World Thinking Day

Do you ever think...how can I expose my kids to the rest of the world?  I feel like we get so caught up in our own lives that often we forget how fortunate and blessed we are.  My kids have never known what it feels like to not have a safe, happy home.  They have never experienced intense hunger.  They are so blessed, as are Trev and I, to grow up in such a beautiful, safe, happy, and abundant part of the world.  For which I am intensely grateful.  


However, I worry sometimes that if they never see how hard things can be...they will lose the appreciation, or worse yet, never gain it, for how blessed they are.


This is something that I fret over now and then, but then quickly realize two things.  


A) I can expose them to these things through a lens.  They can see these things online, I can tell them about current events going on in the world, I can take them to places close by that they will see those less-fortunate, etc.  There are ways in which they can live safe, happy lives, yet still feel humbled by it.


B) I need to make an effort to do this.  It is not something I think about often, so I need to make sure I act on the thoughts I have and impressions that come WHEN they come, not put them off to be forgotten.


Fortunately for me, one of those opportunities presented itself last weekend.  Morgan is in Girls Scouts.  They had an activity last weekend called "World Thinking Day."  It was held at a church in Salt Lake, and basically it was an event where a few Girl Scout troops from around the valley did reports on different countries throughout the world.  They each had their own "booth" and all the other Girls Scout Troops were invited to come and see all their displays and learn about the countries!  When I heard about this activity I thought, oh...that is the same day as Morgan's birthday party.  It might be too much for one day...but then the thoughts I discussed above popped into my head...I needed to take her to this!  So we signed up - and boy, I was glad I did. :)  Here is how it went:


1. Meet up and more Celebrating!  We met up with M's troop at the Registration table so that we could all go in together.  Before we went in, M's cute leaders had a fun birthday hat for her to wear and a present chock-full of crafting supplies.  They all watched her open it...it was really sweet. :)

2.  Learning about Distant Lands, Cultures, and People.  I loved watching Morgan walking around and thinking...this is one way I can teach her about the world!  Mom teaching list...CHECK! :)

Do you love this face??!!!  I sure did. :)

This was great...world exposure and family heritage wrapped up into one!  DOUBLE CHECK!  (Trev's family is from England, in case you were wondering).

This was some sort of a mask made in Israel, I think. :)  After about 2 minutes she wanted it off.  It kind of smelled funny. :)


3.  Life in the Peace Corp.  The last section of the event was a woman came who served in the Peace Corp.  She lives with a family in Kyrgyzstan.  She had pictures to show and explained to the girls how different life is this part of the world.  It was pretty neat to see for myself...Morgan was pretty tired by this point so we wound up leaving a little early.  She had woken up at 5 am that morning because she was so excited for her party.  This presentation came around 3 p.m., about the time M was crashing. :)    

Even though it was a long day, I am so glad we went to this.  The people who put this on did such a great job!  They worked hard and I am grateful as a mom for their efforts to teach my daughter about the world.  I am grateful we had and took advantage of this opportunity.  I think it will be little things like this, happening often, that will help my kids realize how great they have it.  Thank you Girl Scouts!

What was your Presidents' Day like?

Happy Presidents' Day!

After a crazy week of Valentine's, M's Birthday, our Anniversary (more on that later), Trev, Morgan, and I all speaking in church, in addition to the usual busy schedule, I was SOOO ready for PRESIDENTS' DAY!  To me this year Presidents' Day meant, I stay home with the kids, we hang out in our Jammies for a long time, we relax, and soak each other in.  And that is just what we did. :)

Here is a "picture - story" of our day together.

What a great day!  In case you are wondering if everything was cupcakes and roses all day...keep in mind I have 4 little kids. :)  I just didn't take any pictures of the not-so-fun stuff.  The one in particular that sticks out in my mind was when we all tried to go sledding, and after 45 minutes of getting snow gear on, the snow had melted on our favorite sledding hill.  We did find another, but after about 3 rides down the hill, Claire had a little "accident" so we had to go home.  Although the kids didn't seem too sad about playing in the backyard.  Sometimes I wonder why I don't just have them do that in the first place?!  oh yeah...I usually do.  I usually usher them outside...this time however, I went out with them.  It made all the difference. :)  I sure love these kiddos.

