Fairy Tale Ball

Today, for the last day of co-op, Caroline's class had a Fairy Tale Ball to celebrate all of the stories they've been reading and learning about this semester. They also got to read the fairy tales that they wrote and illustrated to their classmates. Never has Caroline's lot of only-sister-to-five-brothers been more clear than it was in the fairy tale that she created. You might think that a seven year old girl would write stories of golden-haired princesses and flowers, hearts and rainbows, but not our little princess! No, her story was called, "The Warrior of Raiderdale", and it was about a young prince who was trained in battle so that he could defend his father's kingdom from bad guys. Though, I will say that her girlishness did show up a little bit after the prince's victory. I'm fairly certain a boy would never include salad as one of the foods in the celebratory feast.





A friend that we "tweasha"

Mary Anne lives across the street and sometimes she will come over and ask if I could use any help looking after the little boys. My answer typically sounds something like, "Why, yes. Yes, I certainly could use some help with the little boys!" And those little boys are just as delighted to get to play with Mary Anne as she is to be looking after them. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the "tweasha box" that she keeps in her garage for them to choose a little toy out of!


Eleven

Eleven didn't feel terribly old to me until typing it out. Eleven. Yes, my baby is getting old. He's got opinions these days on the clothes that he wears and the style of his hair, yet he's willing to take advice from his mom on both. He admits it when he needs a shower and enjoys the feeling of being clean (and I typically don't have to ask if he's remembered to wash his hair anymore). He loves to stay up late and chat with us and he really loves to sleep in. He likes to get beyond just the facts of things and enjoys a good philosophical discussion regarding the "why's". He's taught himself to play the tin whistle so well that sometimes I can't tell if it's him playing or the YouTube video he's learning off of. His writing has taken off this year and reading the stories and blog posts that he writes always makes me laugh (either because it's just plain funny or because it's so clever that I laugh in amazement). He admires his dad so much and loves to be with him, whether they're playing basketball, working in the yard or spending a work day together. Words of affirmation build him up. He prays.

Happy elevensies to our big (little) T-man. You are loved and appreciated!!













Much anticipated movie date

Travis was told that he would wait until he was 10 to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When we surprised him by giving him a fancy copy for Christmas a full three months early, he was pretty excited. He finished the entire trilogy in nine days. Yes, nine. Of course, he then looked forward to watching the movies, which we said would happen upon turning twelve. This time it was Jimmy that got antsy and announced that it would, instead, be included in his eleventh birthday celebration.

Yes, sometimes we actually do make our kids wait for things. And sometimes we don't. It's just one of the ways we keep them on their toes.





Three cheers for field trips!

Travis and Sam's art classes were scheduled for a field trip to the High Museum in Atlanta to view the Picasso to Warhol exhibit. The exhibit featured works by many of the artists that they've been diligently learning about in co-op this year and was bound to be an awesome way to cement their studies. And plus, it's just pretty cool to see the actual paintings you've been reading about and imitating up close and in real life.

During the hustle and bustle that comes with getting so many people ready for a big day out, Jimmy surprised us with a last-minute decision to join us. We were thrilled! Everything is more fun when dad comes along. And true to Jimmy form, just before we ran out the door he told me to grab some extra diapers and everyone's toothbrushes, you know, just in case we decided to stay the night in Atlanta.

Then, after talking with Uncle Ron about our change of plans, he got all crazy on us and surprised us by redeeming some points that he had saved up on a fancy double room at the Westin Peachtree right, smack downtown! These two guys know how to do things right, I tell you.

The museum was amazing. There was an audio tour for the exhibit that was equally as enjoyable for Jimmy and I as it was for the kids. We each had our own headphones and it was fun to watch even Ben enjoy what he was hearing and really interact with the paintings that he was learning about. We stayed for about 2 hours and barely scratched the surface! I'd love a trip back some time.

After the museum it was time to find our hotel and get settled in. Since we only had toothbrushes you can imagine that it didn't take very long. : ) The Westin was awesome. The kids were immediately greeted by a bellhop with their own vacation bags filled with hats and coloring books and crayons, rubber duckies and even outlet covers in the baby bags. Upon checking in, the concierge was incredibly friendly and took the liberty of putting a free movie on our tab, along with arranging for milk and cookies to be sent up to the room just before bedtime! When the precious room service man showed up at our door with one plate of cookies and four glasses of milk and found six kids in there, he insisted on turning around immediately to go get more. He didn't give me a chance to tell him that those cookies were so huge there was no way each kid would finish one by himself! (Well, ok, Jack could have...) But he returned with a whole other plate and more milk than we needed, as well as two big bowls of strawberries to go with them.

In one evening the kids got to ride both the MARTA, as well as a few city busses, which just happened to coincide with our study of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. While boarding a very crowded city bus, a kind black man offed his seat to Caroline and me. We sat down and Caroline whispered to me, "But it's different because he wanted to give it to us, right?" Indeed, it is quite different.

Our short whirlwind, spur of the moment vacation came at just the right moment. It was an awesomely relaxing and luxurious afternoon and evening; we felt so pampered!






"Deagles"

Remember last year when we followed our mama and daddy eagle while they sat on their three little eggs and then cared for their hatchlings? And remember how much Jack adored them? Well, they're back. The same eagle couple in the same nest incubating three more little eggs. And Jack loves them even more this year.
Today the boys tried their hands at making a nest for Jack's eagle to sit and warm her (wooden) egg. She has been given a place of honor on the mantle where Ben and Jack routinely check on any hatchings. At least she can't bring dead rats into her nest like our internet mama eagle does.




Slumber Party

One time, a long, long time ago, we set up a huge pallet on the family room floor and surprised the kids with a big, whole-family slumber party. Of course, they totally loved it and have mentioned it several times since. Tonight, with the threat of tornados looming and a whole bunch of little people to shuttle downstairs should one decide to come our way, we decided it would be a great time to pile everyone up for the night. The added bonus this time was that Chesty would get to sleep in between two of his favorite people instead of in his crate where he normally sleeps. Our kids now think night time tornado warnings are awesome, so if you ever hear them say so you'll know why.