Now That's My Kind Of Volcano

I have to admit that we don't always do the science experiments that K12 wants us to do in their lessons.  In fact, since I've been pregnant, a lot of the time I just read through the experiment with Alyssa.  "Okay, pretend we did this...and what do you think would happen?...Yeah, this and this would happen and we would learn..."

But today, we were learning how igneous rocks are formed, and when we went to the experiment page of the lesson, and I read ,"Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips..." I looked at Alyssa and said, "Meet me in the kitchen."

It was actually a pretty cool experiment.  Very simple and very cool.  We built our mountain out of a cup and some foil, melted our lava chocolate chips*, and then poured the lava down the mountain, now a volcano.  The point of the experiment was to illustrate that when it's in the earth, the lava is called "magma," then it's lava when it breaks through the crust, and when the lava cools, it hardens into igneous rock.  Right now our igneous rock is still hardening, and we're anxiously waiting to eat it.

*If you want to try this, the recipe for the lava is 1/2 c. melted chocolate chips mixed with 1 tsp. canola oil.  It made it the perfect consistency to flow down the mountain.  We doubled it so we can eat more chocolate.

I Guess 2 Nephi Is Boring For Kids

Alyssa fell asleep during scripture study last night, too, but she woke up when we were done and said, "I'm going to bed and I'm going to tuck myself in," and got up and left. 

 And I couldn't help but get a picture of the kids during Read Aloud Time a few minutes ago.  I love having Alyssa home with us during the day!

I Love My Daddy

I've been wanting to write about this for a while, but I haven't really gotten a chance to yet.  Over the weekend I decided that since it's been exactly a month since it happened, it's as good a time as any.

On Valentine's Day last month Will, Nelsa, Brian, and I hopped off of Toy Story Mania in California Adventure and headed to a churro stand to get a snack.  While Brian was ordering, my phone rang.  I answered it and stepped to the side of the churro stand, to be out of the way.  It was my sister.  She began by saying that they were in the hospital, but every time she said, "because..." a roller coaster would go by, making it impossible for me to hear.  I honestly thought that one of her kids had broken an arm or a leg or something, and she was just calling me as an FYI sort of thing.  I covered my free ear with my hand, and tried to get away from the noise.

"Dad had a stroke this morning," I finally heard, and immediately I started crying.  Christina kept telling me not to cry, that everything was okay, and that he was doing well.  She didn't have much else that she could tell me, so we hung up, and I waited until we got back to our hotel to call my mom.

He had the stroke that Monday morning, a little while after getting to work.  It manifested itself by making him dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseated.  He later said that the room was spinning and he felt so sick, so he just lay down on the floor.  One of his co-workers walked by his room, asked if he was okay, and he said, "No," so they called an ambulance.  At first they thought it was just an extremely severe attack of the flu, but once he got to the hospital, they found out if was a stroke.

While I talked with my mom that night, we thought of all the things that we were thankful for: that it didn't happen while he was driving to work, that someone walked by his door at just the right moment to get him help, that my mom wasn't staying with my kids (which was the original plan) and she was able to head to the hospital right away without figuring out what to do with them.  I felt bad that I wasn't home with everyone, but Mom said that Dad was doing okay, and that Brian and I should finish out our vacation.  I also realized that all six of us kids couldn't be hanging around the hospital at the same time, and that even if I was in the Tri-Cities, most of my time would be spent at home, waiting for news anyway.  So Brian and I sent some flowers to Dad's room, called multiple times a day to see how things were going, then we visited him in the hospital as soon as we arrived home.

Dad's recovery has been great.  He has full use of his mind - he remembers everything, and has even gone back to work part time, because he's the only one who knows how to do his job correctly.  He's been using a cane to steady him when he walks, and he goes to physical therapy a few times a week.  The stroke has been a huge wake up call for him to get his life in order health-wise, and I've heard he's lost thirty pounds since the end of January.

We are all so glad that Dad is still with us, both physically and mentally.  When I first heard the news, I was so scared of losing him, and I'm so happy he's still here.  I can't imagine what life would be like without my Dad.

