To Our Korea Friends

Ben said in the video "Cause I've been out in the snow a long time and on the 4-wheeler"


We had taken the kids outside to play and then hooked the sled up to the back of the 4-wheeler and pulled them around on top of the snow. They loved it!

Lily is getting good at her english and can say over 100 words now! She can understand everything we say. She's so smart! I'll try and get a video in the next few days of her talking and post it here.
 
We miss you!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to our friends in Korea.

We hope you had a wonderful christmas Mr and Mrs Nam and So Hyun!

Snow Fun

One thing to like about Minnesota Winters?

Being whipped around on the tube by your dad.

Hold on tight! Daddy can be relentless.

One can't just stand by and watch their sister have all the fun.

Oh no, y'all....Ben's gotta get in on the action!

Wasn't long until he toppled off too.

Rosy cheeks and tired kids all came in after what seemed like hours. And by kids I mean Ella, Ben, and Jason.

Choo Choo

All aboard the choo choo train...all aboard, all aboard.

Clickety-clack comin' down the track.

Gotta love imaginations...and a good book for the ride.

Insects...

This fall we spent some time studying insects for school. What kid doesn't like trudging around in the weeds hunting for bugs?

We went on lots of nature walks hunting for beetles and other six-legged creatures.

And to study them closer...well, we decided we should make our own little friends.

We set out on our little project by making our own homemade modeling clay. Ben and Ella loved getting their hands into all the ingredients.

Then we researched beetles to make sure we made them correctly, molded them into shape, and baked them.

Once they were cool we got out the paints, pipecleaners, and googly eyes.

We learned that beetles are insects and in order to be classified as such they need to have three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have three legs on each side of their body all of which come out from the center body part: the thorax.

We had a lot of fun! And now whenever we see a picture of an insect in a book or somewhere, my kids are quick to point out if it has been drawn correctly or not.



And The Catch-Up Starts

Okay, Folks. I am up and running. Yeah! My laptop isn't out of the hospital yet, but I have another computer to use in the mean-time. It's good to be back in the technoligical world!

A word of warning: I told you I had a lot of pics for y'all. There will be some from way back when and then some from the present all mixed about and scattered around. None-the-less...pictures and stories are coming. Woot! Woot!

Here is the first of many....dating all the way back to October sometime...back when the weather was...oh, I don't know...nice. Yes, I even consider "rain" to be nice...beats snow in my book any day.

And my kids? Well, I think they were pretty happy-snappy to have their raingear on too.

No complaining from any of them.

There's nothing like a raincoat with rainboots to brings some smiles out on their faces.

Nothing. Well...maybe an umbrella too.

Especially when you have been stuck inside all day long.



Any idea how long it took me to get them to line up and look at the camera?

(I didn't even bother with asking them to try and smile all at the same time.)

I won't tell you, it may make you shudder.

"Mom...can we jump in the puddles? Mom, can we, can we??"

"One more pic, son. If you smile, this will go a lot faster."

"Now can we??"

Hmmmm...bribery seemed to have worked well for me! Ella smiled right away.

"You said we could, Mom...you really did."

Puddles. Jumping. Splashing.

I'm a good mom...I can roll with the punches...sure you can jump in the puddles!

...Or try to climb a wet pole. Keep trying, honey...you're doing great. Heehee

Hmmm...all this puddle jumping is getting them...well...wet.

Maybe this wasn't a well thought-out plan. Roll with the punches? Me? Yeah, right.

Now I just made more work for myself...gotta find dry clothes for everyone.

But....they are having so much fun.

"Maybe just stomp a little...but not jump up and down as hard as you can over and over again" I holllered.

"WHAT?!?"

"Oh, just kidding, sweatheart. I was only joking. What fun would that be to try and stay dry?!? And goodness, Mommy loves to change everyone's clothes twice in one day!"

Ah...whew...close call. Crisis diverted.

Back to the water, my little puddlejumper.

I guess in the end...it's better to have dripping-wet, happy kiddos then unhappy ones.

Life's really about jumping in the puddles anyway.

Off The Grid

Well, I'm sorry to report that my laptop is so bad off that it is going to be having some serious surgery. Jason is going to wipe it clean, reinstall everything, and start all over. Hopefully I'll be up and running soon. I miss my dear laptop....

