-time, so she played the 3rd and 4th quarter.  Her team won.

The songs the band played were Jasmine Flower (Chinese Folk Song) arranged by Wagner, Yankee Spirit March by John O'Reilly, and When the Saints Go Marching In (Traditional) arranged by Higgins.  The clinician that heard the group perform was Mr. James Baum.  He and another clinician listened to groups perform starting at 7:15am until 2:30pm.

The reason why only a few of family members attended the performance was because our ward had the Building Deep Clean.  Our ward is scheduled to keep the building clean for the 1st four months of the year.  Our bishopric wants us to pass the building off to another ward with it being thoroughly clean.  So, once a year, our ward does a deep clean of the building.  Many of the ward members and families come and the building is divided into sections for cleaning.  It starts around 9:00am and lunch is provided around 11:00am or so.

The bishopric grills hamburgers and hot dogs.  Usually the people eat outdoors in the parking lot so the clean building does not get dirty again so quickly, but unfortunately the weather was cold and windy this year, so we had to eat indoors.  Great times were had by everyone and delicious lunches gobbled up.  It filled up Benjamin and Emma before their soccer games starting at 11:00am.  It was nice.

Girl Scout Spaghetti & Meatballs Dinner

What a fun night for Anna to attend her Girl Scout Spaghetti & Meatball Dinner.  The best part about it was that she and the other girl scouts made the meatballs.

They were wanting to earn a Cooking Patch, so they planned to make spaghetti & meatballs for their activity.  The meatballs were homemade, but I guess the sauce came from a jar.  Along with it, they prepared garlic bread, salad, and a dessert.

Her leaders planned a wonderful night for the girls.  Everyone had a blast.  Anna even came home with leftovers (actually extra food) in a leftover container like a restaurant would have.  It was a circular metal container with a lid.  I thought that was a nice touch.  This way, others at home could try it out, too.

This was going to be Anna's last girl scout activity for the school year, but I guess they will be doing one more in May.  I already collected money from the other parents and gave the three leaders their thank you gifts for continuing to volunteer their time.  They received gift cards to two different restaurants.  Hope they will enjoy them!

Along Comes Mr. Alligator

My little alligator, Cameron, is getting more and more ready to move.  In this picture even though it looks like he is ready to go swimming in the water, he won't be swimming for a while.

As he spends more time on the floor and on his tummy, he is getting better at attempting to be on his knees.  He seemed to do more of that today.  I think it might be because he is in an outfit with shorts instead of pants or a footed sleeper.

Cameron has leaked a few times today and yesterday.  I'm sure it sometimes has to do with where he is located when he has to go.  It ends up differently depending on whether he is on his tummy, back, in the exersaucer, bouncer, or swing.  It might be, too, that I need to upgrade from a size 2 diaper to a size 3.  I probably could have done it a while ago, but I figured that since he still fit within the weight requirement, I might as well keep him in the smaller size and get more diapers in each package.  It's not so fun having to keep changing his clothes, though.  Another sign of him growing up quick.

Me and My Best Friend

Here I am with my best friend, Google Calendar!  It has been my best friend since January of 2008.

I was first introduced to it by Zeke Johnson, who was the Ward Mission Leader at the time in the Woodridge 1st Ward.  I was a Ward Missionary then and he set it up where he would send Google invites to all the Ward Missionaries for our weekly Ward Missionary Meetings.  It was because I wanted to add those meetings to a calendar, that I created an account and started keeping track of everything going on in my life and the life of my children.

Obviously, my life is more crazy than it was before.  When you continue to add more children, involve them in more things, and they naturally age to where they are involved with more (like YM's and Activity Days), you need to have a good method of recording and remembering.

I first created my own calendar.  Later on, I created a calendar for Clinton on my calendar.  Over the past few years, I began adding in calendars to keep track of important dates for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and deaths (after my Grandma Gertie died).  I also created separate calendars for Benjamin, Anna, Emma, Justin, and Cameron.  Each calendar created is a separate color on my overall Google calendar.

My whole family knows that I log everything into it.  When I receive important papers from school, church, doctors, etc. I log the information completely in the calendar and get rid of the paper.  There is no need to keep hanging onto it.

When I returned home from the Relief Society VT Social/Conference, I got back on the computer and noticed this reminder about the event.  I thought it was pretty funny.  One of the first things I do each day is turn on the computer, open my email, and open my Google calendar.

Some of the nice features about the Google calendar is that I can input which person the event is for, the start and stop time, the location, the description, and I can even set up events to repeat, too.

Candy Bar Poster for Kaela & Averie McPheters

Anna put together this wonderful Candy Bar Poster for Kaela and Averie McPheters.  They are moving this Friday to Utah and we will miss them greatly.  The poster is from all of the Activity Day girls and leaders.  Anna was just the one who offered to make it.

