Kitchen Experiments September 30, 2008

We got this book at the library due to the recent interest in hurricanes- watching news reporters getting blown away and cars floating down streets on the news while we were waiting to see if Ike would come our way will do that to you, I guess. It was such a fun book to read. The kids were fascinated with all the information on wind, rain, thunder, and lightening which together make up hurricanes. There were several experiments in the sidebars and the kids were particularly interested in this one:

We placed a balloon over the neck of an empty bottle then placed the bottle in pot of boiling water.

The air molecules spread apart as they are heating causing some to move up into the balloon and puff it up. There are more weather experiments that we are collecting materials for that we had seen in that book.

Au Revoir Ballet September 29, 2008

The session of ballet classes has ended. Sadie had a wonderful time making friends, playing, and dancing in front of tons of mirrors. She had a lovely teacher who she adored.

During the classes, Elijah made a friend too. Another big brother with a Lego fascination. They would bring their little sets and build together.

Sadie made a friend that we would play with after every class at the playground. She speaks Spanish which endeared Sadie even more to the language. She had fun showing off her (albeit limited) Spanish vocabulary

I love this picture of Elijah. He’s tough to catch on camera these days and thinks it’s pretty funny to run away when the camera emerges. I caught him right in the frame trying to flee the scene this time.

While Sadie enjoyed her ballet class, her interest waned toward the end. She doesn’t understand why she needs to just stand there and do everything the teacher does. The idea of copying someone else to achieve mastery of basic skills has been discussed and she really thinks it’s boring.

Relaxed Homeschooler Interviews Yours Truly September 23, 2008

Kim Campbell interviews Dayna Martin and myself with regard to conferences, whole life unschooling, the unschooling (r)evolution, and much more. Click on the Relaxed Homeschooler icon above to stream from Kim’s blog or go to itunes and search for Relaxed Homeschooler #5. This was great fun. Kim has an amazing knack for asking provocative questions and directing a lively discussion! This is a live, biweekly show so listen and call in!

Fort Richardson, here we come! September 23, 2008

It was feeling a little cagey around here on Saturday afternoon. “What do you want to do?”"I don’t know, what do you want to do?” 

“Let’s go camping!” 

And so we did. We drove an hour and a half north to Fort Richardson State Park for an overnight in the Texas wilderness. It was beautiful and just the thing to cure that cagey, suburban itch.

Sadie helps with tent set-up.

Elijah explores the stream that runs next through our campsite (complete with little wooden bridge).

The kids share their Daddy’s love for fire. There was lots of discussion about fire starting, building, safety, and extinguishing.

Sadie and I took the dogs for a walk down the campground road. She loved looking at all the different RVs that people had (we were the only tenters in our area) and asked that I photograph them all.

So, here you have it, a collage of all the RVs that we saw. I love that little triangle one!!!

Her smile says it all.

As darkness approached, we played some dominoes- using sequencing and frames of 5.

We had a visitor overnight! A raccoon tromped all over our picnic table looking for scraps. We were good campers and had put everything in the car. He left cute little footprints!

Chris cooks the morning bacon as we pack up to head home and watch the Patriots.

 

Arrrrr! There Be Hot Air Balloons! September 23, 2008

Friday, September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. So, of course, one must celebrate! Our friend Declan invited us over for some pirate festivities.

Alistair eyes the cake I made from afar. It came out sooo cute! I love putting toys on cake.

Sadie finds a pirate ship toy.

Alistair gets dangerously close to said cake as mom Kelly appraises the cake pirating situation.

Elijah removes the sail from his pirate ship hot dog.

Ethan, Elijah, and Ehlayna unroll another piece of the map to the hidden treasure which turned out to be WAY better than gold (candy!).

Sword fights abounded and we were exhausted!

It just so happened that Plano decided to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with the first launch of their hot air balloon festival that evening. Since we happened to be in the area, we went over to Hoblitzelle Park with some friends to check it out. 

Sadie borrows Anna’s binoculars to get a better look. Turns out that the balloons need the wind to get over in our neck of the woods so we watched them from afar.

Elijah and Chris chatter and snack- needing a rest after some playground activity.

While we didn’t get the up-close view we’d been hoping for, it was still pretty cool to see all those balloons in the sky.

Not to mention that playing into the dark hours is so much fun! There were running races, soccer, rolling down hills (and rolling Parents down hills), and just plain fun!

This was a long, fun-filled, friend-filled day (with some swords and hot air balloons thrown in for good measure).

 

Basketball Diaries September 23, 2008

Chris recently formed a team for the men’s basketball league at the local rec. center. This is a very competitive league as the caliber of players in this area, even for pick-up games, is quite high (i.e. most have played college ball, a few have been drafted to NBA teams, a few spent some time playing in Europe). Chris has always been a scrambler, high rebound and assist percentage, ball mover extraordinaire, nice lay-up, all out for loose balls but a little uneasy about putting himself out there looking for teammates. When he opened his mouth, a line formed. The Rec’n Crew is a force to be rec’nd with. Only playing together as a team during games doesn’t seem to have affected their ability to work like a fine-tuned machine. Their first game went down in the win column with a 30+ point discrepancy. Last night’s game (against a very stacked team that hasn’t lost a single game and won every championship in the last several years) was a close loss that could’ve been prevented with a little bit of meditation on the part of the Crew. The flaring of their tempers at some questionable officiating gave the other team the 8 points in technical free throws that they needed to win the game. The good news- they’ll get ‘em next time. And it was an awesome game!

Sadie and Lijey sit courtside for their Daddy’s games. A discussion about some poor phrasing choices on Daddy’s part that landed a player on the opposite team shooting technicals = priceless.

A Home for Froggy September 18, 2008

A dead rat, a skunk’s scent, and now this- a large frog dives headlong into the pool. There is ground being broken and animals being driven away somewhere near here. We know not of the water source from whence this froggy came. We tend to have lots and lots of toads but we’ve never had a frog! 

The froggy relocation program is underway.

Sadie and I were off to the drainage/boggy area near our home. Relatively dry due to the season and “too garbagy and dirty” as per Sadie, we determined this to be an unfit habitat for our new friend. So we hooked him up with a rubbermaid tub, some rocks, and water overnight until our next trip to Bear Creek Park for ballet.

Pre-ballet (notice Sadie’s catch-and-release outfit), we found a fabulous place for Froggy to call home.

We hope you love it here, Froggy. We do!

A Day at Chisholm Park September 18, 2008

On a beautiful September day, we met up with some friends and made some new ones at this fabulous park.

Elijah and Ehlayna play silly on the slide.

Declan gives Sadie a ride across the playground.

Elijah and L return to the playground after a bottle cap hunt with Rachel.

Sadie tests out the newly decorated ball.

Elijah follows suit with the rejuvenated interest in soccer.

Over to the duck pond. The ducks weren’t very hungry but Elijah loved to watch them.

Sadie plays strong defense on Logan.

This may have been the most fun- a tree waiting to be climbed. Texas weather is getting ripe for pleasant outdoor activity. We’re looking forward to more days like this!

Soccer Ball Envy September 18, 2008

Sadie found the neighbor’s orange soccer ball in the yard- must’ve been kicked over the fence inadvertently. Sad that she couldn’t keep this ball which she deemed much prettier than her own, she decided to pretty hers up!

The Apple and the Tree September 18, 2008

No, it doesn’t fall far. Elijah has discovered Lego Star Wars for Playstation 2 and he is hooked. The boys saddle up everyday for some block-blasting, problem-solving action. My brain hurts when I play this game and my thumbs are not far behind.