Pearls

A mark of a great teacher, parent or leader, is that they do not ask those they lead, to do anything that they would not be willing to do themselves.

Jesus was the greatest teacher, He was the master.  He told us to seek goodly pearls and when we find one of great price we need to sell all we have to buy it.  For us, the pearl we seek is the great plan of happiness; the plan that was made from the beginning that would enable us to choose to return to live with God again.  It is the plan that gives purpose to earth life.  It would require a Savior who was perfect and could and would redeem us from our sins, enabling us to return to our Father clean. because clean is the only way back.  The pearl is the gospel and its worth is great.

So, did Jesus, the master teacher, do what He asked us to do - give up all He had to obtain the goodly pearl?

Jesus learned carpentry from  Joseph His earthly father.  But he left his trade to teach the gospel.  We don’t know of any earthly possessions except a garment. One that a women with faith touched the hem of, and soldiers cast lots for.  So what could He sell?  The only thing He really had was His will and His life. When He said “not my will but thine be done”, He gave his will and it was swallowed up in the will of the Father.  Then He gave His life on the cross.  And with His two possessions He bought the pearl.  For Jesus Christ the pearl was not the Gospel because He was the gospel. The pearl Jesus bought with all he had is you.

Happiness comes in small packages

Leave a comment.  What makes you happy?

Here's mine.  Happiness is when your Sixlets have Eight.

Big Bubbles

Bubbles are amazing.  They provide hours of experimenting and exploring.  You can learn about surface tension and air currents, hot air, and humidity.  All while having a blast, and at any age.

Recipe

6 cups water
1 cup light corn syrup (or 4 Tbsp glycerin)
2 cups Joy dishwashing soap (If using an ultra concentrated dishwashing liquid, use only 1 1/3 cups)

Directions:
1  In a large bowl stir water (don't use soft water, but you can use distilled) and corn syrup until combined.
2  Add dishwashing liquid and stir very gently until well mixed.

3  Dip bubble wands into bubble liquid. A slight breeze is a big help. Try to keep frothy bubbles from forming in the bubbles solution by dipping and not stirring bubble wands.  It will cause troubles, but you can skim off the top and keep going.

http://www.diyncrafts.com/12981/homemade/summer-fun-with-the-kids-how-to-make-giant-homemade-bubbles

 For extreme bubbles, check out this website-
 http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-HUGE-Bubbles/ 

So many bubble recipes to try. This is a link to more.

The Tape Game

Catchy name, huh?

Supplies: Masking tape, tray of some kind (cookie sheet or plate) 

Preparation:  Make lots of tape rolls. Tear a piece of tape about an inch long. Roll it backwards, sticky side out, so it sticks on itself in a circle. Place it on the tray so it doesn't touch other rolls.  Make one for each player.  I make lots because we like to play several rounds.

# of players:  2-40+

Ages: 1-100yrs

Object: Be the player to collected all the tape.

Playing the Game:  Each player will take a tape roll and stick it to the end of their nose.  On the signal "GO" everyone will try take someone else's tape by getting it to stick on their tape.  You do this by touching noses. No hands.  Once your tape is gone, you are out.  There is just one winner. 

Be aware that people will be in your space so consider the group and check the comfort level of being nose to nose with strangers or your boss. 

Here is another description of the same game, plus more fun things to do while camping.  http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/masking-tape-jousting.html

Colorful Campfire

This fire was at Lake Powell in Southern Utah/Northern Arizona.  All there was to burn on the vast shore line was sand and tumbleweeds.  The kids (the cousins) in this picture got stuck a few times gathering up the tumbleweeds, but they make a tremendous blaze.  For fires on a smaller scale, there are different ways to add color and sparkle.  You can toss a pinch of sugar into the fire for a crazy effect. A bit of flour or powdered creamer will add pizzaz to a campfire program or story.  There are so many ideas that can be found online.  

For adding fun to the fire, check out these links:  

http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/bvfmagic.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trzDg-ZqFM0 
http://www.campfiredude.com/

I love quiet moments around a campfire, listening to the crackle, with the cool air and night sounds at my back.  I love to talk and sing with family and friends and cook something on a stick; a marshmallow, or starburst or even just the stick.  But I am also aware of the destructive power of fire if it is not respected.  

Our neighborhood won't recover for many years from the devastation caused by a wild fire that blew through our little canyon two years ago. Homes were gone in a few minutes and in a few hours 66 homes were destroyed.  Even the cement foundations were cooked into dust.  Metal was melted into puddles.  There were some narrow escapes, but it was a miracle that no one died.  Many animals died.  

