Fruit Salad

So I sat down for lunch with the kids today. We were eating and Isaac says "Mom, there are 3 steps to making a fruit salad." I ask him what the steps are. "Number one, you have to wash the fruit. Number two you ask an adult to cut the fruit. Number three you put the fruit in a bowl and you have fruit salad." I was kinda impressed. So I asked him how he knew this. "I read a book." he tells me. I hope he always learns this fast.

We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. ~Author Unknown

What do you know--my computer is really letting me post pictures today!!! Yesterday was so nice out and I didn't just want to sit around the house all day, so I packed up the kids. We spent some time playing at the park. We had to play at Isaac's school, because they have torn up Sunflower Park. I don't know if they are putting in new equipment or what, but there was pretty much just a big hole there yesterday. After having a picnic snack, we got on the road and checked out Spearfish Canyon. I haven't been there in about 6 years, but it is so beautiful there. The kids had fun finding animals and climbing on the fresh snow piles.

Today is Sunday. Another morning of dreading taking my kids out to church. It is quite obvious that I am having difficulty managing my own children on Sundays as I have blogged about this for years, but now my children are getting older and not only do I feel that my kids should be MUCH more behaved, but pretty much the whole congregation thinks so too. I have finally decided that it could be my fault for taking the easy way out so many times before. We have often had a nursery to rely on and my kids did not have to sit through a whole serman when they were young. Plus in Montana they had Sunday School at the same time as the church service, which at first for me was wierd, but then I didn't have my kids screaming through the whole service so I decided it was great! Oh--do I dread Sundays--the wrestling, the screaming, the whining, the fighting, the hitting, the crying-- and I am describing the service not WWE RAW! How does God feel about me just worshiping at home? Would that really be so bad? But I feel this is important and I should work on it now instead of letting it get worse (Isaac nearly took out 4 people two weeks ago screaming and trying to run back to the car--not sure it can get worse). So last week after we got back from church I very calmly discussed this with Isaac. Zoey really didn't feel the need. I asked him if he felt he had been good and we found the things he did well and the things he needs to work on and then he gave himself 6 minutes on the naughty chair for misbehaving. We also wrote on paper, goals for this week, the rewards for meeting those goals and the consequences for not meeting them. So they have had a week to think this over. I know you are not supposed to use food as a reward, but I told them I would take them out for icecream if they behaved. Today went so much smoother!!!They did wrestle twice before the service was over, but they weren't fighting at the time--"Just playing Mom." I don't know. I hope this phase is over soon.

On a lighter note. Isaac is learning to read by leaps and bounds. They have him practicing writing sentences. When we read at night I have him read most of the book to me. I love to watch Zoey write her name. She always knows the right order, but sometimes it is written Zoye or ZoEye. Just like Isaac used to do she often times gets carried away with the upper case E and it will have like 10 lines on it instead of three.

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault

So as I have mentioned before, the story of the Soost family is not written in any chronicalogical order. So not only am I back tracking, but still years after I have started this blog, I still add my pics backwards too! The first photo is of Isaac and his bendaroos. Magic wax over super stong string makes for a great afternoon. He made this ducky thing with no direction at all.

My family came out to visit and we gave my niece Libby a birthday party!! She turned 2. She didn't feel great while she was here, but didn't have any problems blowing out the candles (a couple of times) and eating those frosting balloons right off the cake!

Zoey, Libby and Isaac.

I gave Libby a rubber lizard to play with and she didn't really like it. "Yuck!" was her reaction. My kids didn't go anywhere without their lizards for about 2 months, but then they got puppies from McDonald's and now that is their thing all the time.

We took a drive through the mountains and found a deer stuck on the fence.

My husband came to the rescue.

And the deer lived to see another day.

We took everyone sledding at Tie Hack. Here is papa Wayne sledding down.

There wasn't as much snow there as the day we went to get our Christmas tree, but it was still pretty.

