Better Late Than Never-- Fourth of July

Ok, I know that could double as the permanent title of my Blog because it seems I am always playing catch-up. I am going to try remember all the wonderful events of our July Fourth Weekend. It really started the Monday before with Chris, Russell, Caden, and the two Daschunds (Balou and Mischief) driving the truck down to the house in Florida. We needed the truck in Florida for when we were down there for the rest of the month after the holiday. First, we decided to pack some more boxes to take down to that house. We have been slowly going through things and sending them back to the house in Florida in preparation for moving back down there permanently in a couple years. Then, we decided it would be a nice time for Russell to go along with Chris to keep him company. As we planned we realized that since we were leaving from my parents house straight for Florida, we would have all the dogs with us. NOT a great combination for a long trip and stopping at someone's house (with no fenced in yard). So, we decided Chris and Russell would take Balou and Mischief with them and our friends in FL graciously agreed to watch them for 4 days -- until we were able to get down there. At the last minute, Chris offered to take Caden with them because he is such a good traveller. So it was settled. Chris drove down with two dogs and the two boys and then flew back up to Dayton, while I took two dogs, Zeke and Olivia and met them Dayton.

The travel plans went off without a hitch and we were all settled in Dayton on the evening of 1 July. We had a wonderful Saturday hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, and a great Sunday service at Grandpa's church (although I must say, I am not one for the military recognition services - It makes me feel awkward to stand up in front of all those people just because I served in the military) This year we started off our Fourth of July Celebration with a race. Chris, Caden, Zeke, Aunt Kristi, and I all ran the Vandalia Freedom Run 5K. It was a great flat fast course. Chris ran with Caden and Zeke and I ran together. Well Chris ran with Caden and Zeke ran off and left me. LOL. Caden finished the race in an amazing 31:46 and Zeke ran a 24:18. After the race we went back to my Mom's house and Chris slow cooked ribs on the grill and all the cousins played. It was really an enjoyable time. Towards the end of the day we celebrated Toby's birthday and ate lots of yummy cupcakes. My only regret being that at their new house we can't set off our own fireworks anymore. We did watch some from the bedroom window but it just isn't the same.

Unfortunately, as always seems to be the case, we were on a pretty tight time table. The next morning we had to leave headed to Florida on "vacation". Zeke and Caden road with grandma because we were all gonna stop at Great Grandma's house first and then we were gonna head on down leaving grandma to spend some time at her mother's house. Traffic was a nightmare, but we finally arrived and were able to spend a bit of a whirlwind visit with great-grandma before heading south. We finally arrived in Florida early in the morning of the 6th, but what happens in Florida is a topic for another Blog . . . Soon I promise. . .

The world is Different through Olivia's eyes

Olivia is an amazing little girl. Every day she amazes me. Today, Zeke and I took her with us on our weekly hike. This meant that I had to carry her on my back in our hiking pack -- It isn't that she wouldn't walk, because she would walk every mile with us. It is that her 12 inch legs don't walk that fast and we don't have all day. So thankfully she still only weighs 23 pounds and up into the pack she went. Of course she loves to talk and has so much to say. We had many conversations on our 7 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail today. Some of them made me laugh out loud and others left me amazed. She started out pointing out all the big boulders to Zeke so that he wouldn't trip (which he did frequently anyway -- I think size Nine feet are just more than a ten year old can handle --LOL) . She was also sure to remind Zeke to be careful around the logs that fell down because snakes like to hide under them, and she admonished us for not bringing walking sticks with us. As we walked, she was sure to say hi to every person that passed us , and as "how's it going". Of course well before this she had already told us the number and gender of every approaching person, and was sure to comment as to wether they had a walking stick with them or a dog. At some point she actually seemed to be categorizing hikers as those with dogs and those with walking sticks. She even made a comment that people with dogs carried leashes and didn't have walking sticks. She was also sure to tell each and every dog walker that she liked their pretty dog. And noted quite happily when one of them finally said thank-you to her. "See mommy -- he said thank-you -- That's the first one" (first to say thank you that is).

I did have to explain to her at one point that the people passing by did not need to hear everything about us. Right after she started talking to a man and his two sons as they approached. It went something like this " We just walked to where the cars are parked down there, and ate a snack. I shared my jelly bean with Zeke and Mommy, but now we are walking back to our car fast because mommy needs to pee." Ok -- TMI. Thankfully she got the point when I talked to her and after that she limited her conversations to Hi -- how's it going -- I like your dog. She did comment very loudly at one point after a guy with no shirt on passed us --" EWE -- he had no shirt on and his ninnies were showing -- thats yucky" and she almost commented about the very LARGE topless man that passed us but I saw him approaching as the EWE came out of her mouth and managed to stop her from saying anything potentially embarrassing.

At one point I wondered to myself. What would Olivia do if she found herself alone and on this trail. So I asked her. "Olivia, if you were lost out her on this trail standing right here and mommy and Zeke were not with you, What would you do?" To which she answer: Hmmm "cry" . I laughed out loud. I believe it too. Then she decided she wanted to try to sound out and spell words so we spent a few minutes sounding out and spelling D-O-G and C-A-T and M-O-M.

