MIDNIGHT SKATE ON XMAS EVE

Ko-Ko and I went for a midnight skate on xmas eve. I have included pics but I am not the photographer...perhaps Sunny Not will get us some pics soon.

On xmas eve Dad took the kids shopping for my gifts (Any surprised Women?, No eh?). I enjoyed a bit of time at home to myself and got ready to head off to my brothers for some time with my side of the family and a small gift exchange. It was getting close so I told Dad to meet me there and I walked over (it's a 15 minute walk). On the way I noticed that the rink I had seen in the fall (we are new to the neighbourhood) had been filled in and was now an ice rink. I was thrilled because I was not expecting anything till the new year...if ever.

I spent the rest of the walk thinking about going skating. Only the girls and I skate. Runner & SW have decided to give it another try this year, and we will find some second hand skates for them. Sunny Not is growing non-stop and needs new skates....desperatly so she would not be skating with me unless we had a plan. So at my brothers house I asked around. No one has her shoe size...figures, however my sis has a pair that will fit SW.

So Ko-Ko and I will skate. Good. Often she and I skate together...well often being relative. We skate a handful of times a year but with a rink at so very close (1 minute walk tops) I hope that changes.

My brother and I skated all the time at that age and up through high school. We skated well enough for pond hockey and a family game called fox and goose. I realize that is from practice because age, and less practice and I am not the same skater. I am a basic skater and so is Ko-Ko. She is happy enough with that but opportunity & practice will make a huge difference.

So we skated on a mild (-2C) xmas eve. We laughed and talked and skated. It was a perfect Mother - Daughter evening. Being midnight made it seem special and magical. how often do you do midnight things when they are young? Well maybe some do all the time but I am a firm believer in limits and bedtimes; It's what makes nights like that special. She brought up Santa, but I assured her that as family we have an inside scoop on arrival time. After that we were good to go. She has always been a happy skater. She falls, she gets up and keeps going as hpapy as she was before. When I fell...the night ended. It hurt and I am not as young and resilient. We had been out for a little over an hour. It did not seem like it though. It was a good end to the night. We slept well waiting for xmas day.

THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UNGLY (Ina's Toy review)

Well the children received some nice things for the holidays, and we are very thankful for them all. . Toys, electronics, books, gift cards ans of course clothes. Clothes are clothes. we all have our own opinions there, and gift cards are the same, they are great if you buy the right ones for the right person. Books are generally the same, it's personal taste so for the most part I won't include them...so on to the rest...cuz reviews are helpful.

THE HAUL OF SUNNY NOT:
Well 13 yr old Sunny Not did get what she asked for. We purchased her a Kodak z16 pocket camcorder (also takes still pics) and santa gave her the required SD card. She loves it, it works great. As for the ease of upload to youtube (as advertised) that will depend on her reading the online instructions and tips. Some things are simple enough that a teen can skip instructions (having a basic idea of the tech world)...this isn't one of them. But for a teen wanting a video camera and parents not wanting to spend hundreds...perfect choice...and they should read instructions. Her Dad and Granny celebrated with her on xmas eve. They gave her an ipod touch and nintendo DSi. Sunny Not prefers the perfect single gift over quantity. The ipod barely left her hands allthough she did mention that lots of stuff cost money to add. However she was going to look into what she could download to her computer for free and then upload to the ipod. The DSi she left at her dads...enough said I think.

Some Thumbs Up for the Kodak z16



SW: THE BRAVES GREAT GIFTS:
11 yr old SW finaly has a DS lite. We decided not to get a DSi based on price and reviews of the new features. Santa gave him an R4 card. The DS appeared under the tree last yr for Ko-Ko so I knew I liked it as a game system for the kids. In general I like Nintendo. They have a wack load f games that are fun and suitable for all ages and always have. The other systems seem to have more mature games. The R4 card is brilliant. It requires a micro SD card (which I only discoverd by researching them on the net) we got a 4 gb. A friend had a portable hard drive full of nintendo DS games for us to download. it took hours for my husband to format them correctly and weed out the euro games and asian games since each region has a different format and an american system can't play a game from another region. I can not imagine how long this would have taken if we had to do it all from scratch. Once done the download of 150 games took 10 minutes. And another 10 minutes for Ko-Ko's R4. He also got a nerf dart gun. This was Dad's choice. big hit, minimal play because it's an outside toy and it's winter here.

