This morning the younger kids and I were walking back from Westley's bus stop. The way back faces the mountains on the east, Mount Timpanogos, to be precise, and it was the first time I noticed we had such a clear view of Mount Timp. I pointed the mountain out to the kids and told them that it was Mount Timpanogos. I hadn't noticed the way the sunlight was streaming through the clouds above the mountain, but Caleb saw it and pointed to it.
"Look! It's God's light coming out of the clouds!" he says.
"You're right. It sure is," I reply.
"That makes me know that God is really real!" Caleb then says.
Yes, even in the nature around us, we find a witness that God is real, even my 5-year-old child's testimony was strengthened by the beauty of nature.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Five-Year-Old
My sweet Caleb turned 5 on Friday. I don't have any pictures until I get the film (gasp!) developed. Yes, film. I found and dusted off my old regular camera since the digital camera doesn't work. There happened to be a roll of film in the camera, we'll see if it even turns out, don't know how long it's been there. I finished off that roll and sent Corey to the store to buy another roll. He had trouble finding the film and had to ask where it was. There was only one rack of film and the film he bought came in a pack of 3, so we have 3 rolls to use. Hopefully we'll have a replacement digital camera soon...
Anyway, it was a great day. We had pancakes for breakfast and I made one in the shape of a turtle for Caleb. Would have gone all out and made them all into shapes, but I forgot to do shapes until I was in the very last round of pancakes, so his was the only one. Caleb got a card from Grandpa and Grandma Fowles in Arizona, in it was money to spend on a birthday gift. He and Corey went to Walmart and Caleb picked out another construction tool set--he already has two sets from birthday and Christmas last year. He now has a construction vest (orange), hat, and tool belt, complete with a new set of tools. Corey went back later and bought him a rolling tool chest, that also had more tools, to put his old tools in.
Lunch was hot dogs, a fave of Caleb's. I spent a lot of the day frosting/decorating his cake. I made him two little turtle cakes. I used the ball cake pan and made one turtle shell out of each half of the ball. I used mini cupcakes for legs and regular cupcakes for the heads. I fashioned the tails out of the scraps from the tops of the ball cake sides that I had cut off to make the bottom of the turtle shells flat. I made chocolate frosting for the base and then green frosting for the shells, accented with an even darker chocolate frosting, which came from the store. That's because the homemade frosting was so light and I knew the store chocolate was really dark. I will post pictures when I get the film developed.
We went to the zoo in the afternoon. We went ahead and purchased a zoo pass, feeling that our money for that afternoon would be better spent towards that purchase. It was $80 for the zoo pass and would have been $48 for the trip, so I figured $32 more for a whole year worth of the zoo would be good. Corey's mom was in town helping his sister move in (who is also here in UT for In-N-Out), so she was able to join us for the zoo.
Caleb, of course, picked his dinner--spaghetti, broccoli, fruit salad (with blueberries, strawberries, bananas and green grapes), garlic bread, and chocolate milk.
It was a great day!
Happy Birthday Caleb!
5 Great Things About Caleb:
1. He is very particular--he likes things to be a certain way and if they're not, he gets upset.
2. He absolutely loves animals.
3. Caleb is fascinated with tools and how things work.
4. Caleb is very sweet and loving.
5. Caleb is the family clown. He loves to make us laugh.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
School
I am not happy with Westley's school here. Although they seem to try hard, and I admit that most public school systems are set up to fail, it just seems lacking. I realize that Arizona was ranked really low nationally, but comparing the individual schools, I would have to say that Copper Basin was a whole lot better than Silver Crest.
Silver Crest does not have a curriculum for science, social studies, art, or music. There is P.E. but only 30 minutes a WEEK! I am unimpressed with the program they use for spelling, as it does not teach spelling but word families. That's okay in a sense, but he has words like "cherries" and "chimney" and "shave" and "hat" on his list. They make no sense to group together and the homework that the program outlines does not teach him to spell the words, only to sort them. How on earth will he learn to spell the words if he never sees them written or practices writing them?
