Save the flowers!

http://lamoreauxhomeschool.blogspot.com/

Edible Aquafer

This week in Cub Scouts, A lady from the Soil Conservation District came and Spencer got to make an edible aquifer.


1. Ice - represents rocks
2. Sprite - water (aquafer)
3. Ice cream - soil (clay layer) (they used a spoon to make the ice cream seal off the Sprite)
4. Crushed graham crackers - soil (sand layer)
5. Green sprinkles - grass, plant life
6. Candy - insects & worms (very important for the soil)
7. Red food coloring - contaminants (gasoline, etc.)
8. Straw - represents a well being dug.

They took the straw and pushed it into the ice cream where the drops of food coloring were. They got to see how contaminants can get into the aquafer.

Then they drank some of the sprite to see how the aquafer gets depleted. Then she poured more Sprite on top of the ice cream, and we waited. Slowly the Sprite leaked into the "ground", and suddenly it would re-fill the aquafer. She talked a bit about other water issues - how not to waste water, etc. Then the boys ate their aquafers.

Good Nutrition Eliminates School Problems

I hope you'll all read my recent post on my health blog. It is an amazing study!
http://marathonofmotherhood.blogspot.com/

Abby loves shoes

I love how determined and patient little children are when learning new things. Abby just thinks that shoes are the greatest. I think it's so cute how proud she is of herself.

Family Update

Bob is staying busy with school, he is now on a full-tuition academic scholarship (yeay!) He did well teaching seminary as part of his Methods of Teaching Seminary class, and has been hired to student teach seminary next school year. I think he will be a great teacher. We don't know if he will be offered a job teaching seminary full-time or not (this year they were only able to hire 3 full time teachers out of the 18 student teachers.) but I'm sure whatever is supposed to happen with that will happen. He is playing flag football right now, serving on the school board for a local private LDS school, and trying to help with the firework show for this year (which may not happen because of our county government here in Rigby Idaho, argh.) Bob and I have really enjoyed many of the coaching classes he has taken in school recently, they give us good ideas relating to parenting.

I have been working hard getting more food storage accumulated, put in buckets, etc. It feels good to get it done. This week I'm packing for our yearly camping trip to Green Canyon Hot springs with a bunch of homeschool families. The kids will take swimming lessons there, two lessons a day Tues-Saturday. After swimming, all the kids play capture-the-flag until evening when we sit by the campfire & share stories & songs. It will be fun! Recently I spoke in Stake Conference. It was a little intimidating because it was just me and two general authorities (Elder Neuenschwander, and Elder Marchenko), their wives, a member of the temple presidency, and the Stake presidency. It was a great experience for me to plan the talk, I spoke on “why the temple is important to me”

Aliysa just finished seminary, and finished the Physical Science course that her and her friends did together this year. (You can see some of their experiments on their blog - link to the left) They are excited to continue with high school biology, although Aliysa doesn't want to dissect any critters. She also finished the babysitting job that she had this year. She is enjoying having a break, but wants to find a way to continue earning money. She went to a fun dance the other night with two of her friends at a dance studio that one of our friends owns. I'll post pictures of her later, her friends put makeup on her (despite her protests), and she looked quite grown up. She just got a cute hair cut, we cut about 8 inches off her hair, and then she got bangs & layers put in later.

Her cat just had kittens, so she'll be finding homes for them soon. Aliysa and Jace have been going with our friends, the Partridges, to do baptisms for the dead every Thursday at the Idaho Falls temple. I think it is great that they can go so often.

Jace was just called to be the Deacon Quorum secretary. When he was set apart, he was told that it will be his responsibility to help activate any boys that are not coming, and to do a good job keeping records of their quorum. He has a job working for our next-door neighbor (a widow), doing her yard work this summer. Jace has been observing many birds nests in our yard, and watched a robin hatch out of an egg the other day. He rescued an egg that he found lying on the ground, found a nest to put it in, and it did hatch & is being raised with the other starlings. (Bob wasn't so sure that rescuing a starling was worth it, but around here we love all the birds.)