Multiple Thumbs up for Nintendo DS lite



KO-KO'S GIFT EXTRAVAGANZA:
She also recieved an R4 card...again, not easy for the parents to prepare but when all is said and done...oh the money we will save. She also received the classic easy bake oven...requires adult supervision but yeah...she has already tried it on her own. I am not sure how I feel abou the easy bake. Sunny Not had one when she was younger and the adult supervision (she listened) ment that it ended up in a garage sale cuz in a large family there is limited one on one time, and most of it is one on one plus baby. My plan is to teach her to use on her own. I know, I know...but hey most girls do anyway...I did, her Aunts did. it is what it is. Santa gave her a Camnex game 2 go. In my mind this was the best bang for the buck $50 toy (if your interested...at walmart). It has 10 built in games. It is an mp3 player with super simple upload (I figured it out in seconds), it also takes pics and basic vids plus you can voice record. She loves it and so do I.


R4 and easy bake are 2 thumbs up and one down


. . .Camnex game 2 go; all thumbs up



RUNNER'S BEST TOYS:
Runner recieved mega block streetz. This is way better priced then lego city. The buildings are great, need some adult help. The instructions are step by step pic instructions (easy to follow...more so for dad) The street pieces attach together like hot wheels tracks making for a smooth ride. The set went together fast enough that there was time to play. I definatly vote this as a better set then the competitors. Santa brought runner race o rama (Disney cars) for the wii. It starts a one player. You have to acheive certain goals for a second player to join. As a Mom of 5, you can guess this is a thumbs down from me. But the game is fun, and just the right level of difficulty for 7 yr old Runner. He also got some new matchbox planes. We were always a hot wheels family but Runner prefers matchbox. These basic cars and planes are still priced in everyone's price range (under $5 although there are biggger ones) and they still entertain boys.

Runner's toys all receive multiple thumbs up.




They were given a box for then all of the seasons hottest zhu zhu pets. 3 hamsters and accessories. The hottest toy of the season is all hype. (yep I fell prey to the hype). It entertained them briefly. Electronic pets are not the same as the real thing even with the same accessories. This is a total thumbs down from me. Seems like a neat idea, but didn't pan out in the long run. Also the hamster ball is so hard to put together that the hamster has stopped moving . Also Uncle and Aunty from North of 7 gave the 4 of then the new Super Mario Bros for the Wii. Big fun, Big hit and 4 players, playing all at the same time...just what a Mom always wanter...4 siblings playing together without fighting. So toy of the season...No. Wii game of the season....Yes.


All Fonze Thumbs down (thats bad) for ZhuZhu

...Big Thumbs up for New Super Mario Bros (Wii)


BABY INDY LOVED HIS TOYS!
Santa brought him the Elmo that sings "elmo loves you so so much". He loves it. He loved it in the store and he loves it still...Aunty however is out to kill elmo but if your a Mom you learn to tune out stuff. Playmobile replica of the old farm house is as fun down as it was then but the hit of the season was Playmobile's crash and spin race way. All three boys have been having hours of fun with this. Baby Indy loves it. the only negative is the C batteries (I think we will get some rechargables) and trying to get the older boys to back off and let Indy play. If you have a little boy it really is a great toy. Indy was gifted many books as he is a big fan and they were great as books tend to be. I said I wouldn't review these ...for the most part. But there is one a set that I will comment on. Indy received a play-a-sound set of baby einstein books and sesame street They include 3 cute books each and one sound pad with buttons that comes off one book to go on another. They get lost easily and can not be used with another set...better to get the kid that has the sound pad attached.

Multiple thumbs up for baby Indy's toys,




except books with losable parts, that's one down.

9 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS

A WORD FROM INA

Well it is getting close. I am done my shopping (hubby was last...to hard to shop for). The gifts will soon be under the tree. Wondering how big a pile? Then ya got the wrong house. Our children receive 2 gifts from us and 1 from Santa, plus some little things and batteries in their stockings. I don't spend a whole lot wither. I have a budget and if their hearts desire exceeds that then they can choose that as their one and only gift. Sunny Not often does. In our house it's a few things you most want. It does not take long to open the gifts, the little ones do not have a melt down due to being overwhelmed and the afternoon can be spent doing family activities: board games, puzzles, cookie making, ginger bread house decorating, sledding, fort building or skating, and if we are really lucky (snow wise) a good game of fox and goose. But that day will come soon (9 days actually). So on to the last few days.

