5 Boys and a Princess

Snow of Epic Proportions

2012-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

~erica

The snow started on Saturday, just in time for Tovah's birthday. It mostly melted on Sunday so we were able to have 5 giggly girls over for her birthday party (cupcakes, cocoa, nail polish, and the new Judy Moody movie- it was a very successful birthday party). Monday we woke up to more snow but it was a day off of school so it seemed like a waste.

Tovah and Grandma built a little snowman in the backyard. This is the "normal" amount of snow we get, on the years that we even get any snow. On Tuesday they cancelled all the schools in the county for a day of rain, but I still had to go to school. The college cancelled all evening classes and classes for Wednesday at about 1 p.m. The news and weather channel started talking about a snowstorm of epic proportions, the State Meteorologist said that this would be a "once in a lifetime" event. We'll see...

At 5:45 my cell phone alarm went off. I got up to go to the bathroom and looked out the window and came back to bed and told Ryan that there wouldn't be any school today- the tops of the cars were covered in white. He took this picture out our bedroom window. At 6 we got the automated call from the school that school was cancelled so we turned off the news and went back to sleep. At 7 Rush got up and showered and then looked out the window. He checked the website and saw there wasn't school today so he went back to bed. I got up at 7:40 to send him back to bed and make sure he didn't get Tovah up.

At 8:30 everyone was up and they sent Jonah (the shortest of all the kids) out to knock the snow off the dish so the TV wouldn't be messed up (priorities). I stepped off the back step and the snow went up over the top of my rain boots. It was up over Jonah's knees.

Arin had to go out to rescue Jonah when he fell into the snow. The snow fall totals in the areas around us are 12-19", I'm not sure how much we got, but that's the birdbath back there that looks like a frosted cake on a stand... I guess we really did get an epic snowfall. It's supposed to taper off this morning and then turn to rain but they expect the rain to freeze on the top of the snow so I don't know how fast the snow will go away. No school today for any of us (except Ryan, his is online), no rehearsal or practice, no church. Tomorrow, who knows? And there may be another weather system coming through on Saturday with more snow. Whether or not the kids are out of school we have our non-refundable or changeable airline tickets to Disneyland for June 16!

Snow! It's made with love- just ask the kids....

2012-01-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

~erica

I've pondered all week on what to post for Made With Love. I figured I'd skip this week since I haven't taken any photos this week and I've been too busy with school to be creative and the one great meal I made, I didn't have a chance to photograph.

Then the snow arrived, right in time for Tovah's birthday! Snow is actually pretty rare in SW Washington and its forecast a lot more often than it actually shows up. Flurries with sun breaks teased us all afternoon and I just wanted it to hold off long enough for us to get home from shopping and birthday lunch. By the time we got home it had pretty much stopped and I figured it was a bust but at 5:30, when Ryan headed out for work, it really started in earnest.

This is how the backyard looked when we went downstairs at 9:30 to have cake and ice cream. The dead Christmas tree I threw out the backdoor last week looks great. The best birthday ending ever!

I'm linked up with project 52 photo challenge at my3boybarians.com Next week's theme is "I Dreamed a Dream."

Goals

2012-01-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

~erica

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions but I do try and set out some goals for each new year. When I was good about homeschool planning, I would work over the summer to set physical and spiritual goals for each child that we would work on that year. I'm not sure my personal goals can be divided that way- they have components of both.

Read through Proverbs each month
Read Psalms twice during the year (1 Psalm a day, except for Psalm 119 I'll give myself a day for each letter)
Listen to Chuck Missler's commentaries on Acts and possibly Hebrews (on my MP3 player)
Read Crazy Love
Read Families Where Grace is in Place
Upload and Print pictures each month
Get pictures up on the walls
Do Couch to 5K I'll start by walking 3+ times each week, 2 of them will be the nights when Tovah is at Winter Academy Soccer (I will walk the track under the lights)
Be more consistent with menu planning and dinner prep

This post is linked to the project 52 photo challenge at my3boybarians.com

Low Carb Eating

2011-12-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

~erica

Make-Ahead Meatballs

In September we went back to Low Carb Eating around here. After my dad had a horrible reaction to Statin drugs, his doctor told him he needed to go on an Atkin's type diet. Ryan does much better on the diet as well. I'm not sure of my dad's cholesterol numbers but Ryan's off his Diabetes meds and totally controlling his blood sugar with diet. We've done okay over the holidays and even hosted 2 gatherings, I supplied food that they could eat and had everyone else bring the goodies and other sides.

Note: the kids and I are not on this diet but if we eat cereal and bread at breakfast, lunch, and snacks then we don't need carbs at dinner to balance. I sometimes make pasta or potatoes if the main dish needs it but I've stopped making rice since the kids really don't like it and my mom and I don't need the extra carbs either.

Dinners now look like a high protein main dish, a huge salad, and a vegetable (if I'm good, 2 if I'm really on the ball). Ryan and dad take care of their own breakfast and lunches- lots of eggs, sausage, cheese, and fish (for my folks). Dad makes jalapeno omelets that Jonah and Tovah really like and I found a baked omelet roll recipe that I want to try using jalapenos instead of ham. I'm finding Pinterest to be very helpful when searching for something new, I just need to make a low-carb board so I don't have to go back and weed through the pasta recipes.

Some of our favorite dinners (I'll link to the recipe if I have one):

Make-Ahead Meatballs- I'll type out the recipe at the end of this post
Upside Down Pizza
Chicken, Sausage, & Peppers
Corned Beef- I can't find the link or recipe, but basically after boiling it you glaze it with Honey Mustard and brown sugar and broil until bubbly. My family went from Corned Beef haters to lovers! I boil it with the cabbage and carrots but make oven fries out of the potatoes and the kids are happy.
Creamy Chicken Picasso - I also did a variation on this with my homemade enchilada sauce
Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork - I got an enamelled dutch oven for Christmas just to make this recipe
Cream of ??? Soup- 12 years ago when we first did Atkins I found that Alfredo Sauce in a jar has relatively few carbs and when thinned with 2-3c of milk makes a wonderful creamy soup. I add whateer I have on hand: cooked chicken, cooked bacon, broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions and peppers (red and yellow are my favorite), cauliflower, spinach. Ryan made a variation in the crockpot for a work potluck that he really liked- italian sausage and spinach. Once I had some leftover baked potatoes and I fried them up and let the kids add them to their own bowls- actually that night I just made basic soup and let everyone build their own bowls, it was the best option because no one threw away mushrooms they didn't want.
Roast Beef or Pork
Roast Chicken- I do 2 at a time in my Pampered Chef baker with lemon pepper, garlic, and chili powder

During the fall we grilled everything- chops, steaks, veggies; but even though our BBQ is under cover it's just too cold to stand out there most nights. We've cut back on Taco Night because my dad and Ryan only get Taco Salad and neither is excited about it. I'm going to try adding some dried beans in and see what happens, mainly because we are getting a little tired of meat all the time.

Make-Ahead Meatballs

10# hamburger

6 eggs

1 onion, finely minced so the kids don't see it

2t salt

2t black pepper

2t garlic powder

Mix well. Shape into 1" balls (I use a med. Pampered Chef scoop). Bake at 400-deg. for about 15 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle. Makes 160 meatballs. Freeze in meal size batches.

For our party I just transferred them into my crockpot once they were baked. I served BBQ sauce and Swedish Meatball Gravy (I had packets from Ikea) and cranberry sauce on the side. I also served Chicken, Sausage, & Peppers- I doubled the recipe and as each step was finished I added it to the crockpot.

Has our grocery budget gone up? I'm not sure that it has, Yes, I'm buying a lot more meat but I'm not buying a lot of snacks or baked goods or convenience foods and those are what always seemed to drive our bill up at Costco. Since I've been on break we've taken the time to go to Winco and Cash & Carry when we shop. During school Ryan usually does our shopping and I don't know if he'll continue.

