Mini-Vacation

We just got back this afternoon from a little vacation! Bob had a TDY down at Pax River, and there is a little Naval rec center across a bridge from there called Solomons Island. It's where the Patuxant River and the Chesapeake Bay come together. It used to be an actual base, but now it's all just a recreation area, with a little beach, pool, mini-golf course, and several playgrounds. There are also a bunch of different lodging options.

So we all went with Bob after church on Sunday, and we stayed for 3 nights in a "bungalow", which is a fancy name for the former base housing, LOL. It was a 3 bedroom house, with a kitchen, eating area, living area, and bathroom. It was nice, but definitely a base house. I spent some time while trying to fall asleep thinking about how I would manage if I had to live in such a small house with all the kids, how I could efficiently use the very limited amount of storage, etc. I always woke up so glad I don't have to do it, LOL! But for a 3 night vacation it was just perfect--enough rooms that Micah and Faith could both take naps, and all the kids could go to bed, while Bob and I could stay up later! We watched "House Hunters" several times, which we used to do fairly regularly but haven't done in at least a year. I was also able to do a lot of typing, entering in all the memory work stuff for next year, and I did some Latin as well. I also started a Bill Bryson book called At Home, which has been fun and interesting so far. It was so nice to not be at my own (cluttered and messy) house--very relaxing!

Bob's meetings didn't start until Tuesday morning, so we spent Monday at the beach. We got to the beach at 9:30, where all these signs said swimming was prohibited unless a lifeguard was present. So we set up and waited. The kids dug in the sand for awhile, then stuck their toes in, then laid in the water . . . and still we waited. It was boiling hot and humid, and we about gave up hope that a lifeguard was ever going to show up. But eventually, at 11:00, 2 came zipping up in a little vehicle. We were all very glad to be able to swim without feeling guilty. The beach was small, but it wasn't crowded at all. It was very man-made, with big piles of rocks on either end making it crescent-shaped. There were small waves, which were perfect for the girls. They had such a good time in the water! Also, it wasn't as salty as ocean water. Although I reapplied sunscreen to the kids several times, I wasn't as faithful with Bob, and he got a sunburn on his back. We were there until 3:00ish, which was plenty long for us all! We all went back, showered, and then Bob took the kids to play mini golf, which about gave everyone heatstroke.

Tuesday Bob had to work, so he drove the van in, then came back at lunchtime. We then dropped him back off at the base and continued on the a naval aviation museum right outside the gates. It was free, and it was small, both of which were good things with all the little kids, LOL. I thought it was quite interesting, and hey--it was air-conditioned! I had considered taking the kids to a playground, but I decided I just couldn't handle being out in the heat! We went back to pick Bob up, then went swimming. They have a really nice pool complex, with a few pools, water slides, and diving boards. To be able to go on the diving boards and water slides, you have to swim the length of the pool and get a blue wristband. All 4 boys did this, so I was really proud, especially of Caleb and Jonathan! One of the pools was 2 feet deep for a lot of it, and I think it only went to 4 feet at the deepest part. It was perfect for the girls, although Faith did spend some time in the baby pool in the beginning, while I was nursing Micah and Bob was watching the boys swim across the big pool. She did fine in the 2-ft pool, but I wasn't confident enough in her for her to be in there while I was nursing!

After the pool, we went to Ci-Ci's Pizza for dinner. It happened to be a "kids eat free" night, so with our 4 adult buffets, we got 4 kids in free, so we only had to pay for Faith! Woo-hoo!

This morning I took Bob in to work and then rushed back to get ready to leave. We had to be out at 11:00 (and I dropped Bob off before 8:00), so you would think there would be plenty of time! But let me tell you, it was like getting checked out of military housing--I was afriad someone was going to come with a while glove and inspect! There was a long list of cleaning requirements posted on the fridge, and the threat was if you didn't do these things (and do them well, I presume), you would incur a cleaning fee of $50/hour! Yow! So we were stripping beds, wiping counters, sweeping and vacuuming (and picking small rocks out of the carpet by hand because the vacuum provided was really crappy, LOL), and trying to get all our stuff out to the car--in between nursing and trying to keep the girls helping in useful ways, not unhelpful ways, if you know what I mean. I was a ball of sweaty stress by the time we actually handed in the keys (at about 10:59)!

Bob actually didn't come back with us. He finished up meetings there this afternoon, and then he drove with his boss to Reagan National and caught a plane to OH for another TDY. Busy week for him! The kids and I came back here and got ready to take Nathan and Luke to their first football practices. This was a bit of a sore spot, since they actually missed the real first 2 days of practice with this little beach jaunt. And it was stressful, trying to find where the teams were supposed to meet, not having the right equipment with them, etc. Hopefully they will both settle in well and have good seasons. Tomorrow we have another Rivendell meeting here at our house, in between dropping the boys off at practice and picking them up. Then Friday night I'm co-hosting a baby shower for Siri at Christine's house--I'm making chocolate-covered strawberries! There are only going to be about 10 ladies there. Luke thought I should make hundreds, just to be on the safe side, LOL. I'm also in charge of games, so I need to get organized! I have pictures of the trip that I will try to post, if not on here, then on Facebook, but I'm not sure when that will happen!

Physical Science

I have finally made some headway with the physical science for next year. It took me awhile to really get into it because first of all, it's not my favorite of sciences, and second, the lab stuff was just too overwhelming. But I need to order the lab stuff, so I had to jump in.

The thing about the labs for this course is that they all use wildly different components--6 V batteries, density cylinders, hooked weights and a demonstration balance, various metal electrodes, alligator clips, and wires, mini light bulbs and bases, magnets, optic bench, spectroscope, various different chemicals with all the glassware associated, as well as burners . . . and that's just some of the things! When I printed off the order form for BJU physical science from hometrainingtools, it was 7 pages long and cost over $200! That's for one person! The course is an introduction to physics and chemistry, so it hits a ton of different topics. Obviously some trimming had to be done.

I was able to find a used lab demonstration DVD online from BJU, so I have been watching the labs. Wow . . . it is really not too fun to just watch a bunch of labs being done, LOL. I would not want to do all my high school science that way, for sure! But it was very helpful for me in seeing what labs were extra, what things I could substitute, and most importantly, which labs could be done in one big group with only one apparatus, and which ones would be most beneficial for us to do in smaller groups. We'll have a total of 7 students next year, although Eric will be roughing it in Hawaii and will have to watch us. So that leaves 6 students, and I think we'll break them up into 2 groups of 3 for a lot of labs. That will give more hands-on experience, especially for the ones who might be more timid and not naturally just leap in to participate. But that does mean I have to buy enough stuff for 2 groups for those labs. I'm not sure how chemistry (in 2 years) is going to work out! I can see that getting really expensive! Although . . . not as expensive as a class at the community college. And I do want the kids to have good hands-on lab experience in high school, like I did--even if they don't have a super-experienced teacher like Mr. Minor to teach them!

Checking in Mid-Week

It's been awhile since I updated the blog! It has been extremely hot and humid, and I certainly haven't been spending any time outdoors, so you would think that would lead to plenty of blogging time. Obviously that has not been the case! We've been very busy though. Here's a brief update to catch everyone up.



1. Friday, July 22--Bob, Nathan, Jonathan, and the 3 girls drove up to WSS to pick up Caleb from his week at Camp Caleb. He had a really fun time, and I think it was even better because it was a really small week--only 5 boys and 1 girl. Caleb even did the zip line at the end! He had been very scared and nervous about doing it, so we were all so proud of him for conquering those fears and doing it anyway. I still don't think that was his favorite thing to do by any means, however.



2. Saturday was the day for potlucks. First off, we had a "kick-out" party at the McC's house for Rivendell. We were saying goodbye to the C family as they head off to Hawaii for 2 years (we are seriously looking into space-A flights--wouldn't that be totally fun?!), and we wanted to get a group shot before they left. And here we all are! Lots of kids! Five families, and 22 kids (plus Siri's bun-in-the-oven, as well as a few kids who are graduated from one family). It was boiling hot, but the McC's have a big blow-up water slide from Christine's sister-in-law, and the kids all played on that and ran around with squirt guns. We adults sat inside where it was cooler and talked.


