Introducing Our Newest Addition

We haven't been able to go somewhere as a family since we had Norah. Mostly it is not a big deal, but it can be annoying. Sometimes we've even stuffed Nate in the back of the van or I've ridden on the floor. Who would have thought big vans were so hard to find? It's consumed a lot of our time, especially since it was our goal not to get into debt and we had a lot we were looking for in a van. But we finally found it and it has everything we could want and more. Fifteen passengers, running boards, it's not white....it has been so great for our family. There is so much room; we love it! It's really not that hard to drive either.

The kids wanted to name it. Their suggestions were: The Ark, Ahpa (from Avatar the cartoon - I don't know how to spell it), Thomas (for the train - that was Derek's), and I can't remember the others now. I pushed Ahpa because it is big, it is gold, and it can fly. Not really. I really wanted that name because I thought it was so cute when ever we started it Merian would say "yip, yip!"

I just have to say again that it has so much room! When ever we drive the Silhouette we all wonder how we fit/got into the seats. Especially since after we had Eliza we added another seat to fit her. We can get in and out so much easier and I know our upcoming trip to Grandma's will be so nice and we all will actually have room for our feet and my lap won't be holding anything! Now if we could just get a bigger house...

We found the van in Nampa, Idaho and had a fun trip to go get it. The roads were pretty bad and we saw quite a few accidents, but we were excited to finally be getting a van and we got to try out Tucano's. On the way home the freeway was closed and it took us and hour and a half to go 20 miles. We ended up staying in a hotel. Derek forlornly remarked, "I miss Grandma, we are so far away from America." (He's really in to the whole American thing lately. He'll use it as an excuse: "American's don't do that" when he doesn't want to do something.) It was a much better trip than when we went up to Seattle but decided not to buy the van that was obviously a convict carrier and spent all afternoon in a Krispy Kreeme parking lot using their wi-fi to try to find another one. Memories.

The kids sang for the ward Christmas program today. Eliza wanted to be a part of that and she did a great job.

I should write more of what is going on but I am so tired I can't think of anything that makes sense!

Oh, it's late and the house is a mess, the laundry that was piled in the hallway now has expanded to the loft and even the part that once was in piles has shamefully been scattered for days now. What is the deal? I really thought I had the laundry situation solved, either by doing one load a day starting at 5:00 before my morning run or by doing gobs of laundry and having folding parties with the kids. But once I am behind in laundry it is so hard to catch up. Laundry that has been sitting out on the floor, being trampled on, gives me the creeps. If I had the money and time I would collect it all up, plus the dirty laundry and head for the laundry mat, completing the task all at once and getting caught up. It would be quite interesting. I've only used public laundries owned by the apartments we lived in and I have a feeling this would be a bit different. I'd also be afraid of losing articles of clothing.

Homeschool is going well, but it is so time consuming. I want to do it right. I don't want my children to forfeit anything academically or socially and that takes a lot of effort and scheduling. Because the kids have different days of MCP I'm having a hard time going shopping. With Norah still waking up through the night 5:30 in the morning just isn't happening, even though I've had good intentions. Hence, the laundry clog up.

We have added a subject every week. I like this. I feel like I almost have Algebra/Math perfected and Science is getting there. Those are the hardest. The rest should be easier. Our current subjects are: Algebra/Math; Science; Spelling; Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics; Vocabulary, Novel Study (Treasure Island, for which I was excited to find pirate gear to wear at the Dollar Tree), Literature, and History. We just have to add Composition, Spanish, Art, and Music, although we've done a little in those areas. Someday this will be easy, right?

Algebra is pretty easy for Meg. She's had lots of experience with it. She graciously consented to take again since being pregnant made me such an inconstant teacher last year. It is challenging for Mike, but I think he can do it. He is one smart guy when it comes to math and I want him to be stretched. I'm grateful because it is more efficient to be able to teach them together. Emma loves division. Go figure! She really enjoyed long division last year and was excited when we started reviewing it again. I find that perplexing.

We've been studying the Mayans. I think we'll try to speed through the Incas and Aztecs so we can get on to American history or we won't be done by the end of the year.

We broke out the microscope the other day and I must say it is awesome. It is of impressive quality and we've been looking at all sorts of things under it. I can't wait for someone to get hurt so I can see some blood.... I mean.... maybe I'll just prick my finger. I'm really not sure it is that great of a microscope, but wouldn't it be cool?