Our Christmas Letter

2011-12-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! The biggest news is Ryan finished his RN in August! We aren't counting how many years its taken him, as he started his prerequisites when he got out of the Navy in 1992... Now we wait for an RN position to open up in the NICU.

Tovah presented Ryan with his pin at the pinning ceremony at Lower Columbia College in August. It was a long summer, he had clinicals 4 days a week and worked the other 3. Thankfully he did his hospital work at our local hospital. It was rather funny, the other students were astounded by how many of the staff and patients he knew, I think he got tired of explaining how he knew each person but when you live most of your life in the same small community, you have connections, people who don't live in small towns just don't get it.

Nathan came home from Afghanistan March 28. One of his first visits was with Grandma Hendrickson. Sadly, she passed away June 20. We are thankful that she only had one bad day and was able to die at home in her blue chair, just as Ryan had promised her.

He reenlisted in August and leaves for Scout school in March, then he will be stationed in Colorado. I guess we'll be making a road trip in the next year or two.

Ryan and I celebrated our 23rd Anniversary with a weekend in Seattle. We toured Safeco Field (we're sitting in the visting dugout), Smith Tower, had lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront, did Starbucks and Pike Place Market, and finished off with Mary Poppins at the Paramount and a night at the Hyatt.

The end of the first day of school

Rush and Tovah started public school this fall. Rush is in 11th grade and enjoying band and drama and wanting to get his driver's license. Tovah's in 3rd grade and has to be reminded by her teacher that she isn't there to socialize (umm, what about socialization?) She's excited about all aspects of school and is excelling academically. They both are looking forward to baseball season in March and Rush is talking about running Cross Country next fall.

Arin and Isaac are in a school at home program that will carry their transcripts. Arin is in 9th and enjoying taking a Biology class with other students, they are looking forward to going to Alaska in May. He's started wrestling for the high school team and has a great attitude, he's discovered that he loves to run so I foresee Track and Cross Country in the future.

Isaac is in 8th grade and takes all his classes at home right now. He's on the Chess team and enjoys going to tournaments. Grandma and Grandpa are going to take him to Spokane in April for the Middle School/ High School State Chess Tournament.

Jonah's in 6th grade and is also homeschooled. He'll also be playing baseball this spring.

The 4 boys are still active in Scouts and next summer Rush and Arin will be working on their Eagle projects. Rush, Arin, and Isaac will all be eligible for High Adventure. Also Jonah will go to Camp Hahobas for a second year. It'll be a busy summer...

In June I'll be completing my AA from Centralia College and I got my acceptance letter from The Evergreen State College this week. I will be doing the Spanish program next year but not sure what else I'll focus on. Ryan is starting his BA in Medical Informatics in January as well.

Life is busy but I don't think I would want it any other way. A busy life means we are healthy and that we have the freedom and opportunity to pursue our interests.

The Eagle

2011-12-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

~erica

Coming home the other afternoon I noticed this eagle in the tree across the street. I ran inside to get my camera and called the kids to come downstairs to see.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Shepherds (the Bible kind, NOT real ones)

2011-12-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

~erica

Today is my first real day of Christmas Break (the last 3 days of last week didn't count, but more on that later, maybe). Tovah stayed home from school with an awful cough but no big deal. At 8:30 the phone rang and our friends at Black Sheep Creamery needed some shepherds for the class of first graders that were coming out to the farm this morning. Could one of the boys be there at 9:30, in costume? I figured Arin would want to do it, he loves to dress up. As soon as Jonah was reassured that he would be a Bible Shepherd and not have to mess with the sheep as a real shepherd he was in, Isaac negotiated it as school for the day, and Arin wasn't really given a choice. Problem: it's 25-degrees out there and all our shepherd costumes are for little guys (like, we could have outfitted most of the first graders from our costume box) but nothing for big boys. Polypropolene took care of the cold and grandma and grandpa have bathrobes so we were off.

The first grade class from the Christian School arrived all dressed up ready to learn about being a shepherd and meet some sheep (and eat a cool Shepherd's lunch of bread, cheese, and fruit).

The teacher read them a couple of Christmas stories in the barn while they are distracted by the hay, the sheep, the smells, etc.

Who's this in our house?

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid... And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:8,9,15,16

These shepherds look like they got woken up and put on their bathrobes to see what was the matter.

Have you ever met a sheep? Jonah spends a lot of time down there and he knows what they are like and avoids spending too much time around them. They are utterly stupid and too stubborn for their own good. There is nothing cute and cuddly about them and they usually run the other way when they hear their Shepherd's voice. Hmmm, cuts a little too close to home for some of us....

Note: these are all straight out of my camera and I can see the need for some Photoshop editing but I wanted to get this post up, it's been too long since I blogged. Also we've been home 2 hours and I'm still cold with all my layers on and a big cup of hot chocolate inside me.

I Completed the Bible in 90 Days!

2011-10-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

~erica

I finished the Bible in 90 Days 2 days early on October 6. I'm really glad I did it and I may even do it again next summer, but right now I'm really glad its done.

The pace was really hectic especially on top of school and life. I felt like I was racing through at 70 miles an hour and if I blinked I missed a whole book (hey, there went Haggai...). I think I'd like to spend some time in Hebrews now and I really want to finish reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love.

Living in a Changed America- Thoughts on 9-11

2011-09-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

~erica

I remember that morning- we woke up to the news of the 2nd plane hitting the Tower. It still seems surreal, we had gone to bed the night before listening to Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor and in that half waking state when the radio first came on I couldn't figure out why the plot had changed. It was horrifying to fully wake up and realize that it was all too real. This week it seems like every news story and everyone's focus has been on the 10th Anniversary of 9-11. Ryan watched 102 Minutes that Changed America and a Nova DVD, Why the Towers Fell with the boys. We didn't have TV at the time and only dial-up internet so we had the radio and still images and didn't have the TV news on all day so I'm not sure the boys were really aware of what had happened- they didn't see it. Nathan was 12 so I'm sure we talked to him about it but the other boys were 6, 5, 3, and not quite 2. They got some of it when Nathan went to Afghanistan for a year

I think everyone is now more fully aware that bad things can happen. Terrorism isn't just something that happens on the news "over there" somewhere but its something that can happen to people we know and love. But the terrorists weren't able to damage what makes us Americans: our optimism and our independence. We're thankful for the people who sacrifice their lives for our freedom.

Last night I was camping with our Boy Scout Troop. Most of the boys were only toddlers and don't remember when it happened. This morning we talked to them about what happened. I asked the older boys if any of them remembered being able to go out to the gate at the airport to meet a plane? No, but one of the 18 year olds could remember when you could take more than 4 oz. of fluid on a plan. (And some hadn't ever been on a plane- this is Lewis County afterall.)

These boys were only a year old on 9-11-01

Sights such as this flag ceremony yesterday bring me to tears. These boys are our future and they make me proud.

"Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God in the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder,...that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ' What do these stones mean to you?' These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." Joshua 4: 5, 7

I listened to this interview with Tami Michaels and her husband on the radio Saturday morning. It's as close an eyewitness account as you can get. They were across the street in the Millenium Hilton.

First Football Game: The Beginning of a New Era

2011-09-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

~erica

Friday night we went to our first football game as a family. It was the inaugural game in the new Pirate Stadium (I guess they are calling it The Brig, at least they did on the Seattle news I saw later that night). It supposedly has 4 times the seating of the old wooden stadium on the hill and every seat was taken Friday night. Lots of people didn't even try to get in the stands and just stood on the track. The bathrooms and concession stands aren't finished but the lights, stands, and field were ready for the game (thanks to the late nights all week they worked over there). It was pretty exciting to come home one afternoon and see that the lights were on.

