Any "Survivor" Fans Out There?

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while and I have lots to share, but I have just a minute to share some fun news that doesn't usually happen. Yesterday I met a celebrity who was on the most recent "Survivor" show. His name: Yau-Man! He walked out of a bookstore just as we were getting ready to go in. Dave went up to him first and started chatting about the show and about UC Berkeley (where Yau-Man is a professor). We got to ask him all sorts of questions about the filming of the show, the rules of the game, as well as the other people who were on the show. Bottom line, he said there is nothing fair about the game! The rules change all the time depending on what's happening in the tribes and between the people. I found that interesting. Anyway, poor Yau-Man!! He should've walked away with the million dollars (he got real close)!!! So if there are any "Survivor" fans, maybe you'll understand why meeting Yau-Man was so fun. I've gotta run but I'll write more later and post some pictures of all sorts of stuff!

Field Trip to S.F. Symphony

All I can say is, "We got to go to a San Francisco Symphony concert made just for kids!" I think I was more excited for this trip than my boys, although now they tell me they really want to go next year. Yeah!!

Each year the S.F. Symphony puts together a 45 minute concert for the sole purpose of introducing children to a variety of classical music, instruments, and of course to gain an appreciation for the symphony itself. There were hundreds of kids (most of them on a field trip with their school) that filled the concert hall. My boys were in awe of the entire experience!

Here are Matthew and Jared on their first BART train ride. We rode BART into the city, and it's pretty safe to say they both thought this ride was just as good (maybe better) than the actual concert.

Here we are waiting in line outside the building. There were literally hundreds of kids and what seemed to be just as many school buses all over the block.

We got SOOOOO lucky! We were being ushered into the main floor seating with a big group. Just before we entered the room I leaned over to the usher and kindly told her we were a group of only three and wondered if there were any other good seats available. Well, to my surprise she sent me straight to box seating on the main floor! Perfect chairs, lots of leg room, fabulous view and a ledge to lean on.

Here is the stage without musicians. We were asked not to take pictures in the room when the musicians were on stage. They explained it would be very distracting. So, this picture will have to do.


I have to say, this is one of my favorite field trips we've been on this year and I'm sure glad I was able to introduce my boys to such a magnificent event!

A Happy Mail Thank You- Long Overdue!

A big thank you to Chelsea for making my day with some Happy Mail that arrived at my house just after Chelsea arrived at her new house!! (Sorry for the delay in posting- I had some trouble uploading the photos a few weeks ago!)

On a long long day, a package arrived from Chicago! Impressively crazy, in my mind, that Chelsea would even consider sending mail during a BIG move!!
Everything sweet! Kate attached herself to the candy box and wouldn't hand it over until bedtime! Thank goodness she didn't know what was inside or she would've never gone to bed!

Lastly, cheers to Vegas! Girls, these things remind me of Vegas for some reason! Thanks for the memory jog! : )

Are Your Science Lessons This Fun?

So, many of you know that we are a homeschooling family as of this school year. We love it (most of the time) and have had so much fun this year learning together and exploring education. One of the highlights this year has been the Spanish & Science class we participate in. In these pictures you'll see our "class." Three other families, plus mine, meet together once a week for Spanish and Science and the kids eat it up!! Chun Mei (the mother wearing the straw hat) teaches the Spanish portion each week and she has the kids singing, dancing and playing games most of the time. I'm always tickled when out of the blue my boys will say something to me in Spanish or sing their Spanish songs when they think no one is listening. I can't thank Chun Mei enough for all the work she does to make these lessons enriching and worth every minute of our time!!

I wanted to share one of our favorite science activities we did a couple weeks ago and what happened that really made it most rewarding. On this particular day, I was in charge of the lesson and picked an experiment on how to make soda explode from it's bottle using Mentos candy. Maybe you've heard of it or even tried it- if not, I highly recommend this activity! There is a handful of scientific language and several scientific concepts that can be introduced during this activity (ie. what is carbon dioxide and where is it in the soda bottle? & what are gas molecules and what happens when they want to separate from each other?). Ok, enough science babble. So, this was one of the first times we met at a park for class (I didn't want to clean up my yard after this messy experiement). The kids were having a blast on the playground and I decided it would be a good time to set up. To my surprise, when the kids saw I was setting up, they all came running off the playground, asked if they could help and then sat down on the blanket to wait for me to start! They sat there for a good ten minutes waiting. I thought for sure they would be drawn back to the playground but then it dawned on me- they love this stuff!! It's not me, they love, they love the lessons! They have really connected with these science experiements and concepts and they love it!! Ahhh! To me, this is why all this hard work feels so good!!

So, may I present: Mentos Geysers! An Experiement at the Park!

Here I am teaching the science behind the experiment.

Look at these expressions. Priceless!! This photo shows the kids reaction after the first explosion.

Love the red plastic kid sized poncho? You know, I wear it every time it rains! Just kidding!! I didn't want to stay at the park after science class soaked in soda!

Through our observations, this geyser went the highest of all.

This Is a Great Family!

Meet the Wilcox's. This is Dave's entire family, minus three- Cade is serving a mission in Florida right now, Kristin lives in Texas(?) with her hubby and baby and Dave's 99 year old Grandma Doering was home sick. We miss you Cade & Kristin!! This was taken at at our house after our Easter dinner. If you've never met Dave's family, you might like to know that he grew up with two sisters: Lydia on the left in denim and Mallory on the right with a white shirt. We feel lucky to live so close and to spend time together!



This is Grandma Doering. I'm amazed to say that she will be turing 100 years old this fall!!! I can only imagine the size of the party that she's going to have! I understand her entire ward already has something in the works!

This Is Why We Love Climbing!

Ok, so if you've snooped around my blog, you've seen several pictures of us climbing at a rock climbing gym. Well, let me show you why we are so interested in this dangerous sport! (Please note: The Wilcox family will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER attempt these moves without the use of trick photography and a BIG crash mat!!)

These are pictures of my nephews on my Wilcox side. They LOVE climbing and these are photos from a recent adventure they had. Note the rocks they'd land on if they fell! Unfortunately, I can't see their faces very well so I can't tell you if it's Scott and Gregor or Gregor and someone else. Gregor recently won first place in his division in a national climbing competion a couple months ago. Congrats to you, Gregor!!!

Lost In Life!

It seems that life has overtaken my energy lately and I haven't been able to spend any time at the computer for the sole purpose of updating my blog. We've had alot going on and I have great pictures to post but little time to do so. So, my purpose in writing this note is to tell you (the few of you who even read this blog) that I'm still alive and well and just plain busy with being a wife and mother to my wonderful family. So, don't give up on me and check back soon and with any luck, I'll have pictures posted and news galore!