Dinosaur Valley

Last weekend we went with our homeschooling group for the annual camping trip. This year, about 20 families made the trip to Glen Rose, Texas to camp at Dinosaur Valley State Park. It was a beautiful park with heavily wooded campsites, a river that drew the kids like a magnet, and, of course, dinosaur tracks.

As soon as we arrived, as the adults started setting up tents, the kids started begging for a grown up to come down so they could swim. They had a blast in the river, despite the frigid water.



Griffin had help from another dad, who was smart enough to bring water-friendly shoes!



After the kids were worn out, dried off, and the campsites prepared, we started a fire for roasting hot dogs and s'mores. Yummmmmm!!



Once everyone was full, the kids felt rejuvinated enough to run around again for a couple of more hours -- this time with glow sticks. Eventually, we wrangled all the kids into the tents and settled in for the night. Unfortunately, it was a long and c-o-l-d night. It dipped down into the 30s. Brrrrrr. Our Texas camping gear couldn't keep up with it and I have to admit it was quite unpleasant. Or maybe miserable would be a better word.

After warming up at the campfire with hot coffee (thanks Marilee and Gary!), things were much improved. Most of the group headed to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park, but we decided to hang out and explore more. Two other families also stayed, so we took turns going on hikes sans children. The men went first, then the women escaped for a long, blissful hike. When we returned, we discovered that the men had spent their time with the kids building a chute in the river for the kids to go down, much like the ones at Schlitterbahn. They got very into this project, and did an amazing job.



We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the water, and spent the evening with hot dogs and s'mores again in front of the fire. And, after endless games of Mafia and glow stick playing, the kids went to bed and the grown ups stayed up way too late swapping stories at the campfire. The second night was infinitely better, since it was so much warmer. In the morning, after playing a bit more, we packed up camp. We stopped in the town of Glen Rose to eat with friends before making the trip back to Austin. All in all, a lovely weekend!





You can find the complete set of pictures here.

Easter '08

We had a nice, low-key Easter this year. In the morning, the kids woke up to find that the Easter bunny had left them each a note bearing their initials. Griffin had instructions leading him to a special Easter surprise hidden in the dryer (a little Automoblox car), Rhys had a treasure map that led him to his surprise (a little toy parachute) hidden in the oven, and Avery had a series of clues and riddles that started in Griffin's pocket and led her throughout the house until she discovered her gift of a long jump rope hidden in the art cabinet. After the various treasure hunts, we went outside to hunt for eggs. As always, the confetti eggs were the biggest hit, and since I kept crouching down to take pictures, I was the biggest target. I think next year the Easter bunny would be wise to not bring so many!

After a morning of gorging on Easter candy, we packed a picnic and met friends at the park for an afternoon of eating, visiting, jump roping, playing on the playground, and playing both basketball and kickball.

Yee Haw!

We also went to the rodeo this month. The petting zoo was fun, but the highlight for the kids was the carnival. So after stuffing ourselves full of junky carnival food (the food was the highlight for me), the kids took the rides. I was nauseous just watching, but it didn't seem to phase them! You can see more fun pictures from the rodeo here.

HSM on Ice

A couple of weeks ago, we went with friends to see High School Musical on Ice in San Antonio. We got a great deal on tickets through our homeschool group, so we decided to make the trek. The kids had a blast, but I left feeling just like I felt when we went to ride on Thomas the Train. I am just appalled at the level of marketing to children. I think our four kids were the only ones not carrying armloads of cheap plastic junk and Disney apparel. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was much more over-the-top than I had imagined. Thankfully, it didn't even occur to the kids that I might purchase more than a box of popcorn, so it wasn't an issue. They focused on the show, and they thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I have to admit that it was impressive to see the performers able to skate, dance, and lip sync at the same time. As someone who can barely stand on ice skates, it amazes me!

State bound!

On Friday, Avery competed at the PSIA district academic meet. She participated in two events and placed in both! She won 1st place in Ready Writing and 2nd place in Spelling, which qualifies her to do both events at the state meet in May. Avery is just thrilled!

Happy 3rd birthday, Griffin!

Griffin is so excited about turning three. He's been saying over and over since his birthday party yesterday, "I'm THREE now!" We had a small family celebration, complete with a "choo choo cake" and hot dogs cooked out on the grill. Today we celebrated the actual day by going out to dinner with Papa and Ronnie. Griffin has been singing "Happy birthday meeeeeee!" all day, and first thing this morning he asked for fire on a leftover piece of cake. I think he's got this birthday business down now!

Taking the "home" out of homeschooling...

I often think the name "homeschooling" is misleading, because all the homeschoolers I know are on-the-go much more than they are at home. It is definitely true for us at any given time, but we've had lots of special opportunities come up lately. We've been dashing from one great activity to the next for about two weeks straight, starting with the field trips to San Antonio and Brenham.

