When is it...

...time to see the orthodontist?

I think it runs in the family.
Lord help us all.

Birthday Celebration

The birthday boy.
I can hardly believe he's 9 years old! It's too close to 10. He is not allowed to turn 10. I'm putting my foot down.



Any mother of a 13 year old female child would appreciate this picture. See that? I think it is called a smile. I can't be too sure, maybe her face is cracking...*sigh* she's so pretty. Need help with that ball son?
The birthday boy.
Leon passing along sage advice to the next generation of bowlers.
The birthday boy.

Joshua Superstar!
Ishmael is not a traditionalist. He didn't want cake and ice cream this year. Instead he wanted banana splits, with all the works.

And it was good!

Lunar Eclipse

I had fun experimenting with my camera at night. I still have alot to learn but I did get a few neat-o pictures.

Shutter speed at night is very slow. This means holding still for 5 or more seconds. A feat that is very hard for my boys. Bless their hearts they tried.
The moon as it slips behind the Earth's shadow.

2,000 pictures later I finally got one that is semi-nonblurry.
This picture, taken with my normal camera, is very cool. It's very blurry but shows the moon glowing during the total eclipse.

Science Freaks

We finished another unit in our science book this week. To celebrate we went to the Museum of Life and Science. They opened a new outdoor exhibit about wind. The radio controlled boats were the best part.

I love it when Leon gets involved.
These boats were fun too.
He's so handsome.
We walked over to the bear exhibit.
I'm smitten with this one. I think I'll take him home.
Joshua apparently speaks Lemur.
We looked at the exhibits for our next unit: The Hydrosphere

I was so proud of the boys and their understanding of rocks. They can look at a rock and tell if it's igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic.
I'm also pleased that they enjoyed it so much. Science has been alot of fun this year.

Science? Are You Serious Mom?

We made this complicated cookie bar recipe to represent a sedimentary rock . We did the best we could. But in the end it was a flop. So someone suggested we use a Snickers candy bar. Doesn't it look yummy?
The kids talked about the layers of "sediment" and about the difference in they types of rocks.
I think today's class was a big hit!

Spiderwick Chronicles

We enjoyed the movie. Not one of my favorites but it's always fun to go see a movie together. The acting wasn't great and the story was a little dry. I think I enjoyed the previews the most :P.

Awana Grand Prix

The boys worked very hard on their cars.

The sanding was, of course, the most work.
It was a little discouraging for the 5yo.
He sanded for hours. Well, okay he'd sand a little then run around and come back to sand a little more. It was exhausting.

The big race! This is done as a double elimination. You lose twice and you're out. *gasp* Did he really tell all these children that they would l-o-s-e. Is he trying to hurt their feelings?

So anyway, they race in pairs and the best of 3 heats wins. First heat is outside lanes, second heat they exchange lanes, and 3rd heat they are raced down the middle two lanes. Each colored stripe is a lane.
The first three races were my boys and they each won. Jeremiah lost his second race against Ishmael.
He took it well. After all the world would be wrong if you actually beat your big brother. I love that they shook hands.
Then he lost...to a girl...then he cried like one. But Daddy is there for us no matter what.
Next up is Ishmael v/s Joshua. Ishmael won this round.
Then Joshua loses to the same girl Jeremiah lost to. She's one tough cookie. We nickname her car "Laffy Taffy" cause it's green and flat like the candy.

Ishmael finishes undefeated and takes home 1st place!!! Miss "Laffy Taffy" comes in 2nd. Joshua takes home 3rd! But wait!!! They are calling Joshua's name again!! I don't even have time to get my camera ready! Joshua wins 1st for design!!! WAY TO GO JOSHUA!!!

Joshua is ever the lover. He feels bad for his little brother not taking home a trophy and him taking home two. So he gives his 1st place trophy to Jeremiah to make him feel better.

I love my boys!!! Of course I told Jeremiah that he could only hold it for Joshua. He was okay with that.

Speed Racer:
Our new Design Engineer:

Mr. Congeniality:

What Happens When the Freaks Step Out At Night

The evening started out just fine. This homeschooling family left the confines of their home to enjoy what they expected would be a good old fashioned night of family fun. You see, in our world bowling is something that is done during daylight hours while the prices are cheap and lanes are empty. We decided to do something different.
Leon and I knew about "Extreme Bowling" only in our hey day it was called "Cosmic Bowling." The kids were shocked. These poor unsocialized people were not expecting a light show.
So they did what any freak would do.

They attempt to invent their own version of the game. Synchronized Bowling anyone?
They consume large amounts of "adult" drinks, pumping their bodies with sugar and caffeine.

They recreate their home environment to feel more comfortable. Life would be meaningless if there were a clean table to sit at.
Think he might be more impressed with the light show than with bowling? Nah, he's just watching for the dancing bowling pins on the tv screen, you gotta be quick to catch 'em. TV...oooohhh....ahhhhh!
"Do you think it will make it, Joshua?" (take note of the bumpers...and they were still surprised everytime they knocked the pins down!)
"Ball too heavy son,? For Heaven's sake pull up your pants! You're beginning to look like the natives!"
Very cool score on that second game!
The 91 Threepeat:
Leon told me that I'm not allowed to tell the story of how he slipped across the line and busted his butt...it was so funny, you HAD to be there! I was gracious to my dh and did not take pictures while he was down. Course that was really because someone had to help me off the floor from falling down laughing!!!