What Surprises Will Today Hold

2011-02-17T14:40:00.000-08:00

There are times when I begin to question where we are in our school work, and where we are headed. Last year, I gave up on formal spelling lessons. Matthew would work and work at his spelling, and every time he'd miss a word, it threw his whole day into chaos. A single mistake would result in tears of frustration, statements of absolute dejection- "I'm just stupid, I can't do anything right," etc.

So we just stopped. I told myself that it wasn't that important- he could read, after all, and spelling would eventually come too. He really did quite well for his age; he was working ahead of level but just couldn't handle the emotional aspect of making mistakes. Anna was struggling with spelling as well; it seemed that the program they used to teach reading when she was in public school had not prepared her well for sounding out and spelling words. However, I'm a stickler for spelling myself. I find spelling mistakes to be horribly distracting, and "giving up" on spelling felt wrong.

Yet we did. We played on Spellingcity.com. We completed lots of writing activities, read voraciously, and I answered endless "how do you spell...?" questions, but we never cracked open the spelling book. It sat on the shelf, unused and dusty, for the better part of a year.

Yesterday, Matthew pulled the spelling book off the shelf, and said, "We should do this. I love this program, and we haven't done it for a long time." Five minutes later, we were taking the placement test to see where we should start at this time.

It turns out, our "informal" learning worked just fine. Matthew and Anna both tested a full grade level ahead of the grade they would be in were they in public school. It reassured me; restored my confidence in our eclectic/unschooling ever-changing method of learning. Occasionally, you just have to let go.

Random Pictures from the Past Few Weeks

2009-06-08T20:34:00.001-07:00

Natural consequences: climb up on the drawer of the stove to stir the waffle batter after being told not to, and you will get a face full of flour and milk, and it will not be fun!

John and Julie on his birthday (hence the goofy hat).
A deep thinker- maybe this is why Anna thinks he looks like an evil genius?

Lots of lovin' going on!

BJ Blazers Take the Championship!

2009-06-08T20:18:00.001-07:00

Anna's ball team took first place at their tournament Saturday. She scored a couple runs, had several RBIs, and I only had to yell at her a few times to stop playing with rocks and pay attention to the game! Considering that it's only her second year playing, and most of the kids started at t-ball, I think she's doing great.

Rather than buying individual medals or trophies for the kids, they got one big trophy that will go on display at the school, and then had each kid get a picture holding the trophy. Seemed like an odd way to do it to me, but whatever works, I guess.

The Dance Recital!

2009-06-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

The girls both did a wonderful job this year at the recital- remembered their dances, weren't nervous- awesome!

Cora was so not enthused about getting her picture taken! She was just ready for summer break by this point. Plus, she said all those feathers around the bottom of her costume were itchy.

Announcing Jacob Michael!

2009-05-05T15:31:00.001-07:00

Jacob Michael Lester was born at 7:05 pm, May 4, 2009. He was 8 lb. 14 oz., 23" long, with a 15" head. Judging by his entrance into the world, he's going to be a little speedster! His older brother and sisters are proud as punch- "It's better than great," Matthew says. "It's awesome!"

Our First Protest- Kansas City Tax Day Tea Party

2009-04-16T09:14:00.001-07:00

Anna, Matthew and Cora each chose their own slogan for their signs. Anna made her slogan up herself, while Matthew and Cora chose from a list of suggested sayings for the Tea Party website. I penciled in the letters, which they then outlined and colored in.
There was a large crowd, and the kids all handled it very well. Matthew practiced his reading by reading the signs of people around us.
A family photo- it's hard to tell in this picture, but my shirt said "already owes $36,575" and had an arrow pointing to the baby. Before heading out to the protest, we studied the Boston Tea Party, and discussed the government's responsibilities and limitations as outlined by the Constitution. The kids were excited to see flags that said "Don't Tread on Me," which they remembered studying earlier in the year.

Valentine's Party with the Homeschool Group

2009-02-23T20:51:00.001-08:00

Ok, this picture of Reagan is not from the party, but I threw it in because I didn't have anywhere else to put it. Now, on to the party!

We had face painting by Tenna- the girls each got a Tinkerbell, Matthew and Remington got Saturn planets. Reagan hung on me, and got nothing.
Matthew and Remington trying to make heart baskets- they were too complicated for me to figure out!
The boys did enjoy making the candy airplanes.

