Blame it on the iPhone

I've had a lot of enquiries as to why I haven't done any blog posts recently. I point the finger of blame (and texting) at my valuable companion - the iphone. Since acquiring it, I have had access to information and communication virtually nonstop wherever I go (thanks 3G!) And my poor digital camera is now... hmm, where is it? The iphone is now capturing those priceless day to day moments and that has broken my habit of taking photos, uploading at the PC and then posting on the blog. Oops.

So here's an iphone update of life from the past few weeks:

An afternoon at The Factory in Franklin. This pottery shop kept us happily painting for hours while Grandma Tolley and Great-Grandma Brooks were shopping.

Williamson County Fair

The first day of school (August 11th)

We have 14 cute little elementary school kids that gather at the end of our street to catch the bus each morning. Meeting up with the other parents at the bus stop has nicely filled the void of the schoolyard drop-off's I loved so much in England. We have fabulous neighbors and all of us girls have some great friendships on our street. We can't wait for Matt to get home from Singapore so he can join in our fun and impromptu neighborhood get-togethers. Our little firepit has become s'more headquarters for the neighborhood. (And I love it).

Emily insisted on riding the bus with the other kids on the first day of kindergarten. The school hosted a "Boo-Hoo Breakfast" after kindergarten drop-off that first morning. I think I was the only parent that arrived to school after my kindergartener had already arrived on the bus. (I continually had to defend myself that yes, my child actually wanted to go on the bus despite my offer to drive her). Of course, this is old hat for Emily since she's done a year of school in England already. She did a great job getting herself settled in and her teacher reports she is a model student and a joy to have in class.

Amy is also being very independent these days - riding the bus from Day 1 and being a great helper in her classroom. She's let me experiment with her hair a lot lately - which is great fun. I've even learned how to make some new hair accessories: Japanese Kanzashi flowers - made with fabric instead of paper. I've fastened them with hair clips and onto hairbands. More posts on that to come in the next few days. But kudos to the iphone and youtube for the handy tutorials on how to make the flowers and do the hair-braiding.

Most recently, we enjoyed an afternoon at the Franklin Theater which shows discounted movies in its renovated circa 1950s movie cinema/stage theater. For $5 we enjoyed "Diary of Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" with free popcorn and lemonade before making a trip to Toys R Us to buy Playmobil with birthday money. Then we spent the afternoon assembling the Playmobil and playing. Saturdays are great!

First Class

Well, it is a bit like the movies. The plane wasn't big enough that they pulled a curtain of secrecy or anything like that. But, instantly upon sitting down something felt strange. The seat was wider than my hips AND I could stretch my legs straight out, something I've never been able to do on an airplane. They gave us a drink while all the plebeians walked past us with pleading, parched looks on their faces. I tried to look like I belonged there. A rotund business man across the isle did his best to have unlimited abrupt demands for the flight attendant dedicated to 1st class- just to remind her he was FIRST CLASS. Yes indeed.We got a meal for free, which is nice on a 4 hour flight starting at 6pm. The stewardess came around with a sheet that had all our names on it so she could say, "hi Matt, I'm Cathy...would you like chicken or shrimp salad for dinner." While waiting for our meal we got another drink, with small ice cubes that felt posh compared to those 2 giant clunkers they throw in the plastic cups back in coach. Of course they were glass tumblers too. Then a dish of "warm nuts". Indeed it was a small ceramic pot full of nuts that had been warmed up. Why you warm nuts, I know not- but it sure made it sound more intriguing than a plastic pack of peanuts. And the warm towel distributed via tongs was a must so we could clean up before dinner. Dinner came on ceramic dishes complete with a mini wine glass for water or drinks. AND we had a metal fork and knife. Well, at least it was something in the shape of a knife. It was so rounded and dull I almost asked for a serrated plastic one...but it still looked nice all wrapped up in a cloth napkin.
The attendant came by periodically to wipe our mouths, which was very handy and creepy at the same time.... ok, that part is fake. No dessert though, so that was a bummer. But Wait! An hour after dinner, what is that familiar aroma? Yes, fresh baked (or warmed anyway) cranberry and nut cookies with little glasses of milk. That was a nice touch.
Was it worth the price of a 1st class ticket? I don't know since I got a free upgrade. Is it a much different experience than suffering for 4 hours in coach? You better believe it. It was lonely to be there by sans family, but I consoled myself by watching Thor, a movie no one in my family would have watched with me. (and I'd never watch again-dull).
So it took me nearly 20 years of flying before I took a flight in 1st class, I can only hope it will be a lot less than that before my next opportunity arises.

Amy's Baptism

And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.

Doctrine & Covenants 68:27

On August 6, 2011 our sweet little Amy was baptized by her father.  It was a beautiful, simple event with many dear friends and family in attendance.  A big thanks to Grandpa Tolley for his excellent talk on baptism and for all those who came to show love and support.  We all had a beautiful day.

