Sickness Strikes Again

Sadly, we're going through sickness in our home again.  So sad.  Poor Jr. has had it the worst.
Earlier today, Lucky was being fussy.  I told him he was tired and needed to take a nap.  He finally decided to lie on the couch and it didn't take long before he was out.
I got Jr. a washcloth to put over his eyes and told him to rest and it didn't take long before he was asleep, too.  They both got a nice long nap.  Hopefully it helped.

So that's what we've been going through lately.  Let's hope it doesn't last much longer.

National Video Games Day 2016

For Family Home Evening activity, the kids played video games on National Video Games Day, September 12.  I didn't take pictures.

Make your bed day.

September 11th is "Make Your Bed Day." I made blankets and wrapped them around little piggies. I threw them in a hot oven and then I ate them. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Catch of the Day

This is what happens when Jeremy has to be down in Provo for work early in the morning.

Alphabet Pizza

September 8 is International Literacy Day.  While menu planning I wanted to figure out what food would work for dinner on this day.  The family helped me come up with the idea for Alphabet Pizza.
Pizza with toppings for all the letters of the alphabet from A-Z.  It took us some time and creativity but we did it.  It also took some time to prepare.  We had some of the ingredients, but others we had to buy specifically for this.

We ended up with 5 pizzas with these toppings/ingredients:

A- Artichoke Hearts
B- Bacon
C- Chicken
D- Dough
E- Eggs
F- Fennel Seed
G- Green Pepper
H- Ham
I- Italian Seasoning
J- Jalapenos
K- Kielbasa
L- Lemon Pepper
M- Mushrooms
N- Nacho Cheese
O- Olives
P- Pineapple
Q- Queso
R- Red Pepper
S- Sausage
T- Tomatoes
U- Uncooked Spinach
V- Very Good Pepperoni
W- White Sauce
X- Xtra Cheese
Y- Yellow Pepper
Z- Zucchini

Some of these (dough) we used on multiple pizzas but here is generally what pizzas we came up with:
Artichoke hearts, bacon, chicken, white sauce, yellow pepper, lemon pepper, tomatoes, uncooked spinach

Eggs, fennel seed, green pepper, queso, sausage

Italian seasoning, jalapenos, kielbasa, mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini

Nacho cheese, olives, very good pepperoni, Xtra cheese

Ham, Pineapple

 
I didn't think about it until today (even though it's on the calendar) and a friend was mentioning it on facebook, but today is also the 50th anniversary of when the original series of Star Trek aired.
Of course we had to celebrate that.  After alphabet pizza, you only have so much energy, though.  So we watched the first episode of Star Trek (the one that aired 50 years ago today) while eating our pizza.
Jeremy also got creative and came up with some Star Trek jokes while helping me make pizza.

What happens to a Vulcan when he gets sick?
He becomes "ill" logical.

Where do Klingons like to fish?
On a Worf.

What is the number one cause of death in the Federation?
Wearing a red shirt.

It was a fun evening.

Read a Book Day

September 6 was Read a Book Day.  Like with National Dog Day, we went with a theme for dinner.  In fact, we had the same dinner as on National Dog Day- spaghetti and meatballs. 

While I was making the meatballs, I couldn't help but sing, "Bella Notte," from Lady and the Tramp.  This time, however, we didn't watch a movie but we read the book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

While eating our meal, we couldn't help but sing, "One top of spaghetti all covered with cheese..."
Nice celebrating.

Be Late For Something

September 5 was Be Late For Something Day.  I figured I'd catch up on blogging about the things we've been celebrating lately- since National Waffle Day on August 24.  I meant to all day, but I didn't.  So here I am a day late for the holiday, finally doing it.
August 26- National Dog Day.  The day started out normally with Jeremy headed to Thanksgiving Point to build a balloon sculpture and Nichole headed on a field trip to Thanksgiving Point.  However, Jeremy forgot an item he needed so after dropping the older kids off at school, the little ones and I went up to Thanksgiving Point to give him the item.  We gave Jeremy the item and since the museum wasn't open yet, the boys and I stayed outside for a few minutes until it did open.  While outside, we saw a school bus that made me think, Hmm, I wonder if Nichole is on that bus, while Nichole, on that bus, looked out and saw the little boys and me outside the Museum of Ancient Life.  Once the museum opened, the boys and I visited Jeremy for a little bit to say, "Good job."

In the meantime, Nichole had a good time on her field trip to the Renaissance Fair.  She brought home souvenirs, such as her name in fancy writing and a mini sword made by an actual blacksmith.  She proceeded to knight her little brother.

On the note of celebrating National Dog Day, we put on the movie, Lady and the Tramp, and I promptly fell asleep since I had gotten up early to go birding that morning and I was tired.
After Lucky (who also fell asleep) and I woke up, I made spaghetti and meatballs to fit with the theme of the movie while the kids watched it a second time.

That is how we celebrated National Dog Day.
August 27- Banana Lover's Day.  I dragged all the kids back to the Museum of Ancient Life for Sharktastic Saturday, a time to learn all sorts of neat information about sharks and to do some shark-related activities.  Jeremy joined us for the first part before he had to head to work again.
We got pictures with the balloon great white shark,

the kids put together a food web/chain,

they made shark tooth necklaces,

learned about shark mouths and egg sacks,

and Jr. Jr. even got to touch I real live dead shark.  That makes it sound like a zombie.  It wasn't.  It was a real shark they had that people could touch the outside or the inside of it (with gloves on, of course- the people, not the shark).
The kids got to compare different shark sizes, living and extinct,

then we met up with some friends from our college years.  They were already planning on coming to Sharktastic Saturday, so we met them there and chatted and did some activities with them.
When we got home, we celebrated Banana Lover's Day by trying a new way of peeling a banana.  Apparently if you squeeze the opposite end from the stem until it split, it doesn't squish the end of your banana like it does if you pull on the stem.  It is also not supposed to have as many of the stringy parts stuck on the banana when you eat it.  Hmmm.  Something I learned from FamilyFun Magazine.  I forgot to pay a lot of attention to the stringy bits, but I did notice that it didn't squish the end as much as the stem end.  Someone else will have to try it and let me know about the stringy bits.

August 28- National Bow Tie Day.  After church I found out that the bow ties were taking over by wrapping around things including people's necks.

August 29- More Herbs, Less Salt Day.  Jr. Jr.'s first day of kindergarten. 

Jeremy suggested we have taco salad for dinner, but I reminded him more herbs, less salt.  So he got clever.

So the kids had chips and whatever for after school snack.  Jr. Jr. got to play a game with M&Ms for "homework" and for FHE activity, the kids drew with sidewalk chalk.

August 30- National Toasted Marshmallow Day.  I made s'mores in the oven again and they turned out well this time.  The marshmallows even turned golden brown.  Woohoo.

August 31- National Trail Mix Day.  We didn't have time to do trail mix for after school snack since the kids went to visit friends while Jeremy and I went on a date to a Volunteer Appreciation Night at a park up Provo Canyon.  We did some birding while we were there and got to see and visit with my brother-in-law's parents.

September 3- Skyscraper Day.  We didn't do anything with skyscrapers, but Jr. Jr. went to a friend's birthday party and wrapped the present all by himself, cutting the paper, taping it, everything.  He's such a big kid now that he's in kindergarten.

September 5- Be Late for Something Day.  I'm celebrating a day late.