These last two pictures were actually from the evening of the Lincoln party, but I missed them on that post, and it was easier to put them on here than go back to it and add them.

Happy 200th Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

2009-02-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, we all dressed up in our red, white, and blue, and attended a birthday bash at the Maryville Public Library. All but Anna, that is, who insisted on wearing pink. But as you can see, the rest of the kids donned their red shirts, and a good time was had by all. A very talented Lincoln impersonator put on a show, and then stuck around for pictures, questions, and cake.
Reagan enjoyed herself, as you can see!
Just like Santa, Abraham Lincoln was too scary for pictures with Cora and Reagan. Matthew and Anna posed for us though.
Reading the Gettysburg Address.

Funny Kids

2009-02-22T20:25:00.001-08:00

Degin in his new Easter bonnet.

Reagan in the same hat. Ok, it's not new, it's an old one from mom's, but it is a girl's Easter hat.

This is what kids look like after they've been building dirt castles on a windy day!

Random Stuff

2009-02-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

Matthew shooting his new bow and arrows- Cora gets the privilege of being the quiver- carrier.
We were splitting wood- Matthew was really not happy about helping carry and stack firewood, but did force himself to smile for this picture.
Reagan with her "boy baby"- everything is a baby to her. The coloring is odd in the picture because there was so much smoke from a neighbor's fire that the entire town was gray. It made all my pictures that day look strange.

A Knight, a Butterfly Princess, and a Terrible Tornado

2009-02-22T19:58:00.001-08:00

Anna, my little writer/director, made up a play called "A Knight, a Butterfly Princess, and a Terrible Tornado." Reagan had no part in the play, but I liked this picture taken of her during the play. Anyway, Matthew, of course, was the knight. Cora was the Butterfly Princess, and Anna was a terrible tornado, set on destroying the princess and stealing her crown. Matthew's line for each version of the play was "Oh no, a terrible tornado! I must save the Butterfly Princess!" He would then fight the tornado with his sword or shoot it with his bow. We taped the play about 10 times- it just kept getting funnier.

These are just some random pictures of Anna and Cora that I liked, and happened to get downloaded at the same time as the play pictures.

Cutting Firewood and Playing on the Pond

2009-01-21T12:10:00.001-08:00

The kids did help pick up wood and load the truck, but all of the pictures are of the kids climbing in fallen trees, or climbing in the truck. Reagan helped a lot, but was sleeping when the camera was out, so she missed out on all the pictures. She's a worker though- she'll keep carrying firewood as long as I do, even when the other kids are playing.

The kids had a great time yesterday sliding around on our little pond. They played circus, and pretended to be zoo animals slipping around on the ice. Every time one of them actually fell, Sissy would run out to make sure they were ok, nosing around them until they stood back up.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

I either forgot the camera, or forgot to take pictures, at every Christmas except Paul and Karen's, and our own at home. Even at those two places, we didn't take many pictures. But, here's a few we did get.

We got up at 3:30 a.m. to open presents before Duane left for work. It didn't take long to open presents and then curl up under blankets to eat candy from stockings and watch new movies Santa left. Reagan was the only one to go back to sleep; everyone else made it through the morning. Reagan and Cora did take naps around 11:00, Matthew made it all the way to suppertime before falling asleep. Anna, the little trooper, stayed awake 'til time to go home again.
Matthew in his new Iron Man jammies.

Reagan and Aunt Julie playing with one of Reagan's gifts.

We saw Santa at the library during Story Hour. Cora only talked to him because she had Daddy's protection. No way was she sitting on that guy's lap. Reagan wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. Pretend you don't see him, and he'll go away. . .
Matthew talked to Santa, without Daddy's help, but wouldn't sit on his lap, even for a photo op for Mommy.
Anna had no qualms about sitting on Santa's lap and letting him know exactly what she wanted for Christmas.
After the library, we cut our Christmas tree. Here Cora is protecting Reagan from the noise of the chain saw.

One Busy Day

2008-10-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

School on Saturday? Could be a bummer, but none of our kids were complaining. A big thank you to the Humeston Fire Department for an educational and highly entertaining morning spent learning about fire safety. We crawled through a room filled with smoke, participated in activities, watched demonstrations, and climbed all over the fire trucks.

After the fire station, we headed across the street to the park, where we played for an hour or so before heading home for lunch. After some brief naps, it was time to head to the second school outing of the day- the Pioneer Festival at the museum in Corydon.

