Celestial Academy

Happy New Year

2012-01-12T14:50:00.007-05:00

Another year has quickly come and gone. Wally is now back at college. Even though he was here for almost 3 weeks, he was so busy. I feel like I completely missed him. It was still nice to have him back. Poor guy, though. Shortly before he came home he did something to his knee. After a trip to the doctor, he found out he tore his ACL! How, you might ask? By doing a heel kick. Only Wally! It appears that he will need to have surgery. He is going to finish out his college year, then do it shortly after he comes home.

In addition to Wally's injury, Dinodude has broken, yet, another bone! This time his right thumb. How, you might ask, did this happen? For Christmas, the boys got an Xbox Connect. While playing one of the games, he fell and landed right on his thumb. Three breaks in roughly a four month period. That's got to be some kind of record, right?

Other than that, we had a pretty nice Christmas. Here are a few snapshots. After we downloaded the pictures and videos, we realized we had mor videos than pictures, so there aren't a whole lot of actual photos. Maybe next year!

It's All Relative Friday

2011-12-16T07:27:00.003-05:00

Since it's Relative Friday, I'm going to jump and shout that....

WALLY IS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

We picked him up from the airport on Wednesday evening. It was so awesome as we pulled up and there he was...sitting on his suitcase! I almost couldn't believe my eyes! It seemed like years, but also hours that we saw him last. He had some excitement trying to get here. First, he missed the first bus, so he had to get on a later bus. His directions seemed foreign to the bus driver, so the bus driver told him he should get on a train. So, he gets on the train, but shortly after realizes he left his ipod on the bus! He calls the bus company and they tell him he has to wait 24 hours. Wonderful! Not too much longer he gets a call from the guy who found his ipod! Yeah!! Only in Utah, right? So, he's going to send it to him. Then, he gets on his final bus to take him to the airport. On one of his rides, some lady starts talking to him like she's known him for years! Smile and nod....smile and nod! He gets to the airport with 4 minutes to spare! As he's approaching the terminal, the airport people are yelling at him. "Wally!! Hurry up!!! We've been waiting for you!!!" I guess they knew he was the last passenger and were cheering him on! So, he made it safely home!

As soon as we pull up in the driveway, 2 people approach us and it happens to be 2 of his friends from high school! Wally is extremely surprised! They came in and stayed for a while to catch up. I'm not sure how long they stayed, though!

Yesterday, he hung out at the high school visiting his friends and teachers. Then, later for the chorale concert and the tradition of Steak 'n' Shake afterwards. It's so nice to have him home...hopefully he can make some time for us, too!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T19:22:00.003-05:00

Tuesday's Ten

2011-12-13T06:37:00.004-05:00

Ten Things I Love About Christmas...

Although Christ wasn't actually born on Christmas, I love being able to celebrate his wonderful birth!
Wally comes home from BYU!
Giving gifts.
Baking and decorating cookies.
Giving away alot of the cookies we baked and decorated.
Eating the rest of the cookies we baked and decorated.
The smell of Christmas. Not sure what that means, but sometimes there's an apple/cinnamon smell, a pine smell, or mulberry smell that reminds me of Christmas.
Watching my boys open their presents.
Watching Christmas movies.
Spending time with family.

Tuesday's Ten

2011-12-06T13:47:00.006-05:00

Top Ten Reasons to Homeschool....

I know there are tons more reasons to homeschool, but here are a few that I'd like to share:

We can take breaks whenever we need them. Doesn't matter if it's a few minutes or a few days. If we need it, we can take it!
We don't have to sit up straight at a desk for long periods of time. Who in there right mind can even do that?! Even adults need to get up and move around.
Along with #2, we are not confined to one room. We can do our school in the schoolroom, on the couch, on our bed, in the hallway, in the basement, in the bathroom (Pokemon King, LOL!) or anywhere else that we can think of. I have a picture of one of the boys sitting in a storage box reading. The possibilities are endless!
We can read scriptures, say prayers, and say the Pledge of Allegiance in its entirety and not worry about offending anyone!
Two words: Sleeping In!
If something is interesting we can learn more about it during school and not have to wait to do it on our time.
We can finish our math problems in class and not have to take them home for homework! This goes for anything. If we are in the middle of something interesting, we don't have to stop it just because the bell rang. We can keep going until WE are finished or ready to move on.
We don't have to wait for the rest of the class to finish before moving on. Since we don't have to do this, we won't constantly get into trouble because we can't sit still at a chair doing absolutely nothing. (This happened to Wally when he was in elementary school. He completed his test or assignment and kept making noises and shuffling his feet because he had a hard time sitting still. The teacher would not let him get up or even get a book out to read. He had to sit there and wait for the rest of the class. Seriously???? That is just plain ridiculous! What child, especially a boy, can just sit in a chair and do nothing?!)
We can move at a faster or slower pace.
One word: PAJAMAS!!!

Wordless Wednesday (with a caption, just so you know what it is!)

2011-11-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

This year we are using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology. We had just completed the chapter on digestion. One of the activities was to make a theme park of what we learned. Here is what Dinodude came up with:

From left to right, you have Saliva Out, Lung Drop and Urine Urout!

Black Friday

2011-11-25T11:02:00.003-05:00

I know you are all wondering how I spend my Black Friday! Or not!

Well....I don't do the shopping thing. Yes, I know I can save tons of money. But, sometimes, it's just not worth it. Now, I might do the online thing. I will not go out and wait in line with a bunch of crazy people and fight over a good deal. That is just not me. If I want to fight, I will just call my sister up! Just kidding!

Black Friday is our day to put up our Christmas decorations. Sadly, Bond has to work this year, so we will have to wait until he gets home to start. Which isn't all that bad anyway. He leaves early in the morning so he can be hom by 4:30. That's still plenty of time to decorate. So, today, I am taking down the Thanksgiving/Fall decorations and getting the house cleaned and ready to go!

It's almost lunchtime, too. I am debating on whether to eat leftover Thanksgiving goodies or my Ruby Tuesday leftover from Wednesday. It is a really hard decision and I know it shouldn't be. Hmmmm....maybe I'll just eat both. It is the holiday season, right? That's the time to eat whatever you want and worry about how it affects you later, right? OK...problem solved!!! I'm eating them both! LOL!

Wordless Wednesday-Fun with the DS

2011-11-23T07:18:00.002-05:00

Tuesday's Ten

2011-11-22T07:34:00.003-05:00

In honor of Thanksgiving this week, my Tuesday's Ten is a list of things I am thankful for, in no particular order!

My Heavenly Father-he knows me so well and what's in my heart. He has given me such wonderful blessings in my life.
My Savior, Jesus Christ-he gave up his life so that we might live.
The Holy Spirit-I try to keep him with me at all times. He lets me know what's true and right.
My husband, Bond-A truly amazing man who I am thankful for every minute of my life. He puts up with all my weirdness and is always there for me.
My wonderful children-They all have their own personalities. They also love to try my patience, but in reality, I would be lost without them.
My parents-They did a fantastic job raising me, because I am just awesome! They are always there if I need them, especially for those pesky 'you have a house, so you're going to have something wrong' kind of problems!
My Mother and Father-in law-They are always there for me as well. Always checking in on us to see how we're doing, or at least how the guinea pig is doing! LOL!
My sister-We are four years apart, which when we were younger wasn't such a good thing! But, now that we are older and more mature (at least, I am!) we get along much better!
My husband's brothers/wives-We don't see too much of each other because we are all so busy, but they are all wonderful and we would love to get together with them more often.
My nieces/nephews-I have 3 nieces & 7 nephews. They all have their own personalities, too. Each one is special and I love to see their smiling faces.

Monday's About Me

2011-11-21T20:43:00.004-05:00

My favorite outfit is _______________ because...

I absolutely love wearing pajama pants! They are super comfortable. I have even been known to wear them out in public. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to bother my kids. I've never been big into fashion, but for the longest time whenever I went out in public I had to wear normal, matching clothes. These days, I almost don't care anymore. Guess that means I'm finally growing up? Or it could be that styles these days are all over the place. I remember making fun of my mom when she went out wearing something.....weird. I will say that I will never be one of those Walmartians!

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-10T07:20:00.003-05:00

Today (well, really, everyday!) I am thankful for my wonderful, amazing husband, Bond! He is such a great father and husband. Every day he wakes up at 6am so he can go to work and be home by 4:30. There is nothing he would rather do than to be home with us. Everything he does is for us. He is the greatest thing that has happened to me and I am grateful to be his wife.

I LOVE YOU BOND!!

Wordless Wednesday (with captions)

2011-11-09T07:05:00.003-05:00

Chaos trying on Dinodude's Halloween costume.

I walked into the room and saw this Halloween candy dispenser/decoration. Chaos apparently thought he deserved to eat some Halloween candy, too!

Tuesday's Ten

2011-11-08T08:13:00.003-05:00

Ten things that I carry with me at all times....

(no particular order)

Cell phone-I would be totally lost without it!
Money-Just like Mom always said, "Make sure you have a quarter in case you need to make a phone call!" Of course, that was eons before they had cell phones! But, you never know when you look at that gas gauge and find that it's on E and you don't have enough gas to get home!
Wipes-Travelling with children, someone is bound to get something sticky, dirty, muddy, yucky, etc., all over!
Band-aids-Yes...they do fix that owie!
Diapers-Hoping I won't have to travel with these too much longer. But, in a way, I don't mind because that still means I have a baby!
Snacks-Really, these are just for the kids. :)
Gum-It's very important to have fresh breath at all times!
Chapstick-Not just for the winter, either. I like to have one that has sunblock in it.
Hand Sanitizer (or as Chaos calles it...HANDITIZER...which I think is more appropriate anyway!)-After pumping that well needed gas, changing a diaper, and cleaning up those snack messes....well...that's a given!
Purse/Bag-Where else is everything going to go?