A couple of weeks ago, Jace went on a scout campout to Craters of the Moon. There are tons of caves, and an 800-foot long lava tube. They hiked through it, and saw lots of bat guano (poo) and pigeons. Jace found a tiny hole in a rock, and squeezed inside it. It was a cave about 15 feet long, 3 feet high, and maybe 4 feet wide. His nickname now is “groundhog” because he went into every cave and tiny hole that he found.

Courtney & her cousins making fruit kabobs for their "summer club."

Courtney is excited because she just finished her fifth grade math program. (Only one more grade to finish until she can have her ears pierced!) Last month, we were making french fries, and Spencer tried to pour the hot oil into a plastic container. It melted the plastic instantly, and it spilled across the counter and down Courtney's leg. It was a very bad burn. Thankfully it is much better now. Courtney loves to babysit for me whenever Jace and Aliysa are gone, and she does a great job. Abby completely adores Courtney. Each morning she looks for Courtney and wants to be held by her and play with her all day. If Courtney goes out of the room, she usually bursts into tears, and will not be comforted until Courtney comes back & holds her. Courtney and Aliysa will be starting soccer soon, Courtney is excited to be on her first sports team!

Spencer is enjoying summer. He flies through his school & chores each day so he can get out and play. We've been playing badminton lately with the family, and he really likes it (Bob is taking a methods of teaching badminton & soccer class this semester, he was told that he is an excellent badmitton teacher, and a real natural at playing badminton. Who would have known?)Spencer is dying to be able to play sports, but I make my children wait until they are 10 before I will let them play organized sports, so he'll just have to wait & enjoy badminton with the family for now. :) I am still the Cubmaster in our ward, so Spencer and I have fun doing scouting together, along with Jace who is our den chief.

Mallory is as busy as ever. She has developed quite a mind of her own lately, and being so determined makes her work hard to keep up with her older siblings in school. She has decided to learn cursive, because the others were practicing it. She is careful to do all of her schoolwork each day, and reminds me if we ever have skipped anything. She makes herself practice piano almost every day.

Zachary is just in his own little world a lot of the time. He likes bike riding and loves playing sports. He is better at badminton than I am. He is generally well-behaved unless Andrew gives him an idea of some mischief to get into, then Zach laughs and joins Andrew. Zach and Andrew play outside almost all day, they have been helping to take care of the little chicks we are raising. Andrew is always trying to carry the chicks around, which is a funny sight to see. They have also enjoyed catching a few little frogs.

Abby is just at the cutest age! She is definitely loved in this family. She has learned to walk, and she chatters on in baby language that is so cute. She loves to be outside, and has loved seeing the baby chicks and kittens. Her favorite animals are our dogs, she observes them in quiet awe. She loves shoes, and is always trying to put on any shoes she finds in the house. The other day I was telling all the kids to get ready & get in the car when we were going somewhere. Abby crawled in the mud room, and stayed busy pulling the kids shoes off of their shelves, and trying them on. She finally settled on wearing Courtney's pink cowgirl boots. She squealed in delight and chattered happily until we all came and told her "good job!"

Our ward is moving to a newly finished building next month. There are four wards sharing our current building right now, so they are letting us go use the new building until they re-do all the stake boundaries. We have to drive through Rigby to get to the new building, and we probably pass about 7 other ward buildings on the way to church. All our kids are already dreading any changes in the stake, they are worried that we won't be in a ward with many of their good friends. I keep trying to tell them that they will still see their old friends and will be able to meet new people, but I think we'll all be a little sad when it happens.

Life is busy & wonderful!

This is the song that never ends....

Yesterday morning I heard Andrew singing at the top of his lungs. His "singing" is always, well, a bit off key, and LOUD. He was in the living room, and he had tied an exercise band on for a necktie, sat Abby on the floor in front of the fireplace, and was singing church songs to her.

