Aquarium in Denver

While we were visiting in Colorado, we decided to stay one extra day to visit a local aquarium. Boy am I glad we did! Being able to see such amazingly diverse water creatures up close brought to life everything we've been studying in science this year.

Look at the lips on this guy!! Fish are kind of gross looking to me. And they certainly don't taste good!!

In awe of the beautiful colors under the sea!! Animals resembling plants are cool and creepy at the same time!

All throughout the aquarium you could hear giddy kids screaming, "DORY, DORY!" every single time they'd come across a Blue Tang. Not once did you hear, "Oh, that's a Blue Tang."

To touch and feel the very creatures we've seen only on the pages of our science book was neat. My kids have never been to the beach either to see any of these.

Ooooh, stingrays. They felt sort of velvety/rubbery. It was a bit difficult to pet them since they'd only come up and pause ever so briefly at the surface.

And NO aquarium is complete without this guy, right? I can hear him now, "WELCOME TO BIKINI BOTTOM!" Hahahahahahahaha.

Bloggy Backsliding

Yes, that's right. My blog *yawn* has been overwhelmingly boring as of late.

Not that it's ever been amazingly dynamic or anything.

I had BIG plans (well, not too big) for my blog come 2010.

For starters, I wanted to post consistently and frequently. (Scratch that already) I'd thought of a couple of weekly posts~you know like Works for Me Wednesday except different. One of those weekly spotlights was going to be SAHM Wise--it's on my nifty, new navigation bar and everything. (Yeah, as you can tell, haven't gotten around to that either.)

ONE of my goals has been achieved, though, but I can't take a lick of credit for it. The acknowledgement of my new blog design is WAY overdue. Thanks to Jen it's autumn all year round at Autumnfawn Lane.

It's kinda neat how we met, too. I met Jen's sister, Amy, (in the pink jacket) in bloggy land b/c she was looking for other home schoolers in our area. Amy and I met, became friends and I joined her home school group.

Jen, Amy's sister, (brown jacket) happened to know a bit about HTML and all that computer stuff, so not having ever met, she offered to change my blog for me. SO SWEET!!!!

Over Christmas, I had the chance to meet Jen in person when she came to visit her sister, Amy. I had a great time getting to know her at The Paradise Bakery. :) Okay, did you get all that? Anyway~thanks again Amy!!!!

Back to my bloggy mess:

I think I was saying something like my blog just ain't what I want it to be!!! So many post plans, so little time. Ahhhhh!

The extra time I had planned for spicing up my blog has been replaced by something else. An unexpected something else. A truly wonderful-opportunity-something else!

As of about 4 months ago, I was invited to become a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and website! It is exciting, challenging and I really do enjoy it. There has been some added stress in my life, I admit. This is the first time since my school days that I have deadlines to meet and papers to write. While I love my new "job" it does take time away from the blog world.

So, that's what I've been up to. Reviewing in my "free" time instead of blogging. Speaking of that, I've got a big one due soon. Better get crackin'!

I hope to get my act somewhat together so I can achieve my bloggy goals, but I will just have to fit it in when I can.

God bless all of you who still read my mindless twaddle!

Dude!

While intensely playing X-Box here's what a classic conversation between a bunch of neighborhood boys sounds like:

Dude!

DUDE!

dude

DUDE!

Dude, dude, dude!

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!

WFMW: Sunbutter

Unfortunately, I have a child who is deathly allergic to peanuts.

The poor thing would always look longingly upon his brother's almond butter and jelly sandwiches. Though not allergic to almonds, the almond butter had a warning with which we are all too familiar: May contain peanuts. *Sigh*

But, his world got a whole lot brighter when my sister asked me if I'd ever heard of Sunbutter?

Sunbutter is made from Sunflower seeds! It looks just like peanut butter and tastes pretty good, too. It's made in a peanut and nut-free facility and is also gluten-free.

This butter is packed with protein, vitamin E and other important vitamins and minerals. And what about FAT? It contains 1/3 less saturated fat than peanut butter!

It's not only a great alternative for kids who have a peanut allergy but also for kids who may go to school and eat lunch in a peanut-free cafeteria. It does taste a bit different than peanut butter, but if you don't tell, they may not even notice. :)

My son with the peanut allergy likes it, and I am so happy that he can now eat one of my very favorite sandwiches from childhood~Sunbutter-Honey & Cheerio sandwiches!! (Well, as a child I ate it with peanut butter, but now I use Sunbutter or almond butter.)