I'll write more later.

Those Are Some Dandy Lions!

Anna and Emma were walking home today from school and they decided to pick some Dandy Lions - dandelions!

Everyone's grass has been getting long and the weeds in people's yards (the ones who don't use dandelion or weed killers) have dandelions growing up all over the place like crazy.

I must admit, I was quite surprised when the girls came home with them.  Although, some of them were curved, the longest one was still 20 inches long.  Now that's what I call a dandelion - Dandy Lion.

The End of My So-Called Freedom

Cameron has just started getting up on one knee - this is the end of my so-called freedom.  It's not so difficult when you have a child that is not mobile.

This brings on a whole lot more worry when they can start moving around more and getting into EVERYTHING that is left on the floor or down low.  I guess we'll have to do more housework than we have done in the past.

Actually, he has been rolling around from his back to his tummy, from his tummy to his back, sometimes it was going back and forth and sometimes it was more of a continuous roll.  Now, it won't be long before he gets into much more.  This is an exciting step in his growing up, but I still am fine if he waits a while longer.  Maybe he was able to be on one knee a little bit easier since the car seat was behind him and it gave his legs more support.  We'll see soon enough.

Hopefully with Cameron being such a good baby, he won't be too bad.  The hard thing is that these little ones don't understand everything yet of what we're saying.  So at first, even though you tell them not to do something, they're not sure what you just said.

A Trip To Paris

Anna was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Paris with her friend from church, Jolie Fox.  Here is a group photo of everyone that went on the trip.  More info to come.

Jefferson Family Fun Fair Winnings!

Anna, Emma, Justin, Cameron, and I attended the Jefferson Family Fun Fair and this is all the stuff that they won.

Anna's Public Speaking Assignment - Pumpkin Bars

Anna's Public Speaking assignment for this month is Sharing Your Favorite Recipe. Well, Anna chose to share the recipe we have for pumpkin bars. Here she is with the pumpkin bars prior to them being baked. They are heading into the oven in just a little bit.

Benjamin's First Track and Field Meet

Look at Benjamin go at his first Track & Field Meet.

Tax Day at Panda Express

Although our taxes were sent in last week electronically, we did still have to send a check in the mail to the state of Illinois by April 17th, the day taxes were due. Of course, we still needed to send it in.

Before heading to the post office, Clinton checked online to see if there were any places that had Tax Day specials, discounts, or freebies. There were a few places offering freebies or discounts. One of the places he saw was Panda Express had a FREE single serving of Shanghai Angus Steak! It was valid only on April 17th. All you had to do was print off the coupon or LIKE them on Facebook and show them with your phone. That was easy enough.

Neither one of us had ever been to Panda Express, but we did find a location near us, so off we decided to go. We made sure Justin had a little lunch before heading out. We didn't think Justin would like anything there. Clinton and I both showed them our phones and that we did LIKE them on Facebook. I decided I wanted to try a fried rice to go along with it. It was all very tasty. Justin even tried some of both and had quite the fun with the chopsticks, too.

There was another freebie at Arby's. Again, we had a location close by us, but we almost never go there. They had FREE Curly Fries. We printed off two coupons and each used one. We got a little Jr. Roast Beef sandwich for Justin to try, but he wasn't interested in it, so Clinton and I split it. I purchased a Jr. Shake for Justin, but their machine wasn't working. So instead, I got the apple slices with strawberry yogurt dip. He really liked that.

When we had searched for a Panda Express location on the computer before, we noticed that there was another location in Bolingbrook. So, yes, we decided to go to the other location, show them that we did LIKE them on Facebook, and we each received another FREE single serving of Shanghai Angus Steak! It was a fun way to spend a little time together (almost like a date, although we had kids with us) and eat some delicious food. We'll have to remember to check it out next year on Tax Day!

Today was also Clinton's mother's birthday. We called her late that night. Happy Birthday, Sharon James!

UNO Roboto is Justin's Choice for FHE Activity

Detailed information will come tomorrow.

Lookie, Lookie, Where We Found Nuki!

Cameron had been laying down on the blanket that I made for him and he was nicely playing with toys and his nuk, the brand name of a pacifier.

We use to use different pacifiers for our kids, but this kind would be given to them in the hospital. I always thought they were rather strange since you could see through them and see your child sucking on the pacifier.

Since the brand name that we use to use was Nuk, we soon stopped calling it a pacifier and would call it a nuk or nuki. I guess out of habit we still call this pacifier a nuk even though it is called a Soothie. I only realized tonight as I was writing this blog. I figured I should check to see if it was called something, and sure enough, it had a name.