The second potluck on Saturday was dinner time, and that one was at our house. Our church small group was saying goodbye to a family who have been here for 3 years. John's assignment is over, and they are heading back to their home, but we are going to miss them so much! Elya is Anna's age, and the girls have had so much fun playing dress-up and other games together at our house.



3. Sunday night Bob's sister Rose drove down to visit. She had a meeting Monday morning with a supervisor in an office not too far from us. She will have to come see him other times, so we are looking forward to more visits! Hopefully she'll be able to bring her girls along too sometimes. Speaking of her girls, Madison packed up a bunch of her old dolls for the girls. They were so thrilled with them all! They ahve been playing almost nonstop with them! I should have gotten a picture of Rose and the girls with the dolls before they went off to bed, but I didn't think about it! Instead, here is a picture of all the dolls, lined up very neatly and orderly by Anna. I think she was inventory-ing, LOL.

4. Monday I drove around like a taxi-driver. Nathan's AO group had a mini-reunion with the northern VA kids down south, so I drove him and Jessica down to Burke for bowling. Then I rushed back, got Anna and Grace, and drove them out to Tyson's Corner for Elya's birthday party. (They had waffles with all sorts of toppings as their dinner/cake there--isn't that a great idea?! They loved it--"We had WHIPPED CREAM with our DINNER!"). Then I rushed back home because Bob was taking Nathan and Luke to a football camp, which is actually all week long in the evenings.

5. Tuesday we had 2 little girls from church, plus their 8 year old male cousin, over to play. What fun! The girls dressed up and played with the doll house, especially. The boys played Monopoly. Nathan and Luke suspiciously asked if Caleb and Jonathan had roped him into playing, but they said that he had told them he liked playing Monopoly, and wondered if we had it! So they had a nice game.

6. Micah has been busy all on his own. I was talking to my mom on the phone on Friday, and I happened to glance in his mouth and notice that he has a tooth already! Bottom right. It's in quite a ways already too! I had noticed that he had been pretty drooly and a little more fussy, so I had wondered if he might not be teething, but I was expecting a tooth to come in another month or so! he's only 3 1/2 months now! He's our earliest teether, that's for sure. I'll have to go back and check Caleb's calendar, because he was early as well, although I think it was 4 months for him. He was a real biter (of me!), so hopefully Micah will not be that way . . .

Micah has also been loving the Johnny Jump-Up, as well as this little exersaucer thing we have from the McC's. He likes standing! He'll spin himself in a circle in the jumper thing, but only counter-clockwise, LOL. That Johnny Jump-Up is a real classic--the L's bought it for Anthony, some 22 years ago. They used it for their 4 older kids, then we borrowed it and used it for Nathan down to Faith. When they had Theodore, we gave it back to them for him to use! Now we have it again . . . that's 13 kids! Pretty impressive!


So . . . that's what's been happening. Now I need to buckle down and get ready for this next school year. I have a rough lab list made out, but I need to fine-tune that and get the order in. I need to really plan out the year, as far as physical science goes. Some weeks we'll only cover 1/2 a chapter, and I need to decide for sure which weeks those will be, plus get the assignments all planned out. I also need to type up all the memory work for next year, and make final decisions aobut what poems we're going to memorize, and where each poem will go in the year. I also need to finish pulling the science facts from the physical science book. And I need to plan out my 2 weeks of teaching for the elementary co-op. I teach the last 2 weeks of September, so I need to have that all done before Rivendell starts up and I'm swamped! I know I am focusing on trees, so at least it's something I like and already know a lot about! And of course, if I ever get bored, I need to work ahead in Latin so I can keep teaching that class. Once I get all that done, I can really relax and enjoy my summer . . . ha! And now you know why I probably won't be blogging much in the next few weeks either!

Potty-Training Update

Well, I am sure everyone has been on the edge of their collective seats this past week, wondering how Faith was progressing with her potty-training. You know, the more kids I have, the more I realize that I don't have all the answers. I was such the expert when I just had one!

So . . . Faith did not pee one bit in the potty Saturday. VERY frustrating. Sunday was the day we needed to take Caleb up to White Sulphur Springs for his Camp Caleb week. Bob was going to drive him, and he very kindly offered to take all 3 girls, along with Nathan. I said no, but Bob insisted that I needed a break. (What a man! This was our anniversary as well--what a present!!) So off he drove, with Faith in a diaper. When they got up to WSS, they were early for Caleb's check-in, so they went up to the gorgeous new hotel so everyone could go to the bathroom. After Anna and Grace went, Bob suggested letting Faith try, since her diaper was dry. Everyone thought this was terrible idea, but Bob went ahead. And what do you know?! She sat right up there and peed! Wow!

After they got home on Sunday, Faith went again a few more times on the big potty, each time wanting her diaper on afterwards, NOT panties. And that is how the past week went--Faith peed most all the time on the big potty, and she wore a diaper the whole time. She only had maybe 3 (pee) accidents all week, so at least our diaper consumption rate has fallen way down. She still has not pooped once on the potty however. Maybe that challenge will be met next week? Who knows! I have to say that I have never had a child who did well with wearing a diaper while potty-training. And most have wanted to wear the big-girl panties! I'm not sure when to make wearing them an issue. Right now I'm just concentrating on her staying dry, and not pooping in them!

Faith--my easiest delivery, my most challenging child!

18 Years!!

Bob and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary by going out to a fondue restaurant near us. We had both seen the coupon in one of the advertising mailings, but I wasn't sure anything would work out for tonight, since we had to take Caleb up to White Sulphur Springs for his (first!) week at Camp Caleb. Bob made the reservation for 6:45, and we made it right in time!

The coupon was for a cheese fondue course, salad, and main course. We chose their special Latin American cheese special, and it was good. They brought us bread, veggies, and green apple chunks (?) to dip. The veggies were the best, we both thought.

For the main course, they brought us each a plate of things to fry in a pot of oil. Literally! I wasn't really expecting that. We ate at a fondue place in Colorado, and we definitely did not fry meat in a vat of boiling oil, LOL. I think we grilled them on a little hot plate or something? Anyhow, we had 3 chunks of teriyaki sirloin, 2 chunks of filet mignon, 3 chunks of chicken breast, 3 shrimp, and one ravioli. The teriyaki sirloin was by far the best. I attempted to eat 2 of my shrimp, but I eventually gave up. NOT a fan of shrimp. Blech. There were also potato pieces, broccoli, and mushroom caps to fry.

The server also brought us a bowl of tempura batter and a bowl of sesame batter, so we could dip our meat in those if we wanted to, and have a crispy coating. I tried both the mushroom and shrimp in the tempura, but even that didn't imrove the taste, LOL. There were also a ton of dipping sauces for after the meat was cooked--teriyaki, sweet and sour, curry, etc. It was all good and fun, like a science experiment, but it also was a lot of work! I told Bob we were paying for the privilege of cooking our own meal!

After we were done with the main course, we chose to have the chocolate dessert fondue too (duh!). That was $5 extra per person, but it was totally worth it! YUM!!! The restaurant had a bunch of different chocolate choices, but we chose the "flaming turtle", with dark chocolate, caramel, and pecans. It was so delicious I can't even describe it! I could have eaten the chocolate with a spoon, LOL. There were strawberries, banana slices, brownie chunks, pound cake, rice krispie treats, cheesecake, and marshmallows to dip. When we finished all that, the waitress asked if we wanted anything else! We got a few more pieces of banana and strawberries, but we were pretty stuffed at that point.

Bob and I agreed that what we should do next time is just come in for the dessert! Neither of us are huge appetizer or cheese lovers, and cooking our meat was a lot of work. The chocolate, however, was to die for, and it didn't require any extra work! It was $15 for a small bowl, and that would be a fun date some night after the girls are down!

Anyhow, we had a fun time celebrating our anniversary! It sure beat Wendy's, which is where we stopped to eat after our wedding!

A Brief Reprieve

When we got home from Bible study last night, it seemed like a good idea to finally move Faith into the crib in Anna and Grace's room, and let Micah sleep in the crib in Faith's old room. Everyone slept just fine, except all the girls were up at 7:00, and shortly after that, Anna threw up all over the comforter. Great! Grace threw up a little later, but I'm not sure that wasn't a sympathy vomit. Grace has a "suggestible" stomach, just like her sensitive older brother Nathan, LOL.

