4 by Forty

The Fancy Nancys and their brother Chicken Little

2009-11-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

What are you doing to me?

Get that thing off me!

Luke had a temporary beak after taking a nose dive. The joys of walking!

Naomi's Polish and Pizza Party

2009-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

Naomi enjoyed making pizza and painting nails with a few of her friends.

5 sure is fun!

Beauty & the Beast

2009-10-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Towns person (Jaycie), Ava, Mrs. Potts (Alyssa), Naomi, Brooke, & Caden

Caden, Brooke, Ava, Cogsworth (Matt) & Naomi

We had the pleasure of seeing our friends Alyssa, Matt, & Jaycie perform in the musical Beauty and the Beast. I enjoyed Matt's accent and Alyssa's singing. The sets and costumes were amazing also! Great job RCS!

I'm so sad that these pictures turned out blurry! I really need to start saving for a new camera!

Naomi's Third 5th Birthday Cake

2009-10-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

After puking on the way home from Reedley yesterday, Naomi woke up around 11 AM and asked, "Did you make my cake yet?" This after having 2 birthday cakes over the weekend! I couldn't resist since she was feeling better. What kind of cake did she want? Chocolate with green frosting and pink sprinkles. Green frosting? Yep. Well, at least that's easy.

Naomi's also been saying that she's going to get her "very own" Bible for her birthday. Who could resist that?! I made her a little bag to carry it in also.

Happy 5th Birthday Naomi!

Said at lunch today

2009-09-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

A: "When Daddy gets me a husband then I can live by Aunt Stacie and walk to your house"
N: "Yah, and you can come over for dinner"

Sounds good to me!

Kindergarten

2009-09-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Naomi and her phonics tool box all decorated and ready to be filled with tools!

Naomi is so excited to finally be in Kindergarten! Its only been 11 days, but she'll tell you that she's a "mathematician" and a "diligent worker." Its amazing to watch her learn! Already she's writing the entire alphabet in lowercase and knows all the single letter sounds. She might even sing, "q is always written qu," if asked. Today we started learning our power tools (sound that have 2 or more letters like ir, er, ur, or, ear). Keep in mind that Luke's usually napping though a good portion of this and Ava does Circle Time with us and then has her own preschool activities to do till she's ready for free play. Here's what a typical day (2.5 hours) looks like:

Circle Time

~pray for missionaries & elders, etc

-recite memory verse

-sing

-recite our address or a phone # (home or daddy's)

Calendar

-yesterday was ____, today is ____

-days of the week

Weather Graph

-she checks outside and fills in a box on her graph

Phonics Road

-memorizing 3-4 new sounds by writing and dictation

Saxon Math 1

-count to 100

-teaching time using manipulatives

-2 sided worksheet each day

Story Time

-I'm reading Storytime with the Miller's, a great little book that teaches Godly traits through the characters' adventures.

Art

-once or twice a week we do a quick art lesson from Art with a Purpose, but mostly Naomi likes to create on her own, which is great.

Naomi also learned to ride her 2 wheel bike with Daddy. I'm deeming it P.E. :-) There's a great little video here.

9 Months

2009-09-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

While we were enjoying Hume Lake, Luke passed the 9 month marker. It was really amazing to see all he learned in the 2 weeks we were there. He learned to pull himself up on anything and stand without assistance (wish I could do squats like that!). His vocabulary tripled with the addition of "dada," and "mo" (more) to his very cute "Ha" while waving his hand. He'll also give you 5, if you ask.

What a blessing and delight!

Hume Lake 2009

2009-09-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

As you can see, we had a great vacation at the cabin. Its amazing how quickly two weeks can go by! It was a great blessing for us to relax together and make some great memories. Steve wrote emails to document our adventure and I've finally(!) added them all to the blog. To find them all you can continue to scroll down or click on "Hume 2009" under Labels in the column to the right.

Looking forward to lots more great memories at my favorite place on earth with my favorite people,

Tricia

Bonus!

2009-08-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Aunt Susan snuck up the hill so we could have a little more time with her. Yay!

Wednesday at Hume

2009-08-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

We’ve got into a routine now. Reading, relaxing in the mornings and then an activity during the afternoon. We went to the lake again today, with a little fishing and swimming planned. We (the girls) ended up just swimming.

These two boys, Alex and Julius, kept the girls entertained most of the afternoon, letting them go out on their giant floatie.

We finally caught Luke standing up all by himself.

Apparently, Ava likes to mark her face with hand prints. We had just sent the girls outside for our campfire time, (all nice and clean by the way) and within 30 seconds, we find this. Later that evening the truth came out, when Naomi was pouring dirt all over Ava’s lap. I told Naomi to stop because she was getting her sister all dirty. Ava replied “I like being dirty.” And does she ever.

