Pages

Monday, November 30, 2015

Back to School

 Everyone went back to school today! We had a very full Thanksgiving week. Monday always arrives so quickly. Especially after a holiday! After dropping the older kids off at school, Zoey and I came home and got down to business!
Today our focus was M is for Monkey!
We read a few monkey stories to start out and then sang a couple renditions of Five Little Monkeys....jumping on the bed, and swinging in a tree.
 Zoey worked on a letter M worksheet.

 She played letter M hunt with her dot markers.....We love dot markers. Zoey got a set last Christmas and they have been used and adored! I have already ordered another set for this Christmas!
Next we pulled out the minion operation game, because Zoey said that minion started with M and I couldn't argue!
We updated our calendar and did a little PE too. Glad to be back to our routine!

Zoey's Birthday

 We celebrated Zoey's 4th birthday on Saturday with a trip to the Living Desert.
 It was a beautiful sunny day in the desert. We had to stop and let the kids ride the carousel. Zoey picked a mountain lion. Mia is behind us on a humming bird.
 Max and Zack were on the big cats. Max is cool because he can ride the carousel with no hands!
 My boys....
I sure do love these guys!

 My youngest brother was still in town for Thanksgiving. He came along with his lady.
 We let Zoey pick a present from the gift shop before we left. She chose a wolf cub and a rain stick. We had chocolate cake with ice cream when we got home. We love our little miss Zoey! I am so lucky to get to be her mom.


Friday, November 27, 2015

Life Lately

I am still doing preschool lessons at home with Zoey! We have been busy and I haven't taken pictures like I wanted to!
I have lots of hopes and plans for the next few weeks. Maybe they will all get photographed....

Here is a quick life update....
Zack is sporting one of our favorite hats. It gets passed between the boys. They both love it!
 While Ty was at work the kids and I raked leaves.
 Mostly so that we could jump in the pile.
 We took the van on it's first trip to Utah.
 It was a long drive!
 The kids did great. The van did great. I brought plenty of snacks.....All was well in the world!
 Until we arrived and it was below freezing!
 We brought our warmest winter wear, but Southern california's coldest doesn't match Utah's!
We spent a lot of time inside. We drank hot chocolate and played games.
 This is Zoey doing a puzzle with her cousin Gavin.
The kids rode actual horses on the ranch, but I didn't take any pictures, because I was inside keeping warm! Here is Zoey on a play horse.
 We came home just in time for Thanksgiving with my family. I was in charge of desserts. I made a ridiculous amount of treats including this cherry pie.
 We are heading to the Living Desert tomorrow for Zoey's 4th birthday!
I am baking monster cookies to take with us.
Looking forward to a great day!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

K is for Kiss

 We have been reviewing the letter K this week. Today we focused on "K" is for Kiss!
 Zoey got to try on lipstick and make some kisses of her own!
(She still writed her "Z" backwards, but I am sure one day we will be able to flip it around!)
We read the Kissing Hand again and made our own kissing hands.
 We counted Hershey Kisses! Zoey has recently discovered milk chocolate and is in love! For me it's the darker the better, but the kids love milk.
 We read a few more Kiss related stories.
 And we made peanut butter kiss cookies!
 These are Max and Mia's all time favorite cookie.
 Zoey put all the kisses on the cookies. She did a great job. She was rewarded for all of her efforts with a taste test.
 Zoey approved!
Since the weather has cooled down so much we are really enjoying preschool in pajamas in front of the fireplace.
We are excited for the big kids to come home so that we can share our cookies with them.

Gratitude Boards

 We had a very successful Family Home Evening this week. I gave each of the children a board and they created their own gratitude boards! Our theme for this month is gratitude as we move toward Thanksgiving and Christmas. I put out magazines, scissors, and glue. The kids made boards filled with blessings.....and lots of things they just really like!


 Our treat was leftover Halloween candy. We still have a lot!
I love my family! I honestly love Monday nights. Family Home Evening is awesome :)

Little Ladies

 I took these pictures of the girls on Sunday before church. We picked out a few new skirts for Mia on Saturday. We wanted to find a dress, but finding a dress with sleeves and length is hard to do! The skirts are beautiful and flow-y. Mia loves them!
 Zoey is wearing the Christmas dress I bought on clearance for Mia years ago! This is the last year this dress will get to be worn at our house! It will soon be too small to fit anyone.
I love my little ladies. They are absolutely perfect!
Wednesday, November 4, 2015

J is for Jack and The Beanstalk!

 This post is from earlier in the week. It is late because my computer was not working! Things are back to normal now....and so a preschool day post!
We focused on the letter J and read Jack and the Beanstalk. I read it from the Book of Virtues. We also watched a couple cartoon versions on the computer for good measure!
 Letter J handwriting practice.
 and Magic bean counting!
Since starting preschool at home with Zoey she has become less interested in television shows and other distractions. I notice that she wants to fill her time with activities like puzzles, coloring, play-doh, baking, etc...
I think it is wonderful, but it does keep me busy during the day! I am still loving our preschool sessions at home. It is such a special time with the two of us!
In other news: It is finally cool/cold! Hot chocolate weather has arrived. Sadly it seems to have brought the season of sickness with it! Ty has had a cold for several days and Mia woke up coughing today. I am lysol-ing everything in the house and hoping we can keep it from spreading. We will see!