Anyhow, in all the excitement, Faith peed in her diaper. Eventually we all got downstairs, Nathan and Bob went off to launch a rocket with CAP, Anna threw up again, and Faith sat on the potty for awhile. While I was on the phone, she started making weird noises and swallowing funny. I knew what that meant and shoved her head into the trash can, where she promptly threw up. We sat on the couch for a little while, and then Anna threw up again. At that point I put Faith back in a diaper, because I didn't want to be cleaning up 2 bodily fluids today. (And I'm not even mentioning the possibility of diarrhea. Wait, I guess I just did.) You have to draw lines, LOL.

Right now everything seems calm. We'll see how things shape up after naptime for Faith. Judging by the temper tantrums, I'm thinking naptime is going to come early. We might try panties again after nap. Yesterday was actually a fairly good day. It took a lot of coaxing and pressure, but she sat on the potty a lot and peed on it a lot. She did not have any accidents, (yay!), which was impressive because we had 3 little kids over to play. So I think we are on the right track. We just don't need any stomach bugs to mess things up!

1 Step Forward, 10 Steps Back . . .

Yes, we've started potty-training Faith. We ran a ton of errands on Monday so we wouldn't have to be gone much the rest of the week. Over the course of the past few months, Faith has had opportunities to sit on the little potty, but she has only actually produced anything on very rare occasions. I knew we would have to go cold turkey, so I put her in panties Tuesday morning, fully expecting lots of accidents. Good thing I was expecting them, since she had several big ones that morning, LOL. She'd sit on the potty for awhile, get up and walk away, and promptly pee a huge puddle all over the floor. Sigh. And since we were all drinking apple juice (pushing those fluids for lots of peeing opportunities), 2 cups also got spilled all over the floor. I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees, mopping up messes of one sort or another. Faith did not produce one drop of pee on the actual potty. She also pooped in her panties. Grrr.

After lunch Tuesday, Faith got it in her head that she would like a piece of gum. Ha! I told her she could have a piece of gum when she peed on the potty. I called everyone else in the kitchen and asked them if they had peed on the floor that day (the answer was unanimously "No", you'll be relieved to know). So I ceremoniously passed out gum to everyone except Faith, who had a rip-roaring temper tantrum while I ignored her. Eventually Faith settled down, went over to her potty, sat on it, and *voila* peed in it. Yay! The rest of Tuesday went by very well, with no accidents. I was cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday went well also. She peed on the potty the whole day, with no accidents (no poops either, but hey--none in the panties is good). Bob came home from a business trip, and he was enthusiastically positive about her pottying success!

Today, however, we took all those steps backwards. Good thing I was only cautiously optimistic, LOL. She had accidents all day long, starting with a huge one in the laundry room while getting oatmeal. Nothing like cleaning your laundry room before even eating breakfast to start the day out right! By 1:30, she had 4 accidents, plus one poop in her panties, and I was tired of it all. I put her down for a nap, even though that is very early for her, and she slept until 5:00, which was lovely. When she woke up, I told her she could go outside if she peed, and she sat down on the potty and peed like a champ. She went again in the potty later, although then she went outside, ran around for a bit, and promptly pooped again in her panties. Sigh. Baby steps . . . I'm still waiting on the child who just trains himself. I'm not holding out high hopes for Micah, either, LOL. Bob took me out tonight, and we split a piece of cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. It was so nice to get away!!

Tomorrow's another day. Have I mentioned how much I dislike potty-training?!? More cheesecake may be in order!

Mattress Issues

I've been having trouble with my lower back and hips lately, and I think it's because of our mattress. We bought this mattress after we moved to the Air Force Academy, back in 2000, so it's 11 years old. I guess I don't think of that as terribly old, as far as mattresses go, but it certainly seems to be showing its age! We didn't get a pillow-top, so we do flip it, and I thought it would last longer.

Neither of us really want to spend a lot of money on a new mattress right now, so when I was in Walmart last week, I decided to buy a memory foam mattress topper on a whim. An anniversary present for us! It was 4 inches think, and I did absolutely no research on it at all. Thankfully I did start looking into mattress toppers before opening up the huge box, because if we had taken that thing out, we would never have gotten it back in there! So now we know more about mattress toppers that I ever wanted to. It turns out that the 4 inch mattress topper is only 1 inch of memory foam, and 3 inshes of just regular foam. The foam isn't very dense either (2.5 pound density, which is low--you want at least 3 if not 4), which means it would quickly get all squashed down. Also, most people complain about the memory foam toppers being really hot. I am definitely a "hot" sleeper, so I was thinking that didn't sound so good.

We did more research and discovered that now they are making "gel" memory foam toppers. The gel is supposed to help wick away the body heat so you don't get as hot. That sounded good. Also, it doesn't seem like a good thing to get a topper that is too high--then it is really hard to turn over or even get up from. Considering how much time I have spent pregnant, I don't need anything to make it more difficult to get out of bed!

We looked at a bunch on Amazon (since they qualify for free shipping), and we read a gazillion reviews. Most people love them, even if they do conced that they are hot, but some people didn't like them. One lady, who is a side-sleeper like me, said that her hips and back felt better after sleeping on it, but now her neck is having problems, and she feels like she just exchanged one set of problems for another.

Once we hit upon these gel memory foam toppers, a lot of people mentioned that they got similar ones a lot cheaper at Costco. We looked online at their website, and what we found sounded great-- a 2.5 inch thick topper with gel that comes with a cover, for around $130 less than a similar one on Amazon. We went to Costco Saturday afternoon (it was a total zoo of people), joined, and came home with the topper, which was $10 cheaper than the website's price! (And also a bag of dark-chocolate covered acai/blue berries--YUM! Those are seriously addicting, and now the bag is gone . . . but I digress . . .) A lot of people had also complaimed about the smell of these things, so we brought it straight down to the basement, unrolled it, and let it air out and puff up in the bedroom down there.

By nighttime, the odor was hardly noticeable, so we hauled the thing upstairs with Nathan and Luke's help (it actually wasn't that heavy or anything), put it in the cover, and set it up on the bed. I was so ready to just effortlessly fall into a deep sleep and wake up so refreshed! That didn't really happen though. It was definitely hotter than just our normal mattress. I didn't wake up sweating, like if there was a plastic mattress protector on or anything, but it was noticeable. I guess we'll never need our flannel sheets again!

I also wasn't totally in love with the sensation of sinking down into it either--good thing we didn't get an even thicker one! Elizabeth had said she used one and liked it when she was pregnant with Theodore, and she felt like it was hugging her gently, and she slept really well on it. I'm not really liking the hugging though--touch isn't my love language, and I already have a ton of little people all over me all through the day, so I guess I want my mattress to leave me alone, LOL.

So we've slept on it for all of 2 nights now, and my hips and back are actually feeling better, which is good. But my neck and shoulders are worse, and I woke up this morning with my arm asleep. I really struggled with that all during this last pregnancy, but after I had Micah, I stopped having that problem. I don't want it to start again! And although all the write-ups talk about how you will sleep deeply and not toss and turn, I was consciously awake several times during the night, and I had a hard time getting comfortable. Finally I laid on my back, with my knees bent, and that was very comfortable--but I don't really want to sleep like that, LOL. I like sleeping on my side!

So I'm not sold on the thing yet. One thing in its favor, however, is that Bob seems to snore less on it. Hmmmm. That might make it worthwhile. And really, how could we ever take it back?! There's no possible way to compress it enough to get it back in the box!

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Here is Micah in his cute little 4th of July onesie from my mom! It's a good thing the 4th wasn't any later, because he would not have fit into it! Micah was 2 months old on June 9, but we were in Ohio, and I didn't get an appointment for after we got back either. So this afternoon he finally had his 2-month well-baby appointment, a few days before his 3 months old! He's a big boy--15 pounds, 15 ounces, and 25 1/2 inches long. I just don't know what is different in my milk this time that is producing this giant baby! He's obviously a happy, healthy baby, so the appointment went just fine. Jonathan was the designated helper who went with me today. It's nice to spend some more individual time with the boys as we go to these appointments! Micah did get his first shots today, which he was less than thrilled about. I hope he still sleeps well . . .