A lot of people in my ward in Arizona were somewhat antagonistic toward the local public school there, Copper Basin School, because they felt it wasn't a very good school. I agree that any school that is in session for more than 6 hours seems unreasonably long, but aside from that, they were following the Arizona State Standards for education quite well. They had implemented programs for science, social studies, art and music. They had P.E. twice a week, for 45 minute block, and they were really worked hard in P.E. Music taught them more than just singing, they were learning notes and rhythms and even history. In art they were learning color schemes and techniques and focusing on certain famous artists. The teachers that Westley had were both very well-qualified and well-prepared teachers, though I admit that his first grade teacher was a better fit for him than who he was assigned in kindergarten.
When I moved to Utah in 10th grade from Texas, I was disappointed at how the schools seemed so far behind the Texas schools academically. I would have hoped that in the 13 years since I've been in public school as a student, that the schools in Utah would have gotten better, yet I'm disappointed to see that they've gone the way of the schools in California by removing science, social studies, art and music and even PE (to a degree) from the curriculum. After speaking with Westley's teacher, I feel that she seems to try to implement everything. But the schools are pathetic in claiming to be good schools if they don't even have curriculum that covers the basics in every part of the state standards. Yikes! No wonder the schools in America are so bad. They devote 6 hours a day to reading and sometimes math and leave out everything else that makes school interesting!
Anyway, I wish there was a way to make public education better. It's gotten so bad because of lack of support from parents and the fact that nationally, the statistics of non-English speaking students are so high that it detracts from the curriculum and has brought the focus back to only reading and math. I've always felt that I should be able to supplement at home, but since school doesn't even get out until almost 4 pm and Westley gets home from the bus at about 4:20, that leaves very little time for anything after school. Maybe the short breaks and summers I will have to do something.
Silver Crest does not have a curriculum for science, social studies, art, or music. There is P.E. but only 30 minutes a WEEK! I am unimpressed with the program they use for spelling, as it does not teach spelling but word families. That's okay in a sense, but he has words like "cherries" and "chimney" and "shave" and "hat" on his list. They make no sense to group together and the homework that the program outlines does not teach him to spell the words, only to sort them. How on earth will he learn to spell the words if he never sees them written or practices writing them?
A lot of people in my ward in Arizona were somewhat antagonistic toward the local public school there, Copper Basin School, because they felt it wasn't a very good school. I agree that any school that is in session for more than 6 hours seems unreasonably long, but aside from that, they were following the Arizona State Standards for education quite well. They had implemented programs for science, social studies, art and music. They had P.E. twice a week, for 45 minute block, and they were really worked hard in P.E. Music taught them more than just singing, they were learning notes and rhythms and even history. In art they were learning color schemes and techniques and focusing on certain famous artists. The teachers that Westley had were both very well-qualified and well-prepared teachers, though I admit that his first grade teacher was a better fit for him than who he was assigned in kindergarten.
When I moved to Utah in 10th grade from Texas, I was disappointed at how the schools seemed so far behind the Texas schools academically. I would have hoped that in the 13 years since I've been in public school as a student, that the schools in Utah would have gotten better, yet I'm disappointed to see that they've gone the way of the schools in California by removing science, social studies, art and music and even PE (to a degree) from the curriculum. After speaking with Westley's teacher, I feel that she seems to try to implement everything. But the schools are pathetic in claiming to be good schools if they don't even have curriculum that covers the basics in every part of the state standards. Yikes! No wonder the schools in America are so bad. They devote 6 hours a day to reading and sometimes math and leave out everything else that makes school interesting!
Anyway, I wish there was a way to make public education better. It's gotten so bad because of lack of support from parents and the fact that nationally, the statistics of non-English speaking students are so high that it detracts from the curriculum and has brought the focus back to only reading and math. I've always felt that I should be able to supplement at home, but since school doesn't even get out until almost 4 pm and Westley gets home from the bus at about 4:20, that leaves very little time for anything after school. Maybe the short breaks and summers I will have to do something.
Life in Utah
My digital camera is pretty much toast, although I still am going to take it in to a photo shop and have it looked at. But I'm guessing that there's nothing I can do for it, it has bit the dust. So there will be no pictures until I can get another one.
We arrived here just before General Conference weekend. For those of you who read the King Letters I send weekly, you already know that Corey was able to attend priesthood session in the Conference Center with my brother Jordan and my dad, who helped us drive up. Jordan happened to be in Utah for a law society conference, so it was good to see him.