The morning after we returned from Brenham, Avery had the chance to take a 4 hour writing seminar with bestselling author Julie Kenner. In addition to being an author, Julie homeschools her two little girls, and offered up this unique opportunity to our homesschool group. As an aspiring and avid writer, Avery jumped at the chance. I sat in on the seminar, and I was so impressed! Julie taught the kids all about the world of publishing, and went into depth about the mechanics of writing and editing books. Avery and her friend Maya were enthralled, and each took pages and pages of notes. Each participant also submitted a writing sample to be critiqued, and the feedback has been very helpful and interesting to Avery. Julie compared Avery's "ominous" writing style to the Series of Unfortunate Events books, which Avery has not read yet. She's excited to get her hands on one, so she can see for herself!

Just two days later, we were lucky enough to see the storyteller Jim Weiss perform. I've always said that I'd be willing to listen to Jim read the phone book, so hearing him tell fabulous stories from history and literature in person is an amazing experience. As if that wasn't enough, we also got to stay after and attend a 2 hour storytelling workshop. Nothing like learning from the master himself!

Just a couple of days after that, Avery and her friend Maya spent the afternoon with my aunt Lisa, another published author. She took the girls to lunch then back to her house to see her office and learn the tools of the trade first hand. She described what she does to research and plan a book, and showed the girls story boards that she uses to plan plots. Avery and Maya were able to ask questions and Lisa gave suggestions for problems that came up in the girls' writing. How inspiring!

In addition to all of these special activities, Avery and Maya are taking a writing class about heroes in literature. It has been such a great experience so far. Not only is it fabulous material taught by a wonderful teacher, but it's been a great chance for the girls to learn time management and responsibility. Maya's mom and I have turned it completely over to the girls, and they're learning how to manage assignments and preparations on their own. Each girl had a bit of a rough start learning time management and organization, but they're figuring it out on their own and Avery has now discovered the benefit of reading and starting her essays before the last minute. (This is a lesson that I should make an effort to learn too!)

We also took a field trip with our science co-op to see the dinosaurs at the Texas Memorial Musuem, and yesterday, we met up with them to see dinosaur tracks by the San Gabriel River in Leander. The kids had a blast frolicking in the river and came home completely soaked.

Oh, and I missed a hilarious photo opportunity when our Shakespeare group got together on Friday and staged Shakespearean swordfights -- complete with fake blood! They hid ziploc baggies full of "blood" in their clothing, and pretended to slay each other, splashing blood everywhere. I think it was just as fun to watch as it was to participate!

Road trip

A couple of weeks ago, we went with some friends on a two-day field trip. We went to San Antonio to see Slim Goodbody perform (and I use the word "perform" loosely). Our friends' Nana was kind enough to let us all stay at her house in San Antonio. She was also nice (or brave) enough to allow Courtney and I to dump the five children on her while we walked the neighborhood, trolling for goodies at the neighborhood garage sales.

The next morning, the kids were up bright and early -- which, of course, meant I was too. After packing everything up and refueling (mmmm...Starbucks), we headed to our second field trip destination: Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham. The winery is owned by the parents of some other friends, and they invited us to tour the winery, learn the chemistry behind wine-making, roast marshmallows, and taste some wine (grown ups only, of course -- the kids got to taste some fresh grape juice). The highlight for Griffin was the hay ride we took to get to the creek for frolicking and snacking. What could possibly be better than tractors and marshmallows?

After the winery, we stopped off at a monastery in Brenham that breeds miniature horses. Strange? Yes. But they're so darn cute! We were tempted to throw one in the van and bring him home.




More pictures here.

Finished!

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Whew! Floors are finished, and we've finally cleaned the inch or so of dust that was on all of our belongings from the floor installation. We're thrilled with the way they turned out! You can see the whole set here.

Pioneer Farms Homeschool Day

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Last month we went to visit our local living history farm for Homeschool Day. We met some friends there and had a blast exploring, enjoying the animals, and making butter.

I miss my...

This is Griffin's way of saying he wants more of something. For instance, when he finished his bowl of strawberries, he says, "Mama! I miss my strawberries." Then he hands me his bowl for a refill. Now we have all adopted this phrasing, and I'm guessing it will be in our lexicon forever.

Other child-inspired phrases that we still use all the time:

This one, other one, new one, different. Or if she was feeling particularly decisive that day, just diff one. (From Avery at age 18 months, when she'd stand in her closet to pick out her clothes for the day. We use it all the time when picking anything.)

"Der" in place of "the". Example: I'm going to have der pancakes. (Courtesy of Rhys, who replaced every "the" with "der" until about a year ago.)

I love Landers!!!! (This one was adopted a couple of months ago after leaving our friends' house, and Griffin spent the 20 minute car ride screaming it at the top of his lungs. You'd be surprised how often this phrase can be thrown into our regular family conversation.)

Never do dat! (Again, courtesy of Griffin and his larger-than-life temper.)

Have it the checkcard? (Avery, at about 18 months, would ask this every time we'd leave the house. We still ask each other this as we're leaving home.)

Candy!!! (Said with utmost excitement and fists thrown into the air in a victory pose. This phrase came from Griffin's excitement and the abrupt stop of his tears when Bill attempted to ease his sorrow's with a little sugary goodness. No matter the cause of the excitement, we will often thrust up our arms and say "Candy!" if something is going our way.)