Monday's About Me

2011-11-07T13:36:00.005-05:00

One of my scariest dreams was...

...when I was younger. I'm not quite sure how old I was, but I had a recurring dream for a few years of my life. I was being chased by a tree with an ax! It happened in my backyard and he continued to chase me to my friend's house across the street. This tree was very scary! I always woke up before he caught up to me, so I never really found out how it ended.

It took me years to figure out why I would dream a silly dream like that. As I was growing up, I must've watched 'The Wizard of Oz' a bazillion times! It dawned on me that I was dreaming about those talking trees and the Tinman's axe! I was never afraid of that part in the movie, but I guess my mind continued to dwell on them.

It's All Relative Friday

2011-11-04T11:01:00.004-04:00

When I am sad, I find comfort in knowing that...

...My Heavenly Father loves me and one I day I will be able to return to him. The beautiful gift of life is very short. I try to cherish it as much as I can. There are days when I am just exhausted with my daily duties of being mother, wife, daughter, teacher, cook, housekeeper, chauffeur, nurse, etc...but I know that I am where I am supposed to be. I'm doing what my Heavenly Father wants to be doing. Although it is hard sometimes, I like knowing that my family and I can one day live with Heavenly Father again.

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-03T07:02:00.003-04:00

Obviously there are many things that I am thankful for. I could spend the entire day listing them.

As I sit here in the early morning of peace and quiet, something that is usually not present in our home, I am thinking how wonderful it is that I have the opportunity to homeschool my children. Granted, we don't always have good days. There are also those days where I seem to doubt I am doing the right thing or using the right curriculum and so on. After reading and hearing many of the things that go on in some of the schools these days, I realize my kids don't need to be around that. Too much wasted time. Too many bullies. Too much homework. Too much sitting at a desk. Too much boredom. Too much language they don't need to hear. I could go on!

Lately our school days seem to take up the entire day! I was hoping it wouldn't come to that, but the fact is that Chaos CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be left alone! At this age, Dinodude would just play with his toys or watch dinosaur shows with his 'goldfish and juice.' Rocket would just play or sit on my lap. Chaos....well, he still likes to get into things...draw on walls, play in the bathroom, climb on the counters. So in order to get anything done, the boys need to be assigned to watch and play with him. So, it adds more time to our day. I just remind myself that it'll all work out. Eventually there will be a time where we can all be in the same room working on school. Or, am I just kidding myself?

Regardless, I love being a homeschooling mom. And on the days I question that...I just remember what I saw on the news or what I read. Then, I remember how much I love my children and that I would do anything for them and to protect them.

Wordless Wednesday-Halloween Edition

2011-11-02T10:03:00.003-04:00

Tuesday's Ten

2011-11-01T14:53:00.006-04:00

I think today's ten will be ten places I would like to visit or vacation. I'm ready for a vacation anyway!

Hawaii-Bond and I went to Maui and Kauai on our honeymoon, but I'd love to go back to some of the other islands.
Italy-Well, I am Italian...need I say more?
Germany-We went there in 1997 to pick up Bond's brother from his mission. I was pregnant with Pokemon King at the time and Wally was only 4 years old. We got to visit Bond's grandparents and other relatives as well. It was a very nice experience and I'd love to go back.
Stonehenge-I'm not really sure why I want to go here. Could possibly have something to do with Clark Griswold knocking it down...I want to make sure it's still there, I guess!
Australia-Crikey!! It looks like it would be a very nice place to visit. From movies, it looks like the scenery is gorgeous!
Egypt-What can I say...I love studying Ancient Egypt. I think it would be awesome to see the pyramids in person.
Japan-I know Pokemon King would love to visit Japan since that is where Pokemon originated! I think the architecture would be especially neat to see.
Bahamas-Oh yeah!! Beach, sun, sand, etc. What could be better?
Ireland-Mostly for the scenery. I've seen a few movies that were filmed in Ireland and it looks so beautiful and peaceful!
Russia-The only reason I want to visit here is to see if there is snow all year round. Every single movie I see, there is ALWAYS snow in Russia.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T16:49:00.002-04:00

Chaos and Bunny Rabbit in the jungle.

Tuesday's Ten

2011-10-25T11:06:00.002-04:00

When I started this post it was going to be Ten Things That Make Me Happy, but as I was listing them, I realized they were things I love, so this post is....

TEN THINGS THAT I LOVE!

My husband, Bond-He is awesome and amazing! I would be totally lost without him. He has put up with a lot over the years because of me, but he is always by my side.
My children-My 5 wonderful boys. I love them so much. They are each so very different. Obviously there are times when they don't make me happy, but they are far less than when they do. I love spending time with them and I am truly blessed that we homeschool, so I have more time with them. They grow up way too fast!
My Heavenly Father-He sent His only begotten Son to die for us that we might live.
Jesus Christ-He willingly gave up his life so that we might live.
My Scriptures-Life's little instruction books! They have answers to all my questions! I find so much peace when I read!
My computer-Absolutely love my computer! My MacBook Pro...awesome! It's so easy to use and gives me a wealth of information!
My piano-I don't get a lot of time to practice these days, but I could sit there for hours playing. As I was growing up, if I had a rough day I could come home and sit and play and relieve any stress.
Birkenstocks-Absolutely love these shoes! I bought them in 2001 in Hilton Head. They are still going strong. I wear them mostly in the summer, but I admit that I also wear them with socks and jeans sometimes. They are the most awesome shoes ever made, other than Sketchers, which are great too!
My bed-Our mattress is the most comfortable mattress! It is so hard to get up in the morning because of how comfortabel this mattress is. Even right now I am lying in my bed typing this and I don't want to get up!
Farmville-Laugh, laugh, laugh! I love Farmville! I am addicted to Farmville! One of these days I will kick this addiction, but right now I am satisfied that I have made the first step...admitting I am addicted.

Monday's About Me

2011-10-24T10:46:00.002-04:00

I really should stop.....

Playing Farmville! I am so addicted to that silly game! I have recently resigned myself to play just the weekends. But, lately they came out with their Halloween stuff and I LOVE HALLOWEEN! So, that makes it harder! Then, just when I think I've accomplished everything, they come out with something new. After Halloween, you know they do something with Thanksgiving and Christmas. What's a girl to do?

Something New-Tuesdays Ten

2011-10-18T10:53:00.006-04:00

My sister at http://threeblessingsacademy.blogspot.com/ started doing a journal theme each day for her munchkins. I have adopted that for my kids. I also noticed that she started to do it on her blog, so I've decided to adopt that as well!

So, here goes! For Tuesday, it's a list of ten things. Today, my sister happened to list the ten thinks that irk her. I'm guessing she had a hard time narrowing it down to ten. Am I right?

Since my favorite holiday (next to Christmas) is Halloween, I'm going to list my ten favorite Halloween or Halloweenish-type movies. These are in no particular order.

Abbott & Costello Meet Dracula
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
The Munsters Revenge
A Disney Halloween
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Haunted Mansion
Casper (the movie)
Practical Magic
Halloweentown
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat

Summer Update

2011-10-10T14:02:00.013-04:00

Well, it's been some crazy summer!!!

GRADUATION!!

To start...Wally graduated!!!! I can't believe that I am the Mother of a high school graduate!! Where has the time gone?

Here's a picture of him right before he sang "God Bless America." He did an amazing job!!!

Right now he is across the country at BYU. We miss him so much, but I have no doubt that he is doing well, even if he might be a little homesick.

SAN DIEGO!!

Bond and I had the opportunity to go to San Diego, CA this summer! We were invited to my cousin's wedding and decided it would be great to celebrate our anniversary as well! Bond served his mission in San Diego and loves it there!!

One of the beaches (I can't remember which one) had seals all over the rocks. It was so awesome to sit there and watch them.

We also went to Sea World. Haven't been there for a long time!!

We also went to check out where the Mormon Battalion site was. Bond got to dress up like a soldier.

And, of course, we had to visit the San Diego temple! Bond's favorite!! They just finished building it when he was on his mission, so he was able to go on the walkthrough. Lucky him!!

And here's us together at the rehearsal dinner.

This sign cracked us up! We were walking through one of the outdoor malls and saw this sign. Look closely at the operating hours:

Sunday, they are open at 12:00am! Now that's service!!

VACATION-CEDAR POINT

Before Wally left for college, we decided to try to get in one last vacation. So, we headed up to Kalahari Waterpark and Cedar Point.

Here's Rocket and Chaos driving around town!

Rocket and Chaos loved this ride!! It gradually goes up, then drops you, then goes up higher and drops you, and keeps doing that. We didn't think they'd like it, but they kept wanting to go on it!

Top Thrill Dragster...That is a ride!!! I didn't go on it this time, but when Bond and I went last year he made me go on it! I'm glad I did, because I probably won't ever go on it again! This is Wally and Pokemon King. Even though it looks like we know that crazy guy sitting behind them, we don't. He saw me taking the picture and decided to take advantage of the photo op!

Rocket, Chaos, Bond, and I squeezed into this child-sized train. It was so cramped in there, but the boys had fun!

VACATION-KALAHARI!!

Wally loves having his picture taken!

But, not as much as Pokemon King!

I don't think Rocket likes his picture being taken!

What can you say about Chaos!

Dinodude was excited because he got goggles with his new trunks! He was rarely seen without them!

