History, repeated in miniture

I was working on rebuilding my blackberry trellis and constructing tomato trellises today. After a while, my back yard filled with neighbor kids today, and my oldest son (11) conscripted them all into his army, the Gregorian horde. As they started training, one neighbor kid (9) objected to his options within the army, and indicated he wanted to be a treasurer, a Bankarian who was allies with the Gregorians. The treasurer convinced the general that all military personnel should first help mine enough gold to fund the military campaign. The general was convinces, so the allies went to the mines (my sandbox).

Lesson #1: give them work and they don't need war

The mining proceeded nicely and the war was forgotten. The horde became employees of the Bankarians. Unfortunately, the treasurer became greedy and kept demanding more and more. He had all the 3-5 year olds happily singing 'gold!' 'gold!', and the former warriors tolerated it because the little ones wanted to keep mining.

Lesson #2: watch out for corporate greed and brainwashing of the youth

Eventually, the treasurer concluded that everyone was his slave, and the game devolved into fights and rebellion.

Lesson #3: don't let brainwashed youth override the experience of their elders.

The fight fizzled into a generic sandbox play session and every one was happy.

Lesson #4: play in the dirt with your friends and neighbors, and life is all good.

First Lego League

A neighbor talked me into coaching a competitive lego robotics team. Zachary and Chayce were on my team with eight other children. We took second and Cache Valley's first ever regional competition. My parent were able to attend. Zachary was ready to give up an not compete because the robot's programming was not as perfect as he wanted it, but he's glad he decided to stick through the end. We're excited to start preparing for next year's competition beginning this February.

At the competition site, awaiting our team. The choose the team name "brainioactive". It is hard to see in the picture, but there is a lego head in the center of a radioactive warning on their shirts. A team member did the artwork while he had pneumonia and couldn't come to practice.

The competition tables at USU's STEM center.

After the competition we took the family to lunch and got this goofy picture.

Quinton and his grandpa

Late December 2014, early January 2015

Unseasonably warm weather yielded a back yard sans snow. Chayce decide to attempt to use an ornate bracelet as a crown for this hen. I didn't work so well, but we took a picture anyways.

Somebody figure out how to crawl, just in time to attack in the last days of the Christmas tree.

The little princess after church, waiting fro Quinton to get out of his last day in nursery. Having a late December birthday  leads to a short nursery career at church (for children 18 months up until the end of the year they turn 3), but he has transition to primary quite well.

Quinton is helprassing his mom. She didn't help sending that text message, but she sure got it. And the pictures were cute, too.

I pulled a carrot from our sand bucket of stored carrots. It was large, and had formed concentric layers. This was at the core. For gastrointestinal reasons, I don't recommend eating a carrot that large in one sitting. But it tasted good. 

Since the November snow had passed, I hiked up the mountain behind the house one more time. This picture is looking up Providence Canyon, where I frequently go mountain biking.

This picture is taken at the same location as the prior picture, turned 180 degrees. Our house is in the lower center area of the picture.The Wellsville mountains on the west side of the valley are obscured by clouds. 

Sisters on a Sunday evening. Since putting them is separate bedrooms, they have become good friends. 

We don't make ginger bread men, we make ninja bread men. Jillian found cookie cutters in martial arts stances. These tasted sweeter than most ginger bread because we put the powdered sugar, intended for the frosting, in the batter.

Little miss Rosie and her grandpa Browning. 

Jillian and her nephew

The children got bicycles, and Quinton wanted a turn adjusting his bike just like dad had done to Zachary and Chayce's mountain bikes.  

A budding bike mechanic.

Even though we lost our snow, Geneva had plenty. 

Aunt Mandi giving Quinton a ride.

Cousin Lizzy climbing the hill her dad made with grandpa's tractor while clearing the driveway

Chayce and cousin Matthew

New years even involved fireworks with our neighbors the Fresz's (and it was freezing), a pirate themed party at another neighbors the James', and one more firework when we got home - we just stuck everything together and lit it all at once, it was too cold outside to stand there lighting things one at a time.