Where we've been

.

I've been unusually quiet lately, and that's because we've been drowning in our home improvement project! We're getting all new floors throughout our house, which not only involves painting ever last square inch of our house, but also packing up everything but the furniture. This last little detail has been a huge undertaking for a house with untold numbers of books and toys! But, we managed to accomplish it, and we've arrived at Floor Day. Today they will come and begin laying hundreds and hundreds of square feet of new wood laminate flooring. I can't wait to see the change it will make. Phase one of this project -- new tile in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room -- was done a couple of weeks ago, and the difference is amazing! I'll be sure to post some before and after pictures once it's all finished.

Christmas re-cap

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We had several wonderful family celebrations, ate too much yummy food, and got some really fabulous, thoughtful gifts. The grandparents went a little over-the-top this year, but I will admit, their gifts were the biggest hits! The kids have been obsessed with the Harry Potter books on CD that they received, and have alternated playing inside on the Wii and playing outside on the trampoline. I don't think in their wildest dreams they could have imagined such a Christmas!

I also have to admit, Bill and I are enjoying all of these gifts just as much as the kids! All of them have made for some great family activities. And Bill and I have been known to jump on the trampoline after the kids go to bed, and we have also burned the midnight oil many a time playing the Wii! (I have the tennis elbow to prove it!) Oh, and I've never enjoyed washing dishes as much as the day that Rhys brought his cd player and left Harry Potter playing while I cleaned the kitchen!

Horseback Riding

Since Avery and her best friend Maya have birthdays one day apart, we decided to have the girls celebrate together. They wanted to go horseback riding, so we set up a two-hour lesson for them to learn about horsemanship and ride. They loved it!! Avery is ready to abandon all of her other activities to take horseback riding lessons.

We all enjoyed being at the stables. They had a treehouse for the boys to play on, and a sweet, oversized Lab puppy to cuddle. The boys were even allowed to ride for a couple of minutes at the end of Avery's lesson! It all went wonderfully -- except the brief moment when Avery's horse spooked when I took a picture of Griffin on his back. But all was well, and Griffin thought it was fun!

We're back!

After a month-long hiatus spent recuperating from Christmas, I guess I should share what we've been up to! We had a wonderful Christmas, but it always takes me a while to regroup after the excitement of the holidays. We're finally feeling like we're comfortable again in our usual routine, and the kids are glad to be back in all their normal activities and co-ops.

Avery is still heavily involved with swimming and loving it, and Rhys is taking a bit of an extra-curricular break before spring sports start up again. He has decided to try soccer again this spring and wait until the fall to play another season of T-ball. I think soccer will be good for him, since he spends hours at a time at home running in circles around the living room (with a Star Wars ship in hand, making shooting sounds). The boy has endurance that won't quit! The kids are also beginning practice for a production of Midsummer Night's Dream, and I've been amazed at how committed they are to learning their lines.

I spent the weeks around the holiday very busy with work (ok, maybe it was only 15 hours a week, but it was more than I was used to!), and now I'm glad to be back to my usual 8-10 hours a week of working. I usually work one weekend afternoon a week, and since Bill works from home, Avery has taken on a lot of responsibility while I'm gone. She supervises her brothers and makes dinner every week. It's so nice for Bill and I both to finish working and not have to make dinner! She's become quite the cook, and she really likes to do it!

Taking advantage of the cold weather and doing math by the fire.

Luminations

Posing with Frosty at the Wildflower Center's Luminations.

Mad scientist

Rhys, wearing his safety goggles on the day our chemistry co-op made root beer.

Picture day

Today I was getting the kids ready for their Christmas portraits, and Rhys was pretty grouchy about the whole thing. After he got dressed and I helped him brush his hair, I exclaimed, "Oh, Rhys! You look so handsome!" To which he flatly replied, "No, I don't. I look like a pig in a wig."

Ummmmm...how do you respond to that?!

Loving her new iPod!

Happy 9th birthday, Avery!

I can hardly believe it, but my baby girl turned 9 today! As you can see, she loved her birthday present -- a new iPod. We had a pretty low key today, and celebrated this evening with pizza and brownie sundaes.

Elf Yourself

Have you seen this website yet? It's hilarious! My cousin put in the kids' pictures and sent us the link.

Sleepover!

(Or, in Griffin-speak, "seep-OBER!") The kids had a slumber party last night. They watched an episode of Planet Earth (which is their new obsession and totally amazing), played a board game, then settled in Rhys's room in sleeping bags for the night. It's so nice that Griffin is old enough to be included as part of the pack. I know he's thrilled when he gets to do what the big kids do. And now that he sleeps at night and doesn't destroy games, he is welcomed in the group!

Native Days at the Zoo

The Friday before Thanksgiving, the kids and I went to the zoo in Waco for their Native American Day. The kids got to do some Native American crafts, have their faces painted, taste some fry bread, and see all sorts of Native American artifacts. They also got to pet a hedgehog, which was really neat.

