Creative Dating

Here are 100 date ideas. Some are free.

1. Go scuba diving
2. Play cops and robbers on horseback
3. Walk all the dogs in the neighborhood
4. Go rabbit or rat hunting
5. Go for a bike ride
6. Sand mumping or icing
7. Swing at the park
8. Ricket your own house
9. Fire escape sitting or jumping and swinging
10. Mountain climbing
11. Water balloon fight
12. Glacier sliding
13. Go tubing down a stream
14. Race toy trains
15. Roller skate or skate boarding
16. Build a dam in a stream or gutter
17. Paint a barn or house
18. Make mud pies and eat or throw
19. Take a midnight hike with flashlights
20. Go bug collecting
21. Take sunrise hike with breakfast
22. Snipe hunting
23. Tip toe through the sprinklers
24. Ride a jeep to the top of a mountain and cook dinner
25. Go duck hunting
26. Have a scavenger hunt
27. Garage or house clean
28. Rent hondas (4-wheelers)
29. Hayride and hootenanny
30. Go caving and exploring
31. Kite making nad then flying
32. Climb trees
33. Create out of dirt, sand play
34. Go catch frogs and then have a frog jumping contest
35. Go to a drive-in in a truck and have a candlelight dinner in the back
36. Rent a truck (moving van) and have a party inside
37. Take a sight seeing tour of your city
38. Visit a fish hatchery
39. Go bird watching at the Aviary
40. Play pool
41. Skiing
42. Play ping pong
43. Play tennis
44. Moonlight strolls
45. Picnic
46. Play catch
47. Go for drives around or in mountains
48. Fix dinner and watch movie
49. Go antiquing
50. Go on the merry-go-round
51. Visit travel agencies
52. Walk through the fog (rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc.)
53. Have a "Lost Ten Tribes" dinner party, Judah brings meat, Levi brings salad, Ephraim brings dessert, etc.
54. Go to the hotel and watch T.V. with sedate members of society
55. Go through an old junk drawer
56. Bottle fruit
57. Watch trains or planes come in
58. Wash cars
59. Color in coloring books
60. Go pumpkin caroling
61. Go to drive-in with date and younger brother or sister
62. Play kick the can
63. Pull taffy
64. Put together model cars
65. Play people watching
66. Take little children to the zoo
67. Baby-sitting
68. Free concerts, museums, etc.
69. Entertain at hospitals
70. Study sessions
71. Home-made light shows
72. Plan tournaments--Jacks, tennis, tiddlywinks, etc
73. Throw frisbees
74. Early morning game of tennis and breakfast before work
75. teach how to make bread
76. Start a Sunday night study group
77. Go to a baseball game late (You might get in free.)
78. Go fishing
79. Frog jumping contest
80. Write letters
81. Play football in the park
82. Jump on the sand dunes
83. Hiking
84. Have a street dance
85. Roller skating
86. Watermelon bust
87. Swing in the park
88. Miniature golf
89. Play cowboys and Indians
90. Boys cook dinner for the girls
91. Christmas caroling (in August or December)
92. Cook pancakes and watch cartoons
93. Find ghost houses
94. Go tubing or icing
95. Go water skiing
96. Put butcher paper on tables and finger paint with chocolate pudding
97. Weed a garden or plant seeds/garden
98. Make cookies and then take them to the neighbors
99. Have a pig party by tying people's wrists together and serving spaghetti without forks
100. Do murals on the sidewalk with chalk

Bunk Bed and Webcam

We have been hoping to find a bunk bed for a while. Since The Boy has decided that he doesn’t like sleeping in his crib, it is time for an upgrade. I found the frame that I have wanted for $50 at a garage sale on Friday. It is a single on top and a double on bottom. Our next search will be for mattresses. For now, we will put The Boy’s crib mattress in the big hole on the bottom with his car mat.

We attended the temple yesterday. Our ward is trying a babysitting exchange. We took the first shift. We watched 6 children including The Boy. The Boy went home with one of the families. They said he was a focused player when he played with toys. While at the temple, I saw one of my missionary companions, Sarah Miller. It brought back a lot of happy memories. For the first twenty years of my life, all I wanted to be was a missionary. It was a happy time for me.