A family photo from around the campfire. Ava’s got her much prized pot of dirt (pancakes if you as her) and Luke is wondering what happened to the bottle he just had.

Tomorrow Patricia’s sister Susan is coming up for half a day. The other half we’ll be starting to clean up and get ready to leave Friday morning. Ahhh…cant’ believe we only have one day left! It’s always that way, isn’t it?

Enjoying God’s creation and provision,

Steve

Tuesday's Events at Hume

2009-08-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great day today. Patricia and I did some reading again in the morning and then I took the girls fishing down at the lake. Patricia and Luke joined us later in the day.

Sweet sisters, ready for some fishin.

Luke just after a bottle. A little messy, but still cute!

Naomi’s first catch of the day. A little blue gill or croppy (sp?). She caught a total of 13 fish all by herself, casting and reeling them in. A few of them were small mouth bass. We through them all back. Oh yeah, when we first got there I had put worms on the hooks, but the girls were so interested in all the ducks that were begging for food, we set the fishing poles aside and just played with the ducks. While we weren’t paying attention, one of the ducks tried to eat the worm off Naomi’s hook. All the sudden we see this duck headed out into the lake dragging Naomi’s pole. She started crying hysterically, afraid she was going to lose another fishing pole. I was able to get into the lake and retrieve the pole and the duck. I didn’t really know that duck’s had a tongue. The tongue was as big as Ava’s tongue. Anyway, the hook had gone right through this duck’s tongue. The duck was very cooperative and I had her back in the water in no time.

Naomi is surprisingly good at casting! Ava’s not bad either.

This was Ava’s first fish ever. She landed this one all by herself. She made the cast, hooked it, and reeled it home! Another thing that was funny about this fishing trip was the fact that some boy’s next to us had been fishing all morning and had not caught a thing. Finally their family asked us what we were using for bait. We told them worms. The boys immediately took off for the store to get some. They returned and still could not catch anything. Their family was cracking up the whole time as Naomi kept reeling in fish with her pink Barbie fishing pole. Finally the father couldn’t take it anymore, so he grabbed a pole and fished for about a half hour to no avail and then gave up. We all had a great laugh.

The girls finally got tired of fishing and decided to swim.

Mama and Luke got hungry and took off to the snack shack and returned with a chocolate shake and some French fries.

That chocolate shake was good!!!

The ride home. We have about 50 pictures similar to this. Good thing it’s digital.

The end of another day at Hume. Bath time then bed time.

Of course both the girls wanted another bedtime story about a bear. I didn’t want Ava to have a hard time going to sleep, so I decided to tell them a “kitty” story instead (thank you Chippers & Cocoa!). I think it worked. They fell asleep in about 5 minutes. Fishing is hard work!

We sure enjoy getting to share our vacation this way with you. We really wish you were all here!

Steve

Monday's Events at Hume

2009-08-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

Monday was a low key day. We spent a relaxing morning reading outside while the girls played. Around 11:00 am I took the girls on a 2 hour bike ride throughout the west side of Hume, mostly through the Junior High Camp, Meadow Ranch. We had a great time.

We caught the girls taking a break from playing “house” (their favorite game). I think they were watching some squirrels chase each other.

We found the waste water ponds for Hume (there are 8 total). When we came to this first pond Naomi said “Daddy, look…it is sooo beautiful. Can we swim in it?” I explained that this is where the water from the toilet goes. She said “eewwh,” but still thought it was pretty and wanted to at least fish it.

My view of the girls…

And their view of me. I like my view better.

This would be a pretty good tree house, or at least the beginnings of one. My guess is that it is at least 40 feet high. It is a zip line launch that goes across the “blob pond.” I think the zip line itself is at least 1,500 feet long. It is gianormous.

We stopped at this swing set. This is a swing set from the good old days, when they were allowed, and allowed to be big! Many underdogs were had on this swing set.

Taking a little break at Meadow Ranch.

We found this skate board park. It was pretty cool. We did several laps around taking several of the ramps and trying to get some air. The girls loved it. They were screaming the whole time, “Do it again!”

The girls found this singing bass and have about wore the batteries out. It sings the “Don’t worry be happy” song and another one “Take me to the River.” Unfortunately, Patricia and I can’t get these songs out of our heads. We got some great video of this and will have to post it when we get back. It’s hilarious. Grandma Ardis, we’ll make sure this doesn’t get broke and makes it back “to the river” from whence it came. J

We ended the day with family devotions around the campfire. Quite a challenge with all the distractions around, but it was good none the less.

