I did it!
I blogged every day during the month of November!!
I mentioned to Jared, just the other day (who does not check my blog daily, rather more like monthly) that I was blogging every day during the month of November. We agreed, he had some catching up to do.
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My trip to Rocky Mountain NP
by Caleb
11.26.07
(when you're short a blog topic... borrow your son's homework)
I had a great time at Rocky Mountain National Park! On our way there we got bored so Mom invented the Cow Game. The object of the game is to get to 100 cows before the other team does. Easy huh? There's a catch though! If our team finds a graveyard on our side your cows are dead! This means you start over! The first time we played, me and Mom stomped my brother and Dad 100 to 37!!!!
After dominating my brother and Dad many times at the Cow Game we finally arrived at Rocky Mountain N.P. at about 2:00 p.m.! Boy were we happy! We never thought it would be so beautiful! We pitched our tents at about 2:30 p.m.! IT WAS WINDY!
It so happened we were there just as the elk were rutting. They buggled the whole time and a bull elk (a young one) came within 10 ft. of me!! We slept two nights in our tents.
The first night was great, except for the fact that I got freaked out with the thought that a bear was in the campsite. Dad assured me that there was no bear. At that point I really didn't care what Dad thought. I thought there was a bear in the campsite. I stuck with it. In the morning (relieved to be alive!) I was determined to find out who was right. I found no foot prints, no teeth marks, or anything like that. It was my conclusion DAD WAS RIGHT!! The second night it rained all night! Along with that my brothers couldn't stop finding ways to make the tent leak! Leaving me and everything I owned SOAKED!
We also went on many pretty hikes. One of them being Bear Lake. A crystal clear lake of beauty. We also went to Alberta Fall which is 180 ft. or so. We had a great time and you would too.
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Family Tree
Alex's art project for the day. The Family Tree.
I won't make two guessing games, two days in a row.
From the bottom left, working your way around the entire tree:
Kevin, with guitar
Kristy
Dad, with apple and pencil (it's a teacher thing)
Caleb, eating chicken
Mom, with laptop (ironic, since my laptop doesn't work)
Kaylee, with rattle
Alex, with Wiimote
Jonas, with Wiimote
Dagny
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Surprise Box
Jonas brought home a surprise box from school. It's the size of a lunch box. You put a small object in it, and write out three clues. The teacher reads the clues, and the class tries to guess. Whoever guesses, gets the box next.
Side note, Jonas doesn't talk much in class. He was the last kid to bring home the box, because he never guesses. He explained, that no one gets called on, unless they raise their hands. So, he doesn't get called on. But, once, he "accidentally" raised his hand.
So, here are the three clues that the kindergarten class gets. Good luck to you.
1. You play music with it.
2. It is sort of triangle like.
3. It is not edible
(Jonas shared with us, as I tucked him into bed, food is not allowed, so really he only gave them two clues, which he thinks is funny. We also discussed, that his class might not know what edible means, he agreed to tell them what it means.)
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It’s not easy being green
I was watching Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days last night, an episode called "Off the Grid". They mentioned, that being a vegetarian, and not eating meat, was a green thing to do. This is because of all of the grain raised to feed the livestock, the water used to raise the grain, and the land used for this entire process could be put into just raising grains for human consumption.
I did a bit of research today, and found that to get 2.2 pounds of beef, the same amount of greenhouse gases go into the air as if you drive a car for 3 hours. This amount of energy could power a 100 watt light bulb for 20 days straight.
It is said, that one of the easiest ways to be green, is to stop eating meat. We'll be having vegetarian chili for dinner tonight, much to Caleb's disappointment.
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The rattle
I asked my grandpa, why a rattlesnake's rattle was in my mandolin, and he had the answer for me.
He told us, that it was a tradition amongst fiddlers, to put a rattle in their fiddle, to help the sound. He happened to kill a rattlesnake out in the road, in front of his house, so he chopped off the rattle, and since he doesn't play the fiddle, he threw it in his mandolin. He told us, that when he first threw it in, it was bloody, but that was 20 years ago, so it was nice and dry now.
I was instructed the next day, that I need to put it back in.
I researched it online last night, it it turns out that there are three possible reasons why this tradition started.
1. The violin was traditionally a woman's instrument, and men put rattlesnake rattles in it, to "man" up the instrument.
2. The rattle will scare away mice and rats, so they won't nest in your precious instruments.
3. It makes a nice sound.
So, the rattle is back in the mandolin. I am working on learning "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" before our Christmas gathering, per request. The rattle will probably make it sound wonderful.
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Family galore, with photos and videos to prove it.
First of all, I'm officially allowed to post a photo of Jonas sporting his new do. He asked me to not post it, until he surprised all of the family with it. Here it is.. he was told, it's called a "fohawk"
We visited family this weekend. We saw Jared's granddad. I have very few photos of the kids with him, and attempted to take one without disrupting the conversation (i.e. no flash). He played a mouth harp for us, which was pretty cool. He's quite the singer and guitar player.
We played music with my grandparents, my mom and my aunt and uncle as well. Caleb and Alex each got to lead several songs. Here is Alex. He was playing Jingle Bells, and my uncle was playing a duet with him. He kept encouraging him to go faster, faster, faster. I only caught the tail end of it.
faster, faster! from Heather on Vimeo.
Caleb lead several songs as well. We learned that most of his songs are in the key of B flat, which is an interesting challenge for a group that plays mostly in C and G. He was also a bit nervous for this one. Here he is, playing Old MacDonald, backed by the band.
Old MacDonald from Heather on Vimeo.
I tried to get a nice photo of the cousins, together. I thought it would be a good thing. The boys are silly though, and don't always cooperate with my ideas.
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Surprise find
I was playing the mandolin last night, warming up for playing music with my grandparents today, when I noticed something was inside the mandolin. It took a bit, but I got it out, it fell to the ground. It was not what I was expecting to find inside a mandolin.
Any guesses?
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Happy Thanksgiving!
For your enjoyment, you get to hear a song, that Jonas learned in school.
I attend music class with a different Kindergarten group, so I learn the same songs as him, but, do not retain them. I heard this song in class, and my jaw dropped. Later in the day, another para, that attends music in Jonas' class asked me: "Did you sing that song that...?" I interrupted and said "YES!".
Mind you, it's not *that* crazy of a song, it was taught to kindergarteners, but we were still surprised, and both of us agreed, that *we* would not of taught it to this age group.
So, here it is, for your listening pleasure.. a Thanksgiving song, sung by Jonas. He had a VERY hard time not laughing while he was singing it.
Happy Thanksgiving! from Heather on Vimeo.
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No School!
Last year, the 4th through 8th grade students did GREAT on state assessment tests. So, the school board voted, and agreed, to give the entire school district the day off from school. (paid!)
So, my kids are now vegging in front of the tv. Watching very lame Pokemon. I don't get Pokemon. That's ok though.
After we eat breakfast, we have errands to run in Manhattan. I wish we didn't have to leave the house, but.. alas we must. The minivan needs a new tire, and I need to get that done before we drive to Missouri this weekend. Hopefully it's not to long of a wait. Jonas is also going to get a haircut. He wants a mohawk.
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