The funny thing about this picture is that I had picked Cameron up off of the blanket and sat down with him on the couch. I looked back at the blanket nearby scanning to find his nuk. I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked Anna and Emma if they knew where it was and they started laughing and telling me it was stuck in Cameron's shirt. I searched the front of his shirt expecting it to be there, but the girls helped me find it in back. I'm not surprised that he ended up getting the nuk behind his head when he was laying down on the blanket, but I am surprised that it got stuck there as I picked him up and that it stayed in place. I guess it helped that the nipple part was stuck inside the shirt.

I have come to realize that I prefer these kinds of pacifiers since they are a solid piece of rubber. There is no way for germs to be trapped inside the rubber like it could with the other ones we use to use. Unfortunately, right before we had Cameron, I purchased a package of Nuk brand pacifiers and haven't really used them. I'm not sure someone else will want to use them even if I tell them they have only been used a time or two. Oh well!

The Soccer Siblings

First soccer game of the season and the soccer siblings finished up having their team photos and they are off to play. Benjamin and Emma were the only ones that had games today. Anna's game will be on Wednesday.

I'm pretty sure that Anna and Emma are taller than they appear here, but the ground they are standing on is lower than Benjamin's so it shows a larger gap in height.

Benjamin's team is Blur, Anna's is Cobras, and Emma's is Flames. Emma's team didn't put a team name on their shirt and they just settled on a name right before pictures were taken today.

Their Aunt Yolanda came to watch part of Benjamin and Emma's games with Brenna and Devin. They finished up their games earlier and had a little bit of time to grab a bite to eat and arrive at half time. Emma's team lost, Benjamin's team won, and Anna's team didn't play today. Regardless of who won or lost, the kids had a win-win situation today. Their Aunt Yolanda went shopping to IKEA afterwards and their cousins, Brenna and Devin, came home and played for a while. After the shopping, Anna and Emma went back with their cousins to sleep at their house. I'm sure they had fun.

Since Emma was not here, that left Benjamin more in charge of Cameron while I met Clinton after the Priesthood Leadership Meeting and attended the Adult Session of Stake Conference with him. When Emma is around, Cameron does get looked after and played with a little bit more. Hopefully all was well with Benjamin, Justin, and Cameron.

I loved attending the meeting. All the talks were great. Justin McPheters, a member of our Woodridge 1st Ward, a High Council member, a LDS Family Services therapist, and friend was one of the speakers. This is his last time speaking in the area since his family is moving to Utah on April 27th. I will miss their family greatly.

Emma's First Non-Family Sleepover

Tonight was the night that Emma had been counting down till, the night she would be sleeping over at Rylan Gaspar's home.

Write more later.

High On A Rocktop

Justin is a boy, and just like any boy, he wants to climb. He loves being up high on top of things, just like on this rock.

Anna's Fit Girls Fitness Program

Look at Anna go!

Somebody Wants My Blood

The Woodridge School District #68 had a blood drive today and needed donors. Although, I didn't sign up, I decided I would pop on in and do it. I've donated several times in the past, in fact, I filled up the back of my donor card today.

I don't mind donating blood, but the last time I did (January 22, 2011), I got sick a few hours afterwards. I had never had that problem before, but I was busy trying to clean up my house to watch my sister's kids in a few hours. I figured that I stayed too busy and hadn't eaten or drank enough like I should have done. Well, several weeks later I found out I was pregnant with Cameron. When I calculated back, based on how far along they said I was, I had been pregnant for about a week. That's probably why I didn't feel so great. Even though I am still nursing Cameron, they say it is fine to donate. Generally, you don't want to donate when you are pregnant.

While I was there, a young guy donating blood got sick. He was on a chair behind me, so I couldn't see very well. I also didn't want to stare and make him feel uncomfortable. I know how it would make me feel. I'm not sure of all the details, but he had to stay for a while till they knew he would be alright. Hopefully he didn't get it all over him. Knowing my luck, I would get it all over myself.

Once I finished, they gave me two cans of apple juice and a treat. I wasn't sure which treat I was going to take and I narrowed it down to two. The lady said to go ahead and take both. I asked her, "Can I do that?" She told me that would be fine, so that's what I did, but instead of grabbing two different treats, I grabbed two bags of chocolate chip cookies. After finishing one of the drinks, they came back and grabbed the empty can and threw it in the garbage. I realized that I should have taken a picture. She was kind enough to grab me another can instead of retrieving my empty one from the garbage. So, I took a picture with the two bags of chocolate chip cookies and the two cans of apple juice, though I actually had three juice. Wow, this mobile Heartland Blood Center was quite generous! My next donation eligibility date is in 8 more weeks. Maybe I'll have to track them down! :)

Cameron is So Fascinated With the Camera

This sleeping outfit that Cameron is in is one that he received from the "Easter Bunny" yesterday. I thought it was rather cute that he matched the blanket he was laying on. I just had to get a picture.