Chillaxin!

Mommy & Rocket.

Bond and Chaos.

Chaos made a new friend!

Worn out!

It was a great vacation!!

So, now to what's going on now:

Sports! Sports! Sports!

Broken bones! Broken Bones! Broken Bones!

In a period of 2 days, Dinodude broke his thumb playing football and Pokemon King broke his wrist playing soccer.

Those are my crazy boys!!!

Pokemon King broke the same wrist about 5 years ago by jumping off of a swing. That time, he actually had to have surgery to put pins in. He had broken both wrist bones and every time they popped one bone into place the other would pop out! Fortunately, this one is not as intense.

Right before football season this year, Dinodude broke the pinky on his same hand! So, he went into football with a broken pinky and came out with a broken thumb!

So, now it's time for the holidays to begin. My house is all decorated and ready for Halloween. All that's missing is the candy!

Thanksgiving is around the corner and it'll be the first time Wally is not here to celebrate with us.

After that comes Christmas. What do I want this year? Other than Wally coming home, how about no broken bones? LOL!!

First Day of School

2011-08-16T13:17:00.003-04:00

Well, we started school yesterday and it was a major flop!! I decided this year that I was going to crack down! We have been too lax and let things slip through the crack the last few years due to Chaos and moving. So, I decided we were going to buckle down and get back on track.

First day comes along and we go over our expectations for the year. Here's a copy of our expectations. Too harsh? Like I said, we have been pretty relaxed the past few years and I really want to get back on track. And we've had problems with the boys skipping their assignments even when they are clearly written on their assignment sheets.

2011-12 School Year Expectations

All work must be written neatly and properly, otherwise it will be redone until it is deemed acceptable.
No privileges until chores and schoolwork are done properly. If bad habit continues, loss of privileges until the end of term will result.
Poems are to memorized by date due. If not, privileges will be revoked. Privileges will be reinstated AFTER that poem and the next poem are memorized.
Math Problems: ALL work is to be shown. If not, entire assignment will be redone.
Writing Assignments: Please take the time to do it right the first time. Sloppy work will be unacceptable and assignment will be redone until it is acceptable.
Complaining will not be tolerated and will result in loss of privileges and/or more work.
If Mom is working with someone and you need help, please wait your turn. Mom will give you the attention you need, but please remember, there are 4 students that all need Mom at some point.
Please help with brothers while Mom is working with someone. That way she can focus on the child at hand without interruption. If you don’t want to be interrupted when Mom is working with you, don’t let her get interrupted when she is working with someone else.
New expectations can and will be included later as necessary.

Privileges = video games, tv, movies, computer, friends, facebook, phone games, ipod touch

So, of course they weren't too happy with that!

Pokemon King didn't do well on his Math or English. So, we went over them together. I don't understand how he does fine when we go over the oral section together, but when he goes to do his assignment, he doesn't do well at all. Math he always seems to make the silly mistakes. He understands the concepts, which is good, but he still needs to be able to do well on the assignments. For English, I'm debating on switching programs. We've been using Rod & Staff. I know it's a little dry, but it's always seemed to get the job done. Now, it's almost like a foreign language. (even for me!) Any suggestions? I was looking at Abeka yesterday and considering that.

Dinodude did ok, but his work wasn't very neat, so he got upset when I told him it needed redone. (Mean Mom!!) The only one that did well was Rocket and he actually had more than his brothers! Go figure!

So, today is now messed up, because I said they could have a sleepover with some friends. Their friends aren't starting school until next week, so I thought it would be nice of me to let them have one last sleepover. Plus, it seemed like we all needed a break from yesterday's fiasco!

So, we shall see how tomorrow turns out! Wish us luck!!!

Babymoon's New Name

2011-05-23T11:07:00.002-04:00

After much thought and consideration....Babymoon is now Chaos! We found that to be more fitting than Houdini. Even though he is very much a Houdini, Chaos seems to describe him a lot more!!!

Babymoon Needs a New Name!

2011-05-11T14:33:00.002-04:00

Now that Babymoon is almost three, I think it's time we change his name. Those of you who know him pretty well, I want your opinions! Lately, I've been thinking of naming him Houdini, just because he is getting into everything...even things we thought he couldn't! So, start brainstorming and leave your ideas in the comments!

Washington DC Trip

2011-04-28T10:35:00.009-04:00

We took the boys on a quick trip to Washington DC for Spring Break. Sadly, it was rainy and gloomy, but we still had a great time!

It was so packed in the Lincoln Memorial because the minute we got inside...it started to pour!!! We waited patiently for it to stop before we ventured out. It only lasted a few minutes.

Babymoon just loves Jesus!!

We ate at an Italian restaurant where you could draw on the table. Here's some of the boys' artwork.

While walking around, we spotted this sign posted. We are guessing it was an April Fool's Day prank!

Wally's Last High School Play

2011-04-28T10:23:00.004-04:00

Wally just completed his last high school play. I am truly saddened, but I am so proud of what he has accomplished during his high school years. He will be doing one more performance for his theatre class, but this was his last official high school play.

They performed '12 Angry Men.' He was Juror Number 10 and did a fabulous job!!!

Easter

2011-04-28T10:11:00.006-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter! A beautiful sacrament meeting at church, lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's, a visit from Oma and Opa, and our own family togetherness.

I am so grateful for our Savior, who gave his life so that we might have ours. Easter is the perfect time to remember His sacrifice and resurrection!

Hope you all had a fabulous Easter!!!

2011-02-24T08:42:00.005-05:00

Just got word last night that Wally was accepted into Brigham Young University-Provo!! I am so excited for him, but at the same time...WE CAN'T BE THAT OLD!!!

Seems like yesterday Wally was just a little boy:

"I'm going at the store!" - as he rides his little tricycle around.

"This is what you call butterfinger!" - as he sticks his fingers in the butter.

"Fridg-a-frater" - his name for the refrigerator

"Did you know God has a T-shirt?" he asks Grandpa.

"No, what does it say?" Grandpa replies.

"Nobody knows..." said very mysteriously.

WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

2011-02-16T13:01:00.004-05:00

I guess running a household of 7 keeps me busier than I ever thought! I can't believe I haven't posted anything since October! I wonder why...(Farmville)...whatever could keep me from posting about my amazing family...(Farmville)...I really need to get rid of those activities keeping me from sharing our wonderful lives....(Farmville).

Guess I'll do a brief update of all our happenings!

Let's start with Wally! Who is that? We hardly ever see Wally anymore. If he isn't at school, he's rehearsing for some kind of play or musical! Currently, he is a senior in high school planning to go BYU-Provo, Utah. He is eagerly waiting to hear whether he was accepted or not. BYU-Idaho already accepted him, but he really wants to go to Provo. While he's waiting, he is performing as Benny in 'Guys and Dolls' at a community theatre sort of nearby! Before that, he played Bob Cratchit in 'A Christmas Carol' at his high school. Busy, busy, Wally!!!

Pokemon King has been working hard in homeschool. We are trying to improve his writing skills and he is doing a great job! Like Wally, he volunteers at COSI, a local science museum. It's a great experience for him! He's also looking forward to playing soccer in the spring.

Dinodude is as active as ever! He played football in the fall and still plays his own football games in the bonus room! We love to watch him! He, too is going to play soccer in the spring, but I'm sure it will be back to football in the fall.

Rocket has amazed us with his musical talent. I started him on piano lessons this school year and he is flying by! He moves forward in the book on his own before he has even passed off the songs and does quite well on them!

Babymoon loves to do his school, too. And the boy loves to dance!! We put the movie 'Cars' on for him and we are constantly backing it up so he can dance to the opening song! He does that with other shows, too.

Same old, same old with Bond and me! Working, working, working!

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and I'm looking forward to posting more from our family!

Happy October

2010-10-04T07:11:00.003-04:00

Yes...It's Halloween time! I love Halloween!!! It's time to get out the decorations. It's time to watch the boys get out all the costumes and try them on. I love watching them play in their costumes! I'm tempted to take the day off to decorate the house and watch some fun Halloween movies! In reality, I'll probably do the decorating, but the day off and movie watching will have to come later! We already took off last Thursday to go to COSI. Pokemon King had an interview for their volunteer program. Friday we went to the Dayton Air Force Museum with my parents, my sister and her kids. I'll try to post pics sometime this week! So, today is back to school. But, we like Mondays for MOVIE MONDAY! It's time for another fun filled episode of Mythbusters!

School is In

2010-09-07T13:09:00.003-04:00

School is in session. Sadly, I think I'm already burned out! The boys like the new way of schooling. I, however, worry because they are getting done quickly! Pokemon King and Dinodude are more responsible for their work these days. I'm trying to get them to assert their independence and learn for themselves. I think they will remember things better if they figure it out on their own, instead of me just telling them.

I don't like to compare my children to each other, but I've been thinking back at how Wally was at this time where Pokemon King is now. His work seemed a lot more advanced than Pokemon King's, so of course I am officially worried. I can totally see how reading while young is very important. Wally was writing 2 page papers on History and Science and I'm lucky to get a paragraph out of Pokemon King. The difference between the two of them? Wally has always been a reader. Pokemon King has not. I am positive that has made a tremendous impact.

My goal this year is to get Pokemon King writing and reading. He is doing a lot more with reading, which is good. We are going to be working on writing more as the days progress. So, hopefully by year's end, he will be writing a lot better.

