Bailey Family

  First,  a funny thing: in changing phones, I didn't want to lose all my texts in a family chat I named "gideon says..." where our family posts things Gideon says (some hilarious, some mildly funny, some inappropriate for his age or at all, and some surprisingly interesting. I came across this one and thought many of you would enjoy the conversation Carolyn recorded and posted. The second conversation is atypical for him. Usually his comments toward Natalie are mean. Second, the news: I'm considering ending the blog. I'm not keeping up with it well. I am considering doing a different sort of update (saved as a PDF file) and emailed out whenever I make one (no guaranteed schedule) to whomever wants to read it. I will send out a call for those interested when and if I move to this new style of updates.   I may instead move toward that, but hold on to the blog as a fun occasional thing for posts like today's randomness. Blog ending? Maybe. Still updates? Yes. 

Just a picture overview to show some family vacation fun from December 2020.  We got there and settled in, then had family pictures, family slideshow, and a few days of games and sand and even hot tub! Every family took a meal to prepare/buy and clean up. It was really fun and full of memories. We all were well going, and we all left well afterwards! (That was a huge blessing - that we were all there and all well.)   We had such fun and funny cousin moments! We love matching pictures with cousins and sisters! Traditional arm wrestling competition (This is not my favorite activity, but the boys really love it.) It was a beautiful house with beautiful views. We had nightly devotionals. I'm so grateful that our family is united spiritually so that we can enjoy this sweet experience together. Funny vacation Gideon moments: Jared: [Pretends to grab Gideon's dino nuggets]. Gideon: [Shakes head no]. Jared: [Persists in attempting to grab dino nugget]. Gideon: [Reaffirms dino theft de...

 I know my titles are really boring lately; life is not. We learned about minerals and crystals in our geology unit. (Sugar is not a mineral, but it forms crystals as it grows, so we used it as an analogy.) Note - unexpected "experiment" - Wooden skewers grow rock candy better than lollipop sticks.   Carolyn used some money she's earned to buy herself a wooden castle toy with knights and dragons from the craft store. She's had fun painting it all fancy and to look medieval, which is likely her favorite time period to learn about. Natalie wanted a drip cake. I think they turned out ok, but I tried using candy melts, and it was so hard to cut through that I destroyed the cake in cutting it. (I like very basic cake decorating, but nothing very complicated. I wish my high school best friend still lived nearby; I'd just commission her to do it.) Some of my sister-in-laws are good with this sort of thing. Natalie loving her weighted blanket for her birthday!  reading Ka...