I'm Bad...and My Computer Is In Worse Shape

Okay...I know it's been eons since a post. I've got lots of pics to put up...just not enough time in the day to get it done.

I'm Bad. And then...well...

My laptop? It's been in surgery for over a week. Seems to have picked up a nasty virus somewhere and is in ICU right now. Doc says things are looking up and it should be discharged this coming week.

Stay tuned...

Only One More Day...

*Sigh*

Only. One. More. Day....

Until all of my sweet babies are under the same roof!

Not looking forward to the long drive to go fetch my kiddos...but the pay-off....now that will be huge!

If you were here in on my porch right now with me, you would be witnessing a very big smile.

I'm getting very excited to see Ella and Ben.

Down On The Farm

Changin' it up here on Hubler Planet this week.

Not the ordinary, things are different.

Ella and Ben...they took a road trip.

Over the river and through the woods...to Grandma's House we go.

They have been begging for a chance to stay with Grammie and Papa all by themselves.

So...we packed them up and made the trip up north.

They've called each day telling me about all the fun they are having.

Doesn't seem to be a shortage of it down on the farm.

And is it just my imagination or has my little boy grown some while he's been away?

I'm not sure I'm liking this growing up business.

Maybe it's all the veggies they are scoring from the greenhouse.

Homeschooling? Well, I've just reaped the first benefits of being a homeschool family.

Pack up the books, share lessons plans with Grammie, and viola...school is taken care of.

I love that my parents invest their time into my kids.

Some of my most special memories are the times that I spent as a little girl with my own Grams and Gramps. Memories that I hold very dear to my heart.

And here she is...Grams...reading to my kids...still investing her time into children. My kids love their Great-Grandma. And I love her for making memories with them.

Warms my heart. Truly, it does.

A trip up north wouldn't be a success without a campfire!

Grillin' up supper...yum.

I'm guessing smores followed.

Aaahhhh....Grandma's House.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lily Jeeah!!

Happy  Birthday, Sweetheart!!!

A post to come tomorrow....once I get my emotional marbles all together. 

Hearts and Lungs and Livers...Oh My!

We were invited over to our neighbor's house the other day to learn about our bodies. Melanie and I had each cut out 7 different organs for the kids to learn about and paste on their "bodies" that were traced on giant pieces of paper.

After Ella's turn to be traced...came Ben's turn...

We learned a lot about each organ, one by one...

The heart, lungs, large intestine, small intenstine, liver, and the brain.

This wasn't all sitting around and glueing though...we were up and jumping around. Gettin' the ol' heart rate up.

Jump, jump, jump...faster, faster, faster...

NOW feel that heartbeat!

We had such a fun day! The kids sat so intently and they were hanging on every word Melanie had to say. What a great project and what great information. Our bodies truly are amazing!

Salamander

A real science lesson right in our front yard.

The kids had a great time meeting our new little friend.

He's kinda cute, right?

We learned a lot about these little guys...and the most interesting? If they lose a leg due to a predator, they will just grow another one!

Science Day with Daddy

Every Thursday is an exciting day here on Hubler Planet. It's the day that Daddy does science experiements with the kids.

This week's experiment was learning about rice, water, and sand. All about their commonalities and all about their differences.

Water. What's not to like about a bucket full of water when you are a boy? The kids learned about it's properties...hmmm, it's wet, it's clear, and it makes your hands clean and feel smooth.

Rice...not just for eating! They loved to feel the difference of textures between all three. Ella says "rice is bumpy."

Sand...Ella is filling it up to get it ready for it's turn on the scale...gotta see how much each weighs. Each was weighed in the same container and filled to the top to try to ensure accuracy.

Even Lily got in on the action! I'm thinking she likes science too...at least if it involves running your fingers through a big bucket of rice!

Taking it all in...listening intentely to Dad. He's a good teacher.

Rice's turn to hop on the scale...

Just cause science is more fun if you don't have to worry about a few little spills.

Hmmm....if you start with a wet finger, sand definitely sticks.

Rice too.

And all the findings. The kids loved it and I think Jason did just as much too.