Karaoke Night

Despite Camille insisting on NOT sharing her karaoke machine, we were able to talk her into letting us use it so we could have our first ever family karaoke night.

It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! Seriously, we had such a blast belting out Katy Perry, Simon and Garfunkel, and more. I may just become a karaoke junkie.

Volleyball

Audra's volleyball season just ended- and what a wonderful season it was!

It was a bunch of kids who had not played before. But, we somehow scored the best coach in the history of the YMCA. Honest, I loved just sitting and watching her coach at all the practices. Which is good because somehow I just got roped into coaching both Audra and Claire's volleyball teams starting in two weeks. YIKES!

Anyway, back to this season...Coach Laura at the beginning said, "I don't know if we will win any games. We are really small compared to the other teams. But, I don't care about scores. I'm not a score watcher. I just want the kids to learn how to play and improve."

She really coached them- she taught them the strategy of how to play using three hits, not one. She taught them the correct way to play. And, it worked! They did lost their first game, but they won all the rest of their games- including destroying the team they lost to when they played again (my competitive nature really came out and I was pretty anxious watching the game and so glad they beat this team!)

So, it was a fabulous season- we truly lucked out. Unfortunately, she isn't coaching next season, but she will be in the fall so we hope to get Audra on her team again.

2/3 Complete

On the one hand, I can't believe we are already 2/3 of the way done with our school year.

On the other hand, we are slogging through this eternal winter (even though we had a Disney break), and it feels like we still have forever left.

But, we are continuing our great year. And it is great. We have a lot going on, and our kitchen has turned into a science lab.

We have been studying beans, beans, and more beans. But it's been fun- the girls really enjoy all the corny experiments we are doing.

We are also reading some pretty intense books while studying the World Wars and depression. Whew- those were some intense times in our country! It has led us to have some big discussions about life and human nature. Good stuff.

Cloverleaf has also been going well. Camille made this fun map with her classmates that she was really proud of.

4H is also keeping the girls busy. They are really getting good at cooking and sewing. In fact, I now am putting Audra and Claire in charge of dinners on Thursday nights. Last night they made meat loaf and twice baked potatoes. YUM!

So, here we are continuing to slog onward. 12 more weeks left until summer break!

Valentine's

Even though the girls handed out Valentine's with their Cloverleaf classes yesterday, we went to another Homeschool party today, which was a lot of fun. Anytime the girls get to have a break from school to go to a party is a good day for them. See, homeschoolers really are the same as schooled kids.

Then, tonight we did our traditional fondue. The cheese was perfect this year! I'm getting pretty good at this.

I have not, however, perfected what the main course should be. We did pizza before, but that was too much cheese. This year I did tamales. It was OK. A medium hit.

But, of course, the chocolate fondue for dessert was the favorite.

And, this morning....This little girl who isn't so little anymore got her first Valentine. It was really sweet. It's a boy from church who thinks that Audra is pretty and likes that she loves the Gospel. He is about half her height, so we will see how this plays out when they are of age to dance and date. But, it really was sweet of him. He has great taste!

Camille's Notes From Stake Conference Today

The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to my 6 yo:

- Help one another
-Keep the commandments
-Love one another
-Go to church
- Help your mom and your dad
-Help your family
-Help your cousins
-Do the dishes
-Do the recycling
-Read the scriptures
-Pray and pray by yourself

I think it's a pretty accurate description--especially the dishes and recycling part!

Date Night With A Third Wheel

Audra had a Chocolate Murder Mystery Dinner, and Claire was at YouthFest. So, Ben and I took this little Cutie with us on our date. She insisted on chop sticks and a Fortune cookie, so we decided to try the Chinese restaurant just down the street that after 11 years of living here, we had never attended. We will definitely be going back (which means is will probably close down soon). It was delicious, the service was the best we have ever had, it was reasonably priced- truly a great restaurant!

Disneyland: Day 4

On the last day of Disney, we headed back to California Adventure. Ben insisted we do two days at CA since last time we spent more time at Disneyland than CA.

Of course it was crowded, but once again the MaxPass allowed us to do everything we wanted. This time around, Camille was willing to try the Racers ride, and she ended up loving it. As well all did. Too bad the line is always over an hour long, and the Max Passes are out by 11, so we only got to ride it once. Oh, well. We still had a great day.

I like this picture because Camille makes Woody's mustache.

We also did the Pal Around Ferris Wheel- a ride the girls really wanted to do and another one we had never done before.

We love Soarin!

 This is the face of someone who loved her Mickey Ice Cream: