These come from way back in February. Blame the moving. Anyway, I also have these posted to the family movie page, but here are our most recent additions in one convenient spot.
(Heidi insert, there are also new pictures up in the gallery for Moira’s birthday, Mother’s Day and the entire month of May. Movies in link just below…)
Every time we have a well check I remember why we skip well checks. We love our pediatrician, she’s great. We’ve had her since C was 2 months old and she never attempts to give us parenting advice - only medical advice. And we appreciate that. 
She never comments on our extended breastfeeding (except to be supportive) or co-sleeping and she thinks it’s great we homeschool. She had a lot of questions about that today and was saying how nice it is Moira doesn’t have to wait around for a classroom of kids but can go at her own pace and we have such flexibility to meet the kids’ needs. We smiled and agreed.
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Inspired by this very interesting post, Kit and I began discussing what sort of variation we’ll try with our kids. Christopher heard and I asked what he would buy if he had to come up with his own food for a month. I think that’s an incredible life lesson, we want to teach them how to plan a healthy menu, bake from scratch, plan ahead, shop wisely, etc.
Anyway, Christopher thought this sounded fun and he came up with his month of menus and grocery list. We’re not going to let him try this until he’s older, I don’t think I can expect it of him just yet. Mom helped by letting him know the ingredients for recipes he likes (sweet & sour sauce, bread, pancakes) and I would ask if he wanted to purchase each item (pasta sauce, bread) or make it homemade. With the pasta sauce I told him he would need to purchase some herbs & spices and he asked, “Can I use what we have in the garden?” That’s my wise shopper. He came up with the lunch & breakfast menu on his own but I read him our dinner menu so he could get ideas for what he likes.
So here is his list & menu, which I’m quite impressed with for a six year old. I don’t doubt that once in the store he would impulse shop some things but it’s actually very, very rare that he asks us to pick up things at the store not on the list. We also discussed when bulk shopping is a good idea, impulse buys, and buying a lot of something when it’s on sale for a good price. He brought up my stockpiling of those soups, asking how we knew it was a good deal and if it’s okay to buy things not on the shopping list. I said that’s why we pay attention to prices, so we can know if it’s a good deal or not. He’s learning a lot, I love it. Okay, back to list:
cold cereal
cream of wheat
peanut butter
milk
buttermilk
eggs
cheese
sausage
rice
tortillas
pumpkin
baking staples - flour, sugar, vanilla, yeast, oil, baking powder, baking soda, wheat, honey,
cumin, italian herbs, chicken broth or bouillion
chocolate chips
condiments - ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, mayo, salsa, butter
tuna
tomato soup
chimis (frozen ones he likes)
peas
apples
carrots
bananas
potatoes
refried beans
tomato paste
pepperoni
ground meat
chicken/turkey
stuffing
cream of chicken soup (or can make homemade)
spaghetti
ravioli
juice - orange, grape & apple
root beer
vanilla ice cream (or he could just buy whipping cream and do homemade)
With these items he can make -
breakfast:
cold cereal
cream of wheat w/peanut butter
pumpkin pancakes
buttermilk pancakes
donuts
chocolate chip pancakes (he said those would only be treats )
homemade syrup
eggs & cheese with toast
sausage rice scramble (also for lunches)
lunch:
chimis
grilled cheese & tomato soup
egg or tuna salad sandwiches or wraps
peanut butter & honey sandwiches or wraps
quesadillas
dinner:
homemade pepperoni pizza
barnyard stew (cream soup, potatoes, meat, carrots)
spaghetti
raviolli
turkey & stuffing (he said Thanksgiving dinner)
sweet & sour chicken
waffles (not sure why this is dinner specific for him?)
baked potato soup
soft tacos
Not bad! I hope with a lot of practice we can help him get these skills down long before he leaves home and needs to learn how to wisely budget his money and resources and cook for himself. He thinks planning a menu at this point is really fun so we’re going to leap on this enthusiasm NOW. Maybe I’ll take him to buy this list and he can see how much it costs for his actual menu. Life lessons - I love it.
Moira just asked if she can write up HER menu/shopping list because she says she needs grapefruit, grapes & cucumbers on hers.
I was glad to see we had included menu planning, budgeting & grocery shopping on our Thaden-Pierce family plan to teach these kids to be independent and move out of the house someday but that blog post I linked above (which is a very entertaining read) gave us some hands on ideas for how to reach that goal.
Wednesday
8:45 AM
Leaving behind a dejected Moira, I get Bennett and Christopher in the car. At Christopher’s prodding we take the back way — a hilly little road out of the way, covered in potholes. However, this particular road has these two large hills on its quarter-mile length. The kids thing it’s their own private roller coaster and want to ride on it every chance they can get. We take the hills with reckless abandon and Christopher reports that they make him feel funny down in his bottom.
9:00 AM
I arrive at Spirit Horse with Bennett and Christopher. We start down the path toward the ponies.
9:05 AM
After stopping at every single flower and tree, we finish the grueling 30 yard hike down the walkway to find Bennett’s teacher. A very tall young man greets us, introducing himself as Tex. Tex explains that the woman scheduled to be Bennett’s teacher is taking some time off for a honeymoon or something, and he’ll be filling in for her. Surprisingly, Bennett is not shy in the least. Tex goes to get Ben’s pony. Christopher goes off to check out the swings.
9:10 AM
Tex leads a very dirty pony to the gate. He hands Ben the rope, and between the three of us we get it led to the post. Tex asks Bennett what he needs to do first and Ben runs right to the brush bucket and pulls out the largest brush he can get his hands on. I call Christopher over to help. Usually the brushing is perfunctory, but Bennett’s pony, Candy, is seriously crusty having had far too much fun in the mud left over from the rain the day before. I grab a brush, too. By the time we’re done, we’re covered in horse hair, but Candy’s coat is silky smooth. Bennett counts all the way to 20 for brushing a side.
9:20 AM
Bennett has done everything he needed to do to get Candy ready. Though he needed help with many of the items — his saddle is about as large as he is — he was able to carry the blanket and girth all by himself. He was so happy. At one point, I gave Bennett a ride in the Daddy arm chair, and Tex noticed me doing it. After a few moments, I had to chase Christopher down for something, and I came back to find Tex giving Bennett an arm ride, too. He explained that he did that just yesterday for a girl in a wheelchair, and he certainly could do it for Bennett, too. Again, Bennett didn’t show any apprehension. In fact, he had a wide smile on his face.
9:25 AM
We start down the trail. It takes us a little while to actually get going because there aren’t any holes punched in the stirrup leathers high enough for Bennett to comfortably sit. Once we get that all adjusted, we’re off.
9:30 AM
We’ve made it down the trail and Bennett hasn’t jumped off the pony yet. Perhaps it’s that his big brother is with us? Perhaps he actually likes it this time around.
9:35 AM
Bennett just finished his two-point exercises. He wasn’t too sure about letting go of the reins, though. I mean, last time he was on the horse, he didn’t even touch the reins. Now he makes his little ice cream cones and refuses to let go. I convince him to hold on to the pony’s mane and he stands up in the stirrups, counts to 20, and away we go again.
9:37 AM
We’ve taken a side trail and the Easter Bunny has come to Spirit Horse this week. Eggs are hanging from the trees and the perfect height for the riders to reach from their saddles and pluck one down. Christopher is even given a chance to lunge for a particularly low-hanging egg. Unfortunately, Bennett’s egg proves to be a tremendous distraction to him. He would much rather fiddle with the egg than hold the reins at this point. However, he’s pliable enough that I have Tex take the egg from him, drop it in an obvious pocket, and deliver the promise that the egg will be returned when we’re done. This satisfies Ben, and we keep going.
9:45 AM
Last time Bennett was up on the pony, he was so distressed that we couldn’t make a lap around the grounds without him wanting to jump off. I was considering not coming back with him because it seemed to be a pointless venture — Bennett didn’t enjoy it, and I didn’t much like inflicting the experience on him. This time, he asks us to keep going. We do two laps before we run out of time and need to get ready to go. Bennett would have likely been happy to keep going if we let him.
9:50 AM
We’ve taken the gear off, put it all away, and now we’re it’s time for sugar cubes. Christopher is given a chance to do this as well. This is the first time Bennett’s shown any real apprehension at all — face to very large face with a pony. Christopher goes first to show his little brother how it’s done. Unfortunately, at the moment of truth, as Candy’s smacking lips approach His outstretched hand, Christopher jumps out of the way, fumbling his sugar cube, and one of the ranch dogs seizes the opportunity to snag easy candy from the ground. Bennett, however is inspired to give it a go, and with a bit of help from me, he successfully feeds a grateful pony a sugar cube.
9:52 AM
We lead the pony back to the pen. Bennett is considerably more willing to participate this time. He does a much better job holding the lead, despite the fact that he’s now shivering slightly from being out in the cold, damp morning for an hour. Tex leads the pony past the gate while we wait. He still has Bennett’s egg.
9:53 AM
We take our leave, Tex has given Bennett his egg, and Bennett gave him a big hug. He’s pretty slow to warm to strangers, but he’s clearly comfortable with Tex. No apprehension there at all. As we’re heading out, Tex tells us that Bennett’s a really neat kid and he wishes he could teach him all the time. That’s nice of him to say as Bennett really is a neat kid. We take the hilly road back home and the boys merrily chomp on the jellybeans that find in their Easter eggs.
Thursday
1:10 PM
We find ourselves back on the road to Spirit Horse. This time it’s Mo and Christopher in the car. We take the hilly road again. Christopher is in heaven here. This is the third time in two days he’s been on this, his favorite stretch of road in the whole wide world. Mo’s in heaven for other reasons. She’s on her way to see her beloved Snowflake, and she knows it. I’m a little nervous for her, however. Miss Rachel has moved on, and Mo’s getting a new instructor. Most of her instructors have been quite good — in fact she had only one this one time whom I would never use again, but she was a substitute, thank heavens. Still, we’re introducing change in a major factor of stability. Miss Rachel was enthusiastic for the both of them on the days Mo was feeling a little out of sorts. I hope her new instructor is at least young enough to feel the magic and enthusiasm of helping these kids learn to ride.
1:15 PM
We’re right on time. As we make our way up to the office, Mo asks if she can play on the swings. Christopher takes this question as permission, and he races to jump on one of the swings. This forces my hand, and I acquiesce to Mo’s request. She scoots up on a swing and we take a few leisurely passes before I tell her we need to get a move on and meet her new teacher.
Mo abruptly skids to a dead stop. “New teacher?”
Uh-oh.
1:16 PM
We’re approaching the office and a young lady walks right up to us and says, “Moira?” Joy-with-an-M right off the bat. Not Moriah, not Mora, but Moira. This is a good sign. She introduces herself to us as Lauren, and Moira half-hides behind my leg. This is normal. Christopher introduces himself and doesn’t stop talking. This is also normal.
1:17 PM
Mo is remembering all of the routine nicely, though she’s forgotten some of the words for things. Like the girth. And the saddle. Instead she points a lot and calls most things “that.” This is part of the dyspraxia — forgetting words — that I thought she was over for the most part. Despite the language issues, we don’t do much for Mo. About the only part I’m really needed for in any of this is to help Mo with her helmet. In just a few minutes, we’re ready to go.
1:20 PM
Once we’re going, Mo seems to have forgotten that she has a new teacher. She is clearly delighted that she’s with Snowflake, and I’m glad that her pony has survived another winter. Seriously, Snowflake is old. But she’s a well-loved horse. So much so that she’s one of the most heavily-booked animals they have at the ranch. Many children will mourn the day of her passing.
On the trail we review. I had already told Lauren that Mo was mostly doing round pen work these days, and that I side walk not because she needs me for anything, but because it’s a requirement for me to do so. (Yes, I love being out with my daughter, too, but the fact is that she doesn’t need my help anymore.) So, Mo does her two-point and counts to 20. Still standing, she puts her hands on her hips then counts to 10. Then her head, then arms out to the side, and so on. She’s up to a total of an 80 count before she sits down the first time. Mo navigates over to an egg hanging from a tree and snatches it down without a second thought. She may have forgotten some words, but her body remembers her pony exercises.
1:25 PM
We move to the top of a little hill, and Moira is given permission to trot. “Twot, Snowflake!” she commands, and her smile goes from ear to ear as she blissfully bounces down the trail on the back of her pony.
1:27 PM
I guess Lauren believes me about Mo’s current skill level, because she leads Mo to the round pen for some control work. This is the part Moira really needs review on. Her rein work isn’t what it was at the end of last season. I lean up against the fence, and Christopher climbs up next to me and hangs off the top rail. Mo rides in circles, does a little slalom, trots, and waves at the two of us each time she passes. We wave back and talk between ourselves about things of no great consequence.
It is a wonderful time.
1:45 PM
Mo’s getting a little tired. Her teacher has a good sense of this without my intervention at all. Mo’s less pliable, less daring, and much less talkative. We call it on the round pen exercises before we do harm to her enthusiasm for pony rides.
1:50 PM
It doesn’t take long for Mo to get Snowflake dressed down. While we’re getting everything put away, Moira’s teacher asks if we have to be anywhere right after the lesson. It turns out that the guy who runs Spirit Horse is going to a formal dinner that evening and needs his sneakers decorated. There’s this charity dinner around here where everybody gets done up to the nines on top but wears sneakers — the more ostentatious the better. She takes the kids over to a little table, gets out a pair of green Chuck Taylor high-tops and a bag of puff paint, and they go to town. Mo does a set of flowers. C busts out an airplane. I think it’s a little abstract, but Tex, you remember Tex, right? Bennett’s instructor? Anyway, Tex comes by, sits down next to Christopher, and says, “What a great airplane!” More points there.
Lauren is helping Mo out, Tex is giving C a hand, and I’m just watching, amused by it all. About the time they finish up with the polka dots across the toes, Tex tells me that he got his schedule flipped around so he could be Bennett’s teacher all the time. And here I thought he was just being polite the day before. No, when he said he thought Bennett was a neat kid, he apparently meant it.
We set the shoes up to dry, and it’s time for us to take off.
2:10 PM
Back in the car. Home again, home again. The kids giggle wildly on the roller-coaster hills.
First a refresher:
Now a little story. I was editing some family movies. It’s Heidi’s consistent present request — get those family movies edited down, and I was working on a tape featuring the winter before Mo’s birth and her homecoming. We were watching along wistfully when Heidi said, “Look at the way Christopher’s dancing!” I hadn’t even noticed. Apparently our toddlers dance like kids who physical therapists are inclined to try to tag with mild CP. Who knew?
He’s around 18 months old here. A little younger than Bennett in the Super Why video.
My lesson learned: get those family movies edited more timely. We could have saved ourselves a trip to the specialists.
by Christopher
The snow falls
and the snow lands
and the cold days begin.
A blanket starts around the earth.
A white and a cold blanket.
Kids come out to play.
A snow fight starts.
Coming back from my appointment this morning Moira and I were both craving donuts - which I realize isn’t a craving, more a “state of being” for me. But when we cut trans fats, we made donuts a very rare treat and with a house closing in less than 3 weeks, I didn’t want to spent the money either. Yes, I know, it’s just a couple dollars but IT ADDS UP and it’s the principle of the thing.