I thought I'd throw in a family shot as well, for good measure! (Did you note that Nathan is pretty much as tall as I am?!) We had a 4th of July potluck at the L's house last night with our Bible study. Ed smoked a ton of pork, so we had barbeque pork sandwiches for the main course--yum!! Then we all headed over to the local fireworks display that we have gone to the past 2 years. It's fun, and it's not too far away, so we don't get home at a terribly ungodly hour. Going downtown is great as well, but right now, it just doesn't seem worth it! This is so easy!

AO!

Nathan spent last week at Allegheny Outback!, an adventure camp for high-schoolers put on by White Sulphur Springs. The L's drove Jessica and him up to WSS last Saturday morning, getting there in plenty of time for the 11:00 showtime. Once all 12 campers arrived, they played a game to know each other's names, and they did some team-building exercises, an obstacle course, and a "trust fall", where you had to fall off a platform and everyone else caught you. Nathan reports that they finished an hour ahead of schedule, so after they finished dinner, Jared, guy counselor, announced that in 15 minutes they should be starting dinner. Instead, they played more games. They spent that night in the AO village, in cabins.

Sunday: They packed up a bunch of different bags--a day pack, with lunches and rain gear; a frame pack with flashlight, mess kit, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, Bible, rain gear, and sweatshirt. Clothes were optional--as in, this was for the over-night hike, and you didn't have to pack any to change into, LOL. The other clothes were in duffle bags. Then they went to the high-ropes course, and they learned belay for rope-climbing. In teams of 2, they had to climb up the 40 ft. cargo net, get onto the beam on top, get onto the platform, cross a log, go across several wires, and jump/fall off the end platform, whereby you are lowered gently to the ground. Nathan forgot his camera for this, but it would have been a good photo opportunity. Then they hiked a short distance to their campsite for that night.

Monday: They hiked out from their campsite (8 or 9 miles) to a waiting van, which drove them to Ohiopyle, a town near a PA state park. They had to carry all their equipment up a huge hill, where they set up all the tents. Then they ate dinner and went to bed.

Tuesday: They did white-water canoing on the Youghiogheny River. Nathan reports that this river is very stinky, and indeed his sport sandals and clothes bore this out. His boat flipped twice because the 2 least experienced canoers were put in the same boat! But it was fun.

Wednesday: They rock-climbed and rapelled. It was fun, but Nathan had no details he is allowed to add about this day. (?!?)

Thursday: They went white-water rafting. It was the birthday of one of the girls in his raft, although they did not sing to her. They all had to row, and they had 2 guides in kayaks, 1 guide in a raft with 2 people, and 1 guide in a raft with the lunch (sandwiches). They stopped halfway through the day to eat. Several people fell out over the course of the day, but all were rescued with no problems. In one rapid, all but one person fell out of one raft, so the lone guy had to fish everyone back out of the river. Then they drove back to WSS and told all their adventures to Dailey.

Friday: They cleaned up all their equipment, ate lunch back at the hotel, and got picked up by parents.

Nathan had a grand time, but he was dirty and exhausted, so he was not thrilled that we were continuing on to visit Bob's parents so they could meet Micah! But we had a good visit with them, as well as Bob's siblings that live in the area. Nathan survived and made it back home to sleep once more in his own bed. After 2 washings, his clothes finally did not smell, but it took a third washing with bleach for his sandals to start freshening up!

Motivational Paragraph

Do you wish you had a motivational paragraph you could dwell on, something to help you become all you can be? Sort of along the lines of Khalil's motivational tapes from Veggietale's Jonah movie ("You are a skilled metalworker . . .")? Yes? Well, here is something sure to fit the bill, straight from Henle's classic Latin I text!

You are good men. Therefore you praise peace and virtue and pray for all men. You do not prepare (for) war because you are not eager for fame and victory. You do not attack neighboring cities; you do not seize the towns of neighboring tribes; you prepare swords and legions, not on account of war, but on account of peace.

Or maybe it is more motivational in Latin . . .

Estis homines boni. Itaque pacem et virtutem laudatis et pro omnibus hominibus oratis. Bellum non paratis quod non estis gloriae et victoriae cupidi. Urbes finitimas non oppungnatis; oppida gentium finitimarum non occupatis; gladios et legiones non propter bellum sed propter pacem paratis.

Now go and improve yourselves!

. . . And After

Well, before any "after" shots, here is one "in the middle" picture. We moved all the toys into the entryway first, leaving the big pieces of furniture--a bookshelf, an armoire that was a home to stuffed animals, and a black desk--in the living room. Wow--that's a bunch of toys! Now you can see why we don't have big birthday parties for the kids!

With all the cleaning and moving, several missing things came to light, such as puzzle pieces, and several Little People. We were also able to find the matches for all 9 pairs of cowboy boots that own. I kept 4 pairs upstairs and put the rest in the basement!

So here is our new schoolroom. I still have all my books in the study, in those 3 big double bookcases, but the boys can do their work here. And we put the laptops on the black desk, where you can see Luke, so now we won't be tripping over the cords! I put all my science stuff, plus other misc. school stuff, in the big armoire back in the left corner. Close the doors, and the clutter is gone1 What a concept! We do need to get another lamp for the front of the room. The one torch light was fine for a playroom, but we need a bit more light for schoolwork! I am VERY happy with this room. It is going to be so nice this year!

And here you can see some of the new playroom. It's right off the kitchen, so it's even easier to toss the toys which somehow migrate into the kitchen back into their home territory. And the room has French doors, plus a door going into the kitchen, so I can close them all when the girls are too loud! Well, I probably won't, unless we're having Rivendell over or something, but it's a nice option! Everything fit into the new room except our keyboard, which is currently still in the entryway, right outside the bathroom. Convenient! That will not be its permanent home, however. I've moving it down to the basement. The girls are enjoying the new playroom just fine. We do need to get something to shorten the chandelier chain though--I bonked my head on it a few times already!

Before . . .

When we were in Ohio, I had a reorganizing brainstorm one night. The day before we left to drive to Ohio, we had a Rivendell meeting ar Siri's house. Siri lives in a beautiful old house, and we met in her dining room/schoolroom, which is a huge room at the front of the house. She has a big table in there, along with lots of cupboards, school desks, filing cabinets, etc, as well as plenty of room to move around the table. I left thinking how nice it would be to have so much room. Our dining room is where the boys are doing more and more of their school, and that is often where the laptops end up. But we don't have anything against the wall, so there are always cords stretching to the wall, which are huge tripping hazards! I also store all my science lab supplies in the dining room, and we have this really comfortable pink chair that our neighbors gave us when it didn't sell at a garage sale. So things are pretty crowded in there!

Here are Luke and our neighbor, playing the computer, with school clutter surrounding them. You can see the pink chair in the corner.

This is a better view of the lovely wire shelves, pulled straight from our garage just because I needed SOME kind of shelves right away, where my science lab supplies are. The big box on top is the microscope. And there on the floor is my new (to me) copy of TOG year 2! As a side note, the almond joys on the table are NOT mine. Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely detest coconut with an undying loathing. Just wanted to make that clear.


We do, however, have lots of space in our playroom--which is technically our formal living room, except there is obviously nothing formal about it, LOL. When we moved in (7 years ago?!?!), we knew we didn't want or need another room with a couch, especially one which we never used. So we made the room a playroom, and it has worked out great. We have always had lots of kids playing in it! You can see I didn't trouble myself to really straighten anything up before taking these pictures. I'm all about keeping it real, LOL. But it is a bigger, wider room than the dining room, which got me thinking . . .

So my big brainstorm was to switch the two rooms around, and make the dining room the playroom, and the living room the schoolroom. Wednesday we had friends over in the morning, but starting that afternoon, moving the rooms was our big project for the rest of the week.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!

Nathan turned 14 today! I can't believe it! It occurred to me tonight that I only have 4 more birthday cakes to make for him before he leaves for college! Wow--that doesn't seem too far away.