I've learned about reflexive pronouns, antecedents, and how to diagram sentences. Um, is there any purpose for this? I'm pretty sure this all means nothing to my kids and that they forget it the minute they take the test. Today something funny happened. I've understood the whole, first, second, third person thing for as long as I can remember and have never even question why speech was labeled that way. Today when I was explaining it to the kids I drew a stick person pointing to himself/herself and gave the examples of "me" and "I." Then I drew a person talking to another and pointing to them saying "you." Finally I drew a person talking to another and pointing to a third for "him" etc. Then it hit me. Oh, First person has one person, Second has two and Third has three. I think I already knew that. I think I need to get more sleep.

This really isn't an exciting family journal, and this isn't really what I mean to write here, but maybe it will be an interesting pit stop for the kids to read when they are older.

Merian is becoming a great reader and has good friends at school. Please say that means you'll stay at public school at least until middle school! :)

The only thing I really regret about homeschooling is that I am missing out on a lot of snuggling time with the three youngest. I hope it gets better as we get better with our schedule.

Friday, Michael was away babysitting. When we were putting Derek to bed he asked, "Mom, where did you put Michael?"

Derek-isms

These are all from today:

• Why is there an "ick" in my name?
• Why are all the people that live in Pasco and Costco and Mount Rainer our cousins and neighbors and friends?
• I like grandmas better than bad guys. (He said this after I told him Grandma Johnson was coming tomorrow.)

Sometimes I have a hard time understanding this kid.

I recently painted the boys room. We took out the red race car bed and set up the bunk beds in its place. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the boys in the race car bed. I thought it was cute how they liked to share it, even though there was another bed that most nights remained empty.

When I was taking the bed apart Megan told me how surprised Michael was when we first got it. He didn't think we could afford something like that. That is why he asked Derek to share with him. I'm so glad he did. Every night Michael would tell stories to Derek to help him go to sleep. We need to thank Aunt Carrie for letting us use the car bed.

Slow Down Kiddo

Eliza is so full of energy. She is driven and determined. She gets hurt several times a day. She runs into walls, falls off of things. She just can't seem to slow down.

A Little Dramatic

Last night Derek wanted a Lego piece that Lizzie had for the airplane he was making. Overheard: "But if I don't have that piece I will DIIIIIEEEE." I tuned out for a while while he continued. I wish I would have kept listening because a few minutes later I heard, "and if I die...."

Derek was excited about me painting his room last night. Since Nate and the older kids are at the Johnsons' for Christie's homecoming I let him stay up and keep me company. He talked and talked until about 10:15 when he finally layed down on the floor and mid sentence fell asleep.

We've had lots of fun while the rest of the family has been gone. Derek didn't not want them to go. "Our family should go on trips together." I agreed with him, but we don't have the transportation. When it was dinner time he didn't want to eat without everyone else. He's a tender guy. But other then that he's been okay. We have read a ton of books, made a tent in the toy room, a pretend fire, and roasted marshmallows. Then I cut up hot dogs for dinner and let them use their roasting sticks (bamboo skewers) to dip the pieces into ketchup and mustard.

All the kids have had swimming lessons the past week. Derek would rather not, but has stuck it out. On the second day Asher did a bob and so Derek had to follow. Way to go! Also, at lunch afterwards, Asher ate his broccoli, so Derek did too! On Friday they went off the diving board. (One guard threw them in and another caught them.) I was a bit worried about that, but after he did it he screamed, "that was fun!" Merian, on the other hand kept moving to the back of the line and avoided getting her head under water. How is she going to be baptized? I think Derek's main problem is that the kid has not meat on those bones and he spends the whole time shivering.

Asher, Eliza, Merian, Cecily, Derek

Kenna, Emma, Callie Emma and Kenna

Uncle Mike and Norah

I've wanted to write down things we usually do during the summer because this summer I forgot and we missed the Reptile Man.

* Sign up for the library summer reading program. This gives us coupons so we can go roller skating and out to dinner sometime later in the year.

* Library programs such as the Reptile Man and Recess Monkey.

*Free summer movies

*swimming and tennis lessons

*splash park by the baseball field

*Howard Amon Park to play in the sand and go swimmin in the little round pool. (I remember going there when I was little when he came up here from Utah for a family reunion.)

*I want to try the "free" bowling.

*We are finally starting Cousin Camp this year

*Last year we picked blueberries. That was fun, expensive, but fun.

*I know there is more. See I'm forgeting and we do these things every year. Too little sleep. I'll add more as I think of them.