The kids painted pumpkins.
Matthew and Cora won the first two rounds of the cake walk, at which pointed we walked away, so that someone else could have a chance.
All three of the older kids got a chance to try their hand at weaving a rug. Cora could barely reach to push the shuttle through, but she got several rows done before she gave up. The kids also took turns at the spinning wheel.

Civil War re-enactors were on hand to shoot off the cannon every hour. Before each shot, they gave a brief history lesson.

We learned a great deal about how cannons were cleaned between each firing. We also got to ride in a horse-drawn wagon, and viewed many exhibits in between activities.
By the end of the day, more than a few of us were beat.

LeRoy Harvest Festival

2008-10-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Anna made it into the hula hoop championship, but lost to this boy.

It was boys against girls again for the "pass the hula hoop around the circle" race. The girls won.
Two more relay races:

Cora doing the chicken dance with Jade Brimm, and a girl I don't know.

Matthew and Gavin enjoyed these two prizes a lot.

Anna's New Puppy

2008-10-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Anna's new puppy is Sissy, an Anatolian/Border Collie mix she got from Mosers. Sissy is fitting in quite nicely at our house, although she spent her first night hiding in the sword toy bin, trying to stay away from the kids.

She didn't have any accidents in the house the first night; quite possibly because she had thrown up or pooped out everything in her tummy within the first ten miles of our trip home. Made it a difficult ride for me- the smell was about more than I could handle for two hours, with a pregnant-sensitive nose. Luckily, Duane was home to help Anna with a bath for Sissy, while I cleaned out the kennel.

Anna has had a great time so far, taking her for long walks (and I mean 4-5 hours at a time) and playing with her. The night we walked to the river and back, Sissy was dog-tired when we got home. There was no whining from her that night.

Miscellaneous Pictures

2008-09-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Reagan got into Duane's camo paint when I wasn't looking. . .
Daddy and his "pop stars" and Matthew too.

For Uncle Matt and Aunt Alyssa

2008-09-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a picture of Cora wearing the dress Anna wore as a flower girl for Matt and Alyssa's wedding. She refused to just stand normally and let me take a picture. Every time I went to snap the picture, she jumped into a new pose.

Picking up the kids from Grandma Camp

2008-09-25T17:16:00.001-07:00

Remington went home from Grandma Camp early Saturday morning, but the rest of the grandkids were there for this picture.

Now don't those two look like trouble waiting to happen?
Ruby seems to enjoy having a messy face- much more so than Stella ever did!
The kids had a good time, but they sure were happy to see their parents!

Swimming at the Moser Reunion

2008-09-25T15:50:00.001-07:00

The kids really enjoyed Chris and Andy's swimming pool. We all had a great weekend, and enjoyed the camping, visiting, and eating, but the swimming was definitely a highlight for the kids.

This was the sunset when we came off the cinder path one weekend after picking wild grapes with Mom. Matthew thought the sky was so beautiful, he just had to have a picture of it. He was trying to take the picture through the van window, and just kept getting smeary fingerprints from the glass, so I took the picture for him outside the van.

One Big Snake

2008-07-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

While out in the pasture this morning, Matthew and I found a snake skin. It was a bit long- 57 inches, to be exact! I'd hate to step on this guy while doing chores!

4th of July Celebrations

2008-07-24T20:44:00.001-07:00

I didn't do the greatest job of taking pictures on the 4th. Somehow, I just didn't feel like celebrating from behind the lens. I did get this cutie on camera though, and a few shots of fireworks at the reservoir.

On the 5th, Stella helped me make focaccia bread, so I let each of the older girls shape and top their own loaves of bread. Reagan thought she should have had some- notice she's picking off Cora's toppings while everyone is distracted by the camera! Anna and Cora did a bang-up job of eating all of theirs themselves too, but Stella shared with her mommy and daddy. What a sweetie!

The Tarkio Air Show

2008-07-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

I believe that's a P-51 Mustang they're standing in front of, but I could be wrong- it's late, I'm tired, and it was several weeks ago that this picture was taken. So sue me if I'm wrong.
Watching the Chinook take off- notice Cora's ears are covered. The noise of the planes was almost as bad as the noise of fireworks on the 4th of July for her.

How we spent the first hour or so of the air show. Lots of people left, but not us- we're tough, or stubborn, or both?

