Freddy the Snowman

Our first snowman of the season.

He took a little teamwork to put together.

Bria was pretty impressed.

It was a great play in the snow kind of afternoon.

Pufferfish Report

Spencer did a report on pufferfish back in November. The class was studying Australia so they each got to choose an animal from that region to do their report on. One report day we all got to go to Spencer's school. The kids had their reports set out. As parents and teachers walked around the classroom the kids could answer questions and share amazing things about their animal. It was great fun and Spencer did a fabulous job.

Here he is on report day.

Spencer had fun making these crafty puffers to show off.

Of course Drew had to make one too!

Here is Spencer's report.

Pufferfish

by Spencer Hamilton

Pufferfish live all around the world but mostly in tropical & subtropical water. They can even live in fresh water! Some of the puffers that live by Australia are triggerfish, starry, guineafowl and blackspotted. There are more than 120 species of pufferfish in the world. One of my favorites is the sharpnose because it has a silly shape. The sharpnose puffer is the smallest kind. It is only 4 ½ in. long and it doesn’t live by Australia.

Pufferfish can be 4 ½ inches long to 3 feet long. They do not have scales but some have spiny prickles that poke out when they inflate. They have tough skin. Puffers can suck up air or water into a ball shape to keep them safe. Most puffers are silvery and white on their sides and belly. Some are poisonous. Some people like to eat them. They are called fugu in Japan and it is a really expensive thing to eat. It can even kill you. I don’t want to eat it. Puffers have 4 teeth that make a beak shape. Big puffers can even break open clamshells and stuff like that to eat them. Puffers mostly eat invertebrates and algae. They are carnivores just like me!

Deer Farm

We visited a deer farm about 30 minutes from here. The boys got free passes from the reading program at the library over the summer. The boys were a little intimidated by the deer at first. Spencer got over it but Drew never did. This was his one and only attempt to befriend the deer.

Spencer enjoyed them although I think it scared him every time the deer tried to eat his shirt!

Bria wasn't fond of the deer either.

Here is a deer Drew could appreciate!

The kids' favorite part of the deer farm were the birds! They had two parrots that were a hoot!

Halloween

The kids and I went trick-or-treating at Heritage Square on Halloween. We played a few carnival games and then visited local stores for treats. This was my favorite stop--Pita Pit. Mmmm, sounds good! After Heritage Square we picked up Travis and headed off to the ward trunck-or-treat. Way more candy with way less effort! We had fun times!

Incredible Hulk Spencer

Beautiful Kitty Bria (refused to wear any type of dress)

Web-slinging Spider-man Drew

Nature's Bounty

Not very bountiful at our house! We tried our hands at gardening again this year. I don't think gardening in Flagstaff is very profitable. The garden was just starting to look promising when it froze! I figure we are getting some much needed practice and of course following the prophet. Tomatoes and Zucchini seem to do well, so I think those are in for next year. Drew loved having carrots too, even though they were very small. We may try corn next year. Some neighbors shared theirs with us and it was the best ever!!!!!

Bria loved arranging the food around on her high chair.

Homegrown tomatoes are the best!!!!

7-Day Challenge from Foodstoragemadeeasy.net

Mom mom told me about this great website foodstoragemadeeasy.net. I really enjoyed doing this 7-day challenge they put on. Check it out and see how prepared you are! I attempted to complete each task. Here are a few things I learned.

Day 1: Natural Disaster -”It’s a Flood”

Make sure your 72 hour kit is fresh enough to eat! We had to leave the house and could only eat this food while we were out. This challenge helped me focus on getting my emergency kit in an accessible location. Grab it and run!

Day 2: Pandemic -”Time for Quarantine”

This day was a good reminder to get stocked up on meds you may need in an emergency where you can't get to the store.

Day 3: Every Day Emergency -”Dinner Guests?!?!”

Normally, having unexpected company for dinner would stress me out, but since no one was actually coming to impress, it was a breeze. I had plenty of choices on hand. I think I will always keep stuff for a nice dinner on short notice around. My husband is good at pulling this one on me! =)

Day 4: Economic Crisis -”Money is TIGHT!”

For this challenge we had to pretend our water got shut off. How on earth do you manage with out water!!!! I have water storage, but running water is something I hope I never have to live without!!!! I could really use some more practice at this.

Day 5: Natural Disaster -”Earthquake!”

No water again! Cooking with out power is something I need to work on too. I don't have my pictures and other data backed up. Yikes!

Day 6: Diet Disaster -”Healthy lifestyle”

Since we often think about eating healthy around here this challenge was easy for me. It's not eating the good stuff that's hard, it's not eating the bad!

Day 7: Every Day Emergency -”Why Didn’t you Ask for this Sooner?”

This challenge required making a yummy dessert without fresh milk, eggs, or butter. I have often considered buying the cans of powdered butter and eggs. We already use powdered milk regularly. Since I didn't have the other stuff I made a dessert that didn't require it. And boy was it yummy!!!

Canada

It seems like Travis has been spending a lot of time in Canada lately. He just got back from a two week stint in Banff. He was one of two instructors teaching a kind of boot camp for aboriginal youth filmmakers. There was a group of 13 kids, (more like young adults 15-25.) He took them through the process of writing, producing, directing and editing a movie. Each person used the rest of the class to help make a 3-5 minute piece. It sounds like it was pretty hectic getting everyone's projects done, but they did it! They had a 3 day break in the middle. The other instructor, Greg, got vertigo really bad during the break, so Travis had the opportunity to help out. He drove 5 hours north to Edmonton to stay with Greg and his family. While there, Travis enjoyed some home cooked Canadian meals, ate some sakatoon berries and got to go to the Edmonton Temple.

This is the hotel where he stayed.

Here is the whole group. Travis said he learned a lot about skateboarding from this group. Apparently there were some avid skaters among them.