We've also decided to start the week off by having a 'Movie Monday.' Not a regular movie, but something educational or close to it. Although today's Tuesday, we decided to go ahead and watch something. We watched an episode of Mythbusters. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's very interesting! On the episode we watched, they were recreating the motorcycle stunt from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They wanted to see if throwing a stick in the wheel of a motorcycle would cause it to flip. Another stunt they decided to do was to find out if tying bedsheets together would allow a person to escape from prison. Along with the bedsheets, one of them tried tying hair together and the other tried toilet paper. I won't tell you the outcome. You need to see for yourself, but the boys and I really enjoyed it! So, come Monday, we will be watching another episode.

Look What I Made!

2010-07-27T15:26:00.003-04:00

I attempted to make a new scripture bag. The scriptures I have are an older version of scriptures. The ones they make now are made with a thinner paper, so they are skinnier. My case is made for the newer ones, so I got tired of trying to stuff them in. I decided to use some fabric I have leftover. I originally was making a quit, but realized it was smaller than what I had envisioned! So, I decided to turn it into my very first scripture bag. I am definitely no 'Martha Stewart' when it comes to sewing, so it's not perfect, but I have to toot my own horn and say I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I got the handles at JoAnn Fabrics for only $1!

Lazy Summer

2010-07-22T11:32:00.008-04:00

The summer has whizzed by and we haven't done very much. Chalk it up to my laziness. Wally is heading to the fair to sing with the choir for a while. Pokemon King will be leaving for scout camp soon. We are planning a vacation. We're thinking Universal Studios. But, we want to wait until September or even November to go. Florida in the summer is crazy! Not to mention hot! When we went to Disneyworld a few years ago, it was November. The weather was perfect and it wasn't very crowded.

Next year I've decided we are getting pool passes. It's been pretty hot here and I know the boys would like to swim. My goal until then is to get them some swimming lessons. Plus, by then Babymoon will be almost 3, so I think it will be a lot easier on all of us!

In the meantime, I've been getting school ready for the new year. We've changed some things for the new school year. Surprised? LOL! I know, I'm always changing things. I've been reading up on Sue Patrick's Workbox System found here. Now, I kind of cheated, because I didn't buy the book. I skimmed through tons of blogs and made up my own similar system.

The boys each have a bin with mailing envelopes in them.

They range from 6-12 depending on the child. In each folder is an assignment written on a card and a card for the different type of narration required.

Also included are any books or papers that are needed. They must complete each folder before moving on to the next one. Pokemon King and Dinodude each have 12. So, once they have completed their 12 folders, they are done with school for the day. I've also included at least one fun item, like computer time, wii fit, ride your bike, have a snack, etc. So, in reality they are only completed 11 items. I'm also working more towards the two of them working independently. Obviously if they need help, I'll help, but I want them reading the assignments and trying to do them on their own first. I really think they learn better when they try for themselves. Rocket and Babymoon also have the envelopes too, but not as many. I'm really looking forward to using this system and hope it really works. Wish us luck!

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

2010-07-05T20:22:00.000-04:00

I've seen this on blogs and facebook and love it! So, I thought I'd share it with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Happy Anniversary

2010-06-21T15:32:00.007-04:00

Thirteen years ago today, it was hovering around 90 degrees. Although it was pretty hot, it was sunny and beautiful! That was one of the best days of my life! June 21, 1997, I became Mrs. Bond! Woohoo!!

I am so blessed to have married the most awesome man. He treats me like a queen (and why shouldn't he? LOL!) And is the best father in the world to our boys. Thank you Bond for these amazing 13 years. I look forward to so many more with you!

I love you! Happy Anniversary!

2010-06-10T21:13:00.002-04:00

Bond took Dinodude, Rocket & Babymoon to the park. While they were gone I did some cleaning up and got ready for bed. Rocket walks in the door and notices I am in my pajamas. Immediately, he tells me, "Hi Mom! I see you're all pajama-ed up!"

Sleeping Issues

2010-05-21T11:34:00.004-04:00

If you don't know, I am not a very good sleeper. I haven't been for a long time. Believe me, I would LOVE to sleep, but it just doesn't happen easily. What makes it worse is seeing Bond lie down in bed and in the blink of an eye....he's completely out! So after thinking long and hard on the subject of sleeping, I have diagnosed my sleeping disorder. I suffer from.....

R.B.S.

Restless Brain Syndrome!

Here are some common questions used to diagnose Restless Brain Syndrome...

Do you lie in bed constantly thinking that one of your children is going to wake up.
Do you have a teenager who has not returned home from an evening activity and has usage of a vehicle?
Do you hear every single noise inside and outside the house and try to figure out what made the sound?
Do you lie there wondering what to fix for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Do you wait for a child to come into your room to complain he can't sleep or that he is not feeling well?
Do you lie there thinking the garage door is open and/or the house is locked and wondering if you should go check?
Do you lie there worried that the alarm is not going to go off in the morning when it's supposed to?
Is there a special event coming up that you just can't get out of your head? Especially if you are the one planning it!
Do you lie there thinking there is something you forgot to do, but you just can't figure out what it is?

If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, then you, too, could possibly be suffering from....Restless Brain Syndrome.

Sadly, there is no immediate cure for Restless Brain Syndrome. At least I haven't been lucky enough to find a solution. So, if you or someone you know suffers from Restless Brain Syndrome and have had luck in finding a solution, please let me know.

Happy Birthday, Pokemon King!

2010-05-17T10:23:00.005-04:00

Pokemon King turned 12 this weekend. My, how the time flies! He is growing into such a fine young man. I am so proud of him! He had a sleepover with some of his friends to celebrate.

We love you, Pokemon King!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T12:58:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you women out there! I am so blessed to have my amazing boys. I am proud to be their mother. Every year I look forward to the wonderful breakfast they make for me. Then, I get catered to the rest of the day. How lucky am I!!!

This is the wonderful breakfast my boys made for me. There was another piece of bacon at the top, but Babymoon decided that it was his!

Dinodude made this for me. He also made me a really cool card.

Our normal tradition is to go to Old Man's Cave on Mother's Day. This year, we were unable to go due to the fact that Wally and I were asked to play and sing in church. I also decided it was a little cold to go as well. The temperature was only in the mid to upper 50s. That wouldn't be so bad, but since they are caves that don't get much sun, it would feel even colder. We might go this weekend, but we are undecided at this point.

Zoo Day!!!

2010-05-06T13:52:00.008-04:00

We decided, well, the boys decided, that we should take a trip to the zoo. According to Pokemon King, he will only go to the zoo on a day when there's school. He says any other day it's boring! Crazy kid! So, we packed up and headed to the zoo. Pokemon King was the photographer for the day, so these are mostly taken by him.

We loved the fact that this turtle had his mouth open!

Dinodude touching a 'Children's Python.'

Rocket's turn to touch the Python. I'm really surprised he touched it!

"Barbara Manatee.....you are the one for me...." (If you've seen Veggie Tales, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you are completely lost!)

This was a really cool red fish we saw. We need to look it up to find out what it is.

Dinodude and Rocket got to pet this wonderful starfish.

This tiger kept pacing back and forth along the window. Rocket would not go near it!

Yodel-odle-oo! These types of goats always make me think of yodeling!

A Tufted Deer

Red-crowned Crane-If you look hard you can see the patch of red on the top of its head.

Rocket and Babymoon posing with the penguin, which sadly, we didn't get a chance to see.

My boys! What well behaved boys they were today. I am so proud of them! Thanks to them, I got to keep my sanity!

Happy Spring Break!

2010-04-05T14:13:00.004-04:00

It's really starting to feel like spring. We have the week off, with the exception of a few tidbits we needed to finish from last week. It's pretty funny how much I can accomplish when there's no school! So far, I've done 3 loads of laundry, stripped the beds and remade them, finished up the school tidbits, vacuumed and shampooed the den and the dining, which meant clearing the furniture out of the room, and I still made time to eat some lunch! I've got the windows open and the house is starting feel fresher. The winter always seems to make it stuffy, so it's nice when spring rolls around and we can open it all up!

Bond's birthday is tomorrow! He and I went out for dinner on Saturday for his birthday, but I'm trying to come up with some ideas to do for him. Cheap ideas! If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!!!

Where in the World Have We Been?

2010-03-23T07:27:00.002-04:00

How long has it been? January! Sheesh!!! What could possibly be more important than keeping up to date on the blog? Busy times are upon us. As of now, we are at least all healthy. Over the past few months someone has been known to be sick. The worst was Bond, but thankfully, he is all better now.

Valentine's Day came and went.

St. Patrick's Day came and went.

Easter is almost here. Does my house show it? Not in the slightest! I need to get those decorations out! Otherwise the Easter Bunny might just pass us over.

School is going well. Not much to report other than the usual, so I won't bore you with the details.

The time change has really messed me up. But, it's done wonders for Babymoon, who still goes to bed around 7:45pm and sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00am. And he still takes a nap. Of course, now that I've mentioned it...well...it's over, right?

Bond and I started back up our exercising. We do it in the morning instead of the evening. Although it's a pain getting up, it's working much better. Too many things go on in the evenings...Chuck, 24, American Idol, Lost, etc. Just kidding...well...not really! Who wants to exercise when you can sit on your butt and put your eyes to work! Seriously, we are on Day 8 now and Bond has already lost 2 pounds! I haven't checked my weight yet. I'm not sure if I really want to! Having him exercise with me makes all the difference in the world. I'm not sure if I would do it if he wasn't right there by my side!

Wordless Wednesday-Sleeping Beauties!

2010-01-13T11:07:00.004-05:00

We Had 'Snow' Much Fun!