Tovah had soccer practice so we missed all the pre-game activities. We arrived just as the game ball arrived by parachute. I don't have any pictures of the first quarter because by the time we found my folks and the kids and got the camera out I discovered my card was in the laptop and not in my camera. I have a second card now but it was in my camera bag in the car so I had to wait until the end of the first quarter to run back out to the van and get it.

Rush is in the pep band, his job seems to be to hold his cymbals so the drummer can use them as a high hat. He's the one with his back to me, talking to his friend Jesse. This is the best picture I could get from the nosebleed section. Next game I'll stay out of the stands so I can get some better pictures.

The Pirates got 3 touchdowns the first quarter.

The view of Mt. Rainier from the stands. The sky is pretty hazy from the heat and lack of rain. Some days the mountain is so clear you can almost see hikers on it.

Final score 39 to 14- it was a good game. The Wahkiakum Mules were a pretty good team. TransAlta matched a lot of the contributions for the stadium and made the project possible. They also paid for a fireworks show after the game. Our local State Legislator works for TransAlta and his wife teaches at Adna. They were sitting behind me at the game and his wife and I were giving him a hard time- the TransAlta part of the sign is lit and the Pirate Stadium isn't, something's just not right about that...

After the fireworks Tovah and I had to drive home in Adna traffic (only on game nights) while everyone else decided it would be quicker to just walk. We had a good time. The boys all have ASB cards and my folks got Senior Sports passes so we'll probably go to all the games. The next home game is against a big school from up north and is a non-league game on a Saturday night that Ryan is off so it will be a true family affair.

Vacation!

2011-09-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

~erica

We took 2 days at Ocean Shores for our vacation this summer. We couldn't get down there at all last year with the school schedule. Ryan took a night off and we had to be back in time for Back To School Night. We packed light to fit in the Pilot, but took the essentials: swim suits, electronics, books, snacks, food for lunches and 1 dinner. We ate dinner the first night at the restaurant at the hotel and the hotel had a continental breakfast with waffles each morning. I finished 2 books and got caught up on my Bible in 90 Days reading. Ryan got about a third of the way through the Tom Clancy we got at Christmastime.

"Hurry up, Mom!" The walk to the beach gets longer each year | Playing tag with the waves

When we drove down on Sunday we drove out of sunshine and temperatures pushing 90-degrees into a wall of clouds and chilly temps. Monday we woke up to glorious sunshine and the wind wasn't even very bad. We headed to the beach in the morning in case the clouds were coming back in the afternoon. The hotel has an indoor pool so we weren't worried about swimming in bad weather.

The waves were filthy looking. Ryan said thatit's expected that we'd start seeing junk from the tsunami this fall | Rush was Here | Red Shirts have a low life expectancy... | How can I expect the kids to be mature when this is what I get from their dad?

First Days of School

2011-09-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

~erica

School started on Wednesday. We came home from the beach on Tuesday in time to unload, unpack, and get to the High School for Back to School Night. It's very efficient: schedules, lockers, ASB cards, pictures, buy logo wear, and even free dinner for the family all in a 2-hour window. The cheerleaders were having a Root Beer Float fundraiser and towards the end of the evening and our energy I gave each of the kids a dollar to get one, but they ran out of root beer when they got to the front of the line. Not a problem, we'll grab a 2 liter at the little store on our way home and still get home in time for baths and an early bedtime. NO root beer at the little store. No big deal, there's another store 3 miles from home, we'll run there. NO root beer. At this point Ryan just wants to run into Walmart to grab the root beer and get home. I make him stop at the 3rd store on the way to town because really, it'll make a better facebook status this way. The third story didn't have root beer so we ended up at Walmart.

Tovah was fretting about not having an alarm clock to wake her up and would I get her up in time.... I figured she'd be up at the crack of dawn. We prepped her lunch (we've been looking at bento sites all summer) and made sure their bags were packed before a 9 o'clock bedtime.

Ready to go to their first day of public school. We dropped Rush off first and didn't even make it out of the parking lot before he called to say he forgot his gym clothes.

Tovah's friends from fastpitch came and found her on the playground (and their mom's came and found me). She was off and already having a great time.

She's off to Mrs. Johnson's third grade class!

We went home a bit shell-shocked to think we'd actually done it and sent her to public school. When we got home we jumped into homeschooling mode and finally ordered Jonah's curriculum (I think of it as waiting for the summer rush to end). We met with Arin & Isaac's supervising teacher and finalized their subject choices. Then we went to the library and out to a Not-Back-To-School lunch at Burger King.

Waiting for the bus to bring them home at 3:10.

I'm still getting looks and one-syllable grunts from Rush when I ask about how its going, but Tovah's having a great time. Today she's trying out hot lunch for the first time and when I broached the subject of dropping her off at school in the mornings when my school starts, she wants to ride the bus.

The boys started in their books yesterday, we're still waiting for several subjects to arrive but this eases us into the schedule. We finally went through the Scout books and merit badge blue cards to see what they need to work on, this has been on my To Do list all summer (or at least since Isaac and Jonah came home from camp). This morning I thought it was going well and everyone was on task until I went in to take a picture of Arin studying in his room and found him in his pajamas, needing a shower, watching a movie on the personal DVD player so obviously we need some reminders of school day expectations.

We had to rearrange the school room for Isaac to have some work area. He and I can share the table now that its turned sideways. I thought I had a leaf for this table, but evidently, I don't. One big change for him, we decided he wouldn't take Biology (he's only in 8th grade so it wouldn't count as his lab science requirement) from Mrs. Witt so he'll be doing A Beka Science of the Physical Creation

Jonah got everything finished and is playing quietly on the DS. Note: all the books on the couch are either going into our yard sale or getting sold online- we're done with them and I ~~needed~~ wanted some more space on the bookshelves. I need to be outside sorting stuff for tomorrow but I'm waiting for Arin to finish.

Rush is playing percussion in the pep band, so tonight we'll all be going to the very first football game in the brand new Adna stadium. They've been working on it every night this week and it's still not finished, but they have to play in it- I'm thinking it'll be a Sani-can event.

2011-12 School Plan (Updated)

2011-08-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

~ erica

Is it okay to plan/ start a new school year before you finish the paperwork for the year before? Maybe I'd better work on the kids' assessments today... I sat down last spring and wrote out a preliminary plan for curriculum this year. I still think its a sound plan but I think I need to add a few more things. This morning I started clearing books and homeschool stuff that we are never going to use off the shelves and found a couple of things that I think we should use such as Greenleaf's Old Testament History and the Learning Language Arts Through Literature Orange Book on doing research and a report (I've got the old set and can't find a link to it). Tovah found an Origami book and is busy using up the paper I've had on the shelf for 23 years, I guess its time to let it go!

Jonah: 6th Grade

Bible/ History: Greenleaf Old Testament History, Breakout: How to Share Christ

Reading: Pathways Readers & workbooks New Friends and More New Friends

Math: Math-U-See Delta

Language: Word Roots, LLATL Orange

History: WA State History

Science: Geology MB, Scout stuff

Building Thinking Skills

Health: Baseball, Swim lessons, Scout Stuff

Isaac: 8th Grade

Bible/ History: Greenleaf Old Testament History

Language: A Beka Language B, LLATL Orange/ Research project, Vocabulary

History: WA State History Our Northwest Heritage

Science: ~~Geology~~ A Beka Science of the Physical Creation

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra

Building Thinking Skills

Arin: 9th Grade

Bible/ History: Greenleaf Old Testament History

Language: IEW Structure and Style, LLATL Orange/ Research project, Vocabulary

History: WA State History Our Northwest Heritage

Science: ~~Geology~~ Apologia Biology
Math: Teaching Textbooks Math 7
Building Thinking Skills

I need to have them do some placement tests for Teaching Textbooks. Also I need to go through their Scout books and current Merit Badge Blue Cards to see what they need to finish up and start to stay on track (this has been on my To Do list since Spring Break). We haven't met with Isaac and Arin's supervising teacher yet and haven't ordered any curriculum but I think we'll get started after Labor Day with what we have on hand- finishing last year's Thinking Skills books, Merit Badge work, LLATL, and Greenleaf. I did a review for Timberdoodle on the Word Roots and Building Thinking Skills and liked them so much we plan to continue using them. I'll probably have Jonah do the literature sections of LLATL while the other 2 only do the research and report units. Wednesday nights start on the 14th and Jonah will get his Breakout book then. We plan on getting another gym membership so we'll swim once a week and they'll go to the gym at least once a week. Jonah is old enough now to go through the training and use the treadmills and exercise bikes. They like to climb the rock so we may try and add that a couple times of month. Of course, it all might change after our meeting with their teacher...

The Fair

2011-08-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

~erica

The last hurrah of summer before we change gears to Back To School/ Fall mode

Linking up to the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge: Summer {End}

So Much Yarn!

2011-08-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

~erica

This is what I got for my birthday (as well as a new Bible in New Kings James to replace my NIV that the cover is falling off). Ryan sold a bunch of his nursing books and knew I wanted some yarn for my birthday (okay, the catalog with the shawl has had a prominent place on our desk for weeks). He let me pick out the extra sock yarn to get to $50 for free shipping.

This yarn will make this shawl.

photo source

I don't usually wear shawls but I love the colors of the Seasons shawl and the look. I'm thinking in the gray days of February and March it will keep me warm and make me feel like spring.

3 sets of sock yarn. The darker red is Gypsy Tonal and it'll be fun to knit a pair of socks with an intricate stitch pattern (I'm hoping its not too dark to see the stitch definition).

The multicolored is called Juice Box and it makes me happy just to look at it.

The plain yarn is a silk merino blend that I plan on dying with Kool Aid. I'm tending towards the blue or a dark green but I have a feeling Tovah will have a say in the color choice. I ran across this chart by Tried & True and it was my first ever pin to Pinterest

photo source

This should be enough yarn to keep me busy all winter especially since I have 3 projects I am currently working on: a cardigan that Ryan ordered me from Knit Picks for Mother's Day, a pair of herringbone socks that I am knitting out of the possum yarn a friend brought back from New Zealand for me, and an R2D2 hat for a guy I went to high school with. I thought it would be easy to whip up and I'd get his done and then make them for the boys.... the beanie was quick and easy but the details are going to be the death of me.

Our Oregon Trip

2011-08-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

~erica

Monday the kids and I headed down to Portland for 3 days of being tourists. With our Pacic Science Center membership and staying at my aunt's it didn't cost much more than gas and fun food.

We went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. They had 2 featured exhibits that we wanted to see; Narnia and Game On. Narnia cost us $2 each to get in. They had costumes from the first 2 movies and sets and props. There were some hands on exhibits warning against global warming (I think the link was the big thaw in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe- never mind that was caused by magic). There was a wall of ice that you could try to climb and some chain mail and armor to try and lift. The second exhibit was about the development of video games. They had everything from pinball machines and arcade games to Wii, Kinect, and a Virtual Reality game. They had Pong set up a big screen, it just seemed wrong. The boys could have stayed in there for hours but it was so noisy! I looked for PacMan but couldn't get near it if it was there.

We went to stay at my aunt Ann's house. My cousin Paul's family came over for dinner and my cousin Fae came in with her new baby. We gladly held the baby all evening, the kids fought over who got to hold her. Noah is as blond as most of the cousins in my generation (I was the exception- I always had brown hair).

(Turns out no flash, night time pictures are better when they are black & white.)

Tuesday Ann & Kaitlyn went with us to McMinnville to the Evergreen Air & Space Museum. Kaitlyn had been to the museum before but it was new for the rest of us. My membership got in 2 adults and all the kids in the party, we had wanted to go when we had a membership to the Boeing Air Museum but because Evergreen has an IMAX it is actually a science museum and not an air museum. I'll be writing a post on the value of memberships to places, but I'll just say here that these 2 visits would have cost more than we paid for our Science Center membership, even at the Platinum level.

My friend, Mauri, met us the parking lot for a 5 minute hug and catch up; I hadn't seen her since she moved down there 2-3 years ago. She had to get to a class but it was nice to see her even for just a few minutes.

They had old airline seats all over the museum instead of benches. Every time the kids sat down they buckled their seat belts. Every single time! Towards the end of the second section of the museum I sat down and figured out how to recline the seats then I didn't want to get up and drive the hour back to Ann's.

The highlight of the museum is Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose. You can go into the fuselage and look both ways. They filled the wings with beach balls for flotation- remember that the next time the flight attendant tells you to use your seat cushion.... It's a huge airplane but they have so many airplanes around it and the building is so big that it's hard to get a real sense of its size.

Rounds of ammunition in the wing | I finally got a picture of the Berlin Wall (I didn't have any film when I was there in 1988) | 24 kills

Sig Sauer (why does the name seem familiar?) | This banner says "Pacific Theater" | Time Magazine cover with "Race for the Moon"

Arin with his head up the exhaust vent of a Saturn rocket | Isaac inside the bigger exhaust vent of the rocket | Boy Scout sash is a "typical" boys room of the 1950s (but I think those are all modern badges)

In the hands on area they had an infared camera and you could see yourself on the screen. We were easily amused and stood there for quite a while rubbing our hands together to heat them up. The lighter areas are the warmer areas. Arin and Rush's noses were black and Rush's curls were jet black, he looked like Bernard from The Santa Claus. The display of guns was of special interest to the boys and they all liked playing outside on the playground. Tovah got to push the button that started the Saturn rocket countdown so she was happy. The boys want to go back with Ryan (and he'd like to go too), maybe we'll go if we go down to Homeschool Day at Oregon Gardens on Sept. 13.

There's a Sonic around the corner from my aunt's so we made sure we were back in Hillsboro in time for Sonic Happy Hour. Everyone got a 32-oz. drink and was happy.

Wednesday we were going to go hiking at Multnomah Falls but it was too hot and we were ready to be home. We headed across town to stop at Ikea for a shower curtain for the boys' bathroom and swedish meatballs. We're having them for dinner tonight as soon as Ryan gets home (we could bring them home frozen since we had the coolers with us).

Safeco Field Tour

2011-08-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

~erica

For our anniversary Ryan got tickets to Mary Poppins for me then let me plan the rest of the day in Seattle. He did ask that, if we had time, could we please go tour Safeco Field.

There were only 3 of us on the 2 o'clock tour. The visiting Clubhouse was the first place we went in, we were encouraged to take pictures and ask questions, the guide had been with the club forever. It was overwhelming to even know where to start taking pictures.

We went out on the field and could sit in the dugouts and take pictures from behind home plate. Ryan standing where Eric Wedge (is that the current manager?) stands during the games.

We watched the grounds crew replace the sod around home plate while we waited for an earlier group to clear the visitors dugout. Ryan could talk team players and stats all he wanted with the guide.

See, I was there too.

Media room being interviewed.

Press box- we're in the open window under the "Wel" of Welcome to Safeco Field in the picture of Ryan in the dugout.

We got to see the Diamond Club and a couple of the suites including the owner's suite. It was a lot of fun even if you aren't a diehard baseball nut. You can book online and set up group tours. We just bought our tickets at the Mariner's store when we arrived (Ryan had checked out the times and costs before we went). Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for kids. Group tour discounts are available. The website said be prepared to walk 1 mile and climb stairs but its wheelchair accessible. I think we used the wheelchair route since the only stairs we climbed were at the home plate entrance.