The best part, however, was a crazy Gibbon that we saw -- and heard -- when we first entered the zoo. He was hanging from a tree, bellowing to anyone that walked by. I've never heard such a noise, and the kids and I were enthralled. We even called Bill so he could listen via cell phone because it was so incredible. It was hard to tear ourselves away from him. We watched him for a good 20 minutes before we explored any more of the zoo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Bill had to work in the afternoon, but we managed to have a little holiday gathering in the morning. We had my dad, sister, and grandparents over for a breakfast of pumpkin pancakes and to watch the Macy's parade. In the afternoon, we went to my mom and Doug's house to have a more traditional meal.

Then yesterday, I experienced my first ever Black Friday shopping. I have come to the conclusion that people are crazy. And unfortunately I'm one of them. I found myself lined up at Target with a couple of hundred other people in 40 degree weather at 5:45 in the morning. If that's not insanity, I don't know what is. We have been on a quest for a particular hard to find gift for the kids, and I thought that by going before the crack of dawn, I could secure said item. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with this plan.

Later, after some time decompressing and a good nap, we had a Thanksgiving re-do. I made all of our favorite traditional foods and we managed to have a good meal that included Bill (who was working from home). The highlight of the meal was the pecan pie that Avery made. Mmmmmm!

"What's that mean?"

This is Griffin's favorite question. I think this is the precursor to the "why" stage. He uses "What's that mean?" in lieu of "What's that?" so he asks it about 9 million times a day. He is truly interested, though, so it's quite endearing.

Brotherly love

Today I walked into the living room to discover Rhys holding Griffin in a bear hug on the floor. "Aww, that's nice!" I commented as I passed by. But, being an experienced mom of little boys, it didn't take long for me to consider that maybe the "hug" wasn't as innocent as it appeared. I began to wonder if Griffin could actually breathe. So, I turned around and said, "Wait...it is sweet, right?" Rhys responded with, "Of course, Mama! We're just play fighting. We're not actually trying to kill each other."

Chicago

We just got back from a week in the Windy City. And, yes, it lived up to its name! Actually, the weather was beautiful the first few days, but it got quite cold and windy during the last half of our trip. Despite the cold weather, we had a fabulous time! Bill had to go for work, so the kids and I were left to amuse ourselves. Luckily, there is no shortage of things to do or see! Every morning after breakfast, we'd hop on a different bus and head to new and exciting locations. Here's a little recap:

Thursday 11/1: We left for the airport at 4:30 in the morning. Our flight left at 6:40, which was a little too early the morning after Halloween! But the kids were so excited about our trip that they didn't seem to mind. The flight there was pretty uneventful. Avery read, Rhys listened to a book on CD, and Griffin sat in his carseat some, climbed over me and Bill some, played with Bill's computer, read a bunch of books, played with his cars, snacked, and tried to run up and down the aisles a little. I always forget how interesting it is to fly with toddlers!

Once we got to Chicago, we checked into our hotel, grabbed a quick bite to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, and headed to the Field Museum. Since this was Bill's only day with us, he got to choose the destination, and he was most excited to see the bones of the famous Sue, the world's largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton. Besides the dinosaur, there were exhibits with animals from all over North America, Native American artifacts, an underground exhibit that "shrinks" you down to .5 inch tall and takes you underground to explore the dirt, and a great family play area. Then we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and went back to our hotel to get some much needed sleep. (A quick side note -- our hotel room was full and since Bill had made the reservations when he was planning to go alone, our room had only one king sized bed. How, you ask, did five people fit in one bed? We all slept across the bed, and we all fit! Ingenuity at it's best!)

Friday -- We woke up bright and early -- 5 am to be exact (thanks, Griffin!), so we were all able to shower and dress in order to walk with Bill to get breakfast before his meetings started. After breakfast, we hopped on a bus to the Museum of Science and Industry. This museum was the highlight of our trip. It was amazing! We toured a U-boat from WWII, played with farm equipment, explored the circus exhibits, tried to figure out the riddles in the Eye Spy displays, toured a coal mine, learned about energy, oohed and aahed over Colleen Moore's fairy castle, and spent over an hour experimenting in the Idea Factory play area. After five hours, we were worn out! Despite having only seen about half the museum, we headed back to the bus. Griffin napped a bit while we rode back and waited for Bill to finish for the day. Griffin woke up feeling refreshed, so we went to eat dinner and stopped by the American Girl Store.

Saturday -- After a quick breakfast, we went back to our hotel to rest a bit before we went out for the day. After a quick nap, we took the bus down to Lincoln Park and went to the zoo. The weather was beautiful, and we even ended up shedding our coats as the afternoon wore on. After the zoo, we wandered around the park for a while, then boarded the bus to go meet Bill again for dinner.

Sunday -- After breakfast and quick regrouping at the hotel, we headed out to the Art Institute. This museum was the one I was most excited about, as it houses art by just about every famous artist from every time period. Unfortunately, my sons were less enthralled by the museum. Rhys liked finding pieces that he recognized, but mostly, he liked whining and hanging from my arm. Inexplicably, as we were leaving the museum, Rhys told me that the art museum was his "favorite place and Chicago!" and asked me if we could go back another day!