Cameron was so intent on studying and watching the camera and what I was doing. I tried several times pulling the camera away from my face, trying to get him to smile or laugh, and then quickly take the picture. Inevitably, I would be too late. Here is the only picture that I took where he was happy. All of the others his expression was one of intent. It was like night and day. One moment I am getting him to smile and as soon as the camera would go in front of my face, he would stare at it in wonder and awe. It was funny, but a little frustrating.

Cameron has begun lifting up his knees a little bit when he is applying pressure to his hands and raising his upper body. He's not on his knees yet and ready for crawling, but because of the stronger pressure he puts on the floor with his hands, he ends up scooting or moving backwards. With his excitement to reach for toys, that's when he usually does it, so he ends up further from them. It's amusing to watch.

The front of his shirt has a picture of an octopus on it and the shirt says, "Into Everything". He's not there yet, but I am definitely alright with that. Cameron's time will come soon enough.

Easter Egg Hunt with the Missionaries

Last Easter Egg Hunt for 2012. Boy, the last few days have been full of hunting.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Potters

Once again, another Easter Egg Hunt. This time it was at the Potter's house. They live right behind us in the culdesac.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Fishers

Once the Easter Egg Hunt began, Benjamin took off to help Justin first before finding his own.

Cameron's First Easter Egg Hunt

How EGG-citing it was today to help Cameron collect eggs at his first Easter Egg Hunt. He loved looking at all of the colorful eggs that were spread all throughout the gym of the church. It would have been outside, but the high today was suppose to be 55 degrees, so it was held inside.

As I held Cameron with my hands, I tried to lean his towards the ground low enough to reach the eggs. Most of the time the eggs would be bumped by one hand and begin to roll all around and away from the other hand. Occasionally, he would be coordinated enough to grasp it with two hands at once. When he did do this, he was successful in picking up the eggs. Of course, Cameron tried putting all of the eggs he collected inside his mouth. Cameron was fortune to find a "chick" egg. Anna and Clinton helped Natalie Chandler hide all of the eggs and Clinton took pictures, too.

There were a bunch of families at the church today for the Easter egg hunt. The bulk of the children were 4 years of age and under. Everyone was suppose to bring 10 eggs per child. Since Benjamin was involved with track, it was only Anna, Emma, Justin, and Cameron, but that's alright, we have an Easter egg hunt on Friday at the Fishers and one on Saturday at a neighbor's house (Will and Aubrey Potter). Benjamin should be able to get some treats then.

With having three different Easter egg hunts and our own Easter, hopefully the kids can be taught more about the true meaning of Easter and not focus on the eggs, candy, and the Easter Bunny. This is another opportunity to teach our children about Christ.

Track and Field Running

Clinton found out Monday night from some neighbor girls, Hannah & Esther Mitre, that Track & Field practices started that day after school.

We were not sure if Benjamin had wanted to do it, but he had talked about it before. We spoke to him and he said no. We suggested that he go Tuesday for practice and see what it's all about. Well, he went and decided that he did want to do it. He is one of the fastest runners there I believe.

One of the benefits of us living on Woodridge Drive is that the cross country team and the track & field team run right in front of our house. This is one of a few routes they take. This picture is being taken as he is running towards our house and he is second in the front.

His running will greatly improve his soccer ability this season and continuing his soccer will help his running for track. I don't know which category he will participate in, but I'm excited to see what he picks and how he does. Hopefully, too, these athletic sports will instill a love of exercising throughout life as he sees and feels the benefits of doing it.

Sometimes Change Is Good

Sometimes change is easy, sometimes change is hard, sometimes change is bad, sometimes change is good. Well, today my change was good.

I emptied out the change jar (which is an empty mayonnaise jar), took out any quarters and put them in the quarter container to use for buying milk at school, and redeemed the change at the bank.

Although I did take out a few dollars worth of quarters, I was quite surprised to know that the 1/4 full change jar had $16.30 worth of money in it. I figured I would keep the $16.00 and Justin would be pretty happy to have the $0.30 to keep for himself. I wish this kind of change happened (or appeared) more often. I could really benefit from it!

Spring Soccer Season Begins

The hustle and bustle of another spring soccer season has begun. Benjamin has soccer practices on Mondays and Fridays from 5:30-6:30pm on the Cypress Cove field. Anna has soccer practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00pm on the Sunnydale field.

Benjamin's coach is the same coach he had last season. They had a good season, but the times they lost were to the same good team. I don't know how evenly matched the 4 teams will be, but last season 2 teams were good and the other 2 teams struggled. Some of the players on Benjamin's team have been on his team before. He knows

Anna's coach is someone new. The only person she has had on her team before is Nolan. She does know some of the other people from playing against them other soccer seasons such as Eric, Aubrey, Melissa, and Thomas.