The most remarkable thing about Olivia on the trail is her amazing attention to detail. She pointed out every White Blaze along the trail and the two Blue Blazes. She pointed out a turtle she saw, and the triangle shaped leaves on a vine and the heart shaped leaves, and the red mushroom, and a whole host of other amazing little details that we passed in the forrest. We will have to take her with us more often just so we can enjoy the trail through her eyes.

The Boys have Run Amuck . . .

The second week of June Olivia spent the night at a friends house and the boys and I got up at 5 am to head to Quantico. I signed the boys up to run the Marine Corps Run Amuck race. For the boys over 10 (Ezekiel and Russell) it was a 3.5 mile run with 10 obstacles, 3 mud pits, and 2 PT stations. For Caden, it was a 1 mile run with obstacles and one mud pit. I was so thankful to have decided at the last minute NOT to take Olivia. She would have been bored and miserable the entire day. It was a great experience for all of the boys though. There were 3,000 runners in the BIG race, and Zeke and Russell beat almost 2500 of them. Zeke was not too happy with his race. I was not running and being unsure of the obstacles I told him he had to stay with Russell (not the runner). They did well, but Zeke was upset that he was unable to run out on his own and put up a better time -- Oh well, there is always next time. Caden did awesome as well. He ran his entire race in just over 10 minutes (obstacle and all). It was the first race he had to run by himself since usually in the "fun" runs one of us runs with him. He was so determined and made me very proud of him.

Everyone is looking forward to the next race. 4th of July the whole family is running the Independence Day Run in Vandalia Oh. Caden and Russell have been running 2 miles together almost every day. Caden has even run 3 whole miles without stopping. Caden decided he wanted to run the big race this time. So, Russell(being NOT a runner LOL) said he would push Olivia in the jog stroller and run with Caden. They keep a steady 10 minute pace for 3 miles -- Not bad for a 5 year old. Olivia is just happy when Russell sprints every now and then because she likes to go fast and feel the wind in her face. LOL.

Busy summer

So, things never really slow down around here. We have been playing a lot of baseball around the house these days. Caden has been getting pretty handy with a bat and Olivia is really learning how to stop grounders and throw a ball. The kids aren't really interested in playing on a team (with the exception of maybe Caden) but they have a lot of fun playing for an hour or two every day in our front yard. Olivia was not happy with using Caden's old glove - I mean -- it was BLACK of all things. Definitely NOT a princess glove. So, she got her own PINK glove and ball. She is very happy with it (and herself-- LOL).

Meanwhile we are still doing a bit of schooling. I have been using the fact that Zeke has been all but done with school since mid-April, to really focus on Caden's reading. It has REALLY paid off. Caden picked up a story book and read it to Olivia all by himself today. He is really starting to gain confidence in his own reading ability and beginning to understand he CAN read it for himself. YEAH!! Zeke is finishing up his Research paper on Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson, and asks every day about starting his 6th grade curriculum. I have promised to release his syllabus next week. Russell is doing really well on his CLEP test preparations. He should be ready to take the College Algebra and the Government CLEP tests at the end of this month. Then next Month he is taking the Spanish CLEP test and finishing his Literature class (the final exam for the Literature class is the Freshman Comp CLEP test ). We hope to have 4 CLEP tests = 4 College classes out of the way by end of August. Olivia is pushing hard to get on with her schooling, so I have started working on some basics with her as well. We have been focusing on numbers, and tying her shoe. She REALLY wants to learn to tie her own shoe. She is actually remarkably close to being able to, so I have been trying to help her each day. She can almost write her own name from memory and can copy it very nicely.

In addition to play and school, we still have Zeke taking drum lessons. He got to walk the mile to the music store and back by himself the other day. He said he had fun. He is getting so mature. He is also running and hiking with me again, and still working toward his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He was so excited today because his new sword came in. A REAL sword . . .He loves weapons. Caden is still in Tap Dance Class. He has one or two more classes before they close for the summer, and then he starts back up in September. He loves dancing and his teacher is still amazed at how quickly he picks it up. I am hoping to get Olivia into gymnastics sometime soon. In the mean time she still sings A LOT and climbs around on anything just like a monkey. Russell is busy lifting and doing a little running to get ready for football ( first mandatory practice is 25 July) . Russell, Ezekiel, and Caden are all running a obstacle course race at Quantico in June. I am so excited to watch them run and play in the mud. It is called Run Amuck.

Mens' Outdoor Extravaganza

Every year the boys anxiously await this event. A day out with Dad to do "guy stuff". Our church holds this at the local gun club and the boys absolutely love it. They started the day off with a fishing contest. Both Zeke and Caden caught a fish, but they were a bit small (about 6 inches). They had a lot of fun. Then the day splintered off into tons of other activities. Log sawing and strong man and bb gun and arm wrestling etc. . . At lunch time they all got together for testimony and a short praise service followed but a roast pig. One of the men in the church spent ALL night out with the pig roasting it. From what the boys say it was delicious. At the end of the day they have a raffle of prizes for the elementary age boys. They give away things like pocket knives, bb guns, fishing poles, balls etc. . . This year Zeke won another fishing pole, and Caden won a Football. Everyone wins something. After all the prizes have been handed out, the Men have a round or two of trap shoot. This year Chris was just too exhausted to stay and shoot so the boys came home early (6pm). They were out there from 9-6. LONG DAY.

