I rinsed the beans

Dear Family,

We're having 13 Bean Soup with turkey tonight.  I slow cooked the 13 "beans" in a liquid that included over a quart of the juices from the turkey bones that simmered overnight.   It's going to taste so good!

As you know, beans have a magical power that is collected in the water as they cook.  For the most part, this magic is considered black magic and in consideration for you, I took extra effort to drain and rinse the very heavy and hot pot of beans over the kitchen sink. 

I know how much you will appreciate this act of love because you have expressed many times your distaste for extra work (or any work) and undoubtedly know the sweat and tears I could have shed over the task.  But don't worry.  Other than temporarily  loosing vision through my fogged up glasses, it was no trouble at all!  

Thankfully, I did not shed the tears and exert the energy to avoid the extra time, because it would have made me more tired than just draining and rinsing the beans actually did!

So what all of this means is that you will have a nice dinner and your tummies will be full without as many severely unpleasant and embarrassing intestinal reactions.  All because I love you!

Or...it's a purely selfish move based on too much exposure to your delicate systems.

Either way, bon appetit!

Love, Mother

Saturn, by Sarah

This school we're in has the kids start doing research reports in Kindergarten.  I both love it and hate it.  Thankfully, they make them super easy and increase difficulty as they get older.

Sarah recently had to give a report on a plant as part of an astronomy unit.  She chose Saturn.  The report had to be her work and in her handwriting.  I helped her look online and she did the writing.  She also had to make a model of the planet.  I gave her some ideas, but she did 90% of the work.  (I think Daddy helped her cut the inside circle out of the transparency sheet.)

I think she did a great job!  Her teacher agreed.  :)

14 Days of Valentines 2016

Our tradition is alive and well.  This year was the 17th year to honor the holiday of love.  And it was the first year that Chad had a theme for his gifts to me.  He made everything a sign of some kind or included a sign in some way.

This sign hanging across the driveway was clever.

I didn't have a sign theme.  But I did make sure to fill Chad's truck with balloons.  That's kind of a tradition.

Joseph and Sarah helped blow up balloons for me.  It's a good thing they have such chubby cheeks to help them fill up nearly 70 balloons.  Yeah.  They probably get credit for 4 or 5.

I did make some truffle type things.  They were an interesting first time activity.  Thankfully, we have a lot of kids to help Chad eat them.  Except for Nathan, he tasted the minuscule amount of peanut butter in them and wouldn't eat any.

Chad did put a keep out sign on the bathroom door and had the tub filling for me.  I turned on the jets

to get the bubbles going.  Unfortunately, the switch to turn it off can't be reached from the tub, and it isn't on a timer.  So things got a little overwhelming for a while.  I finally got Chad to respond to a text and come turn things off!

But not before the bubbles got so high that they started spilling out of the tub.  I was laughing as I spit them out of my mouth and blew them out of my nose.

I did make a couple of signs myself.  I had the kids help me quickly cover the back of his truck after school one day.

Chad also got the kids in on the fun.  They made these little signs and he lined the driveway with them.

They looked a little bigger in person.  :)

When we lived in Las Vegas about 14 years ago, and I was only on the third or fourth year of Valentines, one of Chad's coworkers mentioned that I would not keep it up for very long...after a few kids came along.  I guess we showed him!  

Prayerful

Every once in a while, I catch glimpses of my children doing beautiful things.  I hope Leah's relationship with her Heavenly Father is always strong and growing.

Joseph's date with mommy

Twice a year, each Collett kid gets a chance to go out with mom or dad for one-on-one time.  We try to do something they choose, though sometimes they need a little guidance in choosing.  February was Joseph's month and my turn to take him.  He wanted to go mini golfing.  He was sure he'd never been because he couldn't remember our golf trips in Idaho.  There's a nice golf course in Cape Canaveral that is only $5 a person.  Because it's outdoors, it's best in cooler weather, which gives us about a 4 month window.

Time for a selfie with a photo-bombing gorilla!

This is a little golf dance that Joseph made up.  It's one of the few times he was detached from his shadow.

Putting into a cave.  Very skilled puts are required for this hole but neither one of us qualified.  This might be one of the holes that Joseph got to start over again when his ball returned to him!

One last selfie.  It was a beautiful morning and we had the golf course to ourselves.  The fact that we are still smiling means that we had fun despite being horrible golfers!

Joseph didn't do too badly for his "first time".  But neither one of us got a hole-in-one.  Maybe next time.

The arcade had been very tempting as we passed through it on our way to golf.  I'm sure it's placement was no accident.  Joseph wanted to play some games, so I gave him the choice to spend the money on games or getting a treat together.  Guess which one he chose.

Ten dollars in quarters equals a lot of quarters!  It would have seemed less expensive if the games had taken tokens and not actual quarters.  But Joseph had a lot of fun and got a bit of a workout.  ;)

Our last cub scout!

Joseph turned 8 last November (yay!) and officially started Cub Scouts.  After watching his big brothers do fun things in scouts, Joseph was more than a little excited to get his own uniform!  I can't say I missed going to Pack Meeting, but now we're mostly all at the church anyway.  His older siblings don't join us because they are involved in their own scout or mutual activities.  And Daddy slips in and out.  But we do our best.

Daddy did get to be present when Joseph earned his Bobcat.  Big things are in store for Joseph!  :)

Sarah's painting

Sarah was invited to a birthday party last month (or the month before - I've lost track).  It was at an art studio and the kids were guided step by step through a predetermined painting.  These types of painting classes/parties are really popular in this area!

We were pretty impressed with Sarah's painting!  Her older sisters were fawning over her skills, which prompted Sarah to reply, "There were instructions!"  Haha.  She was just being modest.  It is a really cute painting and I'm sure much cuter that many of the other girls'.  (I can be a little biased as her mother!)

Though she exhibited some modesty at one point, Sarah was not above finding a place of distinction to display her masterpiece.  The living room had a very convenient tack in the wall and there her bees and flowers still hang!  But I don't mind because I really like it.  :)