Luke’s having a great time singing with the rest of the family.

We ended the day roasting marshmallows around the campfire and telling a bear story.

Great times were had by all.

Steve

Sunday's Events at Hume

2009-08-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, most of Cody’s family came up along with one of Aunt Lois’s daughters. We had a great time with Uncle David, Breann, Janel, Cody, and Holly. Two main events for the day were: 1. A ride in Uncle David’s pickup truck where he drove Loco style throughout Hume, swerving back and forth making the kid’s roll around in the pickup bed. They had so much fun. It was like being on a roller coaster, each time we went into a turn, everyone would scream. It was quite entertaining for us as well as them. 2. We went on a hike all the way to Boy Scout Dam, which used to be the domestic water supply for Hume Lake.

Soon after our start to Boy Scout Dam, I caught another skink. However, it turns out it was the same one I caught and we had released a few days before. Holly really liked the skink.

The girls managed to talk their cousins into carrying them most of the way there and back.

Here we are at Boy Scout Dam.

We found what appeared to be deer bones. “Ava, No. Don’t touch the bones!” A bear must have got the deer. By the way, Ava and Naomi have been very intrigued by “bear stories” which we started to tell around the campfire on Saturday night. They ask for a new story each night. Ava is loves to hear the stories, but is also frightened by them as well. They really are not scary, but she still gets a little nervous. Now she manages to weave bears into almost every conversation we have. It’s really funny. We had a bear get into the trash the other night by the way - left a big deposit, if you know what I mean.

Here’s a picture Cody took of all the girl cousins on our way back to the cabin.

We also went to the Fort Logan, which is located in the middle of the pond next to the cabin. It is a three story fort with a jail and a floating bridge is the only access other than by boat. The kids all enjoyed it. Cody and Holly went for a boat ride and Cody fell in the pond as they were trying to disembark. Luckily he had some dry clothes for the ride home. After all the company left, we wrapped things up a little early. The kids were worn out. I think they were bathed and in bed by 7:00pm.

Enjoying the adventure,
Steve

Saturday's Events at Hume

2009-08-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

A little behind in our updates here…so I’ll catch you up over the next few emails. Saturday, Patricia’s Grandma Ardis, Patricia’s Mom and her husband Tex, and Patricia’s cousin Cody came to visit. The girls played with Cody all day long. Here are a few photos from the day:

Luke is standing by himself now without holding on to anything. We haven’t got a picture of it yet, but here is one that is close. He can also say “Dada” and “more”. He says “more” now when he is hungry. He’ll also say “Hi”.

Here are the girls with Cody on “the rock”, which is now being played on by generation #3.

We went on a little hike with Nana and Papa Tex behind the cabin.

We got to the stream crossing, where we had to turn back as the mosquitoes tried to carry the little ones off. Luke enjoyed the ride!

Nana got to spend some time with Luke.

We had a great time with everyone. Grandma Ardis told us the story of when and how the cabin was built which was very interesting to us. They all fixed us quite a meal in the evening – barbequed tri-tip, chicken, roasted potatoes, and the best coleslaw I’ve ever had (Carola brought some awesome coffee cake in the morning as well.)

Another great day at the cabin (I don’t think you can have a bad day at the cabin).

Steve

Post Script from Yesterday

2009-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is how it turned out! Both the girls love trout. Naomi said that she wants to catch more so she can make a “fish pie.” We can’t wait!

Steve

Ahh, Hume Lake

2009-08-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, another wonderful day at the cabin. Yesterday we got skunked on our fishing trip, so today we thought we would start out earlier and see if we could catch a fish before they (the fish) took naps in the afternoon. There is a neat little trail behind the cabin which goes to a small clearing next to a big willow (tree?) bush next to the pond. Patricia packed Naomi, Ava, and I a picnic lunch and we headed off with our mini night crawlers in hand. After about a half hour, we decided to leave our bobbers and hooks in the water with fresh worms, and then eat our lunch. Peanut butter and jelly. Mmmm. After a few bites, we noticed that Naomi’s bobber was going under the water. I must admit, that in all the excitement, I ended up reeling in the fish myself. After seeing that it was securely on the hook, I threw it back in and then let Naomi real it in. Let it be known that you can fish and catch trout with a pink Barbie fishing pole. Attached is a cute picture of Naomi and her fish. She was quite jazzed about it and we put the fish in a little cooler with water in it. Naomi said that we should keep on feeding it so that it would grow big so we could eat it. Attached is also a picture of Ava contemplating eating the worms, and a picture of Luke settling for eating a stick, since he could not get his hands on the worms.