2010-01-12T15:11:00.007-05:00

With this nice January snow, we definitely had to take advantage of it. Although, I think we spent more time getting ready than we did actually sledding!

Rocket Turned 5!!!

2010-01-04T14:07:00.007-05:00

Our Rocket turned 5 years old on Dec. 30th. He's growing up so fast! We didn't have a kid party. Probably next year we'll invite a few friends. So, we just had some family over. Here's a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Here's a picture of the cake. For those not familiar with Super Mario, this is the character Boo.

We took him to Toys R Us to let him pick out a few toys for his birthday. This is one of the things he picked. Not sure why, but they were inseparable for the rest of the day!

I think he had a great day!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Rocket!!! We love you!!!

Christmas Update

2009-12-28T13:23:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! It started off a little rocky on Christmas Eve. My parents came over for some hors d'oevres in the early evening. (That's NOT the rocky part!) Pokemon King had been battling a cough, but suddenly it got worse and he could not stop coughing. So, Bond took him to the emergency room. The doctors said he might have the beginning stages of Asthma. WHAT? Talk about coming from left field! He got a temporary inhaler and some steroids. (he could use those! LOL!) I took him for a checkup today and he's fine. No asthma, just keep an eye on him.

Christmas Day was great! We had our usual breakfast casserole that had been in the crockpot overnight. After breakfast, we opened our gifts. The boys got a lot of nice things, as did Bond and myself. Bond's parents came over for lunch and we opened more nice gifts. I don't know how his parents do it. For breakfast they go to one brother's house, ours for lunch and dinner for the other. What a crazy day! And they shop for 11 grandkids! Whew!

The day after Christmas we went to my parent's house to celebrate with my mom's brother and his family. We do a gift exchange with them, but we only buy one present. The girls buy a girl gift and the guys buy a guy gift. After the food and gifts, we played Bible Pictionary. It was a lot of fun, but by then Bond wasn't feeling too well. He stayed home from church the next day and I lugged all 5 boys by myself. I'm such a trooper!

I think we are all finally feeling better now! Hopefully, it will stay that way!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and look forward to a Happy New Year!

Rocket Funny

2009-12-07T09:57:00.001-05:00

It started snowing this morning. Rocket was very excited and really wants more snow to come. He asked me, "When will the snow grow? I want more!"

My Thanksgiving ABC's

2009-11-26T10:55:00.005-05:00

Here's my alphabetical list of what I am thankful for. It is, by no means, complete! There are so many things I am grateful for. This is only a small portion of that!

A-All of my friends and family!

B-Blogging-A wonderful way to keep in touch with family and friends

C-Children-My 5 awesome boys!!!

D-Dreams-I have many wonderful dreams that I know will come true!

E-Everything good in my life!

F-Football-Yes...I love football!! Go Broncos!!! Go Blue!!!

G-Genji Japanese Steakhouse-Need I say more? LOL!

H-Husband-My amazing husband who is a wonderful father and husband! Without him, I'd be lost.

I-Ice Cream-Especially in 90 degree weather, even when I have to cover up with a blanket when I'm finished!

J-Jesus Christ-My Savior, who gave up his life, so we could have ours.

K-Kitchen-One day I will make a meal that ALL of my children will eat!

L-Love-Without love, life would be no fun.

M-My parents and my in-laws-They've stood by us in everything we do and have been there when we needed them.

N-Notebooks-Anything officey is quite cool. I also like the fact that both Dinodude and Rocket carried around their own 'handy dandy notebooks' looking for clues!

O-Online service-I'm an internet junkie. I love to surf...I love Facebook...I love those dumb hidden object games!

P-Pirates of the Caribbean-I really love those movies! I could watch them over and over again...actually...I have!

Q-Quiznos-Their subs are really good!

R-Rain-I enjoy a nice rain shower every now and then.

S-Scriptures-These are what help me through my rough times and guide me in time of trials.

T-Thanksgiving-What a wonderful holiday to spend with family, being grateful for all we have.

U-Umbrellas-Even though we don't own any that work...I'm grateful for umbrellas to keep us dry.

V-Voice-I'm thankful I have a voice that can be heard. (Yes...I do have a loud voice! Just ask my boys!)

W-Words-Without words, my voice would be meaningless.

X-Xylophones-I really couldn't think of anything that started with x, other than this. I remember having one when I was a child. It was fun.

Y-You! All of you that read and follow this blog!

Z-Zinnias-I've never really been a flower person, but I really like Zinnias.

So, what are you thankful for?

2009-11-18T07:06:00.002-05:00

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I have fallen off the edge of the earth! Nope! Still here! Sadly, I've been engrossed in that evil conspiracy known as....Facebook! Yes, that darn facebook. It's not even so much facebook as it is the games on facebook. I'm on a quest to plant as many crops as I can and decorate my house. There's Yoville and Fishville and Farmville and Roller Coaster Kingdom and Farm Town and....It is consuming my spare time, which I don't have much of anyway! On the plus side, I've dropped Roller Coaster Kingdom and Fishville. I figure since the boys play their video games (Bond included!), I can play my facebook. After all, it's only fair, isn't it?

Oops!!!

2009-10-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

See how brilliant the construction workers in our neighborhood are?

Happy October!!!

2009-10-08T10:29:00.002-04:00

I love October! Halloween is my favorite holiday, next to Christmas. After getting our decorations out, I realized we don't have nearly enough. I'm hoping to get some more after the holiday when they roll out the sales!

It's time to decide on costumes for this year. Bond is not a dress up kind of guy, although he did go as a Steelers fan one year. Boo-yeah! I told him one of these years we need to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Maybe this will be the year! As for the boys....we haven't decided yet. Dinodude keeps changing his mind. First he wanted to be Mario. Then he wanted to be a blood ghost. As of now he wants to be a skeleton clown. We don't know what he's going to be yet, but I know it won't be too scary. Pokemon King wants to be a Hobo. That's an easy one to do. Rocket wants to be the dinosaur he was last year, but I'm sure it wont fit him. We're trying to talk him into being Pikachu. We already have that costume.

So, to all who read this, please post any costume ideas (preferably very, very, very cheap!) that you have for any of us!

Bond & I started exercising this week. Today is day 4 of the P90X, a very intense workout program. It's going great and I'm hoping we can stick with it. I think since we are doing it together, we'll be able to continue with it. Now we just need to work on nutrition. And that is for ALL of the family!

Hello Autumn!

2009-09-24T07:41:00.002-04:00

It's Autumntime! I really enjoy this time of year. I'm one of those people who really likes all four seasons. Once one season has run its course I am ready for the next one.

Summer is over. Goodbye shorts....hello pajama pants! Goodbye hot, humid weather...hello crisp, cool weather. Goodbye green grass (or brown grass)...hello orange, red & yellow leaves. Hello football! Hello Halloween! Hello pumpkins and apples!

Last week we completed our 6th week of homeschool, so we have this week off. I really wanted to actually take the boys some places this week. Unfortunately, Dinodude and Rocket have come down with a nasty cough. Sleep has been almost nonexistent for us this week. On the plus side, Bond found some cough syrup that actually works!!! Sadly, it's tastes terrible, so it's not easy for the boys to take it, but they've been such troopers about it.

Although our lack of sleep and sickness has hindered our activities, I did manage to update Babymoon's clothing and clean up his room. I also hung some pictures up in our Bonus Room. We had nothing on the wall in there. I recently had pictures taken of Wally, Pokemon King, Dinodude and Babymoon, so I wanted to update the room with some pictures. I also hung up some pictures in the upstairs hall. It was looking so bare. Now, it's a whole new area! I'm still hoping to attack the garage. Since we became a two car family again, Bond would like to be able to put his car in the garage too. I'm not sure how that's going to work, but we'll try it.

Look What I Grew!!!

2009-09-11T13:02:00.004-04:00

Woohoo!!! My sister-in-law gave me some tomato pepper plants. No peppers yet, but I got some tomatoes!!! Woohoo!!!

Rocket Funny

2009-09-08T11:03:00.002-04:00

The other day Rocket was outside playing with the neighbor kids. All of a sudden he comes running in the front door, slams it and looks out the window while panting really hard. I asked him what was wrong and he replies, "P____ (the neighbor girl) is trying to marry me!"

Happy Birthday Yesterday Babymoon!!!

2009-08-28T12:25:00.003-04:00

Our First Week Back

2009-08-16T15:44:00.007-04:00

All in all, I'd say our first week was a success. It got a little off track in the middle due to some interruptions, but we manage to make it through. I purposely designed Fridays mostly free to make up for any interruptions.

We continued on the path of Math, English, Handwriting, Dictation and the usual. However I will post what they accomplished for their other assignments.

Pokemon King:

He rolled a green for A Midsummer Night's Dream, which means he could do a short skit, act out the story using action figures, or write & perform an original song or poem retelling the story. He chose to act out the story with action figures, but it is too large to post. For three stories, he was fortunate to roll a red on the narration die, which means he got to draw a picture relating to the story.

This is from This Country of Ours:

This is from Robinson Crusoe. This is one of the stories he will be reading for himself.

This is from Madame How & Lady Why:

Dinodude:

He, too rolled a green for Burgess's Animal Book, but the movie is too long to post as well. For these two stories, he rolled a red.

Tree in the Trail

An Island Story:

Rocket:

I've decided to go ahead and do Kindergarten things for Rocket this year. We are using Learning Language Arts Through Literature to learn to read. That is what I used with Pokemon King & Dinodude and it worked very well. He is also finishing the Explode the Code Primer Series. In addition to these we are reading various types of books and I'm also hoping to add in some kind of science. I didn't order Saxon Math 1, which is what I used for Kindergarten. I'm debating whether I should order it or just do some math things on our own. Rocket doesn't turn 5 until December, so I might wait until then. Right now, I would really just like to concentrate on teaching him to read.

