Shrunken Heads

One of my favorite activities with the boys in October is making shrunken heads out of apples. They don't look like much right now, but they will be awesome in a couple weeks!

Crazy Hair Day

We are attempting to participate in homeschooler's spirit week. I say attempt, because today we didn't even try. But yesterday was fun. Friday is supported to be school out side day, but Jerret and I will be going out of town, so if weather cooperates we will do that tomorrow. 

You can be BOTH pro-life and pro-choice

This has been weighing a lot on me the past couple of months.
Everyday it seems there is some meme or an article blasting one side or the other.

Sometimes I roll my eyes, sometimes I cringe, sometime I think a re-astounding YES!

But, one thing I often think, is social media rarely is going to change anyone's mind on a debate people feel so much passion for. Maybe that's okay. Maybe changing someone's mind never was the point.

Often times we share things we feel strongly about as a way to connect with others who share our own feelings. Knowing someone else "gets it" feels good.

But I am here, somewhere in the middle. I have transitioned a lot the past couple years. My thoughts and beliefs have flipped and flopped as I've come to terms with my own values and beliefs.
I find any extreme to the far left or the far right to generally be too rigid.

I am angry at the far right for dragging Planned Parenthood through the mud of an age-old debate, based off of a smear-campaign that has been proven to be false.
It seems to me the sources should have been proven accurate before people throw down the gauntlets to de-fund Planned Parenthood. And, honestly it makes me very suspicious that none of this is actually about fetal tissue selling, but actually is just about a personal agenda for ones dislikes of Planned Parenthood.

The stories have been rolling in from real people who contribute their lives to PP.
PP goes much beyond abortions, in fact abortions are a very small portion of the services they offer.

I think the numbers in this chart are quite profound. When you look at the services provided by PP, 97% have nothing to do with abortion.

In fact, I dare say you could call Planned Parenthood PRO-LIFE. Because they are putting the health needs of people who are currently LIVING, first.

The thought of fetal tissue being used in a lab, breaks my heart. However, this has been happening before my time. I was lucky, some might even say blessed, enough to be born into a time with a vaccine for a disease like Polio. Fetal tissue made that possible.

Lives are saved with STI and STD screenings. Unwanted pregnancies are prevented with contraception, and lives are saved with cancer screenings.

In Utah, PP even gives abstinence teachings. Now I think that's a ruckus.
I think back to when I was a teen and young adult. I certainly made some pretty short-sited and dumb choices.
I knew abstinence was the expectation. My mom had told me multiple times, that she wanted me to wait, but that if I was going to have sex, I should let her know, so I could be put on birth control. And ya know what. No. No way would I have told my mom.

Teens need a safe place to get help with adult choices.

I haven't ever been in the place where I would ever consider abortion. I can't pretend to imagine the complexity of emotions that would lead to such a choice. I do wonder how many women feel that an abortion is saving their lives. And I know this gets into sticky terrain, it's where things get nasty and snide. But I don't know, and if you haven't been there, you don't know either.

I don't like the idea of abortion myself, but it seems the best way to decrease abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. Look it up, the numbers show that is what happens.Abortions have been on the decrease.

Planned Parenthood saves lives everyday.  Sometimes saving lives comes in the form of the pregnancies they prevent. They put the living first. If you are pro-choice, you don't have to think abortion is ethical, but you really should consider caring about the lives of the living too, or really you are only pro-pregnancy.

Punt, Pass, Kick

These boys gave the punt, pass, kick, their best on Wednesday. We are super proud of them! #lifewithboys #puntpasskick#football



Results came in yesterday, they didn't move on to the next level, but considering they had never done this event before I think they were pretty awesome.

We will have to start training some for next years. :)

Homeschooling Moments

Another rainy day, but Dallin sure looks cute reading the Boxcar Children, in the entry way, on a yoga ball. Love these moments.

This keeping up with blogging again, is not coming naturally!

I actually kind of forgot I was "doing it again" until yesterday.

I had taken the boys to get hair cuts, the conversation Dallin had with his stylist was so cute, I thought, man I wish I could remember this. Then I was like, oh yeah, I used to blog this stuff. I should do that!