The smell was incredible as the trucks loaded with remains drove down the road to dispose of horses, goats, cats and dogs.  I suspect there were wild animals too.  We have many deer that wander through the yard.  Our house was spared due to a change in wind direction.  Others were saved by firefighters.  It was hard to feel happy that our house was still standing when so many neighbors were homeless.  

 So love the fire and always use caution.  

This picture is just one section of the fire. It looks like a burned hillside, but there used to be homes.  Many have been rebuilt now but the hillside is still burned sticks that used to be cedars and junipers.

Picture This

Picture This

Supplies: Paper and Pencils (with working erasers is a plus), Paper cutter, Stapler.

Ages:  From old enough to read and write to ancient.

Number of Players: 6-16.  You can play with more or less, but the more players, the longer the game.  8-12 are ideal.  You can break into smaller groups if you've got a large crowd.

Prep: Cut typing paper into 4th s or something comparable.  Cut plenty.  Your are making booklets for each player.  If 10 are playing you need to cut 25 sheets of typing paper into 4th s, or 100 paper squares total.  Small note pads would work.

Everyone sits around a table.  Have each player count enough papers to equal the number of people playing.  For example: 10 players = 10 sheets of paper.  Each person stacks their papers neatly, staples their booklet in the top left corner and writes their name on the top right corner.

Playing the game: As fun as putting the booklets together was, the real fun is about to start.  Everyone thinks up a phrase, saying, quote, or jingle.  It needs to be one short sentence.  This can be the hard part. Just think of the lyrics to a song or something, nursery rhymes are always good.  

Everyone then writes the phrase on the front page.

Players pass their booklet to the player to the right. 

Players read the phrase that was passed to them, flip that page over to the back of the booklet so no one can see it, and draw a picture of that phrase.  It might help to set a time limit on the picture drawing, but when everyone is ready, pass booklets to the right.

Players look at the picture on the newly passed booklet, flip the page and write a phrase that you think would match that picture.  Pass the booklet to the right.

Repeat the process until the booklets have made it back to the starting spot. 

Players then share their booklet with the rest of the players.  Pick someone to start.  They read the phrase, then show the picture that was drawn to illustrate it.  When they have finished sharing their booklet another player will share, until all players have a turn.  You will find that the original phrase will take twists and turns and misinterpretations. It is a visual version of the "Telephone" game, but appeals to all ages and is bound to have laughs galore. 

Mother's Day Mayhem

For Mother's day one year, I decided to cook the turkey that was still in the freezer.  We invited both sets of parents for dinner, and with our 6 kids, we had a full house. 

So on that warm May day, I cooked up a Thanksgiving sized feast.  The house began to heat up.  We opened windows and turned on the ceiling fan above the dining table.  Finally, everything was laid out; potatoes, gravy, asparagus, jello, corn, rolls and turkey.  I don't remember who sounded the call to "COME & EAT", but immediately following, like the walls of Jericho, the glass fixture on the ceiling fan, came tumbling down.  Tiny glass shards were everywhere, in and on everything. 

I don't remember what we ate for dinner. I think we tried to scoop the top layer off of the potatoes and rinse anything that was rinse-able. It was scary chewing.

I have found that Mother's Day and birthdays, are best survived by laughing, always laughing, and by serving others. I had a friend in college who always gave his parents birthday presents on his birthday to thank them for having him, raising him and loving him.

Happy Mother's Day to Mom's and to everyone who has a Mom. 

It's your day!

Studio C

Season 4 episode 1

If you haven't seen Studio C, you are in for a good laugh.  Here is Season 4 episode 1.  It just aired April 7th.  And if this is your first time watching Studio C, you are so fortunate because you can go back and watch Seasons 1, 2 and 3 and the laughing can go on and on. 

Brian Regan Funny Man

No matter how many times I watch this, I still laugh! 

Baking Soda and Vinegar Rockets

This is great fun!

Add vinegar. . .

Prepare and slide the baking soda packet into the bottle. . . 

Quickly cork the bottle and set it upside down in place. . .

Back away. . .

Wait for it. . .

Blast off ! ! !

Retrieve the bottle and go again!

Supplies:  
Baking soda
Vinegar
Toilet paper squares
Plastic bottle
Cork

Fill the bottle with about an inch of vinegar.  Put about a table spoon of baking soda in the center of the T.P. square.  Fold the paper around the baking soda into a neat little packet that will be narrow enough to fit through the opening in the bottle.  Working quickly, drop the T.P./baking soda packet into the bottle, cork it, place it upside down on the predetermined launch pad, and back away.  Be patient, it will be worth it. 

It's best to use a strong plastic bottle of the ~16 oz. variety that can be found in the recycling bin.  I found corks at an army surplus store near Idaho Falls, but I've heard that you can get them on eBay, Amazon, Lowes, Etsy, Craft stores. 