School Starts Tomorrow

2009-08-09T11:34:00.002-04:00

We were going to start school last week, but we had a family reunion on Sunday, so we decided to wait a week. Plus, I didn't have everything ready to go anyway. So, this past week I've been getting everything ready. Pokemon King & Dinodude are all ready to go. I'm still working on a few things for Rocket.

Starting in the middle of this past year, we decided to do 3 terms of 12 weeks each. I've planned our whole year (which will probably get messed up...it always does!) I've listed our Term 1 curriculum on the sidebar for those who are interested. We are still using Ambleside Online this year. Since we started it last year, I really feel they are progressing alot better than before. They are retaining so much more information and don't have to deal with boring textbooks.

I'm hoping to continue with weekly reports and to even do a better job! So, wish us luck! Here's hoping for a great new year!

Babymoon's Accomplishments

2009-07-24T15:13:00.004-04:00

Over the past few weeks, Babymoon has started to walk and just yesterday he cut his first tooth. WOOHOO!!! Go Babymoon! He turns 1 next month. I can't believe how time has flown by.

Dinodude's Baptism

2009-07-20T11:11:00.005-04:00

Dinodude got baptized on Saturday! What an exciting event! He only needed to be immersed once, unlike his mother! My knee popped up, so I had to be immersed twice. That's okay...just meant I got extra cleansing!

The majority of our family was able to make it! Awesome! Thanks everyone for coming out to witness this momentous occasion!

If only Babymoon hadn't been sleeping, the boys would've made the 5 bars for that cell phone commercial!

New Blog Addition

2009-07-19T14:57:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know that Dinodude has started a blog. Actually, he started it last November, but hasn't kept up with it. He said he kept forgetting about it, but really wants to keep up with it now. So, go check it out!

Dinodude's Territory

Wally's Birthday/4th of July Party

2009-07-14T10:43:00.003-04:00

Since Wally's birthday is so close to Independence Day, we like to gather at Grandma's house to celebrate. Her next door neighbor is very into fireworks & creates a wonderful show for the entire neighborhood. Here's a few pictures from the occasion.

Happy Birthday Wally!!!

2009-07-06T14:23:00.008-04:00

Wally turned 16 yesterday. I just cannot believe it! We are sooo not old enough for a 16 year old!

Wally-you are growing into a fine young man. You do your best to set a good example to your younger brothers. You don't care what other people think and you are your own person.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

School's Out, School's Out, Teacher Let the Monkeys Out!

2009-06-24T09:56:00.003-04:00

The boys are happy that our school year has ended. We finished last week with exams. I think our school year was a success, even with the usual nitpicking and complaining from the boys. On the plus side, Pokemon King informed me that he does like school, but complains because he'd rather be doing something else. So, that made me feel a little better. Now, it's time to plan for next year! The only items left to order are their math worksheets. Other than that, we are all set with our curriculum.

Here's some pictures of their exams. Together, they decided to do a play for Island Story, but I can't seem to get it to load.

Dinodude's diorama of The Velveteen Rabbit:

Dinodude's board game of Aesop's Fables:

Pokemon King's board game of This Country of Ours:

Pokemon King's diorama of Johnny Appleseed:

Dinodude's Birthday Party

2009-06-11T13:17:00.006-04:00

Dinodude had his party on the 6th. He wanted a Scooby Doo party. He and Rocket have been watching a lot of Scooby shows lately. We played a game called Pin the Bone in Scooby's Mouth. Here's a before picture of Scooby. I drew it myself...not bad, eh?

Here's the after picture with all the bones.

I really wish he was more excited about his gift. Sheesh!

I'll huff & I'll puff & I'll blow the candles out!

Another game we played was Making a Mummy. They teamed up with a partner. Each group had a roll of toilet paper and one of them had to get wrapped up as a mummy. This is Rocket.

I think this one is Dinodude :)

Here's the cake. The characters are from our Scooby Doo chess set. Frankenstein just couldn't keep his face out of the cake, so he's covered in icing. I kept telling him to wait until we cut the cake and I'd be glad to give him some. Hee Hee!

We also did a pinata. It was a bull. It wasn't very big. It held maybe 1/4 of the candy. So, Pokemon King and his friend stood by with the rest of the candy in a bowl and when the pinata busted, they just started tossing the rest of the candy down.

The last game we played was a treasure hunt. They split up into groups & had to find Scooby's missing Scooby Snacks. I hid those graham cracker Scooby Snacks & they went searching for them using clues I gave them.

We actually have a lot more pictures, including the kids trying to bust the pinata, but I don't really know how their parents would feel about having their children's pictures on here, so you'll just have to try to imagine what it looked like. I'm sure they all had a great time.

Happy Birthday Dinodude!

2009-06-06T10:40:00.009-04:00

Today is Dinodude's birthday. He's a whopping 8 years old! I'm still in shock. Great things happen when you turn 8. Dinodude is looking forward to 2 main events: scouting and baptism! As you view his montage, keep in mind that it truly is Dinodude and not Babymoon, although it's difficult to tell sometimes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DINODUDE!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Pokemon King's Party

2009-05-29T11:25:00.006-04:00

We held Pokemon King's party over the weekend. We had so many boys here, but it seemed like they all had a lot of fun. They had a Super Smash Brothers tournament and we did a pinata. We thought about having another game or two, but fortunately we didn't. There just would not have been any time left! Here's some pics:

Happy Birthday Pokemon King!!!

2009-05-15T11:35:00.005-04:00

Happy 11th Birthday to my Pokemon King!

We love you!!!

Rocket's Bedtime

2009-05-14T20:30:00.003-04:00

As I was putting Rocket to bed tonight, he walked into his room and immediately said we needed to read his scriptures. I agreed. We sit down to read and here's our conversation:

MOM: Remember what we talked about last night?

ROCKET: Hmmm. Nope.

MOM: The baby in the basket?

ROCKET: (very excitedly!) Yeah! What was his name?

MOM: Moses.

ROCKET: That's right...Moses! He turned into a baby!

MOM: Well, he was a baby. Then he grew into a man. He lived in Egypt.

ROCKET: Egypt? Is Egypt in earth?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: We live in earth!

MOM: Yes we do.

ROCKET: Where is it?

MOM: Let's go look at the globe. (We go into the schoolroom to look on the globe. I point out where we are, then I point out where Egypt is. It's purple on our globe.)

ROCKET: The purple one? That's far! What's this one? (he points to the yellow country next to Egypt)

MOM: That's Libya.

ROCKET: What's this one? (he points to green one next to Libya)

MOM: That's Algeria.

ROCKET: What's this one? (he points to a pink one)

MOM: That's China.

ROCKET: China? Have I been to China?

MOM: No.

ROCKET: Oh....Have I been to Egypt?

MOM: No.

ROCKET: Oh. (We go back upstairs to read the rest of the scripture reading. I start talking about how Moses killed an Egyptian.) He killed him?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: Wow. Moses was a baby and then he grew into a man?

MOM: Yes. (I continue reading getting to the burning bush.)

ROCKET: Where is he now?

MOM: He's on the mountain. The bush is on fire, but it's not really burning. It's a miracle.

ROCKET: What's a miracle?

MOM: A miracle is something great that happens. You're a miracle.

ROCKET: I'm a miracle?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: Where's fire at?

MOM: Well, fire can be anywhere.

ROCKET: Is there fire in China?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: Is there fire in Egypt?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: Is there fire in...........(very long pause!).....what's that yellow one?

MOM: Libya?

ROCKET: Yeah! (extremely excited!) Is there fire in Libya?

MOM: Yes.

ROCKET: I've been to China.

I love this little boy! I love our nighttime conversations. He has such an imagination and he is so innocent. Why can't he stay like this forever?!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T07:36:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. It really started on Saturday evening. Bond and I got to spend some time together catching up on 24. He stayed up late with me, which doesn't happen since he delivers newspapers in the morning. On Sunday, while he was still delivering the newspapers, Wally and Pokemon King were up early to make me a wonderful breakfast.

I didn't get to eat it in bed because I had to get up to feed Babymoon, but that's okay. I got to watch Special Agent OSO with Rocket while eating. After eating, they gave me their gift.

If you look at the first letter of each candy, they spell out MOTHER. How cute!!!

We went to church, but left early to head to Old Man's Cave for a picnic and a hike. We did this last year for Mother's Day, the previous year for Father's Day and before that it was Memorial Day. I think it's becoming a spring tradition!!! It was a very nice day!

I'm so blessed to have my wonderful family. I love my boys!!!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pinewood Derby

2009-05-06T10:42:00.004-04:00

As we were traveling to church for the Pinewood Derby, Pokemon King had Baby moon laughing up a storm. We were so luck to have a camera on hand!

Pinewood Derby

2009-05-06T10:26:00.003-04:00

Last night was the Pinewood Derby. The theme was Jurassic Park. This was Pokemon King's last Pinewood Derby, as he will be moving on to 11 year old scouts. He placed 2nd overall! Great job Pokemon King!

Weekly Report

2009-05-01T14:09:00.005-04:00

I think we've had a very productive week. We were able to get most, if not all, of our assignments done. I think the nice weather earlier in the week was a great motive for getting schoolwork done.