My boys are kind of shy. They don't engage in conversation with people they don't know a whole lot.
There are a few exceptions, like our dentist, Dallin's always been willing to talk his ear off. However, over all, it's something I typically find myself having to encourage.

Yesterday Dallin was on a roll though!

Hair Stylist (HS from here on out): Do you like school?

Dallin: No

Something about homeschooled, HS may have remembered this from cutting my boys hair before.

HS: Well is your mom a good teacher.

Dallin: Yes, my moms a good teacher, I just don't like school.

HS: Do you ever get to do any fun experiments?

Dallin: Yes

HS: What kind of experiments?

Dallin: Mostly ones with candy

HS: With candy? Can you tell me about one?

Dallin: Tells her about making a snickers float, how you have to add a bunch of salt.

HS: I didn't know you could make a Snickers float with salt.

Conversation moves on to her asking if he knows what he will be for Halloween.

Dallin: Yes, I am going to be a firefighter. My mom didn't want to buy another costume.

HS: Empathetic acknowledgement

Dallin: But my mom said if I was the fireman she would pay me $10!

HS: Oh wow! I wish my mom would do that!

Dallin: Yeah, and it's going to be unique because my moms going to make me a shirt.

HS: What's unique about that?

Dallin: I am going to be an American Ninja Warrior fire fighter, because there is one. Then he goes into detail on how I will be making his shirt.

Conversation moves over to candy.

HS: Ask about his favorite candy

Dallin: Snickers. Then he tells her all about how last year he had too many snickers, so he's going to try and be more conservative this year with them.

HS: Gushes all over his use of the word conservative, ask how old he is, as where he learned a word like conservative. Says she didn't know what the word meant until she was like 17.

Dallin: I'm self taught!

Other HS in the room: He knows it because he's homeschooled!

Anyway, I am over all used to getting "the look" when people learn we homeschool.

It was nice to listen to Dallin's take on it and while others opinions on our choice won't change what we are doing, it's always nice to hear positive feedback.

Airborne

My boys love the trampoline warehouse Airborne.

Thanks to a generous gift from my mom were were able to buy a ten punch pass.

It's been so nice to go every now and again when we just need a change of scenery and to work out some wiggles.

One hour and my boys are worn out!

These pictures are from just 2 days ago.

JC also took my pictures and made a video because he has a passion for editing and creating videos.

Moments from 2014

These were pictured that were used or considered for my 2015 calendar.

I actually planned a field trip to Cornbelly's last October. It was my first attempt to meet other secular homeschoolers in Utah. It was kind of a pain. There aren't many of us, and we seems spread out all over the state. We had a lot of fun though.

Here is Dallin on his first day of 2nd grade.  Wow did that ever fly!

So I have coordinated a Witches Night Out at Gardener Village for coming up on our third year. It's always been Jennica, me and Annie and then other people. Last year my mom and cousin Victoria joined us. I am so thrilled EVERYONE from last year plans to go again this year. It's one of my favorite things ever.

 L to R: Victoria, Me, Jennica, Mom (Detra)

 The Spooky Sisters

 Me and my witchy mum.

 A witchy mum and here two cacklers.

 Me and my little warewolves.

JC had the chance to go to San Francisco with grandpa Rick, take in a Raiders game and me a tourist.  These are photos from that.

JC's first day of 5th grade.

We did a Flat Stanley project for school. We took our flat to the Historic Draper Park and someone who saw me taking pics of the boys offered to take one of the 3 of us. I love when people are nice just to be nice!

Devil's Tower was one of our favorite stops on the way to Mt. Rushmore.

Early Spring 2014

Some of Jerret's family is from Scottsbluff, NE. So on our way home we stopped there. It was much more beautiful than I was expecting.

Christmas 2013 I think.

We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas for 2014.

I don't think I had shared a Thanksgiving meal with my sister since getting married.  How sad is that? So we were way over due.

 Us at the Hoover Dam

One of my favorite memories was of my dad and JC at the Hoover Dam eating a soft serve. JC was insistent that we get Dam ice cream again. They have remodeled since that first visit and now the soft serve is gone and they have all sorts of fancy (read more pricey) options.