Posing with the Apache.

If you want to see pictures of the planes and not of the kids, check out Duane's post about it on All American Blogger. I prefer the kids.

Watermelon Day and the Baby Bottle Show

2008-07-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

The kids had to ride the rides several times, and since they were free, why not?
Yes, Cora was aiming right at me with that deadly alien ray gun. Anna's riding in the saucer behind her, with lovely cousins Clark.
Matthew, visiting with the judge at the sheep show.
Anna, telling Squeak how embarrassed she was that she told the judge she was six, when she's really seven.

Cora did a great job, showing all by herself for the first time (last year she had Gavin's help).
Doesn't she just look proud as punch?The happy crew- thanks to the Moser clan.

Gypsy's Babies

2008-04-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

Cora's goat, Gypsy, a purebred angora, had two babies this afternoon while we were at church. One is much curlier than the other; she obviously took after mommy, while the other has more of daddy's traits.

The Great Rescue

2008-04-12T06:43:00.001-07:00

Oh, the games the kids will come up with when left to their own devices!

Reagan's After-Pig Tails Hair

2008-04-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

Science Night with the Homeschool Group

2008-04-12T06:11:00.001-07:00

The lesson was on "The Scientific Definition of Work" and we saw many great examples of work. Mitch had a soda bottle rocket that was propelled by air pressure, a whistling tea kettle, an electric fan blowing streamers, a volcano made with 7-up and Benefiber, a do-not-try-this-at-home fire started with gasoline and much more. It was a great lesson, and when he was done, the kids had an opportunity to present their own projects or experiments that they had brought.

Anna did an experiment using a turmeric indicator to test whether substances were acids or bases. She had made a poster to go along with it, and showed how the indicator turned blood red when put in a base (baking soda) or light yellow when added to an acid (vinegar). Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of her doing this, as the battery went dead on the camera. I did get pictures of the kids playing with Joey's switches and circuits display though.

After the lesson and snacks were done, all the kids displayed their ability to do work, by running from one end of the basement to the other, over and over and over . . .

Easter

2008-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Goat Shearing

2008-03-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

Today, we sheared the goats. Or, I should say, a very kind gentleman sheared the goats, I just moved them from place to place and picked up mohair. The kids helped, until Matthew and Cora got a bit scared and had to move out of the pen. Anna took pictures and video. Once all that mohair was cut off, you wouldn't even recognize them as being the same goats!
My billy looks much smaller, not nearly so pretty, and just not very impressive when he's buck naked.
Gypsy, my purebred angora doe, looks like a stick who swallowed a basketball after losing all of that hair. The next picture shows her being sheared- notice the beautiful curly locks?
All gone!
Two more pictures of Gypsy. A side view, that shows just how wrinkly she is under all of that mohair- she and Curly, the other purebred angora, had a garbage bag full of mohair together.
And Gypsy's opinion of shearing:

Reagan Enjoying the Warm Weather

2008-03-01T20:01:00.001-08:00

Sadie and Reagan spend a lot of time together. Reagan especially loves to sit on Sadie, bouncing up and down until Sadie gets fed up, and rolls over, tumbling Reagan off, which just leads to giggles from Reagan.
Notice the scab on Reagan's nose? Duane is pretty sure that I didn't tell him that Reagan can open the kitchen door- I'm equally sure I did. Either way, she opened the door and tumbled down the steps, landing on her face. I guess she thought I needed help doing chores and was coming to find me!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2008-03-01T19:39:00.001-08:00

Today, March 1, was a beautiful day. Sunny, warm, play-out-side-all-day weather. Anna thought it just might be windy enough to keep our heavy-duty fish kite up in the air. She was right!

It was a bit muddy though!

Introducing Sharla

2008-02-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

Matthew's goat, Alexa, surprised us yesterday with a baby girl. We spent most of the day in town, and were quite shocked when we came home to find a sweet angel running around in the barn! She is pure white, and Matthew has named her Sharla.

When I asked Matthew why he chose the name Sharla, if he had heard it somewhere, he looked at me like I was crazy, and said "It was just in my head!"

2008-02-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hey, where'd that come from?!

Reagan loves Mommy's spaghetti!

2008-02-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Looks a bit psychotic here, doesn't she?

Much happier here.

Definitely her father's daughter- look at the size of that mouth!

Yum, yum!

Our New Camera Arrived!

