tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167178162024-03-09T18:45:40.897-08:00acte gratuit: A Look At Life In Between Naps.Written by a stay-at-home mom that includes (completely ineffective) parenting techniques, (what I consider) humor, pictures of my adorable and (practically) perfect children, travel adventures (all over the place), and recipes (that are really easy to make).acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.comBlogger789125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-29931845512649132322023-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:002023-06-01T13:22:27.260-07:0090+ Ideas for Screen Free Summer Fun at Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">{I'm reposting this so it will be the most current post. I started with 50 ideas. Now I'm up to 90+! I've also added links to a few articles for parents at the end about why we need to get our kids outside. Oh, and I posted the directions for Kick-the-Can, Four-Square, and Hop Scotch on the blog!}</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's almost summer time!!! </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And if you are anything like me, you feel an equal mixture of glee at "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No more lunch packing or homework</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!!" and abject terror at the thought of hearing "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm BORED</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" and "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm STARVING is it breakfast/lunch/dinner time yet?</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" on repeat all.day.long.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, my goal, every summer, is exactly the same. To get my kids to do a little work in the morning, (Summer Skills books {like t</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=star+wars+workbook" style="text-decoration: none;">he Star Wars ones</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">}, scriptures, practice piano, make bed, unload dishes, etc...) and then to play happily and peacefully all afternoon without vegging in front of the T.V. (Yes I know. I’m a little delusional.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, we will participate in some camps and will have trips to the library/beach/pool/ice cream parlor--just not every day!! {But if I make a Summer Bucket List and post it on the wall, you’d better believe they are going to bug me for Ice Cream constantly.}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I want my kids to experience something closer to what I experienced as a kid: playing with friends or siblings or even alone (gasp!) for an entire day. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Preferably outside. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">(<i>I’m sorry for what you go through Arizona. No judgments if your let your kids veg all day. I get it.</i>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three years ago I started this list and hung it on the wall, but it had one fatal flaw.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the items was...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Make a Lego stop-motion video."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was the ONLY item on the list that in any way involved electronics, so naturally, it was the only thing anyone ever wanted to do. Such is the addictive nature of technology. "Mom, can you unlock the iPad so I can make a Lego stop-motion video??" That only worked like the first 23 times, and then I cottoned on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously, it has been dashed from the list.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the meantime, as people give me more ideas, I add them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I recommend copying and pasting this list into a new document and customizing it to fit your kids, your interests, your games, and the play structures you have available!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It might even be helpful to get really specific. “Take a walk” might turn into “Take a walk to Aunt Betty’s house for a cookie” ;) These are kids who have become dependent on screens and tech to entertain them and do their thinking for them. They may need a little help re-awakening their creativity at first.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Hope this helps! Good luck to all of us!!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 27.999999999999996pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">U</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: yellow; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">R</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c4587; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 27.999999999999996pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">U</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> !</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take a walk</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go for a run</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ride bikes</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ride a scooter up the hill and back down</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go for a </span><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nature</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> walk and collect sticks, leaves and cool rocks</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go on a bug hunt with a magnifying glass</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a letter on a leaf</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep an Art or Nature journal of your summer</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Press summer flowers for an art project later</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make art with pressed flowers</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Nature Collage from items collected in your yard</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a miniature Fairy House or Fairy Garden in a planter or in the corner of the yard (We have one but call it a "Magical Forest" and it has</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> small plastic dragons, castles and knights that come in a tube from Michael's.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a stick sculpture or stick furniture for your Fairy Garden/Magical Forest</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make your name or favorite word out of sticks</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a daisy chain or flower crown</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a leaf crown</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a pet rock</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make mud pies</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a bug hotel</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Put on a Puppet Show</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a play and act it out with siblings</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Jane Austen style)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do Origami</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a paper boat that actually floats</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Host a paper airplane flying contest</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How many free throws can you make? (100=$2 from Mom)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pig</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump on the Trampoline</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead Man</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poison</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Freeze Tag</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Practice your flips</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read a book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In your room</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside on a blanket</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a </span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blanket fort!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play in the Playroom</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stuffed animals</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blocks</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Legos</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trains</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play a board game or card game with a younger sibling</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Uno</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skip Bo</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monopoly</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exploding Kittens</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rat-a-Tat Cat</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play 9</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play with Play-Doh</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (outside with permission and you have to clean up after.)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump rope (set a new record for consecutive jumps!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cut shapes for a picture and glue together Leo Lionni style</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a collage with pics cut from a magazine</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Kickball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Wall Ball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Wiffle Ball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Softball or Baseball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Badminton</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Soccer</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Frisbee or Ultimate Frisbee</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Croquet</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Bocce</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Volleyball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Marbles</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Hide and Seek</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Sardines</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Kick The Can</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Four-Square</span><br />
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Red-Rover</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make up and play a new game</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have a Three-Legged or Wheelbarrow race.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swing in the hammock (or take a nap in the hammock!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Build with Legos</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego village outside</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego zip-line</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego universe</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Build a fort (EVERYTHING needs to be put away after)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roll down a hill</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climb a </span><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tree</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eat breakfast or lunch outside on a blanket</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Run through the sprinklers</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have a water gun or water balloon fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blow bubbles</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw pictures with chalk outside</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw pictures with chalk on the trampoline</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use chalk to make a Hopscotch game</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memorize a scripture and earn $1</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read 10 stories to little sibling and earn $2</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do 10 extra chores to earn Special Time (art/cooking/clay) with Mom</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do a secret service for someone</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write someone an anonymous </span><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">love</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> note</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw a picture</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Design your dream home</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw something you see outside</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw an imaginary creature and write a story about it</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use Crayons to make a texture rubbing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paint (with permission)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paint smooth rocks (with permission)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a panorama in a shoe box</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-but only if you can find your own shoe box. (Do not ask Mom to find you a shoe-box.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Pinwheel</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write and illustrate a story. Bind with yarn.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write in your journal</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write to the missionaries</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write to a pen-pal</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Open and use one of the </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">many</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: orange; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How To</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> {craft/draw/experiment} </span><span style="color: orange; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Books</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mom has bought for you!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make dinner for your family with Mom's approval.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look for shapes in the clouds</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watch the sunset</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Gaze</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go to bed and stay in your bed until 7 am tomorrow ;)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get extra practice on your instrument so you’ll be extra AMAZING</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t veg away your summer! Fill it with FUN ACTIVITIES!!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have a </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FABULOUS</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FUN</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> DAY!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKqB0tHJle14uJttyLPa5bze0n45IZAoVk0KbTe7EvbyRK4mTDykbCR6sQ7igRQzLsoYlpm-xBo2zwOLAZ9Ez4H0gYBfK04I0_KHHwn-7M7G4WHsa98cIaf3sBEedVKIGZfk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-15+at+3.49.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKqB0tHJle14uJttyLPa5bze0n45IZAoVk0KbTe7EvbyRK4mTDykbCR6sQ7igRQzLsoYlpm-xBo2zwOLAZ9Ez4H0gYBfK04I0_KHHwn-7M7G4WHsa98cIaf3sBEedVKIGZfk/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-05-15+at+3.49.37+PM.png" width="288" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Additional Reading For Parents/Caregivers:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/">Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation by Jean M. Twenge</a></span><br />
"The more time teens spend looking screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression."<br />
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/glow-kids" style="text-decoration: none;">Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids-and How to Break the Trance</a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by NY Journal of Books</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“[The] </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">first-person shooter game,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Call of Duty</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has been played for 25 billion total hours, which adds up to 2.85 million years—longer than the course of human existence!”</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sax-sex/201805/fortnite-boys-and-self-control" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortnite, Boys, and Self Control</span></a><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Leonard Sax</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2d30; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘“I just want him to be happy” is a low bar. You can do better. Your son can do better. No child is born wanting to be a great scientist, or composer, or teacher, or entrepreneur. They have to learn something of the scope of human possibility beyond what they see in a cartoon video game like </span><span style="color: #2c2d30; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortnite.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2d30; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In other words: it is your job, as the parent, to educate desire: to instill a longing for something better, more lasting, than video games.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature</span></a><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Danielle Cohen</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #090e3c; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The average American child is said to spend 4 to 7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors, and over 7 hours a day in front of a screen.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8fbhSkkgqY6OgkqiE0TMKmGC7BPIVQiFjhYQs8_xQ9i2R4fcx_fN53JVQoYc_M_LhTYCyjdNfe-SrE_hN3mOLA6HnLDJ9OSao7G4UzOpBH_40vd-pPuTIdSa1dlEE5Ek-FU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-15+at+3.51.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8fbhSkkgqY6OgkqiE0TMKmGC7BPIVQiFjhYQs8_xQ9i2R4fcx_fN53JVQoYc_M_LhTYCyjdNfe-SrE_hN3mOLA6HnLDJ9OSao7G4UzOpBH_40vd-pPuTIdSa1dlEE5Ek-FU/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-05-15+at+3.51.25+PM.png" width="244" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S. </span><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What did I miss?</b></span><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Do you have any brilliant summer time activities your kids love? Let me know in the comments!!</span></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-23735951520079438982020-04-07T20:07:00.001-07:002020-04-12T23:50:39.068-07:00Life Interrupted<br />
<i>Could just be a list of things we are baking and eating, but should probably be more than that.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_71eBMyeh17_iAT9orOTOkhQgjqA1WBlbK2sepsIGY343zjxmNECBMh8x1DoOylj7XNRQHNth_VsLVL2vJXv_reF2xgGM-1gLi5bsGFQ527g5ANR5V4p9CpetN34d7UJHitY/s1600/IMG_4945.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_71eBMyeh17_iAT9orOTOkhQgjqA1WBlbK2sepsIGY343zjxmNECBMh8x1DoOylj7XNRQHNth_VsLVL2vJXv_reF2xgGM-1gLi5bsGFQ527g5ANR5V4p9CpetN34d7UJHitY/s320/IMG_4945.MOV" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indicative of my mood: Some blue skies and pretty trees, but also lots of rain clouds, <br />
scattered showers, moderate wind, and a yard full of trash.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"How are you doing?"</b></i></span><br />
What everyone asks and what everyone wants to know. Frankly, now more than ever, it's incredibly relevant because without people asking and cheering and encouraging, we're ALL DOOMED!! (Dramatic much, Emily?)<br />
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Usually I answer "Oh, you know...quarantined with five kids and what-not. Homeschooling! Teenagers!" And then we talk and laugh so we don't cry.<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">March 4</span></b>. "State of Emergency to exist in California as a result of the threat of COVID-19"</i><br />
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Early in March my friends from our San Francisco days started discussing an upcoming Ski Trip to Vail. Taking place the weekend of March 12th, it had been in the works for months. Doug and I had decided we couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't attend. Too expensive, to soon after our family vacation, too hard to find a sitter...the list of reasons <i>not </i>to go was long.</div>
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Yet, as the time approached, I started feeling seeeeeerious FOMO. One of the couples who would be on the trip tried to talk us in to going. I started thinking about it. I asked Doug if I could fly in for one night. Or maybe two nights. He started thinking maybe we could <i>both</i> sneak away. A family ski trip had recently been cancelled freeing up the vacation budget.<br />
We miraculously secured babysitting. We made plans. We actually bought plane tickets for early in the morning on Friday March 13.</div>
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<i><span style="color: red;"><b>March 11</b></span>. (Exactly 9 years after the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami coincidentally) News reports weren't looking good. People in California were starting to clean out store shelves and Doctors in Utah and Missouri were being told not to leave the state on threat of 2 week quarantine</i><br />
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I was feeling sick to my stomach.</div>
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I woke up the morning of the 12th and said a short prayer: <i>"Heavenly Father, should we go on this trip?"</i> The sick feeling remained and a dozen not-good scenarios popped immediately into my head. I called Doug. <i>"I prayed about it. I don't think we should go."</i> He replied <i>"I did too. I don't think we should go either."</i><br />
We cancelled our tickets and by that night it seemed like the sky was falling. At least in the state of California.</div>
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Three couples backed out. Four couples ended up going on the trip and they all had a blast. But by that Sunday, stores and restaurants in the area were closing, and the ski resort shut down the next day.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[<b>At this point in my writing the other day, I was interrupted and had to leave the room. Now it's a few days later and I'm determined to finish this post regardless of how many times a kid walks in.]</b></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">March 13</span></b>. Last day of school for my kids.</i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(How can I homeschool with no preparation and no warning? How do I manage the tech and the teachers? How do I regulate screen-time? How do I get my husband to help when he has his own plans? What about my senior? Will he still graduate on time? How can I get my teens to step up and be helpful? How can I get my littles to chill out and go with the flow? How do I explain why this is happening and what it all means?)</i></span><br />
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While the world is unravelling, I am getting into Emergency Preparedness mode. Ever since Japan, I'm pretty paranoid on a normal day. Now, I'm buying #10 cans of White Flour in bulk (24 was the final count I believe--I have since given several away) and ordering massive quantities of Yeast on Amazon. As well as a solar oven--one of the main Prepper essentials I had never bothered to buy. Doug assures me he has plenty of masks at work and we probably won't need them anyway so I don't buy any. <i>"Regrets, I have a few..."</i><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">March 18</span></b>. Last full day of work for my husband.</i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(How can this actually be happening? Can they actually stop him from working? Is there any way he can safely keep working? How long will our savings last? How long can we pay our bills and our mortgage? How long can we afford to pay the cleaning people to </i>not <i>come? How long can we all be in the same house together without going nuts?)</i></span><br />
<br />
I request that Doug order a cord of wood. He does and builds a giant structure to keep it dry on the side of the house. Once that is done, he starts an incredibly labor intensive project of painting the Library in the middle of me melting down about homeschooling. No wait, the kids are melting down. I'm still fine at this point. Visitors, vacations, and events have been cancelled as far out as June, and life as we have known it is slowly coming to a grinding halt.<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">March 22</span></b>. Governor of California issues a Shelter in Place Order.</i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(I get a text with the news. I feel a slowly creeping overwhelming feeling of panic. I get up and leave family game night. I immediately text a friend "Can you please pack up and come live with us immediately? I can't do this!!" I start reading news stories and sign up to receive the newspaper for the first time in 8 years.)</span></i><br />
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In the aftermath of the Earthquake, I did a lot of writing to process my emotions. I wrote a lengthy and fairly dramatic blog post seemingly every day.<br />
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This time, I sit down to write and nothing happens. The words don't pop into my head anymore. And even if they did, I only have approximately 3.2 minutes of uninterrupted time before the next kid bursts into the room with a problem only mom can fix. (The four people he passes on his way won't do at all.) (Literally right after typing this, I get interrupted...)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>{First Interruption: Gray -Wants Confiscated Nerf Gun back.}</i></span></span><br />
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Today I called a friend and she said "How did you know I was sitting in my car hiding from my kids?" <i>Approximately six minutes later, they found her.</i><br />
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I feel like I'm in a Mental Fog and the only rays of sunshine are hopeful Instagram posts from Church Leaders and, ya know...hilarious Internet Memes.<br />
(Jimmy Fallon and John Krasinski are really helping to keep the blues away, too.)<br />
"Schooling" has ebbed and flowed. Some days great effort is expended. Some days I give up in under an hour and we quit for the day. Some days the sun comes out and we all jump on the trampoline. Some days Mom stares out at the rain and wants to cry but doesn't. Those days it's hard not to medicate with carbs but raising my Blood Sugar to diabetic range won't help anyone.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Second Interruption: Linc wants cuddles. Cuddles duly promised for after bath and before bed. It has officially begun. Once the "Interruption Train" has left the station and the family has collectively noticed my absence by way of bat sonar and The Force, it is only a matter of time before I become the number one tourist destination in our newly constricted Grand Tour.}</i></span><br />
<br />
I told myself when this all started happening that this time would be different. That this time I would be calm and cool and collected in the face of adversity.<br />
<br />
I would NOT lose it at/with/in front of my kids. I would NOT stress my days away and let my negative thoughts run wild.<br />
<br />
And this time <i>has</i> been better. I am definitely short tempered some days, but not as bad as in 2011. I have had <b>more</b> moments of calm collectedness. I carve out moments to be with the boys individually. I try to say "yes" to requests even when I'm mentally screaming "<i>GO-AWAY-AND-LEAVE-ME-ALONE-FOR-THE-LOVE-OF-HUMANITY</i>" in my head. I'm reading more bed time stories and morning time stories and middle of the day stories and giving all the cuddles asked for...and not asked for.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>But still...</i></b>there are <b><i>still</i></b> those moments of trying to hide from the children and struggling with every fiber of my being not to fight with my newly unemployed husband as he offers suggestions (sometimes helpful, sometimes not) on how we should be doing things around here.<br />
<br />
(All while keeping his own schedule, pursing his own projects, and escaping to work periodically for emergency patients. {I escape to my phone and Instagram frequently, I just don't have the benefit of being away from my kids at the same time.})*<br />
<br />