Coincidence

  

What are the odds that when my car broke down in the Walmart parking lot, that within five minutes our mechanic would walk by and fix the car. If either of us would have gone shopping at any time other than at that little span of time or parked anywhere else, I would have missed him.  I've heard that there are no coincidences. 

*""President Monson often says, “There are no coincidences” as he makes the point that his experiences in life have taught him to always look for the Lord’s hand. ""     

Yesterday was one of those times when I was reminded that I am not alone.  Often I have had to struggle with car trouble and work out a solution to the problem, but, yesterday - yesterday I saw a **tender mercy. 

*Thomas S. Monson, in To the Rescue, 60.  Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

**Pslams 119:77

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/03/have-i-done-any-good-in-the-world-today?lang=eng#footnote7-10403_000_015

Father, Jesus, Spirit - Campfire Round

This is a favorite Girl's Camp round that is fun to sing around the fire right before bedtime.  It seems to calm everyone and hopefully end the day.  Listen to the sound recording to get a feel for the tune and where the parts come in.  Yep, it is being sung by real girls campers.

Father, Jesus, Spirit

(Girl's Camp-Campfire Round)

Father I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

Jesus, I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

Spirit, I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

by Terrye Coelho

Calvin and Hobbes

There is more than the food chain to the purpose of life.  Check this out.

http://www.mormon.org/faq/purpose-of-life

Dip, Dip, Dip

Ages: 6+

Number of players: 3 -15~

Supplies: concentration and reflexes

Object: be the last player in the circle

Stand in a circle. The leader will put their hands together (like praying hands) and use them for a pointer.  Aiming at someone in the circle, they say "dip, dip, dip".  That person will pass the "dip" on by aiming their hands at someone else and repeating "dip, dip, dip".  And on and on the dip is passed randomly through the circle. 

Meanwhile, the two players standing on either side of the person who is saying "dip, dip, dip" will put their hands together (praying hands again) and do a sideways tree chopping motion toward the person saying "dip, dip, dip", but say  "dippity, dippity, dip", instead and at the same time.  There will be a rhythm and it has to be maintained.  If you mess up and break the rhythm you step out of the circle and the game starts up again where it left off.  When you are down to two players, they do a "rock, paper, scissors" play off to decide the winner.  Then, everyone hops back in the circle and you go again. 

Details:  "dippity, dippity, dip" begins after the first  "dip, dip, dip" is passed. The first one is just to begin the game.  Once the rhythm is broken and you start the game back up.  Be ready for when someone dips the person next to them. It gets exciting.

Battleship for Free

click here for more printable games-

Great for Road Trips with kids!

You can make your own gameboards for this by drawing two 10x10 grids for each player. Lable one grid as "my ships" and the other as "enemy ships".  Number each column 1-10, and lable the rows as letters A-J. (Or print the template sheets above).

How to Play: 

Ships: size Aircraft carrier  Battleship Cruiser Destroyer Submarine 5 4 3 2 3

Plot all of your ships on your grid by drawing an outline of each onto the grid according to its size (ex: size 3 = 3 blocks).  Ships may not overlap.  Don’t let your enemy see your ships! 

Take turns firing upon your enemy by calling out plot points (example: "A-5") and marking them as “hit” (X) or “miss” (dot) on your enemy ships plot according to your enemy’s reply. 

When your enemy fires upon you, say "hit" or "miss", mark your ships with an X when they are hit.  When your ship is sunk, you must say, “You sank my ____!”  (fill in the name of your ship type). 

The first person to sink all of their enemy’s ships wins! 

Here is a printable battleship template with a grid on it for playing road trip Battleship.  This a two-player game for older kids who can read numbers and letters. It's a printable version of a traditional pen and paper battleship game that dates back pre-WWI.  It was made into a popular board game board game in the 1930's.

http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html

The Best of Tim Conway

Get your day going with a smile :)

If your short on time, go to the 5 minute mark.

click picture to read a great article about Tim Conway growing up.

Pie to Die For

My mom always told me that making pie crust is tricky.  She said that you should never work the dough too long or it will be tough and chewy.  You should always try for a light, flaky crust.  I don't make pie very often because it's a lot of work, but I do know what to watch for in a good crust.  This knowledge really came in handy when the neighbors, Tom and Wendy (names changed for their protection)  invited me and my husband over for homemade pie.  Wendy has the physique of a fabulous cook, and the pie was evidence of her skill.  I complemented her on her wonderful crust.  She said that the secret to great crust was to use lard.  She also explained that it is really hard to find lard in the stores anymore.  

