The Sled Hill

This has been one abnormal winter in the midwest. We've only had two snowfalls that amounted to anything more than a ground dusting, so there hasn't been much outdoor fun for the kids this year. However, last night we got about 5-6" of snow. So the kids and I flew through their studies as fast as we could this morning and were out the door about 11:30 to get to the sled hill. Eric ran into a couple of friends from his public school days (three years ago!), I got to go down the hill with Charlotte on her sled, and we all had a ball. I do have to say, though, that at the top of this particular hill the windchill must make the temperature about 30 deg. colder than at the bottom of the hill. It was a might breezy up top.

Who needs bullies when you can white-wash yourself?

Charlotte's hair catching a breeze on her ride....

Another Day At School

Don't you wish your math class had been this comfortable?




P.S. - I have no idea why my kids weren't punching each other over who got the chair this day. Naturally I had to capture the rare moment with the camera.



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When you give a carpenter a new deck....

We decided that our old deck (20+ years) needed to be replaced. It was so bad that you couldn't even walk barefoot on the deck without chancing splinters in your feet. While we were at it, we decided to put in a pool. And while we were at that, we decided to add in an upper deck to access said pool. While it's not 100% complete (the deck portion, that is), the pool has been getting a work-out since it warmed up in late May. Here's a few photos of the kids showing off their moves.

Charlotte lines up for her jump

I didn't ask, but I think it's called the frog jump.

Ker-plunk

Now a word about my new radio. I knew we'd be clocking some hours outside in the pool this summer, so when asked what I wanted for my birthday last month, I said "a poolside radio to listen to some tunes while we were in the pool!" Mike, my carpenter husband, went out and found me the mother of all radios. Here it is, and I gotta say it rocks!!

Eric doing his ninja moves
(and though he looks really boney in this photo, we do feed him.)

Look at all those custom cuts on the wood. Mike rocked it on the deck!

Maybe Next Time

We were at the Milwaukee Zoo yesterday to support our nephew on his first Down Syndrome Awareness walk. So we were on the walk portion of our day going by this foresty area that seemed like a great place to take a photo of the kids - you know, maybe for the annual Christmas card or something. I made the mistake of taking my sunglasses off while shooting the photos so I could see the light better, but duh, didn't put on my regular glasses so I really wasn't sure what I was shooting since it all looked blurry to me. Then there's Mike, ever the not helpful photographer's assistant, telling the kids to say cheeseburger or pizza or something stupid like that. All I wanted was a cute photo of the kids. THIS is what I get instead......

T-Ball Round Two

Just 4 short years ago we were on these very fields for T-Ball when Eric was in the league. This year Charlotte chose to take a break from gymnastics and try out T-Ball.

Warm-up before the game

In the dugout looking a little warm (it was 90 deg or something the day I took these.)

This is being "baseball ready" (aka pay attention so you don't get bopped on the head with a ball)

If this isn't a "girl throw", I don't know what is!

Can you tell this child was loving having the camera on her all during the game?

Daddy's Princess

In April, Mike took Charlotte to a daddy/daughter dance hosted by our church. Charlotte talked of nothing else all week long and was beyond excited once the day arrived. She chose to wear her red velvet Christmas dress, and I put her hair up in a bun in the back. She was thrilled to have her hair done fancy, but totally blown away when I lent her one of my necklaces to wear with her dress.

At the dance they had their picture taken by the photographer, and all the daughters received a necklace and a carnation. Lots of punch, desserts and dancing followed! She had the time of her life!!! Since I can't decide which one I like best, I posted all three of the ones I thought turned out good. :-)










He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers..." (Malachi 4:6a)

Prairie Girl

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I took the kids on a field trip to a one-room school house about 40 minutes from home. We've been studying pioneer life, and I thought this might be a cool thing for them to see first hand. When we got there, we had the place to ourselves, along with the two volunteers. They were happy to share their information with folks who were interested. The kids got to sit at the old-time desks and were each given a slate and slate pencil to practice on, as well as a grade-appropriate McGuffy Reader! Charlotte was thrilled to try on each of the dresses! For this reason alone she wishes she had lived during this period in history. As we were getting ready to leave, each of the kids got to ring the bell in the belfry. It was definitely a successful field trip!

Isn't She Lovely?

