Grandkids - Part 4

On Friday we spent a good part of the day at the Western Mining and Industry Museum. It was a very fun place for the boys. Tyler dressed up in mining gear and modeled for us.
This place had all sorts of things for the boys to see and have hands on experiences. Zachary helped Gavin do some hammering. Gavin seemed to enjoy himself.










The boys got to try their hand at panning for gold and other minerals. They even got a lesson from one of the docents at the museum.

As you can see, Lexi is enjoying the ride with Heidi. Getting to see all of the machines, and the process of mining different rocks and minerals was very interesting to us all. The employees were really good to show us around and explain things to us.

Grandkids - Part 3

On Tuesday afternoon I took the boys to the library. I didn't take any pictures of that but they seemed to enjoy the library immensely. Wednesday I spent the morning cleaning Garry and Heidi's garage. Garry refinished a door and had to do a lot of sanding. The fine dust went everywhere in the garage and it was quite a mess so everything had to be wiped down and cleaned, especially the floor. After I did the garage I took the boys to an indoor pool. We had a good time swimming.






It had a big water slide and a whirlpool which went in a circle around the bottom of the slide.










It also had a big wave pool. That was pretty fun. Zachary informed me that he needed to practice surfing because they may go to California next year and he needs to be ready for the ocean experience.
Swimming with the boys is lots of fun for me. I think I have almost as much fun as they do. They are my buddies.

Grandkids - Part 2

On Tuesday, June 9th, we went with a bunch of Heidi's friends and their children to Ute Park. We went on a 4 mile hike in the Canyon. It was a very beautiful hike. All the moms and children had lots of fun. Heidi says she wants to repeat the experience again. It was another very cool day but by the time I finished I was sweating a bit. It was good exercise for me.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday either Zachary or Tyler had games. We spent these 4 nights at the park enjoying the cool evening and the great entertainment which these cute boys and their teammates provided. Watching 6 year olds play is so cute. What fun!
Garry is Zachary's coach. I enjoyed watching Garry coach almost as much as watching the boys. He did a great job with the boys. He's very kind and patient with them. He built their confidence and helped them have a good experience.
I'm ending part 2 with a picture of my four cute grandchildren. Each one has a special spot in my heart. I love each one so much. What great kids!

Enjoying Being a Grandma - Part 1

The day after school was over for me, we flew to Colorado to spend the week with family. After we arrived we drove to the Bartle's to meet Lexi. What a precious baby girl! She's so tiny and petite and cute. I just love to hold newborns. There really isn't anything to compare it to. Lexi is so content and loves to be held. She rarely has a chance to lay without being held. Heidi's parents and some of her siblings were there as well. Between all of us Lexi was being held almost nonstop.











Grandma Great as we call her liked holding Lexi as well. She really doesn't weigh much so it's kind of like holding a feather.











That evening, their ward had a ward picnic at a beautiful park. It was really cool. I'm so glad I took a coat. I almost didn't. I ended up wearing my coat most of the time I was there. Grandpa enjoyed playing with our 3 grandsons. He thinks they are pretty special.













The next day Garry blessed Lexi but unfortunately it's too late to call Garry to have him help me figure out how to move a picture into my folder so I'll have to show you her blessing outfit later. However, the next day we went to Garden of the Gods which was a very beautiful place. It reminds me of the Valley of Fire with a lot of green added. The boys loved climbing all over the rocks. It was a beautiful day and so cool. I thought how beautiful God has made our Earth. I really enjoyed the experience.
In case you are wondering why I keep making part 1,2,3, etc. it's because I can only add 4 pictures and that's all the program allows me to do so when I have more pictures than that, I have to make another blog. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I'm still learning how to do all this. Just be patient with me.

Pioneer Day Part 3

Our last station of the round robin was a craft. Deanna Harding taught the children how to make a button on a string game. After it is made, the children flip the button around many times to put tension on the string and then pull it with both hands. It really makes it feel like the string is an elastic and will stretch, but of course it isn't. It's a simple game but one that the pioneer children could make so they would have some kind of toy.
After the round robin was over we had a hula hoop contest. I know that the children didn't have hula hoops but we played with them anyway. I had two girls that never did drop theirs hula hoops. I finally had to declare both of them winners so we could move on.











I also taught them another game called Blue, Black, Bologna. It's a whole group game and the children really liked it.
After all the games were over, I fed them homemade ice cream. Most of them had several servings.

I will remember this class as one of my very best classes. I've had great mother helpers who were so supportive. I hope they know how much I appreciate all the help they've given me this year. We've had a good year and have learned a lot. I'll miss them next year.

Pioneer Day Part 2

After our lunch I do a round robin for an hour. I have my wonderful mother helpers run the various stations. The first picture shows Corinne Messer doing Cat's Cradle. The children each make their own string and then learn how to play the various games.
Cyndi Goodrich ran another station of a bean bag toss and stick pull. We had a couple of older brothers of my students come and help demonstrate how to do the stick pull and also how to do some tricks with the sticks. The children enjoyed having the older boys come and play with them.
Another station, Candi Evans played marbles with the children. She taught them how to play various versions of marbles. They enjoyed it.
Janae Raban and Shannon Zobrist ran the jumprope station. They taught the children some various jumprope rhymes. Believe it or not, some of these games were not very familiar to some of the children.

Pioneer Day Part 1

On June 2nd, I had my annual Pioneer Day at the Clark County Fairgrounds. I've done this for about 8 or 9 years now. During the last month of school I take the children on a simulation of the Oregon Trail. During that month I put them into families and then a wagon train. They love getting a new identity. Before they leave they have to make a supply list of what it is they are taking in their wagons. They are only allowed to take 1,000 BWU (Bulk Weight Units). They need to make a concise list since this is all they'll have along the way. They also choose a wagon master which makes the ultimate decisions for each train. This program helps them to make real life decisions and it also helps them to cooperate and learn to get along.










After the month we wrap it up by celebrating and having a fun time eating flap jacks for breakfast and playing games like the pioneer children might have played. We do gunny sack races, 3 and 5 legged races, Duck,Duck, Goose and Button, Button, Who's got the button?

At lunch time I feed them lunch. I make it simple on myself so I don't cook pioneer type foods like I used to but they don't care. I just served hot dogs, potatoe salad, chips and had some delicious watermelon. Later in the day I make a couple of different kinds of homemade ice cream. Some of the children have never seen or tasted homemade ice cream, so it was a treat for all.
Here you can see my class doing some of the activites I mentioned.