I have been trying to come up with a way to improve my sons reading comprehension - he is a fine reader, but can't always remember details. We have also wanted him to have read the scriptures before he is baptized, so we came up with a plan to tackle both issues: Read one page of scripture each day together, have my son write 2 or 3 things he learned from what we read, and draw an accompanying picture. (It actually tackles so many things at once that I am ecstatic: drawing, writing practice, reading comprehension, learning the scripture stories, family time....the best in so many ways).

My daughter has joined in as well and I can honestly say this is my favorite part of each day. Their interpretations are awesome and even pretty funny.

By the way, of the various family scripture study plans out there....we have not felt too successful. What are your genius ideas? Please tell me what you do that works.

The kids got to this one. My little boy finished off the collar and buttons for me, and also drew his own version down in the corner. This is my mom when she was in second grade. I don't typically draw from photos, but I needed a break from my super wiggly models.

You have to know when to quit. And today I knew when to, but I kept drawing anyway.
Sometimes its just too tempting to try and make beautiful lines.

Sometimes you wonder how it is you started posting late night sketches on your blog. Oh ya, your brother got you to agree to it.

And other times you draw your husband late at night while he plays the guitar. But his hands are moving fast and that makes it a little challenging.

Because sometimes, in order to find time to draw, you have to make your baby draw, and then you have to draw her drawing.

Look What I Found...

Remember my living room, all painted mauve and sponge painted white on top? I suspected wood paneling underneath one of the walls.

And I was right.

Naturally, it needed to be uncovered...

Review

This summer we had will be hard to top.

My kids loved the Oregon Coast so much that they didn't notice that the water was ice cold, or the winds a bit uncomfortable. Since I noticed, I focused on loving the local food. (If you are in or around Newport Oregon, go to La Maison for breakfast, Luna's for lunch, and Local Ocean for dinner.)

We played kick the can every night, games only ending when someone got injured...and there were several injuries, with some people STILL recovering...

We spent time with our favorite people, our family...

We have worked our way through as many hikes as we can...

...taking little one with us in her carrier...

...we painted the streets many times over...

...I ran Ragnar and had a blast...

...we even got dad out on a hike! Yay!...

...and ate  many meals with my favorite people.

Dear 3-year-old,
You may not remember the summer your Papa hauled you around on his shoulders on hike after hike, but he will, and so will I.

We will also remember you laying down and the trail and saying, "Hold you, HOLD YOU!!!", or, "Did you see all the flowers papa? The yellow ones?". You always pretend for the first 5 minutes of seeing Papa (or anyone, for that matter), that you are too shy to talk. But then you warm up and cuddle, ask to be held, and tell them, "I love you soooo much!" You are a pretty fantastic three-year-old.

Summer Hiking

My very kind brother sent me a book titled "Best Easy Day Hikes in Salt Lake City".

And I had a moment when I wondered why on EARTH haven't been taking my children hiking this summer.  Well, ok, there are obvious reasons, like a 3 year old and 1 year old, but I mean, my parents took my sister and I hiking all the time. I spent most high school weekends with my friends on some small local hike or another.

So we immediately set out to do 1 or 2 hikes each week. They've all been totally kid friendly, less than a mile, and my kids think it's the best thing we've ever done. I'm feeling really really silly it's taken me this long to think of this.  (Ok in my defense, I generally don't like to leave my home with little ones under 3, and for sure hiking can be dangerous with kids that age, but still...)

Ensign Peak. Short, easy, amazing views. We always bring my dad because hiking is so much more fun with him. And also, he can manage the 3 year old.

Temple Quarry Trail. Paved! Paved!, so baby could just chill in the stroller the whole time.

Silver Lake. Pretty much a classic for the area. Moose sightings are frequent. My little boy sidled up to me and said "Mom, I'm scared of that Moose." I half kidding said, "Don't worry, when we have Papa with us, we don't ever need to be scared. He knows all about wild animals." Then I realized that I would actually probably be scared without my dad around too. Phew, thank heavens he keeps agreeing to go on these with us.

Lisa Falls. Another classic. Really short, great for amateur rock climbing, and a fantastic waterfall.

Ocean School

Just to make sure we go completely over the top with my child's marine life obsession, at the beginning of summer I decided we were going to make our own ocean. I taped blue butcher paper over the largest free wall in the house. (In the kitchen.)  Then each week we checked out every book the library had on one marine animal at a time - dolphins, whales, sharks, rays, sea turtles, sea lions, sea horses, squid....etc. We immersed ourselves in that mammal/reptile/fish, and then added it to our ocean. Most of these, the kids drew. I tried to get the animals to be in proportion to one another. I also find it humorous that our now 3-year old can correctly identify several of these sea creatures correctly. I mean, she doesn't respond to "how old are you?", but ask her which one of these is the Mako Shark, and she'll be spot on.

Oregon Coast Trip Journal

We just returned from a week long trip to the Oregon coast. 30 people spread between two beach houses, 17 of them children.

I always take a million pictures on trips. In fact, since having a digital camera, I probably have 10,000 + pictures on my computer. Not ONE of those pictures is printed. So for this trip, I took along my FUJI Instax camera, and plenty of Instax film.

Each child was made a journal for the trip. I used Oregon coast maps to cover it, and filled it with blank paper. I brought along plenty of colored pencils, glue (for gluing in tickets, maps, etc.) and photo tabs for mounting Instax pictures.

Each day, I took one photo of each child at one of the outings (the beach, sea lion caves, lighthouses, etc.) And each night we gathered to journal the day.  Here are a few outtakes from my daughters: