Not all of our recent fun has been Christmas has related!

Family Marksmanship
I mentioned in the previous post that Daddy and Papa Bear went hunting the first morning of our visit. Daddy actually shot two deer within 20 minutes of arriving at the deer stand! (We have a lot of venison in our future! Yum.) The girls were pretty excited about his success and wanted to go see. They helped a little with the gutting process, but they probably would have been even more interested if it hadn't been so cold outside.

Little Cap couldn't quite
stomach the action. She
bundled up in one of Papa
Bear's coats and kept
her distance.

Later that afternoon, we got out the girls' BB guns and targets. Bug, Daddy, and I were the only ones interested, but Bug proved to be a really good shot!

Art Museum
One morning the girls and I headed to the local art museum to see some of the exhibits we missed on our last visit. The temporary exhibit turned out to be the work of a French glass maker who produced during the early 1900s. He created some impressively beautiful jewelry and other more practical objects--perfume bottles, cigar boxes, dinner and glassware, etc. Part of the exhibit was also a "please touch" section about the glass making process.

We spent the rest of our time in the ancient art exhibits--mostly in the South America room and the Egyptian room. They have mummies! The girls were fascinated by a video about the mummification process and then getting to examine the sarcophagi and other tomb treasures themselves.

Zoo Day

Happy train riders! (Bug brought a camera and got some really
good animal shots this visit.)

We found a perfect day to visit the local zoo! The zoo was practically empty, and in this nice cool weather (sunny and 60 degrees) all the animals were active! We decided to ride the train first, and Lion was thrilled to spot the peacock along the track (her goal for the day had been to find him--mission accomplished). We also discovered it was story time day at the zoo. We went to listen to an animal tale and got to pet a tenrec. When we left story time, we could actually hear the lion roaring! We've never even seen him awake before! He was hanging out in a perfect viewing location, and the rest of the Africa exhibit animals were out and busy too--giraffes, zebras, meerkats, etc. We even spotted the rock hyrax for the first time.

Bug took this picture of the zookeeper holding the tenrec--
basically, a hedgehog from Madagascar. So cute!

Here's a video of the lion roaring. (I haven't had much luck
posting videos lately, so I hope it works!)

They kept busy with A Christmas Carol themed coloring
sheets while I read aloud.

Happy Advent!

I've always wanted the season of Advent to be Christ-centered, simple, and joyful. Last year Epiphany arrived and I felt like we'd flown through the busyness of the month without having time to breath and enjoy the peace of the season. This year I wanted to find the time. To begin, I cancelled our regular lessons for the Advent and Christmas season. This decision was met with much rejoicing!

The girls made a gingerbread village! (We found a cheap
kit that entertained the girls for 2 hours with adorable results.)

Confession: I still counted most of December as half days, because there are so many educational opportunities to be found in our Christmassy activities. We still gathered in the living room after breakfast for an Advent version of our family lessons. For our Bible study we did Christmas ADVENTures in Prophecy (a quick little daily study that looks at Old Testament prophecies and where they are fulfilled in the Gospels). This was followed by singing a Christmas carol together (one out of the hymnbook, not "Frosty the Snowman"). We wrapped up this time by reading from one of my literature selections for the month: A Christmas Carol, "The Gift of the Magi," and The Nutcracker (by Maurice Sendak). For our lunchtime entertainment, we traded out our math and science videos for Christmas classics, which led to a fair amount of literary comparison activities since among our videos we watched the Muppets' Christmas Carol, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company's Nutcracker, and Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer (I happened across the original 1939 book at the library, which we read first). Our after-lunch read-aloud time was also filled with Christmas books, both our own and selections from the library.

"It sounds like Santa's workshop in here!"
(crushing candy canes for peppermint bark)

Even outside of those "lessons," we found plenty of teachable moments within our errands and activities: Shopping for Christmas dresses meant finding appropriate and flattering attire that was within our budget and machine washable. Shopping for Christmas presents meant thinking about what others would enjoy, staying within a budget, and handling the actual transaction with the store clerk. Some of the gift giving also involved some practical handcrafting and art skills. Then, of course, there's the math, science, and practical life skills involved in baking. Not to mention all the great life skills they practiced while helping me clean the house and prepare for hosting Christmas!

That sums up the daily basics. Now for the highlights!

We spent the first weekend in Advent at Nana and Papa Bear's house. Saturday morning, Nana, the girls and I headed to the local Christmas festival featuring Christmas craft stations for kids, a holiday market, food trucks, live music, and folks in costume with a Whoville theme (although Santa, Elsa, and Anna made an appearance too). Daddy and Papa Bear met up with us after lunch (they were hunting; more on that later) to peruse another holiday market and watch the local Christmas parade while munching on freshly made kettle corn. Yum!

Everybody's festive for the Christmas party!

The next morning we headed home to enjoy our own first Sunday in Advent tradition: cranking up the Christmas music and pulling out the decorations! The girls even completed their own tree--from assembly to lights to ornaments--with no adult assistance. It looks fantastic! They also helped decorate our Chrismon tree and distribute our 20 nativity scenes. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We all attended Daddy's command Christmas party. Daddy and I had a great time hanging out with his coworkers and their wives, but the girls definitely thought last year's party was more fun. The  childcare worker's philosophy was not to decrease the chaos, just be the one in charge of it. It was apparently so overwhelmingly noisy that when I went to the restroom I found Monkey near tears. I gave her a long hug and a pep talk, while Bug ran interference and kept the childcare worker from interrupting. The girls survived, but I think it's the first time we've been told our girls were "mellow girls who really stuck together" in a tone of voice that clearly disapproved of those traits.

This year we also did what I hope becomes a new annual outing: One night after dinner we put a Christmas CD in car, drove around looking at local Christmas lights (there were some crazy impressive ones!), and ended up at Krispy Kreme for donuts hot off the rollers. Mmmm....

We couldn't attend the annual Christmas recital that Lion's piano teacher always organizes; however, another teacher had room for Lion in her recital, so Lion could still perform the pieces she'd been working so hard on. This year she played "Jolly of St. Nicholas" and "Angels We Have Heard on High." She played beautifully!

The girls participated in their first big production Christmas pageant! Monkey and Bug were narrators, and Lion was one of the innkeepers. They were adorable, and they even remembered all their lines. They all did a stellar job! To add to the excitement of the evening, both sets of grandparents got to come! We decided to take advantage of the opportunity to celebrate Lion's birthday a few days early and Potato's birthday a few days late. They both got to open their presents, and we all consumed chocolate cupcakes (for Lucy) and cranberry cake (for Potato).

Free at Last!

Science class is in session!
(Non-Newtonian fluids are so much fun!)

Monkey and Bug's last of school was November 8! They are so excited to be free of the classrooms and back to doing lessons at home. The withdrawal process went very smoothly, and I already have my confirmation paperwork back from the school district.

Their last week of school involved several days off: Tuesday was election day, and their school is a polling place. Thursday was a half day with an orthodontist appointment (nobody's in braces yet) in the morning so they didn't go; and Friday was a day off for Veteran's Day. Monkey seemed particularly relieved to be free of school; her first afternoon without homework found her doing two of her favorite things that she hadn't had time for in a couple of months--curating our gallery wall and practicing drums. Both girls also spent a lot more time reading for fun: Bug zoomed through the first four Jedi Academy books, and Monkey was engrossed in a kid's graphic novel called Rapunzel's Revenge. (They've both read many more books since then!) And, of course, our craft supplies exploded all over the study! Zoe and Lucy created some Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, and Monkey created several pictures using newly discovered stencils from an old craft kit.

Monday, November 13 was our first official day back at doing lessons at home, and the first order of business was to find some workable space in the study. Next we re-organized Monkey's and Bug's lesson binders and discussed our new curriculum and routines (I'll do a separate post on these later). We're falling back into this rhythm of life easily, and everyone's a lot less stressed!

Yellow Belts!
All three girls tested for--and received--their yellow belts in Muay Thai on November 17. These belts are a long time coming, and the girls were so excited (and really nervous). They were eligible to test last month, but we had a conflicting commitment. They did a great job!

Kru (Thai for "teacher") ties on Monkey's new belt.
(Bug and Lion are the students 2nd and 3rd from right.)