Well this year we decided to have a tree full of edible ornaments. We have of course candy canes. But also ribbon candy, gummy rings, chocolate bells and ginger bread. We are still working on gummy bear and popcorn garlands. I made a candy wreath (we will be making more with the kids now that I found the easy way to do it). I expect we will all have our winter layer of fat on by the time our tree is undecorated and ready to take down...or the baby will. He has discovered the decorations are edible. He doesn't get waiting for christmas day.

We also took Indy to see Santa at the mall. I don't know what I was thinking. i have learned that the best pics with Santa happen around age 4 when risk of crying on the strangers lap is all over. But I did. I dragged the three youngest on the bus, bundled up to the mall. Took off all the winter gear. Found Dad's gift and stood in line for Santa. Ko-Ko (being 9) held our place in line while I got us smoothies. Yep I got big smoothies while we stood in line. Amazingly only I was dancing by the end. We pointed out Santa to Indy, got him excited as we watched toddlers and babies one by one scream and cry on the old guys lap. When it was our turn Indy ran up to Santa and said "Hi". Santa asked if he could pick him up and Indy just stood there while he did...still no tears. Santa talked with him and he was just thrilled. even though the only other words he said were "yup" and "bye" (he is not a big talker). I could have chosen a picture of him smiling at the camera but the one of him smiling at Santa was a better reminder of the day. I gotta say I was some proud that I had the baby that didn't cry.

KO-KO'S ESSAY "Indy meets Great Great Great Great Uncle Santa"

Runner, Mom, and I took Indy to the mall to see Santa, except the real one is in the North Pole....unless he moved to Hawaii. Indy was happy and excited waiting in line. Some of the babies were screaming, other kids were excited while they were waiting. We got to have smoothies to drink. They were really good. We had banana and Strawberry except Indy had blueberry banana because he is allergic to strawberries. Indy's smoothie made his face all messy from the blueberry and Mom had to clean it up with her sweater, good thing it was black. Indy he was trying to crawl through the fence and then we got him playing with the fake snow which was covered in glitter. That was fun and Runner and I put the glitter all over each other. Indy saw us doing that and so he did it too. My mom yelled at us for making a mess and doing something all the little kids might try to do but they didn't...except Indy. Mom had to keep trying to get the glitter out of his hair.

When there was just one girl in front of us Indy played with the hand sanitizer, because I taught him how to use it. Then when it was our turn Indy ran up to Santa and Santa put Indy on his lap. Indy loved sitting on his lap and talking to Santa. Santa also talked to Runner and I. Then he gave us each a bag with activities and we left and got our picture of Indy and Santa. It was a good trip.

FIRST SNOW!

INA'S INTRO:
So apparently there was snow a few days ago but it had melted before we got up, so this is our first snow. Since we took our regular school morning preparing for winter and outside I decided that the day's lesson would be spent (when we got back) on a writing assignment and on going over how to write a good paper. (capitals, punctuation, what, when , where, why, how, and adding what you were feeling). everyone started with a point form outline to help guide them. There short essay's are below. Each different account is interesting all together as they relate the same things from completely different points of view, while other things they describe similarly. You will find it is the youngest (7 yr old Runner) who is most descriptive.

SW; THE BRAVE'S ESSAY

When I was waking up I woke up my baby brother because it was snowing. 15 minutes later everyone woke up. The snow was light and melted as it hit the ground. My Mom decided that we should do the winter clean up and it was boring. Then the snow got heavier and hit the ground without melting. So we finished up the winter cleaning. Then Ko-Ko and I went to get a sled but we found only one, the rest were at my grandparents. We got on our new snowsuits and headed to the park. My Mom and my brother (Runner) stayed behind because my brother wasn't ready yet. The baby, Ko-Ko and I started to the park. Then the snow started to melt so we rushed there. Runner and Mom caught up. When we got there the snow was gone but Ko-Ko and I tried to toboggan down the hill because it was at least slushy. It didn't work. So I got off and Mom pushed Ko-Ko 1 cm. We started to go home but Ko-Ko started to slide on the slide at the climber. Runner got the toboggan and went sledding down the slide. Then we all did that. Later we went home and had out picture taken . Next we took off our snow suits.
The end.