Emma has yet to hear from a coach and find out when and where her practices begin. I spoke with a person at the Woodridge Park District and they are discussing this with the Woodridge Soccer Association (WSA) to find out. I believe they had a coach before and then something fell through. Who knows if she will get to play if they don't get a coach.

Justin can't wait until he can play soccer next fall. I think he'll play well. Cameron will probably pick up soccer pretty quick just like Justin, since he will end up with 4 siblings playing the sport. Our Saturdays will be busy, but I'll enjoy it.

Benjamin at FitzGerald's Nightclub

Never thought that my son, Benjamin, would attend a nightclub, let alone at such a young age. The interesting thing is that it was required for him to attend. He is a part of the Jefferson Junior High School Jazz Band and today they had a required performance at FitzGerald's Nightclub in Berwyn, IL.

From what I understand, this is a well-known place and a wonderful opportunity for their group to be playing there. Normally we wouldn't be doing something like this, but since it is for school, he attended.

The last two sessions of General Conference were today and he and Clinton were able to get most of it. They left the last hour of the second session to head out and be there early enough before they were to perform. Following their performance, the Chicago Grandstand Big Band performed for everyone. I'm sure it was enjoyed by all. I'm glad he has opportunities like this to listen to great performers. His old band instructor from Meadowview Elementary School, Mr. Payne, performed twice in the Chicago Grandstand Big Band and his current band instructor from Jefferson Junior High School, Mr. Carlson, performed once. His performance was actually a solo. Such great talent. I wish I could have been there to see it and to hear it, but I stayed with the other kids at home. I had a good night at home, too.

Come Listen To A Prophet's Voice

Today marked the start of the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The General Conferences were today from 11-1pm and 3-5pm and it will be the same tomorrow.

Clinton and Benjamin attended the Priesthood Session tonight from 7-9pm. They met other priesthood members from the ward at Culver's in Downers Grove for ice cream. Following the broadcast, the YM leaders, YM, and their fathers went to Every Day's a Sundae in Downers Grove for ice cream, too. What a fun night for them. Benjamin and Clinton still haven't arrived home yet and it is 10:00pm. I take it they are having a good time chatting with others. I'm glad. They need those opportunities.

General Conference is a wonderful time to "Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice and Hear the Savior, too" as the song says. I love listening to our living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and all the other General Authorities and leaders of the church.

The kids worked on their General Conference packet that they received in Primary. There were games, activities, and coloring. I think they enjoyed their General Conference Bingo game since they were given edible treats to place on their Bingo cards.

Great Times With Grandma and Papa Buss

Before our vacation ended and we returned home, we decided last minute to visit my mom and dad, Grandma & Papa Buss. Yesterday, as we headed closer to home after visiting the church sites, it put us closer to stopping by to see my parents. I called the home, my mom's cell number, and the church, but nobody answered. I realized that it was a Thursday and they were most likely at the Nauvoo Temple that day for their temple worker assignments.

I decided that we could still show up and surprise them when they returned home. We would only miss out on visiting with them for 1-2 hours that night, but that we could still visit on Friday. I knew my parents would love seeing the kids, especially Cameron. He has grown so much since December. Today Cameron turned 5 months old.

More to follow...

Liberty Jail

Here we are visiting Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and 5 others were held as prisoners from December 1, 1838 until March 6, 1839. More details to follow.

Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster, MO

Here is the crew with Clinton's cousin, Kelly Mitchell. She took us onto Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster, Missouri to see the command center for the Minutemen missiles. The tour guide took us 45 feet underground to this location.

I'm getting bad about blogging about my posts. It's a little tricky when I am not at home in my element and on my computer. I will catch up and write about these pictures. We are at the hotel and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 just started. I want to go watch.

City Museum in St. Louis

The City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri was another amazing museum for the kids to visit. It is incredible to see such creativity, fun, and kid-friendly places being built today. I think museums capture the attention of children much more than they use to. I think I need to take my kids to museums more often.

Inside the museum were large play areas made from real trees. There were fallen hollow trees to crawl through, things to climb, slide, and hide in. There were holes in various places that you could go through and end up in other locations of the museum. All the kids tried the 10-story slide. You gradually go up the wrapping circular steps inside and once you reach the top, you slide down the 10-story slide in the middle. The kids went down it twice.

Outside the museum was a gigantic play place. If you think of McDonald's, it is much greater than that. Again, there are things to climb and slide on, there are bridges to walk across, rope ladders to go up, two large ball pits (one for younger kids and one for older kids) to play in.

After playing outside in the beautiful weather, we headed toward our van for lunch. We ate our sandwiches and then went inside another hour to see the last few things. There was a section which various ramps. The ramps looked like they would be perfect for skateboarding and doing tricks. Some were more steep than others. All of the kids enjoyed the rope swing, too. Justin headed on over to the kid section with a ball pit for those that were 6 years old and younger. In addition to the ball pit, there were tunnels, other play stuff, and a carousel animal to ride for free.