A few days later, I was out grocery shopping and saw a stock pile of lard in the refrigerated section.  I made a mental note to tell Wendy where she could get lard for her pies. 

The next time I saw her was at a formal church dinner.  We, the neighbors and two other couples, were all dressed up and seated around an elegant table.  Then I remembered - I had to share my discovery.  I spoke across the table to Wendy and said, "Wendy, I saw some lard and thought of you!"  Shock and disbelief was on all the faces and there was nothing I could say to recover from my ill worded complement.  

The Cross Walk

Today, I was coming home after dropping my daughter off at the High School.  I stopped at the cross walk to let two teen boys go across the street. The red-head did a thank you wave to me as he went across, even in the presence of his friend.  It made me smile.  Ok, maybe my daughter can go out with that kid--a, when she's older.

What Did You Say?

The What Did You Say? game

4-12 players.  Ages 8 +

Object:  Match answers with players to a group question.  The more answers you get right, the more points you get and everyone likes to be a winner.

Supplies:  Paper (¼ sheet typing paper is great), pencil and some kind of marker for each person.  e.g. a set of dice, playing cards, toothpicks, game pieces, small wad of paper.  It can be anything to identify that your answer has already been guessed.  (This part is optional if you are playing with a group of sharp memory geniuses.)

The game:  Sitting around a table, players will choose a leader to start the game and decide which direction to rotate turns.  The leader will think up a question.  An open ended question is best, one where the answers will be varied and not yes or no. The leader will ask the question to the group.  Each person will write their answer to the question on their paper and hand it face down to the leader.  Once all the papers have been turned in, the leader will restate the question, then read through the answers.  Whoever is next to the leader in the direction of rotation will start by guessing who gave which answer.  If they guess right, the leader will hand them the paper with the correct answer written on it, (players count up papers for points scored at the end of the round) and keep guessing until they guess wrong.  The player who's answer was guessed, will place a marker in front of him (optional).  If they guess wrong, their turn ends and the next person gets to try.  Players continue guessing in turn until all answers have been guessed.  The leader does not take a turn guessing and can re-read the answers as requested.

Choosing the next leader:  Who ever scores the most points in a round is the leader for the next round. (Variation:  Everyone takes a turn being the leader, using the same rotation as for guessing.)

Next round:  Redistribute papers. Cross out previous answer and start again.

Sample questions to get you started:

What would you never want to find under your pillow?

What embarrassing experience have you had?

What would you say to the President of the United States?

What is the worst vacation you've ever been on?

What would you never want to find in the trunk of your car? Under your pillow? In your ice cream?

What would you yell after jumping out of a plane, when you realized you don't have your parachute?

What would you never wear to the beach?

What is something you wish you didn't say?

Where is your happiest place on earth?
Where would you not like to wake up?
If road kill was for dinner, what critter would you prefer?
Where is the worst play to be put for "Time Out"?
What is your best hiccup cure?
What would you want engraved on your tombstone? 
What famous person would you like to meet and what would you say to them?

When were you the hungriest?

What makes your hair stand on end?
How would you back out (back pedal/recover) after saying; 

• "You remind me of Lard?" Or
• "When is your baby due?' Only to find out they are not expecting a baby. or 
• any other awkward thing you could let fly.

Caution: I should have mentioned that you will need a box of tissues, because I have seen grown men laugh till they cry during this game.  It's scary.

Frosty Morning

It was a beautiful frosted morning. Every twig on every weed had crystals.  It was a fantastic sight. It would be humanly impossible to do in a life time what nature did in a few hours.  The whole valley was frosted.  All you can really do is stop long enough to be amazed.

Skunk-in-the-headlights

Adventures in skunk extraction. Just a little bit of country living.

 (Skunk art by Shon Henderson)

Skunk-in-the-headlights

The dog had a strange odor. It had to be skunk. A general skunk smell seemed to encompass our house. A few days later we discovered the source.  A half grown skunk had fallen in the window well. No doubt with the help of the dog, since the odor's epicenter traveled wherever she did.  Our first idea for removing the critter was a 2 X 4 propped in the hole.  The hope was that the skunk would crawl out on it.  The poor stinky thing could have been afraid or too weak from several days without food, or maybe skunks don't climb, but it didn't take advantage of the board to freedom.  So next, my husband tied a rope to a bucket handle, lowered it into the window well and tipped it on its side. The skunk scampered right into its new surprise shelter.  Seizing the day, my husband excitedly began hoisting the bucket up and out.  The skunk in its panic, unleashed all remaining reserves, spraying the bucket, the window, the rope, the husband.  Once the bucket was on the grass, the skunk spilled out and dashed the length of the backyard, zipped around the house and fell in the other window well.