KO-KO'S ESSAY

I was sleeping in but SW; The Brave came to wake me up. I do not like being woken up. I came up stairs and I was doing part of my book when I looked out the window and saw the snow. I felt happy because it was snowing, I had written down the other day that it would snow. Then my Mom came down stairs. Mom made us clean and organize the fall stuf. We went down stairs and got our winter stuff. The snow was light when I got up but it got heavier when we were organizing. Mom let us go outside. We got our winter stuff on. I looked beautiful in my new snow suit. Me and SW; The Brave went downstairs and got the sled. It was the only one because the rest is at Grandma's and Grandpa's. Then we went outside. Runner and Mom got left behind because Runner was holding us up. When we were going to the park the snow was melting. Then we got to the park and tried to go down the hill. It didn't work. Then I went to the climber. I thought we could go to the climber because I didn't hear Mom say we had to go home. Runner told Mo we could sled on the slide but I found it was faster without the sled. The slide went super fast and we were screaming at first. The slide was slushy which made us go faster. After that SW; The brave and Runner were using the sleigh but I didn't want to. Then we went home. When we got home we took a picture. Ther was a tiny bit of ice for our picture. It was a good first snow.

RUNNER'S ESSAY

Hi, my name is Runner. I was lazing around eating my breakfast as a light snow came. Because it was snowing Mom decided to put away the fall stuff and get out the winter stuff. It ws really boring. I wanted to be playing in the snow but my Mother was wasting our time. While my Mother was wasting our time the snow got heavier and heavier. I thought there was a blizzard on the way! I was excited. When we were done putting stuff away we got on our winter stuff. We got out our sled. The rest of our sleds are being stored at Grandpa's and grandma's. I was left behind. The only nice person to help me was Mom. We ran and caught up. We tried to push SW; The Brave and Ko-Ko down the hill. They did not slide a teeny bit because the snow was melting. So the SW; The Brave got off and my Mother pushed Ko-Ko maybe 2 feet and then ko-Ko stopped. Then Mom pushed Ko-Ko another 2 feet. and she did not slide. Then my Mother said "OK we are going home". Then I said "Give me the sled". I ran over to the slide. I got onto the toboggan and sledded down the slippery slide. We all took turns going on the toboggan down the slide. Then we went home. When we were walking home we stopped in the front yard and Mom took our picture three times. It was the best first snow ever.

FINAL WORDS BY INA: If I had decided to stop organizing as soon as the snow started to get heavier and accumulate on the ground, we would have succeed in sledding. The park we all rushed to is just at the end of our short street. We could have finished organizing later. I regret this decision. It is nice to know that the kids don't blame me (even though I did) and that they all still enjoyed the morning.

RUNNER'S BLOG ABOUT KARATE

See Runner in his first karate competition (inc 2 videos)
Ina's Intro:

The AKWE:GO program ran a few different programs this summer (2009) so each child did their own thing. For Runner this was karate. He an a group of about 6 other NDN kids from the community all took lessons. When the summer was over the top 2 students got a free spot in the dojo for a year. Not to leave anyone out the Sensei and the AKWE:GO program coordinator made sure the rest of the kids all got signed up through pro kids. The Katarokwi Native Friendship Center (through AKWE:GO), provides a ride for the kids once a week. The other day we drive. Runner is really enjoying Karate. He is more confident and also proud of himself. I am very thankful to those involved. From our friend who drives for the friendship center, to the program coordinator, to the Sensei and pro kids.

RUNNER'S KARATE BLOG:

I like shotokan karate it is fun

I know lots of things. I have 2nd stage white belt. To do this I showed my Sensei and Senpei front snap kick, front stance, low block, chest level punch, some wrist grabs & hi block. My friends from AKWE:GO got their 2nd stage as well. I like doing karate with my friends. My favorite things to do are my kata and front snap kick. I don't like doing push ups. I say thank-you to my Sensei so I don't get more push ups. I learn to be respectful so I don't get more push ups. There are 4 kinds of push ups. The hardest kind is with legs crossed. I like doing crunches even though they hurt. They will give me strong stomach muscles. We do lots of stretches. My Mom and sisters did these same stretches in ballet. ;)

CHRISTMAS BAKING

Well I was never a fan of the kitchen....dishes...cooking....more dishes :(

But then I discovered that baking is more enjoyable then cooking. I found this out because I was determined to have nice baked treats for my grandkids like my Grandma always did. Yeah I know long way off....hopefully a very long way. But I have never been kitchen compatible so I figured I had better start learning. Seem that making yummy sugary stuff is way more fun and I am not so bad at it. so First off was Chocolate Pepermint Shortbread.

Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread

Heat oven to 325 F. grease 2 (9 inch) glass pie plates. In large bowl, beat 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 4 oz melted bittersweet chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, with electric ixer on medium until light & fluffy. On low speed, beat i 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup cocoa. Divide dough in half and press into pie plates evenly. Bake 22 - 24 minutes, or until edges pull away from sides of pie plates. Cool in plates. Cut each round into wedges carefully. Do not remove from pie plates. In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup icing sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa and enough milk (1 to 2 tablespoons) until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Break up and or smash candy canes. Drizzle chocolate glaze over shortbread. Then sprinkle candy cane bits over top.

Peppermint Marshmallows.
Heavily grease 11X7 inch baking dish with butter or margerine. dust with icing sugar. In (good size) bowl sprinkle 2 1/2 table spoons unflavored (clear) gelatin over 1/2 cup water. Set aside. In 2 quart saucepan heat 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon salt & 1/2 cup water over low heat stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Heat to boling. Cook without stirring about 20 - 30 minutes to 240 F on candy themometer. If you don't have a candy themometer drop small amount into very cold water. Whn if forms a ball that holds shape and is pliable then it is ready. Remove from heat. Slowly pour into softened gelatin while beating on low spead. Increase speed to high. Beat 8 - 10 minutes or until mixture is white and also increased it's volume 3 times. Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. Beat on high speed for 1 minute. Pour into baking dish, patting with lighting wet hands. Drop food colouring randomly on top of marshmallow. **tip: make sure your red comes out red...mine came out purple. Pull knife through marshmallow mixture to create swirls. Let stand uncovered for 8 hours (or overnight). Dust cutting board with iccing sugar and grease long sharp knife. Remove marshmallow from pan in one piece. (use a large spatula). Cut into once inch squares. Dust each piece in icing sugar. Place in air tight container for 3 weeks.

Shortbreads.
Use your fave shortbread recipe. I used this one. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx For icing I mixed margerine, icing sugar and a (little) bit of milk. Mix to very smooth ans tiny bit runny. (I didn't measure). Keep mixing until white. Spread over each cookie. (for some such as the tree I used food colouring to making icing green). Sprinkle with granulated sugar for sparkle. Now freeze until day before your ready to use. When defrosted decorate with icing pens. I used sparkly ones. Very nice and easy to control.



We of course worked in some school work. There is science in every thing. So we learned about hand washing because children can always use a reminder. And we learned about what happens when you bake a cookie. I admit the lesson was light but as you can see we did a lot of baking. Math of course is easy to work in. How much do I need if we triple or double the reciepe is easy way to do fractions and also for an older child you can have them convert the recipe from cups to milileters. The measuring and puring is all good too. Here is the link to the website I used for cookie science.
http://www.cookies-in-motion.com/Baking.html

THE WEARING OF SKIRTS

The Wearing Of Skirts.

I made the choice not to long ago that I would wear skirts. Not miniskirts (which shouldn't be worn by those in their thirties anyway) Not pencil skirts for the board room (can you imagine trying to chase 5 kids in that ROFL). I made the choice to wear ribbon skirts.

My Mohawk Mom in Law, Grandma Claus (oh did you think Santa was white...lol...nope the Claus' are Mohawk). She wears a ribbon skirt everyday with a t shirt, her two long grey braids and a bandana headband. I always admired her look. She looks like such a proud Skindian at all times. I always thought one day I will dress like this too. I didn't know if I was yet ready to give up my jeans and sweatshirts. Not that I look great in them anymore. Some how those low riders struggled to say on my less youthful hips after baby #5. I no longer looked approvingly in the mirror. I looked just OK now a-days. I put on my skirts time to time but never left them on because they didn't look any better with my sweatshirts.