For his cake, he requested the Civil Air Patrol command patch. My 10x15 pan was too skinny, so the patch was longer than it should be, and not wide enough. Oh well. It tasted good, and the patch doesn't have a complex emblem involving eagles, globes, and the like, so I was happy enough!

Nathan is leaving early tomorrow morning to go to Allegheny Outback, the adventure camp for high schoolers at White Sulphur Springs. He is beyond excited, so it was really the perfect birthday for him! The L's are driving up and dropping him off, along with Jessica, who is also going. Then she will stay at WSS and work on staff for 2 weeks, and we'll pick Nathan up Friday afternoon. We are planning on continuing on to visit Bob's parents for a night. We'll have to stop at the hotel first for him to shower and change clothes, I am sure!

More Water Fun

Sunday after breakfast and packing up our room, we headed back over to Rose's.
Bob, Nathan, and Luke decided to go kayaking. They went all over the lake, and Nathan even got his feet sunburned from having them sticking straight up for so long!

Rose took the 3 girls on a paddle boat ride. I thought Grace would be afraid and Faith would be fearless, but instead Grace, once she got situated, was pretty comfortable, kicking her feet in the water, and Faith had a death grip on the boat! At the end of the ride, though, Rose pulled up by the dock and got Anna out, setting her in the shallow water, since Anna said she wanted to get wet. Grace and Faith set up such a loud wail that Bob thought something was wrong and came leaping out of his kayak to help! Then the girls just played in the little wading pool there by the dock, LOL.

Rose has a golf cart with a cute little tralier to get stuff from her house down to the lake, and Luke loved driving it (and the girls loved riding in it). Why walk when you can drive?!

Here is a picture of Bob's sister Jane and her husband Terry with Micah. Terry was helping Rose install some trim, and Micah was giving him a hand with the drill . . . Terry and Micah had already bonded the day before when they both took a nap on Rose's side porch! Jane was a huge help with the girls. Rose's house is across the street from the lakefront area, and drivers zip by her house, so Jane helped the girls cross numerous times. She also watched them play on the trampoline, read them books, and just really helped keep an eye on them, which was so wonderful especially since I had to nurse a lot and just be with Micah. I know I wouldn't have had nearly as enjoyable of a time without Jane and Terry's help with the kids!

Ann and Wally's daughter Christi and her husband Andres were also there, along with their 6 month old daughter Jasmine. We both brought our bumbos, and Micah and Jasmine looked so cute sitting next to each other! Micah is about the same size as Jasmine, which is so amazing to me. What is in my breastmilk this time?! Jasmine got to go on some boatrides (she even fell asleep!), but she was not a fan of the water in the wading pool! Next year, she'll be right there in the mix with the older girls!

So we had a really fun weekend, and the drive back was much less stressful than the drive there! Of course, when we got back home, our house definitely looked like we had been gone for 2 weeks, come home for 2 days, and then left again. It was so messy! It's taken us these past 2 days to get it in some kind of shape again! We're not going anywhere this weekend, except to meet my parents halfway and pick up Caleb and Jonathan. Did you miss seeing them in the pictures?! We missed having them, although I think it was nice for the older boys in that they were able to do more things with Bob. Actually Jonathan has been fighting off some kind of virus the past few days, so he hasn't even been having that great of a time at Grandma and Grandpa's, poor guy. Hopefully he turned a corner today and will be back to himself tomorrow, so he can enjoy the rest of his week. We look forward to seeing them again on Saturday!

Weekend at Rose's

On Friday we drove up to NE Pennsylvania, to the house of Bob's sister Rose. It was her birthday, so we had a big party on Saturday to celebrate her! The drive was hectic (you really can't leave D.C. on a Friday afternoon--it took us one and a half hours to drive 20 miles!), but once we got there, we had a fantastic time. Five of Bob's six siblings were there, along with their families, and it was great to see everyone. We had the party Saturday afternoon, complete with a cake made by Bob's sister Ann, but we celebrated the whole weekend! Rose lives in a beautiful old house on a lake, so there was lots to do.

One thing I did a lot of was rock in the big porch swing with Micah! Rose's porch is so big and restful, with a lovely view of the water.

Rose took us on boat rides! The 3 girls went on some too. I thought maybe they would be scared, but they loved it! Even I was able to sneak away Saturday afternoon while Micah was napping to go out. The weather was simply gorgeous the whole time we were there, which was such a blessing.

Nathan, Luke, and Bob, among others, went tubing! They have this inflatable raft thing with handles, so you hold on tight, and the boat pulls you across the water! Luke was not a huge fan, and I knew I would hate the water splashing in my face, but Bob and Nathan thought it was great fun!

We also went paddle-boating. Here are Bob and Luke. They went out for forever, all over the lake, which was quite a leg workout. Bob and I went out too, but not as far or as long!

That's what we spent Saturday doing. Jane and Terry brought sparklers for the kids, so before we went back to our hotel, the kids had a ball lighting those in the front yard! We got back to the hotel and to bed around 11:00, and the kids especially were exhausted--they slept until 9:00 the next morning! Then we headed back over to Rose's for a few more hours of fun on Sunday.

Home . . . Briefly

This is a few days late, but we made it home from Ohio safely Tuesday night. The drive was uneventful, and we even met Bob at McDonalds so he could take Nathan on to Civil Air Patrol. The most interesting part of the drive was when we stopped in eastern Ohio for lunch at Taco Bell. This exit has a mall and a strip mall, so imagine our surprise when, as we pulled in to the parking lot, we had to wait for an Amish horse and buggy to go by! They pulled into the bank parking lot adjacent to Taco Bell. One guy hopped out and went inside while another man and 2 ladies waited patiently for awhile. I know it was awhile because we were all also waiting patiently for Micah to nurse, LOL. As we got out, eventually, the man came back, and they all trotted off.

We listened to more of Tom Sawyer on the ride, until Faith and Micah got too loud as we got close to Virginia. One chapter was about this end-of-school recitation event they had. I was gratified to hear that one selection mentioned was "The Assyrian Came Down", otherwise known as "The Destruction of Sennacherib". We memorized this poem during memory work this past year! In fact, Daniel McC put it to music, with a modified version of "O Worship the King". So funny to sing that tune with those words! "And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, with the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail . . . " [Did they even have mail back in Hezekiah's time? I think not.] Well, I don't think we'll be singing those words in church any time soon anyhow, LOL.

We were only home 2 full days before packing up and launching back out again, this time to NE Pennsylvania. We visited Bob's sister Rose at her beautiful old house on a beautiful lake. Lots of Bob's family was also there, and we celebrated a big milestone birthday for Rose (35, LOL). It was tons of fun, but I'll post more about the weekend later.

So we're actually down 2 kids right now. We left Caleb and Jonathan with my parents for a little over a week of special "Grandma and Grandpa Camp" time. They have already been to Magic Castle with Amy, her mom, and Jacob, and to the Neil Armstrong Museum. There's more fun on tap for next week, and then we are planning on meeting halfway and picking them up Friday.

Reunion Weekend

So this past weekend was my 20th high school reunion, and I had more fun than I really thought likely! It was so great to see people I hadn't seen in years and talk to them. I was going to post a few pictures, but for some reason my laptop is running really slow tonight, and it's not working. Another time . . .

My relaxing weekend started Friday a little before noon when Amy picked me up. We met our friend Julie, who now lives in PA with her husband who is a pastor, for lunch at Panera Bread. Julie doesn't live too far from Bob's family, and for awhile we used to drive over to their church Sunday mornings when we were visiting Bob's family. But as we had more and more kids, that just became logistically more than we could do, so it had been several years since I had seen Julie. We caught up on each other's lives over lunch, then we did a brief bit of shopping at Kohls before heading to a nail salon to get manicures and pedicures together!

The last time I had anything done to my nails was when we were out in Utah for my cousin's wedding back in May 2008, and I got a pedicure and manicure with my Aunt Claire and sister-in-law Melinda! I think this is a nice tradition every 3 years, LOL. It was just so relaxing and fun. The lady who did my nails was the salon owner, and she kept commenting on how beautiful and strong my nails are. Not to brag, but I really do have nice nails, for some unknown reason. When they are long, they look like I have a French manicure, without me doing anything to them! I told the lady it was all the prenatal vitamins I take, LOL!

