Foster Kittens

I realized recently I had somehow missed blogging about one of our biggest adventures this summer!  In early July, we got a litter of three 3 week old foster kittens from Austin Pets Alive!  The N8 litter, also known as Nico, Napoleon, and Noble were guests in our home until mid-September.

When we first got them, they were tiny enough to fit in the palm of a hand.

They were tiny little balls of fur that pretty much just ate and slept.  But, after a few short days, they began to play!

The most amazing part for us was how Piper took to the kittens.  We don't know her history at all, since she was adopted from the animal shelter as an adult, but we suspect that she has experience as a mother.  She sure knew what to do with the kittens!  Mama Piper would bathe them, sleep with them, and even "nurse" them!  The first time we let them meet, she rolled straight on her side and the kittens latched right on.  I know it was uncomfortable for her, especially since there was no milk to be had (!), but she was such a good mama that she'd let them go on and on.  It was so sweet...and more that a little odd.

But another surprising relationship developed between Griffin and one of our foster kittens.  Griffin is fairly ambivalent toward our pets.  Sure he likes them okay, but mostly he ignores them.  So were were very surprised when he chose a favorite kitten and formed such a strong bond with him.  Nico became his baby, and one was never seen without the other.  And because he was handled so much, Nico tolerated -- and even seemed to like -- whatever attention Griffin showered on him.

Of course, all the kittens had plenty of love and lots of handling as they grew.  Who could resist snuggling with these little guys?

As they grew more and more playful, we all really enjoyed their sillyness.

Although, Piper sometimes might have grown a bit weary of her naughty kittens....

Eventually, the time came to let them go.  In the end, we decided to keep Griffin's special buddy, Nico.  But we wished we could have kept them all and we had a hard time saying good bye to sweet "Noble Bear" and "Sir Poe".  We'll forever remember those little guys, but it does make it a little easier to know that they were adopted into wonderful forever homes.

Napoleon

Noble

Nico

Voodoo Fall Ball

Just as Griffin's season wrapped up, Rhys's began!  The Voodoo has finally played their first two kid pitch tournaments!

The first tournament, the Monster Bash, was played in late October in southeast Austin. For a team that had no experience and not nearly enough team practice, they managed to look pretty good!  The Voodoo lost their first game by a close margin, but then won the rest, winning the championship!  Rhys pitched the semifinal game, and managed to pitch a complete game with only one hit and one walk.  We were so proud of him for staying so calm and relaxed under pressure and with first-timer nerves.  Go Rhys!

Then, last weekend, the Voodoo played their second tournament of the season.  This one was the Blue Santa tournament in Georgetown, and it was even more fun because Rhys's good friend David was playing in it too. We had a lot of fun watching both boys' games, and Avery sure loved hanging with one of her best friends, Aubry. It was certainly the first time I heard Avery cheer when she heard they'd be playing yet another game at the end of a long day!

The Voodoo played really well, but the competition was fierce.  They played in the 10U division, which is for 9 and 10 year olds who are playing their second year of kid pitch.  Our team is made up of 8 and 9 year olds (and even one 7 year old!) who have only played 4 kid pitch games total.  The Voodoo fought hard though, and ended up in the championship game of the consolation bracket (after going 3-1 in the tournament).  Unfortunately, it was a blow out.  But our boys kept their heads high and their sense of humor, and they got through with great attitudes.  

Rhys pitched the first game on Sunday, and after a some big hits in the first inning, he kept his wits about him and pitched a great game.  He managed to stay in and throw strikes for the entire game, which proved to be very important since we ended up in three games on Sunday!  

Crazy Sock Day

Griffin's fall season of baseball wrapped up a few weeks ago with Crazy Sock Day. We have nothing but good things to say about Griffin's baseball season.  His coaches were great; they were very positive, taught the kids a ton, and went above and beyond to make things extra fun. Hopefully the team can stay together in the spring!  But, for now, Griffin is in baseball hiatus.  Basketball is starting soon (which he's very excited about), and Griffin continues to do (and love) gymnastics.

 

Boo!

We skipped our traditional Halloween party this year in favor for a more mellow night of trick-or-treating with friends.  Avery was the Corpse Bride, Rhys was Severus Snape, and Griffin was black Spiderman.

Tales from the Academy - October edition

Another fun-filled month and lots more terrible quality cell phone pictures...

Trying to chunk balls with Peruvian slings they made.

Griffin and his buddies making "cave paintings."

Adventures in archaeology.

Griffin's sugar cube step pyramid.

Avery and Aubry get in on the action.

Co-op friends experimenting with moving heavy "Egyptian pyramid bricks."

Making a mummy!

Griffin's canopic jar for the mummy's organs.

Making paper.

We scrapped Math Club this month in favor of a World Series watching party.

The boys headed to a class on Owls at the Nature Center.

Avery and friends prepare for their debate tournaments with a conference call to an animal rights attorney/professor.

Enjoying time with friends after book club.

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.