Staying home is fun to do...

This week-end we tried to take it easy and enjoy the beautiful weather with its refreshing breeze.

Jefferson tried several experiments and learned that being a scientist is a hard job that requires a lot of patience and repetition, but he felt like a champion when his experiments did turn right. Here he is trying to make salt crystals:
Gillian loved writing letters using a feather and some food coloring as ink, but she also said that it took forever to write it as well as clean the ink out of her fingers:
The boys got ready for Georgia's hot weather by having a short haircut that looked really sweet on them:
We enjoyed hosting a children's book club and sharing with our friends our favorite stories from the book we read Little House in the Big Woods. My favorite story was that of the little cousin who got stung by yellow jackets. The children's favorite story was the bear stump that scared Pa in the middle of the night. We had a great time discussing the book, and ended by eating some yummy ice-cream. My kids can't wait for the next book club.

We also visited an elderly lady from our ward and brought her some cookies. We stayed there for a little while and kept her company. She showed us her pretty garden and gave us some herbs to plant in our garden:
The highlight of the visit for the kids was the chance they got to touch and hold her pet snake. Brave children! I stayed as far as I could manage. It may be a pet snake, but it is still a squeezing python.
We taught Charlton how to keep his hands in his pockets and he seemed to understand how cool that made him look. He kept flirting with everyone of us. The shirt Charlton is sporting was bought by Elijah. A woman feels good when her husband thinks his wife is hot and wants to declare it to the world. Explaining to the boys what hot in that shirt means might be the subject for another post.
We also made the mistake of buying more ice-cream and ended up eating a whole lot of it throughout the week-end. And here I am trying to eat healthy so I can loose some pounds before I gain them back on in my trip eating Austrian desserts and French cheese. At least the kids had no misgivings after devouring a whole tub in a week! Here they are trying to help Jefferson eat his ice cream after they had eaten theirs:
I love summer!

How was your week-end?

Let books be your dining table, And you shall be full of delights Let them be your mattress And you shall sleep restful nights. ~Author Unknown

Tonight was Gillian's first book club! How exciting and fun it was for me to listen and marvel at the responses and enthusiasm that these 8 -12 year olds had! A few weeks ago, one of my friends at church suggested having a book club for our children ages 8-12, and I didn't have to think twice about it. What a great way to spend an afternoon for these sweet kids. I can't remember where I read this quote, but it goes something like this: "TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book." You all know that I love to read, but it is a special feeling to see my own daughter have a thirst for learning and reading. It makes my hard hours of motherhood feel like vacation. When I told Gillian about the book club idea, she was very happy about it, and she read the book immediately, although she had read Charlotte's Web twice already. The parents had to read it, too, so we could discuss it with them. I hosted the evening, since Elijah wasn't here and I didn't have anyone to take care of my little ones, and because I love to host parties, especially when it was going to be Gillian's first party of her own. She helped me make brownies, cook some chicken nuggets, washed the fruit, and pick fresh cucumbers and green beans straight from our garden.


My friend, Maureen, guided the discussion by asking the children questions and by reading interesting parts from the book and asking their opinions on the matters discussed. The girls were partially excited to be together as friends, and partially that they were actually having their own book club. When I asked Gillian later on what did she like about the evening, she responded that beside being with her best friends, she really enjoyed talking about the characters and how they were connected with each other. I was glad she had payed attention, even though she was so happy to have her friends over. It was a good evening and I think all of the boys and girls enjoyed themselves. We even had our own soundtrack of laughs and squeals, and some singing thrown in there, provided by my very own talented son, Charlton Donald Garmon. After hearing him tonight, we might consider guiding him toward a musical career. Delightful!