Zoey leads the way, carrying her own tube.

Amy finished her sled ride right before the rocks would have stopped her. It was cold that day so we didn't stay long. I think everyone had a good time. But Isaac did crash, got his nose banged up pretty good and had a headache. Don't think that will stop him from going again.

I've fallen in love many times... always with you. ~Author Unknown

The kids had a great Valentine's Day! Each had a party at school. Zoey was to bring mini cupcakes and I didn't realize how many that makes. I made 62 cupcakes! and that was with some of them being regular size. So Isaac brought some and I brought some to work.

I was lucky enough to get a brand new dryer. I really had no idea this was on my list of things I wanted or needed so I was quite surprized! Nothing says I love you more than "Can you do at LEAST TWO loads of my laundry at a time!" I thought I was doing well with the set I had, but this apparently means not. However, the kids LOVE the box!!! They turned it into a candy shop. You can buy candy for a dollar or one penny, but it is free on tuesday and thursdays. Isaac marked the box "clos 9:00" (with the 9 backwards) because we need to know the closing time. They decorated the shop with Valentines stickers. It is very cute.

Zoey has been so cute lately singing her songs. She is still singing Holly Jolly Christmas, mostly making up her own words. When we do laundry she sings This Is How We Do the Laundry. Isaac is still learning so much and says things like "My brain told me." I am glad his brian talks to him.

Well our day is not over, we are waiting for Chris to get back from work (on a Saturday of all days) to go out to eat and possibly take the kids bowling.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What the world really needs is more love and less paper work. ~Pearl Bailey

I feel I should blog, but not much new here. The weather does not know what to do, so sometimes cold and snowy sometimes warm and sunny. Its hard to keep the kids dressed appropriately for outdoors. We are finished with ice skating and the kids loved it! I didn't sign them up for more lessons I think we will just wait for soccer season. I think they would like to try that too, but if spring in WY is going to be anything like the last two springs in MT I'd rather stay home. I don't enjoy sitting out in bad weather when I could be inside my cozy house.

This week has brought Valentine's Day. Tuesday we put together our valentine's. The kids did them all by themselves and was very stress free this year. I did insert the stickers Zoey is giving, but she seperated them all out herself and wrote her name on them and sealed them with a heart sticker all by herself. Last night we made mini cupcakes for her class. I do enjoy making cupcakes with my kids. Her party is today. Isaac's is tomorrow. No big V-Day plans yet.

When love is not madness, it is not love. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca

The other day the kids talked me into going to the library and we brought home tons of things. They opted to watch one of the movies instead of reading books that night. Of course when bedtime came-which was late-they still wanted their books. I gave one to Zoey and told her to read it in bed and when she was finished to go to sleep. Her responce " Mom, I can't read this." in her little 4 year old voice. So I gave her another book. "Mom, I can't read this either." She says very quiet and matter of factly. "What? You can't read at all?" What is preschool teaching her anyway? I explain to her that she just needs to look at the pictures and make up her own story.

Today at preschool they learned about teeth and brought a ton of things home. On the way to pick up Isaac she says "You have to brush your teeth if you have frogs in your mouth." "I have frogs in my mouth?" "No, in the story (she had a little book) if you have frogs in your mouth you need to brush your teeth." Well, I suppose if I had frogs in my teeth I would be brushing and rinsing and sanitizing. She was so excited about the teeth things that I asked her if she was going to clean other people's teeth someday. "No, just mine." she says. But she does love to brush her teeth.

By the way the kids are healthy and back to school and back to our regular to dos. This is the last week of ice skating. I have been trying to post pics, but my computer does not feel like it so the non facinating stories of my life will not be givin out in chronical logical order, but hopfully will be soon to come non-the-less.

I quit being afraid when my first venture failed and the sky didn't fall down. ~Allen H. Neuharth

I am so frustrated that I cannot post pictures!!! I have got the two, but any more and my computer just freezes right up. I'm trying---really I am.