MARCHing on...

That finishes up March.  Onward to April!
Beautiful day here!
Alison

March School Days...

March seemed like it was a busy month with School related stuff. Here are a few things that we had going on...

I'm still working on pages for the rest of March.  Will post soon!  For now, I must get to bed.  Kyla and I are headed off tomorrow on an "adventure".  Remote cabins with no electricity, no cell coverage,  a little orienteering and hiking around in Glacier Park for the next couple days sounds like a blast, right?  Snow, rain, temps in the teens and twenties, and the chaperoning of twenty-some 11/12 year olds?  I'll let you know how it goes... just as soon as I recover.  Oh, and Dad will be taking over this Mom's chores while I'm gone as he attempts to "work from home".  Should be fun all the way around. :)

Until next time!

All Is Well...

Hello from Northwest Montana.

We had a wonderful time, a few weeks ago, visiting our friends Madison, Emma and Naomi,

at one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth. :)

It's been colder, and rainier and snowier since then.

But that's part of Northwest Montana in April.

And, it sounds like its part of lots of other places too.

So, all is well.

Sending "well" wishes to all,

Alison and family

P.S. 

I've enjoyed the thought lately that the God's Word holds the best advise for us in whatever situations we are going through in life.  

We just have to be willing to do a little digging and a little begging...

I love this verse today.

"A soft answer turneth away wrath..." ~Prov. 15:1

And it seems like I can use a constant reminder of that.

The Good and the Not-So-Good.

some of our "good" on Easter morning

As I sit here tonight, listening to the loud hum of fans and dehumidifier, I'm reminded that life is full of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good is... it's spring break, the kids are having fun, we've had beautiful days one right after another.  Lots of sunny outdoor time, bike rides, trampoline jumping, sliding and swinging!  You get the picture :)

The bad is discovering that there is a leaking valve behind the fridge that has slowly leaked inside the wall and under the floor for, who knows how long.  The bad is also having to call the insurance agent to make a claim, to call Service Master, to call the floor re-installers, the plumber, the adjuster again, and again, and again.  The bad is hanging around in the house waiting for the above mentioned "service persons" to come and go as they figure estimates and begin their work.

The ugly is seeing big holes cut in the freshly painted walls and the brand-new, recently installed floors being ripped up, piece by piece by piece...(sigh)

Such is life.

Hope all are enjoying spring break whenever and wherever you have it!

P.S. ... thank goodness for service persons, including my husband who is wearing the "plumber" hat this evening.  :)

february 2013 photo dump

Happy Spring, Happy Easter, Happy Weekend!

Alison

january 2013 photo dump

Well, I really enjoyed doing the "friday photo dumps" but it was a little to demanding for me some weeks so I decided to quit doing it.  I think the monthly photo dumps should work fine for me this year so here is January's (in March).  Except I had to do two of them because I had too many pictures...

What a BEAUTIFUL day here today!  The kids are playing outside after school in light jackets!  Needless to say, we are HAPPY about it!

Here's what else is going on...
      ...potty training, company, school work, baseboards and door trim, painting, garden planning, recital practice, bike-bike riding, yoga stretches, more work and more play (in no particular order).

Except, of course, work comes BEFORE play, most of the time, except when it doesn't.

As always and ever,
Alison

Sunday Evening...

We have started a new Sunday evening tradition around here!  Along with Daddy's kettle corn, the kids have been taking turns helping me make juice.  Tonight was Maya's turn to help.  This juice consists of beets, carrots, kale, cilantro, apples and lemons.  Then we add a little club soda to give it some zip!  IT IS SO GOOD!  Beets are excellent for blood purifying and building.  It's a good way to start a new week!

A few years ago, Randy planted 2 rows of beets in the garden and I was beside myself trying to figure out what to do with all those beets.  I'd had enough so we didn't plant any the next few years.  Now we are already planning on planting (yes) 2 rows of beets this year.  Can't get much better than eating them fresh out of the garden and raw in our juice.  Yum!