The first week we were here, Corey was in California all week. Yes, we arrived on Friday morning, unloaded the truck, unpacked as much as we could, spent Saturday and Sunday unpacking and grocery shopping, etc., and then Corey left on Sunday afternoon for California for 2nd man's class all week. He got home around 11:30 pm on Friday night, and my cousin Andy was so kind to pick him up from the airport and bring him home.
I spent the week unpacking and trying to get settled in. I visited a few people and ran lots of errands. I registered Westley for school and he started on Tuesday. School here is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:50 in the afternoon!
Corey got home and we spent Saturday unpacking more and running errands. On Sunday we went to our ward for the first time. The meeting block is 1-4 pm. It seemed okay, people said hello, and everything. I even knew two people from before. One was a girl I cheered with in high school. She was on the varsity squad my senior year, but she was a junior. We had 6 cheerleaders and 6 songleaders. She and I were cheerleaders, that meant that we went up in the stunts. The other girl was in a BYU ward of mine when I lived in Regency. So it was kind of cool to see some people I knew. Next week is stake conference, and it happens to be at the Conference Center because President Monson is presiding.
That's about all. We are trying to get more settled. The weather has been cold for me. We had to buy new wardrobes for all the kids. I could probably use some new winter clothes and shoes myself, but we spent all the money on the kids. Oh well. Guess it will be sweatshirts and jeans and really old tennis shoes for me this winter. The kids are all set, so they are really looking forward to the snow.
So weird that we're in Utah now. I really do miss Arizona!
We arrived here just before General Conference weekend. For those of you who read the King Letters I send weekly, you already know that Corey was able to attend priesthood session in the Conference Center with my brother Jordan and my dad, who helped us drive up. Jordan happened to be in Utah for a law society conference, so it was good to see him.
The first week we were here, Corey was in California all week. Yes, we arrived on Friday morning, unloaded the truck, unpacked as much as we could, spent Saturday and Sunday unpacking and grocery shopping, etc., and then Corey left on Sunday afternoon for California for 2nd man's class all week. He got home around 11:30 pm on Friday night, and my cousin Andy was so kind to pick him up from the airport and bring him home.
I spent the week unpacking and trying to get settled in. I visited a few people and ran lots of errands. I registered Westley for school and he started on Tuesday. School here is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:50 in the afternoon!
Corey got home and we spent Saturday unpacking more and running errands. On Sunday we went to our ward for the first time. The meeting block is 1-4 pm. It seemed okay, people said hello, and everything. I even knew two people from before. One was a girl I cheered with in high school. She was on the varsity squad my senior year, but she was a junior. We had 6 cheerleaders and 6 songleaders. She and I were cheerleaders, that meant that we went up in the stunts. The other girl was in a BYU ward of mine when I lived in Regency. So it was kind of cool to see some people I knew. Next week is stake conference, and it happens to be at the Conference Center because President Monson is presiding.
That's about all. We are trying to get more settled. The weather has been cold for me. We had to buy new wardrobes for all the kids. I could probably use some new winter clothes and shoes myself, but we spent all the money on the kids. Oh well. Guess it will be sweatshirts and jeans and really old tennis shoes for me this winter. The kids are all set, so they are really looking forward to the snow.
So weird that we're in Utah now. I really do miss Arizona!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
We Are Here
I just wanted everyone to know that we are now in Utah. We left Arizona on Thursday morning around 10 am and drove to Beaver, Utah, where we stayed the night. We left Beaver around 7:30 am and arrived at our house in Riverton at about 11:00 a.m. It took us the next 4 hours to unload the truck, since it was just me, Corey and Dad. We managed to even unload the piano though! We returned the truck and Dad went up to Aunt Amy's for the night and we unpacked what we could. Corey and Jamie's family friend Gail came and brought us lunch as well as dinner. She helped me unpack the whole kitchen too. Madison and Addison from Corey's In-N-Out store in Tempe are up here this weekend for conference, so they came over and ate dinner with us. We've spent the day unpacking and getting more settled.
So we are here finally!
So we are here finally!
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