2008-01-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

While Anna was washing dishes today, Duane tied this bandana on her. She had her baby doll tied on in her sling while doing housework. Notice the bright red lipstick? That's what happens when Mommy's too distracted in the store to do more than glance at the Burt's Bees Lip Balm Anna's begging to buy. I was expecting plain chapstick, not scarlet! This is the grimace I got when I asked for a smile.

This is a much better smile!

And I really like this one. Our new digital camera arrived today, so we had to try it out. Since the screen on our old one was broken, we replaced it with our Christmas gift money. Thank you, Paul and Karen, John and Julie, Kathi and Rich! The camera seems to work great so far!

Mama nursing the new kid

2008-01-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Anna is leaning towards the name "Enchanted," short for "Enchanted Princess."

We have a new kid!

2008-01-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

Born around 8:00 last night, an adorable baby joins the homestead. . .

Yes, that mohair is as soft as it looks!

Mama Precious Rose jumped up on the hay bales to watch carefully as Matthew and Cora petted the new kid.

My Two Pygora Nannies

2007-12-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

These two nannies are my pregnant pygoras. Precious, in the top photo, is much rounder than Alexa.

More of the girl and her horse

2007-12-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

Anna took Charlie on two long walks today. As we left the barnyard after the second walk, she asked, "Tomorrow, can I visit Charlie three times?"

Anna and Charlie

2007-12-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

Anna got a miniature horse for Christmas. She had said several weeks ago that if Santa did bring a horse, it would be brown and white spotted, and if it was a girl, she would name it Cocoa, and if it was a boy, she would name it Charlie. We'd like to introduce you to Charlie.

Cora and Mommy on Christmas

2007-12-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

Cora's big girl bed

2007-12-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

Cora loved her big girl bed from Santa, and the pillow mommy made for it.

More Christmas Kids

2007-12-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

Aren't they just too cute?

2007-12-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

My Handsome Pygora Billy Goat

2007-12-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

More Pictures of God's Beautiful World

2007-12-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

The one thing I was thankful about with the ice storm was that for the most part, I was able to focus on how beautiful it made everything, rather than on how inconvenient it was to be without electricity. Hence, the 400+ pictures.

Iowa Ice and Snow

2007-12-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is Brad's fence. If you look closely, you can see that the string of icicles melted a bit and then froze again, hanging down below the barbed wire.

Matthew reading to Reagan

2007-12-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

2007-12-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Fitting street sign near our house. The next three, I actually took in Iowa Friday morning, when Cora had to stop on a gravel road for a potty break. It seemed like a good photo opportunity.

Tired of Ice Yet?

2007-12-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

Have you guessed by now that I took more than 400 pictures of the ice around our place?

This tree is in our pasture.

The Front Yard

2007-12-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

As with the back yard, more branches were yet to fall.

More Ice

2007-12-18T06:21:00.000-08:00

This is the tree at the back corner of the house. It actually dropped a lot more branches after this picture was taken.

Ice Pictures

2007-12-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

Some of these, I just thought were interesting pictures.

Others show damage.

There is a fence underneath that pile of branches. . .at least, there used to be.

2007-12-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

I managed to catch Remington (barely), despite all his efforts to the contrary. Aren't they a happy bunch?

2007-11-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

Reagan fell asleep in the chair- sitting straight up, no support on the sides. Just sitting there. I expected her to tip over at any time, but I took about 6 or 7 pictures, and she never even stirred. Man, was she tired!

The Whole Crew

2007-10-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Reagan and Anna's costumes

2007-10-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Anna also had to try out the make-up after trick or treating was over.

2007-10-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

After trick or treating, Matthew thought he'd try a new look.

Matthew in his Spiderman costume getting ready to trick or treat.

Daddy's favorite Clown

2007-10-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

2007-10-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Seems like an uncomfortable way to sleep to me!

2007-10-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

A Couple More Pics of the Field Trip

2007-09-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Feeding the chickens grass.

Our First Homeschool Group Field Trip to Weston Red Barn Farm

2007-09-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Farmer Louisa (our guide) kept talking about bacon. . .

Traditional "class" picture?

Of course, the horses were our favorite- and as always, Cora wanted anyone but me- she really wanted to go home with Allie, and when Allie left, she decided she'd just stay at the farm with Farmer Louisa!

And, a close-up picture of the horses for Anna.