Friday evening was the first official event of the reunion, and it was casual. Classmates met at Marion's Pizza and ordered what they wanted. The invitation specifically said "classmates", not spouses, which we all thought was really weird. Bob was not in town, so it was a moot point for me, but I'm sure if he had been in town he would have come with me anyways. There were a few other spouses there. There was a big turnout for this event--like 50 classmates, out of about 110. Everyone talked and talked and talked. In retrospect, it was kind of nice without spouses. I think people stayed longer and talked more because they didn't have to worry about entertaining their poor spouse who doesn't know anyone and is bored to tears! I went to a Christian high school, and there was definitely NOT any sort of "meat market" atmosphere of people trying to flirt or hook up or anything. It was just really fun to see old friends and visit over pizza! Amy, Julie, and I had all come together around 6:45. We were thinking we would leave around 9:00, since surely 2 hours would be plenty long, and we would be looking for excuses to go! Ha! It was after 10:00 when I finally looked at my watch, and I was so shocked--time really flew by unnoticed! We scooted on home so I could nurse Micah!

Micah was the only flaw in the day. He did NOT want to take a bottle either in the afternoon or the evening, so Mom just ended up holding him with his pacifier in so he would sleep until I got home. I had just left formula, since he had some formula before we left on this trip, and he took it just fine. I decided to go ahead and pump some Saturday morning, in hopes that he would like a breastmilk bottle better. I also went to Walmart and got some nipples with a smaller hole, since Mom said he didn't like the milk sort of dripping out at him. I was pretty nervous when Amy, Jason, and Julie picked me up Saturday night for our dinner at a country club, however. I kept expecting my cell phone to ring with Micah screaming bloody murder in the background! Thankfully that did not happen, and he happily drank the bottle. I had only pumped 3 1/2 ounces because we had a really busy day Saturday, and that's all I had time for. It was fine though, because I was really ready to nurse when we did get back Saturday night.

Before we went out to dinner, the kids and I went over to Amy's house Saturday afternoon after lunch. Julie and her kids came, as well as Julie's sister Tricia, who was 3 years ahead of us at DC, and her kids. We 4 moms visited while the kids played on the slip-n-slide and ran around. That was a really fun afternoon, but all too soon it was time to ehad home so I could get cleaned up and dressed up!

The dinner was at a country club down south, and there was a smaller turnout of classmates here. Again, it worked out just fine, as it was easier to talk in-depth with a smaller number of people. I had longer conversations with several old friends. It is really neat to see where people are and what they are doing. I know I never expected to be a homeschooling mom of 8 back in high school, and other people have had changes in their plans as well! I thought my classmates all looked really good! We're aging well, LOL. And none of us can believe it's been 20 years, because, well, we don't FEEL like we're close to 40!

Saturday night it was 11:00 before I looked at my watch! I couldn't believe it! I probably could have talked until they closed up the place, at 1:00, but I was definitely feeling the need to nurse at that point! I was very relieved to hear that Micah had done much better when I called home as Jason drove us all back. And I was very relieved to take my dressy black sandals off. My feet were killing me!

The reunion weekend continued for me Sunday. The kids and I went to Amy and Jason's church, which is also where Julie's parents go, so she and her kids came there as well! We took up 2 long rows! After the service, we all went out to eat at a Chinese buffet. It was so nice to catch up with Julie's folks as well!

So this was truly a memorable weekend, filled with a lot of laughter! I was a little nervous, especially Friday night in the parking lot of Marion's, but I very quickly felt like I was back among old friends again, with nothing to be nervous about! I had a thoroughly enjoyable time both days, and I am definitely looking forward to the next reunion! And in the meantime, at least we have Facebook, LOL.

Catching Up With Old Friends

This weekend is my 20th high school reunion, and I am really looking forward to catching up with friends from back then. But I have actually already started catching up with old friends on this trip! The nice thing about Wright-Patterson AFB is that people often end up back there, so it's a great place to run into people from the past! So far in this visit, I have caught up with 3 friends from way back.

1. Beverly and her husband Ted were stationed at W-P back when we were stationed here, and we have kept up through the years. Their family stayed with us back in September while they saw the sights in D.C. Ted is now deployed in Afghanistan for a year, but we met Beverly and her kids at a park near my parents' house Saturday morning and had a lovely picnic lunch there.

2. Marie and her husband Fred were stationed at W-P back when I was in college, right after Bob and I were married. She and Fred had just gotten married as well, and he and Bob worked in the same organization. We even all went to the same dining out! Marie and I both graduated from Cedarville, and we only reconnected because we have another set of friends in common, one of Bob's old bosses! We met Marie and her 7 kids, plus one friend, at the pool Tuesday afternoon. It was broiling hot, but we had such a nice time visiting while the kids splashed away. Marie's husband is deployed to Germany right now, and Marie is getting ready to take the kids over there for 60 days to visit--fun!!

3. Dawn and her husband Fred were stationed with us in Colorado. We were in the same childbirth class before Nathan was born, and after their son Fredrick was born (just a few weeks after Nathan), Dawn and I were in the same moms walking group at Peterson AFB. We had such a great group of ladies! Dawn and Fred eventually followed us to W-P, so we went to each other's kid's birthday parties and had play dates together. But as frequently happens in the military, we both moved, our Christmas letters with new addresses got returned, and we lost touch. Thanks to Facebook, however, we reconnected! They are stationed back here at W-P, and Dawn and her 3 kids came over and visited Wednesday afternoon! It was so wonderful to see them again, and to catch up with Dawn! It turns out her husband is also preparing to deploy as well, although his deployment will be state-side. I know some people complain about Facebook, but it is certainly a wonderful tool for finding and keeping in touch with people you don't live anywhere near!

Now, I am sure you can see the common link here--all 3 of these ladies have husbands who have or will be deployed. Clearly, if you are friends of ours who have been stationed with us before and are now stationed at W-P, it is just a matter of time before your husband will be deploying! Just a warning--so sorry!

But now I am looking even farther back in time, as I think about seeing people from high school. Tomorrow Amy and I are having lunch and getting manicures and pedicures with Julie, our good friend, who is coming in for the reunion from PA. I am so excited to see her, since it's been several years! And then we have dinner at a pizza place Friday night and a more formal dinner on Saturday. I am a little nervous, I'll be honest, but I am so glad I'll be going in with Amy and Julie! The three amigos, LOL.

We're Here!

We made in to Ohio yesterday after a long day of driving! Actually, we had a crazy long day before yesterday as well! Luke popped a wire off his braces over the weekend, so I was able to get him in to the orthodontist at 11:15 on Tuesday. I nursed Micah, then passed him off to Nathan and took Luke. On our way home we got a few things for the trip at Walmart and made some copies at Office Depot for Latin class. Once home, I ate lunch, nursed again, and then had Latin class. After we finished, I nursed again, passed off Micah, then headed off to a Rivendell planning meeting. We had a productive time, with another surprise announcement from Siri, the queen of surprises, and then I rushed back home again to nurse. I again immediately passed Micah off to waiting arms, then leaped back into the car to take Nathan to Civil Air Patrol. After eating a quick bite of dinner, I actually had to do some packing! I got everything into suitcases, but I pooped out before loading the van. It was soooo hot and humid too. I wasn't very motivated!

Wednesday I was up and nursing by 7:00, but since I had to load up the van, we still weren't able to leave until 9:45, after I nursed a second time. That makes for a long day already! Micah did really well on the trip. He smiled at whichever brother was by him, and he played with his dangling toys, for the most part. He also obliged by taking his binky when he was up before it was actually time to stop. He did decide he was done with the carseat the last hour of the trip, and he spent that time loudly protesting his imprisonment, but still--not too bad. We were remembering a trip we made to Hershey Park when Grace was about the same age, and she screamed the entire way up and back, which is only a 2 hour drive or so!

Faith, however, was not so cooperative. She pitched quite a few temper tantrums, complete with loud wails. I'm sure she would have been just fine, had she been allowed unfettered access to her snack bag, but alas, we cruelly took it away. We were listening to Tom Sawyer on CD, but we had to turn it off after Columbus because she and Micah were just so loud! We put on a TobyMac CD and cranked that up nice and loud. It didn't drown out the sound, but it was distracting enough for me. That is one nice thing about the big van--the sound isn't so compressed! For the trip back, though, I am definitely moving Faith's carseat right behind my seat. Her seat was in the middle row, out of reach of the long arm of the law, as it were.