Afterwards we got the family together - including Tolley grandparents and Great Grandma Brooks - for a photo at the temple (next door to our stake center).

Amy's 8th Birthday Party / Science Party

I can't believe my little Aimster is 8 years old already!  On her special day, we treated her to breakfast in bed - complete with the "8" pancake (which is somewhat tricky to do!)

That afternoon, Amy had 8 friends come over to celebrate her birthday.  She wanted a science themed party and we had a lot of fun putting it together. The invitations went out 2 weeks ahead:

Amy helped with the design.  I thought it was very clever (and simple too).

When the guests arrived, they were each issued with a lab coat to decorate.  Wal-Mart had Ladies' dress shirts on clearance for $4 each and with a little alteration, they made great lab coats.

Once everyone was suited up, we got busy.  And messy.  First task was creating Flubber - inspired from the old school science professor Disney film.  It's simple to make - you only need some Borax, water and school glue.  The rest is magic.  (Click here for the recipe).

Flubber is bouncy and squishy and was a big hit at the party. 

Next, we cleaned up and enjoyed some party food: pizza rolls, chips, pretzels, M&Ms, carrot sticks and cucumber slices.

Once re-fueled, we moved onto the Science Scavenger hunt. This involved 5 areas of science:

1. Paleontology - Dinosaur Dig (in the sandbox).  The girls each got to dig up a toy dinosaur skeleton.

 Each 'scientist' was given a folder (field kit) with ziploc baggies to collect their samples/finds.

2. Botany - Leaf Rubbing

3. Geology - collecting specified rocks/sticks.

4. Chemistry - identifying acids and bases. 

The acids were lemon juice and vinegar.  The other solution was water.  I disguised the liquids with food coloring and filled each of the girls test tubes (6 pack from the Dollar Store) with a bit of baking soda in the bottom.  If it 'fizzed' it was an acid and they were to record their findings on their data sheets.  Very simple, but they loved this activity and at the end of the party, went back to play some more.

5. Forensics - dusting for fingerprints.

Using a plate of glass (from a glass frame our movers chipped the edge off), I sprayed my hands lightly with cooking spray and rolled prints all over the glass.  To lift a print, we dusted the surface of the glass with corn starch, then softly dusted until we discovered prints.  A simple slab of clear packing tape was applied and we stuck the lifted print onto black paper (so it was clearly visible).

Notice that I wrapped the edges of the glass with a rubber tape so there weren't any sharp edges.  (Health and Safety!)

We finished up with some cake.  Amy requested a cake in the shape of a Florence Flask which challenged my creativity a little bit.  I ended up using two bundt cakes (the bottom one inverted) then frosting a paper towel roll that I covered in foil (for the spout). 

I'm noticing that the older the girls get, the better behaved they tend to be and consequently, more fun.  These gals were great... and so cute!

Kitchen Gardens

My 'vision' was to re-create some formal English gardens on our cute little Southern acreage.  The plans have adapted and changed over the past many weeks, but we are pleased with the outcome and thought we'd post some of the changes to our landscape:



If you look closely, you can see the stakes and white string I used to 'map out' the shape of the plots.

Matt and I dug plots out by hand - shoveling the soil and composting with bits of cardboard and packing paper (something we had a lot of!)  Notice the playset area got dug out too.

Each plot sat for a couple weeks while we shopped for a rototiller.  We ended up with a great deal and Matt spent many hours doing the tilling.  Then came the centerpiece - a stone circle topped with a rustic whisky barrel. Matt helped with the mathematics of its construction and Lana purchased the materials.  The family assembled it.  The white rose bush/tree (Amy's choice) that is planted inside is pruned to take on a nice circle shape.  It should double in size - about 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide at its max.

The next step was building arbors.  We originally intended to purchase formal ones, but at $200-$500 a piece, we opted to make our own from a fallen tree at the front/side of our yard.  A little weather-proofing sealer, a circular saw, screws and some work = rustic arbors! Amy thinks they look 'wonky' but they are characteristic of what we've seen at some of the nearby Plantation Manors so we figure it's a good fit for both the budget and the style we're after.

Arbor/arches cap each of the 4 'trails' and playset has wood chips down (mulched from fallen pear trees in the front yard).

 Each arbor features a unique plant.  So far we have honeysuckle, tangerine crossvine, purple grapes and green Niagara grapes.

The planting season is long here in the south, so we were able to get a few late-plant crops in the ground.  The little girls enjoyed planting peas (LOTS of peas), turnips and spinach.  Next season we have plans for a bigger (and better) variety, but we were just grateful to get something in the ground for this year's harvest.

We've spent HOURS and HOURS as a family working outside and Matt has had all the heavy lifting/cutting jobs.  A big thanks to him for catching on to my vision and joining in with enthusiasm.  We hope it all comes together and we have even better photos to share later on!