I realize I have some unfinished stuff floating out there...the two that come to mind are Sophie's coyote story, and the other is announcing the winner of the theology trivia contest (not that it's trivial, mind you)! And never mind the fact that my slew of posts the other day didn't even bring us into June. Too busy? Absolutely.
But right now we are going on two weeks of a construction team remodeling my basement to put an apartment down there (great team, but man is it noisy!), I have to figure out how to handle the fact that my new set of fingerprints look worse than the photocopy of my first set, I'm doctoring Sophie who sliced her foot open and has 3 staples in it, and, oh yeah, Anna's in potty-training. Right.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Prepping for chickens!
We finally got our chickens! The folks living next-door to the church were moving the last day of May, and needed to find new homes for their month-old chickens. We found out about it on Friday, spent the weekend getting the chicken coop ready, and picked them up Sunday evening! Andrew was so excited! The chicken coop had undergone numerous renovations since then, as we figure out what works well and what doesn't, but the chickens and children are happy and thriving!
Willow's Shower
At the end of May, we threw a baby shower for my dear friend Willow! Her baby boy was due June 13th (more on that later), and there were so many ladies who were excited to come celebrate with her!
We played the typical baby-shower games, but everyone enjoyed the prizes for winning!
My friend Mel had the great idea of having everyone decorate a onesie t-shirt for the baby, so now he has lots of personalized, loving messages to wear!
We played the typical baby-shower games, but everyone enjoyed the prizes for winning!
My friend Mel had the great idea of having everyone decorate a onesie t-shirt for the baby, so now he has lots of personalized, loving messages to wear!
Another Sea Life visit
Last year, all the kids in the summer reading program at the public library received a free admission ticket to the local sea life center. I had kept them tucked in my wallet for the year, and we finally made sure to use them the day before they expired!
One of the kids' favorite activities is this "fishing boat." They all took turns being captain and hanging out in the crab storage bin!
Of course the best thing about the center is the huge sea lion Woody. Plus spending time at the Discovery Tank, petting sea anemones and starfish. Andrew was really interested this time in the whale vertebrae.
Anna eye-to-eye with a salmon...and with herself!
I'm not sure you'll all appreciate the irony of this, but one of the major functions of the sea life center is animal recovery, and they played a huge role in helping the wildlife recover after the Exxon Valdez disaster. There are numerous references to the spill at the center, a lot of educational pieces surrounding it, and everywhere is the not-so-subtle political undertone of how "oil exploration is destroying our state in particular and our planet in general."
It wasn't till we got to this display that I realized Andrew may have chosen the wrong hat for the day! Why? He's wearing a new hat, given to him by Tricia and Jerry who have both recently become employed, ahem, up on the oil slope, um, by, cough-cough, Exxon Mobile. To top off his big "Oilfield services" logo on the front of his hat, it reads in tiny letters around the blue edge of the brim "It takes oil to make oil. It takes oil to make oil. It takes oil to make oil..."
To say that I felt a bit conspicuous was an understatement, but certainly worth the laugh!
One of the kids' favorite activities is this "fishing boat." They all took turns being captain and hanging out in the crab storage bin!
Of course the best thing about the center is the huge sea lion Woody. Plus spending time at the Discovery Tank, petting sea anemones and starfish. Andrew was really interested this time in the whale vertebrae.
Anna eye-to-eye with a salmon...and with herself!
I'm not sure you'll all appreciate the irony of this, but one of the major functions of the sea life center is animal recovery, and they played a huge role in helping the wildlife recover after the Exxon Valdez disaster. There are numerous references to the spill at the center, a lot of educational pieces surrounding it, and everywhere is the not-so-subtle political undertone of how "oil exploration is destroying our state in particular and our planet in general."
It wasn't till we got to this display that I realized Andrew may have chosen the wrong hat for the day! Why? He's wearing a new hat, given to him by Tricia and Jerry who have both recently become employed, ahem, up on the oil slope, um, by, cough-cough, Exxon Mobile. To top off his big "Oilfield services" logo on the front of his hat, it reads in tiny letters around the blue edge of the brim "It takes oil to make oil. It takes oil to make oil. It takes oil to make oil..."