I have no pictures of the day or I would post them. I know that Russell and his partner came in second in the log saw for their age division. Chris came in third in the strong man competition. Ezekiel hit two bulls-eyes with his bb-gun, and Caden was doing really well in the arm wrestling -- until he forgot the rules and used his second hand to help him "over the top" LOL.

Of course while the men were out Olivia and I spent a girls day out. First, she wanted to kick the football around but after a few minutes of that I insisted we switch to a soccer ball (much easier). We kicked the ball around for about half an hour. Then, we went and picked 10 pounds of strawberries. YUMMY. Olivia was such a good helper. MOST of the strawberries she picked were good. She would pick it and say "this one's not rotten" , but I was having a hard time getting her to make sure it was fully ripe AND not rotten. LOL After strawberry picking Olivia wanted tacos for lunch so we went to a local Mexican place. We finished out the day with a quick stop at the mall (the second time I have been to a mall in the past 6 months) to buy her new earrings. She got two new pairs. Very exciting.

Guns and Knives Part II (ref:Mar Blog)

I can't believe with all my blogging I forgot to put forth a small blurb about the "incident". I finally decided that the boys had been without their airsoft guns for long enough and the day was nice and I thought they might enjoy playing with them. So, I gave them back. Everything went well all day long and everyone was having fun and "following the rules". Chris came home from work, it was a Friday night, and he and I were going to go out and catch a late snack and some time together at a new place in Shepherdstown. As we were walking out the door, I notice something weird about Russell. He wouldn't talk. Finally I made him and when he opened his mouth all I could see was this big GAPING hole where his front tooth should have been. AAGHH!! Are you kidding me? It had been a very LONG week anyway. I was tired and irritable and now this. He had, ONCE AGAIN, decided that our rules were unimportant. He was "just" (I hate that word) . . . Long story short -- the airsoft gun that was loaded and in the safe position was not SAFE. We tell the kids to treat every weapon as if it were always loaded and never on safe -- THEN no on gets hurt. But what do we know. So, as he was swinging this loaded gun on SAFE past his face, it discharged shooting off half his front tooth.

It took me an hour to calm down, while Chris drove aimlessly about the countryside. We left Russell at home with the little ones crying and worrying that he would be without a tooth forever or that it may take thousands to correct it. . . We also took all of the guns away AGAIN -- Yes I know punish the masses for the mistakes of the one, but I can't afford anymore broken teeth right now. LOL. Fortunately for Russell it didn't break it far enough up to get at the root, it didn't bleed, and after the initial tenderness from being hit and broken it no longer hurt. We picked up some peroxide solution mouth rinse at the drug store for him to rinse with after eating anything. See, it happened on the weekend as things things often do, and we had to wait til Monday to get him into the dentist. On Monday he saw the dentist, who craftily constructed him a new tooth -- You really can't see the difference. He warned us that he may, in the near or distant future, still need a root canal and a cap but we are praying that is a LONG way off. It ended up costing $300 to fix, and since he willfully disobeyed our house rules which resulted in the injury, we made Russell pay half. I thought it was only fair.

I did promise not to post any of the embarrassing photos but we do have them for future display to any promising young ladies who come around. LOL

Back to WV and the Homeschool Fine Arts Fair and Trail Running

Chris left Florida on 2 May and headed to Alaska for a week. We decided at this point it would be easiest for the rest of the family to head back to WV as well. So we loaded up the kids and the dogs and headed north. I was towing an almost empty trailer behind my car but it still gave us a hard time. The trailer combined with a monsoon that let loose on us for the last 8 hours of the trip and a toddler who felt the need for a potty break every 90 minutes, made for a very very long drive. in fact the drive that normally takes us 12 hours took us 15 hours. When we got to Dayton to rest for the remainder of the night I was exhausted, it was 40 degrees and still pouring down rain. It was one of the most miserable trips I have been on in a long time, and we still had the last 6 hours to do the next day. The next day was not nearly as taxing as far as children and potty breaks, but my car definitely did NOT like dragging that trailer through the mountains. We finally did make it home just to jump into a rat race schedule for the following 10 days. The first day we were back, we had to pick up the dogs, mow the lawn, do laundry (as everything that was in the car top luggage bag was SOAKED from the monsoon), Caden had Tap Dance class, and everyone had AWANAs because it was Wednesday night. We survived the rest of the week and things began to settle down just in time for Mother's Day.

I had a very awesome Mother's Day weekend. Chris and I got to go for motorcycle rides both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. My children were extremely well behaved ( I hear Chris threatened them with their lives--LOL), and we got lots done around the house. The weather was beautiful for a change and I really loved all my cards the kids picked out for me.

The following week we had all the usual extra curricular activities, and we got to spend lots of time with our friends Kristin, Seth and Caleb. Seth and Caleb just recently started homeschooling and I gave them their standardized tests. It took three days total, but the kids had so much fun playing during their breaks each day. On the last day, Caden and Ezekiel spent the night with Seth and Caleb. I was so thankful for the nice weather (for the most part) which was contrary to the forecast. Also, during the week Russell got to get out and get a couple more driving lessons in. He is getting better, but has a long way to go before he is ready for that license. Fortunately, he hasn't done anything to get me too excited. He is an extremely cautious driver ( I only hope it stays that way) . On Thursday, I also had to go shopping to buy Russell supplies to bake food for the Homeschool Fine Arts Fair.