I keep telling my children: "This is a crazy situation!! We can come out of it BETTER or WORSE! We can get <i>closer</i> as a family, or <i>farther </i>apart (farther apart sounds great right now.) We can get better at a hobby, or waste time on things of no worth!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Third Interruption: Linc wants to tell me about his Bathtub epiphany about the fizzy color tabs: You can mix them to make new colors!!}</i></span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;">{Fourth Interruption: Gabe demanding a hug. Not all interruptions are bad.}</span></i><br />
<br />
<i>(Adding movie of the time lapse I started a few minutes ago when I started working on this post and noticed the pretty clouds)</i><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Fifth Interruption: Sam is calling my name but my office light is off and he hasn't found me yet...only a matter of time. **5-seconds later** He wants to know if I want to watch "Big Fat Liar" with him. We compromise on "Emma" after littles are in bed. Post Edit: We actually watch "Robin Hood" with Kevin Costner and Snape.}</i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(Adding accurate dates to post now that I'm no longer taking time-lapse.)</i><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;">{Sixth Interruption: Linc-his tummy hurts and he does NOT need to go poo-poo. "It's not that!"}</span></i><br />
<br />
And now I've completely lost my train of thought. Were we done? What was I talking about? I don't even remember!<br />
Oh yeah.<br />
How are we doing?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"We're fine! Ya know...Quarantine Lyfe!"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
*I should mention that I truly and passionately love and adore my husband. I appreciate that he painted the Library, planted a garden, does Math and Science with the kids, bakes, takes care of the chickens and a few days ago he even helped me deep clean our closet. If he would just do what I want him to do <i>at every minute of every day</i> it would be <b><i>perfect!</i></b> [KIDDING!!] It's fine. (It really is.) We'll be <b><i>just fine!</i></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Seventh Interruption: Linc is ready to be tucked in. Doug calls me from downstairs at the same time. And now I'm finished.}</i></span></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-30571392356197688742018-06-06T20:28:00.001-07:002018-06-06T20:28:12.222-07:00Fun Games for Kids--No Screens RequiredWe've been having a break from Social Media and TV for the last few day and I noticed that my kids haven't actually withered into dried husks and blown away with the East Wind. That is to say, they are surviving.<br />
Not only that, there has been a lot of jumping on the trampoline, a lot of scooter rides, and a lot of game playing.<br />
<br />
Specifically, Spot It and Rat-a-Tat-Cat.<br />
<br />
Mostly because these are both games 4.5 year old Lincoln can play and he badgers his older brothers until they play with him.<br />
<br />
It occurred to me that I should make a list of games my kids actually like so I can put them together in a tub and have them on hand when summer starts. (Still 2+ more weeks of school for us.)<br />
<br />
Here are the games I've thought of so far that my boys actually like:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Lincoln (4.5) and up:</span></b><br />
Spot It<br />
Rat-a-Tat-Cat (Most of us like this one. You can make it harder or easier depending on who is playing.)<br />
Jenga (which basically means building towers and knocking them down.)<br />
Checkers (also not played correctly.)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Grayson (8):</span></b><br />
All of the above, plus...<br />
Bop-It<br />
Uno<br />
Skip Bo<br />
He is also starting to be able to handle some "older" games like:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Gabe (11), Sam (13), Max (16), Em (super youngish), Doug (40)</b></span>:<br />
Play 9 (Also known as Golf)<br />
Phase 10 (Card Game)<br />
Sequence <i>or</i> the L.D.S. version, Seek Whence<br />
Ticket to Ride (We have the European Version and Doug wishes we had the American version.)<br />
Stratego<br />
Acquire<br />
Risk<br />
Settlers of Cataan<br />
Exploding Kittens (G-rated version;)<br />
Cover Your Assets<br />
<br />
We have a bunch more in the cupboard that are fun, but these seem to be the ones that get played over and over.<br />
<br />
What about you? Do you have any games your teeny tiny kids like to play? Teens? Leave a comment and tell me some of your favorite games!<br />
<br />
Happy Screen-Free Summering,<br />
Emily<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-6561750185894648532018-05-16T17:12:00.002-07:002018-05-16T17:12:46.738-07:00The New Big Threat to Our ChildrenHi Friends!<br />
I GOT PAID TO WRITE SOMETHING!!!<br />
Actually, three somethings.<br />
<br />
I've just published my third post on HowDoesShe.com.<br />
<br />
The first two were related to Emergency Preparedness. I felt pretty passionate about my topic when I wrote them. I feel even MORE passionate about this topic...<br />
<br />
This one is called "<a href="https://howdoesshe.com/the-new-big-threat-to-our-children/">The New Big Threat to Our Children</a>" and it talks about raising babies and kids in a tech saturated world. I really hope you will go over there and read it and I would LOOOOOOOVE it if you left a <b>comment</b> on the post over there and then went and <b>shared it on Facebook</b> and with every mom of little kids you know! Otherwise it will die a sad death in Internet obscurity.<br />
<br />
Pretty please with sugar on top??<br />
<br />
I really appreciate it!!<br />
<br />
Here's the link:<br />
<a href="https://howdoesshe.com/the-new-big-threat-to-our-children/"><span style="font-size: large;">The New Big Threat to Our Children</span></a><br />
<br />
Thanks again,<br />
Emilyacte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-68536946246123593022018-05-15T11:35:00.002-07:002018-05-19T14:14:23.278-07:00Summer Games to Play Outside<span style="font-size: large;">SUMMER IS COMING!!! </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Cue ominous music.)</span><br />
My goal this year, like every year, is to get my kids outside as much as possible. I've revised and updated my list of <a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2018/05/85-ideas-for-screen-free-summer-fun.html">Screen Free Summer Fun</a>, but realized there are a few suggestions on there that the boys legitimately can't follow. For example, they have never played Kick-the-Can and although I played it a lot as a kid, the actual rules were kinda hazy when I thought about it.<br />
I tried to find a super cute one-page printable on Pinterest, but I couldn't. So I made a really boring but serviceable one. If only I had finished that Desktop Publishing degree--<i>regrets</i>--<i>sigh</i>.<br />
I found these directions on WikiHow and modified them to make them more concise and printable. Not entirely sure they make total sense, but your kid can probably get the gist.<br />
In addition to Kick the Can, we have rules for Hopscotch, Four-Square, and Ghost in the Graveyard.<br />
<br />
Here ya go:<br />
<br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2df6c0c4-64eb-4042-2704-56eea6c7f4cc" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>How to Play Kick the Can</b></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vBQm3oHw1kCjVdb_tzeh5Un9cdUmyUoz-dR-363QAubLLaAxcTvNDxzL575S7kxGeEPhzXo8xRLDR1N-zLnpb2AIaFkwVh_cG3d0bej8BS1yGjO_BuVcPDAUJcmKyt2UMNl65Q" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vBQm3oHw1kCjVdb_tzeh5Un9cdUmyUoz-dR-363QAubLLaAxcTvNDxzL575S7kxGeEPhzXo8xRLDR1N-zLnpb2AIaFkwVh_cG3d0bej8BS1yGjO_BuVcPDAUJcmKyt2UMNl65Q" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="310" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gather a group of 3 or more people.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find a can or plastic bottle to use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Designate playing boundaries. Play in an area with plenty of hiding places. Playgrounds, parks, and cul-de-sacs work great.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Designate a jail area. The jail is where players go when they’re caught by the seeker. Your jail should have clearly defined boundaries. The jail needs to fit all the players playing. (We had to sit on the curb of our cul-de-sac when we played as kids.) Other un-tagged hiders can free you from jail by tagging you, but they risk being caught by the seeker.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pick the seeker and agree on a count time. Use rock, paper, scissors to select or use whatever method you prefer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set up the can. Place in a central location that is wide open and difficult to sneak up on. You may want to locate your can close to your jail. This way, if the can is kicked, the seeker will have to run towards the jail while jailed players are running away.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hide while the seeker counts with their eyes closed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go to jail when caught by the seeker. For the seeker to catch someone, they have to call out the hider’s name and hiding spot. Then the hider and seeker race pack to the can. If the seeker arrives first or tags you first, you go to jail. If you get to the can first, you must kick the can before being tagged. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reset the game when the can is kicked. After the can is kicked, the hider runs to find a new hiding place while the seeker gets the can and places it back where it was. All jailed player are freed when a hider kicks the can.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play until only one hider remains. The last hider is the winner.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Variations:</span></div>
<b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* Add more seekers to your game. But no babysitting the can.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* Play in the dark with flashlights.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.projectplaybooks.com/kick-the-can-rules"><b><i>Alternate version of the rules here!</i></b></a></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How to Play Hop-Scotch</i></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWe8aan4-CnPHKH-PDKa6_vagC2gWK6Ee2LCE6pCO2jwU4o5r5TdMXU7p-AGYnFdhsKgsPLGVkZI_Vn15zP2uBjDcPA73Ru3KXkgfrJJAe8H0JelQHDkrCcrR3uIkXILjyeCg/s1600/vector-hopscotch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWe8aan4-CnPHKH-PDKa6_vagC2gWK6Ee2LCE6pCO2jwU4o5r5TdMXU7p-AGYnFdhsKgsPLGVkZI_Vn15zP2uBjDcPA73Ru3KXkgfrJJAe8H0JelQHDkrCcrR3uIkXILjyeCg/s320/vector-hopscotch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Draw a Hop-Scotch Design</b> on the ground with chalk</li>
<li><b>Throw a flat stone or small object</b> into square one. It has to be all the way inside the square and can't be touching the line. If you miss, you lose your turn. (Did you know there is an official <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Original-Hoppy-1953-Hopscotch-Marker/dp/B073MVPZBY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526407658&sr=8-1&keywords=hopscotch+marker&dpID=41AtrSWwrML&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch">Hop-Scotch Hoppy Taw</a> game marker? I had one as a kid!)</li>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=actegr-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B073MVPZBY&asins=B073MVPZBY&linkId=3ea5c6ba7788bc299526d4bad6989232&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
<li><b>Hop through the squares</b>, skipping the one you have your marker on.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px;"> Each square gets one foot. Which foot you start with is up to you. You can't have more than one foot on the ground at a time, </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">unless</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px;"> there are two number squares right next to each other. In that case, you can put down both feet simultaneously (one in each square). Always keep your feet inside the appropriate square(s); if you step on a line, hop on the wrong square, or step out of the square, you lose your turn.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b class="whb" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pick up the marker on your way back.</b> When you get to the last number, turn around (remaining on one foot) and hop your way back in reverse order. While you're on the square right before the one with your marker, lean down (probably on one foot still!) and pick it up. Then, <i>skip over </i>that square and finish up.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b class="whb" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pass the marker on to the next person.</b> If you completed the course with your marker on square one (and without losing your turn), then throw your marker onto square two on your next turn. Your goal is to complete the course with the marker on each square. The first person to do this wins the game!</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How to Play Four-Square</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3L0jhOAsQU1dsVvrkMtH_NYB2kCUy4sYSkcvIXEIlb-UvTnHXyYZKkanKH_G8l0qQK6iNe2Dq_lCN0LbB75YV3Dt68iiciK8oa8U8LoMjxhWQCZxnYs-sv2X9mdP8UyRr5g/s1600/howtoplay.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3L0jhOAsQU1dsVvrkMtH_NYB2kCUy4sYSkcvIXEIlb-UvTnHXyYZKkanKH_G8l0qQK6iNe2Dq_lCN0LbB75YV3Dt68iiciK8oa8U8LoMjxhWQCZxnYs-sv2X9mdP8UyRr5g/s400/howtoplay.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Another classic: </b></span><b><a href="https://www.projectplaybooks.com/ghost-in-the-graveyard-rules"><span style="font-size: large;">Ghost in the Graveyard</span></a></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What are some games you played as a child that you would like to reintroduce to your kids? </span>Let me know in the comments. Maybe I can add the rules to this post!</b></span><br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-58377811632705249762017-12-04T17:39:00.000-08:002017-12-04T18:49:19.685-08:00When You Have Feelings and You Need to Feel Your Feelings--With MusicOn our way home from Utah after Thanksgiving, I had lots of time in the car and not a lot to do so I started messing around with playlists on Spotify.<br />
<br />
I'll confess, I'm very new to Spotify. Max has it and one day asked me for the name of a song he wanted to add to one of his playlists.<br />
I promptly stole his phone and started making this super kick-butt 80's playlist for him. I may or may not have been a master of the mix tape back in the day. But that's neither here nor there. Over the next few days, I kept adding to "Max's Rad 80's".<br />
<br />
And then he was like:<br />
"Mom, give me my phone back and make your own Spotify account. Also, can you get us premium?"<br />
And I was like:<br />
"Whatevs. You are <i>welcome</i> for the best music you've ever heard!! Top 40 sucks and Hip Hop is for losers! Tell your friends! And <i>NO</i>, we're not getting premium."<br />
<br />
Or something.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I got cut off from my rad playlist and decided I would just go ahead and make my own Spotify account-- like he said-- even though I *mostly* <b>almost</b> <i>always</i> categorically disapprove of anything I...<br />
a) hear about from a teenager first and/or<br />
b) am told to do by a teenager<br />
<br />
But then we're all stuck in the car and we have 10 billion more hours and Doug wants some music on and Max wants me to pick one of his Spotify playlists....<br />
Which reminds me that his taste in music is questionable and mine is amazing......<br />
So I play my Rad 80's mix and then start working on a NEW list. This time in my very own account.<br />
<br />
Turns out I was in a <i>mood</i> and wanted some music to match my mood.<br />
I wanted to feel some feelings. Not necessarily sad or mad or angry feelings. Just *deep* feelings. The feelings that make you cry a little on the inside.<br />
<br />
I started creating a playlist titled--for lack of a more clever name:<br />
"Angsty"<br />
<br />
I got a few songs on it and thought it would be fun to ask Facebook for suggestions. I even tagged a few people who I happen to know have strong feelings about music--and also similar taste to mine.<br />
<br />
Aaaaaaaannnnnnndddddd....it was a really good decision.<br />
<br />
I don't want to over-sell it or anything, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut...<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">this playlist may just be my gift to humanity.</span><br />
My legacy. The best thing I've ever created.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Except for, ya know, my kids and whatnot.)</span><br />
<br />
So anyway, if you want you can "Follow" my "Angsty" playlist on Spotify.<br />
If you need help, ask your kids to 'teen-splain' it to you. (FYI, Teensplaining--which I just coined--is 10,000 X more obnoxious than Mansplaining so prepare yourself for some serious condescendtion from your adorable child.)<br />
<br />
(If you want to avoid all that you can listen from the link in the side bar over there in the right side bar.)<br />
<br />
I've been listening to this play list for a few days and I have to say it's almost perfect. If I were currently taking Zoloft, I would be increasing my dose. But in a good way, ya know??<br />
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Anyway...enjoy!<br />
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And let me know if you have any suggestions!<br />
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My Spotify User Name is: Emilydeon and the playlist is "<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/emilydeon-us/playlist/4BQenomOYIEUxcxknKSN7i?si=bD3HrsGs">Angsty</a>".<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-83359358250051529202017-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:002017-10-09T09:43:59.023-07:00Quick, Easy, and Cheap Emergency Preparedness<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The multiple natural disasters happening near and far have me, as usual, thinking back to our time in Japan after the 3/11/11 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Meltdown.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I still remember a week or two after it happened, I logged in to Facebook one day to send out an update and there was the rest of the world: blithely going about their lives. It was a very odd when we felt like we were living in a nightmare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I remember in the weeks and months after the quake, we would be talking about our experiences, mention preparedness or 72 hour kits, and our friends and family would nonchalantly (or sheepishly) mention "Yeah, I guess I should get <i>something</i> just in case..."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I kept thinking "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? THE BAD STUFF DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN OVER-SEAS! WHAT ABOUT KATRINA? BAD STUFF CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE!!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Sometimes I get a little vehement. Usually I keep said vehemence to myself. The rest of the time, I blog about it or yell it at bad drivers.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I feel incredibly heart sick for those affected by natural disasters, (AND man-made disasters like Vegas). Heart sick and anxious and fearful and helpless. But those feelings don't help anyone. Talking about those feelings on-line probably won't help anyone. But maybe writing about preparedness WILL help someone. I don't really wanna be a preparedness blogger. But here we all are.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We can't prepare for everything. We can't prevent <b>all</b> bad things from happening. But we <b><i>can</i></b> take some basic steps to bring a little peace into our lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know "Emergency Preparedness" can be daunting. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To some it just seems like an overwhelming chore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some don't want to spend a lot of money and try to DIY it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>After all, you might think, "I just need to print a list from Pinterest, take it to two or three stores, buy every supply on the list {times number of family members,} take items home, assemble in appropriate carrying aparatus, and then find a place to store it all!"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm here to tell you it does <b><i>not</i></b> need to be that hard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's the deal though: <b>It does cost a <i>little</i> money. But you can get a good start for around $40-$50.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b>
Maybe you are completely broke. Maybe buying one or two emergency supplies is your only option. If that's the case, you can make it work. Get a list, and get a few things when you can afford them. (Start with a case of bottled water, next add emergency food bars, and go from there.) THAT IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Also, tell your parents that you would LOVE a 72-hour kit for Christmas. They might just be THRILLED to hook you up!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For the rest of you, please listen closely to my words:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Think about your budget. Think about the things you spend money on every single month. Think about some of the things you buy that are WANTS and not absolute needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Most of us have SOMETHING in our budget that isn't strictly necessary to keep us alive. Most of us have SOMETHING we can sacrifice for a good cause. <span style="font-size: large;">THIS IS THAT CAUSE.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In case you're wondering, I speak from experience. We purchased our 2-Backpack-72-hour-kit-for-Four-People when we were <b>broke</b> and living on student loans during UCSF Dental School. Our expenses (living in San Francisco) were high, and our budget was tiny. But we were counseled by church leaders to be prepared. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We immediately bought what we needed and started saving a little cash to keep on hand. I had those same emergency 72-hour kits a few years later on 3/11/11, and a tiny "can" safe full of $800/cash we had slowly saved over time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">{With the power out, and ATM's, cash registers and credit card machines not working, guess what I used to buy extra diapers with after the quake? Cash from my tiny safe.}</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So here's my advice, once you've determined that you're going to skip dinner out for a few weeks, and turn off your cable for a month, or disconnect your ungrateful teens cell coverage for three months, (just to keep them humble), you can start the lengthy, tedious, difficult process to becoming prepared.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">First, get on-line</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Second, buy a pre-made 72-hour kit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I just looked on Amazon. They have a 72-hour-kit for <b>FOUR</b> people on-sale for $139.95. That is actually pretty darn cheap. If that is still too rich for your blood, get a one person kit for around $50. (I picked one up at Home Depot once for around $35!)</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A ONE person 72-hour kit could also be a THREE person 24-hour kit. In other words, it's better than nothing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Look at Amazon, Costco.com, BePrepared.com, or any other site of your choice. Give yourself 30-40 minutes to shop around and find the best bargain, and THEN JUST BUY ONE!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(You just might be so proud of yourself that next month you go back and buy another one!)</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It doesn't actually have to be a long painful process. <b><i>I</i></b> ain't got time for that. <b><i>YOU</i></b> ain't got time for that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even <i>IF</i> you want to DIY it, <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">I STILL <b>recommend buying your first fully assembled kit</b></span>. Here's why: you will instantly have a whole bunch of emergency stuff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All at once.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All in one place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All packed neatly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All well thought out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You will immediately feel a little better at the thought that you are not COMPLETELY unprepared for a disaster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After that, you can TOTALLY bargain shop and add to it until it meets the needs of your entire family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you do want to outfit your family all at once, don't buy individual one-person packs or a lot of the items will be needlessly duplicated. If you can afford it, buy a pack built for 2 or 4.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That way, you aren't paying for 4 emergency hand crank radios but you're still getting 4 emergency whistles and rain coats and the right amount of food and water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's been a few years since Doug and I have made any significant updates to our stock of survival gear, and it's been at least a year since we rotated the food and clothes in our 72-hour-kits. (The food bricks last a long time, the snack-y stuff needs to be rotated.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But we are now to the point we have everything we need and plenty of luxury items.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of those "luxury" items aren't all that fancy, like:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Snack food and candy in addition to emergency protein bars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mountain Home just-add-water meals</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b>*</b></span>Card games and small toys and comfort items for kids</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A spare set of clothes for each person</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Plus a few high tech gadgets like a solar phone charger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If we have to shelter in place, we can survive with enough food and water for a loooong time. If we have to evacuate, we have enough food and shelter and water and warmth for 72 hours for all seven of us. We didn't buy everything all at once. But we started with a basic kit for the four (at the time) members of our family, and built from there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I KNOW this is not what most people want to spend money on--something you will stick in a closet and may never need. But I am here to tell you that preparedness <b>FEELS GOOD</b>! It alleviates stress and anxiety! It is calming! It is proactive! And it is something we can all accomplish if we want to!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Please search the archives if you want posts written by me and by my friends on what we had and what we wished we had had in our preparedness supplies in the aftermath of the Tohoku quake. (Search for Preparedness or Misawa Monday Preparedness Perspective.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And please ask if you have any questions. I'm happy to help!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Haven't got a single thing yet except a full HydroFlask by the kitchen sink?? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me know when you've successfully hit the "Buy Now" button on your first 72-hour kit. I'll be here cheering for you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Somewhere in the middle? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What are you still missing?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you are already completely prepared, tell me where you got your stuff and what you are super happy to have!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remember: "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sincerely,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Emily</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">*</span></b><span style="color: #38761d;">From my friend Kellie in Houston:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">W<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">e didn't need to evacuate but were stuck at home for multiple days in a row with 7 kids... separate from the 72 hour kits, have a rubbermaid filled with glow sticks, Play-doh, a few new games or craft items. I thought about it and purchased a few days before the storm hit and I am soooo glad I did, seriously saved our week. I am now thinking about setting aside a permanent "emergency fun kit"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">SHE WAS PREPARED!!! It was a rotten situation but I can guarantee her preparedness made it easier! Great job Kellie!