Happy Thanksgiving!
This year we accepted an invitation to join the crowd at Aunt S and Uncle J's for Thanksgiving. Thursday was full of feasting, hanging out with family (the girls thought their cousin S was so much more fun this time!), meeting new people (other guests we didn't know yet), watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, and playing a new version of Trivial Pursuit. On Friday, our family and Uncle K headed into Washington, DC to visit two locations the girls have never been: the Building Museum and the Library of Congress. Highlights from the Building Museum included canned goods sculptures in the courtyard, exhibits about building methods and materials in American history, vintage kits of paper buildings, a modern flexible tiny home (movable walls and counters, etc.), and a hands on exhibit for building with Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and various sizes of foam blocks. After lunch we started a tour of the Library of Congress, but after hearing a brief history and viewing the Reading Room, we decided to branch off on our own.

We spent extra time viewing a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, early maps of America, and an exhibit about female graphic artists. Saturday was mostly a lazy day of hanging out and playing games--except that Daddy, Lion, and I decided to go for a run from Ladybird Johnson Park to the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial. The memorial is on a wooded island featuring hiking trails in addition to the monument itself. I didn't even know it was out there, but it might be my favorite DC memorial now!

Happy Halloween!

Tigress (from Kung Fu Panda), a pirate, and a jack-o-lantern

We actually had two events to attend this year! First, our church hosted a fall festival that involved a petting zoo, crafts, games snacks, a glow-in-the-dark dance party, trick or treating through the pre-k classrooms, and of course several hundred adorable kids in costumes. The girls had a fantastic time and came home with quite a haul of candy. The second event at our local Y was a bit of a letdown. For the girls Halloween is all about the candy and the costumes. There were a few fun games, but no candy. A costume contest had been advertised, and Monkey and Bug were pretty excited about participating. Then the powers that be cut off the contest at 8 years olds. Tears were shed. We assured them that we thought it was ridiculous and that they were very cute.

Visit to Grandma & Granddad's House
It was a short visit--a mere 36 hours--but we crammed in a lot of fun! We arrived Friday night, and most of us spent a lazy Saturday morning. I chatted with Grandma and worked on cross-stitch while the girls played in the basement. Meanwhile, Daddy went bow hunting (he saw several deer but didn't have a good shot on any of them). We reconvened for lunch at the second annual food truck rodeo downtown. We had about 20 food trucks to choose from and live music to listen to. So much good food! After lunch, the girls walked down the riverwalk trail with Granddad to check out the new exhibit at the science center. The exhibits theme was how things move over land, sea, and air. Topics included engines, aerodynamics, gravity, air pressure, friction and hands-on exhibits let them do things like experiment with pulleys and ride a hover craft. They arrived home in time to join Grandma and I for a Christmas card making party (a friend of hers sells crafting supplies). We each got to make four beautiful cards and had a great time playing stamps, embossing, and die cutting. That night we braved a mild drizzle to cook out dinner in the fire pit. Everybody loves s'mores! The next morning we saw them off to church and headed home. Whew!

Nana & Papa Bear's New House
Nana and Papa Bear moved to a new house this summer, and they are much closer to us now (at least until we move again). We took advantage of a three day weekend to get in a quick visit and see their new place--complete with 10 acres of woods. The girls had a blast walking in the Nana and Papa Bear's woods, riding the tractor, exploring a neighbors property, and just getting to be with Nana and Papa Bear again! We also made our way into town to explore a cute little downtown area and stop for ice cream on the way home. We also got to visit their new church (the girls were amused to discover they're using exactly the same Sunday school curriculum as our church), and enjoy a quiet afternoon before heading home.

Other Highlights

• Lion's been participating in a homeschool gym class this fall, which she loves! She's made a handful of friends and has had a ton of fun doing exercises, playing games, and learning a few sports as well as health and wellness information. Icing on the cake: there's a yoga class scheduled for the same time slot. Perfect!
• Monkey and Bug have been both amused and frustrated with their public school music program. They are in fourth and fifth grade respectively, and in our local school's fourth graders learn drum, which Monkey's been playing for 3 years, and the fifth graders learn violin, which Bug's been playing for 3 years. Monkey experienced her first class with a whole roomful of beginner drummers. "No one can keep rhythm! It was terrible!" (holds head in hands dramatically) Bug is dreading the day her classmates are permitted to attempt to play their violins (so far they've just been learning about the violins.)
• Lion and I got to visit the zoo with some friends who just acquired their membership. We toured the Asia exhibit, and played on the "playground," a field with a small hill scattered with the kind of manipulatives the animals in the zoo get to play with. So much fun!
• Lion and I also took advantage of a membership swap and

  