This Is How Cool My Brothers Are

Phil, Mike, Nathan, and Chris Baugh got together a while back to put together a rifftrax of them making fun of the movie, "10,000 BC."  They started planning the whole thing last summer, and they've been working furiously to get it done ever since.  If you remember the MST3K show on Comedy Central, it will give you a clue as to what a rifftrax is.  Basically, it's a bunch of funny guys watching a horribly boring movie and making fun of it.  Phil and Nate did a bit of the editing at our house, so I've seen bits and pieces of what they've done, and what I've seen is pretty darn funny.

So if you're interested in a cheap, at-home date night: pop some popcorn, grab a pack of root beer, and settle down with Ominous Project's version of "10,000 BC."

Info:  In ages past the world was a hostile place where mankind eked out an existence in constant fear of giant birds and monstrous shag-carpet elephants. But among these troglodytes arose a man whose destiny would lead him to unite the various tribes, tame the hordes of furry beasts, and establish a new way of life among his people. That man was Jim Henson, and this unfortunately is not his story. Instead, Ominous Projects invites you to join us for a commentary that makes watching 10,000 BC marginally less painful.


Edited to add:  Brian just informed me that because of copyright laws you need to have a copy of the movie in order to watch it with the rifftrax.  So if you want to watch it (and you know you all do) you will need to either buy it (not worth it) or rent it (my suggestion) or if you're in the Tri-Cities, my brother has a copy you could borrow.  Have fun!

Edited, yet again, to add: I watched it a couple of night ago, and it was great!  I actually thought the movie itself was pretty interesting, but it was so long and drawn out that I wouldn't have made it through the whole thing without the funny comments.  The second to last comment is my absolute favorite.

30 Already?!?

Brian says I'm getting old, but he has four years on me, so I'll never be as old as him!

Yesterday was a wonderful day.  To start, Brooke sent me Facebook wishes that I wouldn't feel sick, and I didn't throw up yesterday morning.  Yea!  I didn't even dry heave or gag, which is unusual for non-throwing up mornings.  

The kids and I spent the morning doing school, laundry, and cleaning, then we had some friends and cousins over after lunch for a play group.  The day started out rainy, but the sun came out periodically and the kids were able to play outside the whole afternoon.

Our friends stayed until just a little before Brian was expected home.  When everyone was gone I lay in bed for a bit (which Alyssa says I do all the time) and then Brian came home with flowers and a birthday cake.  We went out to dinner at Three Flames Mongolian Barbecue, which was a lot of fun.  I love Mongolian barbecue, but we weren't sure what the kids would think of it.  They liked it, but the boys were having so much fun playing with their noodles and watching the cooks at the oven that they barely ate their food.  That means leftovers for lunch today!

We were going to have the cake for dessert, but by the time we got home we were tired and already full, so we're saving it for tonight.  We put the kids to bed, watched a couple of episodes of Phineas and Ferb, got a fun Happy Birthday Phone Call from Katie, where she made fun of us for watching Phineas and Ferb, then I fell asleep while Dr. Doofenshmirtz was laying out one of his diabolical plans.

See? It was a good day.

We actually had my family birthday party on Monday for Family Home Evening, because we thought it was the best time to get everyone together.  Brian's parents offered to bring over dinner before the party, and they brought Alice Spring Chicken with jell-o salad and baked potatoes.  So yummy!  You know the Alice Spring Chicken at Outback?  Brian's dad got the copy cat recipe, and he makes it at home on his fancy schmancy barbecue - only better.  We had a great time having everyone over.  My parents gave me a cupcake decorating book with a lot of fun ideas, and Brian's parents gave me a whoopie pie pan and a heart-shaped cupcake pan.  I guess the secret is out that I like to bake.  My dad also gave me a gift certificate for a one-hour massage.  Apparently he won it at a company dinner, and everyone at their table (Mom, Dad, Erin, and Phil) agreed that I would enjoy it.  I'm excited!

I have been so happy lately that I just know this next year of life is going to be wonderful.  We'll get a brand new beautiful baby, I won't be pregnant anymore, and things will just keep going as wonderfully as they have been.  I get on pregnancy forums sometimes, and I see so many women complaining about their husbands, their parents, their in-laws, their children, and I'm so thankful to have a husband who loves me and works hard for our family, three fun children who make life exciting, a family close by to hang out with, great in-laws that have become my own family, and a soft and fluffy cat who sits around all day being soft and fluffy.  I really am blessed.  Life is great!