Cedar Hill Campout

The last weekend in April our family went on a homeschool family campout. We went to a State Park south of Dallas. It had some rolling green hills and pretty wildflowers.

When the kids were wading in the lake a boat was going by . Aaron was the only one looking at it. He kept telling the other kids to look up but they weren't doing it right away until he yelled "don't miss the boat!" It was so cute to hear this cliched phrase used by our four year-old when he meant it so literally.

Samantha peppering with Dad.

Aaron found this toy solider lost in combat. It was serious business.

We thought these were rocks until we picked them up and realized you could break them in half with your hands. They were lightweight and perfect for skipping on the lake. Cool fake rocks.

Texas state flower. Blue bonnets.This tree reminds me of the ones the vultures in Jungle Book hung out on.

We were so excited that Makenna ate four helpings of our dutch oven Beef Stew.
Aunt Kathy showed Callie how to use a point and shoot camera. Callie took some great self portraits and all the pictures below. Callie felt special and did a great job!

Callie captured this shot of Jenna pushing the stroller down the hill and the leafy green tree tops.

Callie has been on an environmentalist kick and she was very disturbed by the litter she saw in the park.

Please come visit us in Texas. We will take you to see the trick rocks and the blue bonnets. You will love it.

We Love To Jump!

Today we were jumping on the trampoline and Kathy took pictures of us.

-Makenna

Words that almost rhyme

Today while making lunch, mom said to put the ladle on the table. Somebody stated that "ladle on the table" rhymed, but the rest of us disagreed. Mom said that was an almost rhyme and asked if there was a word for words that almost rhyme. None of us knew if there was, so we tried to make one up.We went through a lot of possibilities like the word "close" in Spanish or made up words like annethesis. One of us said, "Why don't we just call them tableladles?" We didn't really like the sound of that so we tried to make up some more almost rhymes. Callie said Robin bobbin and somebody said robin hoppin'. Samantha changed it around and made hoppin' robbin. Now we have a good name for almost rhymes.

(You can use it too if you'd like)

Utah Christmas Trip

We had a wonderful trip to Utah for Christmas. In fact it was such a wonderful time we failed to take any pictures except for our visit to our friends from Florida the Dewberrys and a trip to Clark Planetarium with the Clarks.

We spent 11 days driving, sledding, snowball fighting, playing our new Wii from Grandma, staying in our condo, visiting Grandma, Grandpa, cousins, aunts, uncles, and freinds. We got a lot of great presents for Christmas although as you can see a new camera would have been nice too.

Wayne and Donna take a trip to Long Beach

Wayne and Donna in Beverly Hills, that is not our car, just FYI.

Most beautiful tree discovered at Los Angeles Temple. Where's Wayne (Waldo)?

Donna went to Long Beach with her oldest friend, Julie Stephens, these are her three body boarding boys!

Check out the new video from the Carlson Singers directed by their Aunt Kathy.

Makenna gave a talk in church today.

Today my talk is about strengthening my family. An eternal family is a husband, wife and child that are sealed together in a permanent relationship for time and all eternity.

Joseph F. Smith said "Let, love, peace, and the spirit of the Lord, kindness, charity, sacrifice for others abound in your families. Banish harsh words and let the spirit of God take possession of your hearts. Teach your children these things in spirit and power. Not one child in a hundred would stray, if the home environment, example and training were in harmony with the gospel of Christ."

My dad says that one of my best strengths is that I am almost always happy and cheerful. That helps other family members be happy and cheerful too. One Monday night we forgot all about family home evening, but I remembered and even though we had a last minute lesson and an unprepared activity, we had a great time.

On vacation this summer I brought my scriptures and I would read them in the morning. Several people noticed and remembered to read their scriptures too. You can also strengthen your family by remembering family prayer and scripture study.

Horse Camp

Makenna started off the summer at horse camp. She worked the last 8 months to save up enough money to go and it was well worth. She won the blue ribbon in the relay race and in the horse show.

Elementary Graduation

Our little baby graduated from elementary school. She walked away with 8 awards.

1st Father Son Campout

Wayne and Aaron went on their first father and son campout. They had a great time cooking over the fire, playing games, going exploring in the woods, and skipping rocks on the lake. everything was great until the tornado rolled through at 2:00am.