A Positive Reality Show

I have had my fill of most reality shows.  I stopped watching Dr. Phil years ago because it was just too sad to see all of the messed up families and individuals on the show.  And last time I saw part of Wife Swap it was all about creating conflict and peeking in on dysfunctional families. I think partly because I studied human development, but mostly because I have a family of my own, I am excited about this new show that airs for the first time on September 28th.  It will focus on real families and real problems, and provide some real answers to help us as we try to raise our family to be happy and successful.  If you get KBYU check it out and let me know what you think.

Real Families, Real Answers

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU4MTl4FN84

The Greatest Show on Earth

Here’s another bit of fun with the new video camera. Last Friday, we all went to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Honda Center in Anaheim. We’d never been to the circus in an arena before. It was an interesting experience, especially seeing the trapeze artists swinging up in the rafters among all the lighting equipment. It was a great show!

I think everybody loved the guys riding motorcycles in the giant steel ball the best.  They got seven guys in there at once! Other favorites were the trapeze artists and the elephants. It was all great, though. They really had it all down pat and kept it moving. I think the only complaint would be the insane prices they were charging for any food or souveniers (which we warned the kids we wouldn’t be getting before the show to try to head off the whining — it mostly worked). One thing of cotton candy cost $15! (Pass!).

The video below is a highlight reel from the show set to music. Hopefully, it’s not too long. I got a little carried away with the video editing software. Good times.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z0uWWVYVSQ

Always Remember – Hero Camp 08

Last week was “Hero Camp”, an amazing church camp that is planned and run by the mothers in my ward (congregation) and a neighboring ward. Last year Hunter and Emma had a great time, and they have been waiting all summer for this big week.  This year’s theme was “Always Remember” and focused on the wonderful examples of heroes we have had throughout time. Every morning the group of 99 children would meet together and get a visit from a hero that came through a Time Machine. Then they would split into groups by age and rotate through activities, music rehearsal, and a lesson.  I didn’t see everything that went on, but here are some of the highlights of the week:

Monday’s Hero: Old Testament – Joseph and the coat of many colors. The focus was on choosing the right no matter what happens to you, and having a good attitude. They talked about “CTR Power” quoting the scripture in 2 Samuel 22:33- “God is my strength and my power: and he maketh my way perfect.”  They also learned about other heroes in the Old Testament: David’s power of courage (they used sling shots to throw marshmallows at an amazing painting of the giant Goliath), Moses’ power of faith, Daniel’s power of prayer, Esther’s power to stand for what is right, Noah’s power of hard work, and Joseph’s power to forgive.

Tuesday’s Hero: The Book of Mormon – Ammon’s wisdom. God helped Ammon to be wise by giving him ideas in his mind and in his heart.  They did activities related to living in Nephite times, making an arrowhead necklace, a little clay pot, a headband and painted each others faces.

Wednesday’s Hero: New Testament – The Good Samaritan. This is the day I was most involved with and I helped teach a lesson about Christ and how he taught us to serve by the way he lived. We talked about how he used his hands for service, made painted hand prints and special pencils, did an obstacle course and assembled hygiene kits.

Thursday’s Hero: Doctrine and Covenants – Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins (They saved many of the pages from the Book of Commandments when a mob destroyed the print shop). The theme for the day was “We can do hard things.” Much of the focus was on the early Mormon pioneers and the hard work and sacrifice they gave to live and defend themselves from persecution.They made covered wagon snacks, played games that pioneer children would have played, and made butter.

Friday: The kids all performed the songs they had rehearsed through the week.  Each group had a song they learned together, and there were two beautiful group numbers as well.  (I can’t remember the name of the CD that so many of these songs were on, so if you know please tell me!) Each child was given a memory book with pictures of them and the things they did all week.  Then we all went to the Lagoon for swimming, sand and water slides.

It was such a special week.  The kids felt the love of their Heavenly Father and learned so much while still having fun with their friends.  There were tears shed by one of my girls because it was over so fast and she just loved learning and singing.  A huge Thank You to any of you that were involved in making this week happen.  It will be something that my kids will always remember.

Hannah’s group singing Nothing’s Too Hard For The Lord

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT4tPi2GnCg

Emma’s group singing Good News

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t53cieMeMGA

Hunter’s group circle dancing

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTaE8sXHWBw

The whole camp sings together

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hcnq-hU82Q

Citrus

On Saturday we went to the Festival of Flight at Orange County’s Great Park.  There is a huge orange hot air balloon that gives people rides straight up and and down for a view of the area. Unfortunately for us the event was pretty popular and the time slots for a ride were all filled two hours after the festival started.  We walked around and saw the different displays, made birdseed art and got some free frisbees. There was also a place to make a simple kite, but the line was super long, and Sabrina was super cranky, so we decided to pass on that one.  The park was also giving out free frozen orange sorbet in orange peel bowls- yum!

We also got the lemonade stand and the kids set it up for the first time yesterday. The neighbors got in on it too, and there are plans to try again today… Fun!

The Way I Am

My latest favorite song. I had never heard of Ingrid Michaelson when I first heard this on the radio and was trying to figure out who it was. Norah Jones? No, a little too peppy… Luckily I was able to find it, and have been listening to it over and over. I think it is my favorite because one of the things I love most about Rob is that he takes me the way I am. I love you baby.

My Friend Is Sad – Mo Willems

We love the Mo Willems books! We have collected a bunch of his pigeon books, our favorite being The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog.  While working at the book fair a while back I came across an elephant and piggie series I didn’t know about. I bought the book My Friend Is Sad, and it has been very popular too.  The kids really like these because they can relate to the characters and their dramatic emotional responses.  There are few words, and the illustrations are simple, but they work for all ages. Hunter at ten appreciates the subtle humor and Sabrina at two loves the simple story and expressive characters.  Genius!