So I happened into the conversation with Grandma Claus and she told me how it took her a while to fully commit to the choice of skirt wearing herself. But eventually she didn't want to wear her jeans any more. She told me how if she were to have something happen to her and she collapsed somewhere at least people would know she was a Native Woman. We talked about how not to many generations ago, where ever you went in the world you could identify the people and the ethnicities and Nations they originated from. Nowadays many think we should all blend for the sake of equality. I disagree. I think we will achieve equality when we are all believed to be and excepted as equals with our differences. When I am dressed clearly as a Native Woman and my neighbors dressed in a way that identifies their ethnicities and these differences are celebrated, and positives. Then our world will have equality.

So I am wearing ribbon skirts with Native prints. I am wearing nice shirts, sweaters and wraps with my own Native design applique work. When I walk down the street I will look like a proud Skindian Woman. I will not be asked "are you Asian, Palistian, Latino..."etc etc. Yes it seems few can identify a Native person. They think we all look like we walked off the set of Dances with Wolves. We don't. We come in various shades from dark brown to light tan. Green eyes to brown eyes. Straight hair to curly hair. Some mixed NDN's even have European colouring...the rare redhead too. So yes we have all been asked if we are every ethnicity under the sun. I have had enough. I will be identifiable.

So I woke up the next morning. Dressed in my modern take on my ethnic style. As if everyday is a powwow as Grandma Claus says and I felt like a million bucks. So this NDN is standing tall in her skirts.

By Ina.

INTRODUCTIONS

INTRODUCTION:
Ok so today we are just introducing our blog. We will update on Wednesdays because that is our creative and independent study day.

MOM
INA: I am Lakota. I am a Mom of 5 and I am married to a Mohawk man. I homeschool my children except my elldest. She was made for public school, or it was made for her. I dance Women's Traditional at powwows, I sing traditionally and am active in our community. I sew powwow regalia and traditional everyday clothes on my website http://www.freewebs.com/bethspowwowthreads/ I also enjoy posting my opinions on yahoo answers, powwows.com and JPAA. I am also on several homeschool boards such as Native American Homeschoolers, The Homeschool connection and babycebters homeschool board. Our family includes my Mom in law and sister in law and yes I love living in an extended family.

OLDEST SON:
SW the Brave: I am an 11 year old boy. I am Lakota, Anishnwbe Metis. I dance Men's Traditional. My favorite powwow is Algonquin park and I enjoy hanging at the point there. I like playing basket ball, wii, bicycling and other sports. My favorite subjct is gym. I go to the Native Learning Center 3 afternoons a week and am part of AKWE:GO. I like hanging with my friends, playing with my baby brother and babysitting my cousins.

MIDDLE SON:
Runner: I am 7! I am Lakota and Mohawk. I grass dance and will also be dancing Men's Traditional. I take karate. I like playing manhunt, wii, astronomy, hot wheels, trains. I like my telescope. My favorite powwow is Scugog. I go to AKWE:GO. My favorite video game is Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. and I am like wii sports resorts Island Flyover. My favorite movie is Minute Men. When I grow up I want to be an engineer and build skyscrapers. The pic is me and my best friend, my regalia is green and blue.


YOUNGEST DAUGHTER:
Ko-Ko. I m 9 years old. I am Lakota and Mohawk. I dance Fancy Shawl and sometimes Women's Traditional. My favorite powwow is Algonquin Park with Aunt Lisa and going to the point. My favorite movie is resident evil. I like tv, my ds and computers. My favorite games are Starfry, Zelda and mario. I have lots of friends. My best friends are Liam, Ashley and Charlie. I like to draw and play outside. I am good at fishing. I like travelling,swimming, Halloween and Christmas and candy.


YOUNGEST SON:
Indy: Our baby is 20 months old. He was born on St. Patty's day. He is Lakota and Mohawk. He dances Men's Traditional at the powwows with us but he usually sleeps through grand entry. He like books, playmobile and music. When we are doing schoolwork he likes to draw on the bottom of the whiteboard and play with playdough. He likes to help with cooking and often takes potatoes out and puts them in the oven and pots.


OLDEST DAUGHTER:
Sunny Not: I am 13. I am Lakota, French, Roma and Maori...a real 4 directions Woman. I dance Fancy Shawl at powwows and hang out with my powwow friends and my cousin Cheyenne. I go to Calvin Park which is a middle school. I sing in choir and take voice lessons after school. I hang out with my friends, go to dances and take lots of pics. I do photo editing and run a photo contest on facebook and upload videos to youtube. I also can play guitar and like sports. I could go from shopping, painting nails to playing football all in one day.