This week we received a nice gift from Grandpa K. He sent us a webcam. We are now on Skype, a free service which allows us to video conference with family and friends anywhere in the world (all you need is an internet connection and a webcam). It is fun to see people while we talk to them. We look forward to using this new toy. Look us up if you’re interested!

The Boy has a bunch of adorable sayings. One is “yes-ee” for “yes, please”. He continues to ask to watch movies every day. The first word out of his mouth is “shows?!” every morning. His favorite food is “otter pop” which really means go-gurt.

First Thank You

The Boy said his first verbal "thank you" this week. We decided to teach him some American Sign Language so he could communicate before he had words. He used the signs for more, milk, please, cookie (a favorite), and thank you amongst other signs. He started to use the other words a couple months ago but not thank you. He would say "you're welcome."

So on Monday night after dinner, we were cleaning off the table as usual. The Boy's job is to clear all the dishes from the table. When he brought the last dish to the sink and I took it from him, he said, "Thank you." L4 missed it. I stopped L4 from talking and said what just happened. There was a wonderful peace and happiness that settled in my heart. I was grateful to have the moment and wanted to remember it.

Crib Climber

The Boy lately has decided he doesn't like to sleep in his crib. He is now a pole vaulter. He flips his body over the railing and runs down the hallway. At first, he runs the into the kitchen and realizes that we are in bed at the other end of the house. He then runs down the hall and crawls into bed with us.

Well...Last night we took his mattress out of his crib put it on the flour. He slept the whole night in his bed. Amazing what a little change will do. We hope it sticks until we can find him a bed.

Back In The Saddle Again

L4 went back to work on Monday. L4’s car pool decided to show him a new shortcut down a dirt road. On their way, they went through a little puddle that became a big puddle and got stuck. Really stuck. After an hour or more, they were still stuck and dirty. L4 went to work, and the driver went home to clean up. The Boy and I picked up L4 after work. He said he didn’t feel really well when we fetched him. He thought he was hungry. On Tuesday, L4 was sick with the same puking sickness I had in Mexico. He worked the rest of the week without incident.

The Boy has taken off with speaking. He is being more clear in what he says and is asking for what he wants. He is a very directed boy like his father. When he gets an idea in his head, he goes forward without being hindered in any way. He especially likes to ask for ice cream (which he gets out of the freezer by himself) and movies. We have hide his favorite movies, “Cars” and “The Incredibles.” He is trying to find a new favorite movie.

The Boy and I have started to walk about 2 miles every day. L4 thinks it is helping all of us to get a little exercise.

L4 planted the two blackberry vines he received for Christmas yesterday. It was quite a warm day. We have been told that it will get cold again in February and March for about a day or two and then progressively get warmer until September when it starts to cool off again.

After my Grandma K passed away, I asked my Grandpa K for her recipe cards. He gave me the cards. The cards consist of handwritten recipes and newspaper clippings. I started to type the recipes cards for a digital record for my siblings and cousins. Then we moved. I have now started a public blog for access to all. If anyone is interested, the address is http://recipecutouts.blogspot.com/.

Last night, Lucas decided to take a bath in ammonia. After I returned from the grocery store, Lucas poured about 3/4 ammonia out of the container onto the floor and rubbed it into his eyes. Lance ran him down the hallway to our shower to rinse out his eyes. Lucas thought he was being drowned by his Dad. This morning he wanted nothing to do with a bath or the shower but warmed up to the water again by the end.

Grandma's Recipes

Three years ago my Grandma passed away. She loved to read the newspaper and cut out articles and recipes that were important to her. She read at least three papers daily and some weekly editions. If she didn't finish a crossword puzzle, she cut it out and finished later.

She cut out recipes that looked delicious to her or fun. There are lots and lots of recipes over the last 40+ years. I asked my Poppa if I could take the recipes and type them up to share with her children and grandchildren. I've had the recipes for over a year and half and have typed some of them but have a lot to go. So here is my goal: I will type up a recipe a day until they are all shared.

They will be on http://recipecutouts.blogspot.com.

Mexico

My family came this week to spend some time in the 60 degree warmth of Arizona and then off to Mexico for the balmy weather of 70 degrees. After they had been removing snow for a couple of days, this was tropical weather.