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Why I'm passionate about preparedness:</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2011/03/surviving-earthquake-in-japan.html">Surviving the Earthquake in Japan</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #38761d;">We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. But … you can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d;">— Gordon B. Hinckley</span></i></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-43232156569083321912017-10-05T15:59:00.000-07:002018-03-23T07:26:26.502-07:00Raising Children with Love, Limits, and the Gospel in the age of Smart Devices.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was asked to speak in church a few weeks ago and told I could us “</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/a-sin-resistant-generation?lang=eng" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raising a Sin Resistant Generation</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” as a reference if I wanted. This is my (slightly edited) talk geared towards a congregation of <a href="http://www.mormon.org/">Latter-day Saints</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-14255e88-ee73-0e79-2ca3-678e986e75d3" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">(We'll skip the witty intro.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today I would like to talk about something near and dear to my heart. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Raising children with Love, Limits, </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>and the Gospel in the age of Smart devices.</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjnNRFNmV0Z0Jw9m8LjfegM9iVLQb2qn_MBfjgs_4hff1LjHzwM-Kv6_sMZrmPb2T8M3VKufwXZI7c1JE4AVWJwJ78gRHpF-aM6GrADDhOtpfIfkpMJmyJ3avFylJDbs8XPs/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjnNRFNmV0Z0Jw9m8LjfegM9iVLQb2qn_MBfjgs_4hff1LjHzwM-Kv6_sMZrmPb2T8M3VKufwXZI7c1JE4AVWJwJ78gRHpF-aM6GrADDhOtpfIfkpMJmyJ3avFylJDbs8XPs/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jean M. Twenge an author and professor of psychology at San Diego State, has been studying and graphing generational differences for 25 years. She says “Typically, the characteristics that come to define a generation appear gradually, and along a continuum. Beliefs and behaviors that were already rising simply continue to do so.” She says that has been true since the 1930’s. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is, until 2012. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2012 Twenge noticed abrupt shifts in teen behaviors and emotional states. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2012 is the same year the number of American’s owning a smart phone surpassed 50%. (This is also around the time I got my first smartphone after living in Japan without a cell phone for three years.) </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We know that correlation is not necessarily causation, but there is a LOT of compelling evidence to support a link between drastic behavior shifts in teens and smart phones.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenge goes on to say that “the arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health. These changes have affected young people in every corner of the nation and in every type of household. The trends appear among teens poor and rich; of every ethnic background…” I should note that all of us are affected by new technologies. 95 % of Americans now own a cellphone, and 77% of Americans own a smartphone. (Pew Research) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The profound difference with children born after the year 2000 is that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>they don’t remember anything different.</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Their childhood experiences are drastically different from Millennials and even those just a few years older.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously, these changes in technology come with positives and negatives. In some ways our children are growing up more sheltered and safe. Teens are less likely to get in a car accident, teen alcohol use has decreased, and teen pregnancy rates are currently down. For our part, we all have access to scriptures, conference talks, uplifting church media content and interactions with our friends and families, some scattered around the world, in the palm of our hands.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the downsides are many. Kids are spending more time “under the same roof as their parents, but...they don’t pay attention to their families”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenge says (paraphrasing here) a nationally representative and long term study started in 1975 asks 12th graders a series of questions about their activities and their happiness. In recent years, questions about technology use have been added. “ The results could not be clearer: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy</span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>...<span style="color: #e69138;">There’s not a single exception</span>. All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all non screen activities are linked to more happiness.”</b></span></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Aside from the sheer number of hours wasted on social media which tends to have an incredibly negative effect on self esteem, our kids now have </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>unprecedented access</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to an endless array of virtual filth and degradation at their fingertips, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>hours</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of unsupervised time with which to consume it. Pornography usage, as we all know, has exploded, and “</span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: medium;"><b>rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” (Twenge) </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">As we navigate the changing times and drastic societal shifts, I believe it will be the calling of all of us, young and old, to learn to harness technology to it’s greatest potential while at the same time, minimizing its risks.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the talk “A Sin-Resistant Generation, Sister Joy D. Jones discusses how all of us, especially parents, can “fortify children to become sin resistant.” Being sin resistant, will help all of us in using technology correctly.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To raise a sin resistant generation (and I’m going to paraphrase Sister Jones) we need to teach our children to “know without question that they are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, (And I would add, Heavenly Mother), </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Wouldn’t it be awesome if our kids knew how divinely outstanding they are?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to help them understand repentance. Because being sin-resistant doesn’t mean being sin-free.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And we need to “Teach them to create consistent habits of prayer, scripture study, family home evening, and Sabbath worship to develop “spiritual integrity.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition, we need to prepare our children to make and keep sacred covenants. To do this, they first need to learn to keep promises and commitments.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For my part, in our family, we are trying hard to follow Sister Jones advice and raise our sons to resist sin, to limit their technology use, and and to choose to be righteous young men. But it is no easy task and success is not guaranteed.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In our home, we do try, and usually manage, some semblance of scripture study and prayer every day. Sometimes we take turns reading out loud. Lately we’ve been broadcasting the scriptures from a speaker so loud that the neighbors are having scripture study along with us. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Family Home Evening occurs most Monday nights. The lessons are short, sweet and to the point because we all know the game and treat are the most import part. (At least when you have five boys.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To further help inoculate our children from the harmful influences that surround them, especially those that are technology related, you will find that we are pretty strict about cell-phone and computer use with our kids. Just ask our long-suffering teens.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few practical habits we’ve instituted --just relating to smartphones-- are these:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turn off notifications. It seems like almost every single app on my phone comes with a feature that wants to “Alert” me when something happens within the app. Phones can be made to beep or buzz a million times a day leading to endless distractions. However, these alerts can also all be turned off. The only time my phone beeps is when I’m getting a call or text, and even a lot of the group texts on my phone are muted.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read from actual scriptures. I actually love listening to the scriptures from my phone. I usually follow a chapter of the Book of Mormon with a Bible chapter or with a conference talk or BYU devotional. It is a great way to start my day. However, it’s also very easy to get distracted. If you find you can’t read the scriptures on your phone without looking at Instagram too--it’s time to switch back to physical scriptures.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set tech free times. If it’s too hard do this on your own, use an app to help. (For our family, we use an app called “OurPact” that limits what you can do and when. Max can tell you all about how terrible it is.)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a family technology guide, and individual technology contracts and have everyone affected sign them. Post your technology guide in a public place and review and update it periodically. If you’ve ever been in our kitchen, you’ve seen ours taped up to a cupboard. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Of course this is only the first step. The next is to follow through.)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Talk to your kids about WHY it matters. Share articles and have discussions. Even family night lessons. If you ask my kids, they will tell you all I do is read articles about why smart phones, or video games, or iPads are dangerous. It’s true. I read a LOT of articles. And in full disclosure, I’m usually reading them on my phone. But I think it’s important to teach my kids the reasons behind WHY I’m such a mean mom.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leave phones and ipads at home on Sundays. Our kids are being allowed to completely tune out during Sacrament and other church meetings. When and how will they be taught to tune in to the Spirit? How will they ever have the spiritual discipline to tune in while performing sacred ordinances in the temple?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t know if any of you will remember the LDS musical called “The Ark”. It was written by Michael Mclean in the 90’s and I still remember one funny line. Noah and his wife are having a heated discussion about their children when she says “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I’m a mother! I know all about free-agency AND how to enforce it!!”</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The truth of the matter is, I can make all the rules I want, but if my kids don’t decide for themselves that they were <span style="color: #38761d;">made for something greater</span> than social media consumption, it won't matter how restrictive I make things</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">Teens:</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>You need to decide how you will use and how you will limit your technology use. Not because you feel controlled by your parents. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Not out of guilt or fear.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">But because you have made the conscious choice to love the Lord and put Him first in your life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">And because you know what a gift your life is and you don’t want to squander it on things of no worth. <b>YOU</b> ultimately get to choose what manner of young women and young men ye ought to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favorite quotes is </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">You can never get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need won’t satisfy you."</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To all of you kids/teens/young adults: If you are finding that your apps or game systems or even an epic Netflix binge session is still leaving you feeling unsatisfied,<a href="https://www.lds.org/blog/i-studied-more-than-2200-scriptures-about-the-savior-in-six-weeks-here-is-a-little-of-what-i-learned?lang=eng"> try opening your scriptures and studying the life of Christ</a>. Even for a short time. And see if you can find the feeling of joy and satisfaction you are missing.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpHADd0_P7-xy3Il3mLAjpiVVqruqRMWl4Bvb0DXjwwRTTCO7MTm7kthtn03INI2aeie5KQ6CLEcTfAhzXsy7MW5qVNIoCihDSBx-aDWnAymTl1hqtsL1Saqli36A28zJQQ4/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpHADd0_P7-xy3Il3mLAjpiVVqruqRMWl4Bvb0DXjwwRTTCO7MTm7kthtn03INI2aeie5KQ6CLEcTfAhzXsy7MW5qVNIoCihDSBx-aDWnAymTl1hqtsL1Saqli36A28zJQQ4/s320/IMG_0035.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">When the games are gone and only the compass app is left. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">(Waiting for "The Mousetrap" to start in London)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">Adults:</span> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">(not speaking to only parents but all adults) </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our youth need spiritual guidance, and limits, and love. And they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>especially</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> need to be taught to understand the love behind the limits. But if you can do only one thing to help the youth around you, let it be that you love them with Christ-like love. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Show them that you want them to succeed. We don’t need anyone else to be against our youth. Satan will try to tear them down, the world will try to tear them down, but hopefully, their church family (neighbors, teachers, friends, and extended family) will be there to buoy them up and strengthen them.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we think about raising sin-resistant children, it is easy to get overwhelmed and think that technology is too overwhelming, and that society is a lost cause. We hear a lot of talk in the news these days about “Millennials” and how many problems they have. How they are needy and dependant and addicted to their phones.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elder Nelson responded to this trend in a talk titled “<a href="https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2016/01/becoming-true-millennials?lang=eng" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-decoration: none; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Becoming True Millennials</span></a>” He said, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>A True Millennial is a man or woman whom God trusted enough to send to earth during the most compelling dispensation in the history of this world. A True Millennial is a man or woman who lives now to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial reign.</b></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This applies not just to those born within a limited span of years, but to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>all of us here now</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe this is a fight we can win. We can’t give up. I am frequently exhausted as a parent. As I think most parents are. I often think it would be much easier to give up and let my kids fend for themselves. But I will not abandon this cause. Because their salvation literally hangs in the balance. I will continue to try to teach them to use their agency correctly--out of love for God and for themselves-- and continue trying to raise them with light and truth. And I hope I can help and assist my friends and neighbors as they try to do the same and support these amazing young people as they learn and mature.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">AMEN!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: large;">So what do you think?</span> </i></span>I'd love to hear your helpful thoughts on what I said, or on the research, or on what you are doing to help the youth in your life!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/a-sin-resistant-generation?lang=eng" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Sin Resistant Generation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” by Joy D. Jones</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” by Jean M. Twenge (in The Atlantic)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2016/01/becoming-true-millennials?lang=eng" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Becoming True Millennials</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” by Russell M. Nelson</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mormons React to Millennial Stereotypes” by LDS Living (This was a little video embedded in Facebook.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/millennials-and-mormonism" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Millennials and Mormonism</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/a-plea-to-my-sisters?lang=eng" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Plea To My Sisters</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” by Russell M. Nelson</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><a href="http://westportmoms.com/wait-until-8th-pledge-let-kids-be-kids-a-little-longer/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wait Until 8th Pledge</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” by Linda Sharkey</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">BONUS LINKS:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Found this great article after giving my talk: <a href="https://yourot.com/parenting-club/2017/5/24/what-are-we-doing-to-our-children">The Silent Tragedy Affecting Today's Children</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://protectyoungminds.org/">Protect Young Minds</a> (formerly Porn Proof Kids) has resources for families like a template for a Family Technology Guide.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">We used it to make our <a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2016/02/dub-family-tech-rules.html">Dub Family Tech Rules</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia">Our Minds Can Be Hijacked</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><a href="https://medium.com/@anastasiabasilcunningham/porn-is-not-the-worst-thing-on-musical-ly-5df07ab842af" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Porn is Not the Worst Thing on Musical.ly</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">" by Anastasia Basil</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=29&v=0n1RnsLbvE4">Leave the Party</a>" by LDS Youth</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">"<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/well/family/the-secret-social-media-lives-of-teenagers.html">The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers</a>" by Anna Homayoun for New York Times</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">"<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/teacher-urges-parents-wake-kids-social-media/story?id=53712827">Teacher Urges Parents to Wake Up When it Comes to Kids' Social Media Use</a>" ABC news report about Skipper Coates</span><br />
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acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-43075677100364571192017-06-21T00:05:00.001-07:002017-06-22T13:39:54.299-07:0060ish Ideas For Screen-Free Summer Fun60ish Ideas for Fun Summer Activities with ZERO screens and (hopefully) minimal parental supervision required. Customize to fit your needs!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihzZz_Jl_PGuU8VzLQqDpV9dxZhu903POkiQhFVepImMG4iCQQbPnqhIkz2X4dHoU0T0qcd643sKP_618D7-OqfyipYkxqWco5yNYIYLlpNLekOFeTDf0VfFUA4VrQYwC7vw/s1600/Summer-School.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="900" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihzZz_Jl_PGuU8VzLQqDpV9dxZhu903POkiQhFVepImMG4iCQQbPnqhIkz2X4dHoU0T0qcd643sKP_618D7-OqfyipYkxqWco5yNYIYLlpNLekOFeTDf0VfFUA4VrQYwC7vw/s320/Summer-School.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's summer time!!! </span>And if you are anything like me, you feel an equal mixture of glee at "<i><span style="color: #6aa84f;">No more lunch packing or homework</span></i>!!" and abject terror of "<span style="color: #6aa84f;">I'm BORED</span>" and "<span style="color: #93c47d;">I'm STARVING is it breakfast/lunch/dinner time yet?</span>" on repeat all.day.long.<br />
<br />
For me, my goal, every summer, is exactly the same. To get them to do a little work in the morning. (Usually work books from Costco--my boys will actually do t<a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=star+wars+workbook">he Star Wars ones</a>--and a few chores like read scriptures, practice piano, make bed, unload dishes.)<br />
<br />
When chores are done, I want them playing outside in the backyard as much as possible.<br />
<i>(Yes, we will have trips to the beach/pool/ice cream parlor--just not every day!!)</i><br />
<br />
If they've spent hours keeping busy in the morning and afternoon, I have no problem letting them chill literally and figuratively with a show or Minecraft session in the late afternoon/early evening. I just can't handle being begged for devices all.day.long.<br />
<br />
Sure, this seems like a <span style="font-size: large;">pipe dream,</span> but I know it's possible because when I was a kid<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I PLAYED HAPPILY OUTSIDE!!</span><br />
For hours and hours.<br />
Coming in as little as possible and only when absolutely desperate to use the bathroom or eat.<br />
<br />
So last year I made this list and hung it on the wall, but it had one fatal flaw.<br />
One of the items was...<br />
"Make a Lego stop-motion video."<br />
<br />
This was the ONLY item on the list that in any way involved electronics, so naturally, it was the only thing anyone ever wanted to do on the list. "Mom, can you un-lock the iPad so I can make a Lego stop-motion video??" That only worked like the first 23 times, and then I cottoned on.<br />
<br />
This year, it has been dashed from the list.<br />
<br />
Also, I thought I would add a few more specific details to my list to make it easier for my children to actually visualize the activity.<br />
For example<br />
"Go on a bike ride" became<br />
"Go on a bike ride to the Meeting House."<br />
<br />
I don't want them to get on their bikes and over-tax their poor, tired little brains by having to come up with a destination. (Lest they give up and come inside.) So I got more specific.<br />
<br />
Naturally, if you don't have a turn-of-the-century German Meeting House within biking distance, you might want to amend the list to your specifications.<br />
<br />
I recommend copying and pasting the list into a new document and customizing it to fit your kids--and the play structures you have available. ;)<br />
<br />
(If someone wants to tell me how to make this into a printable and customizable PDF, I'm all ears.)<br />
<br />
Here's to hoping this helps! Good luck to all of us!!!<br />
<br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="434"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #ffe599; border-bottom: solid #1c4587 2.25pt; border-left: solid #1c4587 2.25pt; border-right: solid #1c4587 2.25pt; border-top: solid #1c4587 2.25pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 28pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">U</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: yellow; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">R</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1c4587; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 28pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">U</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6d9eeb; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "architects daughter"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> !</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take a walk to the look-out</span><br />
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ride a bike to the meeting house</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ride a scooter up the hill and back down</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go for a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nature</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> walk and collect sticks, leaves and cool rocks </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(but leave them outside.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climb a tree</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play hide and seek</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Sardines</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Kick-the-can</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Kick Ball</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Red-Rover</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Put on a Puppet Show</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a play and act it out with siblings</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Jane Austen style)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Basketball</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How many free throws can you make? (100=$1 from Mom</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "lora";"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knock out</span></div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Horse </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pig</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump on the Trampoline</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead Man</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Practice your flips</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Freeze Tag!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read a book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In your room</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside on a blanket</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blanket fort!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play in the Playroom</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Board games</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stuffed animals</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blocks</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Legos</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Trains</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play a board game or card game with a younger sibling</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play with Play-Doh</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (outside with permission and you have to clean up after.)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw a picture</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump rope (set a new record for consecutive jumps!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cut shapes for a picture and glue together Leo Lionni style</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a collage with pics cut from a magazine</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Kickball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Wiffle Ball</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Badminton</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Frisbee</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep an Art or Nature journal of your summer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make mud pies</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Build with Legos</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego village outside</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego zip-line</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Lego universe</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Fairy House or Fairy Garden in the corner of the yard</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Build a fort (EVERYTHING needs to be put away after)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eat lunch outside on a blanket</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Press summer flowers for an art project later</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Run through the sprinklers</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blow bubbles </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw pictures with chalk outside</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use chalk to make a Hopscotch game</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memorize a scripture and earn $1</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read 10 stories to little sibling and earn $1</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do 10 extra chores to earn Special Time (art/cooking/clay) with Mom</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do a secret service for someone</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write someone an anonymous love note!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paint (with permission)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paint beach rocks (with permission)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a panorama in a shoe box</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-but only if you can find your own shoe box. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Do not ask Mom to find you a shoe-box.)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a and illustrate a story. Bind with yarn.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write in your journal</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write to the missionaries</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Open and use one of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>many</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: orange; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How To</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> {craft/draw/experiment} </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: orange; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Books</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mom has bought for you!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draw an imaginary creature and write a story about it</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make dinner for your family with Mom's approval.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brush your teeth and don’t forget to floss (--Your Dentist)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Go to bed and stay in your bed until 7 am tomorrow ;) </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get extra practice on your instrument so you’ll be extra AMAZING</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t veg away your summer! Fill it with FUN ACTIVITIES!!!</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1e3bcd9e-c80e-74b5-a2b4-ca8c88723638"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FABULOUS</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FUN</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "lora"; font-size: 24pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> DAY!!!</span></div>
