big week

The huge thing that went down this week was Dax's thesis defense at USU in Logan. He did a great job! (I didn't go, but he is a good speaker/presenter, so I know he did well.) There is still a lot to be done before he can kiss his Master's work goodbye. We can't wait for it to be a wonderful, distant memory!

While Dax was stressing about that, the kids and I had big fun making the coolest ornaments ever at pack meeting. They are so much fun! This is something the kids can do! Check it out.

Per ornament, you need:
pipe cleaner of your color choice, cut into 3 inch lengths
3 cups boiling water
9 Tbsp borax (found in the laundry detergent aisle)
wide mouth jar
piece of a skewer or straight stick
thread

1. shape the pipe cleaners into desired shapes. tie one end of a piece of thread to the shape and the other end of the thread to a skewer. make sure the thread's length will allow the ornament to be suspended in the jar, not touching the bottom of the jar.
2. boil water (adult part of the activity) and dump it into a wide mouth canning jar. add borax and stir. lower the ornament (attached to the string and skewer) into the jar and rest the skewer over the top of the mouth of the jar.
3. wait and watch. as the water cools, crystals will start to form on the ornaments. It takes about 3-4 hours to finish forming the crystals. You can watch a Christmas movie or eat dinner while you wait! Or do them before bed and wake up to your beauties!
4. once your ornament is all chunky with crystals, lift it out of the water and set it on a towel to dry.

SO COOL!

We did a few non-traditional colors and shapes, but I think just a good old white snowflake or red or green star shape would be pretty. Also, you could do bigger ones if you used a bigger bowl or vase to drop the ornament in. Just make sure you add 3 Tbsp of borax for every cup of water you use.

Oh, and the jars will collect crystals on the bottom that harden like mad. It comes off in the dishwasher.

On his way home from Logan, Daxter brought us a big, tall Christmas tree. The kids just love decorating it. We needed quite a few more lights than in previous years.



Preslie's singing club from school performed at the bank this week. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I got so choked up listening to their sweet voices! Christmas songs have really been hitting me like that for the past couple of years. I love this season!


After the singing, we ran to the ward party with 2 dozen gingerbread cookies in all shapes. Fun fun!

Other things I've been up to... patching jeans! I buy my kids' clothes big, so before they grow out of them, their pants all get trashed. I found a way to sneak some more use out of them. They are Preslie's favorite now! I even patched a pair of my favorite old jeans. I don't like holes, but I can live with some cute patches! The trick is to use a seam ripper on the outside seam of the leg so you have enough room to maneuver the sewing machine. Once the patch is sewn on, stitch the leg closed again.


Yesterday, Mack shoved a little Lego flag pole into his ear canal and instantly regretted that decision. I love living 2 doors away from a pediatrician. I took him over to his house for a look and he said he didn't puncture his ear drum, but did scrape up the ear canal. We will be picking up some antibiotic drops tomorrow to prevent infection while it heals.

And this morning, we woke up to SNOW! Time to buy a snow shovel. One of the things you never think about buying 'til you have your own house.
After church, the kids got their snow clothes on and had so much fun. This is Mack's first winter that he can actually walk in the snow. He loaded up his sand pail with snow and shoveled it into his mouth. Mmm, gritty!