SO we came home and made cinnamon rolls! Haha, those are MUCH healthier, right? But we used real butter (no trans fats) and “organic” brown sugar someone gave us, so the marketing people would call these “healthy cinnamon rolls.”
Here is the recipe we used but we did it by hand, the bread maker is out in the garage and I was too lazy to go get it. Yes… I realize how odd that sounds, too lazy to get it so we made it by hand? I’m just use to doing bread by hand now.
The kids just helped me roll them out (note to self, do not leave Bennett unattended for even a split second with a table of cinnamon rolls being made - after I started spreading the butter on the dough, he took the rolling pin to it to help roll some more.)
I’m struck again by how much better I am feeling because I just made cinnamon rolls with four kids! AND fed them lunch, did a lesson with Christopher and my kitchen is clean! (Clean being relative, but it’s really pretty clean thanks to Jenny’s visit when she cleaned and my resolution to keep it that way while Kit’s at work - he cleans when he comes home, trying to make that less necessary by cleaning myself. )
It feels good to have energy again.
SO, kids, now it’s storytime and NAPS for toddlers and quite time for you big kids. Then I promised you hot chocolate (though the snow is melting) and cinnamon rolls.
Christopher was watching Zobomafoo and the Kratts were talking about flying squirrels and he decided it would be cool to try something like this. “Dad? Can people fly like flying squirrels?”
Yes. As a matter of fact, they can.
“Oh!” He says, “It’s a human flying squirrel!”
Pretty much, Christopher.
“Can I ever do that someday, Dad?”
Heidi interjects: “No! If you ever attempt to do something like that, you would be in big trouble.” Indeed.
Heidi also adds, I told the kids this was absolutely forbidden -
They were doing this at my sister’s WARD PARTY (sorry, she said it was stake party - member of her stake presidency’s home.) This video was shot at a different party but same slingshot, same location and I think that’s nuts… college kids rigging this up and flinging themselves at a mountain? Do you trust those engineering majors? 
I’m thinking no…
I was trying to make wise use of my time while Heidi was napping today (Heidi insert - Kit came home for lunch and I passed out. He was a good sport and let me stay asleep), so I decided to give Mo and C a music lesson. We covered melody (our working definition — the tune of the song, or the part that you hum).
Christopher said, “I want to write a Christmas song!”
Um, okay. Well, I happen to have just the app for something like that. So C, Mo, and I fired up Garage Band (yes, it’s really called Garage Band, for you non-Mac users in the audience) and came up with this:
Christopher’s Christmas Song Sheet Music:
The mp3 file:
chistopher_christmas.mp3
And the lyrics:
How did the star shine so bright
to guide the wise men in the night?To see the child — it is christ!
How mary so fair.
The shepherds went to Bethlehem.
It’s a work in progress, but C came up with the melody and the lyrics all on his own. The meter is kind of forced in places, but c’mon, he’s six! 
Technically, I think this qualifies as his first poem. Go ahead: sing along!
Before Christopher’s a daddy he needs to get the priesthood, learn to do dishes, and be a good example for his kids.
Some people think Satan is stronger than Heavenly Father, but they’re wrong. Satan only has the power to trick you.
Satan yells, but the Spirit has peace.
Did we switch cuddlers tonight?
My parents live on this street and we like to take walks down the road as it runs along the river. Tonight I snapped some pictures of the homes we pass - starting with my favorite:
My parents’ place:
Kit and the older three kids enjoying the river view, and getting a little too close to the edge for my comfort:
I was importing some family video last night (two tapes down — 15 more to go!), and I came across some tapes of us with Christopher when Heidi was pregnant with Mo. Some observations in no particular order:
We only had one child.
Sometimes he held still.
Christopher is the same age Emy is now.
Emy looks and sounds a lot like Christopher.
Christopher plays with Heidi and the camera. Listen to that glee!
At sixteen months old, Christopher plays at being a big brother. That black eye is from when he took a dive off the couch and cut his face. He still bears that scar.
I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the past of my oldest after seeing him grow through these years.