I took a few photos of Charlotte on her birthday. They're a little dark and over-processed in Photoshop for my tastes. However, I'm a little prejudiced and think she still looks beautiful, in spite of my bad shooting day.

Look Mom!

The kids and I were heading to the outlet mall for new winter shoes for them. On the way, Charlotte exclaimed, "Look Mom! It's a cloud maker!"





All I could do was laugh. The thought of a cloud maker just made me smile! I didn't have the heart to tell her it was pollution. So I didn't.

P.S. - I'm glad I happened to have my camera with in the car!

That Freaks Me Out

While on our trip up north, Mike had the luxury of spending some one-on-one time with each kid. He took Eric on a little hike into the woods near Lake Superior. Both of them loved their little adventure!

Charlotte had wanted no part of going out on the boat fishing with the boys, her Daddy and Uncle so she stayed on shore and played Barbies. However, Mike had promised her he'd take her out on the lake just the two of them. Finding time alone with each one of your children is such a challenge, so I'm glad Mike got an opportunity to do that over Labor Day weekend! Here are a few photos of Charlotte and her Daddy.

Charlotte gets into the boat and is looking a little unsure about this whole rowboat QT with Dad.

And they're off!

Every time the boat rocked a little bit, she'd say, "That freaks me out!" Ahhhh, nothing like some quality time with Daddy! :-)

Back To......Homeschool

This day made possible by many family and friends' prayers and support, plus generous donations of books and even a printer!

Today was the day!! We launched Flood Academy (not sure what to call our little school. Suggestions?) Because it was not only the first day of school, but also the first day of homeschool, I made pancakes for breakfast. This made the children putty in my hands, an unexpected, yet wonderful, reward for my efforts. Actually, the day went really well. We're easing into things this week with math, reading, and phonics. Next week we'll add on everything else. Since it was so cold this morning (what is up with that on August 31?!), we did back-to-school photos after lunch.

Charlotte shows off her new backpack (yes, she'll need one for our Co-Op enrichment school)

Both kids and their backpacks (I need to have a chat with Eric about his, uh, "cool" face.)

The kids were not having anything to do with touching each other for a "together" photo...

....until I pleaded with them. Eric makes it look like a painful experience.

I think they've had enough of me and my camera.

Indoctrinating Children

As Cubs baseball fans, we've tried to make sure that our children know for which team to cheer. In the winter, it's the Bears. In the summer, it can be none other than the Cubs! To that end, when given the chance, we dress our children in appropriate clothing. It's all part of the brainwashing......

High School Musical Jr.

Charlotte was signed up for summer camp through Christian Youth Theater last week. Each morning she went to practice dances, music, and lines for a little showcase of HSM. The kids on the "yellow team" were 5-6 year olds, and they were simply adorable! I had to smile as I watched Charlotte who seemed to be watching US more than she was paying attention to her dance partner. Here's a little series of shots I took during one of the routines:

LegoLand

Eric is big-time into all things Lego. Since it's spring break, we decided to go visit LegoLand yesterday with the kids. Having a couple freebie kid passes made the trip less traumatic for me. I can't say I'd ever go back there (unless someone else was paying, lol), even though the Lego creations were really cool. For the $40 it cost for all of us to get in there, our kids each got one free white Lego brick with the entrance fee. What a deal! Well OK, we got to go on a dragon ride and see a short 4-D movie....plus go to the over-run play area.

I'm hard to please with my high standards. I think for $19 per adult, we should get something more than a walk-through of some Lego creations. I had hoped we could attend one of the workshops with a Lego master builder, but that was at 10:50 a.m. and that appeared to be it. Guess I dropped the ball by not asking when we got there, seeing as there were no signs anywhere about it and the cashier didn't even hand us so much as a site map (maybe he dislikes coupon users who bring their own cameras.) If I weren't trying to stop acronym cyber swearing, I'd be typing WTyouknowwhat, ya know?! In this case, entrance fees do not in any way equate to the value of the venue.

On the plus side, Eric has switched career paths. Gone are the dreams to be a carpenter. He plans to be a master builder of Legos. Sounds like a fun job, actually!

Hippo in the "jungle land" area

The kids with Batman

Indiana Jones

Eric was randomly chosen to push a button in the pretend Lego "factory"

Hagrid

Anakin Skywalker gone bad

Young Jedi Warrior

One guess who feels at home in front of the camera