School Days

School has started at the League Home!! Our shelves are stocked with books, folders, atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, writing paper, crayons, markers, pencils, workbooks and pens! Woo...so much stuff. What wonderful things to have to make learning fun. We start school at 8:00am and go until 2:00pm. Our school has two small breaks (15 minutes) and a half hour lunch. The kids work very hard at their studies. We combine several subjects: History, Art and Science. The other subjects are separate and each child works independently or with mom. I love watching my children learn. Each child has a different learning style, which is awesome to watch. Ian is my sponge. He sucks up all the information that you give him as fast as he can so that he can have more free time. Ian loves science, reading, writing and spelling. He will ask for science everyday and will sit in thought wondering how things work. Ian loathes math and wishes it never existed. It will take him 2 hours at times to do his math, just because he will be looking out the window day dreaming. Sashi loves art, writing and math. If Sashi had her way she would do art all day long. She asks for art and if we do not do a project for that day she will fall into a funk that can last the entire day. I have gone to many websites looking up art projects that both kids can do together and so far we have a wall with many wonderful masterpieces.

Here are some pictures of our first school days.

Sashi made this flower out of paper airplanes.


This is a tower that Sashi built


Ian knocks down the tower in one wack!


We made goo!


The kids LOVED this experiment


This is my favorite picture.


Ian hamming it up


I love my kids...what fun we have!

Simple Amusements

Stupendous
Artistic
Sweet
Happy
Inspiring

I have a little girl who lives at my house. She is quite cute. She loves to create things and is always making some form of art work. Sashi discovered that she could make art on our ceiling. Let me show you...

Sashi decided one day, that she could aim her headbands towards the ceiling and make them stick. The textured ceiling helps hold the headband up....she will shoot the bands up several times a day.

Sashi loves to show off how she can do this.

Ta-Da!!


I guess she is done. I wonder what she will create tomorrow?

Bedtime Rituals

Every night our children do the same thing: bath, brush teeth, prayer, pillow time, read and then lights out. This process is done without fail even if it is very late and we have been out most of the night...our family calls this "the night time ritual." Each member of the family seems to have a favorite part of the "ritual." Sashi loves bath time and if she had her way, she would never get out of the tub. Genji loves prayer time, where each member gets to have his turn at talking to God. I think Ian and I love the same thing, pillow time. What in the world is pillow time?? Pillow time is where I sit on the bed and listen to my children talk to me about ANYTHING they want to. Tonight I asked Ian, "What will we be talking about tonight?" Ian's eyes twinkled and he started to talk. "Mom, I want to learn about Lake Baikal. I want to to go there someday and to see how big it is. Did you know it is a mile deep in some places? I wonder if the Empire State Building could fit down there? I think that would be a wonderful sight to see the tip of the building poking out of the lake! Mom, which would you rather do? Would you rather visit the Panama Canal or the Erie Canal? I think the Panama Canal would be so fun because it has the largest locks in the world! I also would like to go from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean..isn't that so cool. Mom, I don't think I could go on that trip it is too far. I would rather go to the Erie Canal. I wonder if I go on my mission to New York if I could ride down the canal with you and dad when my mission was over? Would you come and ride this with me? Can you go to places and visit when you are on your mission? Maybe, you can't...maybe we have to just teach people. Mom, I can't wait I want to see the Erie Canal! Mom, do you know, I was reading about C-sections and how they work. Mom, what if a mom couldn't get a C-section and the baby was to big, what then? Mom, I think it would be very sad to see a mommy die. I am glad that we can have C-sections now. Mom, I love you."

Ian smiles at me and then picks up the book that he wants to read. I smile at him and think, "Wow, Ian spoke the whole time almost without taking a breath." I love my son. I hope he grows up to be a wonderful man. I treasure my "pillow time" with him. Life is good.

A Strange Addiction

Have you ever been addicted to something really stupid? I have this irresistible craving to play Oregon Trail. I must play. I have found myself pining away for the adventures of the Pioneers. I want to hunt buffalo, rabbits, snakes, squirrel and berry pick! I want the obstacles of dogging stampedes and finding lost trails. I want to have my family of 5 make it all the way to Willamette Valley, without killing someone. I need to play.