Before leaving the museum, we stopped by the Shoelace Factory to see how and what they make . I loved watching the weaving of the thread to make colorful, durable, and strong shoelaces and other items. Benjamin didn't want anything from the store, but Anna and Emma bought headbands, Justin bought a whistle on a shoelace necklace, and I bought a water bottle rubber ring with a shoelace necklace. My item will come in handy when carrying a water bottle around during soccer season. What a great place to visit. It will be so fun to go back.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum

The kids have spring break this week and we planned a trip to go visit Clinton's cousin Kelly, her family, and her dad (Uncle Virg). On the way down there, we thought we would stop by the famous Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield Illinois. It was fantastic. The two movies that they showed were brief, entertaining, and used various senses. I felt that it brought the history of Abraham Lincoln to life.

The first film that we saw was Lincoln's Eyes in the Union Theater there. This is what is said about the theater and film:

"A multi-venue special effects theater featuring, at various times: "Lincoln's Eyes" – a spectacular look at the life and times of Lincoln; and a live performance theater with programmed theatrical productions as well as seminars, lectures and special programs.

"Lincoln's Eyes – Most of the time, the Union Theater will present "Lincoln's Eyes," a full theatrical special effects spectacular giving a broad overview of Lincoln's life. "Lincoln's Eyes" focuses on the personal and political dramas and key issues of Lincoln's presidency, especially slavery. The story is told by an artist, who explains that while he was painting Lincoln’s portrait, struggled to understand all the things he saw in Lincoln's eyes: sorrow, resolve, hope, vision, forgiveness, and more. As he explains, he tells us a bit about Lincoln's life. You discover that Lincoln had the courage to do what he felt was right, even when it was him, on his family, and on the nation. He led our country through its worst national crisis difficult with vision, courage, persistence, political genius, and integrity.

"The state-of-the-art theater itself puts on quite a show. The system of layered digital projection screens, theatrical spectacle and special effects in the seating area immerse you in the experience. During a dramatic battle sequence, for example, the entire room seems to resound with war."

The second film we saw was Ghosts of the Library. This is what is said about the theater and film:

"Holavision®
Here the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will present something that other presidential libraries have mysteriously not chosen to explain. We will explain what a presidential library is!

"You gather in a Pre-Show room where you see a video that welcomes you and takes you on a very brief video tour of the Library. Historic items from Illinois's past are also on view. The doors now open and you enter the Holavision® Theater for "Ghosts of the Library."

"Ghosts of the Library is a dramatic and magical special effects presentation that uses Holavision® to capture the exciting sense of discovery that scholars and curators feel as they approach a great research collection. Holavision® is a proprietary BRC Imagination Arts-owned technology that allows the storyteller to appear to control history around him. In addition, Holavision® permits the magical "fade away" or disappearance of the on-stage actor, with astonishing impact to audiences of all ages. The ghosts of Lincoln and his contemporaries momentarily appear and disappear, their transparent images drifting through the "Library." A quill rises from a library table and begins to write in the air, in Lincoln's handwriting.

"The seating area provides the view (through a large high-security window) into the "Library," as you hear about the activities, the detective work, and the discoveries waiting to be made in a great presidential archive.

"In a mysterious way, these original objects connect us to the people and events of history and make them real. It is almost as if we can momentarily see their world, as though they were here."

The kids toured other rooms inside the museum, played dress-up, visited the White House, etc. It was an all-around good visit.

See Ya Later Alligator, In A While Crocodile

Little Cameron looked so cute after his bath. He desperately needed it, since he leaked in his outfit. I don't always think about giving him a bath, but he does seem to enjoy them or at least doesn't cry during them.

Cameron is continuing to grow, but it is a little tricky to have him lay straight in his little bathing tub. I bet as he strengthens his ability to sit up more, he won't be tilting or falling over as I wash him off. I think it is about time that I get another little bathing seat so he can sit up and even play while in the water.

Once I dried Cameron off, I left him on the floor on top of his towel to get an outfit to put on him. He flipped over so fast with the hooded towel still over part of his head, so as he flipped, it moved along with him. It was quite funny seeing this completely covering his face. What a cute little alligator or crocodile!

"Dirty" Old Man

Well, I don't know the whole story behind this one, but somehow Clinton got very dirty today on his 5+ mile hike.

He went on a hike with the YM and some of their leaders at Waterfall Glen. Those that went were Benjamin, Tanner Cameron, Bayley Gaughan, Matt Deem, Brother Adam Froerer, Brother Dan Deem, Brother Jason Cameron, Brother David Ferguson, and Clinton. Following the hike, they ate lunch as a group.