Reagan "plays" with the kitty

2007-09-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

A few of Matthew

2007-09-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Anna, all dressed up to put on a bike show

2007-09-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Video coming soon!

Pictures from our day on the lake with Grandpa Don

2007-09-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Showing Sheep at the Decatur County Fair

2007-09-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Gavin and Cora worked together.

Anna, walking her sheep.

Heading for the show ring.

Waiting for our turn.

My Baby's Growing Up!

2007-09-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

She can now get all the tangles out of that beautiful long hair by herself!

Lots of fun at Ben's first visit!

2007-08-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ben really liked this car!

Who do you think will win this one?!

Corn Husking

2007-08-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Is this one clean enough, Mommy? Does it have too many hairs? YES!

Had to get a closer look at that smile!

Anna and Matthew got bored easily, and had to be continually reminded to KEEP HUSKING!

Gavin and Cora in the Purple Coneflowers

2007-08-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Day 5- A pool full of bubbles

2007-06-21T17:43:00.001-07:00

Gavin's happy to be here. . .or happy that the week's almost over?

Day 4- or, why Gavin has bruises

2007-06-21T16:29:00.001-07:00

Day 3- playing ice cream shop at the park, and other games

2007-06-21T15:39:00.001-07:00

Sliding into the wading pool

2007-06-12T20:41:00.001-07:00

After this video, I did put the kibosh on going down the slide standing up. . .

Day 2: A little wading pool, but a lot of fun!

2007-06-12T20:02:00.001-07:00

Add a slide, and a bitty little wading pool becomes that much more fun.
This was just too cute not to post.
Matthew and Remington got a little muddy. . .
Remington sprints for the pool as Anna flies in. Gavin was inside napping during this session.

Remington got a little thirsty from all that running.
And then he needed a break.
Cora faces off with Remington and Gavin- she's not about to back down, even if it is two on one!
There was surprisingly little fighting, but I did manage to capture this precious memory.
Matthew gets a running start for jumping into the pool.

Our First Day with Gavin & Remington

2007-06-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Day one of the Big Week:

Duane has to work. I need milk. Duane is certain I'll go crazy or lose a kid at the store, possibly both. Against his advice, and because he's at work and can't stop me, I load all the kids in the van and head for town. The promise of a trip to the park if they're good helps us make it through both Hy-Vee and Walmart with my sanity intact, and we arrive at the park for lunch and play.

Our School

2007-06-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

This may eventually have to turn into a separate blog, but for now, you'll find it here. The children have begged to begin school right away instead of waiting until fall. This week, I gave in, and we began some informal lessons. I have not yet written out a schedule, but we have done a little history, science, reading, phonics, math, music, literature, and art each day. One of our science experiments this week dealt with using vinegar to remove the carbon from the shell of an egg, thus making it a soft-shelled egg. Anna recorded the steps of the experiment in her journal, along with their predictions and observations. Here are some pics.

Shortly after the egg was placed in the vinegar, bubbles began to form on the shell of the egg. The vinegar (acetic acid) and calcium carbonate from the egg reacted, releasing carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Matthew had guessed that the egg shell would soften immediately; Anna didn't think it would get soft at all.
This is the egg on day two. As you can see, the shell is nearly gone; all that remains is a thin layer of white calcium, which is easily rubbed off. The next step is to leave the egg on the counter overnight. The calcium is supposed to grab carbon from the carbon dioxide in the air, reforming the egg shell of calcium carbonate.

Our Park Adventure

2007-06-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

So, after Duane spent a good part of the day working at the new house, he came home and suggested we head to the park in Maryville for the evening. I agreed, as the kids and I were preparing to go grocery shopping anyway. We had a great time at the park, as you can see from the pictures. Shortly after we arrived, an SUV pulled in right beside our van, and the lady just sat inside, reading. I looked over several times, wondering if she was going to get out of her vehicle, but she continued to sit there. "Why come to the park, if you're just going to stay in you car?" I wondered. After a while, we decided it was time to head for the store, so Duane got the older kids buckled, while I put Reagan in her car seat. We hopped in, turned the key. . .and the van didn't start. The lady offered her cell phone, and Duane told her we didn't have anyone to call that was closer than Tarkio. After some discussion, Duane and I decided we would just hoof it to Walmart, buy a new battery, and Duane would take it back to the park and install it while we waited. The lady spoke up and volunteered to drive Duane there, while we stayed and played. This turned out to be a much better arrangement. In a short time, Duane was back with tools and a battery, and we were on our way. Thank you, Judy Wonderly, and thank you God for sending Judy to sit in her car in the park. My question was answered.

