February 2010 in Review

In February:

Emily invited the rest of us girls to a fancy tea party.  She even made us dress up in our Sunday attire!  The menu was Snickerdoodle Blondies, raisins, and water with yellow food coloring added. Elisabeth was the servant girl. (The servant girl was not required to wear her church clothes.)  We practiced saying, "Yes, please, Miss Johnson," and "No, thank you, Miss Johnson."  We tried hard not to speak to the "help", but we were so polite that we kept forgetting that she was below our station.

We had sword drills.  The first one to find Hezekiah 2:6 wins!

My amaryllis bloomed!  I do love amaryllis.  This one was particularly generous, with seven big, beautiful blooms! I buy a bulb each year right after the holidays, when they are half price.  I love it that they grow so fast.  Great homeschool science material, this.  Once it gets going, the kids can measure its growth each day!

Speaking of homeschool science projects, we are going to have to limit ours to simple projects like, see if Tide makes the towels smell better than our homemade laundry soap does.  Amy and I tried to light a light bulb in a dark closet, with static electricity.  Simple, right?  Wrong.  It didn't work.  Neither did the volcano (Oh, I forgot to write a blog post about that!  That was fodder for January, but I forgot about it!), or the paper spiral suspended over a candle, that was supposed to spin.  We won't be participating in any science fairs! 

The girls did yard work.  Again.   I can't believe it.  Twice in the same year! lol!  Just kidding.  We usually do it two or three times.  My husband thinks it is just so awesome that we don't have to mow grass, and I guess he's right.   But I do enjoy a nice soft lawn. These sweet girls had so much fun weeding our own yard that they went to the vacant house next door and spent all afternoon weeding the gravel there, too.  They filled the wagon to the brim with weeds, but that yard didn't look any different after four hours than it did before they began!  They gave up.  If we could figure out a really fast and efficient way to do this, we could make all kinds of money.  The rain here has turned most every yard into a weed heap, and we have city ordinances for weed control.

We celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary with a short trip to see my parents in California.  My dear husband explained to the scandalized sales lady, "Are you familiar with Proverbs 31:10?  'Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies.'  My wife is a virtuous woman, and I'd like to buy her some rubies."  She looked at him like he came from Mars!  (Maybe he did, but he's a sweet guy!) 

He also gave me the gift of time with my mom.  While Mom and I shopped, Dad took the girls down to the ocean for some fun. 

Amy played with her camera!  Actually, most of the photos on this post are hers.  Being her mother gives me copyright privileges.

We visited the Statue of Liberty.

and enjoyed Grammy's scooter immensely.

We made our regular trip to our favorite violin shop to have Alie's bow re-haired and Elisabeth's clarinet fixed. Morey's Music, in Long Beach, is the best.  Even though we are know-nothing, non-professional low-lifes, they always treat us like we are their most important customers. Their service is top-notch.  Did you know Betsy is learning the clarinet?  She wanted something no one else in the family was playing.  In answer to my plea for free instruments, dear Carrie sent me her old clarinet from junior high band, still in nice condition.  How cool is that?  And Amy borrowed a trumpet from a friend for a week or two, just to see if she could play it.  Demo below.

We ladies got lost in an auto parts store, looking for red pin striping for Alison's violin students. Works great for marking the finger positions on the finger board!

Yet another trip to the library,

and more crafting by Amy.

Emily enjoyed a sundae.

And, I was faced with a very difficult decision. (I settled for Hershey's Bliss, Peanut Butter and Chocolate.) I think I am digging for my $1 off coupon here.  The bad thing about buying chocolate when you are not alone is that you have to share it. 

Now excuse me, while I go work on my March month-in-review post.  I don't want to be late again!

So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psalm 90:12