Because Kristen from We Are THAT Family is in Kenya right now, you can visit Rocks in my Dryer for more WFMW tips!

First Curls

It was a quiet, early morning in Colorado. No one else was awake except for my kids and me. Breakfast had been eaten and we had time to spare before the "late-sleepers" would arise.

I thought it would be the perfect time for me to have some sweet "girl time" with Shiloh. I'd been dying to curl her straight, fine hair ever since I bought a nice curling iron with Christmas money.

Obviously she didn't share my enthusiasm.

One unhappy, yet very beautiful, girl.

She hasn't wanted her hair curled since. Doesn't she know she has a mama who would love to sit and pamper her? I am kinda sad. :(

WFMW: Better Than Doritos, Say What?

When it comes to chips, my man is a Doritos man. I don't think he's all that concerned about the INGREDIENTS! Taste is what matters most.

For me it's quite a different story.

Anyway, I wanted to do the happy dance the other day when he confessed that he'd rather have BOULDER CANYON ALL NATURAL chips over Doritos!!

Let me just tell you~these chips really are delicious! I LOVE them, my kids LOVE them and, can I have a "yea!", my husband LOVES them!

If you haven't spoiled your taste buds lately, you need to try these chips. Just click on the bag of chips to go to Boulder Canyon's website. There you can learn about them and see the different flavors. Our favorites are the Malt Vinegar and Sea Salt and Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper. BBQ is yum, too.

For more super, amazing tips visit We are THAT Family.

*Photo credit

Grab a Tube and Fly!

Tubing in Colorado was definitely an exciting adventure the kids will remember forever!! I certainly remember the first time I went tubing--around Lincoln's age in Minnesota--the place to where my family almost moved. We ended up moving to Memphis, but that's another story.

Join us as we relive the whipping wind in our faces while racing faster than a speeding bullet down a steep, snowy hill.

Gotta go over safety instructions first...

No chance of Lincoln getting cold.

Even Shiloh loved tubing as long as we didn't spin on the way down.

Baby Audrey wasn't quite big enough yet to ride down the hill.

Riding down in groups supposedly made you go faster.

The tunnel that took you back to the top.

Just an all-around, super-good time!!

WFMW: Apple Fun (Hidden Stars)

I love having fun with food! Show your kids that in every apple's core is a hidden star!


First, choose several varieties of apple--this part is just for the fun of tasting and learning!

Then, cut each apple horizontally directly in the middle of the apple. The rounder, more nicely shaped apples will give the best results. (Crookedly shaped apples contain crookedly shaped stars)

Wala! A perfect star!! My kids thought this was so cool. Now they want their apples cut this way instead of the vertical way.

*If you wanted to make an art project out of it, you could use the apple as a stamp and make stars with paint on paper. All of our apples got eaten, though.

For more creative tips, visit WE are THAT Family.

Front Porch

I wish I had one.

A big, beautiful front porch.

But I don't, so I took advantage of the one in Colorado. My only regret is that I didn't sit on it every single day drinking in the breathtaking view of magnificent mountains and never ending pines.

One day, though, I managed to fix myself some hot cocoa and sit for a few minutes just gazing and thinking. All by myself.

Wasn't too long before I just couldn't resist calling out the kids for some pics. I love porch pics.

The Revisitation of our Honeymoon Spot

Yesterday as I was lying in bed sick, I decided to dig out my old honeymoon scrapbook and relive some memories. My daughter crawled up beside me and wanted me to show her a picture of the horses that took us on our carriage ride. As she was looking and listening to me tell stories, she interrupted and said, "Daddy was so young, and you, too!" (Boy am I glad she is still too young to notice the fact that "mom jeans" and tucked in shirts with hideous looking belts must've still been in style~ugh, how embarrassing!)

Well, we recently had the opportunity to revisit our honeymoon spot and share a nice lunch there with the whole family.


It's been almost 13 years since my new hubby and I traveled to a quaint, little town in Colorado~Georgetown. It was still mostly as we remembered it. Cozy and neatly tucked away between gargantuan mountains and spectacular views.

