Five Year Old Conversations

I absolutely love 5-yr-olds for so many reasons. I love watching them play and seeing them learn. I love sitting and having conversations with them. You just never know what's going to come out of their mouths. Sometimes all you can do is laugh! Bryson is definitely one in a million, and I just can't imagine not having him in our family. I wish I had written down every cute or funny thing he has said during his sweet little life, but honestly it would fill thousands of pages! Here are a couple of conversations from this past week:


We were waiting outside the police department to pick up my dad (nothing serious... he works there :) )and Bryson and Hayden were discussing what they would be when they grew up. Hayden looked across the street at the Fire Department and mentioned that he wanted to be a Fire Fighter. Bryson said he was going to work right here at the police department. When my dad got into the car, and we started driving, he said, "Papa... when I grow up I'm gonna be a police!" My dad answered, "Well, I guess you don't want to make much money then, huh?" Bryson thought about that for a minute, then said in the most shocked/surprised voice, "You mean it costs money to have a job?!" We laughed. It's just so cute how they hear things and what they come up with.


Another subject that just keeps coming up at our house is girls in Bryson's Kindergarten class that he thinks are cute. (I remember being in Kindergarten and finding out that a boy had a crush on me. Seriously... 5 year olds?) Anyway, I think it's kind of cute and I'm glad he feels like he can tell me these little secrets. He has had a crush on a little girl named Madison for the longest time. He would come home and say "Madison is pretty." Or "I really like Madison." Suddenly, this week he has changed his mind. He came home the other day and said, "Mom, I don't love Madison anymore. I love Cydali." I asked him why he didn't like Madison anymore. He said, "Well Mom, she lost her two front teeth, and now her tongue sticks through the hole when she talks 'LIKE THITH.' Plus I don't like it when she gets mad." It was hard to keep a straight face. Who knew that Kindergarten was such a complicated place? Love ya B-man!

Revolutionary War Balls

Here is the recipe for the Revolutionary War Balls. A few people asked for it. They really are good. They kind of remind me of donut holes, actually. We learned a few things from the first time we made them that we corrected the second time, like... remember the baking powder. They will be lighter, flufflier and more round if you use baking powder. Without it, they were a little more dense and flat (but still tasted good). Also... don't get the oil too hot. Nice and hot at about medium is good. We had it a little too hot at first, and the outside was cooking too fast, with the middle doughy! Once we turned it down a little, the inside was able to get cooked too.


REVOLUTIONARY WAR BALLS

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 big dash nutmeg
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix these ingredients and drop by Tablespoon in hot oil. Cook until golden brown (both sides), and while warm roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture or powdered sugar. Militiamen carried these during the Revolutionary War!

Eryn told her class that she'd bring more to share (with the baking powder added), so we will probably be making them again this weekend. We've only rolled them in the cinnamon mixture, but I think we'll try some rolled in powdered sugar this time!

What's cookin'?

It seems like every couple of weeks, Eryn gets a wonderful "short notice" social studies project. They had to choose several small projects that would add up to 150 or more points to get an A. I talked her into one particular project that would be worth 100 points just by itself... she could find a recipe that was used in Revolutionary War times, make it, and bring some to share with the class. (Some of the other projects she chose were: write a letter as if you were there during Shay's Rebellion, write and perform a play about Federalists vs. Anti-federalists, (I think that was what they were called) and answer questions from the end of the chapter. They got the assignment on Monday, and it was ALL due by Friday!!) We got online, and found this fun recipe called "Revolutionary War Balls." Apparently, Revolutionary War militia men ate them! We thought they sounded fun and interesting, so we gathered the supplies and got to work. Eryn wanted to do it mostly on her own, so I watched. Too bad I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice that she left out baking powder. They still turned out really yummy. We are going to try them again WITH baking powder. I think they will end up a little lighter and fluffier. They were really easy, with very basic ingredients, and Eryn had a great time making them!

"So, you got my back and everything, right?"

I remember as a kid... I could totally fight with my sisters and tell them to get lost, but the second someone else started picking on them, I was in their face ready to beat them up in order to protect whichever sister they were bullying! I love that my kids are so protective of eachother, too. We were watching Kaitlyn's basketball game, and I looked back to check on the boys, and there was Bryson with his arms wrapped around a crying Hayden. It was so sweet. When I asked them what happened, (after I snapped a picture, of course), Bryson said that some kid had hit Hayden and knocked him down. Being the sweet big bro, Bryson helped him up and comforted him with a big hug. They have their differences like any other set of brothers, but they are really starting to become good buddies. I love my sweet boys!

By the way, Hayden isn't missing a hand... apparently he finds comfort in holding on to the tag of his pants (or sometimes his shirt) - kind of a funny little quirk he's had since he was tiny. He hates when I cut the tag out!

More Hoops - "K" this time!

Kaitlyn is in her second year playing basketball. It makes such a difference when they go from playing co-ed to an all girls team. Their confidence improves so much! She has done really well. She is definitely a good little athlete. She makes shots in every game! In fact, last week she made 5 baskets... then this week she said "I'm going to beat my record!" Guess what? She did it! She made 7 baskets! (Then Jared encouraged her to get some assists instead and let some of the other girls score... which she did happily. In fact, a couple of girls who have never been able to score were able to make some shots). We have really enjoyed watching her learn and improve this year.

Basketball

Our girls have been playing basketball this year. It's Eryn's 4th year and Kaitlyn's 2nd year. Jared has been coaching both teams! It makes for busy, but fun Saturdays. I finally took the camera to their games so I could get a few shots of them playing. I'll do separate posts for each of them. This one will be ERYN. She sure has come a long way. I remember her first year... when they are in second grade they play co-ed basketball. She kind of had a tough time, because there were only two girls on her team and the boys didn't like to share the ball. She was so grateful the next year to only have girls on her team. It made a huge difference! Now in her fourth year, she is getting a little more aggressive (which is hard for her - she is just too sweet) and her ball handling skills are getting better all the time. She has made baskets in nearly every game, and I think they only lost once! She ended up with half of her team from Cedar Hills (which made her a little nervous since she didn't know them) but it was good for her to meet new friends. The other half of her team are the same girls she has played with all along (including in softball and soccer) so they know each other well. We really enjoyed watching her play and improve this year. We are so proud of her!