Pokemon King's Accomplishments:

HISTORY

King Charles and his 'Cavaliers' or 'Royalists' fighting against the 'Parliamentarians' or 'Roundheads'
Pocahontas
The life of William Shakespeare

SCIENCE

Cyrus McCormick & the invention of the Reaper
Pressure in soda cans

GEOGRAPHY

Marco Polo-These are 2 activities from the book:

Weaving

Chinese Mask

LITERATURE

Parables From Nature-The General Thaw
Children of the New Forest by F. Marryat (this is set during the time of King Charles)
Pilgrim's Progress (we've recently decided to drop this-we will start it up again next year with an easier version-we both need to brush up a little more on vocabulary before we tackle this version again!)

LANGUAGE ARTS

finished punctuation: quotations, apostrophes, commas
wrote a book report (without a lot of fuss, too!)
starting prepositions
poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (some are really good, but others are really hard to follow)

MATH

fractions, circumference, volume, proportions (I know it seems all over the place, but right now they are basically brief introductions)

Dinodude's Accomplishments

HISTORY

King Charles and his 'Cavaliers' or 'Royalists' fighting against the 'Parliamentarians' or 'Roundheads'
Sir Philip Sydney & The Ungrateful Soldier from 50 Famous Stories Retold

SCIENCE

Burgess's Bird Book, which uses real birds to make up stories-after (sometimes during) we look up the birds to see what they look like & also find out a little more about them

GEOGRAPHY

Paddle to the Sea-the story of a handmade wooden boat, traveling along the waters

LITERATURE

Aesop's Fables-The Lion, the Bear & the Fox and The Hares & the Frogs
King of the Golden River-just finished up
Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp-the version we read has very little in common with the Disney movie!

LANGUAGE ARTS

prepositions
writing a letter
addressing an envelope

MATH

multiplying by 10, 100 & 1000; making change from $1.00; area of a rectangle; negative numbers on a number line; finding missing dimensions of a rectangle

Rocket's Accomplishments

Explode the Code-he varies between 1 and 7 pages each day. Right now we are on the second book, studying 'n' and he's doing such a great job! He concentrates so hard when he makes his letters.

FOR ALL:

MUSIC

Composer Gustav Mahler-Symphony 9
Piano lessons have drastically improved-I'm giving their lessons on Friday and they are practicing every day!

ART

Vincent Van Gogh-The Night Cafe

Pokemon King's painting of The Night Cafe

Dinodude's painting of The Night Cafe

Rocket's painting of The Night Cafe

My Baby Went to Prom!

2009-04-27T08:47:00.001-04:00

I'm sooo not old enough for this!

Spring Break

2009-04-21T14:02:00.004-04:00

We took last week off for Spring Break. I think we were all ready for a break. The first part of the week we really didn't do anything. The boys did their usual: playing games with each other, watching movies, playing video games, fighting, arguing, etc. I decided I'd better take them somewhere so we didn't sound too lazy.

On Thursday, I took them to COSI. All by myself! Since Bond actually goes to work, he wasn't able to come with us. Pretty sad in a way because we really enjoy going places as a family. Unfortunately, Wally still had school. His spring break was the week before. So, at COSI we went to the Gadgets area first. The boys love to put the little balls in the shooter to shoot them out. Plus they have these 3 pulley chairs where you sit in the chair and pull yourself up. Depending on how many pulleys there are it's either pretty hard or pretty easy. Then we went to the submarine area. Dinodude and Rocket love going in the submarine. Surprisingly, we didn't go to the water area. That's my favorite place. I could sit there for hours just listening to the water. After that we went to the traveling frog exhibit. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of frogs! Their favorite was the most poisonous. They're the most colorful. We saw Steelers frog and a Michigan frog! The kidspace area was last. Pokemon King and Dinodude are too old to actually go in the kidspace, but they have a little area where they can go to play video games. Obviously, Pokemon King didn't like that! (wink, wink!) After that, they were all ready to go.

Friday we went to the zoo. It was such a nice day, so of course, everyone else had to go too! We saw the crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards, manatee, bats, and a few others. We really wanted to see the new baby elephant, but we weren't the only ones! The line to see it was 2 hours long! We did not want to stand in a line for 2 hours! We also packed a lunch to take with us and we sat down and ate it there. It was a pretty fun time.

I didn't take pictures at COSI (forgot my camera!) But, I remembered to take it to the zoo; however, I forgot I had it until we were almost done. I did manage to take a few:

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T12:08:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful Easter day. We started our day with Rocket finding his basket. He just had to do it before church. Since we're always late for church anyway, we decided to let him find his now and let the other boys find theirs after church. The Easter Bunny hides their baskets and gives them clues inside little eggs that are shaped like bunnies. Since Rocket doesn't read yet, he got picture clues as to where he should look. After church the boys got to hunt for theirs. When that was done, we watched the movie Bedtime Stories that the Easter Bunny gave to us as a family. We also got the Game of Life, which we played afterwards. When that was done, we went to Oma's house to hunt for eggs and have a yummy dinner. All in all, it was a great day, but now....it's back to reality!

Wordless Wednesday-SHHHH!

2009-04-08T09:30:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to My Eternal Companion

2009-04-07T09:15:00.005-04:00

Bond had a birthday yesterday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

We love you so much!!!

He also started his new job yesterday. He was in training most of the day. Looks like he'll really enjoy this job, too. Unfortunately, we still need to keep the paper route. But, oh how happy we are that he has a job. An actual salary job, too. Not commission.

I went to Best Buy yesterday to buy his birthday gift (the new James Bond movie on Blu-Ray). Can you believe...they were completely out! I was so upset. I also went there to get a new keyboard for our mac. Babymoon decided to share his formula with our keyboard. Our keyboard didn't really enjoy that...so he decided to stop working! I took all the keys off and cleaned it thoroughly, but he still didn't want to work. So, I attempted to get a new one at Best Buy. Our old keyboard was a wireless, but for some reason the new wireless ones don't have a number pad. How can a keyboard not have a number pad?! So, I was going to get a wired one, but they were all out. Before I attempted to get what I went there for, I let the boys take turns playing the Rock Band drums. Now, we have that at home, but for some reason they have to play them at Best Buy as well. So, we spent 30 minutes at Best Buy and didn't even get what we came there for!

Bond's mom was taking him out to dinner for his birthday last night, so they stopped at the apple store so he could get the keyboard. They come home with the awesomest keyboard and a brand new wireless mouse. Can I tell you I'm in love?! Thank you Oma!!!

April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T20:16:00.007-04:00

Happy April Fool's Day to all!

I was a little lazy this year. I didn't do anything. Probably because life is so hectic, there was no time to plan anything. But, our house did succumb to 3 pranks this year.

Prank #1

Wally told Dinodude that the new Godzilla 2009 movie was coming out on Thursday, April 2nd. Dinodude loves Godzilla movies, and was more than pleased to hear this announcement. His glee suddenly turned to sadness, disappointment, and rage for Wally. But, he was a trooper about it.

Prank #2

Dinodude really wanted to get Wally back, so we came to the conclusion that Wally must be punished! As soon as Wally got into the shower, Dinodude crept into the bathroom. After all, he did have to brush his teeth, so hearing him in there while Wally was in the shower wasn't at all unusual. When Dinodude was done, he took all the towels (including any washcloths) and Wally's clothes and we stashed them in my closet. Not only that, we took ALL the towels out of the linen closet, which is strategically placed right next to the bathroom. I know how Wally's mind works and I knew he would sneak out to get a towel. Wally was forced to find an alternative. He used paper towels to dry off and then put them around his waist and made for his room like a lightning bolt. He, too, was a pretty good sport!

Prank #3

Bond always sits down to read his scriptures at night, but tonight Dinodude will pull a prank on him. Dinodude put one of Babymoon's toys on the bed, under the covers where Bond reads his scriptures. This bird is no ordinary toy. This bird chirps like a real bird when pushed on his stomach. When Bond sits down on the bed, he will sit on the bird causing him to Tweet!

As I'm writing this, Wally has informed me that the pranks may not be at a standstill. So, as of now, these are the major pranks, but there may be more to follow!

Potter Puppet Pals

2009-03-18T10:25:00.004-04:00

The boys have been watching this all morning. If you like Harry Potter, check it out!

The Vortex

Term 1 Exams

2009-03-13T11:36:00.015-04:00

Last week ended our Term 1. We decided to have an exam week. Originally, I was just going to talk to the boys and have a discussion about what we read about, but they wanted to do some projects.

Here's what Pokemon King accomplished:

This Country of Ours board game-It's about how the Spaniards driving the French out of Florida.

The Heroes: Perseus-This is when Perseus went to slay Medusa and chop off her head.

Story of Inventions collage-Pictures of the inventions we talked about, such as: spinning jenny, waterframe, locomotive, steam engine, steamboat, first dynamo, etc.

Our Island Story collage-The story of how Elizabeth I helped England against the Spaniards

Here's his lego movie for a scene from The Princess & the Goblin-A boy named Curdie fights a bunch of goblins.

Here's Dinodude's accomplishments:

Toads & Diamonds board game-The story of a mistreated girl who kindly helps another person. When she does, she is given a gift that whenever she opens her mouth to talk, diamonds fall out.

Aesop's Fables: The Travelers & the Purse-Two travelers find a purse as they are walking down the road.

Aesop's Fables: The Fox & the Grapes scrapbook page-A fox sees some grapes, but is unwilling to work hard enough to get them.

Dinodude's lego movie on a scene from Pinocchio. This is when Pinocchio finds his father inside the shark. It's a little long.

And here's his lego movie summing up The Story of William Tell-The story of a talented archer who is forced to shoot an arrow at an apple that is sitting on his son's head.