To say that I felt a bit conspicuous was an understatement, but certainly worth the laugh!
Little Kids' Co-Op
While my fellow homeschooling friend was having art class with Andrew and her two older girls, I took the younger sibs to Tot Time! They really love Tot Time, with all the fun riding toys, but I was not thrilled with hanging out in the window-less gym at the school while the weather was so nice out. But we all trekked into the school, to find that the toy storage room was still locked. Rather than seeking out the school secretary to open it, I just told that kids that since it was still locked, we would just go home and play at our house! They had tons of fun, and we all enjoyed the sunshine!
Science Experiment
The boys and I absolutely love our science curriculum. We're using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Their curriculum is based on an immersion educational philosophy, so the students spend one full year in one subject area to really know the topic, rather than spending two-three weeks every year in several different areas, only to forget what they've learned when they move on and don't use the information.
At the end of the chapter on the sun, they experimented with the heat energy of the sun. We melted chocolate chips and started a leaf on fire using the sun and a magnifying glass! I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, me or them!
At the end of the chapter on the sun, they experimented with the heat energy of the sun. We melted chocolate chips and started a leaf on fire using the sun and a magnifying glass! I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, me or them!
Summer will do that...
This is what I feel like doing, too, but life has been a little over-abundantly full lately, so I'll try to do some fast and furious blogging to catch up on it all.
This was Jacob back in May, when we had nothing but beautiful weather and tons of playing outside. He fell asleep in the chair watching a short video for some down-time when it was almost too hot to be outside (I'm sorry, but these kids are born and bred Alaskans...80 is enough to make them wilt!),
and then Anna brought her baby to him while he was asleep!
This was Jacob back in May, when we had nothing but beautiful weather and tons of playing outside. He fell asleep in the chair watching a short video for some down-time when it was almost too hot to be outside (I'm sorry, but these kids are born and bred Alaskans...80 is enough to make them wilt!),
and then Anna brought her baby to him while he was asleep!Sunday, June 21, 2009
Lovin' the Sun!
We've had more nice weather than rainy...the kids have been loving being outdoors for hours on end!
Happy Father's Day!
In our family, we are blessed to have some of the best! We love and appreciate both of our dads so much...and apparently all good Grandpas have tractors with little trailers for pulling around the grandkids!
Mark is an amazing father himself (if you didn't hop on earlier today you missed the tribute post to him, which he was indeed too emabarrassed by to want me to leave it up), and I'll post pics from our day today later!
Mark is an amazing father himself (if you didn't hop on earlier today you missed the tribute post to him, which he was indeed too emabarrassed by to want me to leave it up), and I'll post pics from our day today later!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pretty Party Girl!
Ah...the dress is finally out of the laundry. Some smoothing out, and she's ready!
Of course you look beautiful!
She wanted to go outside, and it was a beautiful day for her party!
No beautiful birthday finery is complete without black puddle boots, right? We discovered that her new sandals have very slippery soles, and she wasn't about to wait for us to find rubber tire patches to adhere to the bottoms. So she put on the only footwear she could put on all by herself, and was on her way!
Friday, June 12, 2009
"Stand By Me"
This video is definitely worth the watch! My mom forwarded the link to me, and Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I played it for the kids the next day, and they sat and watched it three times! Make it a learning experience for social studies/geography or music, or just sit and enjoy. Takes a bit to download, but we found it worth the wait!
Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.
Friday Funnies
A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to 'Dad.' With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.
Dear Dad:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad, she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. And Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone.
In the meantime, we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love,
Your Son John
P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I Just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a report card. That's in my center desk drawer. I love you. Call me when it's safe to come home.
Dear Dad:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad, she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. And Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone.
In the meantime, we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love,
Your Son John
P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I Just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a report card. That's in my center desk drawer. I love you. Call me when it's safe to come home.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Party Time!
Gotta go get ready for my party...
Hat? Check. Boots? Check.