Late this evening just before dark, Naomi and I went down to the pond to check on her fish. She was still so excited about her catch. We opened the cooler and I saw that the fish was at the bottom, upside down. Not good. I wasn’t sure how Naomi would respond. I told her the fish didn’t make it. She wanted to touch it to make sure, but I told her that when fishies swim like that, their dead for sure. She looked at me with concern and said “We have to eat it.” It was a small fish, maybe 6 inches long. Not much of a meal, but if you’re going to catch and keep, you better eat. I told her we sure would - maybe for lunch the next day. As I said those words, I wondered how we would find any meat among all the bones. Well, we’d give it a try at least.

Before it got too dark, Naomi and I decided to wet our lines a few more times to see if we could add to our bounty. And after about 15 minutes I decided we had been mosquito food long enough. “Okay. This is the last cast.” I cast Naomi’s worm just under the willow tree and gave her the pole. After a few more minutes I told Naomi to reel it in, it was time for us to go inside. As she reeled it in, she stopped and said “Oh, what was that.” I looked just in time to see her bobber go under the water and I yelled “Pull up.” She pulled up and started reeling it in. She kept on saying “Wow, this is a big one” as her drag started making noise. I thought wow, it is a big one. “Keep reeling it in” I kept telling her. She landed it all by herself. A 10 inch rainbow trout. We put it into the cooler and she ran back to the cabin so excited to tell her mommy all about it. Big smiles from daddy. There is a lot of joy in being a parent and seeing and experiencing the wonder of it all with your child.

Although she still thinks worm guts are “icky”, she’s turning out to be quite the fisherman. Daddy cleaned the fish (outside far from the cabin at my wife’s request), and put them into the fridge. Perhaps we’ll eat them tomorrow for lunch.

A good day.

Steve

Leapin Lizards and other stuff

2009-08-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today we went for a family bike ride to the Hume Lake Dam and back. On the way back a skink crossed our path. I hopped of the bike, dove into the bushes and came out with this blue tailed skink. Yep, the old man still has it. These guys are quick, and this is the first one I’ve ever caught. When we were here in 2005, Lyle and the Kids and I caught something like this, but I don’t think it was the same species. The girls and I went for a “canoe” ride on the pond and explored the Wagon Train Fort. We also went fishing. We didn’t catch any because, as Ava said, “they were sleeping.”

Hope you all are doing well.

Steve

Relaxing Day

2009-08-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

We just hung out around the cabin today and took a bike ride. Very relaxing.

Steve

Sunday Morning

2009-08-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

It’s been a relaxing Sunday morning for us…quite a change from the norm. Here is a picture of where we are at right now, emailing to you all. We rode our bikes down to the lake this morning and I took the girls for a little off-road riding this morning. I think we’re going to try to download a Piper sermon and watch it back at the cabin for our Sunday “Church.”

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2009-08-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our family was doubly blessed August 10, 2006! Olivia and Ava had a great time at their third birthday party. They are the 2 cutest 3 year olds we know!

New Videos

2009-07-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

Check them out at YouTube!

8 months of CUTENESS!

2009-07-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Luke is a delight and BOY is he busy! He is always moving and loves to crawl, pull up on short stuff, holler, chew on anything, pull books off the shelf, babble, roll around the house in his walker, play with his sisters, float in the kiddie pool, swing outside, and eat real food (the only baby food he'll eat is applesauce).

We interupt this family blog with a giant tomato!

2009-07-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

This 1 pound 10 ounce tomato was found by our nephew Jacob. Its just one example of the bounty we've had in our backyard. The regular sized tomatoes were about a 1/2 a pound. Hooray for SUMMER!

Cousins

2009-07-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

For the first time all the Watson cousins are together. Hooray!

More Teeth!

2009-07-08T22:25:00.001-07:00

The new things are starting to steam roll for our little boy. The tooth count is up to 6, the last 4 all coming at the same time! He's eager to crawl and has just started putting one hand in front of the other, kinda.

He's also finally enjoying food, although I think he's got a gourmet palate! He absolutely refuses baby cereal of every kind and hasn't been interested in the jarred baby food I've attempted. The only thing he's really liked is MumMums and whole pieces of fruit to gnaw on. Then Monday night I offered him a tiny piece of pasta with Alfredo sauce on it and he loved it! (Can you blame him?) So he ate the rest of my dinner :-) He's also a fan of squash which is great because we have tons from the garden!

By far his favorite pastime is chasing his sisters down in his rolly seat, I've got to get a video of that. Overall, he's fabulous little boy!