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P.S. It occurs to me that I should have an alternative list of "Mom's Choice" activities for the times they refuse to pick something from the first list. THIS list will have things like...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Move the Wood Pile from where it is, to three feet to the left of where it is.</li>
<li>Wash all the lower level windows on the inside and outside.</li>
<li>Pull 200 weeds and lay them out in stacks of ten so I know you actually did it. And...</li>
<li>White wash the fence...</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'll get right to work on that one...</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">P.S. What did I miss? Do you have any brilliant summer time activities your kids love? Let me know in the comments!!</span><br />
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<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-48430063516099421492017-06-20T00:41:00.000-07:002017-06-21T01:04:46.881-07:00A Tale of Two Cities. The Highlights. Part 3.Woke up to a text from my sister Jay-Bird in Abu Dhabi. She wanted to know what the boys DID love about two of her favorite cities on earth. Fair question. I realize my last two posts weren't the happiest representation of our trip.<br />
<br />
Now for some of the many HAPPY MEMORIES!!! The stuff you think about <b><i>after</i></b> you've forgotten the fights over cell-phone usage!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlUOSWgMUNpg_MTbLuhZXVZkAAcsIb0fKn0e6FQO76y_WB9UcPe1iw23p_mprTyUrrUNbgdDDunuUuv87KXpNk9YJ9QNOQmFY8xZEohM7cbrCJnCPZk-bCS-wDpRxUWmD534/s1600/IMG_2404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlUOSWgMUNpg_MTbLuhZXVZkAAcsIb0fKn0e6FQO76y_WB9UcPe1iw23p_mprTyUrrUNbgdDDunuUuv87KXpNk9YJ9QNOQmFY8xZEohM7cbrCJnCPZk-bCS-wDpRxUWmD534/s320/IMG_2404.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hotel was super modern and had an awesome foosball table.<br />
Fun to see the boys playing together happily.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglsLwJAm30nafpKIkhTGFSUqjUeuI-6cILmWofNSKz3-BFHPTeRC3qDbMSqvQL9Cf1lQJz7HzLmPUq11m3Ljv6Z5LvNZ_Sg_hEgp4oA-iXYRYg30_dlra4ru69IY0VMjWCMgA/s1600/IMG_2409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglsLwJAm30nafpKIkhTGFSUqjUeuI-6cILmWofNSKz3-BFHPTeRC3qDbMSqvQL9Cf1lQJz7HzLmPUq11m3Ljv6Z5LvNZ_Sg_hEgp4oA-iXYRYg30_dlra4ru69IY0VMjWCMgA/s320/IMG_2409.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This modern egg thing is super cool...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VJajNxg_ATmpRdXOGDoFAsC9rXD9sBsOBtI1SRSYvF6ipyFxKej1hKATUuoMW2PjYPSlBE3lO3t3GnI-mpskhjgrQCdAnbYQE8C9LSuAZyHQfRtmlemzAtVbmYT9l-jhJ7g/s1600/IMG_2410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VJajNxg_ATmpRdXOGDoFAsC9rXD9sBsOBtI1SRSYvF6ipyFxKej1hKATUuoMW2PjYPSlBE3lO3t3GnI-mpskhjgrQCdAnbYQE8C9LSuAZyHQfRtmlemzAtVbmYT9l-jhJ7g/s320/IMG_2410.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...until your brother comes and spins it against your will.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRY64-uJt29XIFx1tDDcgKziVvLlHF1iFbzbgPBGOn8k1fMv7xoe2EliX8AofRJEHdb7tzZM286BN1HPrtby22nIJHzKt3HwtPd7v8q25jI8rYuLqpaRRcocYD53hWnDsY1jM/s1600/IMG_2413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRY64-uJt29XIFx1tDDcgKziVvLlHF1iFbzbgPBGOn8k1fMv7xoe2EliX8AofRJEHdb7tzZM286BN1HPrtby22nIJHzKt3HwtPd7v8q25jI8rYuLqpaRRcocYD53hWnDsY1jM/s320/IMG_2413.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First views of Paris from Max and Sam's room.<br />
They had their own room the first leg.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Our first night in France, we found a restaurant specializing in food from central France. Many items were served with "Aligot". Max ordered the Duck Breast with Aligot. They brought out the duck, and then dumped a whole sauce pan full of Aligot on top. Turns out, Aligot is sorta like cheese fondue mixed with mashed potatoes. Max doesn't like fondue or mashed potatoes. So he ate the delicious duck breast, and Doug and I happily ate the Aligot with bread. Soooooo yummy!!! Win/win.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUugNGPCzqhC4dIBkwjsS_fHpMxULYBXjr6Vk8tPalWpLPXAClAOtmQBQ13fbFry569_1FusCRMvFVLXLOTGURroUxovhDDRxzk_RLsMY_SKT2kDRhS5ICKhfjBTLJ2hkjbYQ/s1600/IMG_2422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUugNGPCzqhC4dIBkwjsS_fHpMxULYBXjr6Vk8tPalWpLPXAClAOtmQBQ13fbFry569_1FusCRMvFVLXLOTGURroUxovhDDRxzk_RLsMY_SKT2kDRhS5ICKhfjBTLJ2hkjbYQ/s320/IMG_2422.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bravely trying, and loving, French Onion Soup.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8X5cCJ5LtkepQd9AmuRMEluuHav_RemM8DKkRpFD81YBS7Hy4DEzmASGQCBTEES-yPQhlwvtZ4Pbfzx1upQ-Tvlyysf7YZ52F3rHHPkwOTPDcvdduTGyXlRtUtW7krbAhyphenhyphenR8/s1600/IMG_2424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8X5cCJ5LtkepQd9AmuRMEluuHav_RemM8DKkRpFD81YBS7Hy4DEzmASGQCBTEES-yPQhlwvtZ4Pbfzx1upQ-Tvlyysf7YZ52F3rHHPkwOTPDcvdduTGyXlRtUtW7krbAhyphenhyphenR8/s320/IMG_2424.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looked good. Tasted great.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFGlFoUbcPDgDwnAUBo0aYgMQvbzZ3xYs37nUNJIKYCKHFHmWOVf7q92ckCat_kJhQOFPp09Vmdtx_s0_ZWVZOliULI9COqWCbkh32HVTSsHX0gMs61nMgs_N5IGJOBqbPS0/s1600/IMG_3273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFGlFoUbcPDgDwnAUBo0aYgMQvbzZ3xYs37nUNJIKYCKHFHmWOVf7q92ckCat_kJhQOFPp09Vmdtx_s0_ZWVZOliULI9COqWCbkh32HVTSsHX0gMs61nMgs_N5IGJOBqbPS0/s320/IMG_3273.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max bravely tried Duck Breast with Aligot. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMAVbctBq-TCNhf3aRM7PgQb-O0fCtl2JHUej55gyhpzLo6Mx3Bs9Mp0fWzu93GjLhP4wf4xkFDBHFvA5vvu-V9i91veORduK5h0nt7ggE2K8fHPhOhyphenhyphenW1pxAfhVQ3Lee3Ec/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMAVbctBq-TCNhf3aRM7PgQb-O0fCtl2JHUej55gyhpzLo6Mx3Bs9Mp0fWzu93GjLhP4wf4xkFDBHFvA5vvu-V9i91veORduK5h0nt7ggE2K8fHPhOhyphenhyphenW1pxAfhVQ3Lee3Ec/s320/IMG_2434.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No one can resist a teeter-totter but we may have scared some children</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qKRWQzmkxJN47iSPH8jY76sjZTwZ2x3MzhsOxxcqZXLfMwi7zUhUNvwRraaPFe_XNtDgYqGQ3At6049VQY0tQCVWV_stHwfC9QAVrUGa37xzsRfWMt9nhUCN5VpmcHASMFg/s1600/IMG_2439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qKRWQzmkxJN47iSPH8jY76sjZTwZ2x3MzhsOxxcqZXLfMwi7zUhUNvwRraaPFe_XNtDgYqGQ3At6049VQY0tQCVWV_stHwfC9QAVrUGa37xzsRfWMt9nhUCN5VpmcHASMFg/s320/IMG_2439.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handsome devil!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESQLHogFFL1ALvGrEVrPSGIdWHetKPFtMdg2GbfACUSJApnQBqzvHnPXpl3vzKUtCdM-vRJV32WAL8AL7OkOSz13oU_VoUFE2mSXHovtBtcfkEolsyXspgjg2e9Gl1oTEBBg/s1600/IMG_2446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESQLHogFFL1ALvGrEVrPSGIdWHetKPFtMdg2GbfACUSJApnQBqzvHnPXpl3vzKUtCdM-vRJV32WAL8AL7OkOSz13oU_VoUFE2mSXHovtBtcfkEolsyXspgjg2e9Gl1oTEBBg/s320/IMG_2446.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are we really here? Is this really happening??</td></tr>
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Visting the Eiffel Tower on our first night was pretty surreal. We were all a little jet-lagged and astounded that we were actually in France, eating French food, watching French people French kiss, and looking up at the Eiffel Tower together. It was really cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCq8hoa0JwdJJTTi8Bv5M1qlBSVGBTNNjxcpcbdoSaKl9VRZEUyJV85JvaUjhpwY78zElVxnvT6_trM6sccP7CBWJlURhTcfYO_b7fM_ekDE_H5meExCuacsqDJ7RH13V4cLk/s1600/IMG_2448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCq8hoa0JwdJJTTi8Bv5M1qlBSVGBTNNjxcpcbdoSaKl9VRZEUyJV85JvaUjhpwY78zElVxnvT6_trM6sccP7CBWJlURhTcfYO_b7fM_ekDE_H5meExCuacsqDJ7RH13V4cLk/s320/IMG_2448.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam found this PDA hilarious and outrageous.<br />
Max found the dudes shoes hilarious and outrageous.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4AYsAeV0qf_zhIdGNElywPjTySPJDl3T0yYL3YscQj-xa8pTgIPyU0mg_azZ4Be2OmpD6CAjA4BU_0I4AY5c7WDPqTn5mF_GQcWagWwIhyphenhyphenqQSaPTyDqdMDq55uo7f0EuD5M/s1600/IMG_2473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4AYsAeV0qf_zhIdGNElywPjTySPJDl3T0yYL3YscQj-xa8pTgIPyU0mg_azZ4Be2OmpD6CAjA4BU_0I4AY5c7WDPqTn5mF_GQcWagWwIhyphenhyphenqQSaPTyDqdMDq55uo7f0EuD5M/s320/IMG_2473.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first platform </td></tr>
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On a side note, it's also possible that some paper air planes were thrown from the top of said Eiffel Tower, but I can neither confirm nor deny.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfEzoYClNUoOOaOAfb7ETH1SeQyqIXJ0fJ9-17bJXHOrxLSrXkyAk3TFhYVYzyuF79LLvYXdJMfs7K1KhbA1QSNnwmr-cgO3pe9WszkrdrmIqQmSDfxD8enclBMdUCBJ4UCY/s1600/IMG_2484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfEzoYClNUoOOaOAfb7ETH1SeQyqIXJ0fJ9-17bJXHOrxLSrXkyAk3TFhYVYzyuF79LLvYXdJMfs7K1KhbA1QSNnwmr-cgO3pe9WszkrdrmIqQmSDfxD8enclBMdUCBJ4UCY/s320/IMG_2484.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The top has a wire cage around it which is why I can handle my kids being at the top without puking.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxEQKgmIqTa4vu-itHp-tQd4M7FKZvXZAqqE9cahCh00rEo-rJ4wHuhMB8LcYJzp7gKElR-4Z0Dw-SccNwT7j3ci41N6XUsTJl4ioAvX2hucihg7ueuiqY0l1HYGAhzyajPE/s1600/IMG_2494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxEQKgmIqTa4vu-itHp-tQd4M7FKZvXZAqqE9cahCh00rEo-rJ4wHuhMB8LcYJzp7gKElR-4Z0Dw-SccNwT7j3ci41N6XUsTJl4ioAvX2hucihg7ueuiqY0l1HYGAhzyajPE/s320/IMG_2494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Look at that aerodynamic piece of paper spiraling down to the ground." </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVdzzwdcrjtT0IZ6FVm5D2NWXA9CoeOolPp2vmldXwS9Dv25zmx8u5bBjMngzQzReGU1ysM74nDNsBMXvvs6BmCy2XnoMldNfkO5V9FAGs8D_ErukFop2igekD96pojiJXo8/s1600/IMG_2465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVdzzwdcrjtT0IZ6FVm5D2NWXA9CoeOolPp2vmldXwS9Dv25zmx8u5bBjMngzQzReGU1ysM74nDNsBMXvvs6BmCy2XnoMldNfkO5V9FAGs8D_ErukFop2igekD96pojiJXo8/s320/IMG_2465.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FIRST CREPE!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6zFCAaTC6y8j68DgDsORuXbYacIT0XNcR5vXaecXc93DOMbrpHr6SQJWB7tN2vv4iltGHwldBN7uFA2tOkMITfmMrbfRnrkWCEIOiweSH8VNLkRE0iyDmnT0YS9c03uEcXA/s1600/IMG_2459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6zFCAaTC6y8j68DgDsORuXbYacIT0XNcR5vXaecXc93DOMbrpHr6SQJWB7tN2vv4iltGHwldBN7uFA2tOkMITfmMrbfRnrkWCEIOiweSH8VNLkRE0iyDmnT0YS9c03uEcXA/s320/IMG_2459.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing was not going to happen. We all got our own.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8GC8eTF3Cw1jxxWUT6dJCxqb8v_AFChkdWM8-B_Q7-Gt-b_r7eTKTwdET0ZIyLz9ql1WJmDZOlcQu0dKOxeyW_cKW1SigLb-hqBysHlBXxEekaiXaTNSLh3IAbMevzOzmlU/s1600/IMG_2525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8GC8eTF3Cw1jxxWUT6dJCxqb8v_AFChkdWM8-B_Q7-Gt-b_r7eTKTwdET0ZIyLz9ql1WJmDZOlcQu0dKOxeyW_cKW1SigLb-hqBysHlBXxEekaiXaTNSLh3IAbMevzOzmlU/s320/IMG_2525.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More PDA. More speculation about whether they were <i>actually </i>French Kissing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAc8YV2gsl5GZ2qBhcLAg-dPZ_dNG_puGuUp_eSbmvpRbJsdi-03mH-x4oHnlg0sUJOU40PHEXYMdU116Cu1yHUPInMnWLE4nJcnoAdbR_Ryn0bz3Zh-3S02drd2LK8V7-E0/s1600/IMG_2528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAc8YV2gsl5GZ2qBhcLAg-dPZ_dNG_puGuUp_eSbmvpRbJsdi-03mH-x4oHnlg0sUJOU40PHEXYMdU116Cu1yHUPInMnWLE4nJcnoAdbR_Ryn0bz3Zh-3S02drd2LK8V7-E0/s320/IMG_2528.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Monday Schedule:<br />
Our first full day started with the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Racks of fresh pastries with Nutella made everyone very happy. (The second morning we discovered the hot milk and French Nesquik which is way better than American Nesquik. So, so good. Wish I brought a pound or two home.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_h2529gR5bvgyb0ARS7AtzF9h2DYZqUtGC4HQukCk5ixsXXNfCOa8FYtiyjbiwKQhhKeEb4GLpeFNgbFTDRaKDWTIwrQQ-qXhxhnYik85-vpfE6LH8BuTsOKh-Gjf_o6uVE/s1600/IMG_2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_h2529gR5bvgyb0ARS7AtzF9h2DYZqUtGC4HQukCk5ixsXXNfCOa8FYtiyjbiwKQhhKeEb4GLpeFNgbFTDRaKDWTIwrQQ-qXhxhnYik85-vpfE6LH8BuTsOKh-Gjf_o6uVE/s320/IMG_2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first day we ate <b>everything</b> and then slowly tapered off<br />
to normal human-sized meals the next few breakfasts.</td></tr>
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After breakfast:<br />
Notre Dame (Super cool up on the roof.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbC6nmwDsGuSoILDIljkKoW3e_lJamDcagjzgYVDPMtRh6POoQuaK6VvdI1hKn-ZWWVgRcsayFp2cpv5TbhDH5Zdb8wGLQC1V3w-vZjYKn-Y2Q4863P2bMnDHrHcy0q9-FhrI/s1600/IMG_2573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbC6nmwDsGuSoILDIljkKoW3e_lJamDcagjzgYVDPMtRh6POoQuaK6VvdI1hKn-ZWWVgRcsayFp2cpv5TbhDH5Zdb8wGLQC1V3w-vZjYKn-Y2Q4863P2bMnDHrHcy0q9-FhrI/s320/IMG_2573.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to get a peak at the pealing bells.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZ0KMUV6DXUUQDSdXotq8Io6WljufQWzOaCFoO-SATDX0t_O36fM0J_2niZkWxIM9eBc4uw6YiC-IJzUEtsdmXyzc1R5VmHSXns8HF4ta0LjxTJ0fwVWHG-ZcjJPK9nnoFTE/s1600/IMG_2583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZ0KMUV6DXUUQDSdXotq8Io6WljufQWzOaCFoO-SATDX0t_O36fM0J_2niZkWxIM9eBc4uw6YiC-IJzUEtsdmXyzc1R5VmHSXns8HF4ta0LjxTJ0fwVWHG-ZcjJPK9nnoFTE/s320/IMG_2583.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Those boys are good eggs."</td></tr>
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Shakespeare and Company Bookstore (Where Sam petted a cat and Max played the piano and Sam bought "The Princess Bride".)<br />
Sainte-Chapelle where the glass made us gasp.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbrrxTursp0tfho3seEzTOFtQ7R7fDFZUlguOhQISV9B7drfHwU2XtHk-KajGBi6HxWjy84jrlqeshU9-OV3x-Z6agI0J_fQ4D_YshhAYwnyzr0_Xk3ol9TFFxXBWWUMreAM/s1600/IMG_2612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbrrxTursp0tfho3seEzTOFtQ7R7fDFZUlguOhQISV9B7drfHwU2XtHk-KajGBi6HxWjy84jrlqeshU9-OV3x-Z6agI0J_fQ4D_YshhAYwnyzr0_Xk3ol9TFFxXBWWUMreAM/s320/IMG_2612.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sainte Chapelle was BEAUTIFUL!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Louvre was hot and crowded but Mona greeted us with her enigmatic smile unperturbed. Boys were pretty good sports and happy to explore!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV879PjluOkXxas6z735qRY_GWZp2vi3ObxuqFlX15qrBlti7Fwt8ZA3ASRtRy1ShPmD6yFDlfcQbcdVpMn0WdNuzFtSwSSYsD1Mj4x-XECc7HdOolxfE8BXQRU5IgXtJcw50/s1600/IMG_2625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV879PjluOkXxas6z735qRY_GWZp2vi3ObxuqFlX15qrBlti7Fwt8ZA3ASRtRy1ShPmD6yFDlfcQbcdVpMn0WdNuzFtSwSSYsD1Mj4x-XECc7HdOolxfE8BXQRU5IgXtJcw50/s320/IMG_2625.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfies!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tsmpL1pntuFNx2P7ig_yphx8ETdCjraBkPu4_ZnR7uuTlppa1YeGWh4fKczqQX1HYC6S-uHLudCmIj3Y4xGuQIGf_kf1GjxPYL_DpZp7iQaMHyEJZrI9ue_Q8H5MlGPoXKY/s1600/IMG_2627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tsmpL1pntuFNx2P7ig_yphx8ETdCjraBkPu4_ZnR7uuTlppa1YeGWh4fKczqQX1HYC6S-uHLudCmIj3Y4xGuQIGf_kf1GjxPYL_DpZp7iQaMHyEJZrI9ue_Q8H5MlGPoXKY/s320/IMG_2627.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgab2BsltPU3E63JjnGZgcuMJW4fPa2TqBGi9AHx3ANwe2RNxpBm4W0xv8YvFO20l9Q-moofam789F3WybD3T9J_tbUoHrqybgryRJWiO559AYxYgaiZZziyKsnlhhTC5Sei8/s1600/IMG_2629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgab2BsltPU3E63JjnGZgcuMJW4fPa2TqBGi9AHx3ANwe2RNxpBm4W0xv8YvFO20l9Q-moofam789F3WybD3T9J_tbUoHrqybgryRJWiO559AYxYgaiZZziyKsnlhhTC5Sei8/s320/IMG_2629.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max's favorite's from the Louvre</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid96oVFXL1MoiKRDp8YLwfc3IhUpelYsO3FKjKud6VUeX5nULnFdwIIP3fw9PHL3s9Z7p6oMxsONLWfwCAtHBUi1AOdMhGxZGfc09p5VB8JJCy04xdml_9TCvroQcesSZpWrQ/s1600/IMG_2631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid96oVFXL1MoiKRDp8YLwfc3IhUpelYsO3FKjKud6VUeX5nULnFdwIIP3fw9PHL3s9Z7p6oMxsONLWfwCAtHBUi1AOdMhGxZGfc09p5VB8JJCy04xdml_9TCvroQcesSZpWrQ/s320/IMG_2631.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Give a lady some room to breathe!</td></tr>
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Fancy French dinner where the boys tried Escargot in order to earn crepes for dessert.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiu7KZWuGr4g10ymsXsn0id3K2cZqP3DcSQRGN4ITbjYiUboFnSzNiOtjeR2aQDIPicXU_wqv6jDTidFzMgFQBGkkzQR5y8uvuWHkl0drN7G5L3OS47G6vtccA1kYVOgAveHE/s1600/IMG_2662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiu7KZWuGr4g10ymsXsn0id3K2cZqP3DcSQRGN4ITbjYiUboFnSzNiOtjeR2aQDIPicXU_wqv6jDTidFzMgFQBGkkzQR5y8uvuWHkl0drN7G5L3OS47G6vtccA1kYVOgAveHE/s320/IMG_2662.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both Sam and Max ate Escargot! Great job boys!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjj6YmjcHvMJIk1-E8LQBrJAqI80lH8ogCOS2ZE2Y2kRhtF_CTMQisHAsp5rY9-SsG25kkUzkf1UdZBiM9odLJthJblqHxvjAKXwT8npGwjW801DquaGMGauBdt_riOVrs2JA/s1600/IMG_2666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjj6YmjcHvMJIk1-E8LQBrJAqI80lH8ogCOS2ZE2Y2kRhtF_CTMQisHAsp5rY9-SsG25kkUzkf1UdZBiM9odLJthJblqHxvjAKXwT8npGwjW801DquaGMGauBdt_riOVrs2JA/s320/IMG_2666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I guess it was worth it..." So we got crepes and then on the way home we got more crepes.</td></tr>
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Tuesday Schedule:<br />
Max and Doug took a French pastry cooking class, LOVED IT, and had a great time.<br />
Sam and I explored a sorta lame museum but still enjoyed ourselves.<br />
Sam did NOT want to have an art lesson with me in the Renoir gardens, but I forgave him because he was sweet and smiley about it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeQbJFYQGsBLy8Dvgt4WUovHA4-TBcQVCzWxrOVShXA0P2FJgNnCzBe2M_DSBFeI48TlReurqC6_rnBxA37kb2I0OwHNwqg1Rd4SoRhQUVwpTZGKnntGNI3weruZHBT-_HW8/s1600/IMG_2762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeQbJFYQGsBLy8Dvgt4WUovHA4-TBcQVCzWxrOVShXA0P2FJgNnCzBe2M_DSBFeI48TlReurqC6_rnBxA37kb2I0OwHNwqg1Rd4SoRhQUVwpTZGKnntGNI3weruZHBT-_HW8/s320/IMG_2762.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-B79bVMImYqORDhq84RvsyR1t02hieY4l8I6O8wxA1iIjZ0gWVouH9fQzayOg21EdbSUnr3br8BnVWCmNyPkEpCM60occcIIXZk8pF7u6KYlosh7uVl91xCnGy-k-DQysBk/s1600/IMG_2734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-B79bVMImYqORDhq84RvsyR1t02hieY4l8I6O8wxA1iIjZ0gWVouH9fQzayOg21EdbSUnr3br8BnVWCmNyPkEpCM60occcIIXZk8pF7u6KYlosh7uVl91xCnGy-k-DQysBk/s320/IMG_2734.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This delicious pastry was made by my 15 year old! Great work Max!!</td></tr>
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Met back up to explore...<br />
Sacré-Cœur! (Bought our souvenir Nativity. Only two figures this time. 1 Joseph 2. Mary holding Jesus.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRKBDPGMIxZuYGeOO-BJ_1iijYZr3KbsFXd6SpoSCx3VaTyo3RtIrEWGL3tRjqpGLqZGt6g1idLKFXiQZ_tO-sPuuUd8jfiBZ4wA0Danzvd3gsKm0HHhk9VqezeHCKyWWqUI/s1600/IMG_2738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRKBDPGMIxZuYGeOO-BJ_1iijYZr3KbsFXd6SpoSCx3VaTyo3RtIrEWGL3tRjqpGLqZGt6g1idLKFXiQZ_tO-sPuuUd8jfiBZ4wA0Danzvd3gsKm0HHhk9VqezeHCKyWWqUI/s320/IMG_2738.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a cool building!</td></tr>
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(Boys bought fidget spinners on the steps.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPraQkAvJDyu414crMnBP6gzrxNN5TQ3nKM38hr8SAa4VGca1UY6n4Kb5ZzjrP-0brtajJrNtPyDeSks5FDgHfJ2bQA8CrNWtyKU2LWqhFDyBMUAyXiuGReadl8SAcqx8fHK0/s1600/IMG_2758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPraQkAvJDyu414crMnBP6gzrxNN5TQ3nKM38hr8SAa4VGca1UY6n4Kb5ZzjrP-0brtajJrNtPyDeSks5FDgHfJ2bQA8CrNWtyKU2LWqhFDyBMUAyXiuGReadl8SAcqx8fHK0/s320/IMG_2758.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Ubered to Versailles.<br />
{UBER IS AMAZING AND SO EASY TO USE AND SAVED MY ACHING FEET SO MANY TIMES!!!}<br />
Versailles is ALSO amazing and super cool to look around. We rented a golf cart to explore the grounds and let Max drive a little. He was disappointed it only went about 3.2 mph.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RE1Y_lvurC8Oc8SLGWCn8X8r51QBbIvSVzsGZ2GbrRTY8bdv4DQk3Xc9BcgFev7G0UQrS-nEr2aPe61gOVyQVFiNLTybzovEo8ny2tVIEX1g8a1piLBOS8wzTh4mGb-rVpA/s1600/IMG_2766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RE1Y_lvurC8Oc8SLGWCn8X8r51QBbIvSVzsGZ2GbrRTY8bdv4DQk3Xc9BcgFev7G0UQrS-nEr2aPe61gOVyQVFiNLTybzovEo8ny2tVIEX1g8a1piLBOS8wzTh4mGb-rVpA/s320/IMG_2766.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick food stop: "We'll take one of each please."</td></tr>
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Walked to the brand new Paris L.D.S. Temple<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78CkTWiLjtLxSXVlAB-_v27OtFCS1i1_LY-qoRT6VFKlY40cJMdw6-9oF46JcO9S_jug3_KHXEprAEhMkIpIuIxkOfoowJFDdtXXEYAy9glDUFy6iGIgm38hgfT2OXaJkXFE/s1600/IMG_2832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78CkTWiLjtLxSXVlAB-_v27OtFCS1i1_LY-qoRT6VFKlY40cJMdw6-9oF46JcO9S_jug3_KHXEprAEhMkIpIuIxkOfoowJFDdtXXEYAy9glDUFy6iGIgm38hgfT2OXaJkXFE/s320/IMG_2832.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This glass in the visitor's center was so darn pretty. We loved looking around this peaceful place!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAAD9utV2l2wSLRe9ysirO3ENTZcfpwX2tJHEpBr34lRsj497TRL5SHlfuNf-Kkz2kx9JubS4Tdiyh-b8W0St9fE7z3hmCIYKs8Pb2WtV8qnHo5VwJaHvI6IFO3o0LrkAneY/s1600/IMG_2835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAAD9utV2l2wSLRe9ysirO3ENTZcfpwX2tJHEpBr34lRsj497TRL5SHlfuNf-Kkz2kx9JubS4Tdiyh-b8W0St9fE7z3hmCIYKs8Pb2WtV8qnHo5VwJaHvI6IFO3o0LrkAneY/s320/IMG_2835.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grounds were just as pretty as the building.</td></tr>
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Ubered back to hotel<br />
Sent the boys out for dinner crepes, and took ourselves to a yummy Italian place.<br />
(Spied on boys to make sure they made it to crepe stand safely.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bjjFNmSkhWK3yahZClXA7bEuwrxAe71ug5w3262VXXiwkZjJ8wdr1Ijfo6SRksVjtQezIQyIgbDMCmm9i_v2Bog5GBc0rsOnaLWnLcnxSMFynUcCDlHhyiKZH5OWTqDlSTI/s1600/IMG_2846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bjjFNmSkhWK3yahZClXA7bEuwrxAe71ug5w3262VXXiwkZjJ8wdr1Ijfo6SRksVjtQezIQyIgbDMCmm9i_v2Bog5GBc0rsOnaLWnLcnxSMFynUcCDlHhyiKZH5OWTqDlSTI/s320/IMG_2846.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzqyMroZyIN_liswE5V86CjFTHfyRDdOEE1N6HAZZL9MMQqHddOyfKHtnOK5647Umuvphvl5K_gm8mc_zUUHgR5yrs2JwX1xAaDNcY9FQXbExUU1W23pJGe0FtTiBzmWVarA/s1600/IMG_2864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzqyMroZyIN_liswE5V86CjFTHfyRDdOEE1N6HAZZL9MMQqHddOyfKHtnOK5647Umuvphvl5K_gm8mc_zUUHgR5yrs2JwX1xAaDNcY9FQXbExUU1W23pJGe0FtTiBzmWVarA/s320/IMG_2864.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Wednesday Schedule:<br />
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Woke up late and missed our train to London (via Chunnel) by about 10 minutes. (Didn't know you had to check in 30 mins early...)</div>
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Had a two hour delay, but made it just in time for...</div>
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High Tea at "The Orangery"</div>
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(The boys actually liked my Raspberry Tea...! and we all liked the dainty finger sandwiches.)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83o9Jz72U6kTQibNAHPecUmB7RnboFdhemrBwChwY62BvzVIHVDTwFqo3BecKNQfPqJpFP7BXz1gHxdbJU24Cp-mzgBLYXwUpRoLnomK4EvW8EGbP0VHcD8CTVyU88w8oAkw/s1600/IMG_2913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83o9Jz72U6kTQibNAHPecUmB7RnboFdhemrBwChwY62BvzVIHVDTwFqo3BecKNQfPqJpFP7BXz1gHxdbJU24Cp-mzgBLYXwUpRoLnomK4EvW8EGbP0VHcD8CTVyU88w8oAkw/s320/IMG_2913.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam was so excited to see a real British phone booth. And then a double-decker bus drove by.<br />
The gleeful exclamations were awesome.</td></tr>
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Relaxed and walked in Kensington Gardens after visiting Diana's Memorial garden<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPcK1eOJSHPtKf_NA9SqGIR0D5m60RGbzrgKJ7recOB3D9xZ4h7o3SzLm4ieL2bB17s420pF10UilWXPn2Z4FLMm_-yoV3wRWeYMv5CbaK-JsULyMUfr78RgCLAaaPBZXek8/s1600/IMG_2966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPcK1eOJSHPtKf_NA9SqGIR0D5m60RGbzrgKJ7recOB3D9xZ4h7o3SzLm4ieL2bB17s420pF10UilWXPn2Z4FLMm_-yoV3wRWeYMv5CbaK-JsULyMUfr78RgCLAaaPBZXek8/s320/IMG_2966.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaking in London</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxLTktZGDagQacQQ1hTOKsp_X2zIuhgQz4ubfWi7gYE-mee780XJpmAhCTvcs98W9t3nyEyYabUqPUtO-avAJdceuJHh1ODzjc9dM-tGK9NOWrSBT7XhpSWUtbTH21c97RHA/s1600/IMG_2973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxLTktZGDagQacQQ1hTOKsp_X2zIuhgQz4ubfWi7gYE-mee780XJpmAhCTvcs98W9t3nyEyYabUqPUtO-avAJdceuJHh1ODzjc9dM-tGK9NOWrSBT7XhpSWUtbTH21c97RHA/s320/IMG_2973.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'll use this for my cover shot."</td></tr>
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Made our way to the fun, bustling Covent Garden<br />
Watched Agatha Christie's "The Mouse Trap". The boys loved it and didn't guess who the murderer was! Win!!<br />
Ate dessert after the show at an Italian place I visited on my last trip.<br />
<br />
Thursday Schedule:<br />
Big Red Bus Tour<br />
Hopped off at The Tower of London<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWs7c1PTAPq-tTE1qx-d60ZJ3oOtipzFqzXHZNVe8rh7LA-xUasqRtT-7j4xeeq3w6JAnbyfRnWTyl-_V_RZp0B9hndmstHl3X1LWNOq95OK3AWF2J1jV0qybohfN3XUzZuq8/s1600/IMG_3004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWs7c1PTAPq-tTE1qx-d60ZJ3oOtipzFqzXHZNVe8rh7LA-xUasqRtT-7j4xeeq3w6JAnbyfRnWTyl-_V_RZp0B9hndmstHl3X1LWNOq95OK3AWF2J1jV0qybohfN3XUzZuq8/s320/IMG_3004.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy told a cool story about when he attempted to steal<br />the crown jewels and nearly got away with them...</td></tr>
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Took a Thames river boat tour.<br />
It dropped us off at Houses of Parliament and Big Ben<br />