Tonight I found myself playing a game of "wannabe Pioneer" and ignoring a very special person in my life and I thought HOW SICK!!! Mia, what are you doing?? Here is a REAL person in the same room as you and you want to play Pioneers!!! What are you thinking? What are you doing?? Put the game away.

10 minutes later I am still fording down the Snake river wanting so very badly to get down stream without crashing into a jagged rock. I am madly thinking that I made the wrong decision not to take the "hot Indian guide" to get me down stream. What was I thinking?? Ooops, I am still not talking to my friend...blast...it is time to go home.

I turn off the game. I am embarrassed that I didn't talk to my friend on this visit. I think I will have to play something else the next time we are together. What a strange addiction I have....silly Mia.

Heat Wave

I am dying with the heat! Yes, you heard me right HEAT! We started the month of August off with beautiful sunshine. Oh golly, Juneau is so pretty with the sun sparkling off the water and the mountains shining in the light. However, there is one tiny little problem. It is WAY to hot. I enjoy the sun very much. I love going on walks, going to the park, playing in the ocean, picking berries, fishing, biking and picnics. When the sun shines you can do all these things without getting wet...it is heavenly. Today was 78 degrees. I got the kids ready to go to the beach and the first thing my kids said to me when we got outside was, "It is too hot mom, lets go back inside." I laughed this off and we got into the car and drove down the street to the beach. When we got to the sand my daughter told me that the sand was too hot and to cool it down for her....what am I? A God?? I told her I can not make the sand cooler but if she walks really quickly she can make it to the water without burning her feet. We make it down to the water and my son states that it is to bright outside and he wishes it were a bit more cloudy. Um...this could make for a interesting trip.

I sat on the sand and watched my kids laugh and play in the ocean. I felt the gentle breeze on my face and gazed at the awe inspiring mountains and thought how small I really was. Then it happened...I started to get hot. I ignored the unpleasant sweat that was dripping down my neck. I tried to splash water on my legs so that I would not feel like I was going to die. I wanted to rip off my clothes and run around in the breeze naked...but I thought people would think this was a BIT ODD. Panic set in...AHHHHHH, IT IS TOO HOT! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???? I looked around to see if my friends were getting hot...NOPE they were fine. I thought, I need water...where is the water?? Oh! There it is..I desperately tried to get the lid off the bottle and started to chug the water. AHHHH. That is better. Wait, I am still hot...poo!!!

I am proud to say, I didn't complain to my friends about being hot. I do not think they knew I was so uncomfortable...Yay! I do like the sun, but WOW...is it broiling outside!!!

15 years

See this man?


See this woman?


They got married 15 years ago in a small church.


They had two kids. A son


and daughter


They live in a fabulous house!


A Car to die for!!!


The views are awe inspiring.


What a great life they have!!

Dang Windows

So I have a tiny problem. There are zooming little bugs all over my house. How are they coming in?? THROUGH THE ^%;;&++! WINDOW SCREEN!! It drives me crazy! Some cleaver guy, a long time ago, came up with an idea to put a net in the window and call it a screen. He most likely was very proud of the fact that he came up with this. I do not think he ever imagined a bug being smaller than the little squares in his "wonderful screen." This man never lived in ALASKA! Alaska where the bugs out number the humans and maybe even the bears. In Alaska the bugs must adapt to all sorts of difficulties...so why not become no smaller then a pin point??? Makes since to me. You can not see these little blood suckers until they are biting you. Then "OUCH!"...smack, smear, wipe gone. I do this multiple times a day. Here is what my screen looks like.



You would think this would give me protection in my own house, but NO! It doesn't. Some one goofed.. I took a closer look to see why this would be.


Oh Wow! Look how big the screen holes are!! I see why that this little *bleep* can get through the window screen. Oh! If you do not know what a No See Um is here I will show you.


These tiny little insects can give a bite..that hurts like crazy. Here let me show you.


OUCH!! I have been slapping, scratching, smearing, scratching, yelling, scratching, swatting, scratching and opening and shutting windows all day. When will it end?? I need winter!! Someone tell the man who invented the screen he needs to revamp it for Alaskan bugs!! In the mean time, does someone have bug repellent? I need some.