  Classic children's museum pic!

  got to visit the local children's museum for free! We couldn't find any friends to go with us, but we had a great time anyway. We completed literally every activity in the museum in only an hour and half (we've spent several hours there with the Monkey and Bug along, and still didn't do everything). She's a speedster!
• Our church hosted, and therefore our family participated in, Rise Against Hunger. Our church raised $11,000 and packed 40,000 meals to be distributed to victims of the recent hurricanes. Monkey and Bug spent the evening diligently weighing bags of rice and beans, and Lion helped me seal them shut before we needed her to step in as a runner, taking finished bags to the people packing them into boxes. We did this for 2 hours, and they were troopers! 
• Wednesday Night Church is finally back! (It didn't restart until October.) The girls were so excited to be able to see their church friends a second time during the week. They've been doing lots of fun activities (watching a magician's show, painting pumpkins) and beginning choir practice again. 
• Lion, Potato, and I got to meet Grandma for lunch at Cracker Barrel. The big girls were very disappointed that they had to miss out, but I assured them we'd do it again once they're home schooling again.

Yes, this about sums it up:
Monkey is not a happy camper. Bug is anxious
but willing. Lion thinks this is a terrible idea,
but is really glad she's not going too.

Off to School They Go!

We decided to send Monkey and Bug to public school for a couple of months this fall. While it has been a worthwhile experience for them, it also served to confirm that home schooling is definitely the right choice for our family. We enrolled them for two reasons: partly, as a cultural experience so they know firsthand what life is like for most of their peers, but mostly as a kind of boot camp for practicing independence and building character. With those goals in mind, this experience has definitely been a success. Here are the things they're learning during this time:

• They're learning to function for 7 hours straight without Mom or Dad sitting on the sidelines. Of course, we have a ton of after school discussions about how to handle different (or difficult) situations and people, but they are doing the actual handling on their own without being able to drag me over immediately for back up.
• Monkey, a highly sensitive introvert, is learning the coping skills necessary to survive and even thrive in consistently less than ideal situations (much louder and more structured than she prefers). We're so proud of her--she has had only one meltdown that occurred during the first week of school. Since then, she's even handled adverse circumstances like getting sick and getting covered in mud after a fall without losing her mind. (Funny thing: she loves when her class is punished with a silent lunch. She came home with a huge smile on her face--"Mommy, they were so quiet! It was wonderful!")
• Bug is practicing leadership skills by helping those around her keep up. One of her teachers tasked her with keeping a special needs classmate on track. At first being given this "extra work" annoyed her until we reframed it as a leadership opportunity (something she's been wanting). Since then, she even volunteered to help a new student from Puerto Rico get oriented--getting her acquainted with classroom routines, showing her around the school, and introducing her to people at recess.
• Both girls are getting a crash course in time management and prioritizing. With limited free time they're learning to choose their activities wisely. Monkey in particular is learning to set aside her daydreaming tendencies when necessary in order to focus and work efficiently. She's slowly regaining some of her weekday free time. Some days though her teachers really have assigned more work than can be accomplished while also making time for the eating, sleeping, and physical activity necessary to stay healthy. That's when we have to discuss prioritizing which subjects to study and which can safely be put off for another day.
• Monkey is learning how to speak up for herself to get her needs met (rather than wallowing in confusion on the verge of tears). With lots of encouragement from home, she's also found the courage to raise her hand to voluntarily answer questions in class. (She claims to feel indifferently about the experience, but based on the gleam in her eyes and the grin on her face when she told me, I think successfully speaking up in front of the class was a huge confidence boost for her.) 
• Bug is also learning how to get her own needs met and doing so diplomatically (she's not naturally endowed with whole lot of tact or empathy). Recently, she worked up the courage and found an appropriate opportunity to discreetly request that one of her teachers move her away from a particularly disruptive classmate that she was being assigned to sit next to in all her classes. We were very pleased not only that she realized making that request publicly would hurt her classmate's feelings, but also that she wanted to avoid hurting the feelings of someone she clearly dislikes. 
• Recess has also been challenging for both girls, but more so for Bug. For Monkey the struggle was finding the mental and emotional energy to handle making friends. For the first week or so she avoided human contact during recess because it was the only time during the day when she didn't have to pay attention or interact with people. Once she learned to handle the stress of a school environment, she easily settled into playing with a good group of girls. While Bug can easily make friends in normal social situations, facing schoolyard cliques of kids who've known each other since kindergarten proved to be a whole different ballgame. The most popular recess pastime is four square; however, Bug's competitive nature has kept her from enjoying that activity (she doesn't think she can have fun unless she's winning; we're working on it). She'd rather just sit and chitchat with other girls anyway, but she's discovering that she doesn't have a whole lot in common with them to talk about. (In our family, we entertain ourselves by reading books, playing outside, creating art, etc. Her peers apparently entertain themselves by watching YouTubers and hip hop dance videos--not exactly conversation topics she can contribute too. She doesn't have an interest in spending more time in front of a screen; she just wishes there were other kids like her.) 
• Speaking of being different from her peers, Bug has finally learned that she is indeed exceptional! I suspect as a result of her competitive nature and being born a twin (and therefore always lumped in with someone else), she has long yearned to have something special, something that made her stand out from the crowd. Daddy and I have tried to convince her without success that her ability learn quickly and her wide-ranging curiosity were her exceptional qualities. However, after spending a couple of months in a classroom of kids a year older than her (because we had her skip a grade), achieving grades consistently 100 or higher, and still having her teachers recommend her for the gifted and talented program, I think she finally gets it. Fortunately, this self-awareness has so far resulted in a healthy sense of identity and self-worth rather than an inflated ego. (The principal also offered to let Monkey skip a grade, but Monkey decided she didn't want to.) 
• They will definitely both come home with a greater appreciation for the home schooling lifestyle! Monkey is not a fan of being forced out of bed before daylight. They both miss the free time to pursue their own interests, and are not fans of all the time spent simply waiting around in lines or waiting around because others are misbehaving. Comparing the two lifestyles academically, Monkey misses the ability to learn something, then move on--especially in her favorite subject (social studies); she's getting tired of being taught the same information over and over again. She also misses having the energy to read for fun. (Her class really is assigned an inappropriate amount of busy work for homework. We were at least able to convince her teachers to trade out some of her busy work for time spent reading whatever she wants as long as she logs what she's reading.) Bug is getting tired of all the emphasis on testing--it's taking the fun out of learning for her. She stated with exasperation that "at home we learn things because they're useful or interesting; at school we're just learning things for a test!" She's also getting frustrated with occasionally being taught misinformation (her science teacher clearly doesn't understand all the concepts she's teaching).