L4 went to work for 2 days. He talked with his supervisor to feel out new projects L4 could work on in the coming weeks and months.

The Boy has an obsession with “Cars” the movie. He asked everyone for help to watch it all
week long.

My family arrived on Tuesday evening. They started their adventure the day before so they could catch their plane without any problems. We decided to celebrate Christmas again with a Christmas pie to the nursery rhyme “Little Jack Horner” and opened presents. Uncle S. and Aunt J. were very generous with presents for The Boy.

On Wednesday we got up and drove to Mexico. Uncle A. started to feel ill on the way to Mexico. Uncle S. and SMS (Tia K’s boyfriend) had been sick the days before. We stopped in Organ Pipe National Monument just before we crossed the border into Mexico. We arrived at our rental house in Puerto Penasco in the late afternoon. Later that evening, we went exploring into town.

Thursday, everyone went looking for shells and played on the vast beach. When we arrived, the tide was out. A long ways. The house advertised that it was 30 yards from the house which was true at noon and midnight. The house is also located in a resort with a swimming pool. A few brave souls decided to go for a dip. It ended up being a polar bear race. The outdoor temperature was 70 degrees. The water a cool, refreshing 50 degrees. In our attempt to photograph the event, I fell through the plastic drainage on the side of the pool bruising my knee and groin. It sure took the wind out of me. We shopped the rest of the afternoon.

Thursday was also my Mom’s birthday. My Dad hosted a dinner of fresh seafood at the house, and fireworks were bought and shot off in the evening with a campfire on the beach. At midnight, most of the crew (except L4, the children, and I) went for a kayak and paddle boat ride in the ocean.

On Friday, we took family pictures. The same sickness that plagued the men earlier in the week hit me with full force. I can honestly say that I have thrown up on the border of the United States and Mexico. We had a party at a hotel that night with a heated pool and hot tub.

It was awesome to have family come and visit. We cleaned up and recovered on Saturday. Mostly we slept.

Before church today, The Boy did not want to come into the building. He wanted to go home. As I was holding his hand, he forcefully sat down on his bum, and I heard a pop. He then cried and cried. So we naturally thought that he had broken his arm. For the third time. Before we rushed off to the insta-care, Kyle listened to what had happened and said that it was nurse’s elbow, which is the popping of a bone out at the elbow. Kyle offered to reset The Boy’s elbow. After another pop, Lucas was all better and wanted to go to sacrament meeting. We are so glad we didn’t have to sit in a medical facility today.

Weekly Email

Happy New Year! This week has been filled with excitement. On Monday we went into town to get an ultrasound of the baby. All the body parts are present, in the appropriate places. When it came time to see the gender of the baby,W. turned the TV off so we couldn’t see. We’ll be surprised in May/June.

After the ultrasound, we ran errands to buy materials to construct a built in bookshelf in our half wall. On the way home the front left tire on the Scout lost its tread, making a horrible noise and scaring everyone, especially me. We limped to a gas station about a half mile away where we were able to change the tire with some help from a friendly motorist. (We had a jack but no tire iron. That problem has been remedied.)

We spent the next few days working on the half wall remodel job. Uncle A. did the bulk of the construction - tearing the wall out, rebuilding, mudding, sanding, and painting. We even put lights in it so it is a high class job.











We spent New Year’s Eve playing Ticket to Ride at home. On New Year’s day, we followed family tradition and went bowling. On our way home (about 2 miles from the site of our previous tire incident) the front right tire on the Scout blew up. We drove about a mile on the rim, with Uncle A. running along side the car to make sure we were okay. We finally got off the freeway and arranged for a tow truck to come take the Scout home.

We all decided it would be best to not drive the Scout any more until we had four new tires. The boy slept through the whole ordeal until the tow truck came. We are very grateful for the protection we received. The tow truck driver had never transported an infant in his cab. The situation could have been much worse!

After we got home, we went to the neighbor's house to watch Penn State get beat by USC in the Rose Bowl. We enjoyed delicious brisket and other treats.

On Friday A. and I put all the Scout tires into the Honda (including the spare) and drove into town to get new tires. We were able to get new tires for the Scout and get A. off to the airport safely and without incident.

On Saturday we cleaned house and recovered from all the excitement.