This go 'round, we had 3 beautiful creations to bring with us! It was fun showing our kids where we honeymooned. :)

Unfortunately we couldn't find the Alpine Hideaway, the place where we stayed. I still remember those delicious breakfasts in baskets~YUM!

The kids enjoyed the new addition to Georgetown~a really cool park. They didn't play too long, though. We were all cold and hungry!!

My Guess: Not Strep

Praise the Lord for no more body aches and just a smidge of a sore throat!!!!

I really do appreciate all the prayers and sweet wishes of wellness. :)

Well, all the research I have done on strep seems to suggest that with a strep infection there would be no signs of sneezing, runny nose, coughing etc. I have all of those symptoms and more now, plus that is exactly how Lincoln's illness began. He sneezed all the way home from Colorado. (And that's a 16 hour drive one way!) Interestingly enough, that's the only part Mark got--the cold part.

It could have been tonsillitis or some other intensely painful virus. I am just relieved that I don't have to worry about rheumatic fever or any of those other terrible sounding secondary infections that could possibly be brought on by strep.

During some nights when I'd wake up in pure misery, I would actually imagine myself getting up, going downstairs, finding the sharpest knife possible and slicing those red, fiery balls right out of my throat. The thought of choking on large amounts of blood and bleeding to death usually jolted me back to my senses. And then I'd wait until it was safe to down more Advil.

It is quite obvious that I am feeling better today:

Despite the fact that my nose is drippy, my eyes still glassy, my neck glands slightly swollen, sinuses and Eustachian tubes blocked and clogged to the max, and a cough every now and then, I, along with the help of my loyal children, vacuumed, cleaned rooms, cleaned kitchen counters, mopped kitchen floor and did laundry. I am sure I will pay later, but I just couldn't stand to remain idle any longer!

I still had to shorten our school day, though. Gosh, it hurts to read out loud for too long. Plus I sound like Rudolph.

Once I got over my emotional breakdown, I did realize that since we've been ahead in some subjects, catching up really won't be that bad. :) (Pain can sometimes cause me to overreact just a tad.)

I am so thankful to be on the mend but so ready to be completely WELL!!

Echo Lake

Shiloh has complained off and on that she doesn't like living in the desert because it doesn't snow here.

She was beyond excited when we drove to Echo Lake where snow abounded as far as the eye could see. Let me be a cheesy mom for a moment and say, "I think Shiloh is the snow angel!" Aww, isn't she precious?!!

And snowballs--there is just something kids love about snowballs. Glad my kids had such a blast!

An evil, icy wind accompanied all this snow, and these desert cheeks weren't taking to it too well. And though my feet were double socked and wrapped in plastic bags, I might as well have been standing in the snow barefoot! Thankfully, the rest of me was quite warm due to all of the layering and snow gear provided by Grandma Honey and Jim. :)

Echo Lake was one of the places Mark and I visited while on our honeymoon almost 13 years ago, so it was neat seeing it again. Well, this time around we couldn't really "see" the lake as it was covered in so much ice and snow.

Despite the gelidity, the view was amazing and I basked in the magnificence of God's diverse creation! (And then I was ready to get back in the car where it was WARM!)

Ice Skating ~ Not So Much

I used to be pretty talented on the ice. I got my start at The Mall of Memphis back in the day. My friend, Sara, and I would rock the ice with our fast moves and attempted twirls. I mean, we we could have tried out for the Olympics if we'd wanted to. (Yeah, right!)

When I was about 18 or so, I went ice skating with my church friends. I can't remember if Mark and I were already dating, but he was there and my friend Theryssa was there. If my memory serves me well, I think I could still stand up and at least proceed in a forward motion while wearing those bad boys.

I found out in Colorado that a lot has changed in 15 years.

Thank goodness I was the one with the camera that day. That means there will be NO pictures of me on this post. My family members were trying to be sweet by telling me it was probably just a bad pair of skates. Seriously, I had to call it quits for fear of breaking my ankles and ruining the rest of the vacation. That's okay, though, I hung out with my cute, little niece, Audrey, instead. (And took pictures from the sidelines.)


Anyway, so begins our Colorado vacation... on the ice!! (And I was literally ON the ice!)

Audrey

Lincoln, Mullin, Jackson, Shiloh