Meanwhile, Lion misses her sisters terribly! A few weeks ago, she stated matter-of-factly (with a hint of sadness), "Mommy, I've been talking to myself a lot more lately." Even when the big girls are at home on a weekday their time is almost entirely consumed by homework or extra-curriculars (the latter at least Lion is also involved in; they just don't have time to play). Academically though, this has been a good season to spend much more one-on-one with Lion, and she's had many more opportunities to work on her reading skills. She'd come to kind of stand still in math because her math skills had outpaced her reading, so she was getting stuck and extremely frustrated with word problems--the majority of the tasks she has left to do in her Khan Academy Early Math mission. Her reading has hugely improved, and she's been so excited to discover the wide range of books she can read entirely on her own now!

All around it's been a very profitable couple of months, but we are all ready to bring this season to a close and return to home schooling. This experience also made Daddy and I realize that while we started our home schooling journey for academic reasons (and it does offer so many educational benefits), that's not the primary reason we're going to continue home schooling. For us the true benefit of home schooling is the ease with which we can live out our priorities of faith and family. While home schooling, passing along our beliefs and worldview happen naturally as we discuss a wide variety of topics during lessons at home and prioritize Bible study, and we can rearrange our academic schedule to accommodate opportunities to build our relationships with each other and our extended family (rather than the other way around). That being said, we look forward to seeing you all throughout the holidays!

We managed to pack in some great things during that last week before school started!

Welcome to the Family, Penny!
That IOU Bug got for her birthday was for her very own pet hamster! She had been begging for one for months. We decided she had demonstrated enough responsibility, and she had done the research: she thought through what she wanted out of a pet (small, soft, able to be played with, easy maintenance), she talked to Daddy and I to get our opinions, she visited the pet store to see animals and get brochures, and she checked out books from the library. She decided she definitely wanted a hamster. We bought her the hamster, whom she dubbed Penny, and the basics. Bug bought a hamster ball and chew toys, and she received an additional cage and lots of tunnels and fun hamster things from Aunt A. Bug loves Penny! She's been very good about keeping her fed and watered and her cage clean, and has had great fun getting her out into the hamster ball to wander around the house. In fact, Penny developed quite a sense of adventure and so far escaped three times--once making it all the way upstairs to Potato's room before getting caught!

