February 21 - February 27

Wow! Two months down and 10 to go!

February 21st. Today's picture is of Chief and The Skipper looking at an old scrapbook that The Skipper's mom put together for him 30+ years ago. It includes photos and memorabilia. It's holding up pretty well.

February 22nd. This is a picture of Maxwell Smart's spelling pre-test. I liked the 100% that he added after correcting the test. I ended up deciding to put an 8 1/2 x 11 page protector into the binder for this week and slipped this spelling test in, and put Chief's 100% spelling test in on the other side. So my real pic of the day will be one of Chief and Maxwell Smart reading outside. They were sitting back to back on the sandbags that hold the basketball hoop in place, just reading away. Very cute!

February 23rd. Tonight was the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. Each scout had to decorate a cake with their dad. No Mom helping allowed! It could be anything they wanted to do, they just had to do it together. We ate the cakes for dessert after a taco salad dinner. (By the way, those are Ding Dongs on top!)

February 24th. Chief was invited to an ice skating birthday party. He had never been ice skating before, so we decided we better take him to the rink so he could give it a try before the party day. Lots of falling and a few tears. But...when he got home from the party a couple of days later, he was excited to tell me that he only fell once!

February 25th. "Mom, can we play The HAT in the CAT?" Larabee is all about playing games with me during the day. This one was a favorite this week.

February 26th. I was doing laundry tonight. (Yes, it doesn't get much more exciting than doing laundry on a Friday night...) I was putting Chief's white shirt away. I wondered how it was possible that I could have a child old enough to wear a shirt this size.

February 27th. My original picture for today was a cute one of Maxwell Smart teaching Larabee how to read. They were sitting on the couch together and Max was trying to get Larabee to sound out the word "bats" in the story he had to read for school. BUT... then this happened. The Skipper dropped a plate on the kitchen floor. You've got to be kidding me. This same scenario was one of my POTDs from last week! Except it was Chief. Tortillas were involved both times. And cheese. And now we have 1 less plate...

February 15 - February 20

I put Sunday's in with last week's Valentine post.

February 15th. Today's pic is The Skipper and Maxwell Smart working on a homework assignment together. Max had to color a map of the U.S. -- just the states where a relative lives -- and The Skipper had to talk to him about why that particular family member lives in that particular state.

February 16th. We had Steak Fajitas for dinner tonight. Chief went to the stove to serve himself some more steak. Oops! He dropped his plate and it shattered. Poor guy. He felt horrible.


February 17th. My current favorite cereal. Yum!

February 18th. Chief's latest creation.

February 19th. Tonight was the Art Fair at the kids' school. We looked at their art displays in the hall and they also did art activities in the gym. Lots of fun!

February 20th. Just a scene from the living room wall.

February 7 - February 14

I wanted all of my pictures this week to be Valentines-y. I decided to throw Valentine's Day in here as well, making this week's post Sunday - Sunday. :)

February 7th. Today Maxwell Smart and The Skipper made Maxwell's Valentine box for school. The Skipper wrapped a shoebox in red wrapping paper and Maxwell decorated it with a few hearts. Being all boy, and not all that into art projects, we were surprised that he chose to put any hearts at all on the box. When he was first thinking about what to do, I told him that I had a bunch of Lego stickers he was welcome to use. His reply..."Well that's not very Valentinesy!"


February 8th. I made cookies for the 7and 8 year old kids I teach at church. I gave them each a baggie filled with cookie letters that spell "Choose The Right" -- a phrase we use a lot to remind the kids to do what Jesus Christ would want them to do. Of course the letters were all mixed up so their job was to unscramble them and figure out the mystery phrase. I also tucked in a few heart cookies, a small container of pink frosting, and a small bag of Valentine candies so they could decorate the cookies.


February 9th. A special cookie I made just for Larabee.


February 10th. Every year I do a Valentine treasure hunt for my kids. I make up clues that send them all around the house leading them to their candy treasure at the end. Here's Chief with one of the clues. (Wow -- you'd never know that these 2 hearts were cut from the same piece of paper! Speaking of the hearts, I was happy when Maxwell Smart asked if he could cut out the hearts for the clues this year. Again, something that's not typically his thing.)

February 11th. Today's picture was taken at Maxwell Smart's Valentine Party at school. It's a great picture of him sitting at his desk, holding a Valentine, head down with a shy look on his face, with the girl who gave it to him standing in front of his desk watching him open it.


February 12th. The Skipper and I had our Valentine date tonight. We went to a cozy little Italian restaurant. I ordered a delicious Mediterranean salad and a Spinach Fettuccine dish with basil cream sauce, pine nuts, tomatoes and chicken. So so good. The Skipper ordered Prime Rib Cacciatore. I was in the mood for something brownie-ish for dessert so this is what we picked up at the bakery on the way home.


