What is it about kids and watching things again and again?

Since my parents left a few weeks ago, Katherine has discovered that she can watch them on our home videos. So she is at the "pooter" every day multiple times a day, asking to watch "bounceline," "horses," "candy," "pool," birthday," etc. I love that it's keeping everyone in the family fresh in her mind, but it gets tricky when Geoff or I need to actually use the computer.

We're watching Barbie's The Nutcracker and Diving Horses daily.

The weather has been getting warmer so we tried out the unheated pool this week. Can you guess how quickly Katherine turned blue? Yet she would not consent that it was too cold. I tried to corral her into the kiddie pool (a few degrees warmer) but she continuously ran back to the steps of the big pool, arms flailing out, no fear of the edge, and every adult near heart attack. Time to get that kid into swim lessons!

I had to laugh... On Thursday night, I had taken Spud to a baptism, so Saturday, when we went to the pool, she tried to baptize me! She raised her arm the the square, blessed me and tried to dunk me. Sacrilegious? How do you explain ordinances to a 2 yr old? I just told her only Daddy's can baptize and she seemed satisfied.

On the drive home from the Hatches today, she tried to get Geoff and I ready to pray. She ordered us both to fold our arms and bow our heads and close our eyes and be quiet while she prayed... Geoff cheated, of course, as he was driving the car, but it was truly sweet. She also conducted a round of I Am A Child of God and ordered me to sing while holding a piece of junk mail up like it was sheet music... What a character!

We had a series of misadventures this week. I still haven't found my phone. I lost the key card to the pool. I dumped over our paper shredder but I got our vacuum to work. The day I decided to mop the floor, Katherine decided to drizzle Capri Sun from her mouth to form puddles all over the entire house during the 2 minutes I changed my clothes to get ready for the baptism. Not to mention the potty training...

It is not going well. At other people's homes, she will tell the mom that she needs to go even when she's wearing a diaper, but at home... She has no problem bringing me a fresh pair of panties once she's wet. I think she just doesn't want to interrupt her fun. Chocolate, stickers, rewards are not cutting it as motivation. I'm at the point of telling her that she can't wear her princess panties until she uses the potty. So we're still diapering and may continue to diaper for a while...

I attended a canning workshop Friday night where the woman showed us how to can meat and butter! They were delicious! But what an investment to buy a pressure canner. I don't think I'll be ready to do that for a while.

We had stake conference this weekend and it was FABULOUS! The Saturday evening session was about how to teach your children about the gospel. Over and over, we heard the message of continuing family home evening, daily family prayer and family scripture study. Surprisingly, we are doing really well with FHE and prayer, but the scripture study I need ideas! I used to read aloud while Katherine took her morning bottle, but now she doesn't take a bottle and she runs away when I pull out the scriptures. So then, I tried to get her to recite an Article of Faith or a scripture that I have memorized... not working too well, either. So, at this point, I'm counting our primary songs as our gospel learning time. She really likes to sing. I'm inspired, though, to step up my game. It's time to invest. What ways have you found to teach your children effectively? I would love book & DVD recommendations, activities, anything...

SWARMED!

We came home from Glenn Beck, only to find out that exactly at 10:15 that morning, our neighbors had watched a swarm of 10,000 bees fly onto our street and settled into the tree in front of our house! Fortunately, they thought to call the fire department. They sent some guys over to foam our tree with a poison and when we got home, all we saw were mounds of dead carcasses all over our sidewalk and a few lingering angry bees. Geoff will try to finish them off tomorrow morning, but talk about random!

Glenn Beck's American Revival Tour

Geoff and I went on Saturday and it was totally awesome. Yes, Glenn cried... a lot. But it was so good! The theme was restoring America through Faith, Hope and Charity. 10,000 people attended. It was started off with the Pledge of Allegiance and he prayed. Glenn talked about having the fortitude of the pioneers as we try re-establish American values in our political system. He quoted Come, Come Ye Saints and Ephesians on putting on the whole armor of God.
He had David Barton talk about the religious foundation and example set by the Founding Fathers. Did you know that 29 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had theological degrees? The original intent of the separation of church and state was to determine that the state couldn't dictate the doctrine of the church, not that the govt couldn't have religious expression. In fact, most of the original states had official religions. The Nation just couldn't officially adopt a religion. The American Bible was printed by the first Congress of the United States for the purpose of being studied in schools because they firmly believed that a society could only remain free if it remains virtuous and moral. Here is a link to his organization WallBuilders to learn more.

David Buckner, an economic professor from Columbia University, spoke on having hope through uncertain economic times. He said that if all govt spending were stopped today, every man, woman and child in America would still owe $184,000 to pay off the national debt... without considering the interest. But I liked his recipe for hope:
H - Home, focus on putting your own house in order.
O - Ownership, focus on individual ownership
P - Preparation, Be prepared for rough times ahead, food storage, savings
E - Education and Engagement - Teach yourself and your children how to spend wisely, only vote for representatives willing to cut the spending, let go of your own pet projects you like the govt spending on...
We LOVED Andrew Napolitano's speech re-asserting our God-given inalienable rights and that whatever powers not expressly stated in the Constitution belong to the States and the States need to take those powers back! He had at least 4 standing ovations! His book is entitled Lies the Government Told You. I will be reading that soon.
The best past of the day was that we ran into Kristen and Mike Schern while standing in line to get in! So we had lunch together on the patio at the Yard House and it was so fun! It was a
gorgeous day to be in Phoenix!