Why Are You Crying?

2011-07-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

~erica

Halloween weekend 1993 at Fred Hutchison- Swedish Hospital, Seattle

Today I helped at the church for the service for a 5 year old who died of a mitochondrial disorder. I didn't plan on actually attending, just hanging out in the reception area during the service to make sure everything was ready. I watched about 2 minutes of the slide show and their pictures of central lines, hospitals, and normal kid stuff with medical equipment was too close to our pictures of life with Taryn; I just couldn't watch anymore and went into the office to call my friend Mary Linda. You see, she's been there done that too.

I grew up knowing that children die, I remember hoping I died before my 12th birthday because I thought that grown-ups wouldn't have as much fun in heaven. My mom's baby sister died in about 1963 of a Wilm's Tumor (now one of the most curable childhood cancers). When I was little my grandma always seemed sad, recently I realized that it had only been about 10 years since Terri died. Taryn died 17 years ago and there are days that it seems like yesterday. When I was 7 or 8 my aunt's baby boy died from a birth accident (I still don't know exactly what happened). 3 boys from my class died our Senior year. I knew people who knew people that lost babies to SIDS but it never personally touched me. When I was pregnant with Nathan a couple from our Bible Study lost their baby boy, Matthew, from placenta abruptio. At his funeral it devastated me to think that they were going to have to leave their little boy on Guam when they transferred back stateside.

When Taryn was diagnosed with leukemia at 6 months, they told us she probably would die that night or that first week. We had 18 months more months as a precious gift. That first night I held her in my arms, rocking and nursing her and mourning all the things she'd never be able to do and all the firsts I'd never get to see. I got to see her crawl, walk, talk, potty-train herself, I got to see her personality develop and learn her likes and dislikes. When she relapsed and died it was hard but it wasn't devastating- I knew that day was coming and I knew that I was letting her go to be healed perfectly.

2 years ago when Ahvri died the hardest part was that we didn't have any good memories to balance out the sadness. We never got to know her, she never became "real."

A week after Taryn died I got a phone call that another little girl had died at Children's. Nathan came in to the kitchen where I was crying at the table, overwhelmed by sadness. He asked me, "Why are you crying, mom? Don't you know Quinn is in Heaven with Taryn and Scotty?" He wasn't even 5 yet, but already understood, this world is not our home we're just passing through. We're not promised a perfect life, we're promised a Perfect Saviour and our job is to live our life to his glory. Just because we are Christians doesn't mean that we are sheltered from the results of our fallen world- we live in a world of sin and death and decay.

I guess maybe what I am trying to remind myself is that every day is precious. I get caught up in the everydayness of life and forget to be thankful for the little things, like the 5 boys and the little girl that God gave us because He has a sense of humor, for the healthiness of the kids, for the individuality of each of the kids, for the chance to be their mom. They are who they are because they were each especially chosen for me. When children are little and cute its easy to celebrate the firsts, everything they do is new and wonderful, it's just as important to mark and celebrate the firsts as they enter their teen years.

2008- just before Nathan left for the Army

So, tomorrow I'm sending Jonah off to his first Boy Scout camp, his first week away from me other than with grandparents, his first "big" boy event. Isaac is going as the big brother and the one responsible for the spending money and seeing that Jonah's okay. Monday I'm letting Rush drive us to Eastern WA and I'll try not to freak out too much. I'm letting Arin grow his hair out for Locks of Love even though its in his eyes and driving me nuts (Ryan's having a harder time- long, greasy hair reminds him of working at the prison).

Catching Up

2011-07-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

~erica

I feel bad that the only blogging I've done lately is Saturday Confessions with Melissa at A Familiar Path, I've been taking pictures and we've been doing stuff but it hasn't made it on here. I've got our homeschool plan just about put together, Tovah and I have molded hard boiled eggs, I promised Ryan a Safeco Field post, but I just haven't gotten to them yet...

Arin had an orthodontist appointment just up the street from the spray fountain. It was one of the few really hot days we've had but only he and Tovah were interested in going and playing. I took them out for ice cream afterwards at Dairy Dans (their junior cones are about 8" high)

We went to hear a Mariachi band at the library on Tuesday, it sprinkled a bit but not enough to be a problem. They were really good and I guess several of them are big names in the music scene (my dad knows of the fiddle player and said if he'd known who was going to be there he would have come with us). Rush's friend has been staying with us this week, his family moved to New Mexico last fall.

Monday we went on the Steam Train. It's always a fun trip. I set up a late field trip for the local homeschoolers, I would have needed 60 to meet the minimum riders for the train but we were on with 2 other groups and didn't need a minimum. We had 122! I spent most of the hour plus trip catching up with people I haven't seen in several years and also putting faces to email addresses from the loop.

This is Arin's lightsaber in the dark. I ran upstairs and read a quick tutorial on taking fireworks pictures while Ryan and the kids set them up on the 4th. My dad found his tripod for me, I took a lot of shots pointed in the wrong direction as I couldn't see through my view finder exactly where I was pointed.

The neighbor's mortars above the field behind us.

Ryan bought a ton of sparklers but only Tovah wanted to do them. We have the leftovers for New Year's.

Saturday Confessions- July 10

2011-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

~erica

1) I thought about writing my confessions yesterday but ran out of daylight (and energy). I spent my afternoon and evening at the church cooking and serving dinner for 75 bike riders. Each year 10,000 riders ride the STP from Seattle to Portland. A majority of them spend the night in Lewis County, and as we don't have that many hotel rooms available, many churches and families host riders. We have hosted several times as a fundraiser for Young Life but the last 2 years I've had to help out at church so we haven't hosted.

Grandma & Grandpa Hendrickson

2) I've scanned many of the family pictures that Grandma Hendrickson had. I wish I had taken the time to do it while she was still alive so that I could have talked to her about the who and where of many pictures.

Grandma Hendrickson with her parents and younger sisters in 1932

3) Grandma and I were working on her scrapbook of her 80th birthday party. I was supposed to go over and journal the book for her as she didn't feel up to all the writing, it's been on my To Do List for the past 4 years and I never made the time to do it. Now I have the album but no journalling in it, I can remember some of the stories she told me as we put it together but I'll always regret not finishing it with her.

Grandma Hendrickson with her parents and younger sister, Bernice

4) Rush's friend, Lincoln, is visiting from Albequerque. He brought XBox games and 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory, we're not getting anything else done.

Grandma with Taryn in 1994, about 2weeks before Taryn died (the night before we left for Disneyland)

5) Tovah hadn't changed her earrings since about halfway through the fastpitch season, yesterday she tried to change them and needed some help getting them off. Her earlobes had grown over the backs! She had lost an earring during a game so she had pushed the backs as far up the post as possible. 10 minutes later; after much heavy breathing, tears, and nausea on my part; I was able to pull them out of her skin and get the bleeding stopped. We had to find her some little drop earrings to maintain the holes until the skin heals enough to wear posts with backs again. I couldn't find what I wanted at Walmart so we bought some fishhook-style wires and cross charms. I'm afraid we might have started a new hobby.

6) I feel bad that the only blog posts I've taken time to write these past few weeks are Saturday Confessions

I'm starting the Bible in 90 Days at Moms Toolbox this week. I'm really looking forward to it. Arin and Tovah read the Bible this past year but I have to admit I've never actually read it cover to cover (that would be Confession #7)

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

~erica

Red Skelton explains the Pledge of Allegiance

My favorite Schoolhouse Rock song when I was a kid

Saturday Confessions- July 3 (okay, it's now the 4th)

2011-07-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

~erica

I'm two days late for Saturday Confessions at A Familiar Path but that's on par for the week

We had VBS this past week. I came home every day and took a nap. I'd try to stay awake and get something done but I'd lay on the bed for a minute and 2 hours later wake up groggy and ucky feeling.

Thursday I caught the kids' "allergies" and now am sniffling, sneezing, and have a scratchy throat.

I didn't take a single picture all week. I took my camera to VBS on Monday but never took it out of the case. My sister-in-law got a picture of Tovah and her daughter at Grandma's service on Friday and put it on Facebook. I've never saved a picture off of FB before so we'll see how it turns out.

Friday I didn't get a nap. We got VBS torn down, had less than an hour to run to a friend's house to shower and change clothes, then back to the church for the service. Jonah slept on my lap the entire service. Afterwards, friends from Seattle and Nathan came back to the house for dinner and to wait for I-5 traffic to clear.

Friday night I woke up after two and a half hours of sleep and couldn't go back to sleep, I finally gave up and came downstairs with my laptop until Ryan got up to go to work. Then I crawled back in bed with my Kindle and finished my book until almost 7. I slept til 10 when Tovah woke me about her bagels, fell back asleep at 11, and slept until 2.

Last night I tried to make Biscuits and Gravy but they weren't edible, I grabbed Baking Soda instead of Baking Powder and didn't realize until it was well mixed in. And my gravy didn't thicken. Ryan made pancakes when he got home.

This week I have to accomplish something since I've got nothing to show for 4 weeks of summer break. Rush drives three mornings this week so we have to get up and out the door.

Resting in Peace

2011-06-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

~erica

Nathan with Great-Grandma Hendrickson the day he came home from Afghanistan in March

Ryan's Grandma Hendrickson died this morning at 91 years of age. She loved the Lord and had a good life; outliving her husband, her sisters, and 2 great-grandchildren. She'd been relatively healthy for all these years as well. Recently they found a mass near her pancreas (but not pancreatic) and another one on her back. She had opted for no treatment, just palliative care at home. As I sat down to write this morning she was failing and I didn't know how to pray. Did I pray that she rallies or did I pray that her passing was peaceful and mercifully quick? All I could pray was "thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

Yesterday was her only bad day, she was weak and in a lot of pain. The pain was allowed to overwhelm her and it took a long time to get it back under control. Ryan's cousin spent the night with her and texted me updates every hour on the hour, it was like having a newborn. She ended up spending the entire night sitting next to Grandma watching her breathe. This morning she reported that Grandma was sleeping comfortably. I got a panicked text about 9 that her fingers were turning blue and I called Shar to ask if she needed me to come. We got out of the house as quickly as we could, I was making arrangements for the kids while we went out the door. 2 minutes from her house we got the text that she was gone. She went peacefully in her blue recliner, where Ryan promised her she could die. She went about 40 minutes before a hospital bed was due to be delivered (she adamantly did not want to have a hospital bed- they made her hurt).

I've spent all day with the family and working to tie up loose ends. Ryan's clinical schedule doesn't allow for time off for these circumstances so it's falling to me, Nathan came down and he's stepping up in his dad's stead to "make things right." I'm proud of him, he has Ryan's empathy and seems to be developing my attention to details. I'm proud of all the kids, they spent a long and stressful day peacefully, without adding further stress. Rush hung out with the other cousins, Arin's friend skipped school to be with him and they helped with VBS prep for next week, Tovah spent the day in the church daycare, and Jonah & Isaac played video games in a Sunday School room. Rush was good about checking on them and taking them lunch and making sure they were okay. The only issue of the day was Isaac's tooth, it broke while he was eating a jawbreaker, the problem is our dentist is out on jury duty the whole week...

We don't know when the services will be. The family will be meeting with the pastor tomorrow.

Saturday Confessions- June 18

2011-06-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

~erica

1) We are on our second day of day shift and Ryan overslept. I Hate dayshift! I'm tempted to make a paper chain so that we know when we are close to being done, but I think that might be too childish.

2) I've had a whole week of summer vacation and have nothing to show for it- I don't feel relaxed or rejuvenated or even that I've accomplished anything.

3) Tovah and I tagged along with the boys when they went to Seattle to see Super 8. Our friend, MaryLinda, met us and we had a girls' day. We rode the Monorail, ate at the Westlake food court, went to Old Navy, wandered around Pike Place Market, then back to the Center to meet the guys. MaryLinda says my kids are too well trained. Tovah found a seat and turned around and smiled just as I got my camera out of the bag.

4) We did a lot of shopping, at least for me. Tovah's shoes hurt so we got her 2 new pairs of flip flops at Old Navy, I got 4 more macaroons from Le Panier, we found curry ketchup at the Bavarian Meat Market, got Tovah sunglasses and a purse at Claire's, and candy at that little shop where you pay way too much money for a quarter pound of candy.

5) Tovah and Rush are registered for Public School. Right now most of my angst is about what people are going to think.

6) Ryan took an almost 30% cut in pay this summer as well as doubled his gas budget for clinicals. His car will be gone every day so that means I have to take my van any time we need/ want to go anywhere. I think this is going to be a long summer. I'm trying to make the best of it- we have projects to get done and Rush has half his Algebra book to do. I'm trying to cut the grocery budget by eating what's in the deep freeze and pantry, using coupons, and shopping deals. I got butter, flour, and sugar for baking. I may gain a ton of weight!

7) I hate dayshift, did I mention that?

8) Rush and Arin are asking for razors and I'm trying to ignore them. I'm just not ready for this.

9) The Toothfairy seems to have boycotted our house. Tovah and Jonah just threw their teeth away and asked for their money since she's so unreliable.

I'm linking to:

Saturday Confessions

2011-06-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Corydalis scoulerii Scouler's Corydalis

1) I was going to write a Saturday Confessions post 2 weeks ago when I was trying to do everything except what I was supposed to be doing. But Blogger wouldn't let me load our page on the laptop and I didn't feel like moving my pictures to the desktop.

Geum macrophyllum Large-leaved avens

2) I need to change my blog header. Big changes are happening and I'm not ready to deal with them yet but I do need to change the header. The last time I did it I think I got lucky and did it right the ~~first~~ umteenth time.

This wasn't one we had to identify but it was really cool. I think it's a Colt's Foot Petasites palmatus

3) I completed 18 credits this quarter and my children are all still alive. I did not get a 4.0 which bothers me more than I want to admit.

Trillium ovatum western Trillium

4) I got a 3.8 in Health and Fitness. The only C I got in high school was in Freshman PE. Do I see a trend here?

Dodecatheon hendersonii broadleaf shooting star

5) My house is a disaster! The past two weeks the kids have done their chores but I haven't done mine. Ryan and I have dressed out of a laundry basket in the family room. I told the kids if we believed in Evolution it would only take a spark for new life to grow out of the primordial ooze that was living in the bathroom.

Camassia quamash common camas

6) We are sending Tovah and Rush to public school in the fall. I'm trying not to let the perfect homeschool mom syndrome get to me...

Orchid- I think its a western coralroot Corallorhiza maculata ssp. mertensiana. They are cool but don't smell good and aren't very impressive except in their rarity. I'm really jealous of Marsha right now, she gets to spend the next year or so on Guam and they have sunshine, orchids, plumeria, sunshine, sand, sunshine...

7) I got an easy A in Native Plants, it was lots of memorization of latin names.

Vaccinium ovatum Evergreen huckleberry

8) My plan for this weekend was to stay in my pajamas and watch DVDs and do absolutely nothing. I am finding that I really don't do that very well. I've updated my calendar, recycled all the papers out of my school notebook, put away baseball gear, folded laundry, cleaned the toilet (this was a kill or be killed situation), and taken 2 naps while watching 4 episodes of Midsommer Murder. We went to a birthday party last night because we had to go to town to return the movie I forgot to turn in earlier. Rush went to graduation this afternoon and we're going to another graduation tomorrow. Then we'll do nothing...