December 2014

This is Rosie's surprised look. As in, did that just come out of me? We have temporarily suspended the use of the white quilt on our bed. This girl loves to babble and has figure out how to crawl. 

Quinton's birthday party. His skid steer and race car had to attend. Our Christmas tree is in the backgroundp

All the children including Quinton took turns rolling and cooking Bratzeli's. Our neighbors got wind of their existence, and the cookies are no more. 

We took a field trip to the Wasatch front. Here the children sit next to a statue of  Abraham Lincoln in front of the Scheel's sporting goods store, where we rode their Ferris wheel and took several staged pictures.

Faux shooting range

He couldn't quite climb this one, so he gave it a hug. Good game, tree, good game.

I couldn't get him to pet the skunk, but at least he didn't run away crying like the kid who walked past before us.

Monster jeep. He would really like to have this in real life.

Chayce and a grizzly

We attempted a group photo with the grizzly, but a lack of cooperation yielded this

After Scheels, we went to the Clark Planetarium in SLC. Quinton is sitting in a tire that was used on a space shuttle.

Chayce is running a tornado simulator.

Infrared. So Rosie sweats from her head. Profusely. She can leave a 16 inch diameter puddle on our sheets. The dark red circle below Jillian's face, that's Rosie's head. And this is without a fever. We fear we have a hot headed daughter on our hands.

Quinton is three

Mr. Quinton turned three, and has gone from zero to potty trained in less than two weeks. His smile repertoire is quite entertaining.

Thanksgiving 2014

We met with the Tueller side of the family for Thanksgiving in Geneva, Idaho at the Geneva church. It was fun. But then we had two days of stomach issues (the washing machine ran non-stop from 1am to 11am). We decided to spend the down time catching up on the Hobbit movies and reading books. 

The kids table. Chayce and Payge tried to help their younger cousins since their dad had to work that day. At the table, left to right, were Jessie, Chayce, Quinton, Rogan, Payge, and Lizzy.

Payge, with a mischievous look. She has recently confused 'delicious' and 'malicious' , so dinner was malevolent. Matthew is on the end in this picture, but was doing his best to avoid the camera. 

Tried to catch grandpa Tueller playing cards with cousin Lizzy. Grandma Tueller tried to duck out.

Behind Grandpa and Lizzy we were playing Nertz. To the left of my mom are Effie, Amy, Jessica; To her right are Mandi, mom's colleague, and Jillian in the background.

The boys getting ready to go feed the cows, riding the hay wagon behind grandpa's tractor. We had a brief snowball 'fight' - I was really just a target. 

Zachary and Quinton on top of a half ton hay bale. 

The whole crew (Mandi was with us too) on the hay wagon. We drove out into the snow covered field and pushed the hay off. Zachary helped put manageable chunks out for the shorter people to push over the edge to the cows. 

After feeding the cows, Quinton got a ride in the cab to reload the hay wagon. 

After returning from Geneva, and when Zachary was feeling better, we tried a makeshift rocket stove with bricks. We went through three designs and could boil water, but the inconsistency in the brick shape and the holes in the bricks made it difficult to retain heat. I want to try again, but will keep redesigning it in my head at night when I can't get to sleep.

A view from the top of the stove

The front of the rocket stove

I should have started this back in August, or at least September. But I finally got my winter indoor greens going. 

Once getting the children feeling better, Jillian decided it was time to decorate. The children requested the tree be in the living room instead of the entryway. Here is what they came up with.

November 2014

Early November campout with Zachary and my boy scouts. 

After camping, we harvested our carrots.

The lemons are almost ripe

Quinton wanted to climb the mountain, so we walked up to the base (which was enough for him once we got there) and took some pictures.

Lillyth, being cute

Quinton couldn't sit still for a physics demo at USU, so we walked the halls and tested the elevators, and, at one point, put him in this 'jail'.

I rounded up several extra hens from friends would didn't want to take care of their birds who no longer laid and had my scouts over for a lesson on poultry processing. Fortunately, one of the other leaders and his friend were experienced and taught me, and the boys, what they were doing.