An "Art" Party to Remember

Over the weekend we celebrated Morgan's big day!  But before I delve into that I have to recap her actual birthday since we had the party two days later. :)  We pretty much celebrated her all week.

After a mini-photo shoot with mom (see previous post), we had "Morgan's Choice Breakfast" which was Crepes.  We were all in heaven.  They are not too healthy and can be a bit of a mess with all the powdered sugar, so we don't have them too often.  This was a treat for us all. :)

Next, the younger clan and I went to visit Morgan at her school.  We got to go into her class on her birthday to read her favorite book  to her classmates and then give out a birthday treat.  Morgan was REALLY excited to see us.  I  love seeing her face light up.  A lot of her friends faces lit up too because they all know me from Primary.  Plus they loved watching Claire purr like a kitty and Jake make silly faces.  My kids like to put on a show. :)

Here we are getting ready to read, "Tea with the Queen."

And here is Morgan handing out her Birthday prize.  We didn't bring treats because the class had just recently come down from their Valentine's sugar-high, and because their are some kids in the class with food allergies and diabetes.  So we brought Chinese Yo-Yo's instead!  The kids LOVED it!

Then we finished off our visit by the whole class singing "Happy Birthday" to M.  Her face was priceless...I love to see these confidence boosting moments in my kids' lives.

She also came home with a bag CHOCK-FULL of birthday cards her classmates had written her. It was really cute. :)

Then that night before dinner we let her open her open her present from us...a camera, scrapbooking supplies, and a new notepad to journal in.  She is very creative so I think it was a perfect fit.

For dinner?  M's favorite...Bean Burritos! :)

The next morning she even got to go to Breakfast of Champions at her school with my sweet M-I-L, Grandma Jill.  She was brought her a great art set and sketch pad for her birthday.  She LOVED it. :)

Here they are on their way...

It was a great day for sure!

Now onto the party!!!  

Like I mentioned before, Morgan LOVES to create.  She loves art...so we had an ART Party to celebrate!

Here are her cute little friends arriving...ready to create!  They were all VERY excited...I don't know if I have heard that much screaming and giggling in a long time. :) There were a lot more of them still to arrive...

For our first activity:  "Paint-Your-Own-Masterpiece"

Next, as per Birthday Girl's request, PRESENTS!  

We had "Cousin It" picking up trash.

After that...Dance Party for Kids on the Wii!

While the girls' danced, we got the painting cleaned up and the cake and ice cream ready to go...a RAINBOW CAKE!  I made it myself and am pretty proud.  I got the idea (as I do most things) from Pinterest, and it turned out sooo cute!  Plus it was yummy too...if I do say so myself. :)

Last...and probably the best was the "Send-Your-Art-To-The-World Balloon Launch"!  This was definately a highlight of the party.  The girls decorated balloons with markers and launched them into the morning air...we had screams, giggles, and even one girl said "MORGAN, THIS PARTY ROCKS!"  The look on Morgan's face and her reply "I KNOW!!" was a pretty big mom paycheck for me. :)

Here they are getting the balloons ready...

Can you sense the excitement? :)

Then the Grand Finale...the LAUNCH!

The girls watched their balloons sail off until they could no longer see them.  It was pretty fun watching them all bursting with excitement. :)  Again, more screams and giggles. :)  

The party concluded with all the girls playing in the backyard until their parents came while we started the clean-up effort.  It wasn't too bad actually. :)  Then we had lunch, chatted with my mom and sister who came down for the occasion, after which Morgan and I headed off to a Girl Scout "World Thinking Day" activity. Pictures on that coming soon.  

It was a great day, and a VERY busy, but great week.  I loved getting the chance to focus on Morgan.  Especially on such a special birthday.  Number 8 is big, so I wanted her special day to be big as well.  Although I must admit, I am glad to have break next year...we only do friend parties on the "even" birthdays...and I will need 2 years to gear up for the next one. :) 

Happy Birthday sweetheart.  We love you very much. :)