Friday, February 27, 2009

Not a Recipe You Want to Try

Today Coleman wanted a sandwich for lunch.  We started off with a roll, he wanted butter and salt and pepper on it.  (Remember how much he loves salt and fresh ground pepper.)  Next he requested avocado, but we are out.  He then wanted lettuce and cold, leftover mashed potatoes. Is this sounding yummy to you?  The last ingredient he wanted on his sandwich was strawberry jam.    Then he dipped the whole thing into gravy (also leftover) and ate every bite!  I just wiped the gravy and jam stains off his cheeks and sweatshirt.  What a kid!

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Our Mathematical Genius



When Papa Donut's Filipino wife was at our house for a Christmas party, she took one look at Coleman and told me she can tell he is highly intelligent because of his protruding forehead.  He has always had quite a big head and I was not at all offended that she thought he had a protruding forehead; I was very proud. (Jono just scoffed.)  I been on the lookout for signs of intelligence ever since.  

Coleman has loved numbers since he was just a toddler and became fascinated with the rummicube game in St. George.  His favorite number is 22.  What three year old has a favorite number?  It must be a sign of intelligence, right?

I recently got out some flash cards of numbers 1 to 30.  "Where's 100, mom?" Coleman asked me and so I found another set of flash cards that went to 100.  Coleman was thrilled!  He got out his pointer, and counted and pointed and pointed and counted for quite a while.  He even took 10 flash cards to school for show and tell; including 22, 100 and 3.  He is such a funny little guy.

I'll keep you posted on the highly intelligent forehead prediction!

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Basketball Buddy

We just ended another season of Jr. Jazz Basketball.  After several previous undefeated seasons, we decided to play up a grade this year, for a challenge.  Oh boy, was it a challenge! We played on regulation courts, with a bigger ball, against bigger boys and serious referees who called it like they saw it.  But, our boys played hard week and week and we were so proud of them.  We ended the season 2-5-1.  Interestingly, the boys didn't mind the losing as much as our competitive coaches and staff (I am the staff).  Next year, we are sticking to kids our own size!  

The Greatest Jr. Jazz Basketball Team Ever!

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Monday, February 16, 2009

A Presidential Swim

Bud, Rosie and Coleman wanted to play with their cousins Will and Max on President's Day.  Bud set up the playdate by calling Greg and telling him to "come over with your snow stuff and your swimming stuff".  What interesting options!  I was honestly not excited about either option, I wanted to go to a climate controlled movie theater. Later, the Summerhays family arrived at our house and the kids decided to go swimming.  Luckily, our favorite friend Jen F. was at our house also, and she conveniently loves to swim, so I put her in charge of watching Coleman.  Max and the older kids are good swimmers, so none of the parents had to swim! We all loved watching the kids splash, play, dive and go down the big slide.  It was a very fun afternoon.

My shutter speed is set at 125 so the water streams appear to be moving. If I set the shutter speed higher, the water appear frozen in time.  I had to adjust my camera often because the sun would go behind a cloud and change the lighting in the building with large windows.  I am really enjoying my new-found camera knowledge, but I still have lots to learn!

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day started off with a visit from our Papa Donut!  We love to see him every Saturday morning and he loves to visit with his three favorite grandkids.  Here is a picture of Papa Donut playing "horse" with Bud and Coleman.  

Later, we went to mall for our 2nd annual Build-A-Bear Valentine's Day.  Rosie chose a pink flowered bear which she named Sara Spring.  Jen F. choose a floopy-eared bunny and she named her Caramel.  There are cute pictures of each of them stuffing their animals and making a wish on the heart.  Coleman loved helping the girls wash and fluff their new friends. Build-A-Bear is such a fun place to be!  

While all the girls and Coleman were doing the bear thing, Jono and Bud went to Bud's favorite store, Fanz.  Bud loves all the Utah things there!  He picked out a Utah sign for his room.  Then, Jono and Bud went to Claire's Boutique to buy a surprise for Rosie; dangling diamond earrings.  Look at the excited look on her face!  

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Panning

To complete an assignment for my photography class, I met my sisters and their kids at Jungle Jim's.  The assignment was to take a "panning" shot; where the subject is moving and the shutter speed is set to 1/15. By following a moving subject and taking the photo when the subject is right in front of you, you get a blurred background and an in-focus subject.  I took almost 200 photos and just a few turned out correctly.  It was very fun and I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures.  (Laura has great pictures posted on her blog, check it out!)

Macy was not too happy in this picture, but she really did have fun!

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Science Fair

We seem to be so busy lately (or maybe it's just always busy!) at our house.  Our latest project was the Science Fair.  Bud choose to do an experiment using peanut power to heat water.  It was really interesting. I chose for Rosie a very easy project about long-lasting bubbles.  The bubble mixture wasn't as great as we had hoped, but it was still fun. Both boards turned out really neat and I think it is such a great experience to describe the scientific process and your project and results to the judges and your peers.  Bud won a red ribbon of excellence and all the second graders got participation ribbons.  Hooray for the Oettli kids!

 (I was also quite proud of myself for taking these pictures using the 
manual setting on my camera and not the automatic!)

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Photography Class

My sister Laura and I are taking a photography class and we love it! We've learned about f-stop, shutter speed, compositions rules, lenses and filters.  It is so interesting and the best part is our teacher explains things so well, we are actually understanding some of the more complicated aspects of photography.  Here are some of the pictures I have taken.  (Coleman is the only one home during the day, so he is my favorite and only subject right now.)   Be inspired to take more pictures and be creative!

Here are some helpful tips:
    *Hold the camera with your left hand, giving the camera a stable base, and push the button with your right hand.  I have always done both with my right, which can produce shaky pictures.
    *Check 7 points in your viewfinder before taking the picture: subject, background, foreground and 4 corners.  If something is not to your liking, change your angle or position. This will give you an uncluttered picture from the best view possible.
    *Simplicity:  keep background simple, concentrate on one subject at a time.    
    *Rule of Thirds: don't center your subject for a more pleasing picture, leave space for your subject to move into.
    * Lines: curves and diagonals add interest and dynamics.
    * Balance: symmetrical or asymmetrical, let shapes and colors tell the story.
    * Framing:  fill the screen, use nature (trees, rocks) frame subject and add depth.
    * Avoid Mergers:  check 7 points to keep background simple, don't cut off hands and feet, don't steal from point of interest.

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Congratulations Greg!

President Obama has recognized the integrity, talent and innovation possessed by our brother Greg and will make him a key player in the Obama Administration.  Congratulations Greg, we are so proud of you and wish you all the best.


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