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!