And, speaking of "Yum", be sure to stop by our friend Kari's new site at gi365.info.  She has some wonderful, healthy recipes to share.  I will be enjoying these recipes because I've always wanted to be able to cook/bake like Kari. :)  Check out her blog Gourmet Innovations: A food, adventure and lifestyle blog and let her know you stopped by.

So here is the beet juice recipe (for our family of six) for anyone who may be interested...

Sunday Evening Juice

3 med beets-thouroughly washed but not peeled
4-6 carrots depending on size-washed but not peeled
1 bunch of kale washed
1 handful of cilantro washed
3-4 medium apples washed and decored
1-2 lemons depending on size-cut of skins

Run the veggies and fruit through a juicer.  Roll the kale and cilantro into balls as you work them through.  Serve with club soda.

Have a great week,
Alison and family

P.S. Daddy's Kettle Corn recipe coming soon someday...

Different Strokes...

Colter is LOVING swimming these days!  He started lessons in January and just finished up with them today.  Here are some pictures of him today doing his strokes...

And this little girl has been LOVING watching her brother at the pool!  She practices her strokes in the bathtub in the mornings!  To cute...

During Colter's lesson's they leave open a couple lap swim lanes for lap swimmers.  I watch with great envy as they gracefully speed through the water!  SO wish I could swim like that!  What great excersize it would be!

I seriously have to get Colter to teach me someday... if only I could get over my dislike of having water up my nose.  Yeah...

Different strokes for different folks.

Keep up the good work Colter!

somoas and more-oas

Oh dear!  It's that time of year.  Just when I said, a couple of posts ago, that I was doing better this year at making healthier decisions... these had to show up yesterday!  Yes, the Samoas are my favorite but I like all the others too!  How about you? 

 Maya's been really enjoying Brownies this year.  Kyla's been helping out with the troop this year too.  It's been a fun (only twice a month) activity for them enjoy.

Little Miss Brownie herself bought her own boxes of Samoas.  I had to laugh at the little note she posted on her boxes- "Daddy Do not eat them they are Mayas"  She knows her Daddy well! heehee

I'm kinda surprised she didn't put "Mommy" on the note too...

Happy Wednesday, Me

Supercooled Instant Heat!

Here is something that has been going on here lately.  Kyla has been participating in sixth grade science fair this year.  The picture above shows her conducting her experiment.  I will share her abstract as it is a condensed version of her project and experiment...

Abstract

Kyla

What if you could somehow bring a liquid to temperatures below its freezing point without it actually freezing?  Could you then initiate freezing at these temperatures? What if the freezing point was actually “warm”?  Sodium Acetate hand warmers provide a “supercool” window into studying crystal growth and heat generation at this freezing point.

In this experiment, I changed starting temperatures of hand warmers to understand the effect on crystal growth and heat generation.  My hypothesis was, if I change the starting temperature of the hand warmers, then the hand warmers started at zero degrees Celsius will have the most crystal growth and the hand warmers started at forty degrees Celsius will have the most heat generation. 

With the intention of testing this, I conducted six trials each at three different temperatures.  Using water baths, I changed the temperatures of the hand warmers.  With a ruler and an infrared thermometer, I measured the crystal growth and heat generation.  My independent variable was the starting temperature of the hand warmers and my dependent variable was the crystal growth (centimeters) and heat generation (Celsius).  As a result, I proved my hypothesis correct.

The most interesting thing I learned was that freezing doesn’t necessarily mean something is “cold”, but instead the point at which a liquid crystallizes.  If conducting this experiment again, I would test further starting temperatures and the amount of energy released.  This experiment was well worth the effort I put into it, because of the “supercool” things I learned.


Last week Kyla participated in her school Science Fair, today she is participating in the County Science Fair and next week she will be headed to State Science Fair in Missoula.  Fun times...

Good Luck Kyla! 

  *************

This just in!

Here is our County Sixth Grade Science Fair Reserve Champion! ;)

Good Job Kyla!

2006 Album Begins...

So, tonight I started on my 2006 album pages.

Here is my title page (above).

Picmonkey has some amazing new goodies for spring!