Family Home Evening

2009-03-08T21:29:00.005-04:00

Wally gave us an excellent Family Home Evening today. He led us on a search for a Geocache! If you aren't sure what it is, let me give you a brief overview. A Geocache is like a high tech treasure hunt. People all over the world have placed items in a container and hid the container somewhere. Here's a website with more info:

Geocaching

We went to a park and found two of them. We took a few items from each one and left some items of our own. We got a toy car, army man, toy chain link, toy puppy, and a mini flashlight. We put Pikachu (we have tons of those!), some pokemon cards (again...lots of those!), a pokemon coin (surprise! lots of those, too!), and toy dinosaurs (did you know we had some of those?!). Inside the containers, there's also a notebook where you write the date, your name, what you took, what you put in and anything else you want to write. We saw an entry written by someone from California! One of the Geocaches started in 2006! On that website you can keep track of the geocaches that you've been to. We're hoping that whenever we go somewhere, we'll look up to see if there are any near us and hunt them. I'd never heard of this until Wally mentioned it. He was so excited to try it out and I'm so glad we did.

Fairy Bread

2009-03-02T14:23:00.006-05:00

Dinodude's Poem of the Day for today is:

Fairy Bread

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Come up here, O dusty Feet!

Here is fairy bread to eat.

Here in my retiring room,

Children, you may dine

On the golden small of broom

And the shade of pine;

And when you have eaten well,

Fairy stories hear and tell.

We decided to look up to see if there really was such a thing as 'Fairy Bread.' To our surprise, there really is!

All it is, is buttered bread with sprinkles on it. So, of course we HAD to make some!

Updates

2009-02-23T15:06:00.012-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've been on. Crazy, busy, no time for anything! That's how our lives are right now. So, this might be a long post filled with a lot of new info. Or it might be a short post. It all depends on how much I am able to get accomplished in the little time I have!

UPDATE #1

Rocket got glasses! At first he was sooo excited to get them. He was talking about getting them all the time. Finally, we get them and he doesn't like them :( Part of the problem is that he (unlike everyone else in our family) is far-sighted. So, after talking to the technicians at the eye doctor's, it seems they take a lot longer to adjust than near-sighted lenses do. So, we are constantly reminding him to put them on.

I've got 2 words for you:

Jonathan Lipnicki (from Jerry Maguire-"Did you know the human brain weighs 7 pounds?")

UPDATE #2

We had a wonderful family home evening last night. It was Bond's turn for the lesson. He told us a wonderful story about David Whitmer, Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery. It's too long to repeat, but it was an awesome story! After that, we played a rousing game of Stick Pull. In actuality, I'm surprised we don't play it more often, considering we have a house full of boys!

UPDATE #3

School is going pretty well. It seems like it's taking us all day with all of our daily istractions, but at least we are accomplishing what's on our schedule. Here's an update from the past 2 weeks:

POKEMON KING continues to study Marco Polo and his adventures. We are also reading about Michelangelo. For History, we've studied Martin Luther and Queen Elizabeth I. Last week and the week before, we learned about the electric battery, the electromagnet, and the first dynamo for science. Pokemon King wasn't all that interested in that, but he did retain some of the information. For our Literature studies, we've been reading The Princess and the Goblin, Heroes-Perseus, and Parables of Nature: The Master of the Harvest. In addition to these, Math and English, he's continued quite nicely on Rosetta Stone German. He's finally reached the number portion. I think he's definitely glad he's through with the clown section! He hates clowns!

DINODUDE seems to have a shorter, smaller schedule, but he really enjoys his stories. He's also been studying Queen Elizabeth I along with Pokemon King. His History stories include Androcles & the Lion and King Alfred & the Beggar from Fifty Famous Stories Retold. For his science we continue to read Paddle to the Sea. His Literature studies include Shakespeare's The Tempest, Pinocchio (not the Disney version), How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin from Just So Stories, and various Aesop's Fables. Math and English are a piece of cake for him. He, too is attempting Rosetta Stone. He's not quite as far as Pokemon King, but he is progressing.

Our musician for this term is Franz Liszt. We have been listening to Les Preludes, Liebestraum, and Piano Sonata in B Minor. Pokemon King doesn't like to listen to music during schooltime, so we've been listening to it as we clean up the schoolroom at the end of the day. It's working quite nicely.

This term's artist is Caspar David Friedrich. His works include: On Board a Sailing Ship and Moon Rising Over the Sea. One week we discuss the painting: what colors, textures were used, how it makes us feel, what we think is going on in the painting. Then we stop looking at it and see how many details we remember. The next week we review it a little, then they paint it from memory.

Pokemon King's On Board a Sailing Ship

Pokemon King's Moon Rising Over the Sea

Dinodude's On Board a Sailing Ship

Dinodude's Moon Rising Over the Sea

And here are some pictures that Rocket drew:

So, that about sums up a little bit of what we've been up to. Wally's been staying late after school most days practicing hard for the spring musical. Babymoon continues to amuse us with just being here!

Wally's Lego Movie Trailer

2009-02-13T19:59:00.004-05:00

Wally had to do a project for English. He chose to read "The Three Musketeers" and decided to do a Lego Movie Trailer. So, here it is:

Pokemon King's Blue & Gold Banquet

2009-02-09T10:23:00.005-05:00

Gosh, we've been so busy I haven't had time to update the blog! Plus, we've all been on and off sick for the past few weeks. I'll be working on a school update soon, but right now I'll update on Pokemon King's scouting. They held the Blue & Gold Banquet last week. The theme was 'Roadtrip Across America.' This year Pokemon King got to decorate a cake with Bond.

I thought that was a cool idea. They did a great job, but unfortunately no one ate his cake. Next year we'll be adding candy to the cake. That's a surefire way to get it eaten. I was a little disappointed in the fact that only 2 kids got awards for their cakes. Last year, everyone got an award for things like: most colorful, most inventive, most original, etc. They work so hard on their cakes, I think they deserve something for it. We also had dinner, which was awesome. There were different foods from around the country. Lots of food & very yummy! Wonder what next year's theme will be!

Listening to Rocket

2009-01-26T07:09:00.002-05:00

While I'm waiting for Babymoon's bottle to heat up, I hear Rocket in Babymoon's room singing to him. He's singing, "I Love to See the Temple." There's a part of the song that says, "this is our sacred duty." This is Rocket's version of that line:

This is my secret duty.

Conversation With Rocket

2009-01-25T20:32:00.004-05:00

I just put Rocket to bed a while ago. A few minutes ago I heard him calling me, so I went to see what he wanted.

Rocket (smiling): Guess who's my friend!

Me: Who?

Rocket: Periwinkle! (from Blue's Clues)

Me: Really? That's nice, but it's time to go to sleep.

Rocket: Periwinkle's at his house.

Me: I know. He's probably sleeping.

Rocket (sadly): I miss him. He's on the TV.

Me: I know. You can watch him tomorrow.

Rocket (even more sadly): When's he going to get out of the TV?

Me: I'm sorry, honey, but that's where Periwinkle lives. We just get to watch him on TV.

Poor Rocket seemed even more sad. Now I think I'm sad!

Dinodude's a Sleepwalker!

2009-01-19T21:09:00.002-05:00

Sometimes we'll hear Dinodude or Rocket talking in their sleep. It's always funny to hear the conversations that go on in their minds! Lately, Rocket's been calling out Wally's name telling him to stop it. Not sure what 'it' is, but whatever 'it' is, it bothers Rocket!

Well, last night, I hear Dinodude run down the hall to the bathroom. He was sick the day before, so I assumed he was just going in there to throw up. Then he comes running in our room. (His running was very, very loud!) He goes over to Bond's side of the bed and says, "Mom!" So, I look over and say, "what's the matter?" He runs over to my side, and starts to complain, "why can't I play football?" I said, "What? It's the middle of the night. You can't play football now. Wait until tomorrow." Without a word, he goes running back out of the room and down the hall again. Then, I hear him run back in our room to Bond's side again, then to mine without saying anything. After that he goes running back into his room.

Around 4am or so, Rocket wakes up to come in our bed. I noticed that Dinodude wasn't in his bed. I was a little panicky, but then I thought maybe he just went with Bond to deliver the newspapers. When Bond came home I asked him if Dinodude had gone with him, because I didn't see him in his bed. He said Dinodude was asleep on the chair in the bonus room! Crazy kid! When I walked into the bonus room later, Dinodude shockingly said, "Mom! I went to sleep in my bed, but I woke up here!" He barely remembered anything from the night.

I'm sure it all stemmed from watching the Steelers/Ravens game. But, I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for our sleepwalker!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-14T10:52:00.004-05:00

Is this the same baby? They look pretty similar, but nope.

This is Dinodude...

This is Babymoon...

Scary isn't it?

Get Your Kids Off the Sidewalks!!

2009-01-13T16:26:00.002-05:00

Wally got his temps today. I'm officially speechless.

Things You Can't Do in Public School

2009-01-05T14:25:00.002-05:00

We started back up today. As I sit here feeding Babymoon, I'm reminiscing at how our day has gone by today. I'm thinking of what we are doing and thinking 'you can't do that in public school.'

You can't...
...hang a blanket over your banister to perform a puppet show on Marco Polo.
...go outside on your lunch break to have a Kool-Aid/Water stand.
...do your math in a fort your dad helped you build.
...take a break to hold your baby brother & make him laugh.
...decide what you want to do first.
...tell your 4 year old brother that your math worksheet is mail & have him deliver it to your teacher/mom.
...play pirates and do your assignments at the same time.

...to be continued!