My boys are cross country and long distance track runners. I have found that they like little snacks to refuel after a race, but not much if they have another race that day. Some of their favorites are: sliced apples and grapes with pb or caramel clementine and nuts pretzels or sliced peppers and hummus handful of homemade trail mix- nuts, dried fruit, coconut, etc fruit smoothie and protein bar and always a gatorade Most of their meets are 2+ hours from home and they cannot leave the meet area. I send a variety for them since I never know what they will want to refuel with.

I think the Joy of Cooking has a good recipe in it but I am not sure. I know that I have a good one because it is one of my dad's favorites- I will try to find it. I think part of why people like it is sentimental. The history of Red Velvet Cake is one of necessity. During the Great Depression there was rationing and little cocoa to go around. Red food coloring was used in place of a majority of the cocoa so the cake would have a rich look to it at a small cost. If you google history of red velvet cake you will see recipes throughout history and the complete story behind it. I find that when I know the history of something- I appreciate it more.

Congratulations! Your children are really talented- you should be proud!

Rochester, MN Omaha, NE Fort Collins, CO Rapid City, SD

Ours is $180. When we received the retainer we signed a paper agreeing to a maximum replacement cost.

My DH is a plumber and encounters black mold and mold often. He recommends that you call your local health department. If they do not handle this, they should be able to direct you to who does. Do not attempt to clean it up yourself. You will need to have it tested first. Do not have your son sleep in the room- he should spend as little time as possible in there. You want to make sure everything is cleared before you let him spend much time in there. Insurance coverage depends on why the mold is there- construction damage, water damage, rot, etc. Good luck- I hope you are able to get it taken care of soon.

When my oldest 2 were getting ready to start 6th and 7th, they asked if they could attend public middle school. We decided to let them. Our criteria was that they know what they believe and be able to walk in their faith. Our eldest is a born leader and does not let comments get to him. He loved the social aspect of school and thrived on it. Our second son tends to take things personally and internalize everything. He started being picked on for his faith and manners. He asked to come home after 6 weeks and we let him. Our eldest starts his 10th grade year today at the public high school and loves it. He is in FBLA, cross country, track, honors track, attends school events, games, and dances. He is a popular kid but stands firm in his convictions. We tried to encourage our second son to try public high school for at least a couple of subjects but he says that he wants to stay homeschooled, so we are letting him. He is on the cross country team and will run track as well. He has friends and walks firm in his beliefs but does not want the atmosphere of public school. We are glad he tried it for awhile because he does not think he is missing anything now and the decision was his. Our third son is in 6th and thinks he wants to stay homeschooled thru highschool. Our daughter is in 4th but has expressed a desire to attend public school in a few years. We will let her do that if we feel she can handle it. Each kid is different and handles situations different. I would let your son go.

We have 3 boys followed by a girl here. My MIL had 4 boys and our daughter is the first granddaughter. Love having my girl but glad I only have one. Sometimes she says that she wishes she had a sister but then I remind her that a sister would get to join us on our girls only days and that she would have to share a bathroom with her. She says she is fine not having one- her and our neighbor girl pretend like they are sisters. We would have loved to have more children but I had complications with her pregnancy. After 4 years of dealing with multiple issues, I had to have a hysterectomy. I know that someday I will have DILs to treat as daughters and Kathryn will have here sisters that way.

I have broke my toe several times. You need to follow RICE- rest, ice, compress, elevate. Take some ibuprofen to keep down the swelling and tape your toe to the adjacent one. Put a piece of cotton between the toes to allow for swelling. Do not wrap too tight. If you notice your toe getting hot or cold- call the doctor. Another warning sign to look for is a red bump as well as any numbness or tingling. Try to keep your foot elevated at least for the first 24 hours. Use a couple of pillows to prop it up at night. If it is uncomfortable to walk, you can pick up a surgical shoe for around $20 at a medical supply place or a full service pharmacy. We have a bin in our house with surgical boots and shoes, wraps, braces, crutches, etc. Disclaimer: I do not have a medical background but have been through enough injuries in our family to feel comfortable treating my family when injured. I hope you heal quickly.

My parents and brother are entertainers, so she has always been exposed to the entertainment industry and costumes. She loves hanging out backstage with my mom and trying on costumes. She will get to start apprenticing with my mom next year. Altering costumes and coming up with ideas will be two of the things she will work on. My mom has all but given up being on stage and now gets enjoyment out of creating costumes and putting together shows. She looks forward to sharing the experience with Kathryn.

I would borrow a tent from someone first to see how you like it. Have a trial run in the backyard to see if the layout is comfortable for you or not. We camped quite a bit when the kids were younger and prefered having a tent with a divider or two separate rooms. There is a wide range of gear you can get for camping- it just depends on how "rough" you want to be. Would you camp at a state park or campground with showers? Do you want to camp somewhere with electricity? Do you want to hike to a campsite? Would you cook over a campfire, propane, or picnic? How you want to camp will help determine just what all you will need.

I admire those of you who do animals. They are a big commitment and it is easy to become emotionally attached to them. Several of our family members did well in swine this year and the parents were so ready to be done after fair week. It can be a physically and emotionally exhausting time.

The local newspaper has a picture of her here.

praying!