Barely missed being able to go in Westminster Abbey<br />
Went to Buckingham Palace and saw ladies in hats going in for a garden party.<br />
Hopped on bus to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese where Samuel Johnson spent time writing the first dictionary. Ate yummy pub food there and finally discovered what Bubble and Squeak is.<br />
Saw Les Miserables. Kept us all on the edge of our seats. The boys LOVED it but Sam was a little shocked at how sad it is. He wasn't familiar with the story at all before hand, but loved the music.<br />
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We loved walking around lively Piccadilly Circus after the show.<br />
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Friday Schedule:<br />
Straight to Kings Cross Station where we grabbed some pastries from stalls outside before checking out Platform 9 3/4. Doug and the boys made it through, I did not.<br />
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Tube to Paddington then Train to Windsor to see the queens weekend residence.<br />
We met with our friends the Harrises who used to leave near us in Carlsbad. They drove about four hours to meet up with us--with 5 kids in the car! Now THAT is friendship.<br />
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Went on a beautiful river cruise.<br />
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Explored a used book store. (And came out weighing about 50 extra pounds.)<br />
Spent the afternoon taking in the charming town.<br />
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Had a picnic and spent the afternoon enjoying and relaxing Eton and had such a lovely day!<br />
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Made it back to London in time to grab a quick bite and buy last minute tickets to see...<br />
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Mamma Mia!!<br />
It was so so fun. The boys love ABBA and the movie Mamma Mia so they knew all the songs. They had to adjust to the crowd clapping along, but we all totally loved it.<br />
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Saturday Schedule:<br />
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Our last morning in London.</div>
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Woke up and found a fun little place for breakfast.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk2m3t0gh_wRJ9wc0w84f-wHaboFF6aeq2eGaKQ6yzQ_INFCHRa8QeKyjTIROiGyAKPOgz7qbJtqBgw0yqENPd3N6ZrQXieQeUnyzl0CoZjlHGVL6bdEnE5iHEu2ArN-4pvg/s1600/IMG_3302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk2m3t0gh_wRJ9wc0w84f-wHaboFF6aeq2eGaKQ6yzQ_INFCHRa8QeKyjTIROiGyAKPOgz7qbJtqBgw0yqENPd3N6ZrQXieQeUnyzl0CoZjlHGVL6bdEnE5iHEu2ArN-4pvg/s320/IMG_3302.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Headed to the Sherlock Holmes museum. (But only went to the gift shop 'cause that place is ex.pen.sive.)</div>
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Ubered to The London Eye and checked the last thing off of Max's London To Do List.(So very cool to see London from above.)</div>
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Train via Chunnel back to Paris. (Getting out of town a few hours before the London Bridge terrorist attack.)</div>
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Checked back into the same hotel. </div>
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Met up with our Monacan friend Ugo and his friend Juliette at an amazing restaurant. The best meal ever to end our awesome trip. The boys tried: Seared duck <b>foie gras</b>, AND Knife-cut Charolais <b>steak tartare</b>. What incredibly brave teens! I was so impressed with them!</div>
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And then we all had one more crepe...</div>
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Sunday Schedule:<br />
Ate one last buffet breakfast. Sadly, I could only manage hot chocolate and Mueslix. Too much gluttony early in the week.<br />
Made it to Charles De Gaulle in plenty of time. Only to have an unclaimed backpack clear our terminal and make us almost miss our flight.<br />
I mean, we were five minutes away from missing our flight people. SO GLAD WE DIDN'T MISS OUR FLIGHT. Or, ya know, get blown up. Also glad that didn't happen.<br />
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Finally made it home to our sweet baby boys Sunday night around 7p.m.<br />
And there was much rejoicing! Yaaaaaaay!<br />
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Special thanks to our amazing niece for taking such good care of my boys and being so darn fun and nice. I promise you'll like kids again one day. Give it a few months.<br />
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Many thanks to Business Credit Card points for completely covering our 4 round trip tickets.<br />
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And MAJOR thanks to our amazing friends The Harrises and Ugo and his friend Juliette for traveling hours to see us. You made our trip <b>so much better</b>!! We love you guys.<br />
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We had an amazing trip and are so grateful we had the opportunity to take our boys with us. I hope they'll remember it forever and forgive us for taking the games off their phones.<br />
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Cheers!!<br />
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<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-87774027366952486452017-06-19T01:06:00.002-07:002017-06-21T01:06:54.686-07:00Dub Travails. I mean Travels. Part 1<div style="font-family: '.sf ui text'; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Doug and I just got back from a pretty big, pretty epic trip to Europe. When we started out (and I immediately started overgramming) it became imperative to pick the perfect hashtag. Something to use on all our Instas so that post-trip ChatBooking would be a breeze. Doug came up with #DubTravels. But my mind kept switching it to #DubTravails. I could NOT quit reading it as #DubTravails. So I made him switch it to #DubAdventures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">You see, we took two teenagers with us. (Truth in blogging: One is 12 years 11 months. But close enough.) I wrote this post on two separate occasions while in Europe but thought I would percolate on it a bit before publishing. Doug says it's too negative and only talks about the bad stuff. He's right. The annoying stuff is way more fun to write about. We actually DID have an amazing trip and even these *ehem* <i>painful</i> memories are starting to fade leaving only the good stuff. All the more reason to record this. (Truth in Blogging again</span></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">tra.vail</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">noun</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">1. painful or laborious effort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">synonyms: ordeal, trial, tribulation, trouble, hardship, privation, stress</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGwpvygezN3FrQ6eQSQzFTQyx2PskwdJTZ4QWek3belLRIOSpVUMbpkA4UD1AcKQrcKyj6PUQ2YhkaGfTBQjHK_U7zdjDB2GJFPXYd1QBkDPuE3D4yolr1EV47BRTrzu3m2U/s1600/IMG_2454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGwpvygezN3FrQ6eQSQzFTQyx2PskwdJTZ4QWek3belLRIOSpVUMbpkA4UD1AcKQrcKyj6PUQ2YhkaGfTBQjHK_U7zdjDB2GJFPXYd1QBkDPuE3D4yolr1EV47BRTrzu3m2U/s320/IMG_2454.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<i>Three weeks ago</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">The thing about traveling with kids is, because you are going out of your way to entertain them in an extraordinary way--usually at great expense--you assume their fundamental personalities will fundamentally alter the minute you set foot outside your house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">But they don't. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">If your kids were a couple of turds before your trip to Disneyland, odds are, if there is any standing or waiting* involved (which there obviously will be because I said Disneyland) their innate turdiness will come out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">(*And by "standing and waiting" I mean </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext-bolditalic"; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">anything</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> that isn't riding a high speed roller coaster. Turns out, this is true even in Europe when roller coasters aren't even an option.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8qCLEV-lVWghSXgDV1SQPly7i4a0z8juGTS4SY426GExAhsSbkMeOYEDKzOWEX_Y-rQ867xxKdJ3LY7u1AONTzB2axAkCKL1TjlcYMU_N40VRxnYCG0xtTynlNDDHyqcMqA/s1600/IMG_2458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8qCLEV-lVWghSXgDV1SQPly7i4a0z8juGTS4SY426GExAhsSbkMeOYEDKzOWEX_Y-rQ867xxKdJ3LY7u1AONTzB2axAkCKL1TjlcYMU_N40VRxnYCG0xtTynlNDDHyqcMqA/s320/IMG_2458.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Such has been the case on what should be the most epic vacation of Max and Sam's relatively short lives. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Now, because we were in the Airforce stationed in Japan for three years, these kids have been on some cool vacations. But, due to their young ages when we lived over-seas, or possibly their obstreperous personalities, all the details of former trips are fuzzy or forgotten all together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqwZarNAUFra7VXlf_aLoS2wO440hpsk_qhMHA4slzn1tfhwE-XC_EUGV5xUn0mZuC1NrydFeCMSXbMJ7hEGlmmLxO0CrwQVan6LQlxJQW7ap31omcas4Lt4hyU7aMGjQ6jk/s1600/IMG_2624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqwZarNAUFra7VXlf_aLoS2wO440hpsk_qhMHA4slzn1tfhwE-XC_EUGV5xUn0mZuC1NrydFeCMSXbMJ7hEGlmmLxO0CrwQVan6LQlxJQW7ap31omcas4Lt4hyU7aMGjQ6jk/s320/IMG_2624.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">It might seem like I'm calling a lot of names here, but that's because I am on vacation <b><i>with my kids.</i></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Currently, we are in Paris, France. This is my third visit. Doug's second, and Maxwell and Samuel's <b>first visit</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">It was on my last trip (Doug's first) that Paris became one of my favorite cities in all the world. </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Sure, I </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">haven't <i>been</i> to <b>all</b> the cities in all the world, but I'm assuming most people agree with me on Paris superiority based on the lines we've encountered thus far. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23G1Y-DnJFPVXqJxO-kFyc0ZTzRKi3P2iJLvbI1SV847DORANGfWMJ3tHjLxZq1lDKvtZuoxUTLWxeAbbQJMb-vQXHFlIxR-qpIkkYyWLH80ba3TbJ7bQbQo7PNBfz62uc80/s1600/IMG_2645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23G1Y-DnJFPVXqJxO-kFyc0ZTzRKi3P2iJLvbI1SV847DORANGfWMJ3tHjLxZq1lDKvtZuoxUTLWxeAbbQJMb-vQXHFlIxR-qpIkkYyWLH80ba3TbJ7bQbQo7PNBfz62uc80/s320/IMG_2645.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="color: #454545;">We arrived yesterday and here are some of the things that have already dripped from my </span><span style="color: red;">ruby lips</span><span style="color: #454545;">:</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Stop shoving him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Stop touching him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Stop teasing him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Stop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Just stop!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">No.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">No, you need to wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">OBVIOUSLY NOT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Just wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Get off that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Dont open that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Stop that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Open that back up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Be careful!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Watch out!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">You're knocking people over with your backpack!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why would you do that?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Slow down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Come back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">SLOW DOWN!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Hurry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Hurry up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Catch up!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">HURRRRRRRYYYYY!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYvRmaljtECux2miPVE9TNrIuFnazCQJ1Jy_80rmfhmiJt78sXsY-NeG6QZQIdbntuxrNkyNlb5gHmAnzbN9ur6DRKaQioghe_ouYvZrgbTBy5T_EKQ4mr2mnlDRHKEUPBeE/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYvRmaljtECux2miPVE9TNrIuFnazCQJ1Jy_80rmfhmiJt78sXsY-NeG6QZQIdbntuxrNkyNlb5gHmAnzbN9ur6DRKaQioghe_ouYvZrgbTBy5T_EKQ4mr2mnlDRHKEUPBeE/s320/IMG_2659.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Those kids are such big turds."</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Here are some things I've heard from my little angels in response:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Ugh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Ughhhhaaaaaaaahhhh!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why can't I play a game?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">It's fine!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Can I have my phone back? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Just to take a picture, I'm <b><i>not</i></b> going to play a game. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why can't I play a game in this line?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Please? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">But this is so boring. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">That's so dumb! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">WHY?!?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlsLdPQjbf0Hp4p8UAhxpbZELfyPex7phOKpZ5BWKbR1WT38E1W0KeByWp1JvlzCjDPvwllhkm9SX6Uu8o2GaZLVXy9c7Lxm21z-Qz0kTyI3iw-zkOeCK1BkTuS3aQh0LLek/s1600/IMG_2799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlsLdPQjbf0Hp4p8UAhxpbZELfyPex7phOKpZ5BWKbR1WT38E1W0KeByWp1JvlzCjDPvwllhkm9SX6Uu8o2GaZLVXy9c7Lxm21z-Qz0kTyI3iw-zkOeCK1BkTuS3aQh0LLek/s320/IMG_2799.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> <span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Speaking of games, smart phones, as I think we all realize, are a huge blessing and an even huge-</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext-italic"; font-size: 17pt; font-style: italic;">er</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> curse. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Max just recently inherited my old iPhone six which means Sam inherited my even older (<i>first smart phone ever!</i>), iPhone 4. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">It has about a 24 minute battery life and can support 3 different games that are so out of date they still run. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Obviously, because we are us, these phones are heavily restricted and regulated. Max has limits on ages, ratings, and maturity levels. As well as no access to the internet nor the ability to install or even <i>un</i>install apps. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Sam's phone is just too old and slow to be fun so it self limits a lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">However, this doesn't stop these phones from being more addictive than {<i>insert a highly addictive drug of your choice</i>} to a {<i>insert susceptible consumer of your choice.</i>} </span></div>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">{Being a Mormon with no experience in these things, I would pick maybe <i>binky and baby</i> which lacks sufficient literary <b>umpfh</b>--which is why I leave it to you...}</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNeqPkspyOwW9Rnvnt816pYNlzmbEe2eqhOaBVpfbfixVKqSjUjTw4MKX0k1PIUsyHNMQYc3TSmoa-GgZhCMvcJmBupjX0LL673a1R9h3IZ3GQLai0fPifocpQnfqP0J9sHk/s1600/IMG_2840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNeqPkspyOwW9Rnvnt816pYNlzmbEe2eqhOaBVpfbfixVKqSjUjTw4MKX0k1PIUsyHNMQYc3TSmoa-GgZhCMvcJmBupjX0LL673a1R9h3IZ3GQLai0fPifocpQnfqP0J9sHk/s320/IMG_2840.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">For the first two days of our trip, they were pulling their phones out every spare second. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"<i>Oh, we're in a line?</i>" Phone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"<i>Dad stopped to look at a map?</i>" Phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"<i>I'm not on a high speed roller coaster--just at the top of the Eiffel tower? So lame!</i>" Phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Talks, turning to lectures, turning to threats, didn't work. Phones kept coming out for "pictures" and staying out for games. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just think maybe the games can wait and they should take in the scenery on their first (and last) trip to Europe!</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><i>To be continued..<a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2017/06/dub-travails-part-2.html">PART 2</a></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-20483751109874008022017-06-19T01:06:00.000-07:002017-06-21T01:10:05.970-07:00Dub Travails Part 2<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><span style="font-size: 23px;">#DubTravails Part II</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><span style="font-size: 23px;">Continued from <a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2017/06/dub-travails-i-mean-travels-part-1.html">HERE</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Which brings us to today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">(Two days later)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Today we took a train to London. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">At the train station, with a 90 minute wait ahead of us, I made them put away their phones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"Let's talk! Or play Uno! Or you can read your books...!"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;">---------</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">At this point, if you are an <b>anti</b>-smart phone parent, you are thinking what bad parents we are for letting our kids have a phone at all. You're thinking, "<i>It's their own fault the kids are brats! They shouldn't have given them phones in the first place! My little Johnny read War and Peace on our trip to Russia and didn't utter a peep</i>!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">If you are a <b>pro</b>-smart-phones-for-kids parent, you are thinking what bad parents we are for being control freaks and limiting our kids free-will and hampering their ability to make their own choices. You're probably thinking we could make things a lot more pleasant for everyone, including <b>all</b> of the residents of Europe, if we just give the teenagers their stinkin' phones back. You're thinking "<i>When our son (also coincidentally called little Johnny) went to Six Flags, he was Snap-Chatting the whole time and didn't make a peep! So what if he left with a date he found on Tinder!? He was QUIET!!</i>"</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span>----------<br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">You'll be pleased to know, you're both right. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-size: 17pt;">We are </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">literally</span></b><span style="font-size: 17pt;"> the worst fence-sitters, </span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">and parents, </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">ever.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">In the history of the world. </span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">We know it, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> our kids definitely know it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Just ask 'em.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">---------------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">So at long last, we board the train (did I mention we missed our train cause we all slept in and this is the two-hours-later train? Yes. That happened.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">At this point, I've already taken away Sam's phone. He got bored and started playing a game during no game time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Now, I confiscate Max's phone. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"Mom, no! </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Mom, why?! </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Mom, please!!!!</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Mom, PLEASE! </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">MOM, PLEASE!!!!!!!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">I was an impenetrable beacon of strength and resolve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">"NO! You WILL look around and notice something on this trip! Even if it kills you!!!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">So they tried to break Doug. He was noticeably weakening and therefore had to abdicate all parenting decisions to me. </span></div>
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">(Insert visual of a tired old Antelope being singled out of the herd by a pair of adolescent lions uncharacteristically cooperating and hunting together with a single Eat-the-Antelope goal...<i>the antelope was so tired from migrating with his kids he probably welcomed the lions</i>...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">The phones were confiscated and the boys given two card games, and their books, and sent to sit down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">They refused to actually play the games as a form of passive resistance and were forced to read and look out the windows and explore the train. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">I took plenty of pictures of them on </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext-bold"; font-size: 17pt; font-weight: bold;"><i>my</i></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> phone so they can later have a record that this painful chapter in their lives was a reality and not some hellish nightmare. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0APPzgzeW18xcuawvATmUM9fDW5wADsdz6LZhDseSLTU62vNOkQD8GOI5DCGg7grrL4GNmvfj3w5edmXgLb4XIAvqUp-hk0Pa9KaB1_tRIT33lNr6hme1SjfQFf4HuN2k7Ns/s1600/IMG_2883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0APPzgzeW18xcuawvATmUM9fDW5wADsdz6LZhDseSLTU62vNOkQD8GOI5DCGg7grrL4GNmvfj3w5edmXgLb4XIAvqUp-hk0Pa9KaB1_tRIT33lNr6hme1SjfQFf4HuN2k7Ns/s320/IMG_2883.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">"This is a hellish nightmare!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Amazingly, somehow, they managed to survive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">And they may have seen a few glimpses of the Paris countryside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">I say they'll thank me later. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Doug says they never will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Either way, I'm calling it a win. </span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQveZjAlZqIN2MsyYXDULlO8TxgZNlYQ08IJ_CvT3ITEXXxUkF8L7lwuhM42_KbGUY7Duf7RCsAUQRapOP5jooW_LQVDTuO-tZpKiX8ewCYg6MxiYObhqEMxzh6draVpAnjM/s1600/IMG_2985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQveZjAlZqIN2MsyYXDULlO8TxgZNlYQ08IJ_CvT3ITEXXxUkF8L7lwuhM42_KbGUY7Duf7RCsAUQRapOP5jooW_LQVDTuO-tZpKiX8ewCYg6MxiYObhqEMxzh6draVpAnjM/s320/IMG_2985.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The "Compass/Level" App can be used in place of a game when in a pinch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKuKrlAGKdPc0xh8g_qxRZI23bPv8FknC2Y5HCBDfjfL1P9kEdNsy-8HtoNICua3DN2nGMQBfxMP0DrtM7tyy8q5wGFKHfMhgQw8ymf2H398JQd3rh8z-N7ZMoPmympj8OpA/s1600/IMG_3071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKuKrlAGKdPc0xh8g_qxRZI23bPv8FknC2Y5HCBDfjfL1P9kEdNsy-8HtoNICua3DN2nGMQBfxMP0DrtM7tyy8q5wGFKHfMhgQw8ymf2H398JQd3rh8z-N7ZMoPmympj8OpA/s320/IMG_3071.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">I guess everything in the world doesn't suck.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcIKBK4xHWIs2Pe42QF-WgDVZIdwtsTZO_V5i4TydL0CtNcecsDAoy1E8Dfz8a30OYOP47LFC6_awVgpsvmHeI5oRUpeAbnFeyw7BujnVO5zzGneyZvkrW7U6ZmZfcPFtNlA/s1600/IMG_3170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcIKBK4xHWIs2Pe42QF-WgDVZIdwtsTZO_V5i4TydL0CtNcecsDAoy1E8Dfz8a30OYOP47LFC6_awVgpsvmHeI5oRUpeAbnFeyw7BujnVO5zzGneyZvkrW7U6ZmZfcPFtNlA/s320/IMG_3170.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">What do they expect from me? Mr. Bean is my real father.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">So the question is: was this entire trip a terrible mistake? Should we have left the little boogers home and brought friends instead?!?! </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKetSvw9cRGmhRUdCRuiTvlwA9w0XaVs9jQ0GISZh0vNocPCC14fw8ftDaT3qu9uFOoe38Zo2caoegfYm5SMSqJwnLEXrN363o3eBGI7qLzbCoirIO5weWdpSpQ1dXYuCRwpc/s1600/IMG_3325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKetSvw9cRGmhRUdCRuiTvlwA9w0XaVs9jQ0GISZh0vNocPCC14fw8ftDaT3qu9uFOoe38Zo2caoegfYm5SMSqJwnLEXrN363o3eBGI7qLzbCoirIO5weWdpSpQ1dXYuCRwpc/s320/IMG_3325.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Another train ride without cell phone games. They seem to have weathered the storm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><i>Yes, absolutely. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Wait, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> I mean <b>no</b>! A resounding <b>NO</b>!</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 20.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">These kids may not have transformed into perfect angels. And Doug and I haven't (yet) turned into paragons of perfectly patient parents. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">But we are <b>still</b> having fun, and making memories. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 20.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.sf ui text'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">And hopefully, one day, the painful parts will fade, and only the fun stuff will remain...for Doug and I. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">And, ya know...for the kids too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">That's all for now. Cheers and Bonjour!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwX3REEXACM1Fl1c-7JwKRTRlN2f1ELV2tFpn3ZBtjYkr-5IiXd_SMWDUqcyOvz2l7hyphenhyphenlgpEBvrce75Rtj5ONgEv13okEUQu167SKQhah5N3JB2CZSXibiw9WJaElaPqNfqg/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwX3REEXACM1Fl1c-7JwKRTRlN2f1ELV2tFpn3ZBtjYkr-5IiXd_SMWDUqcyOvz2l7hyphenhyphenlgpEBvrce75Rtj5ONgEv13okEUQu167SKQhah5N3JB2CZSXibiw9WJaElaPqNfqg/s320/IMG_3346.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Farewell dinner with our friend Ugo.</td></tr>
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<br />
Two weeks later:<br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"></span>P.S. We really did have a great trip...and I'm pretty sure Max lets me hug him for 3 seconds now as opposed to the former 1.5 seconds, soooooooo...worth it!!<br />
<br />
P.P.S. My mom HATED the word "turd". It was as bad as any swear word--possible worse--in our house growing up. But to me it's the little poop emoji with the smiley face. Totally innocuous and endearing. Who doesn't love the smiley poop emoji??<br />
<br />
P.P.P.S. <i>Sorry Mom. Yes, I AM ashamed of myself. Yes, I know I should be more lady-like. Uggghhhhhhaaahhhh!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>P.P.P.P.S Would you like the positive version of the trip? <a href="http://actegratuit.blogspot.com/2017/06/a-tale-of-two-cities-highlights.html">Here ya go!!</a></i></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-73521188325647847122017-03-10T11:52:00.001-08:002017-03-12T21:07:38.199-07:00When Someone You Love Gets a Terminal Illness<br />
This is the comment my cousin left (on Facebook) on my last blog post re: teenagers.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a aria-controls="js_3we" aria-describedby="js_3wf" aria-haspopup="true" class=" UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=1311140016&extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Afalse%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/marie.ashbrook?fref=ufi" id="js_3wg" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Marie G. A</a>.</span></i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><i> </i><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><i>You are one of the best, most human and funniest writers I have read, and I have read a lot - no answers for you - just not to give up, while they're yelling at you, inside they know you are right and you love them, but they're a mess. Teenagers' brains don't function real well in some lobes which I forget, gets better by 20's. Your mom is sympathizing every minute, and staying close</i>."</span></span></span><br />