After the art museum, we went to Millenium Park. Wow, that was one amazing park! The front of the park has several different modern art sculptures, including the famous Bean (actually titled Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor). We all were completely taken with this piece. It's so interactive, and we spent a long time playing with our reflections and photographing from many different angles. Towards the back of the park, there was an outdoor audio installation called Arctic: Soundstage. It was an audio track of sounds you'd hear in the Arctic, like cracking glaciers, bird calls, whale sounds, and more. After listening for a while, we took the footbridge across to a playscape. The kids spent a good hour running and playing with other kids until it started to get dark and we needed to go meet Bill.

Monday -- When we went to breakfast, we realized that the weather had taken a turn. It was cold! We suddenly understood how Chicago got nicknamed "The Windy City". Unfortunately, we had planned this day to go to Navy Pier. We spent some time in the morning at the Children's Museum (actually, a very small part of the morning, as it seemed that every local preschool and kindergarten had dropped off busloads of children there, and it was way too chaotic for us). After a lunch of famous Chicago (veggie) hot dogs, we went out to explore the pier. I attemped to get some pictures of the kids on the pier, but it was much too cold and windy for Griffin, who refused to get out of his stroller. That is, until he saw the ferris wheel! He was definitely game for that. The views from the ferris wheel where spectacular, but a little scary (for me). After Navy Pier, we decided to do a little shopping to thaw out. We went back to the American Girl store (Avery had been mulling for a few days about what she wanted to buy) and we went to the Lego Store, which was a huge hit too. We actually took Bill back there a few days later because the kids said he just HAD to see it.

Tuesday -- We woke up to another cold day, and we chose to spend it at the Shedd Aquarium. The Shedd is positioned right on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the views through the glass walls were spectacular! We saw a dolphin show, lots of fish, and a lizard exhibit. It was a neat aquarium, but as I'm no fan of fish, it wasn't a highlight for me.

Wednesday -- We decided to take a vote on our favorite outing and revisit it during our last day. It was unanimous, everyone wanted to go back to the Museum of Science and Industry. We got to see all the exhibits we'd missed the first time around, like the trains, the human anatomy section, Main Street, etc, as well as spend another hour or so in the museum's play area, and revisit our favorite parts of the museum.

Thursday -- We packed up and headed back home on Thursday morning. We really had a fabulous trip, and the kids had a great time. Griffin was pretty worn out by the last couple of days, and while he was fine in the museums, he got more and more difficult on the bus and in restaurants. Bill nicknamed us the MBCU (Mobile Birth Control Unit) because he claims that anyone that got within a 100 yard radius of us would voluntarily sterilize themselves on the spot. Ha! It really wasn't that bad, except on the plane. The ride home was NOT fun, but we made it!

You can see the whole set of Chicago pictures HERE.

Halloween park day

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

The Friday before Halloween, our homeschooling group had their annual Halloween party park day. The kids dressed up (except Griffin, who chose not to) and played and snacked for hours. Griffin's favorite activity was the donut game, which entails catching a swinging donut without using hands.

Halloween!

A (reluctant) firefighter, Artemis, and Anakin Skywalker had a great time trick-or-treating. We missed having everyone over for our usual Halloween festivities, but since we left for the airport at 4:30 the morning after Halloween, we knew we couldn't be up partying until the wee hours.

After refusing to wear several different costumes we'd selected for him, Griffin finally agreed to don the firefighter jacket, but of course, wouldn't wear the hat. Besides the costuming, Griffin really enjoyed Halloween. He was thrilled to go from house to house, always saying "Trick-or-treat" and thanking everyone that gave him candy.

Potter paint

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Avery painted everyone's faces a couple of days ago. She and Rhys had Harry Potter glasses and scars painted on, while Griffin sported Karkaroff's pointy little beard and moustache.

Maker Faire

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Maker Faire. It was amazing! There was so much to see and try, and we left totally inspired and excited to make our own things.

You can see more pictures here.

Pumpkin patch

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Griffin, age 2.5

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Griffin is so much fun right now! We've finally gotten through a lot of toddler difficulty and he is just such a joy. He can reason and understand so much, and he's becoming quite verbal. His favorite activity is playing lightsabers or swords (much to my chagrin), and he loves to try to keep up with older boys, like Rhys and his friends. He is finally sleeping through the night with some regularity, although he balances it out by waking up for the day at 5am! Also, as of last month, he stopped nursing with some gentle nudging on my part.

My baby is growing up. It's always such a mixed blessing. While I'm glad for a little more independence, I miss that little baby he used to be. I'm trying to focus on all the good stuff that comes along with kids getting older -- easier travel, more spontaneous lifestyle, not having a toddler stand on the table while older children are trying to focus on their work (I'm still waiting for that to end). I think Avery and Rhys are enjoying having Griffin be more a part of their tribe now, although it does come with one more opinion, and therefore, more arguments. I can see in the future that Rhys and Griffin will be close buddies. They enjoy the same things -- they just need to get to the point where they can happily share!