Speaking of the big van, it really wasn't as tiring to drive it as I had expected! I think it is just so fatiguing to drive in the city, where there are lots of turns and lane changes. Out on the open road, however, it was fine. And I found I actually prefer driving the entire way, rather than sitting in the passenger seat. In that seat, the engine thing in the middle pokes way over where your legs go, so you really can't straighten your legs out. The driver's seat, however, has plenty of leg room, so it is much nicer.

So we're here, and we are filling up our schedule with seeing friends! I'm looking forward to a relaxing week here!

A Few Random Pictures

Looks like being done with testing did not lead to lots of time to keep up with the blog, LOL. We've done some things that warrant their own post whenever we get around to it (Nathan's O-ride for CAP last weekend, for one), and otherwise we've been busy doing things that are routine and boring and do not warrant any kind of post at all. Like school. So here are a few random pictures, just to catch up a bit.

Bob put up for the weekend the big wooden horse that Aunt Ann and Uncle Wally gave Jonathan last year for his birthday. The only branch it works on is on the tree in the front yard, and with the trampoline-hating neighbors next door, you can imagine it can't stay up permanently! With the big van in the driveway, however, you can hardly see it from their house!

Grace and I were inside yesterday when all of a sudden she looked out the window and got so excited. "Daddy is getting out applesauce!!" she exclaimed as she raced outside! I was confused--applesauce outside? How messy! And unlike Bob! But it turns out the kids and Bob have named the horse Applesauce, like in the Apple Dumpling Gang, and I was just out of the loop entirely on that one. Anyhow, much fun has been had riding on Applesauce this weekend.

Speaking of riding, here is our own little cowgirl, Anna. She was invited to a western-themed birthday party for one of her little co-op friends, Amelia, yesterday afternoon. To say she was excited about it is putting it mildly! As soon as she received the invitation a few weeks ago, she was planning out her outfit and present! The kids all dressed up for the party, and Anna looked so cute! It is definitely a benefit, when dressing for a western party, to have had 4 older brothers, all of whom went through a big cowboy phase. Oh, and the oldest 2 of whom were actually born in Colorado. We probably have 10 pairs of cowboy boots, in stairstep sizes, as well as 2 complete vest and chaps sets, and numerous cowboy hats and bandanas. If you need cowboy dress, we're the place to go!

Here is a picture of Anna holding Micah, just because I thought it was cute. Micah is continuing to grow and grow. He's about 14 pounds, and he's getting so long too. I think he might actually outgrow the infant carseat before he's a year old, which will be a first for us! His skin has gotten a lot clearer, finally. He kept on waking up at 4:00 in the morning, so a few nights ago I started just giving him the binky then. He's taken it no problems and gone right back to sleep, as have I. Very nice! The he wakes up again around 6:30 or 7:00, a much more civilized time to begin the day, LOL. This makes for a much happier mama. You can't say he is lacking for food!

Faith has discovered this lovely, vibrating recliner, perfect for reading! She turns on the vibrating feature herself before climbing in and getting comfortable, LOL. Summer days are made for relaxing . . .

Here's one last picture of Micah. He is smiling more, but overall, he is a serious baby, always looking like he is pondering deep, complex thoughts!

We had a nice Memorial Day cookout with our Bible study Friday night, and we are relaxing for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow I need to start getting ready for the trip to Ohio. It will be the first time I drive the big van out by myself, so prayers for a safe trip would be appreciated!

Testing's Over!

Now maybe I can relax a little bit! Of course, I always worry until I get the results back, LOL. Everyone assured me it was so easy, and that they all took their time and were very careful, but you never know . . . Jonathan especially took a rather cavalier attitude toward actually reading through the entire question (and all the answer choices) during our test practice time, so we'll see.

I tested the first-graders, of which the only one doing the testing with our homeschool group was Joel McC. Christine told me he had been nervous about the whole thing, but it worked out so well. Last year there was a snafu in signing up for the church building. The church built a new building and moved into in during last summer, and the lady who had taken our "reservation" retired, so we never made it onto the church's calendar. Another homeschool group signed up to use the church for testing during "our" week. When our lady in charge realized this, she ended up working out that we would share the facility. Our group was upstairs in some rooms. This was bad in that there was no nursery room, but the room that Joel and I were in was like where you might hold a small group meeting--2 comfortable couches, a coffee table, etc. It was like testing in your family room! I was worried about where I would sit while nursing, so it was so nice to have this couch! I even laid Micah down on it to nap beside me, and he was happy as a clam. And Joel felt totally comfortable in there too--definitely no nervousness. It was nice!

Since there was no real nursery, Christine watched my girls Monday and Wednesday at her house, and Lynnea took them to her house Tuesday. This was such a blessing! They had so much fun at these houses, and it was so much nicer than sitting at the church for 3 days in a row!

There was talk of combining the 2 groups next year, or at least having us test at the same time again, since that makes the church be used only for one week. I'm taking over as the testing head person for our group next year, and I really would rather not do either option. We really can't combine. The other group has an elaborate structure--moms sign up to make all these snacks (plus sub. ones with kids with milk, gluten, nut allergies, etc.), the 3-5 year olds don't have nusery, but rather a VBS-style program, and every mom has to volunteer for some job (well, I do like that). The big thing is that there is a $10 cost PER CHILD to cover all this. I can't afford to pay an extra $60 or so so to be able to test! The tests alone are fairly expensive! And I would just as soon pack my own kids' snacks. I know what they like, and it is a whole lot cheaper than $10 per child!! Too complicated and expensive.

I don't really want to share the facility either. I NEED to have a nursery next year! And we barely had enough rooms this year, so next year one group would probably have to use the youth building as well as the upstairs. That is just really not as convenient, and I don't want to have to deal with it! I think having the 2 groups test different weeks gives people as option, if one date doesn't work or whatever.

I guess I'll be figuring all that out next year, joy, joy! To be honest, in a few years, I think Christine and I will test together and not worry about the group. Stanford has changed the rules so now you can test your own children, although I think you have to test other kids as well (so just not ONLY your own children). But for right now--WE'RE DONE! And I'm not worrying about it until later, LOL.

One Month Old Already?!

Micah is doing well, although we have said goodbye to his beautiful smooth baby face! He's broken out terribly on his face and chest, poor thing. I am sure this a combination of several things--for one, he is doing a bit more crying, since Grandma and Grandpa aren't here anymore, LOL. Since he sleeps on his tummy, he rubs his face in the dampness when he cries, which is irritating to his skin. But a bigger thing is that I had gotten lazy and was just washing his sheets (and clothes) in regular detergent, but I think it is too irritating. So I went back to the All-Free detergent a few days ago, when I had that brainstorm, and his face is actually looking a bit better.

He is definitely eating well. I think he is 13 pounds, based on me weighing myself, and then him and me. Wow--we just don't see those kinds of numbers at this age around here. I might actually have a baby that is 20 pounds by his first birthday! He's really not that chubby-looking--no big rolls of fat. Just solid!

He's finally started stretching out the night. I've been feeding him the last time around 9:30, and he's been going until 5:00 or 5:30. That has been SO nice. (Although watch--tonight he'll be up every 3 hours to prove the last 3 nights were a fluke, LOL.) He still fusses around to get off to sleep. That should make next week a challenge. He's going to be with me while I administer testing--fortunately, I'm testing 1st graders, and it's only Joel McC. I guess we'll just have to take breaks while he fusses around to get himself off to sleep, since he does that even when I am holding him! It will be a long 3 days, however, I am thinking. The days where I could just set him in his carseat and expect him to drift off peacefully have passed way too quickly!

Micah waited to really start smiling and cooing until after his grandma left, even though she was waiting eagerly for such a smile. He really smiles at the kids. He started smiling and cooing at Luke even before me! And although he does smile at me sometimes, he still mainly has a very serious demeanor with me. Obviously, eating for him is a very serious business! He's such a sweetie though. We are all thoroughly enjoying him!!