The Homeschool Fine Arts Fair was 13 May. Russell and Caden made Stromboli and Homemade Blackberry soda. They were both awesome and the boys got TONS of complements. Ezekiel played a drum solo. He was amazing. I am so impressed with how well he plays his drums, and he really enjoys it. After the recital he told me he wanted to find more places/times where he could play his drums for people. The rest of the Fine Arts Fair was pretty cool too There were a few oral presentations and some piano players and lots of science project displays and art work. About 100 people showed up to enjoy it or participate. After the Fair we packed up the drums and hurried home so that Zeke and I could get some sleep because we had a race to run in the morning

** Zeke's drum solo file was too big to upload so. . . If you have facebook you can watch it there on my facebook page**

On Saturday 14 May, We ran our first race of the season ( It was supposed to be a month ago but that race got cancelled due to the almost government shut down -- long story). We ran the Two Rivers Heritage 4mile (really 4.25 miles). It was a really nice run right up to the finish. Whoever designed the finish to be a quarter mile up a steep hill -- should be shot. Anyway, Zeke finished second in the 13 and under division -- to a 13 year old. His finish time was 38:15. He even beat me by over a minute. I finished 6th in the "old lady" category. It was a nice time.

Easter Egg Hunts and Fun at the Beach

All the kids with an AC-130A Gunship

The Saturday before Easter, we had a plan to go to the Easter Egg Hunt on base Hurlburt Field, with my friend Mari and her three girls. Everyone was so excited. We got up early and drove to Mari's house then drove over to the base together. To say there were hundreds of people there is a best guess. The turn out was incredible. We took Olivia and Caden over to the field where they were supposed to hunt only to find that the kids had started early and there was NOTHING left. The guys who were monitoring the 3-5 year old group had the bright idea to let the kids into the search area but would not let the parents in. It was only a matter of seconds before a couple hundred 3-5 year olds cleared the field and there was nothing they could do to stop them since there was NO parental supervision. It was crazy. Since there was nothing in their field Ezekiel, who had not planned to hunt for eggs, took them both with him into the 9-12 year old section and they searched "for him". They each got enough eggs to feel like they had done what the came to do. LOL. Then, we went to the airpark to see the planes and in general just enjoy a nice walk outside on a beautiful day. Later that afternoon we went to the armament museum. The kids really enjoyed it. Russell always loves the chance to take a look at the SR-71 (his favorite airplane). Ezekiel and Caden loved looking through the room with all the old rifles and pistols with Chris and Olivia just ran around getting into everything (LOL).

Chris and Olivia walking around the Air Park (Hurlburt Field) after the Easter Egg Hunt Olivia with the Easter Bunny. Unlike many kids, Olivia is not afraid of big dressed up figures -- She actually LIKES them Caden and Olivia in their Easter outfits

Easter Sunday everyone got dressed up in their Easter outfits, and we went to church. It was really a nice service. It was not the Easter musical performance (that was Sunday night) but they sang many of their songs throughout the service. While we were in service Olivia and Caden had an easter egg hunt in the church (this more than made up for what they didn't get at the base hunt). After Church we went to a friends house (Lin) and had an awesome lunch and then headed to the beach. We spent three hours at the beach. Everyone was buried in the sand (except me), the boys played some football on the beach, they built a sand castle and we played in the surf a bit. We couldn't swim too much or go very far out because it was a red flag day. The rip currents were super strong, and the high tide was coming in. It turned out to be an awesome Easter spent in church and with friends.

Talladega baby

Jeff Gordon's Pit Jeff Gordon's Car in starting line-up

We finally made it to Talladega. We hold season tickets to Talladega but because of Chris' work schedule we only make it about one out of every three years. This year was the third year and we actually got to go. It was pretty nice. Sometimes the "struggling" economy can actually help. We were refunded the price of two of our season tickets because they were for Zeke and Caden, and this year Kids tickets were free. They were also giving a special deal to get to visit Pit Road. It is always WAY too expensive for us to purchase those things but this year we were able to get tickets for all of us to go in the Pits for what it normally costs for 2 people. It was an awesome time. Chris invited his dad (Race Car Grandpa -- known by this because he owns and maintains a dirt track race car) to go to the race with us, and his mom came to watch Olivia while we were at the race. NASCAR race is not Olivia's idea of a cool way to spend the day.

Watching the race Sitting in the stands with Daddy and Grandpa

Saturday, we woke up in FL and loaded the car to head up to Talladega. After a quick 5 hour drive north we were able to spend a nice evening hanging out with Grammy and Race Car Grandpa. The weekend was BEAUTIFUL. The Pit Road experience was cool. It is crazy driving down on the track and seeing how steep the track is banked in the turns. It is a totally different perspective than up in the stands. Then, walking along the Pit and getting to see all the cars up close was pretty neat too. We were hoping to see a driver or two, and although that didn't happen, Caden was able to get most of Jeff Gordon's Pit Crew to sign his hat. The race was a great time. Unfortunately our driver(#24 Jeff Gordon) was passed in the final second of the race. Everyone had a great time at the race. Olivia had a great time at the zoo with Grammy. After the race we said goodbye to everyone and headed back to FL.