Happy to be scrapping,

Alison

Dear Bloggy Checkers,

Some of you voted for me to have a chocolate party in January, after I met my goal of going choc-free for the entire year of 2012.  It would have been a great idea if only 4/6 of our family hadn't come down with the flu during the weeks following the New Year.  The other two of us (at right) ran to Costco one evening for groceries and had a quick celebration in the Costco Food Quart.  We shared a nutty chocolate ice cream bar and a chocolate frozen yogurt.  Yum!  So... that was our party.  Just glad to have everyone healthy again and I'm glad to be enjoying chocolate again.  It was a good year for me.  Mostly because I was making healthier decisions.  I'm trying to carry that through to this new year too!  So, off to Costco we will go to pick up some fresh veggies and fruit.  And... we will avoid the food court on our way out.  WE WILL! :)

 
Cheers!  Alison

Pages from the Past

 

Well, here are a sampling of my 2005 pages for those of you who remember these "good ol' days"!  I finished my 2005 Album and the kids have been lovin' it!  Especially Maya who enjoys seeing pictures of herself as a baby.  Ahhh... the days!  So, these are just a few of our favorite pages...  

 

 

I have been taking a break now but I suppose someday I'll begin my 2006 Album.  And someday, I'll get caught up on January of this year.  These pages seem to be the extent of my blog sharing these days.  It's kind of like killing 2 birds with one stone, I guess.  So, for now, it's good. 

Have a wonderful weekend,
Alison

Melita Turns Two

It's hard to believe she's already 2 years old. She keeps us on our toes!!!

 Have a great week!

Love, Alison

Be "Maya" Valentine!

These are the Valentines Cards that Maya and I came up with for her classmates and teacher this year.  When we did a google search for Valentine clip art, we came across this little owl creature and just had to use him!  We recognized the vintage charm of him and we're pretty sure that we have seen an origional owl card back on the farm in a place mat that Grandma Jean made of Valentines cards recieved by her kids (Randy and siblings) in school back in the 70/80's.  Are we right Grandpa Larry?  He just looked SO familiar!

So, after cutting, sewing, stapling and stuffing; we loved the finished product. 

And... it was high time I had some "Maya time"!  It was most enjoyable for both of us. :)

Just this tonight as I try and get caught up on January too...
Goodnight,
Alison

These Days...

This is the only V-day decorations up at our house right now.  As a matter of fact, this is pretty much the only decorations up in our whole dining room, living room and entry way right now, due to lots of house updating going on over here!  Colter cut out the hearts for me with the scroll saw and drilled holes in them and I modpodged them with pretty paper and then used a little silvery spray paint to finish them up.  Then I hung them last evening with gray shimmery ribbon. 

Randy's been painting the walls lately.  We got new floors put in a couple weeks ago.  New trim, area rugs, and couches are next on the list.  I'm loving the simple, easier to clean, updated, freshened-up look.  I'm hoping to keep this thought in the forefront of my mind as we start bringing the furniture, decorations, and clutter back into this living space!  We need it but... maybe not ALL of it!?!?!?  

Thursday marks the birthday of a special little girl in our lives!  Can't believe she is TWO years old already!  I find myself thinking a lot about this special week two years ago and it makes me feel warm, happy, and loved. 

So, so much in our years! 

So much GOOD! 

These days are busy ones for us.  But bring on each day.  ALL of it.

Enjoy your days ahead too,
Alison

and.... It's A Wrap!

I finished out 2012 pages back in the first part of January.  These are the last 5 pages of our family album for last year.  You can view the complete album by going to the top of the blog and clicking on the "Album 2012" tab.  I thought this would be a fun, and orderly way to share our album!

So, with 2012 complete, I headed back to 2005, the year we bought our first digital camera, and began creating and printing pages.  I'm almost finished with that year and the album is filling up fast.  I will post some of my favorite pages from that year soon and then eventually make a tab for that album too. 

January has been an awesome month.  Hope all are enjoying these first days/weeks/months of 2013!
Hugs, Alison