News From Our Little Tepee

We’ve completed our 3rd book in the Kaya American Girl series.

Here’s Pocahontas  helping Aponi with a little bead weaving.

Not exactly like the Nez Perce did it, but fun none the less.

For dinner, we decided to have something called Indian Fry Bread.  HERE is the recipe.  As my family knows all too well, I AM NOT A GOOD COOK and I’ll be the first to admit it. I don’t even own a rolling pin. That’s why the girls are using glasses to roll out the dough in this picture. Surprisingly, these turned out pretty well and the girls had a great time.

Even Chief Daddy Darling got in on the fun.

We used the Indian Fry Bread to make Indian tacos…perhaps a little multicultural.

We even added cinnamon and sugar to make a great dessert!

We ended the week by making moccasins for DD’s American Girl doll.

I think DD did a great job on these.

Next we'll try our hand at making Indian dresses.  I sure hope the girls are learning something  'cause I’m having a great time. LOL  (Most of these activities are not my own ideas, but like any successful teacher...I make good use of my resources :)

Have You Hugged Your Child Today?

The back of the car doesn't look much better!  These are pictures of Sister Darling's car after she hit an icy patch this weekend and collided with a concrete barrier.   We are soooooo thankful that she escaped with only a few bumps and bruises.  God must have really been watching over her.  I remember praying for her very close to the time that this happened.  Just the thought of how serious it could have been really upsets me.  I guess you NEVER quit worrying about your kids.  Give them a hug and tell them that you love them every chance you get!  I love you Sister D!!!

American Idol Comes to Texas

You just never know who you might run into at DFW.  When we went to the airport to pick up PawPaw today we found ourselves standing beside Kris Allen, last year's American Idol.  He was nice enough to pose for a picture with us.  Too cool!

Less Than Ten!

DD and I usually go to group violin lessons together on Tuesday nights. Last night, however, I was unable to go with her. I know how active DD can be, so I was a little concerned that she might not be able to handle the class alone. After she returned home, I asked how everything went. I asked, “Did Ms. Hanington have to get on to you for talking or anything?” DD said, “Well, yes she did.” I waited for her to expand, but she didn’t. I let a few minutes pass and I asked her again, “Did you only get in trouble once tonight?” She replied, “Well, not only once, but less than TEN!” Should I be concerned?????? You wonder why we home school????? LOL

Meet Pocahontas and Aponi

Keeping DD supplied with good reading material is quite a challenge. When DD finds a series she likes, she reads continuously until she’s read the entire series. I recently heard about an American History curriculum using the American Girl series. It’s designed to be used with students in grades 2-5. Although DD's only in the first grade, I think she’ll learn a lot. I’ve been buying AG books at a steady pace off of E-bay and Amazon. I think we’ve finally got all that we need. We plan to cover the period of time beginning in 1764 and continuing through the 1940’s featuring 8 American Girl characters and 48 books. We plan to cover one book (together) per week …although DD has already finished reading 30 of the books. We started the Kaya series last week. Kaya is a young girl from the Nez Perce Indian tribe of northwestern U.S. We’ve completed two books  and DD is loving it!

The girls enjoyed learning about some of the Native American customs and beliefs. They loved making dream catchers

and totem poles.

DD learned how to play several string games like the Native American girls played. She even showed some of these to Daddy Darling who makes a pretty mean Jacob’s ladder. LOL She also enjoyed eating salmon for dinner one night, something she probably wouldn’t have done if she hadn’t learned about Kaya’s tribe in Book 1.

DD and DB also learned about using corn husks in cooking

and making dolls.

Here are the dolls after a little paint and corn husks hair extensions.

The girls also chose Indian names for themselves...

Meet Pocahontas (she who loves to play)...DD

and

Aponi (butterfly)...Doodlebug.

A True Chinese American

Eating Cocoa Krispies with CHOPSTICKS! lol

Wearing political stickers after returning from our polling place.

The best of both worlds...

Gotta LOVE the Texas Weather!

I can’t believe that it’s taken me over a week to post these pictures of our BIG snow. Last Thursday when the girls got up, it was snowing!!! The girls were so excited! That’s when I made the decision to CANCEL school for the day. That’s another good thing about home schooling----I get to play superintendent!

The girls couldn’t wait to get outside and start having fun.

Building a snowman…

Making snow angels....

And having snowball fights!

Thawing out with a nice cup of hot cocoa...

Unfortunately, that’s the last warm thing the girls had. Our electricity went out Thursday night and we “roughed it” for about 48 hours.

Backyard-Thursday night

Friday afternoon

No lights, no television, no computers, and NO HEAT! We all slept in the same bed and did a lot of snuggling for two nights. By Saturday night the girls had decided that they were heading to a hotel if our power wasn’t restored by bedtime! They were tired of being cold and ready for a warm meal. I’ve never been so glad to see an electric company truck in my entire life. They fixed the problem and we were “back in business.” I remember looking at the thermostat about ½ hour after our electricity came back on. 58 degrees never felt SO warm!  We still had snow on the ground in some areas YESTERDAY!

Amazingly, I made these pictures yesterday. With temperatures close to 70 degrees, Doodlebug played outside in summer clothes…that she obviously picked out herself. lol

Snow is in the forecast again for tomorrow!  Gotta love this Texas weather!

When I Grow Up...

Last night was Career Night at AWANAS.  The girls were supposed to wear the appropriate attire  for their desired future career.  Desheng Darling couldn't decide whether she wanted to be a nanny who rocked babies in an orphanage or a violin teacher. Interestingly, these are both service type careers where she is helping others.  We decided that she could rock babies in any attire, but that she could wear her favorite "school girl" dress and play her violin for the class if she went as a teacher, so she decided to do this.

Doodlebug had the same assignment. It should come as no surprise that she wants to be a "princess" when she grows up!  So much for serving others. LOL

It's a good thing we've got several years to make all of this happen, and I'm sure they'll change their minds a million times.   I've read that a child's personality is mostly developed by the age of 4, so if you see a nice prince around 5 years old who is single...let me know.  We may need to start preparing him NOW for Doodlebug. LOL

Barbie Birthday Bash

Yesterday we celebrated DD’s 7th birthday! We kept it really simple with just family and one little friend.

DD wanted a chocolate Barbie cake with pink frosting. It turned out really well and tasted SOOOO good!

For her party, DD had two requests:

1) She wanted to go a book store. 2) She wanted to go ice skating.

We could take care of both requests at the mall so off we went.

Sister Darling joined us and I was happy to have her help!

First, we stopped at a book store where the girls met Spot and

shopped for just the right book.

Here's DD filling up on pizza before going to the rink.

We're ready to hit the rink....literally. LOL

Sister Darling and I both spent a lot of time picking up giggling girls, while Daddy kept up with all of our “stuff” and tried to take pictures. I’m just thankful that no one had to pick me up!

We had a great time skating! Then, we headed back home for

Birthday Cake...

Fun...

And gifts!!!!!!

Doodlebug had so much fun that she’s already placed her order for an ice skating party in July!!!

Happy 7th Birthday DD!

We'll be celebrating DD's birthday on Saturday, but I just wanted to post a picture taken on the morning of her actual birthday (Thurs.)  We had heart-shaped donuts for her birthday breakfast.  She's one sweet little girl!  Happy Birthday Desheng Darling!  We love you!