February 13th. Today the kids had some friends over for a Valentine Cookie Decorating Party. Another Valentine tradition. Having all boys I don't imagine I have too many years left when all 3 of them want to do this, but for now they love it.

February 14th. My Valentine bouquet of roses from The Skipper. This arrived at the door on Friday. I put them in the middle of the dining room table. Larabee saw them and asked, "Are we having those flowers for dinner?"

January 31 - February 6

January 31st. Here's Maxwell Smart doing a little bedtime reading. Tonight he's reading a book from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.


February 1st. Happy February! P gave this decoration to me. I hang it from one of the hooks on the plate rack in the dining room.

February 2nd. I love a good Albertson's sale! I got everything here for $1 each!


February 3rd. Larabee and I pick up Maxwell Smart and Chief from school every day. And every day Larabee feels the need to hide from the boys while we are waiting for them to come out to the car. In the same place. Every day. Under the same coat.


February 4th. Maxwell Smart had a school assignment to make a couple of snowflakes with our family. They are hanging in the hall outside the classroom door. This one hanging from the blue string is one of ours.


February 5th. The boys couldn't wait until our Friday after-school trip to Toys R Us so they could use their birthday club gift cards combined with allowance money they've been saving. Maxwell Smart had his eye on this Atlantis Lego set. The fact that it was 10% off was the deal maker for him. Chief was very disappointed that the Space Police set he was looking for (Max Security something-or-other) was not there. And in doing a little research the next day he found out it is no longer sold in stores or online. Larabee had chosen a little helicopter first, then switched to this little chef guy that is holding a chicken leg. Interesting. Oh yeah...Larabee didn't hide from the boys after school today. He said, "I'm not going to hide from the boys today. It takes forever for them to find me and I want to get to our Lego sets." :)


February 6th. Today I took a picture of the kids sitting at the table working on their valentines for school.

January 24 - January 30

January 24th. Today's picture is of {10 year old} and {7 year old} laughing hysterically. We had settled down to calmly read our scriptures together. {4 year old} picked up a pair of 3D glasses and innocently asked, "Whose groin is this?" He had no idea what he had said and looked confused as everyone else lost it! I like the picture because it captured my kids' real laughter -- not the "trying-too-hard" kind of smiles that I sometimes get from them.

January 25th. This is the way {4 year old} takes off his shoes when we get home. He uses the bottom edge of the couch and kind of scrapes them off. I should probably put a stop to it, but the couch is coming up on its 10th birthday and I kind of like seeing evidence of him having been there. Notice the little markings along the edge. (I DO have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to leaving your mark, though. When he drew on the wood part with a purple marker he had to clean it off.)


January 26th. I {heart} rainy days!


January 27th. Today I am finally finishing a baby gift for M. I need to get it to her before Baby C is no longer a baby.


January 28th. {10 year old} is doing his homework. He had to write down meanings of words, using his own words, and then write a sentence using the word. I like what he wrote for the word donate. "To give to someone for free. In class, we donate coins to Haiti." His school is collecting coins for the Red Cross relief effort.


January 29th. Today's picture is of {4 year old} cuddled up on the couch, wearing his Curious George pajamas, drinking chocolate milk, and watching Curious George. One of those moments when you want time to stand still.

January 30th. Today the kids had a Primary activity at the church. They moved through 3 different stations and put together Family Home Evening packets. At one station they put together a lesson packet. At another station they made a Family Home Evening assignment chart. At the final station they put together Snickerdoodle cookie mix packets to be used as the Family Home Evening treat. That's where this picture comes in. {7 year old} got flour all over himself as he filled his little ziploc bag. The kids had a great time!

January 17 - January 23

January 17th. {7 year old} was looking at The Friend magazine. He was wondering what he was supposed to do on this page. I told him to just write down what he knew about Jesus. It was hard for him to write on those tiny lines. He wrote "I know he's real" and "I know he died on the cross."


January 18th. Today's picture is of T-Bone talking on the phone with his parents. The main reason I took the picture was because he picked up a tomato off the counter and just started eating it while he was chatting. This was just funny because he's not really one to just go grab a piece of fruit or a vegetable for his snacking pleasure. :)

January 19th. Today's picture is of T-Bone and {4 year old} playing a pick up game of basketball on the Wii. {4 year old} earned some post-bedtime video game time with dad and this is what he chose to do.

January 20th. Today's picture is of {4 year old} standing in front of the bathroom mirror. He called me in and said, "Count mine eyes, Mom." He was looking at himself on the very edge of the mirror in the corner so that it looked like he had 6 eyes! I was only able to capture an angle giving him 4 eyes.

January 21st. {10 year old} entered a Lego competition at the local library. He had to build his original creation at home using at least 75 pieces. This activity is right down his alley. He was a very good sport when his ship wasn't chosen as a winner. All 3 boys won a door prize, though. A new book!


