Explore the Earth

So I have an obsession.
OK, I have two:
baby Drew
and
the blog nieniedialogues
(www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com)

Every year Stephanie Nielsen (NieNie) hosts a back-to-school feast for her family.
The Nielsens tell their children what their family theme is for the school year.
She goes all out. Her table is elaborate to say the least.
(That goes for food as well as decor.)

My attempt was feeble at best.
(did you notice my tacky paper plates?)
Like I said, I won't be winning
Mother-of-the-Year
any time soon.

But after our Mon. mishap (see post below)
I needed something to change everyone's focus and fast.
Also, it needed to be positive. I thought it'd be best if it was something meaningful that I could use as a distraction when needed
(kids acting up in the car, E refusing to get out of the car for school, etc.)

So I came up with Explore the Earth for our family theme this year.
Since we have recently moved to beautiful Co and have already
taken advantage of several local hikes, put the kids in nature camp, and watched wild animals from our deck, I thought this topic would be perfect for our first attempt at this.

I went to Hobby Lobby.
Let me tell you about this store. I have yet to go through the whole place.
(maybe that has more to do with the fact that both times I shopped the store I had Jr. w/ me) At any rate, I have wanted to go to this store soooooo bad ever since my crafty, creative friend blogged about it.
Low and behold, we have 2 of them nearby here.
It is heaven for crafters.
Not only is there more decor, supplies, trinkets, etc. than you can feast your eyes upon, it's rather cheap. Deals are plentiful. Most of what I purchased was on sale!

Back to my impromptu dinner, a la NieNie.
In a matter of minutes, I had what I needed to pull off my decor for our family feast.

The girls helped make their birds' nests.
They placed the birds and the eggs.
Let me tell you, they took the creative process seriously.
Now we have permanent reminders of our theme.
(the bird nests are still on the table. it is Sat.)

We also held Family Home Evening after dinner.
We shared the scripture in Ecclesiastes
(think The Doors) about everything having a time and a purpose in heaven.
Dr. Drew emphasized the part about seasons, plowing, etc.
He may have stretched a bit here trying to connect it to our theme,
but I think he pulled it off.

The evening ended with back-to-school blessings by Dr. Drew.

On Thurs. we went on a new hike, which is one of our favs so far.

So if my house is messy,
(i haven't scrubbed the toilets since we moved in-eek!
and in the interest of full disclosure, I have only one room completely unpacked-
the entry bathroom)
it's because we're too busy Exploring the Earth.