Finley

 Meet Finley, our Christmas surprise! 

 What could be better than a puppy on Christmas morning?

Spinach Salad, Anyone?

Today Piper played house with her cousin, Abie.  Piper is the boss, and Abe is the husband.  

"OK, Abe, we're having spinach salad for dinner.  Here's some for you. [pause]  Mmmmmm.  This is so good."  Abe dutifully echoes, "Mmmmmm." 

Does Piper actually like spinach salad?  No, she won't touch it.  But I think she's decided that she'll like it someday.   

[I love this picture of Piper because this is how her hair ends up every day, no matter how much I spray and slick it.  It matches the unruly plastic hair of her doll, Cindy.]

Dream Vacation

Ever since we lived on Whidbey Island (WA) from 2000-2001, I've said my dream vacation was to come back to the San Juan Islands when our kids were older and ferry hop from island to island with our bikes.

I've been mocked by my kids for having such a lame dream vacation, but we took them anyway.  The older two, that is.  We packed our bikes in the car and drove to Washington.  It was so nice to be with Bronwen and Ethan:  there was no crying in the car and we never heard, "When are we going to get there?" 

On Orcas Island.  Our friends, Dave, Christine, and Jared Higham came with us.  We parked our cars in Anacortes, WA, loaded our bags in trailers and took the ferry to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, which was our home base.

Jason on a ferry with the bikes and another ferry in the background.

On Fidalgo Island.  Jared, Ethan, and Bronwen.  These kids were awesome to travel with; they had so much fun together.  They sang as we rode our bikes (some favorites were "This is the road that never ends" and "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger").  Every night they enjoyed "Teen Time", which is what they called staying up watching movies in the living room after the adults went to bed.

Roche Harbor, San Juan Island.

We didn't just cycle.  We rode mopeds and scootcoupes.  This is me pinching Ethan's cheek and trying to get him to smile.  He couldn't drive without a license and wasn't too happy about that.

We explored the beaches and tidepools.

We ziplined (that's Jason zipping over a small lake).

On Lopez Island.  The weather was fantastic.  It was about 65 every day, which was such a relief after the Utah heat.  The islands were stunning.  We enjoyed good friends and good food.  It really was as fun as I dreamed it would be.  

May Family Book List: 11-13

Now we're getting to some of my favorite books for young adults.  A few of my favorite authors are Elizabeth George Speare and Katherine Paterson (you'll see more from them in the next age group).  I think each one of these books is absolutely enjoyable for kids and adults, so they're really fun to read together.

Ages 11-13
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Homecoming by Cynthia Voight
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Beauty:  A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley

I've got to point out a few. The Bronze Bow is historical fiction about a Daniel, a Jewish boy at the time of Christ who has sworn to avenge his father's death by the Romans.  He lives up in the mountains with a band of outlaws; but when his grandmother dies, he has to come back to the village and take care of his mentally disturbed little sister.  He and his friends think that Jesus may be the new leader of their band in defeating the Romans.  So good!  Full of action.

Beauty is not considered a classic or won any awards, but it is a really fun book that I have read several times as an adult.  Robin McKinley takes the basic story of Beauty and the Beast and turns it into an amazing fantasy with tons of background and side stories.  It is not like the Disney version at all!

May Family Book List: 10 and Under

I love to read!  I especially love to read with my kids.  I really want them to learn to like the classics, not just read the current popular books, so I created this reading list of some of the books I'd like them to read that they may not choose on their own.  I tried to pick fun classics that have great story lines and are easy to understand.  Let's admit it, there are a lot of slow classics that turn kids off to trying them again.  My older kids have read all these 10 and under books, so I know they're hits.

10 and Under
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
Little House on the Prairie or Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
Black Beaty by Anna Sewell
The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

I love that a lot of the classics teach insights about God.  For example, I remember reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Bronwen and Ethan when they were 8 and 6 and having Bronwen say, "Hey, Aslan [the lion] is just like Jesus.  He had to die to save the rest of them.  And then he came alive again in three days!"

And just a few months ago, I was reading Heidi with Sicily and loved reading what Grandmamma told Heidi when she was sad:

          "God is a loving Father to us all and knows what is good for us.  If we ask for something it isn't

         right for us to have, He won't give it to us, but in His own good time, if we go on praying and

         trust in Him, He'll find us something better.  You can be sure it's not that He didn't hear your

         prayer, for He can listen to everybody at once....He has been watching over you all this time --

         never doubt that...."

I'm getting carried away.  Don't you just love kids books?

Fourth of July

 We had a great Fourth!  Piper, Sicily, and I started with a hike up Green Canyon in the morning. 

 Then our family read The Declaration of Independence together.  They did not appreciate it as I hoped, but we'll get there someday.

 We have a great Fourth of July tradition with the Dalebouts:  a progressive dinner.  We started with appetizers and face-painting at Amanda's house.

 Then we had sliders and a ping-pong tournament at our house.  Above is Great Grandpa D - he's still got some great reflexes!

 Next we had apple pie and a bocce ball tournament at Grandma's house.

 Finally, we did fireworks at Annie's house.  [Annie's house was the only one not in a fireworks restricted zone!]  Ethan was put in charge of lighting the fireworks.  He did a great job and I think all the adults were happy to sit back and relax.

 This is Jason and Bronwen, enjoying the sitting back and relaxing.

Sicily said something that was funny in light of all the wildfires burning right now in the West.  "Mom, if the Fourth of July is about how great our country is, why do we celebrate by lighting fireworks that can burn it down?"

Busy Spring

I know it's been a long time since I posted.  I had two huge projects I was working on this spring and I just got out of the habit.  

First, I painted all the trim on our house.  Our windows are wood and some of them were peeling.  I had to sand, prime, and paint.  It was a ton of work, but super satisfying. Everyone says, "I like your new black trim!" but it's actually dark blue.   [I really like blue, OK?]  I particularly love how the front door turned out!  It's much more dramatic. (Here's how it looked before, if you're interested.)

The second project was preparing for Little Red, a century bike ride in Cache Valley on June 2.  I trained and rode with my friend Christine.  Above is our pre-ride picture, with nervous smiles; below is our after-ride picture, with relieved smiles!

 We got to ride through much of Cache Valley, from Mendon, UT, on the south end to Dayton, Idaho, on the north end.  I love cycling in Cache Valley; it is so gorgeous!  I can ride for hours on nearly-empty roads, only passing farms and small towns.