It rained a lot yesterday, so it appears that everything was still wet and other places were soggy. I guess they found one of those spots. Even though Benjamin wore shorts and had less on his legs to get dirty, he still didn't get as filthy as Clinton. Both of their shoes were wet, too. All I can say is that I was not about to clean up that mess. I made Clinton clean up his pants. It seems only fair. He made the mess, he cleans it up. Hopefully they they will come clean.

Happy 170th Birthday Relief Society!

On March 17th, 1842 The Relief Society was the first women's organization and it was organized as a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Tonight was the Woodridge 1st Ward's Relief Society Birthday Dinner to celebrate the occasion. Since it was near St. Patrick's Day, the party had a St. Patrick's Day theme. There was a lot of green everywhere and rainbow colors, too. It was beautiful.

The meal was centered around an Irish theme as well. They served corned beef and cabbage, sheperd's pie, Irish soda bread, salad, and birthday cakes for dessert. There was such a variety of cakes. I didn't try them all, but I did try a small bit of many of them.

They offered babysitting for those women who needed to bring their children. Initially I didn't sign my children up to be watched because Clinton would be home. I found out last night that he would be helping with a YM campout Friday night and Saturday morning. (There's nothing like being surprised.)

Unfortunately, the YM weren't able to get the campground site, so they did camping stuff at the church, came home to sleep, and will reunite tomorrow morning at 9:00am to do other stuff. The kids had a lot of fun at church. They made crafts, had snacks, played with toys, and watched movies. I'm sure they had a lot more fun than if they stayed at home.

Meadowview's Open House & Ice Cream Social

This is Emma's display during Meadowview's Open House and Ice Cream Social tonight. I will blog about it tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

Dress Alike Day/Crazy Hair Day

This week at Anna and Emma's elementary school, Meadowview, is Spirit Week. Today is Dress Alike Day/Crazy Hair Day. I wasn't sure if they were going to coordinate with a classmate, but then I realized they could dress alike with each other.

Anna & Emma have this matching outfit they received in the fall. They also wore their St. Patrick's Day shamrock earrings and necklaces again, just like they did at church on Sunday the day after St. Patrick's Day.

Their hair is put up like Genna Fox's hair was on March 1st, Dr. Seuss' birthday. Her mom, Lisa, put up her hair like Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch. Thanks for the idea, Lisa.

I decided that I would try it for today. I tried putting a red solo brand cup on top and pulling their hair up around it, but it was too big and red. I next tried a smaller clear cup and it seemed to work. I don't know how long it will last during the day, but it will be fun for them while it does last. You can see a little bit in this picture the cup showing through Emma's hair. Hopefully, the kids at school will at least get to see it.

For my daughters who love to fight most of the time, I love to see it when they have fun together and dressing alike is a start. Look at them, they're even holding hands without me asking them to do so. I love my girls! :)

I'm Getting "Sew" Good at Rag Quilting

Last night I finished up my rag quilt which I started last Friday night. In between my St. Patrick's Day preparations on Saturday and taking care of Cameron, I worked hard to complete the quilt. I stayed up real late to get as much done as I could, but because I decided to add another row and make it 10 squares by 10 squares, I needed a few more squares of one fabric.

Late Saturday afternoon I headed back to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get three more squares of the multi-colored print. After arriving home, I couldn't start on the project for a while, but when I did, I realized that I actually needed a fourth square. The last row started with the multi-colored print, and it needed to end with it, so I needed a fourth square. I was so bummed when I realized that. I knew I couldn't finish it until Monday after getting more fabric. Once I finished, I washed it, dried it, and laid it out for Cameron.

Hooray! For once I finished a sewing project quickly (number of days and not the number of hours). The project still took me several hours to make, but I'm loving it, and so is Cameron. Now I need to help Anna make one (a smaller one) with her sewing machine or make another one with the additional fabric I bought. It was on sale and it was just too cute. I will use the same multi-colored fabric as this one, but I will use a green fabric with green, white, and brown polka-dots, and a blue fabric with blue, white, and brown polka-dots. I may eventually make a larger one for the family to use while watching movies, but we'll see.

Winners of the "Battle of the Books"

Anna's team won the Battle of the Books competition today at their school and they are going to the district to compete on Friday, March 23rd!

At Meadowview Elementary School (and all the other schools in Woodridge School District 68), kids in 3rd grade and 4th-6th grade competed in a Battle of the Books. A list of books to read for the battle is given out at the end of the previous school year so kids can begin reading if they choose to start. They have time throughout the school year until the day of the battle to complete their reading.

Students who want to participate are put onto a team. Anna and the other 3rd-6th grade students who are in Mrs. Neylon's Literacy Enrichment class, are required to participate. Emma decided that she wanted to participate this year, too.

The list of 12 books for 3rd graders to read were: Mr. Popper's Penguins, Freckle Juice, A Lion to Guard Us, Tornado, Muggie Maggie, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Molly's Pilgrim, James and the Giant Peach, My Father's Dragon, Boxcar Children, Charlotte's Web, and Little House in the Big Woods.

