Last weekend we took a road trip to Vegas to visit Alfredo's cousin Sandra and her family. We had a lot of fun. We went to a spring preserve museum place that talked about Vegas' history and how to conserve/protect the desert. They had some interesting displays, some live animals (just a few) and a nice garden area. Plus a playground. The kids had a lot of fun there.
We also went to the strip and went to the M& M factory as well as watching the water fountain displays at the casino. We drove to the Las Vegas Temple and walked around the grounds and Alfredo had fun playing with my camera, taking all kinds of pictures.
And my kids love Noel and Sandra's children. Becky is 11, Junior is 7, and Katie is 1 1/2. But both Becky and Junior are willing to play with my girls and the girls adore them. Ella kept following Junior around, trying to hold his hand.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
playhouse pics
Michelle playing in her playhouse. There's a blanket and "bed" (made out of a box.)
Peekaboo.... Michelle looking out the door. 
Ella looking out the window. She's holding on to the flower box. They haven't "planted" flowers yet. Michelle has some fake flowers
that we're going to put in it.
Ella
the playhouse
Last time I couldn't get the pictures to post. So here they finally are.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
playhouse
Speaking of playing with kids... I bought Alfredo a treadmill for Christmas. (He bought me a really nice camera.) The box is huge and I figured the girls would love to use it as a tunnel or playhouse and told Alfredo we should keep it... at least for a few weeks. He decided to turn it into a deluxe playhouse. He cut windows, doors, made a flower box, a chimney and Michelle made a "mailbox". It is pretty cool and the girls have loved playing in it. I'm impressed with his creativity. Here are some pics.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
playing with kids
I just finished an interesting book (written by a member of the church, Lynnae Allred, but really appropriate for all parents) called Piggyback Rides and Slippery Slides. It is all about playing with kids and why having an adult play with kids is so important to their development. Briefly, some of the points were that kids who play with an adult:
*tend to be more creative
*are better able to regulate emotions, get along better with peers, and are more likely to follow rules/handle situations in socially appropriate way (during pretend play, children often act out troubling situations and figure out how to react to them)
*do as well or better academically than peers who are pushed into early learning experiences (music lessons, academic preschools, etc.)
*are less likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, etc.
*are less likely to be obese
*are less likely to engage in risky behaviors: alcohol, tobacco use, sex, etc.
*are generally happier and have close relationships with one or more adults that will help them as they grow up
There were many other benefits but these are the ones that stood out to me. The book has lots of research but is written in a very accessible way and has many fun ideas for ways to play with kids. It was an interesting and useful read. I'd recommend it.
I had an interesting experience while reading it. We went to see Alfredo's cousin and her family (they live close by... we visit regularly). When we got there, Michelle asked Dayanara (who is the same age... born two days before Michelle) to go play. She said, "Later... I’m watching tv." This made Michelle sad, but Daya wanted to watch a cartoon. I finally, nearly an hour later, turned the tv to another channel and convinced her to go play with Michelle. Then later, Daya opened a brand new package of legos. They both started building. Michelle built this elaborate building with a very interesting design and proudly showed it to me. Daya built a straight tower... just straight up and not very tall. After watching Michelle, she eventually tried to make it a little more interesting. Most of Daya's toys are electronic and her parents, rarely if ever, get down and play with her. This is just one example, but Michelle is definitely way ahead of Daya in language, pre-reading skills, and creativity. It mostly makes me sad, because Daya isn't dumb and her parents have invested plenty of money in "educational" toys. But they weren't raised in a home where their parents played with them, read to them, etc. And so they are not doing those things with their two children either. It was interesting to see this difference and see how Alfredo and I interact with our kids compared to how they do in the midst of reading this book.
*tend to be more creative
*are better able to regulate emotions, get along better with peers, and are more likely to follow rules/handle situations in socially appropriate way (during pretend play, children often act out troubling situations and figure out how to react to them)
*do as well or better academically than peers who are pushed into early learning experiences (music lessons, academic preschools, etc.)
*are less likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, etc.
*are less likely to be obese
*are less likely to engage in risky behaviors: alcohol, tobacco use, sex, etc.
*are generally happier and have close relationships with one or more adults that will help them as they grow up
There were many other benefits but these are the ones that stood out to me. The book has lots of research but is written in a very accessible way and has many fun ideas for ways to play with kids. It was an interesting and useful read. I'd recommend it.
I had an interesting experience while reading it. We went to see Alfredo's cousin and her family (they live close by... we visit regularly). When we got there, Michelle asked Dayanara (who is the same age... born two days before Michelle) to go play. She said, "Later... I’m watching tv." This made Michelle sad, but Daya wanted to watch a cartoon. I finally, nearly an hour later, turned the tv to another channel and convinced her to go play with Michelle. Then later, Daya opened a brand new package of legos. They both started building. Michelle built this elaborate building with a very interesting design and proudly showed it to me. Daya built a straight tower... just straight up and not very tall. After watching Michelle, she eventually tried to make it a little more interesting. Most of Daya's toys are electronic and her parents, rarely if ever, get down and play with her. This is just one example, but Michelle is definitely way ahead of Daya in language, pre-reading skills, and creativity. It mostly makes me sad, because Daya isn't dumb and her parents have invested plenty of money in "educational" toys. But they weren't raised in a home where their parents played with them, read to them, etc. And so they are not doing those things with their two children either. It was interesting to see this difference and see how Alfredo and I interact with our kids compared to how they do in the midst of reading this book.
November's reads
(These have been posted for over a month. I'm just doing this to keep as part of my permanent record.)
Weedflower
3 Tickets to Peoria ... the continuing story of 3 women who met at BYU Women's Conference and their lives... Lesson from book... In life, we think we are heading to Hawaii and realize we actually purchased tickets to Peoria. We can either complain that we didn't go to Hawaii or take time to learn from/experience Peoria.
Paper Hearts... sweet story of overcoming abuse
Moving is Murder
Fairest... Sort of a telling of Snow White
Desire of our Hearts... LDS fiction about Alma the Elder
Crashing Through... true story of a blind man that regained his sight. very interesting.
I, of course, read other books but these were the most notable.
Weedflower
3 Tickets to Peoria ... the continuing story of 3 women who met at BYU Women's Conference and their lives... Lesson from book... In life, we think we are heading to Hawaii and realize we actually purchased tickets to Peoria. We can either complain that we didn't go to Hawaii or take time to learn from/experience Peoria.
Paper Hearts... sweet story of overcoming abuse
Moving is Murder
Fairest... Sort of a telling of Snow White
Desire of our Hearts... LDS fiction about Alma the Elder
Crashing Through... true story of a blind man that regained his sight. very interesting.
I, of course, read other books but these were the most notable.
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