More Lizie-isms

The other day we were reading a book and Eliza was pointing at naming everything. When we turned the page to a picture of a snail, she obviously didn't know what is was, but she was willing to take a crack at it. "That's uh, that's uh, ... a rollersnake!

Today she was "reading" a book to herself, (Purplicious - current favorite along with Pinkalicious) running her finger along the bottoms of the words. "Hey Mom, look what I found," she said holding up her pointer finger and wiggling it.

"Your finger?" I asked.

"Yaaaah," she replied with a smirk that quickly changed into a smile.

"It was right here!" she said pointing to her book.

Derek: When I grow up I'm going to be a dad and go to work.

Eliza: When I grow up I'm going to be a mom. When Norah grows up she's going to be two. (Pause) Hey, I'm two!

Derek has been very interested in adding lately. He figured it out by himself and is teaching himself all the combinations up to ten. (That's only because he only has ten fingers.)

Out with old...

I want to do all I can do to stop pollution. When I grow up, I want to write adventure books, and i iz vry cmart.

Micheal is a mean lean video game playing machine. He also is an excellent reader, amazingly thoughtful and a very funny guy!

For the past three months you could not see Emma without a Harry Potter book. She is currently breezing her way through the sixth!

Marian is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. In her prayers she is thankful for rainbows and butterflies, princesses and mermaids....

We're glad he's finally starting to talk! He loves to say prayers and is quite the singer. Of course he loves the Beattles.

Eliza is a very happy baby. She has a special talent of reaching out to others with love.

Lizie-isms

We have a strict rule about all food and drinks being consumed at the table, but since I was nursing Norah, I brought my water with me to the rocking chair. Eliza followed me and I reminded her to go to the table. Of course she protested that I was drinking water in the toy room. My rebuttal was, "But I'm Mom." Her immediate response, "But I'm Lizie!"

Another time I was nursing Norah I was giving directions to Nate in the kitchen. I asked if I was being bossy. Eliza, playing on the floor a few feet away responded, "Yep! I am too!"

Just as Derek gave her a nick name, she might have nick named Nora - Norie.

Derek loves to hold her, he wants to do it by himself.

Once Michael offered to burp her, but at her first burp he quickly passed her back to me.

Megan loved to rescue her from her bassinet when she wakes up (she's excited that she gets to walk around with her) and Emma comforts her when I am busy.

When Derek came to the hospital he said he got to ride on the crocodile. (elevator)

Derek is a thankful guy. The other day when he was getting dressed I told him he picked out a cool shirt. He thanked me for getting it for him and then thanked me for his socks when he put them on.

He loves Sunbeams and works all week on the papers that Sister Powers sends home. He says he is one of Jesus's knights. I think he'll love learning about the Armor of God someday.

We have been going to Lowes for their Build and Grow workshops. On Friday when I told him we would be going the next day he turned on the computer so I could show him what we would make. Early Saturday morning he jumped in my bed with his clothes and started to get dressed. He kept telling me to get up so we could go to "Woes." He's even asked me to tell him a bed time story about Lowes and every day he asks me when the next "Woes Day" is.

For St. Patrick's Day, Merian made green foot prints and placed them around the house. They stopped at each bedroom door and left a tiny origami frog for each occupant of the room. (She loves making frogs and taught her class how to make them when they were studying frogs.) I was dually impressed when the next morning she had cleaned them up!

Derek wasn't ready for them to be gone, however, so he made his own to scatter around. Every time I would clean them up he would make more. One time they were orange and he called them volcano footprints.

He's also been ripping up white paper and dropping them from the loft. Then he goes downstairs and makes angels in them.

Get Aboard the Potty Train

The easiest way to potty train a kid is to have one of the same gender about six years before. Granted, it will be up to you to potty train them. but it will all pay off.

When it was time for Derek to be potty trained I just asked Michael to take him when ever he went. He would call out, "Come on Derek. Let's go shoot some bad guys." And he would happily go. It was the quickest any of our kids were potty trained and without any accidents or relapses. All I had to do was supply the candy for both boys. Michael also taught him about modesty and to this day Derek is very private. (Except sometimes, when he is in there for a long time, he gets bored and calls for Eliza to keep him company. Poor girl!)