Our daughter is our baby and usually ends up being stuck with the boys. Last year she informed us that she wanted to join 4H. She was able to join in October and become a full member in January when she turned 9. She has been loving doing all the girl things and attending classes with a bunch of girls. She did cake decorating and decorate your duds. She fell in love with sewing and altering clothes. For her project, she found a black velvet gown and added over 2500 rhinestones to it. She spent over 25 hours applying the rhinestones and burnt her fingers several times on the applicating tool. She worked so hard and was so nervous regarding judging. She competed in her very first fashion revue and was the youngest contestant but she got Reserve Champion. She had interview judging for construction of her dress and her record book. She received champion in her division and overall Reserve Grand Champion. Her dress was sent to Colorado State Fair and, we found out earlier this week, she took 5th. We are so proud of her- she worked really hard and is now seeing the payoff. In total the places she ended up with from our county fair are 1 Reserve Grand Champion, 1 Grand Champion, 1 Reserve Champion, 5 first place, 1 second place, 1 third place, and 1 fourth place. She entered items in open class and swept the jewelry catagory. She wants to go into costume design and is making great steps toward that. She is anticipating all of the new things she will work on this year. I would love to hear how other's kids did in 4H. They put so much work into their projects all year and deserve to be recognized.

I usually take them out to eat where they would like to go. We then go browse at a store or two that they like and pick out something special. Depending on the amount of time- we may go to the park, on a walk, out for icecream, or just hang out.

Is your daughter wanting to go into a career involving sewing? If so, and you spend the minimum amount of hours, then I would count it as a credit. My daughter wants to go into costume design. She takes classes and work on projects to prepare her for that career. She is still too young for highschool but there are several girls in her 4-H club who are homeschooled and count their sewing as a credit. They keep samples of their work from the year and their record book that lists classes, costs, demonstrations, as well as an essay regarding their work from the year. They also have an interview evaluation every year that goes over what they have done in the past year. Several of the girls are in college now and their sewing credits tended to be viewed they same way drafting and engineering classes in highschool are- as a specialized fine art (at least that is how the highschool here lists them).

I am so sorry. 2.5 years ago, I hit a patch of ice on a turn less than a block from our house. I was going less than 10 mph but lost control. A car came right around the corner and we hit head-on. It was scary and I was at fault since, in the state of Colorado, anytime you lose control of your vehicle it is considered reckless driving. Two of the emergency vehicles at the scene went off the road and the emergency personnal were falling on the ice but I was still listed at fault. It is frustrating because you know that you did everything you were supposed to do but you are still told that you are at fault. I will be praying for you and your family. It takes awhile to calm your nerves and feel at ease again. Glad that no one was seriously injured.

Our rule has always been that if the kids cannot get along with eachother, then they are not going to be getting together with anyone else. When our oldest two were younger, they would be at eachother's throats at times. I finally told them that they were supposed to be friends and treat eachother at least as well as they would treat any of their friends. If they are not treating one another well, then they do not spend time with any friends because they need to be working on their relationship. Once they realized that we were serious and that they would be limited to spending time with only our immediate family, they decided to start getting along. We told them that we are not going to tell them what to do or how to talk but we know how they treat their friends and are watching them. It is their choice as to how they want to act. Every once in awhile they need a reminder that they are supposed to be friends but, for the most part, they get along really well now.

We live in Sterling and it only takes us 4.5 hours to get to Mount Rushmore. Some of our favorite day trips are the Overland Trail Museum here. Other educational day trips we have had include: The Summit Springs Massacre site, Ft. Collin's Children's Museum, Estes Park, Denver Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain, Museum of Science and History, Denver Mint, homeschool day at the Capitol, and more that I cannot think of right now.

We live in NE CO and took a 4-day tour of the state for our state history. First we drove to CoSprings and went to Focus on the Family, then we went to Garden of the Gods, to finish off day one- we drove to Pueblo and stayed the night. The next day, we went to the Sand Dunes and drove all the back roads we could. Late in the afternoon, we went to Four Corners, then stayed the night in Cortez. Early the next day, we drove up to Mesa Verde to see the ruins- the views there are amazing. In the afternoon, we took scenic routes thru the mountains and spent the night in Canon City. Our final day started out at the Royal Gorge. When we were done, we took scenic routes home to NE CO. We still talk about what a fun trip it was and the Sand Dunes is still top of my kids favorite destination list. We do take day trips here and there to the zoo, museum, historical sites, etc. For SD, we started out in Sioux Falls and drove to the Corn Palace. The next day, we toured the capital building in Pierre. There are blue tiles hidden throughout that the kids had fun trying to find. The next day, we visited Wall Drug and drove through the Badlands. Our final day was spent in the Black Hills. I am originally from the Black Hills and we only live 4.5 hours away so we go back to visit often. Our favorites there are Mt. Rushmore, SDSM museum, Crazy Horse, Dinosaur Hill(used to be Hangman's Hill), Custer State Park, Spearfish Canyon, Lead and Deadwood, touring caves, and going on lots of hikes.

I am praying. I went through this 3 years ago with my husband. He had another episode last spring. Two of his uncles committed suicide and his dad is manic. I know the warning signs now so I can usually point out the road he is going down before it gets bad, but sometimes there is nothing I can do. He has medication to take daily as well as high doses of another medication to take when he feels an episode coming on. My husband and I were both 34 and our kids were 6, 8, 11, and 12 when we first went through this. We talked to our oldest son about what was going on and have since talked to our second son as well. It seems to be hereditary and we want them to be aware of the signs in themselves, as well as others. It is a very difficult thing to endure and, I hate to say this, but it is something that will never really be over. I am praying for all of those involved. It is difficult. I know, as a wife, she wants to be strong for him but she is breaking on the inside. Please make a point of asking her how she is doing routinely over the next year and not pushing the issue aside. She will need to have someone to lean on and, too often, the spouse is forgotten once the major issue has been endured. Praying in Colorado!

My husband is a master plumber and I own a magic retail business.

"Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" by Disney is about a girl who jumps horses from high dives.

Thank you for the link. I really enjoy the Harry Potter books and #6 was one of my favorites.