9) The kids have watched more Dr. Who the past 3 weekends. I've been too busy to find them alternative activities to TV watching

10) This is Ryan's last weekend working nights and I'm going to miss my quiet time while he sleeps and having the bed/ TV all to myself.

23 Years

2011-05-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

~erica

Today Ryan and I are celebrating our 23rd Anniversary (well, I'm up for it but he's sleeping, it is a weekend after all). I told him we needed to go to Taco Bell for dinner tonight and have Burrito Supremes since that's what we did our wedding night.

Friday Ryan surprised me with a night out in Seattle (as much of a surprise as it can be when you have to make arrangements for 5 kids who have Driver's Ed and baseball tournaments going on). I didn't cheat but I had pretty much figured out what we were going to do...

We got a Groupon deal on tickets for the Smith's Tower Observation Deck in Pioneer Square. It was the tallest building in Seattle for a long time, I remember when you could see it from the freeway, before all the skyscrapers started going up around it. Because it's right in the middle of Pioneer Square you are looking down on Seattle history;

The Alaskan Way viaduct that's soon to be no more

Cool sign. It says it was established in 1882. So either this building was built before the 1889 fire and survived or it was a new building after the fire and the business moved into it.

Qwest Field with Safeco Field right behind it. The day was hazy and bright.

King St. Station

The observation deck was totally fenced but it was still open enough that you could see everything. I don't like heights and I was fine.

The Space Needle. I've been up in it several times but for the history, ambience, and a better view I recommend Smith Tower (plus it's about half the price, even without the Groupon deal)

Bremerton and Bainbridge Island ferries with the Olympics in the background

Union Station, across the street from King St. Station but the pictures got out of order and I don't know how to fix them on here without reloading them.

The Chinese Room in the Tower. The room was decorated for Mr. Smith (of Smith-Corona typewriters) by the Empress of China as a goodwill gesture. The ceilings are ornately carved and painted. There were carved jade panels on the walls as well. The building is very ornate throughout. It still has an elevator operator. The floors are tiled with tiny white and blue hexagons and outside the elevator the floor number is done in the blue tiles. The ceiling heights are really low, even I felt tall.

The Smith Tower from outside the Klondike History Museum. The observation deck is at the base of the pyramid cap. The top is a 3-story apartment.

Being homeschoolers and never missing the opportunity for a field trip, even without the kids, we also went to the Klondike Museum. It's a free museum in Pioneer Square that is run by the National Parks Service. It was interesting. About 70% of the gold from the Klondike ended up in Seattle. We'll be going back there with the kids since we still need to do a Search-it-Out Washington State History year (I've been planning on it for the last 6 years and we keep putting it off).

We went to Pike's Place Market. On one of the few spring days we've had, going to the market on a Friday at lunch time was pretty ~~crowded~~ crazy. I wanted to check out Le Panier and see if I could find French Macaroons. As you can see they had them! They were spendy treats but after trying to make them myself, I didn't mind so much. I got chocolate, lemon, strawberry, and orange. They are yummy and very pretty to look at, I almost think I should have gotten green instead of the chocolate but even for a picture I won't give up my chocolate.

Lunch at Ivar's so I could have a cup of clam chowder. I rarely eat chowder or fish & chips so eating them on the waterfront was a treat.

Ryan asked if we had time could we please tour Safeco Field? There were only 3 of us on the 2:30 tour and we got to go EVERYWHERE! The tour is a whole 'nother post.

I had to take a picture of our bathroom at the Hyatt Grand in Pioneer Woman style! The tub was huge, I was just sorry I didn't bring a book because it called for a good book, bubbles, and a candle (the lights dimmed so a candle wasn't necessary).

We walked across the street for dinner at Gordon Biersch. Garlic fries, spinach salad, and steak.

But the evening was just starting....

We saw Mary Poppins at the Paramount! It's my all-time favorite movie and I was pretty sure it's what we were going to see. I promise I didn't cheat but a couple of weeks ago I was on google and a sidebar came up with Mary Poppins opening at the Paramount May 12th so I KNEW that was where we were going. It was magical, enchanting, awesome, wonderful, all the superlatives you can think of!

Saturday we returned to real life with a bump, we did our Costco shopping on the way home, met the kids back at the house for lunch, Ryan headed to bed, and I did homework until it was time to go back to the ballfield for Jonah's game.

Tulips with Grandma

2011-05-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

~erica

Ryan's Grandma Hendrickson wanted to go see the tulips this spring. We finally got a day that she didn't have any other outings planned and we didn't have any early baseball games or late classes or extra trainings at work. Unfortunately it didn't happen to be on one of the 3 days of spring we've had this year. But my Grandma Colleen and her sister came up from southern California for a week so we got a chance to go with 2 great-grandmas. It rained all the way up and poured all the way home, but the 40 minutes we were there the rain held off.

Traditionally the kids each pick their favorite to have a picture with. This year seemed scattered and unfocused. We scrunched in Ryan's Pilot with Grandma and her wheelchair and when we got there my mom had already been there for awhile with her mom and aunt and they were ready to go. Two of the kids wanted to leave with her so that they wouldn't have to ride home squished up. Everything was wet so they couldn't sit on the grass and they are getting so tall that if they stand up next to the tulips the flowers only come to their knees. So I took pictures of my favorites and just let them wander and then leave as soon as I got a few group pictures.

I'm not sure where Tovah is but I caught these guys as they were heading for the exit and fighting over who got to go home with Grandma Carol. (Rush and Jonah won as they had games that night).

I had to include at least one silly shot.

Ryan with his Grandma Hendrickson. She turned 91 in March, for the past 10 years we've been thinking each winter will be her last, unfortunately I think this really may be her last spring with us. She's got a tumor and is failing before our eyes. She knows the Lord and is ready to be home with him even if we aren't ready to let her go. Her only request was to get to see the tulips.

It is a happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

~erica

Nathan's home!
I got to spend Easter weekend with all 6 of my children plus Cheyney.
We went to The Dalles, OR for the Last Days of Christ
We got to enjoy some warm sunshine

We stopped at Multnomah Falls on our way south. We walked up as far as this bridge.

I got 5 in one picture and everyone is smiling (or at least not being silly)

Love this picture...

Nate and Cheyney (I downloaded all the pictures she took, too)

Jonah being silly and showering in the spray.

I'm taking a Health and Fitness class this quarter and had to design an exercise plan and my goal is to be able to hike the 1.8 miles to the top of Multnomah Falls this summer. For the next 4 weeks I have to use the weight machines at the college twice a week and walk 1-1.5 miles three times a week, the walking is to be on varied terrains, not just the flat track or Rails to Trails. I was going to start today but about an hour before, it was pouring rain and the trail we were to take is steep and muddy and not much fun when you are slipping and sliding (ask me how I know this...) I was supposed to meet a friend there to work on our Botany herbarium project, I still need to collect about 23 specimens.

Saturday Confessions

2011-04-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

~erica

*I have a bonus day, I wasn't planning on being home today, we are in the middle of a baseball tournament, but right now I'm sitting in my warm house. We had our first game at 9 a.m. this morning, that meant the coach wanted us at the field at 8 a.m. I layered in wool and long underwear; packed lots of snacks, 2 blankets, a bucket of bubble gum, and my camera. We were there before the tournament organizer! As soon as the schedule was posted I was antsy- if we won then we got to go home until tomorrow morning same time, same place. I know its not about winning and losing, yada, yada. But if we WON.... When it started pouring during the second inning all I could think about was going home. We won. The other team had to stay at the field in wet uniforms and wait for their next game at 1. We got to eat a warm lunch at Burger King where they had warm toilets and warm water in their bathroom. It's the simple things that make me happy.