Oh, forgot to add--in the picture, Micah is sporting a space shuttle mission patch sticker, which we got at the NASA Goddard open house we went to today. It was quite crowded, but the kids got some neat little trinkets. We missed out on the tours because we weren't there as soon as the gates opened to pick up tickets (if that is indeed how you got tickets for the tours--the helpers were unhelpfully unclear about the actual process). But we made it there, and we made it back, with all 8 kids, so that was in and of itself a victory!

Ice Cream!

The end of another week! Today we were supposed to go to the National Cathedral with our co-op, but we ended up postponing. I was so thrilled, not because the tour wouldn't have been fun, but because I just really needed a day where we didn't have to go anywhere! We have been rushing around this week, and I am so tired, especially with Bob being gone.

We finished up our Rivendell year with an ice cream sundae bar on Tuesday. We had lots of ice cream and a bunch of toppings, as you can see from Caleb's multi-colored creation. Fresh strawberries, M&Ms, and chocolate sauce are all I need to make a yummy sundae, and we had all of those, so I was quite happy! Before we ate, the younger kids recited all their memory work--I was so proud! Nathan just has to finish his history final, and he'll be all done for the summer . . . except for the Spanish Siri assigned to keep them all from forgetting everything they ever learned this past year! Actually, that is a bit misleading, as we'll still do math, grammar, and Latin over the summer as well. But he'll be finished with the rest of Rivendell stuff!

Wednesday, Grace had her 4-year well-child appointment. The doctor and I were pleased to see that she has really chunked up since her month of sickness back in October. She is up to 31 pounds, which puts her in about the 20th percentile, instead of the 5th percentile or below, where she's been the rest of her life! I'm not sure what to attribute the weight gain to, but it's a good thing! Grace was so funny in the exam room. She stood at attention, like a little soldier, with her arms at her side, and a little smile on her face, but she would not answer any questions, even what her name was! Finally she did say she was 4. No, no socially awkward homeschoolers here, LOL. I made sure to point out all the socialization opportunities we are involved with! Grace had to get 4 shots as well, and absolutely miracuously she didn't cry at all! She was very excited about the lollipop and sticker she was going to get after it was over, and I guess the thought of those things was enough to get her over the edge. I took Luke along to help me with Micah, and I was so glad to have another pair of arms. How did I manage before I had all these older boys to help?!

We are also dealing with a poison ivy outbreak here. Bob and Jonathan did some yard work last weekend and touched some, because both of them are suffering. Bob is really sensitive to poison ivy, and he didn't have any benedryl or anything during his TDY, so the reaction just got worse. Hopefully we can get a handle on it this weekend. He was able to be home today, since he already got in all his hours, so that was nice. We all had a restful day at home!

So that was our week--plus other miscellaneous activities, such as a house appraisal on Monday (and all the cleaning that goes with that!), Latin class on Wednesday after Grace's appointment, and my Bible study with Kimberly and an orthodontic appointment for Luke on Thursday. Thursday night we had a treat--the McC's invited us over for dinner and to play! That was a fun time! We rushed home to take showers, and then I picked up Bob from the airport. Whew! I always think "next week will be easier", and yet--it never is! I just have to get through testing next week . . .

Week-End Wrap-Up

Wow, Micah is 4 weeks old tonight! And life has gone on in other areas as well!

1. The Tuesday morning co-op finished up the year on Tuesday with a second week doing the Presidential Physical Fitness Test. Luke was a Presidential award winner, and Caleb and Jonathan were both National winners, just missing the Presidential mark by a bit in 1 or 2 categories. We did have a big personal victory for Caleb in the run, though. Eight-nine year olds can either run the 1/2 mile (in a blistering pace of about 3 1/2 minutes for the Presidential time) or the mile (in 8 1/2 minutes). Caleb just wanted to run the 1/2 mile, but I encouraged him to do the mile, because I knew Luke couldn't make the Presidential 1/2 mile time 2 years ago. He dithered back and forth, but eventually he decided to try the mile. And he came in under the 8:30 time! I knew he could do it, and I was so proud of him for trying, because he often likes to just do the easiest thing, not the thing which he is capable of but is more difficult.

Nathan and the other Rivendell boys ran as well. They actually ran with all the different age ranges, encouraging all their little brothers and sisters, and after the siblings were done, they also would go back and find the runners who were having a hard time finishing and run with them into the finish. It was so nice to see them being so encouraging!

Tuesday evening we had the big end-of-the-year picnic and graduation ceremony for the 6th graders. The weather forecast for Tuesday was very gloomy--lots of rain and thunderstorms--but the Lord held off the rain and bad weather until Tuesday night, so we had a lovely day! It was really special for my parents to be there to see Luke get recognized as a graduate. They usually don't get to be at these kind of occasions!

2. I've used the new oven a few times this week, and it's been mixed, at best. I baked chocolate chip cookies for Bob's birthday, and they turned out fine. But I made meatloaf Monday night, and that was dry and a bit brown on the bottom. I made a turkey on Thursday (that was actually what Bob requested for his birthday dinner, but I didn't get it out of the freezer early enough to make on Monday!), and that was also a lot drier than usual. So I'm going to have to play around a bit with temperatures and times, it looks like. But cooking is one thing I do a ton of, so I will have plenty of opportunities to practice, LOL. So far I have only really used the top oven, so I need to do more with the bottom oven and see if it has the same issues.

3. My parents left this morning, after being here for 5 weeks. We are really missing them already! They were such a tremendous help the whole time they were here. They gave the girls baths and put them down many times. Mom helped with the cooking, Dad helped with some outside work, and both helped with the general clean-up. Now we have to get back into a regular routine! Bob is going TDY to CA for the week on Monday, so I will be thrust into dealing with all the kids on my own! Good thing I have so many older helpers, especially ones who want to hold Micah! And we are getting a ton of delicious meals from friends in church or co-op, so I doubt I'll have to do too much cooking next week! Our friends are such a huge blessing to us!

4. Looking ahead to next week, we have our last meeting of Rivendell on Tuesday. I can't believe the year is over! We're having an ice cream sundae party to celebrate! The next week is the Stanford Achievement Tests, so we are mainly doing test practice and prep this week. We are starting the Latin class up again on Wednesday. We took a few weeks off after I had the baby, although the boys kept doing exercises. We were at a review point in the book, so that was perfect timing. And Friday we are taking a little field trip to the National Cathedral with the other Rivendell families. Should be fun!

Happy Birthday, Grace!!

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since Grace was born! She was definitely our surprise baby, coming just 13 months after Anna! Her birth story was another more difficult one, like Micah's. Hmmm . . . something about my even-numbered children--they are harder to birth, LOL. But we are so happy that Grace came into our family! She is such a delicate little sprite. She loves to dress up and to play dolls with her sisters. Her new favorite activity is coloring. She is a very dedicated colorer, very particular and careful. She colors in the lines, and she even outlines--Aunt Claire's coloring genes have passed down to another generation!

After our exciting birthday celebration Friday night, Saturday was a more quiet day! Bob did some outside work, the rest of us cleaned the garage and the house, and then Bob took the kids to a showing of "Tangled" at our church in the evening. There was face-painting, popcorn, and cotton candy as well, so the kids had a great time!

But the most important thing that happened on Saturday is that Bob and my dad finished installing our new double oven!!! Our old top oven died on St. Patrick's Day--I could not make Irish soda bread! The bottom oven limped along, taking longer and longer to preheat, and sometimes turning off, but it kept working until the end, praise the Lord. I was able to bake Grace's cupcakes and reheat a casserole a friend from church brought us on Thursday, and then Bob and my dad took out the old oven in preparation for the new one being delivered Friday. There were a few technical difficulties--some drywall had to be cut to make it fit exactly right--but it is working now! Here is a picture of our new workhorse. Hopefully it will last close to 20 years, like the old one.

Today we had church, and then growth group at our house in the afternoon. I made Amy's nachos, which were a big hit, as well as some more chocolate-covered strawberries (also a big hit!), and we ate the rest of Grace's birthday cupcakes. After growth group, Grace opened her presents, and then we were able to Skype with my brother and his family! The kids really enjoyed seeing Emily and Elia, their cousins! So it was a good day, and a good weekend!