Hanging out at the Finish Line Exhausted after a day of Racing

Daddy's Home and Olivia is Three

Olivia in her princes dress, in front of the sign the boys made for her birthday Olivia's Gift from Russell Olivia's Birthday Cake

Before I get too far behind, again, I figured I better sit down and get caught up with all that has gone on since Chris got home. Of course, as always, when Chris travels things never go as planned. So, we had the master plan all laid out with exactly how everything was supposed to go the first week after his return from Afghanistan. Of course things did not go as planned. Chris called from Dubai on Sunday (he was supposed to be home early Monday 11 Apr -- Olivia's 3rd Birthday) to tell me that his flight was on a delay and he probably wouldn't make his connecting flight. At this point it was only supposed to delay him an hour. We adjusted our plans a bit for the next day and pressed on. To make a long story short, after a weather delay, a sick passenger delay due to reroute to another airport, missing a flight due to other delays, maintenance delay, and switching to an entirely different ticket to arrive at a different airport, he finally arrived 5 hours after his scheduled arrival time.

Once we finally had Chris home there was no rest for the weary as we dove straight into celebrating Olivia's birthday. First, Olivia opened her present from mommy in the morning. It was a princess dress so that she could dress up like a princess to pick Chris up. Then, we left the boys with paints, poster paper, streamers etc . . . to decorate the house (a surprise to Olivia)while we went to pick up Chris. Olivia wanted Noodles Macaroni and Cheese for her birthday lunch so that is where Chris and I took her, as soon as he got off the plane. After eating we went home to open her presents from Daddy and each of her brothers and then have cake and ice cream. Along the way, we stopped to pick up Nutter's Ice Cream (Cotton Candy -- Olivia's favorite which probably has nothing to do with the fact that it is PINK) When we got home, the boys had done an AWESOME job painting a Happy Birthday sign for Olivia and decorating the "party room". She opened the little necklace that daddy got for her and the little dolls the boys got her (American Girl 6 inch dolls -- perfect size for her doll house that she got for Christmas). After we opened gifts, she blew out her candles and we ate cotton candy ice cream and strawberry cake.

It is funny how such a small deviation from "the plan" can ripple through the rest of the week. because of the changes in Monday things got pushed to Tuesday, and ultimately instead of leaving Wednesday and taking two days to drive to FL we ended up leaving Thursday and driving straight through. The kids and the dogs were champs about being stuck in the car for so long, but then again we travel so much it just seemed normal to them. Once we got to Florida, we didn't get much rest, because we had to unload the trailer and turn around to head back up to Talladega, AL (5 hour drive) on Saturday morning.

Headed to Florida Way past bedtime in the trip to FL -- Can you tell who likes to sleep and who will stay up till the PASS OUT? She finally PASSED OUT. LOL

Grandma's Photo's

A couple months ago I borrowed 7 photo albums from my grandmother. Since then I have converted half of them to digital images and put the photos in a new album for her. I still have about 300 photos to go but I thought I might share a few of my "finds"

Homeschool Convention

Although we homeschool year round, our "year" is winding down and everyone is looking forward to the next set of books. I went through all the old books and pulled out what I plan to use for Caden, Ezekiel, and Russell for the next year, and wrote a list of what I needed to look for at the Convention. I LOVE the convention. I mean who wouldn't love a room full of hundreds of BOOK vendors. Last year I was so overwhelmed by the all the "stuff" that this year I felt I needed that list so that I could stay on task. I am so distracted by books. . . I did allow myself one impulse buy. I bought the book For You They Signed by Boyer. It is about all the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. I love History. Zeke and Russell went with me to the convention on Friday, so they could help pick some of the things and the little ones stayed with Grandma for the day. Ezekiel picked out a second science kit for Caden and him to do. He also got to meet the author of a series of books he has been reading. Because the author was there (Chuck Black), we bought the last three books and Zeke got his autograph. Russell picked his Chemistry text. He chose Apologia Chemistry. A bit pricey (and the book is heavy -- LOL) but I think it was the best choice for him. Now I just have to buy the Lab Kit that goes with it. He also needed to choose a Geometry Curriculum. Now, I LOVED Geometry, but really wouldn't know a good geometry curriculum from any other. So, I let him look through different ones and pick a style he thought would be easy for him to learn from. He did A Beka until Algebra when I found their texts became difficult to use to say the least, and He hates Saxon. So, after looking around he settled on Life of Fred. I have to say, I sat down and read the first chapter the other night and found it very appealing. Unfortunately after such a wonderful time shopping I ended up with the worst Migraine I have had in years. It was awful. I spent a few hours trying to sleep it off and then got up to try and eat something. My mother made the best homemade Dill Wheat bread. I drank two cups of coffee and ate two slices of that bread and I felt so much better -- Just in time to go to bed. After spending a pretty penny at the convention, we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with family.

Saturday was a Spring Clean Day at Mom and Dad's church , so Dad took the two older boys to the church and Mom and I took the little ones clothes shopping. Olivia desperately needed some new dresses and Caden needed some new church clothes. We also got to eat lunch at Everybody's Favorite Muffin and Bagel Co.(I think that is the right name of the place). It is such an awesome place. After lunch and clothes shopping I got to go to another bookstore and found the rest of the books I needed for Russell's literature course (there are 16 of them--It is a good thing he likes to read). Later that afternoon, I dropped Ezekiel off with my brother and his wife. They were taking their kids and a bunch of others to an arena football game for their oldest sons tenth birthday. Then, Zeke stayed with them until after church the next day. Of course the highlight of my day was that night my mom and I got to go out by ourselves. I don't think we ever really get to do that. We went to the Dinner Theater and saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It was awesome. The food was good. The singing was great. The funniest thing all night was the older couple next to us. During the intermission the husband asked the wife about the plot. He said so do you think they all get married in the end? ROFL. Are you kidding me? Have you never seen it before. Anyway, it was a great night out with my mom.