Almost ready! Are my guests here yet?
Whoops! Silly me...did I need clothes on?
(And this really was her expression when I asked her where her clothes were)!
Hat? Check. Boots? Check.
Almost ready! Are my guests here yet?
Whoops! Silly me...did I need clothes on?
(And this really was her expression when I asked her where her clothes were)!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Anna's Birthday!
The boys making Anna's birthday cake for the party tomorrow!
Anna's birthday dinner...we have a tradition of letting the birthday-person choose what's for dinner. Since her verbal skills aren't up to communicating that clearly, I chose a meal that I know she loves: hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes!
And here's the birthday-girl at daddy's softball game later that evening!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
...compliments of the helpful Ace Hardware Man
Okay, lately, my washing machine has been giving me fits, and it's been getting progressively worse. Mothers with many small children understand that a non-functioning washing machine is a trouble ranked right up there with, say, no electricity. Because we know, that in a matter of two days, we wil be buried under the laundry.
At first it would just not spin out the clothes on the first try, and I would have to re-spin the load at least twice. Then it started not only not spinning out on the first try, but then stopping itself every time in transitioned to the next phase in the washing cycle. It finally was completely worthless as of Saturday, when it simply would not drain at all. Anna's birthday party was Saturday, and I wanted her to wear one of her new dresses from Grandma and Grandpa. I was up at 6:30 to get her laundry started, and at 10:45 a.m., it still was not done. (Which is why I have pictures of Anna in nothing but a diaper, her camo hat on backwards, and her rubber boots, to greet her guests while waiting for her dress to dry. I was resonsible for the diaper part...the rest was her doing. I'll post pics, I promise).
At any rate, Mark planned on taking the washing machine apart after doing paperwork with me (romantic, huh?), to see if there was some remote way for some laundry to have worked it's way into the drain hose or something. We didn't really see how it was possible, in a front loading machine, but it was the first place to start.
Well, compliments of my handy, live-in Ace Hardware man (I realize most of you don't have a live-in model, but actually have to go to the hardware store for this kind of help), we have not-so-proudly reclaimed 3 socks, 1 baby washcloth, and a hairball from washing Abby's bed. How it all got worked in there, we'll never know, but it's definitely been a progression of adding to the collection. Result: Perfectly functioning washing machine!
So how do you like that? I have some great pics from Anna's birthday party, and I'm giving you pictures of slimy socks from the hose of my washing machine. What can I say...this was a quick post, and I don't have to fix up the picture. Hang in there.
At first it would just not spin out the clothes on the first try, and I would have to re-spin the load at least twice. Then it started not only not spinning out on the first try, but then stopping itself every time in transitioned to the next phase in the washing cycle. It finally was completely worthless as of Saturday, when it simply would not drain at all. Anna's birthday party was Saturday, and I wanted her to wear one of her new dresses from Grandma and Grandpa. I was up at 6:30 to get her laundry started, and at 10:45 a.m., it still was not done. (Which is why I have pictures of Anna in nothing but a diaper, her camo hat on backwards, and her rubber boots, to greet her guests while waiting for her dress to dry. I was resonsible for the diaper part...the rest was her doing. I'll post pics, I promise).
At any rate, Mark planned on taking the washing machine apart after doing paperwork with me (romantic, huh?), to see if there was some remote way for some laundry to have worked it's way into the drain hose or something. We didn't really see how it was possible, in a front loading machine, but it was the first place to start.
Well, compliments of my handy, live-in Ace Hardware man (I realize most of you don't have a live-in model, but actually have to go to the hardware store for this kind of help), we have not-so-proudly reclaimed 3 socks, 1 baby washcloth, and a hairball from washing Abby's bed. How it all got worked in there, we'll never know, but it's definitely been a progression of adding to the collection. Result: Perfectly functioning washing machine!
So how do you like that? I have some great pics from Anna's birthday party, and I'm giving you pictures of slimy socks from the hose of my washing machine. What can I say...this was a quick post, and I don't have to fix up the picture. Hang in there.
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