Now it is Eliza's turn and Emma and Merian were more than happy to help out. They were so excited to show her the new potty chair and panties how could Eliza not be thrilled at this new adventure? It is only day two, and at risk of jinxing our luck, she is doing great. Emma and Merian are too. They jump at the chance to take her; I don't even remind them. In fact, when Eliza went today and picked up the inside of the chair to show me the results, Merian whisked them out of my hand to go clean up and help her wash her hands, lest she be at risk for not earning her share of the candy.

Our old chair was dangerously broken after so many kids so I went to find another one. It's hard to find any basic baby things now days. I guess they want you to buy two of everything: one pink and one blue. I debated a long time about which one to get but decided that the ones that make noise might just freak her out and hinder her progress. I got a frog chair like the one below, except with a pink insert. Today when all the kids were gone I asked her if she needed to go and she said, "I'll go hop on the frog!"

It's good this next one is a girl. Maybe by then Eliza can potty train her!

dahaha hellow!

ewmo [elmo] here! ewmo likes to play imaginary! lately ewmo pretend he in play! ewmo take break from sessame street and be in "beuty and the boot"! it fun, and elmo wear a ton of makeup to make me look innattural! ewmo awso go to di! we win second place, and top secret extra instant challenge! in chawenge, we have chawecter, and i selfecsly greedy person and we win second! we so good at the videogame of wife.

-michae-i mean elmo

The REAL D.I Champions!!!

By Megan

I did D.I too! My team name was "The No Name Team." (We had a tough time agreeing on a name) The people on my team are: Tirsah, LaNae, Ryan, Kaitlin, and Jeffery. Our challenge was to make a skit that involved a puppet: ours was about "Goldylocks and the Three Bears." I was Momma Bear (who was a hippie), Jeffrey was Pappa Bear, and Ryan was Baby Bear (a jobless 28 year-old who still lives with his parents). After the bears left the home to find Baby Bear a job, Punkylocks broke into the house. A pizza (our puppet, puppeteer-ed and voiced by Tirsah) convinced Punkylocks to stop breaking into houses.

Tirsah was so nice and bought us all pins with this year's motto ( WADIng in Creativity; the WADI stands for Washington Destination Imagination). Tirsah is also going to be home schooled next year!! Whoohooo! I'm super excited!!

D.I.

By Emma Johnson

I participate in a activity called D.I. (Destination Imagination). Two weeks ago was the regional tournament at East Valley High School in Spokane. The night before the tournament I was recovering from being sick. Megan, Michael, and I were in Beauty and the Beast for A.C.T and if you saw it, we were villagers in the village scene and mob scene. Michael was also in the tavern and battle scene. We were also serving trays in the "Be Our Guest" scene. Megan and Michael were finishing a performance and everyone else in our family was watching. I was staying home with my mom and she was trying to brush my hair (I had tons of tangles from being sick!), finish packing, and cleaning the house. We were going to spend the night at my Aunt Kim's house because she lives close to the tournament. That way we wouldn't have to wake up very early to drive to Spokane. When they finally got home then we got in the car and set off.

When we got to Kim's house then we set up our beds and went to sleep. It was 1:30 in the morning and we were going to have to wake up early! We couldn't go to sleep because Skitter, their hamster, was running on his wheel. Luckily, Aunt Kim came and brought him downstairs.

In the morning, we had scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon and hash browns that Kim made in the crock pot for breakfast. Then we had donuts! We packed up and went to the tournament. When we got there, we had to look for my team. Our team name is the Red Radical Rockets. I'm the only girl on our team. We found them and we got ready. Before we performed we watched other teams.

Our challenge is called DIrect Deposit. We had to get some objects over a six foot barrier into some targets. We couldn't touch or look over the barrier. We made a crane and I made the targets. I sawed and hammered the wood and painted them red. We also had to perform a skit which we made a recycle truck because our skit was about recycling. We didn't get any objects into the targets but we did a great job on our skit. Then we had to do an instant challenge, but that's TOP SECRET! We got third place! I even got a medal.

Why?

Derek and I have had many discussions about the water cycle as of late. He is so full of questions. (Mostly "why"s; those are the hardest. Gotta teach that kid "how,"; much easier to explain.) When we go over the Blue Bridge after taking the kids to school he'll ask if the water is going to the ocean. He knows that the water came from the waterfalls and streams in the mountains. The other day he asked why there is snow on the mountains and it again reminded me how miraculous our world is. I explained to him that it snows on top of the mountains in the winter and then melts in the summer and comes to us by the river when we need it most. Natural water storage! The Creator thought of everything.

However, as most often is the case, he kept asking "why." I'm starting to ask him what he thinks. This time I told him because it's pretty and we can play with it. Then came the other word I hear a lot. "Oh."