<br />
First of all, that was a really nice compliment. Secondly, Marie is super funny. Thirdly, reminding me that my mom is on the other side helping me, made me a little teary.<br />
<br />
A very short time later, on Monday, February 27th, Marie died of complications from breast cancer.<br />
<br />
Which was pretty heartbreaking.<br />
<br />
And, of course, got me thinking of my Mom dying.<br />
Which sucked and still sucks.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">#CancerSucks</span></b><br />
<br />
{Or as her daughter aptly put it at Marie's funeral: "Cancer sucks balls!!!" Which made me chuckle inwardly. (Bouncy balls, obviously.)}<br />
<br />
Quite frankly, my mom dying is something I never stop thinking about.<br />
<br />
See, I have all these mild to moderate regrets. Most of all, I just regret that I didn't bleed her for information every minute of every day.<br />
<br />
Here are some questions I would ask her if I could talk to her right now. (There are about a billion more where these came from.)<br />
<br />
What was it like when Karie turned 13 and you had your first teenager? What did you worry about? What was unexpected? Did you feel like you had any leverage or control of the situation at all, or did you feel completely crazy-train and powerless like me?<br />
<br />
How do you get the meringue not to bleed on the <a href="http://gratuitousrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/11/faezers-peanut-butter-pie.html">Peanut Butter Pie</a>?<br />
<br />
What was the first book you remember reading as a kid and what did you like to read growing up? And as an adult?<br />
<br />
What was your favorite type of ethnic food? (I already know it's Mexican, just want to hear you say it.) Second favorite?<br />
<br />
Tell me about all of your very best friends.<br />
<br />
What age did you get breast cancer the first time? My OB really wants to know.<br />
<br />
How did you find the lump again...? I can't remember the story. I know it has to do with your best friend Maureen getting breast cancer at the same time. Can you tell me the story again?<br />
<br />
How did you keep the house clean when we were little?<br />
<br />
How did you fill your time when I went to school?<br />
<br />
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Do you regret not working in illustration longer?<br />
<br />
How did you stay motivated to cook those big dinners for us every night?<br />
(Alternately, did you know when it was just the two of us and we had "cereal night" or those tiny thin-cut fried pork chops that those are really happy memories for me?)<br />
<br />
And how did you get yourself up to make us breakfast every morning when you had six young kids?<br />
<br />
What was the best trip you ever took and what was your favorite country?<br />
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---<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">I also regret not asking hard questions.</span><br />
<br />
If the situation were to repeat itself, I would be more prepared.<br />
<br />
I would have gotten her to plan her funeral.<br />
Who she wanted to speak-- and sing-- and which hymns were her favorites?<br />
<br />
{<i>Did you know my siblings fought while planning her funeral? </i><br />
Well, now everyone knows.<br />
<i>Yep, we fought. </i><br />
<i>It wasn't pretty.</i><br />
<i>It was pretty ugly.</i><br />
<i>We're all strong-willed and opinionated and we were stressed and shattered.</i><br />
<i>No one should have to fight over the hymn you sing at your mothers funeral. Your mother should have that written down</i>.}<br />
<br />
What about legal and financial records? Where are they? What do I need to know?<br />
---<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #741b47;">I regret not recording her more.</span><br />
<br />
Sure, maybe it's technically illegal and very NSA-esque, but <b>why</b> didn't I record <b>every</b> phone call I ever made to her? Why didn't I sit down and press record every single time we saw each other in person. I recorded her singing a few songs, but why didn't I record her SINGING EVERY SINGLE SONG EVER WRITTEN?!?! Or at least every song ever written or sung by Anne Murray. That probably would have sufficed. She loved Anne Murray and they have the same vocal range.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hXcmVpkV3sXFgj3Bjvv-7So70dhqNinuwvw4y5VXRJWmtpPnkpuovBXUQjqr2H3Wjr5lLBX6Tfv3_LdDT6zen62oCfpT-YCpMb38kyC4uopaqgPW9WLcTzYvUfIO6IT6A7k/s1600/Mom+and+Emily+at+Hospital+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hXcmVpkV3sXFgj3Bjvv-7So70dhqNinuwvw4y5VXRJWmtpPnkpuovBXUQjqr2H3Wjr5lLBX6Tfv3_LdDT6zen62oCfpT-YCpMb38kyC4uopaqgPW9WLcTzYvUfIO6IT6A7k/s1600/Mom+and+Emily+at+Hospital+.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I regret that I didn't find ways for her to put her handprint on more tangible items. I <i>did</i> try to get her to make my unborn baby a quilt, but by that time, it was too late. Turns out when you're dying you don't necessarily feel up to quilting. But now every scrap of paper with her handwriting, every note, every recipe card, every photograph is a treasure.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZLZiLpCGiKDW48a3uyzqxeUorgRQpCRHOSaaYzyoDD_faMAFW58n6p1aXGaSJ2NHg-ZhJKLKa0VZWr4lVpQ8Mrd4O_MLQw9Ibp-d4N4ET3rFKTMrP_-Atjc4Ej1_4xdl3Vo/s1600/IMG_5524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZLZiLpCGiKDW48a3uyzqxeUorgRQpCRHOSaaYzyoDD_faMAFW58n6p1aXGaSJ2NHg-ZhJKLKa0VZWr4lVpQ8Mrd4O_MLQw9Ibp-d4N4ET3rFKTMrP_-Atjc4Ej1_4xdl3Vo/s1600/IMG_5524.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting mom's nails before she died</td></tr>
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<br />
{Sidenote: A few weeks ago I was cleaning out Max's room. I found Grandpa Warners old non-functioning "Nook" electronic reader. (the Barnes and Noble version of a Kindle.) I asked Max if we could recycle it. He said no. All of the sudden I had a flash of understanding. He wasn't keeping it hoping to get it fixed and use it. He was keeping it because it belonged to his Grandpa. A useless electronic brick and he didn't want to give it up. I told him, "This isn't how you remember Grandpa. You have his (neck) ties for that. You can let this go." And he did.}<br />
<br />
Now when I hear that someone has terminal cancer, first, I feel horribly sad for what they are all about to go through. Next, I send some prayers their way. And finally, I want to go to their children and yell in their faces: "RECORD EVERYTHING! PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING! TAKE A MILLION PICTURES! ASK A MILLION QUESTIONS! HAVE THEM PLAN THE FUNERAL!!!!!!!"<br />
<br />
But I don't.<br />
And if I did, the person being yelled at probably wouldn't listen.<br />
(Aside from being annoyed at the yelling.)<br />
Because maybe they will get better!<br />
And because it's awkward.<br />
And uncomfortable.<br />
And sometimes even if you do bring up funeral arrangements, maybe the person doesn't want to talk about it or think about it or deal with it.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">I don't blame them.</span></b><br />
<br />
But maybe you can show them this post written by a woman whose heart broke into a million pieces when her mom died and now treasures a note written in the front of a cookbook: "Emily, you'll do just great! Love, Mom"<br />
<br />
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And <b>maybe</b> they'll be motivated to fill out one of those cheesy <b>"</b><i>Tell Me Your Story</i><b>"</b> books you can find on Amazon.<br />
Or make a recording reading a favorite book or singing a favorite song or lullaby.<br />
Or pass on some hand-written recipes cards.<br />
Or even just write a quick, handwritten note.<br />
<br />
Maybe they wont. That's okay too.<br />
But if they do, you'll be so glad they did!<br />
<br />
Either way--you have my love and sympathy and all the universal good vibes I can muster and send your way!<br />
<br />
Good luck,<br />
<br />
Emily<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-72414563081421953672017-02-11T15:47:00.000-08:002017-02-11T23:58:21.140-08:00Teenage WeirdnessThere is this weird thing happening around here and it's really making me stop and take stock every few days...<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I have a teenager.</b></span><br />
<br />
A teenager who has just, in the last six months or so, turned surly. There is no other word for it. He is super,<br />
<b>duper</b>,<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SURLY!</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>And</i></b> I have a 12-year-old who is entering the "question-everything-and-argue-for-the-sake-of-arguing" phase.<br />
<br />
TWO!<br />
Two boys who are in the throws of hormonal calamity.<br />
Constant mood upheaval and fluctuation. Doug says he doesn't think he can handle it.<br />
He's only here half the time.<br />
<br />
It's just really weird watching all of these super cliche stereotypes happen before my eyes!<br />
Let's take the eldest. He doesn't want me to touch him any more. No more hugs.<br />
Unless he's in a *rare* good mood while also needing some attention. Then he'll come curl up with me on the couch or start trying to bait me into wrestling him. He's discovered that for the first time in his life, he's stronger than an adult and he loves getting a chance to stretch those muscles. (Me. I'm the adult. So that's not saying much because I'm super wimpy.)<br />
<br />
Also, both boys are officially calling me on my hypocrisy. I mean, I always <i>knew</i> it would happen one day. You can only get away with constantly contradicting yourself as a parent for just so long before someone notices.<br />
<br />
{Here's a good example: Me: "STOP YELLING AND TALK TO YOUR BROTHER NICELY!!!" with rage in my eyes and spit flying from my lips...<br />
Or, another common theme: "Quit being so obsessed with devices! Go do something productive!!! *Glances down at phone and clicks on IG for 18th time...*}<br />
<br />
And then there's #2.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Why do I have to go to bed early?"</span><br />
"It's not early. It's 9:30."<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"That's super early! I'M NOT EVEN TIRED!!!"</span><br />
"Listen mister, I know you're just being argumentative because..."<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"JUST BECAUSE YOU READ SOME STUPID ARTICLE ON PARENTING YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING AND YOU DON'T! I'M *NOT* TIRED AND I DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO BED!!!"</span><br />
"Hey, I'm not saying this because of an article..."<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"YES YOU ARE! EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS FROM A STUPID ARTICLE!"</span><br />
"Listen, you're body needs rest..."<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT AND IT'S *NOT* TRUE!!!</span><br />
<br />
I feel like most of the time I can handle these interactions okay.<br />
Right up until I can't. <i>(Uh, let's just say 4-6pm before eating isn't my best time.)</i><br />
And then I "Hulk Out" and go full-on ballistic.<br />
<br />
I've tried to analyze my melt-downs after-the-fact so that I can avoid them in the future. A few common triggers I've notice for above average personal melt-downs are these:<br />
<br />
*Senseless acts of violence perpatrated by a bored brother onto a super whiny brother. *Screaming ensues*<br />
*Asking "Why" for the 18th time after I've already told him why. (Always followed by "But that doesn't make any sense." Even when it makes perfect sense.)<br />
*Being disrespectful to Dad. (Alternately, Doug is not super happy with them being disrespectful to me.)<br />
*Child yelling, in my face, for the 87th time, "THAT'S NOT FAIR". (I never <i><b>said</b></i> it was fair. It might not <i><b>be</b></i> fair. BUT FAIR IS NOT THE POINT! <span style="font-size: large;">NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE BLEEPING FAIR!!!</span>)<br />
*And did I already say "Repeating myself for the 94th time."?? I don't like repeating myself. I repeat, I DO NOT LIKE REPEATING MYSELF! <span style="font-size: large;">ESPECIALLY WHEN I WAS PERFECTLY CLEAR THE FIRST TIME! ARE WE CLEAR?!? I THOUGHT I WAS CLEAR!</span><br />
Or do you need to hear it one more time...??<br />
<br />
But that's just life with kids, right? They're never perfectly well-behaved and then they become teens and things get kicked up into a new realm of hormones, angst, and baffling insecurities swirled with feelings of super-human superiority.<br />
So I try to remember that I was a teen once. I did stupid and reckless things. I fought and yelled and honest-to-goodness absolutely believed I knew more than every adult in my life, and I still somehow managed to grow into a relatively productive member of society. (I said productive. I won't throw around terms like "well-adjusted" or "normal", but I have produced five humans and that's not nothin'.)<br />
<br />
So after the disagreements. And fights. And complete nuclear meltdowns,<br />
I walk away,<br />
and regroup,<br />
maybe eat my feelings a little bit,<br />
pray for strength and patience and help for the billionth time,<br />
apologize if needed,<br />
--even when it's not wanted--<br />
and wake up ready to do it all again.<br />
<br />
Heaven help me. Heaven help all humans living in the same house as a teenager.<br />
<br />
Amen.<br />
<br />
P.S. I wrote this a few weeks ago and never pushed "publish" because it doesn't feel finished. I don't have a strong conclusion because, well, I don't have a strong conclusion. I don't actually have a real life answer on how to fix this, or make it better, or any profound insights or conclusions or anything. Can bloggers even write posts that don't offer super definite answers and/or polarizing advice any more? Is it even legal? Regardless, I'll leave it up to those of you with more wisdom and older children. Help me out. How does this story end?<br />
<br />
P.P.S. If you know my eldest in real life, how 'bout we don't mention this post to him and just keep it between us. He's still mad at me for trying to hug him earlier.<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-16259977478895182962016-07-20T16:42:00.000-07:002017-02-11T16:42:25.485-08:00Surviving the SummerHow do you get through the summer with five boys at home. Well, you try hard to entertain and motivate them, and when that doesn't work, you try to bribe and bully them. When THAT doesn't work, you throw a huge fit, yell at everyone, stomp around, and knock over a cup.<br />
<br />
And then the next day you start all over again.<br />
<br />
Lately, I've been adding "List Making" to my coping strategies. I sit down and type up a little bit of brilliance using aesthetically pleasing fonts, and bright colors. Then I print it out and put it in a sheet protector. Then I hang it on the wall with some colorful washi tape.<br />
<br />
I've made a list of things to do when you're bored called the "I'm Bored" list.<br />
A customized list of "Things to Accomplish" for each child every day.<br />
A list of "Family Technology Rules".<br />
A chore chart.<br />
A family mission statement.<br />
A detailed description of exactly HOW to take care of all the chickens.<br />
<br />
For your information...<br />
Nothing works.<br />
They are still driving me crazy.<br />
Back to square one.<br />
See you tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-19658849750215207482016-02-29T12:15:00.003-08:002016-02-29T12:15:48.109-08:00Book Review: "Why Gender Matters" by Dr. Leonard SaxA few weeks ago I listened to <a href="http://www.kera.org/2016/01/25/problems-for-parents/">"Your Friend, Your Kid"</a> on the "Think with Krys Boyd" podcast. It was an interview with the family physician and Phd, Dr. Leonard Sax. I enjoyed it so much I asked Doug to get me the book they were discussing: "The Collapse of Parenting". Unfortunately, the library doesn't have it yet, so he brought home "Why Gender Matters".<br />
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<br />
As the mother of five boys, I found this book incredibly fascinating and have been discussing it with every person I've talked to all week.<br />
<br />
Now, I already KNEW, that boys and girls were different. Here's how I knew: I <i>have</i> a bunch of boys, whereas <b><i>I</i></b> <i><b>am</b></i> a girl. Not only am I a girl, but I have sisters, a mother, lots of female friends, and lots of female friends with female daughters. And we hang out. A lot. So I'm not clueless about girls.<br />
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Watching boys and girls interact makes it obvious incredibly quickly that they are DIFFERENT and they do things DIFFERENTLY. The question, for many years has been, are they different by nature or through nurture?<br />
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When Max (my oldest) was a baby, I read a book making the case that boys were aggressive and violent because their parents and society make them that way. If we want sensitive, empathetic boys, it said, and courageous assertive girls, we must raise our kids in an androgynous environment. I decided to follow the advice in the book. I determined that in MY home, we would NOT give our son weapons of any kind EVER! (You are laughing really hard right now if you've been in my house and have tripped over our arsenal of lightsabers, swords, nun-chucks, and Nerf guns.) I also followed the instructions in the book to be sure to give my son sympathy when he got hurt (instead of expecting him to "buck up")<br />
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In other words, I followed the directions and waited for Maxwell to manifest himself as a gentleman and a scholar, strong and courageous, but also empathetic and sweet and nurturing. Imagine my surprise when my toddler son started sword fighting with the vacuum wand and making toy guns with Duplos. Imagine my dismay when the baby doll I gave him (in preparation for his baby brother to be born) was held around the ankles and smacked in to any hard noisy surface Max could find. (Did I mention we didn't let him watch tv in our home until he was over 2.5 years? Did I mention the friends he played with were almost all girls?)<br />
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Eventually, I realized that it was not my fault he had no patience for art projects or crafts. Eventually I figured out that he was not going to act/play/or fight like his female friends. That he wanted to play with cars and trucks and swords and save the day and not color pretty pictures.<br />
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Luckily, I finally figured out that nature, and gender, matter.<br />
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In his book, Dr. Sax dispels myths about gender differences by citing study after study (after study) that confirm differences in female and male brains. He strongly emphasizes that--for example--while you can teach both genders complex math equations, a boy and a girl will learn better if taught using different approaches. Because they are different. And their brains are different.<br />
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Conclusion: I thought it was a great read, with some great food for thought and definitely recommend it. One caveat though; The chapter about sex has a very graphic example of teens engaging in o*** sex. I think he includes that particular story to shock parents into realizing teen sex habits are different than they be<span style="text-align: center;">lieve. But if I had it to do over again, I would have skimmed that part. ;)</span><br />
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P.S. I have since read<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #e69138;">"The Collapse of Parenting"</span></b> and give it two thumbs up, five stars, and an unequivocal recommendation!!! No caveat necessary!! READ IT!!!acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-7041503371754884012016-02-28T22:54:00.000-08:002017-10-11T15:05:02.328-07:00Dub Family Tech RulesDoug gets e-mails from a website called "<a href="http://protectyoungminds.org/">ProtectYoungMinds.org</a>" and recently came home with a fill-in-the-blank Tech Etiquette worksheet. It's something we've talked a lot about and something I've been thinking a lot about and the worksheet proved to be a perfect spring board for a "Family Night" lesson on our family tech rules. After filling in the worksheet as a family, I sat down and typed this up. I posted the rough draft on Instagram and after some feed-back, added a few things.<br />
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A few people thought it was a little too strict, but a few days after writing it, I read the book "The Collapse of Parenting" and knew I was on the right track.<br />
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The next step will be reviewing this frequently with the boys so these switch from being "restrictions" to just being the normal way the W's do things.<br />
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Tell me what you think!<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "satisfy"; font-size: 32px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dub Family Technology Guide</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "satisfy"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "satisfy"; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 Ne. 27:27</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Squad goals: To show </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">love</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">respect</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for ourselves, and those around us. To spend the precious days, hours and minutes of our lives on things of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #e69138; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">worth</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. To use technology to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">enhance</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our family life, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #134f5c; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> detract from it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*People are more important than i-Phones. And i-Pads, video games, TV, and computers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Stay off your device during </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #85200c; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dinner</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, when </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #85200c; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">friends are over</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, during </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">homework</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">restaurants</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, during </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FHE</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">church activities</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">school activities</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and during </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">family time</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In other words, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BE PRESENT IN YOUR LIFE!!!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{Practice your conversation skills, eye contact, and active listening!} {Leave phone home on Sundays and during church activities.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*No devices in children's bedrooms or bathrooms. Period. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Applies to visiting friends and cousins too</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.}</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Devices are docked on charger every night.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Dubs don’t do selfies! Focus your </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: orange; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">camera</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and your</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: orange; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> thoughts</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, outward.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> {</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See Greek myth of Narcissus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">} </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See “The Collapse of Parenting” for danger of selfies}</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Keep your device put away when you are watching TV or a movie. Turn off your music while doing school work (unless it’s Classical or the James Taylor Pandora Station.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{Techno-multi-tasking is bad for your brain!}</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Make eye-contact with the person talking to you. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never interrupt the person in front of you to answer the person texting you. Never look at a device when you should be looking at a person.}</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*We don’t mock, tease, prank, embarrass or bully people digitally. We also remember that everything we do on-line leaves a footprint that lasts FOREVER!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">{Remember who you are and what you stand for!}</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*You know not to look at porn, but if you see ANYTHING inappropriate by accident, turn off device and/or walk away. Tell mom </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">immediately.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Includes inappropriate words/texts/instant messages.)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*No TV or video games Mon-Thurs. Two hours per day on Friday and Saturday. Go outside and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PLAY</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> if you have free time on a school day!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Parents have all passwords and will check history, contacts, photos, texts, emails and whereabouts. DO NOT delete text messages/conversations. (You can thank Aunt Laura for this one.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Date night etiquette for Mom and Dad: We will only look at our phones when we are looking at something together. We will keep our phones put away as much as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Mom etiquette: I want my kids to remember my face and not the back of my phone. I will keep my phone put away when my kids are around when it is reasonable. Facebook and Instagram can wait. I will not post photos of Max or Sam without permission. The rest of you are fair game.</span></div>
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To help me out, my sister sent me the tech contract she uses for her family. Her kids are older so she has some guidelines I hadn't thought of. I'm sure I'll be adding more of her guidelines as the boys grow up...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">E. FAMILY
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
will always answer texts and calls from my parents. If I miss a call, I will
call them back right away and will always have my phone turned on when I’m not
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
will be honest and open with my parents about my cell phone usage. They will always
know my password and are allowed to check my history, contacts, photos, texts,
emails and whereabouts. I will not delete text messages/conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
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family time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
will remember that everything I do on my phone leaves a digital
footprint…FOREVER. *Remember who you are and what you stand for.*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">When
someone is talking to me, I will look at and listen to them. I know that
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
won’t use my cell phone while doing homework or while at church or church
activities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
won’t take or send inappropriate pictures, texts or emails.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">If
I receive something inappropriate on my phone, I will tell Mom and Dad
immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">I
will not say or text anything on my phone that I wouldn’t say in person with my
parents listening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">Devices
are only to be used in family areas and are not allowed in bedrooms/bathrooms.