The latest and the greatest

Big news!! Mom and Doug tied the knot! I have a new stepfather, and I couldn't be happier. He's such a great addition to our family, and the kids are thrilled to have a new grandparent (whom they will now call "Doc"). Congrats to Mamar and Doc!!

No other big news to report. We've been enjoying resuming our normal schedule after the summer break. Co-ops and parkdays are back into full swing, and the kids are glad to see their friends more regularly again. In fact, Avery is glued at the hip with her best friend, Maya. After having them call each other about 50 times a day, Maya's mom and I finally had to put some parameters on their phone useage. We had the girls write a persuasive essay, which expressed their "need" to be on the phone 24/7. After our rebuttal, we managed to arrive at a compromise: no phone between the hours of 8am and 1pm and a maximum of 2 calls from each girl a day (to offset the occasions when the phone rings ten times in a one hour period). The girls aren't thrilled that there are any phone rules at all, but they are tolerating them well. I can only imagine what it will be like when they're teenagers!

Speaking of enjoying friends, I've managed to get out a lot lately with mine! Just this week I went on a Mom's Night Out boat cruise on the lake. It was such a great time -- friends, water, wine, bats...what more could you ask for?

Under the category of Big Changes, Bill has started working days for the first time in five years! We're all loving it -- it's great that he can be home every night. Ultimately the plan will be for him to work a normal 8-5 weekday schedule, but I'll be sad to leave his current 3.5 day work week schedule behind!

Other than that, the kids are getting very excited about Halloween coming. Avery has been constant in her plan to be Artemis, but Rhys changes his mind every time I ask him. I need to start working on costumes soon, so I'll have to pin him down. Griffin has decided he hates the dragon costume we bought for him, so back to the store it goes, and I think now he'll just have to pick from our dress up bin on Halloween. I'm sure he can come up with something he'll want to be.

Rhys, the wordsmith

Rhys has reached the age when he says funny and/or insightful things on a daily basis. I need to carry a pen and paper with me at all times, so I can jot them down as he says them. Here are some of the gems that I can remember from the past couple of weeks:

When I came home from an all day work training and was exhausted and grouchy, he said while stroking my arm gently, "Mom, I think you need to go in your room and take a rest. You seem very angry. I think you need a nap."

When I asked him how much of his book club audio cd he'd listened to while I was gone, he replied with, "Oh, a lot." When I pressed him on exactly how much he'd heard, he said, "I think about two gallons."

Also, his vocabulary is also developing quickly lately. He often begins sentences with words like "perhaps" and says things like, "The door is ajar." I think all the audio books he's been listening to are making a big impression on him.

Speaking of audio books, he got the first of the Harry Potter books on CD for his birthday, and he's listened to portions of it every day since then. His favorite chapter of the book is the Quidditch chapter (Griffin even replies with "Quidditch" when anyone begins with "Chapter Eleven..."). Rhys has listened to that particular CD so many times that he can recite the first page or two of the chapter! It's hilarious to hear him with his version of a British accent. But his extensive knowledge about the book can be a little irriating when we read aloud. Anytime I misread anything, he knows right off the bat. "Mom, it's supposed to say __________!" But it's ok, I'm just glad he's so enthusiastic!

Bottoms up!

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Rhys is 5!!

Last month, we had a Harry Potter birthday party for Rhys. I will admit that we got a little carried away. Avery and I had a great time planning, so it took on a life of it's own. We had everyone come in costume or we had extra robes for kids that didn't have magical garb. We also supplied everyone with wands. The kids had to complete four courses: Potions (with all sorts of juices and carbonated drinks, colored Kool Aid packets, Pop Rocks and gummy worms), History of Magic (Harry Potter trivia), Defense Against the Dart Arts (dragon pinata), and Divination (guessing the birthday gifts as Rhys opened them). Then, after a feast of pb&js and cake, everyone got a chocolate frog to take home.

You can see more pictures from the party here.

Hello out there!

Wow, it's been almost two months since my last blog entry! How on earth did that happen?! I guess I need to try to sum up the last couple of months. That should be really easy, especially considering I can't even remember what happened yesterday!

Let's see...under the category of Big Events: My darling little Rhyscake turned FIVE! I can hardly believe it. We had a super fun but way over-the-top Harry Potter themed birthday party for him. (Avery and I got a little carried away in the planning.) The day after Rhys's fifth birthday was another big milestone -- Bill and my 10 year anniversary! We took a family anniversary trip to Dallas and Fort Worth for a couple of nights. We had fun visiting various museums and hanging out at the hotel pool.

Another noteworthy event was my first night ever away from the kids! I was only gone for 24 hours, but I felt quite refreshed when I returned. I went with four other friends to Dallas (the week after our family trip there) to the Rethinking Education conference to hear John Taylor Gatto give the keynote speech. It was such a neat experience. I've been a fan of his ever since I began researching homeschooling, and it was great to see him in person. (We even stormed the stage and got a picture with him!) We had a hard time tearing ourselves away from the conference -- there were so many interesting seminars and great people. I wish we could have stayed! But, alas, lots of children were awaiting our return -- and lots of hubbies that needed to get to work. So we crammed as much conference experience as we could in our short stay.