Tonight on the way home from taking the three older kids to play practice Merian was telling me how she wanted to ride a taxi. One of the questions she had was where they were located so she could catch one. I told her that in places like airports and big cities, like New York, they just waited around for when people needed them, but in other places you have to call for them.

Without missing a beat she starts, "Here Taxi, Taxi!"

I meant with the phone, Merian.

Eliza has been kind of bossy lately. I know, that's shocking for a two year old. Today she was quite upset because I wouldn't let her do something she wanted to. I was ignoring her tantrum, but Derek calmly explained to her, "Lizie, if Mom says no you can't do it because you need to be good and choose the right and then you'll be happy." I loved watching him calmly explain things to her just like his older brother and sisters reason with him. He's becoming one of the older kids. He's always proudly proclaiming, "I choose the right!"

Megan had been studying hard for her semester final in vocabulary. However, because of our slow/late start she crammed a whole semester into a few weeks and was having a little bit of a hard time remembering everything. I convinced her she needed to move on and just take the test instead of spending more time studying. She reluctantly agreed and did pretty well. It made me laugh to read the questions she bluffed her way through. It reminded me about when we first moved to the Tri-Cities and she was introduced to a whole new way of doing math, where explaining why your answer was correct was just as important as getting the right answer. I admire her for always taking a stab at it and it makes me smile to see what she comes up with.

Part of the test asked questions involving the vocab words (in italics). The object was to answer the question in a way that would show she knew the meaning of the words.

Q. Do you plan on studying humanities when you matriculate into a university?

A. That depends on whether or not I'm interested.

Q. Would you expect members of the gentry to be genteel?

A. It is likely that some would. (I gave her a second chance on the one's I felt she needed to describe more and she did pretty good except for this one. She then added: There is often genteels in gentrys.)

I love having my kids at home and learning with them!!!

i loved going sledding and playing "do you love your neighbor?We had mp3 player parties on the the bunks. usually on my top bunk.We all sat together and listened our mp3 players till late at night.We also switched our mp3 players around. usually i listened to the phantom of the opera Kenna's mp3 player.then when the grown-ups told us to go to bed and Kenna,(who slept on the bottom bunk) climbed up to my bunk and we listened to Alyssa and Brennen loudly talk noisily.

-Emma

Camp Zarahemla

We didn't take any pictures so I snatched these from Carrie's and Tallia's blogs. We had a fun couple of days sledding and eating and playing. Grandpa Lewis kept the lodge warm. I want to have the kids write their favorite parts, since that was the whole idea when we started this blog.

Derek is a builder. He spends most of his day with his train set, castle set, marble slide, and blocks. When he isn't playing with toys he rearranges the furniture and stacks it us to create things. He has made airplanes and submarines out of paper and he's begun to draw planes. All the kids keep telling him to be an Imagineer when he grows up. That would suit him, since his other favorite pass time is watching You Tube videos of Disneyland rides. In fact, a lot of his creations are Disneyland rides.

Derek is constantly asking questions. Most start with "why" which I find the hardest to answer. He is very thoughtful and I love watching his face when he is concentrating or trying to understand something. He absorbs so much. After Kenna's baptism I asked him what happened. I couldn't understand it all but he said "Holy Ghost" a couple of times. He has also started asking lots of questions about Heavenly Father and Jesus.

I love how full of life he is. When he watched Kenna's baptism he was surprised when she was dunked under water and he laughed out loud! For the past couple of days he has sat on my lap and sang as I played songs like "Popcorn Popping" on the piano.

He is growing up so much. Today when I asked him to clean up so his friends could come over to play he started immediately and worked so quickly. I asked him if I could help and he said he wanted to do it by himself. I love that "do it by myself" faze. Today at speech he had earned enough stickers to get a fun size candy bar. For some reason he likes to choose Baby Ruths and he calls them monkey bars. Unfortunately, it wasn't Porter's time to get a candy and that made him sad, but Derek offered to share his. I was beaming with pride and wonder at my little boy as we went out to the car. I told him it was nice to share and that maybe it will be Porter's turn next time. Derek agreed and said then it wouldn't be his turn. I was relieved that he understood that so he won't be disappointed when the tables are turned.

When ever Derek is hungry he takes matters into his own hands. Most of the time it is a bowl of cereal that he makes for himself. Eliza is pretty good at following suit.

