Avery's weekend

I'm glad to say that we survived Avery's jam-packed weekend.  She woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to a debate tournament in Houston.  The topic is one near and dear to her heart: animal rights.  She and Maya have spent many an hour planning and replanning their arguments (and trying to come up with a way to argue against animal rights).  She did well at the tournament and is looking forward to another tournament next weekend!

Avery, out the door by 7am!

Then on Sunday, she started with the fall performance with the Austin Youth Orchestra.  They played really well, and she had a really good time.

On the stage at Austin High.

As soon as she left the stage, we jumped in the car to hurry to Avery's fall costume recital.  About two weeks ago, Avery decided that she hated the piece she'd been practicing for the recital for the past five months, and she chose another piece.  She decided to play a Shostakovich piece that she figured out by ear and really liked playing.  Her teacher, Elizabeth, also asked if she wanted to play a piano piece, so Avery decided to play a piece she composed called "Butterflies."  She played both beautifully.

Avery, dressed as the "Corpse Bride."

AYO

This year, Avery is a member of the Philharmonic in the Austin Youth Orchestra.  She's really enjoying it, and I've been really impressed with the group!  They had their first performance last weekend, when they played on the mezzanine at the Long Center before the Austin Symphony Orchestra's performance.

Biebered!

I was going through some pictures today, and I realized that I never posted about Avery getting "Biebered" when we got home from our vacation in Florida!

So it all started when Avery decided to play a practical joke on Courtney, her best friend Maya's mom. Courtney is quite the crafter, so Avery decided to send her an email that said something like, "Check out this amazing craft blog!" The trick was that the hyperlink didn't lead Courtney to interesting new crafts; instead it led her to a Google images page full of photos of guinea worm disease.  (If you don't know what that is, I'd highly recommend not googling. It's a water-borne parasite that veeeeeery disgusting.)

Courtney isn't one to take things lying down, so she immediately started brainstorming her revenge.  The perfect opportunity came up with our Florida trip, as Courtney's family planned to stay at our house while we were gone and they were getting their floors re-done.  They knew that Avery wasn't a fan of Justin Bieber, so they came up with the perfect idea.  Courtney, Maya, and another good friend Aubry, did an amazing job Beibering every corner of Avery's room.  They put pictures all over her walls and ceiling, in her books and picture frames, left a "signed" copy of Justin Bieber's book, and much more.  It has been about four months, and Avery still finds tiny Justin Biebers in her room!

On Avery's bedroom door...

Avery was more than a little shocked -- and horrified.

September Homeschooling Round Up

We've had a busy month!  Here are pictures of some of the things we did this month:
(For the record: Rhys really does have more than one outfit!)

Visiting the Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry to learn about Texas's role in the Civil War.  (No, tanks weren't used in the Civil War!)

Checking out the planes at Camp Mabry.

Trying out different ways to make a stretcher with materials they used in the Civil War era.

Bandaging each other, Civil War style!

Visiting The Curtain Theater, Austin's own scaled down version of The Globe.

Making a light bulb after learning about Thomas Edison.

Having fun at Jump Street with the book club group!

Visiting the Bob Bullock History Museum on Homeschool Day.