On the activities front, Rhys just started t-ball again. His team appears to be the worst in the league, and the final scores of the first two games were 18-6 and 18-1. Fortunately, Rhys is totally oblivious to the score keeping, and I'm doing all I can to keep it that way. He is also taking swimming once a week while Avery does her swim team practice (she goes 3-4 times a week). Avery has several friends on the swim team with her, so she is really loving it.

I'm still working on finding the balance between home and work (I think the absence of blog posts can be considered proof). I'm still only working about 8-10 hours a week, but I'm finding that the things that I let go are the extras -- posting, cooking, cleaning. You know, the nonessentials. Ah, well, maybe one day I'll get the balance right....

Family time

Yesterday we took the kids to the Blanton Art Museum specifically to look at their collection of Greek and Roman art. They have a great collection of casts, as well as Greek painted vases, and "MONEY!" (Griffin's excited exclamation when he saw the gold coins). As we were walking up to the museum, I was asking the kids what sort of symbols they expected to see see in the art (like a lightning bolt for Zeus, owl for Athena, etc). Rhys loves this kind of quizzing game, so I expanded on it and started asking them to tell me everything they knew about the different Gods. Rhys really enjoys mythology, but I was surprised at just how much he knew. Avery has been reading a lot on the subject recently and has turned into our resident expert. When I got around to asking Avery about Ares, she summed him up nicely, stating bluntly, "Ares is a total punk." Ha!

After the art museum, we decided to walk across the street to the Bob Bullock Museum to see what was playing at the IMAX. We bought tickets for the African Adventure 3D film, then called Nonnie (who works across the street) to invite her to meet us for lunch in the cafe. As if two museums, a lunch out, and an IMAX movie weren't enough, when we got home Caroline came to babysit so Bill and I could go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's rare that Bill and I are both home and off from work on the same day lately, so we took full advantage of this opportunity. What a fun day!

Harry Potter Week

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Anyone that knows us knows that we are all huge Harry Potter fans. I credit the first Harry Potter book as being what really set Avery on the road to being the avid reader that she is. When she first was learning to read, it was a bit of a chore, and she didn't enjoy practicing. Her whole attitude about books changed when she set her sights on reading Harry Potter. She read book 1 in December of her Kindergarten year and hasn't turned back since. I can't even begin to count how many times she has read and reread the whole series.

Besides my appreciation of the Harry Potter books for inginiting the spark in Avery (and millions of other kids around the world), the books have really captured all of our imaginations. We have spent hours as a family talking, debating, and speculating about Harry's future. It amuses me to hear of people fearing the books and declaring them evil -- these same books that have brought families together, fostered a love of books in kids and grownups alike, oh, and that pesky little fact that the main theme running through all the books is love triumphing over bad. But, I digress....

So, with great excitement, we have been counting down to the release of the final installment. In the past week, we saw the movie for book 5, went to Avery's Harry Potter discussion/writing group, and made our final predictions. On Friday, we went to the midnight book release party with friends and managed to get our book home by a little before 1 am.

We spent all day Saturday taking turns with the book, and I ended up staying up until 2 am to finish it. Avery was not thrilled that I finished first, but was appeased when she realized that she wouldn't have to share the book with me anymore. She finished it this morning. Next up is Bill, who is dying with anticipation (and fear that we'll give something away before he finishes it!).

Retired, at age 8

It's been almost two weeks since Avery's last day of gymnastics. Her decision to quit was not an easy or lighthearted one, in fact, it was the hardest life decision she's had to make to date. She agonized for weeks, and we're really proud of her for coming to the decision she feels is best.

Since the beginning of the year, gymnastics has seemed to have lost its luster for Avery. Whereas she used to gladly miss other activities to go to practice, in the past several months, she's been feeling like she's missing out on too many other things. She was up to 13.5 hours a week in the gym, and the hours only increase with each level. She really loves the sport, so we looked into other gyms to see if we could find one that offers less hours. Unfortunately, at all the other gyms we looked into, Avery would be a level higher than what she was at her current gym. So the hours would increase to even more than what she was doing. When it became clear that another gym wasn't an option, Avery had to decide whether she'd finish out the year and compete Level 4, or just call it quits now.

Avery worried and talked and thought about her options for weeks, until I finally suggested that she try making a pro and con list. She did, and her list was overwhelmingly in favor of quitting. The only drawbacks were that she would miss her friends and that she would be sorry to not get to compete, which she really loves. But, as she pointed out, "Those five meets really don't seem worth all those months spent at the gym."

I told her that she didn't have to go back for a last day if she thought it would make her too sad, but she really wanted to say goodbye to all of her teammates. She seemed to have a really good practice and really enjoyed herself. She was a bit teary in the car on the way home, but she wasn't regretting her decision. Now that it's been almost two weeks, she can definitely say that she's glad she's not going anymore. She misses the actual gymnastics part though, and really hopes to join a regular class in the fall. She's determined to keep both her skills and her fitness level, and she has been practicing and conditioning daily!