Local Art Museum
We discovered a real gem in our local *free* art museum! The girls were immediately impressed with how fancy it was (marble floors, balconies, big central staircase, "It even has a coat check!"). Monkey grabbed a map and with her in the lead we bee-lined for the contemporary art. (Pollock, Lichtenstein, Rothko, etc.). She loved it! Bug next requested the Renaissance art (well, she requested art with lots of detail, more realistic, and that's where we ended up). We also visited a small, hands-on kids section. We spent almost two hours there, and certainly didn't see all the art! (Home schooling win: across the exhibits the girls got references to the Bible, Shakespeare, and Greek mythology.) On our way out we also took a turn through the museum shop, and Lion added a fun flip book to her Degas collection. We'll definitely be going back!

Hello Uncle K!
We spent Labor Day weekend visiting Uncle K at his house on a small lake. We had a great time in Uncle K's tiny armada: a fishing boat, a kayak, a canoe, a sailboat (although we didn't have enough wind to try it), and a paddle boat borrowed from the neighbors. We also decided to take a couple of short hikes to explore the woods around the lake. We lost the trail on our first attempt (it's not very frequently used) but managed to return safely to the road. After finding the road, however, Lion fell in the lake and learned firsthand why we insisted on swimming lessons. She was
unhurt, but a bit shaken and quite soggy. Our second attempt at a hike was much more successful and we made it all the way around the lake. After this hike, we all jumped in the lake on purpose (wearing appropriate swimsuits and water shoes). The girls had a blast jumping off a floating dock in the middle of the lake and floating around with a couple of full-size lounger floaties. Other highlights of the weekend included visiting the local farmers market, playing several games of Clue, and attending church with Uncle K on Sunday before making our way home.

Beach Week! 

The girls had been looking forward to this week all summer! And it did not disappoint. One of the first highlights was finally getting to meet their cousin C. She's a cutie! As usual Monkey and Bug celebrated a birthday at the beach! They chose the dinner menu and dessert, and open presents (Bug primarily got an IOU. More on that later). They got to spend tons of time at the beach and in the pool, where a number of new skills were learned: getting in and out of the breakers and open-water swimming, building sand dribble castles and bridges/tunnels, diving into the deep end (an actual 8-foot deep end; local pools only go to 5 feet), and diving for rings then for pennies in the deep end. Taking a swim in the outdoor pool after dark was quite possibly one of the girls favorite memories of the trip.

On your mark! Get set! Go!

Visiting Jockey's Ridge Sand Dunes was another highlight! Lion was in her own special runner's heaven sprinting up and down the massive dunes. We also brought a kite to fly and stayed long enough to watch a beautiful sunset. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper visit to the dunes without a stop for ice cream to eat at once and fudge to bring home. The girls also tried a new thing this year: a mechanical shark! It was great entertainment for everyone! Monkey in particular did a fantastic job and made it all the way to level 3 (increase in speed and changes of direction with each level; names on the leader board only went up to level 4).

This year we also decided to spend a day exploring a living history museum about an hour away. We got to step aboard a replica ship from the 1600s and hear about life on the journey to the colonies from a few "sailors." We also watched demonstrations from a carpenter, blacksmith, and an arquebusier (a man trained to use an early rifle). There was also a "gentleman" on hand to discuss clothing, armor, and colonial life. The museum also had a mock up of an American Indian village from the time and informative signs all about their way of life, but sadly, no living historians to inhabit it.

Fast forwarding through history a few hundred years, we also visiting the Wright Brothers' Memorial. The museum is under renovation, but the park ranger gave one of the best ranger talks I think we've ever heard (and that's saying something--we've been to a lot of state/national parks!). After hearing all about the Wright brothers, their lives and work, and the park itself, we toured the grounds to see replicas of the buildings that would have been their during the Wright brothers test flights, markers indicating take offs and landings, statues representing those present at the original flight, and of course, the memorial itself.