Still at the park

2007-06-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

Daddy at the park. . .before the van wouldn't start, and he had to buy and install a new battery!

Reagan at the park

2007-06-08T06:41:00.001-07:00

Amazingly enough, the entire time we were at the park, not a single rock went into her mouth! Incredible, considering that I took about twenty pictures in the rocks, and let her just lay and play in them for a while.

Playing at the park

2007-06-08T06:21:00.001-07:00

At the end of the day, when I asked the kids what their favorite part of the park was, Matthew and Cora both said the slides. Anna said her favorite part was seeing Matthew do the monkey bars, because he's growing up so much. I thought that was a very sweet answer. Matthew then followed up with "My second favorite part was Daddy coming back with a battery for the van and fixing it." Good boy!

Matthew break dancing. . .breaking his knees, breaking his neck, breaking his head. . .

2007-06-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Reagan takes the first steps towards mobility

2007-06-06T07:33:00.001-07:00

The picture

2007-06-06T07:18:00.001-07:00

Yay for Reagan!

2007-06-05T18:26:00.001-07:00

Today Reagan began pushing herself up on her hands and knees, or sometimes on her hands and toes. One strong little girl, she does a better push-up than Duane or I could do! Anyway, I will try to capture the incredible feat in photo or video over the next few days, but I wanted it on record that she has reached this milestone.

Definitely Duane's influence. . .

2007-06-05T13:36:00.001-07:00

Bubble Pig Fun

2007-06-04T13:20:00.001-07:00

Monkey Man Matthew

2007-06-04T13:00:00.001-07:00

A million scenes like this from my childhood. . .

2007-06-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

Only we had a little red wagon to pull the big kids.

Aren't we precious?

2007-06-04T05:43:00.001-07:00

Reagan's first pony tail. . .Aunt Dawn's new bow. Too cute!

My Little Princess

2007-06-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

From Cinderella in rags. . .
To Sleeping Beauty. . .

Always a princess.

Playing at the family reunion

2007-06-04T05:24:00.001-07:00

The children all enjoyed playing in the sand of the volleyball court.

Wearing my baby

2007-06-04T05:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, the pictures of wearing Reagan in my wrap, also known as a simple piece of cloth.

Riding horses with Paige

2007-06-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, Annie took Anna, Matthew, and Cora out to Paige's house to see her new foal, and they got to ride horses while they were there.

Anna's dance recital

2007-05-30T07:42:00.001-07:00

Putting on her tap shoes in the dressing room below the stage.
After it was all over, with her rose from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Paul.
Annie helped with Anna's make-up before going on-stage.

Cloth diapers

2007-05-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

When Duane and I attended the homeschool conference in Kansas City this spring, I met a girl (she has to be a girl, she is only 4 years older than me, and I'm not old enough to be a lady) with eight children. She taught me how to tie my baby on with a simple piece of cloth. She also encouraged me to try using cloth diapers again. I had tried this with Anna, and given up, mainly because I disliked the stinky diaper pail, and scrubbing them out in the toilet. She told me that neither of these are necessary, and that a "wet" diaper pail for soaking the diapers is actually detrimental, as it causes the cloth to weaken and deteriorate faster. So, I gave it another try, and not only is it so much easier than I remember from Anna, but it seems very natural and right to have my baby swaddled in cloth instead of wrapped in plastic. I have even learned how to sew my own diapers and diaper covers. So, some pictures.

Reagan in her cloth diaper.
A close-up of the second fleece diaper cover I made; I made the pattern by tracing a disposable diaper that is currently too large for her, so that there would be room inside for the cloth diaper.
Reagan, snoozing in her comfy fleece cover. With these, you don't need plastic/nylon covers, and they can be worn for quite a while before washing, unless poop gets on them. The pee doesn't even make them damp!

I will post some pictures of Reagan tied on with a simple piece of cloth when Duane is home to take them.

Cora bubbles

2007-05-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

This post is for Aunt Kathi, because Grandma Karen really wanted her to see the picture at the top, but didn't know how to attach it to an e-mail, and no one would take the time to teach her how to do so- "Oh, Karen, it's so easy!" evidently isn't enough explanation.