Sunday we had an awesome time at Dad's church and the service was led by the youth. Afterwards we went out for lunch and then Mom and I took the little one's down to my brother's house to pick up Zeke. All the cousins had a great time playing while we talked. It was a very relaxing peaceful day.

Monday morning I had my eye appointment. Yes, after getting out of the AF I reverted back to my childhood eye Dr. I am happy to say that, if anything, my eyes have gotten slightly better. I am in NO jeopardy of needing Bi-focals anytime soon, and he says in the next few years my eyes should start to gradually get better as I get OLDer. That afternoon we took all the kids to the Cincinnati Museum Center. Ezekiel managed to get sick over the weekend so he stayed home with Grandma and learned how to make Dill Wheat bread (YUM!) We played and looked until we were all exhausted. It was so nice to watch Olivia and Caden explore, and Russell was such a big help. Monday evening Kristi and I ran away to the Melting Pot for a couple of hours of fondue and talking. We caught up on the kids and homeschooling and some other miscellaneous life stuff. It was anther really enjoyable evening.

Tuesday morning we drove home to be back in time for Zeke's Tae Kwon Do. This week has been full speed trying to clean up projects, pack, and get ready for Chris to be home next Monday. We are all so excited . . .

Guns and Knives

It has been So busy around here. First a little blurb about the weather. I LOVE hot weather. I appreciate seasons and enjoy an occasional snow, but I LOVE hot weather. That being said, 40 degrees and snow twice in the past 4 days . . . It's spring for cryin out loud. If I find that groundhog they will need to get a new one for next year. LOL. The only good thing about the cold is that it seems to be helping reduce the population of stink bugs, or at least keep them at bay for a little longer. The worst thing about the weather: we cancelled our visit with cousins coming to town because most of our activities were planned for pretty spring outdoors. Forty degrees and rain/snow does not make for an enjoyable time with 8 kids (4 five years and under). Well, enough about the weather

I went to the local homeschool meeting three weeks ago for the second time in as many years. We have been on plenty of field trips and taken advantage of the swim classes and gym classes etc . . . But the opportunity for me to go to a mom only meeting at 8 pm doesn't usually arise. It was a truly enjoyable evening and I was able to make a connection with another homeschool family (of 6) who are remarkably similar to us. We are so excited about future opportunities to get the kids together. Additionally, I was able to slip away for a couple hours this past weekend to check out the local homeschool convention and used book sale. It was not much but it did afford a wonderful opportunity to chat with some friends primarily. I did also check out a couple of math curricula that I had heard SO much about. I was NOT impressed by either. I am happy to stay with what we are currently using. I also found a couple more books to help me help Russell "appreciate art". LOL. My two favorite discoveries were: Thirty-one (not the purses cause I don't carry one but all their totes and stuff) AND this amazing little guy called Polly the traveling Frog. The three younger kids are definitely all getting one to carry with us on our many future adventures. Check him out at www.Pollythetravelfrog.com.

That evening after the convention, the flu bug that had already made it's way through each of the kids, finally hit me. I felt horrible until Tuesday afternoon (probably a good thing we cancelled our visit with cousins). Unfortunatel due to the freezing temps, rain, and sickness around here, there hasn't been much running going on. I just hope we can get a couple runs in next week before the opening race of our season ( The Race For the Birds --5 mile trail run)

We have all been so busy lately. Zeke is finished with all but his final research paper for fifth grade. He is playing a drum solo in the Homeschool Fine Arts Fair, and is officially an Assistant Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Only about 8 months from his Black Belt Test. Russell is still working out once a week with the football team, and playing lots of basketball outside to get exercise. He has a couple more weeks to finish up College Algebra and Spanish II, and then over the summer is going to take a Literature course to finish out 9th grade. He is excited to get his permit in a couple of weeks. I am NOT excited about teaching him to drive. LOL. Caden is in his fourth week of Tap Dance class and loving every minute. They are doing a routine to "It's a Small World". He is thrilled to be reading more and more. He has begun sounding out words and writting me little notes here and there. He is picking up more and more of the "Special sounds". I am so excited for him to truly gain the reading independence he wants. Olivia is anxiously awaiting Daddy's return as it is the day she turns three. Just ask her. She is more than happy to tell you all about it. Daddy will be home, she is going to dress up like a princess, have balloons and a ladybug cake and Macaroni and Cheese. I'm so excited for her. I did just finish Iowa Testing with the boys. I do this every other year for me not the state. They all seemed to do fairly well. We should get the results back in a few weeks

In addition to schooling, I have been busy trying to complete as many half finished projects as I can. I did manage to file the taxes. I have figured out what I have that I am definitely using for school overv the next year, and what I need to look for at the convention. I am almost done converting my Grandmothers photo albums ( only 7 of them -- I've been told there are more. Lol) to digital format and newer nicer photo albums. AND I am slowly packing up books and games and such to take with us to FL. My biggest hurdle next week before Chris gets home is to go through all the kids clothes and see what still fits. I already know it isn't much. Everyone of them needs almost an entire new wardrobe. Ezekiel has already outgrown the size 9 running shoes we bought him in December and is now wearing 12/14 pants and mens Small shirts. Olivia did actually go from 18/24 months to 2T and a size 6 shoe since last summer. Caden is now a size 6-7 and needs a size 1 shoe. Russells pant size and shoe size are the same (no growth spurt yet -- it will probably happen about month after I buy him new clothes), but with all the weightlifting he is quite broad and needs new shirts and new shorts cause he just wears things out. He is so hard on clothes.