Websites to Help You with Media

I am cleaning out some of my files and want to keep this information but not the piece of paper. This is information I received while working for LDS Family Services.

Minimize the Negative Effect of Media On Families
Elder M. Russell Ballard
October 2004 General Conference

1. We need to hold family councils and decide what our media standards are going to be.
2. We need to spend enough quality time with our children that we are consistently the main influence in their lives, not the media or any peer group.
3. We need to make good media choices ourselves and set good examples for our children.
4. We need to have TVs and computers in a much-used common room in the home, not in the bedroom or a private place.
5. We need to use Internet filters and TV programming locks to prevent our children from "chancing upon" things they should not see.
6. We need to limit the amount of time our children watch TV or play video gamees or use the Interent each day. Virtual reality must not b ecome their reality.
7. We need to take time to watch appropriate media with our children and discuss with them how to mak choices that will uplift and build rather than degrade and destory

Elder Ballard further encourages us: "May God bless us with courage and wisdom in doing what each one of us can do to help turn the tide in the media away from darkness toward truth and light. And may God bless our families to be strong and true to the principles of the gospel."

Websites to Help You with Media
Movies

• http://www.filmratings.com/questions.htm CARA (Classification and Ratings Administration) website answering all your questions about the film rating industry.
• www.kids-in-mind.com This site list hundreds of the most popular movies and describes in detail what goes on in the movie. Caution: The detail is specific and uses words that may be offensive. This site also gives each movie a 1-10 scale rating in three areas: 1. Sex & Nudity 2. Violence & Gore 3. Profanity
• www.cleanflicks.com Choose from over 500 movies that have been edited for clean viewing. You can either rent or buy from this site.
  

Video Games

• www.esrb.orgThis is the Entertainment Software Ratings Board website. They are what the CARA is to the movie industry. You can look up any game made, whether on the computer or console, check it's rating, and see why it received the rating that it did.
• www.gamespot.com This site is the single most comprehensive site for video game reviews. It is a site for gamers to review or preview games. It is not a reivew site specific for parents looking for thematic content, rather it can be helpful to read what the "experts" say.
• There aren't many places yo can go tot get a good parental view of video gams, mainly because most games take approximately 70 hours to complete compared to a 2 1/2 hour movie. Before you buy a game for you or your child, I suggest you check the rating of the game, rent the game fro a couple of days and be present with your child while he/she plays the game. Then consider making a purchase.
  

Internet

• www.filterreview.com Comprehensive site for choosing an Internet filtering service.
• www.familyfirst.com Looking for some family friendly site to surf? This has thousands of recommendations. A good place to start when your kids first become interested in the Internet.
• www.enough.org and www.protectkids.com These sites are perfect for the parent who wants to learn how to keep the family computer from becoming a cesspool of seduction and filth. These site also have tools to help parents set up a contract with their children's computer usage.
  

Television

• www.fcc.gov/vchip By federal law the V-Chip is built into TV sets manufactured after July of 1999. The V-Chip helps parents "screen out" the programs with TV ratings they don't want their children to watch. Visit this site to learn more.
  

Other Helpful Sites

• www.sexandyoungamerica.com This site offers a plethora of information and products to hel pyou talk with your children about sex and all the temptations they face in today's world.
• www.familysafemedia.com This site has lots of products that can help with filtering and controllign television, video, DVD, video gam, Internet and even phone lines.
• www.nationalcoalition.org ir (770) 989-9754 Internet safety, faith outreach, victim assistance, education and awareness.
• www.moralityinmedia.org Excellent newsletter adn resources
• www.afa.net Helpful resources: What one person can do...fight back books, etc.
• www.ldsr.org Latter-Day Saint Recover. While not sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this organiation is centered on helping members who are caught up in sexual addiction and compulsion.

Welcome 2009!

Welcome 2009!

We are optimistic about the coming year and hope that great growth will come this year.

The day started with breakfast and bowling. Bowling is a family tradition. Uncle A. broke 100 points for the first time! The boy missed 100 by 7 points.

After bowling, we were returning home to watch a football game when the tire blew out on our car. The irony is another tire lost the tread on it four days before so the the spare tire was being used. The blessing was that the car was steady, and no one was hurt. A tow truck towed us home.

We are grateful for the protection given to us.