The list of 30 books for 4th-6th graders to read were: The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree; The White Mountains; Ice Magic; Because of Winn-Dixie; Phineas L. MacGuire…Erupts!: The First Experiment; By the Great Horn Spoon!; Boxes for Katje; The Patchwork Quilt; What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?; My Side of the Mountain; Old Yeller; Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story; Sheep; Redwall; Harry's Mad; A Wrinkle in Time; Ella Enchanted; Number the Stars; Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days; Anne of Green Gables; Hatchet; Clementine; My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother; Meet Addy: An American Girl; Scared Stiff; Esperanza Rising; There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom; Knights of the Kitchen Table; Love, Ruby Lavender; and Castle in the Attic.

Each team agrees to read certain books to help their team. They fill out a sheet indicating which books they agree to read and they and their parents need to sign it and have it turned in. Most teams were made up of 7-8 people. Anna's team had 8. Fifteen questions were asked and each team answered the question on their team's dry erase board. They received 5 points for correctly listing the title of the book and 2 points for correctly listing the author of the book. Anna's team (Natasha Krska, Amelia Korbitz, Chloe Orona, Brittany Morales, Jahira Munoz, Natalia Aguilar, Jacey Evangelista, and Anna) did well by receiving 93 points out of the 105 points possible. Way to go Anna! Good luck competing with the other schools at the district competition on Friday!

Loving The Little Exersaucer

Here's a wonderful exersaucer that I borrowed from my ward friend, Diana Bowler. She fixed me up with the exersaucer, bouncer, and swing. Besides the little bouncer, I had previously had an exersaucer and swing for the other kids. Since I didn't want to invest in new ones, friends were able to help me out.

Cameron loves his exersaucer. His legs are getting stronger, he gets to see more things around the room with his new view, and he can play with the items on it which don't fall off.

Due to his two hour nap previously, he was awake and all the other kids were in bed. For dinner, he had a little bowl of rice cereal (which he started a few days ago) and his regular feeding. Hopefully it will help him sleep well through the night.

Cameron is rolling over all the time, raising his upper body fairly high, pushing his feet off the floor (since he is not constantly in the "body bag" outfits he was previously in), chewing on his fists frequently, grabbing his feet while laying on the floor, eating cereals, etc. He will be five months at the end of March already and I'm curious to see how much he has grown. His next appointment won't be until he is six months old, but by then, he will be doing so much more. I know I'll be in trouble soon once he is more mobile. Although he is a good baby, he'll be so curious and into everything.

Lucky Lunch

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I planned on having a "Green" dinner for my family, but instead we had a "Green" lunch (a "Lucky Lunch"). We had taco salad (w/green lettuce, green onions, taco meat, kidney beans, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce), green broccoli, green grapes, green lime jello, green granny smith apples, green celery w/peanut butter and raisins (known as "ants on a log"), green limeade w/limes, and for dessert green mint chocolate chip ice cream. What a fun way to celebrate!

"Sew" Crafty at Rag Quilting

Tonight I attended a Sew and Craft group activity where we were cutting out our material to make rag quilts.

I purchased the material the last day of the fabric sale and had a difficult time figuring out what I was going to do. I didn't want to do only three fabrics, but there weren't four fabrics that I liked that would work well together.

Just before I finished picking out my fabric, a worker from the cutting counter was returning some fabric to where I was. She asked me if I wanted any of it. I looked at it and said, "YES". I had been struggling with getting the two different blue fabrics and two green fabrics and the fabric that she brought back was the multi-colored print fabric. It actually went with both colors.

Like usual, when I want to learn some sort of skill in our Sew and Craft group, instead of making one thing I end up buying enough to make two or more. I decided I would do separate blue and green toddler rag quilts. I chose the blue one to start with, but ended up giving the fabric for the green toddler rag quilt to Lisa Fox. She arrived and didn't have any fabric. I told her I could sell her my fabric if she wanted it - she did. I guess it was a good thing that I got it. Normally, the fabric is $6.99 a yard and it was on sale for $1.99 a yard. It was a great deal!

I'm excited to finish the rag quilt. Tonight I had time to learn about what to do, cut out the fabric, figure out the pattern I wanted, and begin sewing. I finished one row, but I have nine more rows to do. Once all the rows are complete and stitched together, I'll need to sew all around the outside of it and snip the edges.

Not that I need another blanket at home, since I have a ton of them, but I wanted to learn something new and feel pleased about making something - something for someone in my family. I think Cameron will like his new blanket.

Thanks to Amy Anderson and Liberty Cameron for taking time to help and teach me. I truly appreciate it.

Cameron Catching His Toes

National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony

NJHS