Family Night @ the Temple

On Monday night, we loaded up in the van and headed over to the Sacramento Temple for Family Night. In order to stay on track with the Ward Book of Mormon reading challenge, we brought our scriptures and followed along with the audio version of the chapter we were reading as we were driving to the temple. We also discussed what we were reading. It was a nice change of pace ... and a peaceful drive to the temple.
It was dark by the time we got there, but we still enjoyed a walk around the temple grounds. The boys wanted to see and feel the corner stone again. G had fun with the camera taking some night shots. We both want to learn more about our camera ...

I've always thought these windows were beautiful. I love the blue and gray tones together.

We enjoyed our night out together. The weather was perfect!

Fandango Puppets for FHE

After reading more in St. Matthew, we made Fandango-type puppets for our FHE activity. It was fun to see the creativity of each family member. We dug through the craft bin and a stack of construction paper and went to work. Can I just say that we LOVE glue-dots!!

Here's a better look at our finished puppets.

Cotton Ball Hockey for FHE

For our FHE activity last week, we played hockey with straws and a cotton ball. We used Legos to mark the goals. You had to blow the cotton ball through the goal. Here's another CHEAP, yet FUN activity. We got the idea from T's speech activities. Our activity from our last FHE was a few rounds of "Aye, Aye, Nephi!" It's a fun, simple card game. Family Night just wouldn't be Family Night in our house without activities!

Bocce Ball for FHE ... again

For Family Night on Monday, we read about the Beatitudes in Matthew. We had a great discussion! But, before that, we worked in several rounds of Bocce Ball before it got too dark. Amazingly, T won several rounds! This is definitely one of our favorite games.

Flyin' Airplanes & FHE

Last night, our FHE activity was to make paper airplanes and fly them off of the landing. We were aiming for distance, not speed. G helped the boys all make great paper airplanes, and they took turns competing by twos to see who's airplane would go the farthest. Sometimes the simplest things are the most fun. We all had so much fun! Then G made an airplane that did lots of twists and turns. That was sure fun to watch.

Waterballoons for FHE!

B, N & I filled @ 150 waterballoons to take to the park. We were soaked!
N getting ready to launch a balloon. T & J are nearby waiting for their turn
We met a few families at a nearby park last night for FHE. We had a quick thought (yes, we managed to round up all of the kids! - miracles DO happen), we played a little Bocce Ball, and then we launched a few hundred water balloons! It was SO much fun. Many of the kids went out to the field to try to catch some of the balloons. There were some water balloon fights, too, of course. After the last water balloon was launched, we enjoyed the treats. Everyone brought something to share and it was heaven for the kids. It was fun to watch all of the kids running around laughing and playing together, and the adults enjoyed it all too. We'll have to do this again.

More Ice Cream for FHE

After a short swim and a yummy dinner of risotto, broccoli, and tomatoes (from our garden), we loaded up the boys and took them out to ice cream for FHE. We tried a new place called Maggie Moo's. It's very similar to Cold Stone, but I think it was a little less expensive. T went crazy when he saw all of the options for toppings. What frustrated us was that he only ate about 4 bites of his ice cream! Kind of a waste if you ask me. It was still fun to go out as a family. The ice cream was yummy. We finished off our FHE with reading a chapter in our scriptures, singing a hymn, and saying our prayers. Our boys always look forward to FHE, whether it's a trip out for ice cream or a lesson and game at home. It's a great program and it has really blessed our family.

Wall-e for FHE

After swim team practice, we met G over at the theater to see Wall-e. First and foremost, we were so glad to be in a cool building! It was very hot today. Anyway, Wall-e was a fantastic movie and I highly recommend it. Pixar is an amazing company and it seems like whatever they make turns to gold. Even the 'short' was hilarious and well done. This will definitely be a movie in our DVD collection. Loved it! When we asked J what his favorite part of the movie was, he said he couldn't think of one because he loved the whole movie!

Raspberry Pickin' FHE

We had a great adventure for FHE tonight. The boys decided that they wanted to have dinner at Daddy's work. So we did and ate out on the patio. I love the picture of B sitting in the chair all crazy. He doesn't like to sit normal in any chair. After dinner, we walked on a trail nearby with a couple of bowls in hand to pick from the abundance of raspberries. They were SO good! G was able to get the most because he wasn't wearing Tevas like the rest of us. There were a lot of thorns. Still worth it. Right off of the trail, there was a Maidu Pounding Stone to see. So cool! Then we quickly dropped by Barnes & Noble to get a reading log for the boys, to encourage summer reading. I got the idea from my friend, Raimi. After reading any 8 books, we can bring back the completed reading log and receive a free book. Love the idea.

Yummy FHE

Dad's helping T with his melting ice cream cone. What's funny is that T insisted on having a cone, so we ordered him one and asked for a cup to put it in. He immediately took out the cone and set it aside! Go figure!!

The boys!

We took the family over to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. Ohh, they were SO good! We sat outside & ate our Blizzards. It was such a beautiful evening. When we got back home, we finished off FHE with our scriptures, a song, and our family prayer. It was very simple, but yummy.

DQ for FHE

We surprised the boys with a trip to DQ to top off our FHE tonight. It felt really good to go on a ride together and get our treats. When J dug in for his 2nd bite, he said, "This tastes like heaven!" I agree. We both had a Reeses Blizzard. T got a couple ice cream brain freezes, but it didn't stop him from finishing his. Great idea, Dad!

Crazy Pictures for FHE

Our FHE Crazy Art

We did a really fun (and easy) activity for Family Night tonight. G said that his family did this quite often for their FHEs. We took a piece of paper for all those who participated and folded it in thirds (width-wise). We numbered each section 1, 2, and 3. Everyone began on section numbered 1 and drew a head of some type. The only requirement was that they had to draw the neck lines onto the section numbered 2, so the next person would know where to start AND there was NO PEEKING through out the activity. Once everyone was done with their heads, they turned the paper over, and handed it to the person on their right. Now, everyone drew a body of some type in the section numbered 2. Again, drawing two small lines to guide the next person on part 3. Part 3 is where we drew legs and feet. SO, everyone got to draw one part of a person, animal or whatever in a different section of a paper. At the end, we took turns revealing the drawing! It was hilarious! We'll be doing this again. We had some good laughs.

Pumpkin Carvin' FHE

Dad helping B with the knife

J&N getting out the GOO

B attempting to light the candle

We FINALLY carved a pumpkin this year! It's about time. J suggested it for our activity for FHE last night. We tried to give each boy a turn doing some part of the job. The boys thought the inside of the pumpkin was gross and laughed about all of the goo. T took a bite of a cut out piece of pumpkin and liked it. Who knew?? B tried to light the tea light candle, but that will take some practice to not burn himself in the process. We saved the pumpkin seeds, and Dad roasted them in the oven later that evening. We put out our pumpkin for the evening, but Mom & Dad brought it in for the night. Too tempting for teenagers to smash up. It's happened before!