Andrew had been singing for about 3 minutes before I got the camera, then I filmed this short segment, and started filming again. He went on for almost five minutes in the second video. The five minute video is so funny, but I'm sure it is too long for blogger to handle. Perhaps I'll put it on YouTube sometime. I bet he was singing this song for close to 10 minutes total. I was trying so hard not to laugh, that the camera was shaking. At first, I thought I'd let him go on until he decided to end it, but after that long, I decided to help him end the song. I think he was relieved. Oh, I think this little guy is adorable. I just have to squeeze him several times a day.

Aliysa's dream come true

Lisa got to help ride a horse that Lisa was training while Lisa lived in Idaho. It is a small foxtrotter, named peanut. Aliysa loved it, and learned a lot from Lisa.

Lamoreaux pranks

So, Bob handed Lisa a quarter and asked her to see if she could roll it in an exactly straight line from her forehead to her chin. She did really well.

What she didn't realize was that Bob had rubbed some graphite from a pencil onto the edge of the nickle. HA HA HA! Ah, the joys of living at the Lamoreaux home. Don't you miss us already, Lisa?

Like Father, Like Son

Just like Bob, these boys can sleep just about anywhere. We were up too late one night, and found both Zach & Andrew asleep on the stairs. I guess they just couldn't face going up two flights of stairs to their beds. Don't they look comfortable?

My wonderful husband

Elder James E. Faust said: “In the enriching of marriage the big things are the little things. It is a constant appreciation for each other and a thoughtful demonstration of gratitude. It is the encouraging and the helping of each other to grow. Marriage is a joint quest for the good, the beautiful, and the divine”

(in Conference Report, Oct. 1977, 13–14; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, 10–11).

I just had to take a picture of this rose that Bob recently brought home, for no special reason, other than that he loves me! It bloomed & looked so pretty, this picture doesn't really capture it. I really have the most wonderful husband on earth. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but this is an e-mail he sent me the other day:

"I am reading a few selections from Anne Bradstreet, a puritan poet, and so far have really enjoyed and, I think, understood pretty clearly her thoughts and feelings. I read the poem "My Dear and Loving Husband" and it expresses pretty well my feelings for you, but I have to change it to be from a husband to his wife.

So I will make a few changes in the first four lines and the rest will be untouched. This is how I feel:
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever wife were loved by man, then thee;
If ever wife caused happiness in man,
Compare with me, all husbands, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
That while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

love you babe,
Bob"

I have always loved this quote by President Spencer W. Kimball, because it describes exactly how Bob has always loved me:

“We need an unspoiled companion who will not count our wrinkles, remember our stupidities nor remember our weaknesses; … we need a loving companion with whom we have suffered and wept and prayed and worshipped; one with whom we have suffered sorrow and disappointments, one who loves us for what we are or intend to be rather than what we appear to be in our gilded shell.”

--The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 310.

Bob has always loved me for what I "intend to be" someday. He ignores my faults and treats me as though I'm the most perfect person ever. I'm so lucky to be married to him!

Mom & Dad L. leave on a mission!

Bob's parents are leaving tomorrow morning for their 23-month mission to Romania.

You can stay updated on their mission at: http://bobandpeggy.blogspot.com/

We will miss them a lot, but we are so excited for them.

Mom & Dad, we are so proud of you!

Our spring visitors

Here's what we saw out the window a couple of days ago. There are a few more deer in the trees.

Spring is time to ride bikes

Our kids enjoyed the recent 3 days of warm spring weather so much. Zach decided to go get his bike helmet & kneepads out of the garage, so that he "wouldn't get hurt when he rode his bike." This is how he looked.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I came home from Cub Scouts on St. Patrick's Day, and found this cute little red-headed leprechaun in my kitchen. Courtney was babysitting, and she helped him make the hat & other props. The green blocks are "clover", and the yellow is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Grandma Sorenson

Bob's Grandma, Darle Sorenson, passed away on March 2. She was 92 years old. She was very loved by all of us. She found out she had cancer only two weeks before she passed away. Although we miss her, we are so happy that she did not suffer long, and that Bob's parents were able to attend her funeral before they left on their mission to Romania.