No exceptions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">Devices
are checked into kitchen charger during homework time. No texting during
homework time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">Devices
are checked into Mom and Dad’s room charger at 9:00 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">Devices
are put away during dinner, FHE, movies and family time. Family first!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">Signatures:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">________________________________<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "american typewriter";">________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-63086842334341741472016-02-07T17:09:00.000-08:002016-02-07T17:09:28.243-08:00Adorable Baby Number Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Just found this blank post full of pictures in my drafts file. I'm assuming I had planned to write something to mark Linky Pie's first birthday. Since he is now 2 years and 4 months old, I guess I should hit "Publish".</div>
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We sure love our little Linky Pie!!!acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-10910085902706909592015-09-01T20:47:00.000-07:002015-09-01T20:47:48.104-07:00Back to School BluesSchool has started once again and I've found myself looking up down left and right trying to find someone to dump my frustrations on.<br />
My kids' teachers? No, I don't want to be branded a whiner this early in the school year. That will come soon enough.<br />
My kids' aids? Same answer as above.<br />
My friends? They're already overloaded with their own back to school angst.<br />
My husband? He wants to solve my problems. And who wants to have solved problems? NOT ME! I just want to wallow in them!! (It's not about the nail Doug.)<br />
Therefore, to whom can I bare my tortured soul?<br />
Only you are left, dear blog!<br />
--Brace yourself--<br />
<br />
We have been in school for two weeks and two days now. Twelve school days total.<br />
Already I'm feeling like I'm falling way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind.<br />
<br />
I get this panicky feeling like I can't do it all and decide the obvious choice is to pull them all out, and start homeschooling them. The first few months we'll focus mainly on sleeping in, but after I let them get dumber for a bit, I'll hook them up with an on-line math teacher, crank some classical music, and call it good. (You might think I'm disparaging home-schoolers right now. I'm not. I'm disparaging <b>me</b> as a home-schooler.)<br />
<br />
Last night Gabe brought me a packet of <b>stuff</b> from his teacher. Lots to read and do and sign as well as some completed assignments being returned for my acknowledgment. The assignments came with notes from the teacher.<br />
Gabe is behind in reading.<br />
Behind in writing.<br />
And way, <b>way</b> behind in math facts.<br />
<br />
<i>[When Max was in first grade, we drilled him on his math facts every night until he was at the top of his class. For some reason, Gabe is not receiving the same amount of attention! Shocker, eh?]</i><br />
<br />
I was given some forms to fill out too. (This is in addition to the large packet already filled out last week.) The form-to-drive-on-fieldtrips-form requires a copy of my license, a copy of my insurance, a copy of something certifying that I'm a safe driver, and a copy of my most recent full body scan to make sure I don't have a disease that will make me keel over at the wheel. If I don't have time to gather, scan and copy all of those items, what are the odds I'll have time to drive for a field trip?<br />
<br />
Next in line were some pink pages from the math teacher. FOUR pink pages. (Plus a signature page) Covered on front and back for a grand total of EIGHT pages of information on what I can expect, what I can donate, what I need to know, how I need to help him, what programs he'll use, and what goes into the bleeping treasure chest.<br />
<i>(Listen, I'm not one to give lectures about the importance of succinctness and brevity in writing--obviously--but reading this blog is OPTIONAL for you. The packet?Not so much for me!)</i><br />
<br />
In addition to the math packet light reading, I had to set up two different log-ins for two different programs. One program will send math progress updates right to my phone!!! (Bleep!)<br />
I was also told they will be using four--FOUR--different math computer programs for homework--in addition to worksheets. (You know what that means, right? FOUR different log-ins, four different passwords, and four different programs to potentially (almost assuredly) malfunction on his school issued i-Pad. (Nothing ever works the way it should on the school issued i-Pad.)<br />
<br />
All that for one subject. I couldn't even read the whole dang packet in one night. When I got to yet another page instructing me how to register for yet another program, I ripped the packet into shreds and lit the strips on fire, spitting in the smoldering pile of ashes. (At least in my mind. In reality, I set the dumb thing on my night stand and stared disdainfully at it.)<br />
<br />
Today I got it back out again.<br />
I registered on the sights that needed me to register.<br />
Read what needed to be read, and silently swore a few times to make myself feel better.<br />
<br />
And then Sam came in and handed me a pink packet.<br />
<br />
He has the same math teacher.<br />
<br />
Time to homeschool.acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-71877310308433465182015-04-04T21:11:00.000-07:002015-04-04T21:11:16.303-07:00A Few Little/Long-Winded ThingsI used to blog a lot, and sometimes I really miss it and really wish I did it more. But Facebook and Instagram are so much quicker and can be done right on my phone, and so it goes...<br />
<br />
But once in awhile I miss actually writing and every once in a <i>great</i> while, I make myself write again.<br />
So here, for no reason other than that Doug fell asleep with the remote in his hand, and I can't turn on another show, is a little life update:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On our "new" home:</span></b><br />
Since Doug and I have been married, we've lived in three rentals, and three mortgaged homes.<br />
All of those places, I've been able to decorate and make homey-ish. Never super cute or stylish, but I feel like I've always at least had some idea of what I wanted to do, and made some decorating progress, even if I never quite pulled off the final vision. But now here I am, in a home that we "own", with freedom (and even a budget for once!) to do some big-girl decorating, and I'm paralyzed.<br />
I'm stymied.<br />
I'm completely overwhelmed and frustrated and frozen into inaction.<br />
See, this house is it. THE house. There is no timeline on this house. It is not a two-year investment, a three-year military assignment, or a temporary rental-until-we-buy.<br />
We bought.<br />
This is the house.<br />
What I buy, how I decorate...has to last for awhile. A long while.<br />
And I'm at a loss.<br />
<br />
I have a few major self-diagnosed problems:<br />
1. I have no clear style.<br />
I like East coast architecture<br />
With classical elements.<br />
But sometimes I really like the look of modern elements.<br />
I like 40's-50's graphic design<br />
and vintage travel posters<br />
and bohemian rugs<br />
and eclectic knic-knacks<br />
and colorful, kid friendly stuff.<br />
But also very light walls and furniture with dark floors and classy botanical stuff framed on the walls.<br />
And then again, industrial modern is cool...<br />
And maybe a teeny tiny bit of mid century modern has leached it's way into my consciousness. But enough with the Eames chairs already! They remind me of bus stops and my elementary school!<br />
*sigh* See the problem?<br />
Oh, and the backyard? Well, we have no clue how to actually make it look nice. So for now we're just focusing on making it fun and boy-friendly. Please feel free to stop by any time and try out our new zip-line!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On 13 year old Max:</span></b><br />
I'm too hard on Max. I know I'm too hard on Max. I try not to be.<br />
But even as the words are coming out of my mouth and I'm telling myself "you're being too hard on him" I keep right on talking. (And by talking I mean scolding/lecturing/yelling.) And then after I calm down, I have to apologize and tell him all the great things he does and how much I appreciate him. Because he really is a great kid. He'll spring up to help anyone who needs help, often without being asked. His school teachers love him and often use the word "sweet" when talking about him. He's a great babysitter and a hard worker. And at least for now he doesn't totally hate me.<br />
<br />
The other day I was joking that he has a cranky mom and he just has to deal with it. He said "You're not cranky!" with genuine surprise. Then, after a short pause..."Just at dinner time but that's understandable because we're so loud and you're hungry!" That gave me a good laugh. And then I told him he's my favorite kid but not to tell the others that because I'd deny it.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On 10 year old Sam:</span></b><br />
Does anyone else have two kids so totally different from each other that you wonder how they both came from the same parents?! (Until you remember that one looks and acts very similar to his father and one looks and acts very similar to his mother?)<br />
Sammy is a lot like me! (Lucky kid!) He thinks deeply and worries excessively.<br />
But not always in a bad way. He is very sensitive and thoughtful to others. He wants people to be safe. He always looks out for his little brothers, (especially Linky-Pie and any and all other babies that come into his range of vision.)<br />
He's a great kid.<br />
He and Max both love Legos and both love to read and I love that they share similar hobbies and interests. Sam however, unlike Max, has a flair for the dramatic. He can often be heard speaking in any number of foreign accents, is in his school "Honor Choir", and has signed up to play a guitar song in the school talent show. (An AC/DC song if you must know. No, I don't approve, but his guitar teacher doesn't seem to know any Erasure!!!) He definitely exercises the right side of his brain regularly and I can seem him finding great joy in music, drama, or art in the future.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On 7 year old Gabe:</span></b><br />
Gabe is one of the most imaginative kids I know. About once a day I look for Gabe and find him totally engrossed in a make-believe game. Usually involving imaginary weapons, bad guys, and secret agents with ninja skills. But more often than not, he can be found with his brother Gray acting as "Director of Play". They have a great system worked out: Gabe makes up a game, tells Gray how to play it, and then changes the rules as he goes along to make it more fun (for himself). Gray happily plays along and they have a great time together. If BFF David T. can be there, all the better.<br />
Gabe loves his "Sunshine Room" with multi-colored ceiling fan, having me read Harry Potter to him every night (we're on Book 4), loves reading himself, and loves to draw and write in his journal. Gabe is a happy kid and only whines if you ask him to do anything that isn't one of the fun things listed above. Throw some granola bars and fruit in his direction and he'll keep himself entertained the entire day. (Unless it's one of his "bottomless pit" days when he wants your undivided attention for 6 straight hours.)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On 4 year old Gray-Gray:</span></b><br />
Gray will be five <strike>in two days</strike> tomorrow (I fell asleep last night before I finished this post) and I've told him that five-year-olds have to say their own bed-time prayers. (He flat-out refuses to say prayers without help, although we all know he's perfectly capable.)<br />
Gray is at a very adorable age right now. And his speech mis-articulations just make him that much cuter. The other night he asked me "Dat him house dat we went to dat udder time Mama?" And "Him put dat in him mouf Mama?" His pronouns are all over the place and it's adorable. Considering our speech history around these parts, I should probably correct him every once in awhile but it's just too darn cute.<br />
Gray's default life mood setting is "Slightly Sad". He'll come bounding out of preschool, laughing and waving good-bye to his friends, leap happily into the car, and when I ask him if he had a fun day, he'll sigh piteously and say "The girls don't play wif me!" (They do.) Or, "No, I'm <i>sooo</i> sick! (*insert exaggerated fake cough*) (He's not)<br />
It seems he feels the need to project sadness to be taken seriously. So I take him very seriously and keep my laughter on the inside. Sometimes he'll crawl into my lap or Doug's and sadly say "I just love you so so so much!" And only to me "I just want to mehwee you when I gwow up and be doggies." Because obviously he wants to marry me, but only if we can both be doggies. Or puppies. Ponies would probably also make the cut. Whatever. I tell him I'll absolutely marry him. We'll sort that out with Freud later.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">On 18-month Linky-Pie/Linky-Monster:</span></b><br />
My friend Lisa likes to comment that Lincoln is taking years off my life. And she's exactly right. He is. He absolutely is. Lincoln is what you would call "a handful." But only if you wanted to really under-state the situation. From the second he wakes up in the morning, Linky is all over the place. He doesn't want to cuddle, he doesn't want to eat breakfast, he just wants to GO. One of the spots he likes to go, is the middle of the kitchen table. And just recently he learned to climb the tall kitchen barstools so I'm sure soon he'll add "middle of island" to his list of favorite places. He also likes "top of the stairs". Basically, any place he can be in physical danger, while also able to throw things with maximum chance of hearing them shatter. Luckily for him he's got this super awesome blond hair with these little loose curls that are usually a big tangled mess on the back of his head, but sometimes form into perfect ringlets...and so we let him live. All the while, acquiring more wrinkles and gray hairs. *sigh* That LinkyMonster.<br />
Years.<br />
Seriously.<br />
<br />
That's it for tonight.<br />
See you again in six months.<br />
<br />
Or the next time Doug falls asleep holding the remote.<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-42754857487528109972014-11-14T01:33:00.000-08:002015-04-03T22:33:23.684-07:00The New HouseIt's around midnight.<br />
Doug is snoring next to me, and as usual, I'm still awake.<br />
Outside, the cacophony of a pack of coyotes possibly murdering a neighbor dog somewhere in my cul-de-sac, makes me realize I need to write some stuff down about my new home.<br />
<br />
My new home is very different from my old home.<br />
<br />
Although our new home is only a 7 minute drive away and a 2.8 mile walk away from our last home, (I just google-mapped it.) it feels like a whole different world. For starters, we are in a different city now. And within that city, we are living in an area with a veeeeery different feel and esthetic. There are no sidewalks in my new neighborhood, only horse trails.<br />
<br />
There are horses in my new neighborhood.<br />
<br />
There are low-density housing laws so we're not living blocks away from apartments any more. (And our friends in those apartments.) There are lots of big yards with neighbors who don't need to hang out at the community pool for recreation. (95% of our neighbors have backyard pools.)<br />
<br />
In my particular little subdivision, most of the homes were built in the late 80's. (Ours in 88.) Some of our neighbors are original owners and many are empty-nesters and grandparents. That means this neighborhood, coyotes not withstanding, is veeeeeeery quiet. Eerily so. Once my kids are asleep, there is no more noise on this block. (<i>There are some teenagers, but evidently they don't hang with boys driving cars with super loud mufflers like I did in High School</i>.)<br />
<br />
For the longest time, pulling into the neighborhood, and then into our driveway, just felt weird. We are three houses down from my sister Laura. It always felt <b>normal</b> like we were going to her house. Until we had to make the mental adjustment to it being <b>our</b> house. <i>Not</i> normal. <b>Weird</b>. We kept having to remind ourselves: "Hey, we're home. This is OUR home. We're not going home from here!"<br />
<br />
And for quite awhile I just had this overwhelming sense of sadness. I feel like it's not super normal to mourn when moving out of a rental. But maybe I should have had a good cry and gotten it over with. Because for the longest time, I had (and still occasionally have) these pangs of sadness over what we left behind. (Which, now that I think of it, has been the case after each and every move.)<br />
<br />
We really, really miss our old neighbors. There were a lot of kids in the old 'hood. And lots of great families. We were able to make great friends just by hanging out at the community pool. Of course, we're still friends with those friends, and they're only 7 minutes away. But I won't see them nearly as much. Now meetings will have to be scheduled and planned for and driven to. And they'll be fewer and farther between.<br />
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Now don't get me wrong, we'll be just fine. There are a million positives to this move, obviously. I just wanted our first impressions recorded somewhere. And I want to always remember that the last three years in "Ann's House" were good years. That we loved our home and loved our neighbors and that they will be sorely missed.<br />
<br />
And now it is 1 a.m. The coyotes have moved on, and I need to go to sleep.<br />
<br />
Goodnight!acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-17429196675778927262014-11-12T13:00:00.000-08:002014-11-16T17:12:42.008-08:00Our House, In the Middle of Our Street(Published out of order--this was the first "new house" post I wrote but never finished and published.)<br />
<br />
We're officially homeowners! (For the third time...hopefully the last).<br />
<br />
We moved out of our three year rental against our will and into another rental for four weeks. Just after signing the lease on the second rental (hereafter known as "Half-way House") we discovered our dream home had fallen out of escrow. We didn't think we could afford it, but the mortgage lady worked some dark magic and we somehow got it. Now, when I say it is my dream house, I'm being disengenuous. It is not even remotely my dream home in and of itself, except for one key element: it has a big yard.<br />
<br />
As Doug and I have looked and looked and looked at homes over the last three years, almost all of them have come up short in one area--the size of the backyard. Our first rental had a tiny yard. Literally, just a back patio. Barely big enough for the tiny 6 foot trampoline we found at Walmart.com and a patio table.<br />
<i><b>Tiny.</b></i><br />
<br />
So for years I've been day-dreaming.<br />
Wishing for a yard with enough room for a BIG trampoline.<br />
Longing for a yard <i>deep</i> enough to set up a volleyball net, throw a baseball or kick a soccer ball...<br />
<br />
But as we looked we discovered that even if the property info listed a larger sized yard, it was taken up with a huge slope, a ginormous pool, a long drive-way, or some other unusable space.<br />
<br />
Newer homes being built around here seem to be getting larger, while the lot they sit on gets smaller.<br />
Sure, 4,500 square feet and five bedrooms would be fabulous, but <b>NOT</b> 5.5 baths with 5.5 toilets to clean. And <b>not</b> sitting on a lot barely big enough to hold the house!<br />
<br />
My sister and brother-in-law kept telling us to look for the yard, not the house. They pointed out that in their neighborhood, all the homes sit on .5 acre(ish) lots. We pointed out we couldn't afford their neighborhood.<br />
<br />
But then the home three doors down and across the cul-de-sac fell out of escrow.<br />
A home built in 1988 sitting on a half an acre flat lot.<br />
<br />
It also has some other huge bonuses: A downstairs office that we've converted into to a guest room and a downstairs full bath. This is perfect for visitors and especially perfect for my Mother-in-law who has bad knees. This was #2 on our wish list: Downstairs guest room and full bath!<br />
<br />
Upstairs there are four bedrooms. We decided to keep Max and Sam together in one, Gabe and Gray together in another, and use the third for a play/bonus room. Linc will stay in our walk-in closet a little longer and then we'll figure out where to stick him when he moves to a toddler bed.<br />
<br />
#3 on my wish list: Place to corral every single toy and game we own. Check!<br />
<br />
Since moving in, we've deep cleaned, (previous owners had several pets and we have several pet allergies between all of us.) painted, done a lot of work on the backyard including removing three very large dead trees, and started remodeling the downstairs bathroom and upstairs boys bathroom due too leaky grout and mold issues.<br />
<br />
My current project is acquiring rugs to cover some of the hard floors to dampen the noise produced by five boys in a big echo chamber. Sometime down the road we'll work on living room furniture and stuff for the walls.<br />
<br />
One of the huge bonuses of this house lives three doors down the street: My SISTER and her family. We love hanging out with Laura and Jeff and especially love late night snack time after the kids are in bed and spontaneous hot tub parties at their house. Laura has four daughters whom we love a LOT! Their oldest daughter Ashlin has been our #1 babysitter since we moved here. Since she is now out of state for college, the job falls to Makaila. Even Dania, who is Max's age, loves to help with Linky and takes him on walks. Their youngest, Kirra, is Sam's age and she loves to come over to play. It's been a lot of fun having them so close and seeing the cousins hanging out together.<br />
<br />
I want to post some house before and after pictures, but there are no good "afters" yet.<br />
Those will be forthcoming...<br />
<br />
For now, I think I'll send the boys into the backyard and go take a nap!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-66885743720614532812014-08-18T16:31:00.000-07:002014-08-27T23:00:24.415-07:00First Week of School for 2 and 3Gabe and Sam started school last week at yet another new school.<br />
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For Sam, this is yet another major life change. Let's quickly review:<br />
Preschool - Miss Judean<br />
K and 1st grade - Sollars Elementary in Japan<br />
2nd grade - ME<br />
3rd grade - Charter School<br />
4th grade - ME<br />
5th grade - OE<br />
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Evidently, his teacher is one of the best so we're hopeful he'll have a good year and make some good friends. One plus is that he'll be at the same school as his cousin.<br />
(<i>Did I ever mention one reason we left the military is because one of our children doesn't handle change well? To protect this child's identity I'll call him S. Dub. No, no---Sam W.</i><br />
<i>Hopefully, this will be the last big change in a long time.)</i><br />
<br />
Gabey is starting 2nd. He's also been through a lot of change going to preschool in Japan, Charter for Kinder, ME for first, and now OE.<br />
Last year he was Mr. Popular and had a million friends. This year he's a little more uncertain about his place. I'm hoping things go well for him. I wouldn't mind if he had fewer friends, and did more work at school, but we'll see.<br />
(<i>Funny Gabe story: Every day when I pick the boys up I ask what they did for snack/lunch/recess and who they played with. On Friday Gabe said "Well, at snack I played "Nut Cracker" with some boys in my class." There was a long pause while everyone pondered how to respond to this little nugget. Gabe said "You have to slide down this thing with bumps on it and it really hurts!" Ahh--so it IS what it sounds like. I see. We all burst out laughing. I said "Maybe you should tell the boys you'd rather play tag next time.")</i><br />
<br />
Two boys down, two to go!<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-53347757393264474392014-06-12T23:12:00.000-07:002014-08-27T23:18:39.848-07:00European Vacation Day 3 - Ste-Mère-Église, Normandy Beaches, and The American Cemetery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The next morning, Wes asked the lovely proprietor of our BandB if we could eat breakfast at 7:30am instead of 8:30 so we could get an early start. She graciously agreed and than proceeded to serve breakfast promptly at 8:30. Which worked out great since Doug and I were a bit jet-lagged and it's just <i>possible</i> we weren't <i>exactly</i> ready to go <i>right exactly</i> at 7:30a.m.<br />
<br />