Since Derek turned four I tried to take him to the dentist. I thought he would enjoy it. He is always disappointed when he doesn't get a toothbrush or a toy like the rest of the kids. When we got there he watched Michael go first, but wouldn't even sit in the chair on Michael's lap to try it out. He kept telling me he turned back to three and he hasn't admitted he was four since. Eliza thinks she's three too. She is her little brother's shadow and she is hard to argue with.

They are quite the team. I am so glad they have each other and hope this new little one will fit right in with them because I do not want to be pregnant again. If Derek is going to be in the bathroom for an extended period of time and decides he wants company he will call out, "Eliza, I need you," and she will come and sit on the bench and visit with him. He has tried to get me to do the same, but I'm not as obliging.

Eliza is all princess. She announces it to everyone and if you ask, "are you Eliza," or "are you two" or anything like that she'll disagree and say she is a princess. Every morning the first thing out of her mouth is that she wants to wear a princess dress and shoes. She must have shoes. I doesn't matter if they match or if they are even hers. Sometimes her princess dress goes on over her pajamas and if we are not going anywhere that is how it stays. I figure it keeps her warm. Today she added her Strawberry Shortcake hat. Paired with the old fashioned dress she was wearing she kind of looked like Holly Hobby or like she could be in Avolnee. She also likes her purse and she is know to carry up to three babies at a time. Of course, they must be wrapped up in a blanket.

She likes to practice speech when Derek does. She loves my gum. She is constantly singing, either real songs or ones she is making up on the spot. She is a very happy little girl from the moment she wakes up. She is easy to reason with. She is full of love.

Merian is doing well in first grade. On the first night of Christmas break, she was wrestling with Michael on her bed and fell off. Yes, she was pretending she was a monkey. She broke her collar bone and has been in a sling ever since. She looked forward to getting out of P.E.

Merian's best friend right now is Emma, (from school). I'm glad she has someone she gets along with so well.

Cheaper by the Dozen???

I'm beginning to be awake enough to have the state of the house really bug me. Nate and the kids have been doing a great job, but it just needs some deep down cleaning. I decided to start with the laundry room because it is the smallest and easiest. After that, and practicing calligraphy with Megan and the new set she got for Christmas I attacked the kids bathroom out of necessity. Still a small room, but by no means easy, thanks to Derek's and Eliza's creating a pink tooth paste original mural all over the wall a few months back. (Yes, it's been there a few months. That's how badly that bathroom needed a good cleaning.)

While in the bathroom I started wondering about my kids' dental habits. I hadn't been paying attention. I knew Megan brushed and flossed every day, but I wasn't so sure about the others. The fact that all the toothpaste was on the wall and there were no toothbrushes to be seen in the bathroom started making me feel extremely neglectful and slightly disgusted.

I made a chart (I feel like I'm always making charts, must be my parenting style) and headed off to WalMart for new toothbrushes and stickers. I grabbed a couple generic four packs of toothbrushes like usual and then saw the fairy and cars toothbrushes. If we were making a effort to do better at brushing, why not make it more fun? Besides, it seemed like my kids were always losing there toothbrushes and I never knew who's was who's. No one would misplace a Tinkerbell or Lightning McQueen toothbrush, right? I knew it would be a big treat, since the kids hadn't had special toothbrushes for a while and usually only got them in there stockings or Easter baskets. (Aren't I a fun mom? Don't answer.) I also had to buy special princess toothpaste and train toothpaste for Derek. Besides as a medium for expressing his artistic talent, Derek doesn't like toothpaste and will not use it. I hope this new kind would do the trick. New habits do not come cheap. Who would have thought new toothbrushes could cost close to $30?

When the kid saw what I brought home they were excited. I worried about them losing the toothbrushes and germs when they wanted to play with them, but I showed them the package of plain toothbrushes and told them that is what they'd be getting if anything happened to their character ones. Derek was thrilled about his toothpaste and not only has used it, but puts the tube back in the box when he is done. Tonight at family council I'll introduce my chart (oh, no, mom has another chart) and the stickers and we'll see how it goes.

In other news: Megan, Michael, and Emma all have parts in Beauty and the Beast. They also are on Destination Imagination teams. Merian broke her collar bone, Eliza loves to sing (Jingle Bells HEY!, being one of her favorites.), and Derek is always inventing. He found a glow stick inside a paper cup makes a handy lantern.

Everyone enjoyed playing in the snow and getting in the hot tub at the Johnson's cabin and I'm not ready to get back to school tomorrow!