Life at home in September and October

We got back to Utah in early September and found ourselves very busy.  One of the things we did take time to do was take the kids to the Ogden temple open house.  It was super fun being with them in the temple.  Before we went inside I told them to ask any question they wanted.  I tried to instill in them a concept that temples and worship services should be viewed as sacred, not secret.  And if they have any questions they can always ask us.  While we walked through they asked several questions and commented on how pretty it was.  I thought the tour went great.  Afterwards we went to dinner and I asked them what they thought or felt while inside the temple.  Ady quickly responded that she was surprised there were bathrooms inside the temple.  Brock followed with, "and so many drinking fountains-I tried everyone of them".  That was true, I think he did try every drinking fountain we saw.

When we were in Minnesota we picked wild raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.  Then when we got home we picked more raspberries from our garden and rhubarb.  Then we set about making jam!  We now have some of the best jam in the whole world.  Some may say we cheated and did freezer jams, but we think they taste great. 

As soon as we got back the kids started playing soccer.  Ady really seemed to enjoy playing soccer, Brock on the other hand seemed too young and usually just played around or danced during games.  In the picture if you look closely you will see he is dancing and making faces.  Both kids seemed to learn things and we had some good discussions about sportsmanship and giving our best efforts.  At the start of the season, Ady was one of the worst players on the field and by the end she was playing quite competitively with the other girls.  We were really pleased with her progress and interest in improving.  Watching her struggle and keep working and gaining confidence made us very proud parents.  Both kids even managed to score a couple of goals during games. 

Also both kids started school-Ady in the second grade and Brock into preschool.  We debated about Brock, he often acts very immature and we weren't sure if he was ready for school.  Part of us thinks that kids should be allowed to play more and enjoy childhood.  But after much discussion we decided to put him into a two days a week class.  At first he seemed to enjoy going, but after a couple of weeks he started grumbling about having to go to school.  About a month into school he and I had a talk about school.

 Brock had just come home from preschool and said he hates school. I'm thinking great, he is only 4 years old and already he hates school! So then Kasey asks him why he hates school.
Brock: "It isn't fun, we don't play on the playground the whole time, sometimes the teacher makes us come in and tries to teach us things."

I'm thinking, wait till you don't get to be on the playground at all. Then I ask him if he likes learning new things. He tells me he doesn't learn anything at school, nothing interesting is taught. I'm completely unsure what to tell him. Literally 5 seconds pass where we just stare at each other and I am completely lost as to what to say.  I want to say something profound and give him a reason to change his stance on education and feeling hopeless as a parent.  I am unable to think of anything to say and then he walks by me to look out the window and says, "hey look the leaves are starting to change colors." I think, well I suppose this conversation is over, I will have to plan for next time so that I have a better response.
Then Brock says, "Dad, do you want to know why the leaves change color?." I say sure. "Dad, leaves have Chlorophyll and that makes them green. But in the winter time, there isn't enough sunlight so the tree pulls all the stuff inside the leaves back inside it's trunk and without the chlorophyll in the leaves they turn yellow or brown and fall off. Then in the spring when it is warm the trunk lets the leaves have the stuff again and they grow new green leaves."
Me: Ummm..... "where did you learn that?"
Brock: "I learned that from my teacher during science time."
Apparently his version of not learning anything and mine are very different.

 

One of the things that we have put more focus into in our family during the last year is working harder at having one evening a week set aside for the family.  Usually we try to do this on Monday evenings, but sometimes we have to move it.  We have had some really good discussions during these family nights about many things that we hope to teach the kids.  And we have some fun activities together.  One such activity that the kids loved was when we all worked together and spray painted our view of outer space.  The kids are so inquisitive about everything and it was fun to talk and use our imaginations.

In October we of course carved Jack-o-Lanterns with the kids.  We had a couple of pumpkins from our own garden but they weren't huge.  So we used them for other things, and got a couple of large pumpkins from Kasey's brother Brian.  The kids had fun with them. 

The kids did great with the pumpkins and enjoyed having them on our porch.  If you look closely you will see that Brock is wearing a cape.  He regularly dresses up as a super hero.  For Halloween we helped Kasey's mom with her store and then took the kids out trick or treating.  Brian and Jennifer's kids came with us and the cousins had so much fun together.  After getting back Carrissa and Landon had a sleep over and watched movies with us.