No, I didn't lock her up...

These are just a few pictures taken at the park this week. The dare devil has mastered climbing, going down the two-story slides, and hanging from the monkey bars. She always makes a friend, usually an older girl who teaches her how to be more daring. I am riddled with anxiety the entire time she plays because I can't predict what she is going to do next. But since she loves it so much, we go almost every day.
I've been riding my pink cruiser that has a trailer on the back to go to the different playgrounds in the neighborhood. It has been so warm here, we've even gone swimming in the kiddie pool, though usually we just go to the splash pad.
We are still motivated to potty train. We have been using her Easter candy for her reward system. So far it's not working out so well. Can we say laundry and carpet cleaner?? Every time she hangs out with Ella Shea, she wants to use the potty, but on her own she seems only to be motivated after she has wet her pants. We took a break the past few days and I think we will start up again tomorrow. Sometimes I question how much TV Miss k watches. She seems to have started her performance career early. Not only does she have a repertoire of musicals memorized, she is now quoting and imitating any she watches (of course, her speech is still mingled with elfish so it requires translation)
Mary Poppins references:

• She nods and dreams, shaking off the sleep like Michael when I sing "Stay Awake" to put her to bed at night - such a ham!
  
• She quotes Michael while she's eating cereal "Strawberry! Hmmm"
• When I get her out of the car, she says "Aaaaaand snap! The job's a game!"

Chito Bang references (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang):

• Driving in the car, she yells "A boat! I can see a boat!"
• "So delicious, so beguiling...." over and over and over
• She will grab Geoff and I by the hand and have us sit in a circle and she will sing "Someone to... Someone to...I Have You Two"

We had a picnic in our backyard, sitting on our porch swing. Note K is wearing her princess dress again and her hair in not combed. Any tips for getting her to sit still? Wrestling and bribing don't seem to work...
This is Geoff's vegetable garden we started. We are very proud of the 11 stalks of corn and two tomato plants that have sprouted. Our goal is simple: just to gain experience in gardening before the summer sun scorches them to death. It's been fun.

Finally, I cannot end this blog without saying what a FABULOUS dinner I cooked today! LOL!! This chicken & vegetable pasta dinner was covered in a cream sauce of Parmesan cheese, butter, garlic, onion, fresh basil and bacon. We had artichokes in a butter & vinegar dipping sauce... and Katherine DRANK the dipping sauce before I could get it out of her hands! We missed going to the Hatch's for Sunday dinner, but it was a good day to eat at home.

Supercalifragilisticexpiealidocious!

We have been inundated with two movies this week:
Mary Poppins is the new favorite. Katherine is obsessed with doing her "meekup" as well as anyone one else's who is willing to let her come near them with a compact. The poor people who sit behind us at church are destined to be puffed with powder by the end of sacrament meeting. K asks for "Diving Horses" nearly every morning. She notices anything with horses now and says "Whoa! Easy now!..." when we're riding on our bike. It's amazing to me that she stays with the entire movie because there is no singing, dancing, animation... just romance and animals. Jackson Family trivia: Wild Hearts was Genet and Mark's first date at the dollar theater in 1991...We have had a series of incidents this week. I lost my cell phone. I pinched a nerve in my hip and was seriously crippled for 30 hours, even got an adjustment from my visiting teacher who is a naturopath, but nothing helped. The next morning I was picking up toys, trying to get the house ready for when my parents will stay the night with us, stood up, and bam, I was back to normal. So weird.

I want Katherine to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible before it gets hot so I've been coming up with many activities. One day we were coloring with sidewalk chalk and she wanted to run to our neighbor's house. I called after her and she decided to step onto a metal ground cover instead of coming back to me. She was barefoot and I had NO IDEA just how hot the ground cover had become because the cement sidewalk was cool. K got 2nd degree burns on one of her feet and cried for an hour. The rest of the day she whimpered and moped around. But a few hours later...
...Geoff's priests showed up to our house (16-17 yr old boys) for their activity of making homemade pizza and grilling hot wings. Was Katherine sad? Did she mope? Did she whine that she couldn't walk? Heck no! She asked to change her clothes, tried to get the boys to chase her around the house, and stole their hats! What a flirt!
We had a wonderful visit with my parents this week. We went up to Prescott for a night and then they stayed with us the next. I am always amazed at how much energy they have! They keep up with K at every step. It is so fun to watch their relationship develop. We met their friends, the Lakes, who had stayed with them for Spring Break. The Lake kids called my parents Grandma and Grandpa. They are so loving, how could they not? K cried when we had to drop them off at the airport. When we got home, she asked to watch videos of them together over and over again.
For Easter this year, K received paints from us and crayons from her great grandparents. We colored all during General Conference today. We have also given a stab at potty training this past week. She has made it once in three days. By three o'clock, she brings me a diaper telling me she's done with trying. It's messy, but we're trying and optimistic.

Painting this morning

Singing 5 Little Monkeys in Prescott

Jumping in the bouncy house at the park

We love you guys! Happy Easter!