Insect-O-Rama at the Conservation Center

The local Conservation Nature Center hosted a free insect-o-rama that would have made my entomologist friend, Jeff, very envious. Kristy and I took the girls as well as their neighbor friend Kara.

The first exhibit was a real eye catcher. They posed the question of how many insects have you eaten. They provided research that indicated that most processed foods we eat have some if not much insect particles in them due to processing procedures inability to prevent such. Apparently the laws allow for so much insect particles to be in food due to these process limitations.

The exhibit also provided taste tests of actual insects, Neleha jumped to the offer. In fact she actually liked the meal worms so much that she asked for more. Molly having watched Neleha decided she too would try this new found snack item. Molly wasn't as sold on the idea after chewing up the worm.


We walked through the many exhibits describing the nature and life of many different insects.

Molly listening to the sound of a real bee hive.

Dung Beetle behavior of moving dung

The girls even got to participate in the Insect Olympics which required mimicking insect behavior for a prize.


following the path of an insect

jumping like a grasshopper

being a caterpillar

laying eggs like a butterfly

After the Olympics we got to make some insect crafts, the girls really enjoyed this part.

Kristy was having as much fun as the girls in the craft area.

making a firefly



Then it was off to some more exhibits including this one all about butterflies.

We stopped and played with the insect puppets for a minute, the yellow jacket was stinging everyone. What are Dad's for?

We then went outside to learn about the sounds bugs make.

After we had visited all the exhibit stations the girls picked out their prize, butterfly masks.

On our way out Neleha requested that we stop into the first exhibit to get some more "bugs to eat". This time even Kara tried the meal worm but first she asked if it was dead before she would agree. After confirming to her that it was she took a bite and said she liked it too.

Neleha our little bug eater
They remembered Neleha and decided to send her home with a box of meal worms since she enjoyed them so much. Nothing like a night of learning about and eating bugs.

Molly's First Missouri Catch

Molly and I decided to use her last Friday morning before kindergarten began to go and fish. This trip turned out to be much more productive. Molly pulled in a channel catfish just like she was a pro.

Molly is very funny about fishing, she views the fish as pets and wants to play with them. At the same time however, she also views them as food and wants to take them home and eat them.

This particular catfish was very young and small, so after Molly petted it for a minute she insisted on being the one to release it back into the lake.

Molly is gaining a real understanding about conservation. Between all the things she has learned at the conservation center and from what I have taught her, she has gained clear concepts about why we care for fish and follow the rules. She understood that we needed to release this fish because it needed to grow bigger and have baby fish so that others in the future could also come and enjoy this wonderful activity. Molly sure is a smart little girl whom I love spending all the time I can with.

Molly's Kindergarten Preview Day

Kristy had class so I got the awesome honor of attending Molly's kindergarten preview day with her.

We found her class and then she found her name plate and began to settle in to her new school. She was so excited to be able to finally go to kindergarten.

This preview day was an opportunity for the parents to get to know the teacher and the kids to get to know their way around the school. The kids were given a tour guide and a map and then headed out for their grand tour. Us parents stayed back with the teacher to learn more about the teaching style, the expectations, and the environment our children would be in for the coming school year.


Molly's teacher, Mrs. Huyck {hike}, had already incorporated the kids names throughout the classroom. It was a very creative way of involving the children from the beginning of the school year.

After my parent orientation and Molly's tour she was then told that she had to use her map to give me a tour of the school.

Molly walked Neleha and I all around her big new school, Mark Twain Elementary. She new this place down pat.


Molly's two favorite places at school was the library and the playground.

Molly is very ready for her first day of school.

FHE - Family Home Evening

What is Family Home Evening? The question was recently posed by one of our fellow bloggers and so I decided to answer it with a complete explanation. The following is an official definition by our church from mormon.org FHE all text in red is my own commentary on the subject.

Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously.
In 1915 President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency began a Churchwide effort to strengthen the family. They called on parents in the Church to gather their children once each week for a "Home Evening." Families were to take time to pray and sing together, read the scriptures, teach the gospel to one another, and participate in other activities that would build family unity. As you can tell from our many FHE blog entries it's not what you do that is most important but that you do it together.
In 1970 President Joseph Fielding Smith joined with his counselors in the First Presidency to designate Monday night as the time for family home evening. Since that announcement, the Church has kept Monday evenings free from Church activities so families can have this time together.
Latter-day prophets continue to urge Church members to give highest priority to family home evening. Imagine if all families throughout America spent at least one night together, what a positive effect it could have for us all. They have promised that our dedication to this program will help protect our families against the evils of our time and will bring us abundant joy now and throughout the eternities.
Although family home evening should begin and end with prayer, it is not intended to be a formal class. In a statement regarding family home evening in 1915, the First Presidency said that "formality and stiffness should be studiously avoided, and all the family should participate in the exercises."
Family home evening can be held by every family and in a variety of different ways. Whether you have children in the home or are a family of one, the resources available on this site can help you plan and prepare successful and memorable family home evenings.
I hope this provides all some insight into why we do what we do, FHE.

Daddy & Daughter Luau

Our local church ward (congregation) held a daddy & daughter luau which really turned out to be a real blast. We attended it with our neighbor Sean and his daughter Kara, who are also members of our church.

The food was just perfect, they had build-your-own kabobs with options like pineapple, red bell pepper, chicken, steak, grapes, strawberries, and ham. They served pineapple up-side down cake to boot. We ate well.

To obtain optimal experience we were asked to bring towels to sit on while we ate. This was to represent the Hawaiian custom of sitting on straw mats. Regardless of customs, the girls thought the idea of sitting on their Disney towels was a very awesome idea.



The night continued with authentic Hawaiian dancers.

After their very nice presentation they gathered all the children on to the dance floor to teach them how to dance as well.

The girls looked so cute out there dancing like "Lilo" as Neleha put it.

What would a Luau be without the limbo. Molly did very well following the line under the limbo stick but Neleha saw no need in following the crowd. She just kept circling right around the guys holding up the limbo. She did not stand in line but simply kept going under the limbo stick as quick as she could and as often as she could.


Us dads had a great Hawaiian time with our little daughters.