January 22nd. This is where we are in our daily family scripture reading. We started 3 Nephi Chapter 12 in the Book of Mormon tonight. The boys enjoy it when we use the Wii and TV to read scriptures. I much prefer the old-fashioned way of opening a book.


January 23rd. Time for Saturday chores. Dusting has always been {7 year old's} favorite chore. It seems to be a favorite of {4 year old} as well. I think they mainly enjoy standing on the couch -- something that's normally not allowed. :)

January 10 - January 16

January 10th. Today {4 year old} learned how to toss popcorn up in the air and catch it in his mouth. He was so proud of himself!


January 11th. Today's picture was of {7 year old} playing tetherball during recess. That is his recess activity of choice right now. He plays with his friends during all 3 recesses.

January 12th. Today's picture was taken at the movie theater. We all went to see "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" in 3D. We had the theater all to ourselves for the first part of the movie. The picture is of the 3 kids wearing their 3D glasses.

January 13th. A major earthquake hit Haiti yesterday. The damage has been devastating -- so many lives lost.

January 14th. A couple of nights a week I like to watch the Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. It's amazing to watch him whip up a painting in 30 minutes, but I mostly enjoy his soothing voice. It reminds me of the sick days I had with my first pregnancy. Somehow Bob's voice helped me to relax and not feel quite as sick.

January 15th. Still have our recent trip to Disneyland on my mind daily. I see Mickey Heads throughout the day. Today I spied this Mickey Head in {4 year old's} Candy Cane Oreo cookies.

January 16th. The kids' Saturday morning shows were interrupted by a special news conference. The country's current President, President Obama, along with past Presidents Bush and Clinton, asking for Help for Haiti. {10 year old} thought this would make a good picture of the day.

January 3 - January 9

January 3rd. Reading the Sunday comics while eating leftover candy canes.


January 4th. Today's picture was of the 3 boys sitting on the couch wearing similar t-shirts. I wanted to get a good "this is what they looked like at the beginning of 2010" kind of picture.

January 5th. Today's picture was of the front page of the newspaper.

January 6th. {7 year old} doing his math homework. He has to do one page of math every day. Notice the chocolate on his thumb from his after-school snack!


January 7th. Typically I only buy ice cream when it's on sale. We've been out for a while. {10 year old} saw the Albertson's ad and asked, "Is this a good sale for ice cream?" Yep! $1.99 for Breyers.

January 8th. {4 year old's} current puzzle interest. An "I Spy" puzzle that was a Christmas present for {7 year old} a year or two ago. I love doing puzzles with him.


January 9th. This is what the inside of our kitchen pantry looks like today.

Greetings!

Welcome to our family's "A Picture A Day" blog. We are a family of 5. Dad, Mom, and 3 Sons. I had a lot of fun doing this project last year and I'm ready to take on the challenge again. This year I'm trying to capture more of those less obvious things that are going on in our little world. That means less pictures of the kids playing and more pictures of the seemingly-uninteresting-now-but-might-be-more-interesting-to-look-back-on-later kinds of things. Actually I want a good mixture of both. I like getting ideas from other people's Picture of the Day blogs. I also get inspiration from thinking about what I would really like to have a picture of from my past, but don't. Like the rooster wallpaper that was in my family's dining room when I was a child. I have a fuzzy memory of it but I would really like to have a picture of it! Anyway...there will probably be a lot of pictures with no people in them. This works out well in that we kind of enjoy a bit more privacy. I won't post the pictures that have our faces in them...I'll just give a description of my picture for that day. I guess that also means we need some code names. My husband will be known as T-Bone. Just a funny nickname he picked up at a former job when they were trying to come up with meat-related names for everyone. Now he runs a treatment program in a prison for adult offenders (thus our tendency to keep a bit more family privacy) and T-Bone just still fits him. I'm Debbie, no code name needed here. I will let the 3 boys come up with their own code names and put them by their pictures over there on the side later.

On to Project Life... Just thought I'd share what I did for my first 2-page spread after the title page. I don't have a picture of the layout, but this is what I did. On the left hand side I put one of the title cards in the upper left corner with the title "New Year's Eve 2009." I put pictures from New Year's Eve in the remaining 3 large pockets. I put smaller pictures in 2 of the smaller pockets, 1 journaling card in another pocket, and a decorative card in the 4th small pocket. On the right side I put another title card in the upper left corner with the title "January 1 - 2, 2010." I put pictures from those days in the remaining large pockets. I cut a 4x6 picture in half and put half of it in one small pocket, the other half in the small pocket next to it. I put journaling cards in the other 2 pockets, one for each day. I'm doing my weeks Sunday - Saturday, so this was the solution I came up with for Jan. 1 and 2, a Friday and Saturday.

On to my first full week...