The breakfast, however, was worth waiting for and included a delicious croissant, crusty bread, a selection of different cheeses, yogurt, granola, various yummy jams, and heated milk with SCHOvit (similar to Nesquick)<br />
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And then we were off to our first destination:<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22px;">Ste-Mère-Église.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">{The town's main claim to fame is that it played a significant part in the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="World War II">World War II</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Normandy landings">Normandy landings</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> because this village stood right in the middle of route </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_nationale_13" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Route nationale 13">N13</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Beach" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Utah Beach">Utah</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Beach" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Omaha Beach">Omaha Beaches</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">. In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/82nd_Airborne_Division" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="82nd Airborne Division">U.S. 82nd Airborne</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_Airborne_Division" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="101st Airborne Division">U.S. 101st Airborne</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> Divisions occupied the town in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Boston" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Mission Boston">Operation Boston</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">, giving it the claim to be one of the first towns liberated in the invasion.}</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is where paratrooper John Steele got caught on the church steeple on the morning of June 6th, 1944. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">Ste-Mère-Église was the first French town liberated on D-day. There is a model of John Steele on the roof, and the stained glass in the church (blown out in the war and replaced) depicts the heroic actions of that day. (We had just watched "The Longest Day" before coming so it was neat to see this place in person!)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wes and Doug</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the white thing hanging off the roof? That's a model of John!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass with paratroopers</td></tr>
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After walking through the church, <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">we went into the Airborne museum across the street. They had some pretty cool stuff in there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0TFgOtXb3xd93O8pLQ6jWrP8f7Aiji9nDDUERWTso9i7cH9gLSPapBinBpUPQSpGkUyCe1QTYn679eUA6NPL4L-diUPu5zfPwfOz1if87BFVtVqE2zIQVRqnSzT1hlYZ5SU/s1600/IMG_4034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0TFgOtXb3xd93O8pLQ6jWrP8f7Aiji9nDDUERWTso9i7cH9gLSPapBinBpUPQSpGkUyCe1QTYn679eUA6NPL4L-diUPu5zfPwfOz1if87BFVtVqE2zIQVRqnSzT1hlYZ5SU/s1600/IMG_4034.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9hPwaPY_Zf_DpjNSlMBhn4Z4Ds55Ju5QdVVReV1k0wGq-w3ac4k3EAT_GiGXqlCICcLvh0_qFe_lEJqJxW4dNrDA2v7QSTbt0e3pLnTmjqcaG734Wx7hwvFSKzu2YXkfUCw/s1600/IMG_4041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9hPwaPY_Zf_DpjNSlMBhn4Z4Ds55Ju5QdVVReV1k0wGq-w3ac4k3EAT_GiGXqlCICcLvh0_qFe_lEJqJxW4dNrDA2v7QSTbt0e3pLnTmjqcaG734Wx7hwvFSKzu2YXkfUCw/s1600/IMG_4041.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(I love this lettering!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziEJ93YquGUMbiUvwh70ysq7LLZmBHZsWeGBLqVX5eY7D5RYiu2QxtVjO8FsToDeP831cut2dxL5pWJMOJOFc9nLYtIFnvMOnXc8A8AATLTIe1HrodLRGXToV8YCp1yPURR0/s1600/IMG_4045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziEJ93YquGUMbiUvwh70ysq7LLZmBHZsWeGBLqVX5eY7D5RYiu2QxtVjO8FsToDeP831cut2dxL5pWJMOJOFc9nLYtIFnvMOnXc8A8AATLTIe1HrodLRGXToV8YCp1yPURR0/s1600/IMG_4045.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress made from parachute silk</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Next, w</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">e drove over to Pointe du Hoc</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">{Pointe du Hoc is a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promontory" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Promontory">promontory</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> with a 100 ft (30 m) cliff overlooking the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="English Channel">English Channel</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> on the coast of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Normandy">Normandy</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> in northern France. During </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="World War II">World War II</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> it was the highest point between </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Beach" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Utah Beach">Utah Beach</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> to the west and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Beach" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Omaha Beach">Omaha Beach</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> to the east. The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Nazi Germany">German</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> army fortified the area with concrete casements and gun pits. On </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Day" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="D-Day">D-Day</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> (6 June 1944) the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="United States Army">United States Army</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_Assault_Group" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" title="Ranger Assault Group">Ranger Assault Group</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> assaulted and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.}</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">This area is still littered with enormous bomb craters. It's hard to see how large they are in the pictures, but they were pretty impressive.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYkmuTyijPXTqb__38PefdoYi9D6XTbb-ACvs3TNUPrt-XODDP0qGMIFz3d_4Mxx94cHzqX2Lv2G-2dyq9PRzf9pKabM90gnuWdRuEXGp2aDZ_m4KRwemvdlQU-ZmXTuYD-g/s1600/IMG_4060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYkmuTyijPXTqb__38PefdoYi9D6XTbb-ACvs3TNUPrt-XODDP0qGMIFz3d_4Mxx94cHzqX2Lv2G-2dyq9PRzf9pKabM90gnuWdRuEXGp2aDZ_m4KRwemvdlQU-ZmXTuYD-g/s1600/IMG_4060.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bomb crater</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE6spsqNvWtbkcYsCAF23LSZEzz65qaNktHKmAdbzoD8iz9f21Is_evQ_kwAO1qUIq_hdTdyF-RqIBctif2bjG73aLdBz7frGzsEu5cEv-oixt2UckN1juH_e3YpfgIUYyf0/s1600/IMG_4065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE6spsqNvWtbkcYsCAF23LSZEzz65qaNktHKmAdbzoD8iz9f21Is_evQ_kwAO1qUIq_hdTdyF-RqIBctif2bjG73aLdBz7frGzsEu5cEv-oixt2UckN1juH_e3YpfgIUYyf0/s1600/IMG_4065.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiWg1116R14J2gLFJo3GucHevsHq6Vp99Zc505CKslULHfsHn2tyY-BflAbV3zEEbLTzXzB9ciuTBfwoyolc2b9hECTweqWhbvvgj6qZBD_cCJU0aIVECDTUzaB5h1iL_hLY/s1600/IMG_4073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiWg1116R14J2gLFJo3GucHevsHq6Vp99Zc505CKslULHfsHn2tyY-BflAbV3zEEbLTzXzB9ciuTBfwoyolc2b9hECTweqWhbvvgj6qZBD_cCJU0aIVECDTUzaB5h1iL_hLY/s1600/IMG_4073.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bombed out concrete bunkers are still there</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivn7ni8QI815N6Zk_8t6aswj5oUB1ST5Cr4OdfTtXTdH4p5DlimUshWF4ikftgOKmbDMSKRaqGBr6NyjbhAEZ7a82_GE2yWN8eWlyo8cIhpSKNxH3pvjtVU-YQO-ZDuvhoKZ8/s1600/IMG_4058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivn7ni8QI815N6Zk_8t6aswj5oUB1ST5Cr4OdfTtXTdH4p5DlimUshWF4ikftgOKmbDMSKRaqGBr6NyjbhAEZ7a82_GE2yWN8eWlyo8cIhpSKNxH3pvjtVU-YQO-ZDuvhoKZ8/s1600/IMG_4058.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's too bad more people don't realize how amazing American history is!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_S_F3TyYt2XyVwXbxSS8BEBAZlaqpSU9k3a2AyniaDzyThwoqkFN0ZaGDi3ITo7O4EuoRLCe058AXwle-gj3SyfrAo7n7u6fRO3JpyWJKsPRmEPGOzubCeS86jf8impaGTMA/s1600/IMG_4077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_S_F3TyYt2XyVwXbxSS8BEBAZlaqpSU9k3a2AyniaDzyThwoqkFN0ZaGDi3ITo7O4EuoRLCe058AXwle-gj3SyfrAo7n7u6fRO3JpyWJKsPRmEPGOzubCeS86jf8impaGTMA/s1600/IMG_4077.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Lunch was a quick s<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">top for Panini's:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisinaFDJxUybQZYvMDo2xwEMVKIW2YpP1WJq7nk0iJXsbvK35i9yNUpRfSuxZrEBW13D0bgXSRl9rPWJS2wP5tZjj5U_e8SJFVNK5UxvEvnbox8VJ94TOkYuFKb7AiGGOBO_s/s1600/IMG_4087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisinaFDJxUybQZYvMDo2xwEMVKIW2YpP1WJq7nk0iJXsbvK35i9yNUpRfSuxZrEBW13D0bgXSRl9rPWJS2wP5tZjj5U_e8SJFVNK5UxvEvnbox8VJ94TOkYuFKb7AiGGOBO_s/s1600/IMG_4087.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9dTXO5GoBCskWa9NPC3S8yAypN6O-dysqfQMxi7cRmkIqX4MybHvBV0K4U0CFrAWuFtrBKGcwZ0-NGtWvKL6pV_qrLOCZPa97IRem-Z_spN3XfX9rLR-ZiaQh7yO3XsPwOE/s1600/IMG_4088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9dTXO5GoBCskWa9NPC3S8yAypN6O-dysqfQMxi7cRmkIqX4MybHvBV0K4U0CFrAWuFtrBKGcwZ0-NGtWvKL6pV_qrLOCZPa97IRem-Z_spN3XfX9rLR-ZiaQh7yO3XsPwOE/s1600/IMG_4088.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
And then on to Omaha Beach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9KQ19LUxfvQ_f3Q8XZFTzNKT9wC-THupI8Epi2-LaaJwt-uqoww6qY7gWH9N54axxqjrolgFCACokZ-4V59v94egJCTEOxTlfRHuIAt50QchTb_riDWcKYJ00AEw73CDpOo/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9KQ19LUxfvQ_f3Q8XZFTzNKT9wC-THupI8Epi2-LaaJwt-uqoww6qY7gWH9N54axxqjrolgFCACokZ-4V59v94egJCTEOxTlfRHuIAt50QchTb_riDWcKYJ00AEw73CDpOo/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNe-gWaHpX98LSOlsXdBjmFBiJrh0P9nryCcxdH9XpEegQFsHti7-1E7YmG1KrKpNIRcuPfkRGMeq4tArOlovB9F1RJ9lb21KxwXiwJUpxV8M1lgjU82I0FLlEL3TgEdSN5Y/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNe-gWaHpX98LSOlsXdBjmFBiJrh0P9nryCcxdH9XpEegQFsHti7-1E7YmG1KrKpNIRcuPfkRGMeq4tArOlovB9F1RJ9lb21KxwXiwJUpxV8M1lgjU82I0FLlEL3TgEdSN5Y/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Realizing how far our troops had to run in wet clothes, carrying heavy equipment and under extreme enemy fire, was very sobering. Omaha is a VERY big beach.<br />
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We didn't spend a lot of time on Omaha Beach because we had one last thing to see. The American Cemetery:</div>
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Hard to describe so I won't even try. I'll just say that I wish every single American could have the opportunity to visit.</div>
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That night we went back Bayeux for dinner. While walking around looking for a restaurant, we stopped at a little art gallery and I bought a small piece of pottery. It's very cute and joins my collection of other small pots, mostly from Japan. Maybe one day when we're rich and famous I'll be able to afford a pot bigger than my hand. Maybe.</div>
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I ordered some sort of puff pastry with chicken and apples and mustard seeds on it and, to get you out of your suspense; yes, it was delicious.<br />
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Then back to our cozy lodgings for one more night...<br />
<br />acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16717816.post-17050612681227042222014-06-11T20:44:00.002-07:002014-06-11T20:44:48.819-07:00European Vacation Day 2: Breakfast in Versailles, Dinner in Normandy <div>
Tuesday morning at 6:30 am we arrived (a little early) at Charles de Gaulle airport in France. A few minutes later Wes and Tami arrived to pick us up. They had driven from Germany and stayed the night in Paris.</div>
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From the airport we headed straight to see Palace of Versailles.</div>
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Since I left a still-nursing baby at home with my sister, I had to take frequent breaks to pump. (and dump.) While Tami and I sat in the car chatting (and one of us pumping), Wes and Doug wandered off to find us some breakfast to eat in line.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqJoCM9FvulbUmzro9Wuee7N4OmLfTiXK1jGVrLPmCGpXBOfVF0N_-sfwoa7zoiMh0hE2jpRrifjmZc8PR0K1Nlc5MWy2VOtqA6U7ZIFk2MHUfPmGVH4wNYejZDDZeEldyIs/s1600/IMG_3865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqJoCM9FvulbUmzro9Wuee7N4OmLfTiXK1jGVrLPmCGpXBOfVF0N_-sfwoa7zoiMh0hE2jpRrifjmZc8PR0K1Nlc5MWy2VOtqA6U7ZIFk2MHUfPmGVH4wNYejZDDZeEldyIs/s1600/IMG_3865.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Delicious success! Pain au Chocolat</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmO_JSwvcRBAsKtgFpuwnRW8fY_IuUxXmjF921g3Rmz0EJpY5ufQcWqZFkRxY6Mte_iOirosZjRQNvvsR8jS8J2APBMxRmyYoUq8JdxcQ4AB6qzWRrR-MJMj-fNdR44R9rec/s1600/IMG_3866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmO_JSwvcRBAsKtgFpuwnRW8fY_IuUxXmjF921g3Rmz0EJpY5ufQcWqZFkRxY6Mte_iOirosZjRQNvvsR8jS8J2APBMxRmyYoUq8JdxcQ4AB6qzWRrR-MJMj-fNdR44R9rec/s1600/IMG_3866.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Some yummy meringue thingy</td></tr>
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That morning at Versailles, we bought a six day Paris Museum pass. This was a very good investment and allowed us to skip some long lines later on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pz8X0OoJ-6shntob9qTGiJTkXA8MfoVa9xU9LSX_z4bhdCBbxRQU9_kBdZTc3rC4ZK8NAhUfsmXls0hyj7WFQOhCa4Ww3Dc1qO_qG2lwA9ENjiiMe9Ply9tLuMOEaWnvYu0/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pz8X0OoJ-6shntob9qTGiJTkXA8MfoVa9xU9LSX_z4bhdCBbxRQU9_kBdZTc3rC4ZK8NAhUfsmXls0hyj7WFQOhCa4Ww3Dc1qO_qG2lwA9ENjiiMe9Ply9tLuMOEaWnvYu0/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peaking down a roped-off hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwzpNFmqSDrykuphCmHSRt1y5CVkd_u5tXa_vtd5b5rSw37uYe9yK-fLey_3yPk5W9bTgGYQsid4FY-IALp4cKSzTEjkuH5UD09mxjP62ZJ8kOKrS_1wnzdshL9xExor34Dk/s1600/IMG_3869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwzpNFmqSDrykuphCmHSRt1y5CVkd_u5tXa_vtd5b5rSw37uYe9yK-fLey_3yPk5W9bTgGYQsid4FY-IALp4cKSzTEjkuH5UD09mxjP62ZJ8kOKrS_1wnzdshL9xExor34Dk/s1600/IMG_3869.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The palace was very cool to walk through. It was also extraordinarily crowded.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGjIjxgA3-cVmjw-gWGrc985ur9Xi5xSKRV-ht0lFJb7FpkYT2Zdf6Wba8phoHKQKfBpqJdy_ajrein040-M_xjzwpv-EtOTL3X_BLVj0yBdXDf_bnYtb4ubVdb-yD0rgH8U/s1600/IMG_3879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGjIjxgA3-cVmjw-gWGrc985ur9Xi5xSKRV-ht0lFJb7FpkYT2Zdf6Wba8phoHKQKfBpqJdy_ajrein040-M_xjzwpv-EtOTL3X_BLVj0yBdXDf_bnYtb4ubVdb-yD0rgH8U/s1600/IMG_3879.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a few thousand of our closest friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqnBeUEZzO784_MSg6nVrIkzz9JaSPooEj-KEYHqR_sTjAj2QJ3svuePZ_-MYb1_5ePbaZM9Vrf_dR3jyPG3kMl680_8l6U5P-UoCkV_3qAB28IFdYvi03fU-icI_V7zTLJ4/s1600/IMG_3871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqnBeUEZzO784_MSg6nVrIkzz9JaSPooEj-KEYHqR_sTjAj2QJ3svuePZ_-MYb1_5ePbaZM9Vrf_dR3jyPG3kMl680_8l6U5P-UoCkV_3qAB28IFdYvi03fU-icI_V7zTLJ4/s1600/IMG_3871.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marie Antoinette and her two oldest children</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UwzhxLWaybKgOeWcWjgW5nr2p_7E2UfJYAL-7__gU4j4TkzfcHmX15vlf0P2xiIlJaE94csrgFVVukRC_y6U9U6BeRDVz8Zkmgwd7y7GfgSL5xfkirCmVGbwOUuUMANLCCk/s1600/IMG_3874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UwzhxLWaybKgOeWcWjgW5nr2p_7E2UfJYAL-7__gU4j4TkzfcHmX15vlf0P2xiIlJaE94csrgFVVukRC_y6U9U6BeRDVz8Zkmgwd7y7GfgSL5xfkirCmVGbwOUuUMANLCCk/s1600/IMG_3874.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this may have been the chapel. Pictures are wonky because <br />they were taken over the heads of the unwashed masses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9PyllUpb3dH1cdQcvGZZmTu6D5ytXE2qFbGeACVMQKBSAuSWI5NeJ3I8qxStmxbzMPsO80rmaqbQuTXgwPQ7qyF9RkjIEdx177-T_h0_6k3klF61FRH_v9bFSS8CVlR5t5w/s1600/IMG_3875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9PyllUpb3dH1cdQcvGZZmTu6D5ytXE2qFbGeACVMQKBSAuSWI5NeJ3I8qxStmxbzMPsO80rmaqbQuTXgwPQ7qyF9RkjIEdx177-T_h0_6k3klF61FRH_v9bFSS8CVlR5t5w/s1600/IMG_3875.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the ceilings. The art was incredible.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVCvrVqER2XPehJwZVc5fB1LG0i9V4lp4buw5vpTfYJi6wdQFILbkvpvwf4jBVbYCioPki0RSZY2OV7cZIClIjNSZKUifkzLDqgEASCzBZJbuJ2_AqpnCgToyvgGzQCcik6g/s1600/IMG_3878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVCvrVqER2XPehJwZVc5fB1LG0i9V4lp4buw5vpTfYJi6wdQFILbkvpvwf4jBVbYCioPki0RSZY2OV7cZIClIjNSZKUifkzLDqgEASCzBZJbuJ2_AqpnCgToyvgGzQCcik6g/s1600/IMG_3878.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
After touring inside the palace, w<span style="text-align: center;">e left and found some sandwiches and fizzy drinks in the charming town outside the grounds.</span><br />
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Back to Versailles to visit Marie Antoinette's "Hamlet". The Hamlet is a small village built on the grounds where she went to escape the rigors of court life. But it's not exactly right next door. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxHtEE1LtHGa4xxWffSKn4SEn6ExzfT8ZKZNZtdjeTx3bhHdAwVMGjM0gOItTxuG4YF62nxxzXOAVcW-k7jBoJ09ninQ_Bo1n-29I2E1srAhCqHUw0teZW-cUSzF2Dgx1kVY/s1600/IMG_1036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxHtEE1LtHGa4xxWffSKn4SEn6ExzfT8ZKZNZtdjeTx3bhHdAwVMGjM0gOItTxuG4YF62nxxzXOAVcW-k7jBoJ09ninQ_Bo1n-29I2E1srAhCqHUw0teZW-cUSzF2Dgx1kVY/s1600/IMG_1036.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUuEzlozaFDhLX8vEtRx64tzQdac6N2lR6S5adlNHt6k8EJRuh1NV1tGc2rlMETl3Vzs77lnO4354GbPdIx7LBmHIx-xkdYZ-EKZyOTDkvSukZTccOjglfMRY_O-LbPca5l0/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUuEzlozaFDhLX8vEtRx64tzQdac6N2lR6S5adlNHt6k8EJRuh1NV1tGc2rlMETl3Vzs77lnO4354GbPdIx7LBmHIx-xkdYZ-EKZyOTDkvSukZTccOjglfMRY_O-LbPca5l0/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a chilly day but we had enough layers to keep us warm.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We walked down through the courtyard and then rented bikes!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITSnbvUJPnf2N7DHuWeef5aXH56yZPDXdIGrD5a9MnIU92JsgeR1CfbO5YCCijBxJNu7t2YhMtgw9RwR1sn9tQCnuKNwLtBh62ocQcbsqqIOE5A9_-dko_xI08nVEtVSsk8A/s1600/IMG_1045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITSnbvUJPnf2N7DHuWeef5aXH56yZPDXdIGrD5a9MnIU92JsgeR1CfbO5YCCijBxJNu7t2YhMtgw9RwR1sn9tQCnuKNwLtBh62ocQcbsqqIOE5A9_-dko_xI08nVEtVSsk8A/s1600/IMG_1045.JPG" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful!</td></tr>
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The Hamlet was extremely charming and I'm glad we got to explore and enjoy it. </div>
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Next stop, Normandy!!</div>
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After leaving Versailles, we drove straight to our Bed and Breakfast. At least that's what I think we did. I immediately fell asleep and missed seeing the beautiful French countryside. </div>
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(At least I think it's beautiful. I was asleep.)</div>
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We made a quick stop (at Le Clos des Pommiers in Tracy-sur-Mer) to check-in and change for dinner, and then went out again. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4Kj-6fpaqMD91jrAC8MfLVd-7DQF2LAa8_-jrMRY79AFCIebfMd-pE4aNBWGrr3YMN6prJqwUlsAABsUMRj9ij0NvcUeJU8dBymW2k3hVhwo3oZaErFVTQ0PfiDO7SGpqw8/s1600/IMG_1078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4Kj-6fpaqMD91jrAC8MfLVd-7DQF2LAa8_-jrMRY79AFCIebfMd-pE4aNBWGrr3YMN6prJqwUlsAABsUMRj9ij0NvcUeJU8dBymW2k3hVhwo3oZaErFVTQ0PfiDO7SGpqw8/s1600/IMG_1078.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful view of the grounds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRltFd7DHjTr8ino-yFG2bVIKvRut42axPx5-Rxnr9C2lhmVuLBSs_wzNiCni1Xw4QmdRovXJa4IUkURzFf0qtFaOSHLSX2mS2z4Icda0Junl9K7zpWEtDer-w9CwI-n7GGyQ/s1600/IMG_1079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRltFd7DHjTr8ino-yFG2bVIKvRut42axPx5-Rxnr9C2lhmVuLBSs_wzNiCni1Xw4QmdRovXJa4IUkURzFf0qtFaOSHLSX2mS2z4Icda0Junl9K7zpWEtDer-w9CwI-n7GGyQ/s1600/IMG_1079.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our happy and cozy room!</td></tr>
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We drove to nearby Bayeux for dinner and wandered around for awhile trying to find a place that could seat us. It is such an amazingly quaint and beautiful little town--I couldn't stop taking pictures. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZlaRJzaLJwO-QyQd9pB8njgjaqgEuy4yt-YEA71pPVx7ou2ufJeTpOalhf0MmHy9mKPp0Rv9q7zlIU0OmtbTWlEwKmZeNtNjAxHbTfoFerxuL0UKz2nnWNhAdfQyBJWYyOY/s1600/IMG_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZlaRJzaLJwO-QyQd9pB8njgjaqgEuy4yt-YEA71pPVx7ou2ufJeTpOalhf0MmHy9mKPp0Rv9q7zlIU0OmtbTWlEwKmZeNtNjAxHbTfoFerxuL0UKz2nnWNhAdfQyBJWYyOY/s1600/IMG_1109.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All decked out for the 70th anniversary of D-day</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoycv_PhFYbdGY7eJAyQ65rflzwxh-riSWmdpXqX5LyyUfkYYJ0FGWmrLu328GDaY3HDaLFEttSR77jCHAiyP1VVd9S7k5cN-AyYk7ohaXxeR7iNwcpz5H2O1xMOluZKDFIA/s1600/IMG_1106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoycv_PhFYbdGY7eJAyQ65rflzwxh-riSWmdpXqX5LyyUfkYYJ0FGWmrLu328GDaY3HDaLFEttSR77jCHAiyP1VVd9S7k5cN-AyYk7ohaXxeR7iNwcpz5H2O1xMOluZKDFIA/s1600/IMG_1106.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eventually we settled on a little Creperie and had our first dinner in France. </div>
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And it was amazing!</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFskaQtqETAByZ2FcEPkFY0t9HvT-qzqRlMjVaMWc3UlGVOmytlHD7UESpzqW82D8GPMtRQ4GT2CJnOwkmRKgE8NQ-TaTnZp4iSoCtMyLmZVCDQYOnZA04pGpwX8xTWeFp2os/s1600/IMG_1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFskaQtqETAByZ2FcEPkFY0t9HvT-qzqRlMjVaMWc3UlGVOmytlHD7UESpzqW82D8GPMtRQ4GT2CJnOwkmRKgE8NQ-TaTnZp4iSoCtMyLmZVCDQYOnZA04pGpwX8xTWeFp2os/s1600/IMG_1107.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUni1vMwZ-Gt_mAsPXBxGj94DbXtBuW7Glp57rkUID7UM4UYE3CoyUwaoW25dobJTIw1Vy0pdIV060_9gUkjMzkyKifL2KJUL87taI4RxwCB_iBTiWOfj8CnkvkLTVbpzCis/s1600/IMG_1104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUni1vMwZ-Gt_mAsPXBxGj94DbXtBuW7Glp57rkUID7UM4UYE3CoyUwaoW25dobJTIw1Vy0pdIV060_9gUkjMzkyKifL2KJUL87taI4RxwCB_iBTiWOfj8CnkvkLTVbpzCis/s1600/IMG_1104.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
May I humbly suggest that if you're ever in that neighborhood, go to the same restaurant, and go ahead and get what I got! And may I also suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to have something smothered in creme fraiche, you take it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p39FuLlyQRbOWHi-3TeX4wPODQO14CZ-weleLlVJ69PCwOJVYE80OTlAt0347nO8BC3Tmp1f5MT_6nhZccTjFbVeP7Spq4F_0zd5zwUZsKq3jSa1LG9WRwbOTtsWRazFM6g/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p39FuLlyQRbOWHi-3TeX4wPODQO14CZ-weleLlVJ69PCwOJVYE80OTlAt0347nO8BC3Tmp1f5MT_6nhZccTjFbVeP7Spq4F_0zd5zwUZsKq3jSa1LG9WRwbOTtsWRazFM6g/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was the first of many times Wes and Tami had to translate menus for us. They were very good sports about it and gave us some excellent recommendations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hYaNE-wQ9YTjj4VAAla8TEW-mKgdbxyxTijIcz_hVuQCS0gsYHHonsrOl1l2I33L2vag9VcadE4K_k0sK6AM3M6ypAQG8uMjS5FuCC84zi7FVOMIGLBbJpaKew3xsZjvSs0/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hYaNE-wQ9YTjj4VAAla8TEW-mKgdbxyxTijIcz_hVuQCS0gsYHHonsrOl1l2I33L2vag9VcadE4K_k0sK6AM3M6ypAQG8uMjS5FuCC84zi7FVOMIGLBbJpaKew3xsZjvSs0/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetened coconut on my desert crepe! Why didn't I think of that?!?!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4HFwAy5-BMzRhn1a_-1xcnMH6Z-Ann_Iz06mgqVsnj5bYaaI1uXrTbpOTn7jPEC9wYUNKDp-_0Etigfkt2FeuzLcW20zl0HLHqWnTvdsA7X2yiL_tn00ufPH7GyzIvp-W-M/s1600/IMG_1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4HFwAy5-BMzRhn1a_-1xcnMH6Z-Ann_Iz06mgqVsnj5bYaaI1uXrTbpOTn7jPEC9wYUNKDp-_0Etigfkt2FeuzLcW20zl0HLHqWnTvdsA7X2yiL_tn00ufPH7GyzIvp-W-M/s1600/IMG_1102.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was a pretty full and magical first day in France. </div>
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If I had had to rush home the very next morning, it would have been worth the trip. </div>
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acte gratuithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11168815832920494463noreply@blogger.com1