Of course, all this brings me to the title of my blog today. The boys have all worked very hard clearing the woods and cleaning up the yard SO I bout them all new Airsoft guns as a reward. They played every chance they got for a week with them. We have two main rules when dealing with the Airsoft guns. No playing without eye protection and no playing with them when I am not home. As I was working in my office on taxes and did not want any interruptions, I took the guns and set them aside asking that no body touch them. I sat them all down to do school and left the room. A few minute later I hear what I think is a gun being shot and the muffled cries of pain from Zeke. Needless to say 1) they touched when told not too 2) they discharged the gun while none of them were wearing eye protection, 3) in my house 4) at close range. Ezekiel had a wound an inch above his eye were it actually broke the skin. I am now the temporary owner of three Airsoft guns. So having no guns to play with they turned to knives and carving walking sticks (and spears). Russell was the first to get careless and slice a pretty nice cut clear across the thumb of his right hand. It makes it really hard to do written schoolwork when you can't grip that pencil with your thumb. Then, yesterday Zeke came in with blood pouring from his finger. Seems he went to sharpen his knife ( it is the only one of his entire collection that does not lock in the open position). Needless to say, the knife snapped shut on his finger giving him a pretty nasty cut. So, the knives are now off limits. What will they get into next . . .

Tomorrow morning we leave for about 5 days at Grandma's house. I'm going to the Cincinati Homeschool convention for some serious curriculum shopping. Zeke is going to an arena football game with cousin Jesse to celebrate his 10th birthday, I'm getting to go to Dinner Theater with my mom. We are going to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I can't wait. It will be do much fun just the two of us spending time together. Monday I have an eye exam. Yes, I now that I am out of the AF I have fallen back to what I know and trust. The same eye Dr I saw as a kid. After my eye appointment we are going to do something fun?? As yet to be determined.

More to cone when we get back

Russell is becoming an amazing young man

Russell with Heidi on a recent trip to Monticello. She was his babysitter when he was 3.

Russell is now 15. He is 5'10",190 pounds. It certainly feels weird to be shorter than your own child, but I guess I knew it had to happen sooner or later. He is finishing up his freshman year right now. We have had some ups and downs which I am sure comes along with the word teen at the end of his age, but for the most part it has been a wonderful year. He has matured so much and over-all I am very proud of the choices he has made concerning his friends and activities. He still loves football, and I honestly believe he would play it all day every day if he could find a willing partner. He is starting to sort his way through the opportunities that are out there and what he would like to do with his life. At the beginning of the year he was interested in being a detective with a forensics degree (because he loves science), but since he has decided that he us actually more interested in the investigative side of things.

Last fall we were finally able to hook up with the home school football team about 30 minutes from here. This enabled Russell to play high school football despite being home schooled. He plays for the Frederick County Christian Eagles. They had a pretty good team this year, and finished up the year with a third place win in the tournament. Even as a freshman he earned a Starting position, part of the year, as their middle linebacker. He had trouble early on in the games -- as big as he is for a fourteen year old, those full grown 18 year olds are still that much bigger. He lost his starting position for a while as he figured things out. As he became accustomed to the fact that he was no longer the biggest kid on the field he began to step up his play and eventually earned his spot back in the starting line-up by the end of the season. He is currently participating in off season conditioning practices and looking forward to another season of football. Recently, he was happy to find another home school boy from our area that is interested in playing. I am so thankful for a friend of similar age and interest for Russell. This is something I have been praying for. Perhaps we will also have some car pool possibilities in the future as well.

Russell Freshman Year Picture: Frederick County Christian Eagles

Unfortunately over the holiday's Russell lost his dog Sandi. He has since acquired a new puppy: Monte (Sir Monte Cristo). Monte is a Miniature Schnauzer and is an awesome little dog. Such a great personality, easy to train, and everyone loves him (well except maybe not Balou so much). Monte is SUPER attached to Russell. He doesn't mind being left in his kennel but don't separate him from Russell by a door or a set of stairs. He goes NUTS. They are great together and the best part--Russell does EVERYTHING for Monte. It is nice to enjoy petting a dog here and there and maybe play with him but never have to worry about feeding or walking or cleaning up after him.

Russell and Monte

In school, Russell is finishing up Algebra II, Spanish II, and American Government. He already finished Anatomy and has Art History and Literature left to finish off his freshman year. He struggled a bit early on with not taking school seriously and procrastinating, but it seems he has a handle on things now. School is running pretty smoothly for him and that makes life much easier for me. We are a little behind schedule because we spent much of the first half the year trying to fill in the knowledge gaps from when he went to FUMA for school last year. They really had a rotten academic plan and low expectations of learning. Coming up next term he is planning to take Early American History, Geometry, and Biology

Of course Russell's next big goal is getting his learners permit. If all goes well, when we go to Florida in about 3 weeks, he should be able to get his learners permit. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it sure will be nice when he can drive himself to and from football practice. On the other hand: who is gonna have to teach him to drive?