First Baseball Game

We met up with some of Daddy's coworkers, and took the girls to their first baseball game this summer. There are decidedly no baseball fans in this family, but we had a great time anyway. We happen to go on the weekend featuring a Lego play station in the vendor area of the stadium (building race cars, creating pictures, constructing buildings, and admiring Lego statues). They also thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks during the 7th inning stretch and the ice cream we splurged on shortly after.

On your mark! Get set! Go!
The girls are preparing to race the Lego cars they created

Busch Gardens

Spending the day at a European-themed amusement park totally counts as geography, right?! We had a great day at Busch Gardens, and the girls got to go on roller coasters for the first time! We unintentionally threw the big girls into the deep end on this one, when Monkey and Bug hopped on the first one we came to. The line wasn't bad yet, and it didn't look too intimidating. What we missed were the two loops out of our line of vision! Oops. Bug declared that she did NOT like,  roller coasters, but we still managed to talk into trying a few others. She did enjoy the Mach Tower, though. Monkey enjoys coasters but was struggling to process the difference between scared and thrilled (when she got off she would say she didn't like it, but she had a big grin on face and cheerfully got on the next one). Lion LOVES roller coasters, but sadly she was only tall enough to ride one of the real ones (she rode it twice, and went on the kiddie coaster as many times as we would let her). In addition to the many rides we went on we ate some tasty food and poked through a few shops. Besides having tons of fun, it was also a character building experience for the girls: Monkey and Bug faced their fears, and Lion practiced patience and processing disappointment. We did not, however, end up with any pictures of all this fun. You'll just have to imagine it.

Hello, Nana!

Nana and Papa Bear moved this summer and are now only 3 hours away! Nana took advantage of this is August and came for a weekend visit. We did our seasonal clothing shopping for the girls, went antiquing, and just enjoyed some time hanging out. (Nana, I have no pictures of this weekend. How is that even possible?!)

Welcome to the Family!
We got to spend a weekend at the end of July visiting Aunt S, Uncle J, and the girls' new cousin S! The girls spent a fair amount of time playing in the finished basement (a favorite location), but they also got to help out with S when we sent Aunt S and Uncle J out for a well-deserved date night. The girls each got to hold him and help feed him (they declined to help out with the diaper changing--who can blame them). They also recited nursery rhymes for him, read him picture books, and laughed at all his silly faces.

Academic Highlights

• We really slowed down this summer and mostly did "half days" of lessons. It was a highly popular choice!
• Monkey and Bug did an introduction to cursive unit. We weren't trying to get them good at it (we'll get to that at a later date). At this point we just wanted them to be familiar with the letter forms and reasonably able to read it.
• We completed science experiments out of a fun workbook. In the process we learned about the scientific method, osmosis, states of matter, condensation, and weather.
• Bug is a fifth grader! She was already grade levels ahead in reading, working ahead of schedule in math anyway and decided to put in a bit of extra work to get through fourth grade early. This summer she took the fourth grade standardized test and passed with flying colors!

Cousins at Grandma & Granddad's House!

We spent a long weekend at Grandma and Granddad's house in August when Uncle P, Aunt S, and cousins R and K came to visit! (They live really far away, so this is a big deal.) For this visit Granddad had acquired a small arsenal of water guns, which the girls loved! As usual the girls had so much fun playing with their little cousins. The other highlight of the weekend was visiting the local science center. We watched a National Parks documentary in the planetarium, which is especially fun when we can comment "We've been there!" and "Remember when we . . . " throughout the film. We also toured the butterfly garden (so many pretty butterflies and flowers!) and an old caboose.  

Hello Again!

I'm well aware that it's been ages since I've posted. Sorry! I've been taking notes about our doings and taking pictures along the way, but somehow actually writing never made it to the top of the priority list. The good news is that I have prioritized other things recently that are necessary to my own well-being--things like yoga classes, reading devotional books, journaling, future planning for homeschooling, and conquering that mountain of filing that's been glaring at me for weeks (ok, maybe months). I'm hoping over the next month or so to play some catch up here. Let's start by going way back to July:

VBS: Hero Central!

The girls had a blast at vacation Bible school this year! The theme was Hero Central, and they learned about being a hero for God by doing good and seeking peace and about attributes like courage, wisdom, and hope. Also, the girls had the opportunity to wear every superhero shirt in their closet and their capes. They learned Bible stories through skits by the youth group kids, made crafts, sang songs, played games, and ate snacks while getting to hang out with friends from church every single day! So much fun!  

