No Chore Saturday

We came up with a new plan for chores where you get them done by Friday and Saturdays are left to do fun things. We presented the plan at Family home evening and came up with a list of things we'd like to do as a family. Camping was number one on the list for everyone, so we decided we would camp Friday night if and only if everyone finished their chores by Thursday evening. It worked! Aren't incentives great? Here we are on our way to Carr Canyon. We decided to stay close and have a short drive this time, so 30 minutes after leaving our house we were up in the mountains in a beautiful campground setting up camp.

Reef Campground

Our family is obsessed with fire. I hear it's a Wilcox trait. The highlight of the evening and the morning was building the fire. My scouts did an awesome job setting up and taking down camp. We went on a great little hike. The view was gorgeous! The whole family enjoyed being outdoors. I even forgave Willie after a very long night. He forgot the sleeping bag mats. The kids were unaffected of course. They were so thrilled to camp that they want to do it every weekend. We compromised and decided on once a month until school starts.

A Young Willie

If any of you remember Willie as a kid or wonder what he looked like, well look no further. Wes and Zach are such explorers. They found an area of the mountain covered in quartz and brought back some very cool quartz crystals. I hear there used to be a mine there years ago.The kids couldn't believe that I found the biggest crystal of all. It was very fun!

Dirty and Happy

Zachary's face was especially dirty on the campout. He didn't care. There was no time to waste and many trees to climb.

Zach the Tractor-lovin'-guitar-player

The photo is a little blurry, but you get the idea.

He was born to rock.

Ingenuity

Zachary is so clever! I have a funny story about him. If you know Zach, you know his passion for three things: Legos, Star Wars, and the newest one, Indiana Jones.
Last week Zach and I went to pick up Carina from a job site where she was with Willie. On our way out Zach bends over and finds a treasure. He says, "Mom, can I keep this nail? I promise I'll take care of it. It'll stay in my room." The paranoid mom in me responds, No Zach, if someone steps on that we will end up in the hospital." Zach says, "Please mom I need it for my legos." I said, "Fine, but as soon as I see it on the floor, it's gone."
I had no clue how a nail could be used for legos. But Zach knew exactly what to use it for. The next day I go into his room to pick up the boys hamper and I find this on his closet shelf. Brilliant, huh?

Christmas Morn

I'm still sorta new to the blog thing, so I'm not sure what the rules are for posts about somebody else's kids.

Just happened across this picture of Christmas morning. Nothing in the whole world like Christmas morning.

Double Wilcoxes

I absolutely love this family picture! Even the monkey in it is great! Here we are with all the cousins on top of the Coronado Monument. All the kids did awesome on the hike and had a fun time looking for the U.S./Mexico border. The girls all look so cute together. They all got along so well and had so much fun. Willie is so good with kids. He and Kate had a little conversation about the beauty of the desert. The eager boys are in the lead and the girls are just enjoying the sights and chatting along the way.

Conquistadors

The kids tried on replicas of Conquistador battle gear at the Coronado Memorial Visitor Center. They look so fierce and brave! Gotta love the "Vote for Pedro" Conquistador. ARRH! So scary!

Cousin Time Activities

Everyone had fun stuff to do. My sister-in-law, Jenny, brought a fun battery-operated car for the boys to put together. They came up with several models and styles. We had a cookout in the backyard and roasted dogs and made s'mores. Carina and Kate spent lots of time in the sandbox. We had great weather for much outdoor play.

Maddie's 10th Birthday

The Wilcox family from Washington came to visit for their spring break. They were here for Maddie's birthday. I finally decided to give fondant a try. My friend has a great recipe that you make with marshmallows and powdered sugar. It's a mess to make, but turns out really well. I still have lots to learn because it isn't very easy to work with. There are a few tricks to it. But I had fun rolling out her cake and mixing in the different colors. On Maddie's birthday, Maddie, Emily, Cheryllyn, and Eileen had a blast creating flowers and animals out of fondant. They made the flowers on top of the cake and some of the hot pink dots. The smaller cake was Aunt Jenny's because they came right on her birthday, so we had a little cute cake for her too.

Party Time!

Having fun with family and friends is the best way to celebrate a birthday. Maddie was so lucky to have her cousins and her best friends come for her special day.

Veterinarian

Carina and Danielle had loads of fun with the letter "V" in preschool. For dramatic play time, we set up a Vet's office with every stuffed animal and doll we could find and the girls took turns being the Vet and the pet owner. They gave exams, immunizations, patched injuries, listened to heartbeats, and took temperatures. Let's not forget to pay at the end of the visit. Grandma's Christmas gifts has been such a hit. The kids use the cash register for all sorts of different games.

Van Gogh

Last week for Preschool we studied the letter "V." The girls really enjoyed learning about Vincent Van Gogh and studying some of his most famous paintings. When I asked them which one they would like to paint, the "Sunflowers" painting was the favorite. So here is an original by Carina.

Anniversary

Andrea built me a quiche for our 14th wedding anniversary.



Tasted as good as it looks.

(This post is actually a veiled attempt
to get Norma to visit the blog.)

Mother-Daughter Book Club

Andrea and Maddie are participating in a fun book club that Andrea put together with some other moms. They are reading classics, and they have their own blog: svreaders.blogspot.com