She was buried in the cemetary near the Manti, Utah temple.

Bob was one of the pallbearers

Katelyn Ebright

Courtney & Amber were cleaning the headstone

Our kids inherited their fanatic BYU attitude from many Grandparents.

Notice the BYU flowers?

Here's Zach trying to stay warm. It was freezing cold.

We enjoyed being in Utah. It was wonderful to visit with so many family members. Almost all of Bob's siblings were in Utah, you can imagine the entertaining chaos. We all enjoyed it. The funeral was Friday, and then Bob's parents spoke in church on Sunday. Unfortunately, all my kids and I were super sick on Sunday, so we had to stay home from church.

Hail the conquering fisherman!

A little bit of water has been flowing in the river behind our home. Jace went down and saw some fish swimming in it. He caught them both with his bare hands! We cooked one and ate it, it was delish!

A whitefishMeasured like a true fisherman. (Doesn't 14 1/4 round up to 15?)

A rainbow trout. 19", weighing 2 lbs.

Mallory's Journal

Mallory (age 6) wrote this in her journal. I think it is adorable!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

On March 2, Andrew turned 3. We were excited to celebrate his birthday, because he always finds bits of wrapping paper and miscellaneous objects that he wraps up, brings them to someone, sings "happy birthday" to them at the top of his lungs, and then has them open their "present". For his birthday, he got more tracks and another train for his and Zach's "GeoTrax" train set, and a train book. I love this little guy so much. His blue eyes melt my heart at least once a day.
On his birthday, Jace was helping him say a prayer. Jace: "and we're thankful for my birthday..." Andrew: "...we're thankful for Jace's birthday..."

Here's a few cute pictures of him from the last few months.

We love you Andrewshek!

Jace's 12th Birthday

Jace turned 12 on February 15th. I can't believe how quickly this moment has come!

I know people always say that about their children growing up, but it is becoming more & more true for us every day.

We had such nice discussions with Jace about the responsibilities and duties of the priesthood before he turned 12. He really has grown up and he takes these things very seriously.

It seems like just a little while ago since this is how Jace looked.

Or this cute CHUBBY little guy.

Here was his birthday dinner: lemon-garlic shrimp, baked potatoes, creamy tomato soup, and salad. Yum! Afterwards we headed off to a youth fireside with our two oldest. Thanks to Lisa for supervising Courtney as she babysat the younger kiddos.

Jace made his own whole wheat, honey-sweetened Devil's food cake, with cream cheese frosting. (Served with Breyer's sugary-as-can-be, but-all-natural, ice cream)

Since his birthday was on a Sunday, he was able to be ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic priesthood after church. What a neat experience. He has been enjoying being able to pass the sacrament and going to Young Men activities.

I'm so thankful for our church that assists us in the awesome responsibility of raising righteous sons. I'm so grateful I'm able to be at home with Jace & my other children each day, having the gospel truths to answer all their questions.

We love you Jace!

Scouting in our family

Spencer has looked forward to being a Cub Scout for a long, long time. At the beginning of 2008, he memorized everything he needed to pass off for his Bobcat badge, even though I told him he'd need to do it again when he turned 8 in 11 more months! So, when his birthday rolled around, he was ready. He passed off all the Bobcat requirements the day after he turned 8. This picture is at his first pack meeting when he was awarded his badge. He's now working hard on his Wolf requirements.

I am enjoying being the Cubmaster in our ward, its fun to get to be there with Spencer, and Jace who is our Boy Scout Den Chief, meaning he comes each week to Cub Scouts & helps out. The boys really respect him, and he helps keep them behaving well.

This is Jace & Abby at our recent Blue & Gold Banquet. The theme was American ABC's. We had sloppy joes, veggie plates, chips, and strawberry daquiris with whipped cream & blue sprinkles on top (made by a super-nice man in our ward!) For dessert we had apple crisp & ice cream. I'm sure glad that it is all done, and that it went well. Next month is the Pinewood Derby which is always a ton of fun.