Bug and Monkey making puff paint creations with friends

Lion during game time 

Look! I was there too!
Rocking a silver superhero cape, so my kindergartners could keep track of me.

Alarm Clock Dissection

One of our alarm clocks died recently, and Daddy decided it was the perfect opportunity for a little hands-on science exploration. They broke it down as much as they could and along the way they discussed input and output devices, power sources, circuits, etc.

Campus Visit
That's right, the girls made their first college visit! Actually, they tagged along while Potato and I checked out a local college he is now attending. These girls were troopers for a campus tour that I think lasted a couple of hours. Thank goodness for a tour of the cafeteria and a stop for free drinks from the soda fountain. After that, they were most intrigued by getting to see inside a typical dorm room. We also reminisced about when preschool Potato tagged along on my campus visits and threw up all over Grandma. Good times.

Fairy Garden
This was one of Bug's projects this summer. She bought all the pieces and I helped her select and transplant a holly seedling, a wild strawberry plant, and a bit of moss from the backyard. The holly and strawberry plant sadly didn't survive the air conditioner breaking down, but we've planting a different unknown plant in their place that's doing well so far.

Swimming Lessons
We were a little concerned about swimming lessons on day one, when the instructors failed to do an assessment and simply put all three girls in the very beginner class. Responses from the girls: "That was SO lame." "It was a baby class!" Fortunately, another mom with kids the same age was also in the same boat: our girls can swim; we just want them to be better. We talked to the instructor, and the next day he took them back to the lap pool, actually assessed them, and decided he would do a level 4 class for all of them. Much happier little girls!

We quickly made friends with their classmates (another military family who lives 2 minutes from us!), and hung out a few times after class--once at the outdoor pool and once we checked the girls into child care so Miss D and I could go to a yoga class. A good time was had by all!

We have swim necklaces!

And yes, they are all much better swimmers now. In fact, Monkey and Lion passed the swim test and earned their necklaces and their freedom! They can now go anywhere in the pool without me (as long as I'm at the pool) including down the water  slides. Their instructor marked them all as ready for level 5 next time. Technically, he said Lion didn't quite master every skill, but based on her improvement from day 1 to day 8 and her sheer determination to keep up, he decided she'd be better off moving up to level 5 than redoing level 4.

Our little drummer has a full kit now!
She's thrilled with the electronic kit--besides
having more than just a snare, she can also
adjust the volume at will or put on headphones
and play anytime she wants.

Happy Independence Day!
The biggest excitement of the 4th of July was that Daddy had a four day weekend! We spent two of those four afternoons at the pool, and the girls had a blast chasing Daddy around the pool, being launched across the water, practicing hand stands underwater, and diving for rings. Lion even learned how to pick up rings from the bottom of the 5 foot section!

We decided to see our fireworks early this year. We found out about a concert happening Friday night featuring fireworks afterward. We skipped the country music concert, but instead went to a friend's house for snacks then walked down to the beach--great view with no crowds. Somebody streamed patriotic music on their phone; the kids ran around the beach and ate Popsicles. Perfect.

On the 4th itself, we started the day with our traditional patriotic parfaits (vanilla yogurt, blueberries, and strawberries) and watermelon stars (a challenge this year since our watermelon fell and cracked open into jagged pieces). In the afternoon we watched Captain America, followed by a dinner of burgers and homemade ice cream. Happy Independence Day!

Reading by Design

The library's summer program has begun! They girls were pretty excited to get their registration bags and start checking off activities. Once they've accomplished 25 activities, they earn a prize (as yet unknown, but they have high hopes). The activity chart does include a few "read for 20 minutes" boxes, but it's actually mostly non-reading activities: all good things like "write a poem," "illustrate a scene from your favorite book," "attend a library program," and "help cook dinner." The girls have until September to complete enough activities, but I'm pretty sure we'll be collecting prizes within a week or two! Last week we attended the children's area game day, where the girls played Shoots and Ladders and Scrabble Jr. Good times.

Work Picnic

Recently we attended the office picnic at a nearby park (sadly, Daddy couldn't actually come himself). The girls enjoyed lots of good food, played on the playground, played a yard game I'm unfamiliar with, attempted to dunk one of Daddy's coworkers in the dunk tank, and Bug was even brave enough to hold someone's ball python.