For Laughs

Because you should never go through life without seeing this:



or this:



Why am I thinking about these skits? Because we saw this at the Smithsonian:

George Washington, D.C. Visit

Before we went on the trip I told Popcorn and Sinatra that we were going to Washington D.C. Sinatra was clueless, but Popcorn kept correcting me: "It's George Washington, D.C, Mom!" He didn't believe that it was just Washington D.C. until the end of the weekend, and refused to say (or let you say) anything but his pronunciation.

These kids keep me laughing!

Jon and a co-worker/friend had business that ended in D.C, so the families tagged along and we all enjoyed a mini vacation.

Here's most of the crew in front of the Lincoln Memorial at sunset on our last day.



Shakespeare in front of the Washington monument.



Shakespeare and his friend enjoyed the hands-on section of the American History Smithsonian Museum. This was a section dedicated to lesser-known inventors.



At one point we packed 9 children into the back of the mini van. Shhh! We made the kids in the back duck.



While visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the younger boys were as good as gold. The signs all ask for silence and respect. The only peep they made for 10 minutes was when Sinatra leaned over and whispered, "Mom, is he gonna' kill somebody?"

She Turned 11

Gem turned 11 on Wednesday. We gave her money. That's what she wanted. Amazing. I have a kid that only wants money--well, also a cell phone,a laptop(which she did NOT get). We took her out to Longhorn for a special dinner and to The Princess and the Frog, Disney movie. She had to order from the adult menu at the restaurant because the kid menu was for 10 and under. Ha! She was thrilled.

It's such a joy to have a kid like her. She is a gift--a blessing. I love her tender heart and her quick mind, her beautiful eyes and abundant smile. She's makes her parents smile. The messy room and the occasional roll of the eyes and sigh do not define this tween. She's sweet and lovely. She has a beautiful soul that is teachable and humble. What a delight!

Love you, sweet girl! Happy birthday!

Shakespeare is 9

Today was Shakespeare's birthday. He's such a gift giver. He bought presents ahead of time for his brother and sister. He was soooo looking forward to his b-day. And then Jon had a business trip to D.C. We decided to come for the tail end of the trip, but it put us traveling home on Shakespeare's birthday. We got home this afternoon with no present bought and no birthday cake baked.

We ended up takin him out to Bravo (nice Italian restaurant) for dinner. Then we stopped by Target on the way home to pick up his present--a nerf broadsword. He seemed happy enough. We're just not doing so well on birthday delivery this time around.

One thing he did enjoy was Washington D.C. I'll post pictures tomorrow evening or Wednesday.

On a different note--Jon and I have been so overwhelmed lately by the blessings that the kids are. We sigh, we stare, we laugh at antics...we enjoy them. God is so good. We are so blessed.

Happy birthday, my favorite 9 year old in the whole wide world! We love you so much.

6

Popcorn turned six years old yesterday! Here are a few shots from his birthday party.

When I turn 6.

Popcorn: Mom, Shakespeare tried to get me to count to 100 once.

Me: Did you do it?

Popcorn: No. It's too hard.

Me: Well, we need to work on that.

Popcorn: I don't want to today. I'll do it when I turn six.

Me: That's next week, Bud. Okay, we'll wait till you're six.

Popcorn: Yeah. 'Cause today I'm already done wiff maff.

Sugar is Growing

See me standing at the window? I'm really just here because the vent is blowing warm air.



Hey, there's Gem! I like her.



Who needs yoga?!



Oh yea, mom wanted me to tell you that I am mobile.



Getting big, isn't she?!

Disney Again

I've seriously failed in the blogging realm. Two posts in January is just pitiful. With three birthdays in this month I should do a bit better. Life just keeps rolling along, leaving little time for informing our adoring public about our captivating lives.

My mind has stayed occupied with things like fractions, long division and teaching reading. By the way, teaching a child to read is probably the single most rewarding thing about homeschooling--not that you have to home school to teach a child to read. It's just that with home schooling there is no other alternative. Sinatra is going from two letter blends to three letter words right now. So much fun to see him get it.

Well, here is the meat of my post: more Disney pictures.


You might think that nothing is wrong with this picture.



Or this one.



But take a look at this one and you'll see that my crazy kids were swimming in 50 degree weather. Disney keeps their pools exceptionally warm during January. They played for nearly three hours.



Here is Sinatra on his first roller coaster--The Barnstormer, in ToonTown!


Gem and G-Pa with Tom Sawyer's river boat behind them.



Here is another one of Gem in Canada.



And one final group shot of us shivering on Main Street at MGM. We caught the final night of the light show.



Oh yeah...This is my Dad (with Jon). It was his birthday on Groundhog Day. Happy Birthday, Dad! I thought this picture was a good one for blackmail, but maybe it's just a nice "celebrating" type of photo. He and Jon were the honorary limbo pole holders at O'Hana (Polynesian Restaurant). "Aloha, Cousin!"