Russell playing in the snow with Olivia and Monte

In general,Russell continues to read everything he can get his hands on, is an active member in our youth group, and loves the outdoors. He is especially anxious to go on a mission trip some time in the near future, and loves to go geocaching every chance he gets. I am SO grateful for Russell as he has really become a big help in the the house. The house runs so much smoother now that I can depend on Russell to pick up some of the slack when Chris is gone. Russell finding a Geocache (micro)

Ezekiel- growing in confidence - My Planner

Picture of Zeke running his first Race.

It has been such a wonderful time watching Ezekiel mature over these past several months. He truly has a heart to do good and do well at whatever his endeavor. He is definitely my planner. He know what he likes, knows what he wants, and is willing to do what it takes to get there. Ezekiel and I have a mutual love of hiking and running. We have kinda developed it into "our" time together. Last year Zeke ran three races. We began running together in the fall of 2009. When we started running he ran about a 13 min per mile pace for two miles. Now he runs a race pace of about 8 min a mile and has run some trails with me upwards of 6-7 miles. The first race he ran was a 5 mile race in April. He came in second in the 14 and under division with a time just under 56 minutes. Then we didn't get the opportunity to race again until October when we ran a 10K. He did extremely well but the age division in the race went 19 and under. Boy are those older guys speed demons. He ran the race in 61 minutes. The last race we ran last year was a 5k that he finished in almost exactly 25 minutes. Our first race this year is the first week of April and he hopes to take 15 minutes off last years time and first place in his division. Additionally, we have been making time on the weekends to go hiking usually for about 10 miles. It is such a great time for us to spend talking and observing nature.

Zeke in the Freedom Run 10K Zeke during warm-ups for TKD

In addition to running Ezekiel is in his 5th year of Tae Kwon Do and just a few short months from testing for his black belt. He excels in weapons training and loves to spar. He is the youngest, one of only a handful of students at the school who can actually use two sets of nunchuks at once. Right now in addition to nunchucks and his standard "forms" and training, he is also learning to use the bamboo stick, and learning the defensive moves of Hap Ki Do. He loves Tae Kwon Do. After he earns his black belt in Tae Kwon Do he hopes to begin training in Ju Jitsu.

Zeke getting ready to test for Dan Bo (his current belt)

Ezekiel is going on five years taking drum lessons and is really starting to get good at it. It is nice to hear "music" as opposed to noise coming from the basement. LOL. He has enough confidence in his abilities that he is actually signing up to perform at this years Homeschool Fine Arts Fair. It is awesome to see him stepping out of his comfort zone as he is definitely not one to enjoy being in front of a crowd. In addition to drums Ezekiel finished Music Theory II in school and as promised I have begun teaching him how to play clarinet. It took a couple tries for him to make a sound but after a week or so he is beginning to sound ok. It is fairly quick for him to pick up as he already reads music from taking two years of music theory, and playing the recorder is very similar to clarinet. He is having a lot of fun with it.

Picture of Zeke with one of the three Butterflies we raised this year.

School is going great this year, and he should finish his fifth grade studies by April. We added Latin and some vocabulary word studies to this year in an attempt to improve his dismal spelling ability. It is amazing the difference in his spelling ability now from this time last year. He reads endlessly and has a better grasp of language now. He really likes Latin and it has not been as hard to teach him as I originally dreaded it would be. I am hopeful that after a couple years if Latin, moving to a usable language will be easier yet. His study skills are coming along, and he is capable of independent study for a large portion if his schoolwork. He is looking forward to being done with school when Chris comes home from deployment so he can just hang out and not worry about school

Zeke with the fish he caught barehanded on a day trip to the Shenandoah River with Friends Angie and ZZ

For his birthday, Ezekiel took the money he got from his father, and purchased a little laptop for himself. He has taken such good care of it and been so responsible with it. I am really proud of him. We all went out to a movie and had diner out because it was a crazy busy time at the house and we just did manage to squeeze in a little celebrating. Instead of having a cake we went to Nutter's Icecream and Ezekiel had a HUGE banana split. When we decided to spend November and December in Florida this year Zeke was a little stressed about the prospect if having to go see his father. We had to reassure him endless times that he would not be required to go to his fathers and it still took him forever to relax about it -but He did, and we had an awesome time. Ezekiel really only asked for a couple things: another knife for his collection, some running gear, a couple books and games. He got everything he wanted and more. It's amazing how exciting life can be when you get what you want because you don't need to have everything. Ezekiel and I enjoyed being able to run more frequently in FLorida because of the wonderful weather in Nov and Dec. However, we really missed our trails. It's so unfortunate that there is more opportunity to run but less options as to where to run. We were not happy to return to WV and find the trails hard packed with ice and snow and the temps in the teens on a nice day.

Ezekiel at Dinosaurland

. Since we have returned to WV Ezekiel continues to work on his Drums, Tae Kwon Do, and finishing up school for the year. He is also happy to be back actively participating in AWANAs at church. He will be participating in the AWANA games in Baltimore next month. I can't wait to watch him. He is also excited for the return of spring weather and we are back out on the trails.