We're all excited to see what the future will bring for Avery. I'm personally relieved that she won't be spending her childhood in the gym. I'm excited for her to try some new things when she's ready. For now, though, she's really enjoying her time off. She hasn't had this much free time in years!

The sun! The sun!

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

After weeks of rain, the sun finally came out today! The kids were beyond thrilled and spent several hours outside on the playscape today. Avery has been lamenting the waste of these "few, precious hot days" (apparently she doesn't remember how long Texas summers are). It probably won't take but a few days of sun and 95+ degree temps for her to remember!

It's all Greek to me

Today Avery set down the book she was reading, turned to me, and said with a sigh, "Boy, I need to catch up on my Greek!"

I'm thinking this may need to be an outsourced subject. Greek isn't a subject in this homeschooling mama's repitoire!

*Avery was reading The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. She finished it today and loved it...perfect timing for tomorrow's book signing with the author at a local Barnes & Noble.

Neck! Neeeeeck!

Wow. When did my baby get old enough to manipulate me? Somehow he went from barely saying anything to knowing just the right thing to say in no time at all.

Griffin has learned that just one little word yelled at the perfect volume elicits quite a response from people. Now, anytime I'm trying to stop him from doing something he wants to do (say, for instance, writhing on the floor of HEB), he simply needs to yell the word "NEEEECK!!!" at a blood curdling volume. It is especially powerful when paired with rubbing one's neck and making gagging sounds. It makes mom immediately stop whatever manhandling she's attempting to do, and it makes all adults in a 20 yard radius whirl around to witness what sounds like child abuse in action.

Similarly, he has also decided that anytime something bad happens, he should blame it on his brother. For example, yesterday he tripped and fell against the coffee table. Poor Rhys wasn't even in the room, and Griffin still shrieked, "RHYS!" at the top of his lungs. Thankfully, good-natured Rhys just laughs about it.

The Kitten Formerly Known as Aria

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

After much deliberation and much anguish, we have finally settled (resettled?) on a name for the kitty. For some reason, Aria never stuck, even though we all liked it. We waded through baby name book after baby name book, and finally came up with *the* name.

Drumroll please.....
...introducing...
Kyra Skye!

Of course, as typical in our family, her given name is rarely used. She already has a million nicknames, including KiKi, Kyra-boo, and most frequently: Kitty Face. It's a wonder that we even bother to put so much thought into names!

Kyra Kitty has just the best little personality. She's just so mellow and cheerful. (Yes, a cat can be cheerful!) Our biggest challenge has been keeping Griffin from driving her crazy. He loves to carry her around (and thankfully has finally learned to pick her up properly; before we would discover him holding her by the neck. Eeek.), and loves to put her in strange places. He often takes her on the "bus", which, in his mind is the bathroom cabinets. Kyra is amazingly good natured about all of this and really doesn't seem to mind!

We don't know Kyra's history, but we suspect that she might have been weaned a little prematurely. She has adopted a black and tan stuffed dog as her own Mama, and when she sees it, she goes running for it. She immediately collapses on top of it, kneads her paws, and begins to "nurse" on the stuffed dog. Oh, and she purrs so loud that you can hear it across the room. The first time that Griffin saw Kyra "nursing" her stuffed Mama dog, he came running for me. "Mama! Mama!" he yelled excitedly. "Kitty nursing...happy," he said with a sigh. Fine, fine. I had been working towards weaning him. Who taught Griffin the art of the guilt trip?

Cartwheel-a-thon

Cartwheel-a-thon
Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

Last weekened, Avery did Capital's annual Cartwheel-a-thon. She collected pledges to raise money for this year's meets. They hold the Cartwheel-a-thon at the mall, and it's always fun for the girls to have a crowd watching as they cartwheel into oblivion. Avery managed to do 189 cartwheels in five minutes. Not too shabby!

Water fun

Originally uploaded by Lexy L.

On Wednesday, we had our monthy Nature Club outing. This time, we drove to San Marcos to go tubing down the dams at Rio Vista Park. It was fun. Scary, but fun. The water was surprisingly swift, so the moms there made a chain at the bottom to catch the kids before they went whooshing on down the river to God-knows-where. After a few hours of this, we were ready to go and find a less stressful activity. So, we hopped in the car with our friends, and drove off in search of new adventure.

Now, when our friends invited us to carpool with them, it was with the plans to play at the river, then go eat lunch at a little restaurant on the square in San Marcos. When I was invited, I joked that when she was thinking of who would be up for this last-minute restaurant trip, she must have considered which of her friends spends money with reckless abandon. And, immediately, I popped in her head. Well, I didn't let her down. Instead of eating out and heading home, we found ourselves pulling into none other than...Schlitterbahn!

After quick calls to our hubbys from the parking lot with instructions not to hold dinner, we began water adventure #2. We only had about 4 1/2 hours at the park before they closed, so we dashed from ride to ride in attempt to do as many as possible. The kids had the "best time EVER" and can't wait to go back. And, to tell you the truth, Mom can't wait either!