Jonah

*Baseball season makes me very thankful we share a home with my parents. I can go to tournaments and events and leave everyone at home, but the child who needs to be there. Granted the kids are now old enough to stay home alone, for the most part, and Ryan's here sleeping, but to not have to worry about them or worse, get them all up to go when its wet, cold, and muddy. It's a huge blessing!

*So, since today was not on my plan I don't have to make it count for anything. As soon as I'm done with this post and link it to Melissa's over at A Familiar Path, I am putting my pajamas back on and snuggling under a quilt and reading a real book, not a schoolbook. I did my housework and my homework yesterday since I knew this weekend was going to be spent at the ballfield (tomorrow we'll be there until at least 3 since we can't go home until we lose 2 games).

*I've been awful about posting this year. But by the time I finish my homework and housework and spend a little time being a mom I'm drained. I get on the laptop at night and play mahjonng or Spider Solitaire until I'm too tired and then I crawl into bed. This quarter I'm taking 2 online classes and it seems like I'm never done with the homework, I'm terrified of falling behind so I'm always reading chapters or typing up assignments. The laptop and textbook are in the bedroom and I can't get them until Ryan is up for the day so I can't do anything about WA State History (I can read Health, but no...)

*Thursday I took Arin on a date. We went to the college to see the Kenya Safari Acrobats and then to Dairy Queen. He doesn't play sports or chess so this time of year it seems like he never gets to leave the house or do anything. We had a great time, he proclaimed the show "Awesome."

*I have pictures lined up in my photo file for blog posts. I managed to get the birthdays posted but that's all. I write posts in my head all the time. I'm seriously considering Dragon Software for my laptop but I don't think it's waterproof and I do most of the writing in my head in the shower.

*The kids and I are going to The Dalles for Easter next weekend. I am really hoping its warm and sunny there or it will seem like a waste. Not really, the kids love going and I'm glad they like to go. Several churches put on a Passion Play (not sure what else to call it) all week. Friday night is the big event and they do the trial of Jesus on the courthouse steps, then make him carry his cross up the hill, crucify him, and take his body to the tomb. Half the town is in costume (and character, don't mess with the Roman soldiers). It's very powerful and the kids ask to go back year after year. Sunday morning they do the Sunrise Service at the empty tomb, too.

*Tovah and my mom walked down to the Greenhouse, it opened yesterday. I should go too but I'm still heading for the couch with my book...

Playing Hooky and Isaac's 13th Birthday

2011-04-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

~Erica

I should be doing something right now. Studying, laundry, being with my family, anything. What am I doing? Sitting in my bedroom with the laptop watching Phineas and Ferb until its time for CSI. I had a Spanish test this morning so I don't have any homework (the oral test is not something that can be prepared for) and we went on our first Botany field trip this afternoon and don't have class tomorrow. I could be typing up my Pacific Northwest History notes or reading the next chapter in my Health & Nutrition book, but, no. I'm doing nothing, and it feels good to just sit and do nothing.

For Botany I have to prepare 30 specimens in a collection. They have to be native plants. My mom went through the book we are to use as our guide and found 43 plants that we have in our yard or across the street. There are another 5 or so that she just considers weeds that would count too. I don't see this collection project being a problem. My PNW research paper? whole nuther story.... I'm considering doing it on something about how the settlers brought in a lot of plants that have changed the "native" landscape from what it looked like when Lewis & Clark came. Finding sources is the issue.

Isaac turned 13 last month. That means 2/3 of my children are now teens (or if you want to be technical, half are currently teens since Nathan is almost 22). We made cupcakes I heard discussed on facebook- chocolate cupcakes with Lindor truffles, glazed with nutella. The truffles would have been better if we had just eaten them but the nutella glaze- YUM!

I wrapped his money in layers of tape and ribbon.

Rush tries to help his get the money out but they finally had to resort to scissors

Put the Nutella on while they are warm (or stick them back in the warm oven)

and spread it when it starts to melt.

P.S. Nathan's home! He came home from Afghanistan almost 2 weeks ago. We've seen him once and I may have taken pictures but I don't remember. I didn't expect to see him until at least Wednesday and the kids called us Monday afternoon while we were shopping at Walmart to tell us that they were at the house. We hurried home but the kids had taken over the conversation and wanted to show him all the XBox games that they had gotten this year. We took them out for Mexican and were joined by my parents and Cheyney's folks. Ryan's mom and her friend stopped by to say hi. Oh, I did take pictures! They're still on the camera, but I did take some of Nathan and Cheyney with Great-Grandma Hendrickson that evening.

Project 365 Week 11

2011-03-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Oops- I need to fix the title, if the last one was week 9 then this has to be week 11...

7- This is the final picture of my hazelnut shrub. Most of the amends are open now but this one is still tight. After following it all quarter, because of the lost week of school, we didn't actually finish the project and do the write up. Oh well.

9- Jonah's friend bridged to our Troop. It was on a Wednesday night so only Arin and Isaac were available to go. They look so grown up, it's hard to think of them as young men rather than boys.

11- Our Pack spent the night at Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for a ZooSnooze. We got to sleep next to the shark tank, it was cool but a little unnerving to see sharks glide past your head as you lie there in your sleeping bag. We did a night hike through the zoo, spent time in the aquarium and touch tanks, did a craft, and had a snack before bed.

12- After breakfast we went into the elephant yard to place treats for them. This elephant is getting her pedicure before going out into the yard. Actually, they weren't really interested in going out, it was rainy and cold. We had a great time, Arin and Rush went as Den Chiefs and I took Tovah as siblings could also be included. Isaac enjoyed being the only one at home for a night.

Project 365 Week 9

2011-03-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

~Erica

February 27- Another icy, cold day. We're ready for it to warm up and life to get back to normal, with school's cancelled all our outside activities are also cancelled.

February 28- Knit 2 baby girl hats in one day. The one on the left is a seashell pattern for Baby Faith, our friend, Michelle's neice who is up at Children's with kidney issues. She wasn't expected to live and is defying the odds still.

February 28- Rush started baseball today (the snow melted enough to actually see the grass). He needed his annual haircut before the first game. Michelle came over late to give him his haircut- she had been up with Baby Faith. I haven't taken his "After" picture yet.

Tovah turned 8- In January!

2011-03-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

~Erica

I've had the pictures from Tovah's birthday in my export file for weeks but just haven't gotten to writing the post. It's hard to think about my last baby no longer being a baby. She dresses herself, does her schoolwork independently, and can pretty much keep up with the boys. The only thing she really needs help with is brushing her hair and being sent back to her room for more appropriate clothing choices...

Not a happy face! Cheyney met us at the mall in Olympia and sat with Tovah and Ryan while she got her ears pierced, (I walked the mall with the boys, it's like shots- I try to avoid needles if Daddy is available...)

The Thinkers waiting outside Claires. They wouldn't come into such a "girl" store.

After getting her ears pierced we went to Chuck E. Cheese's.

After dinner at home we did cake and presents (the pink yarn is for a sweater for her American Girl doll, Emily)

A Timkerbell watch to go with the new Tinkerbell movie

New earrings and a new necklace kit from Great-Grandma Colleen. I was supposed to print this picture to send to Grandma. Tovah's done really well with her earrings, she took over their care after the first week and hasn't had any infections. It's been long enough to remove them now but we haven't boughten any other earrings yet so she's just left them in. My mom and I have to use gold or sterling silver posts so I'm hesitant to buy her hypoallergenic earrings. Maybe this calls for a browse on etsy to find some cute earrings for her.

Disaster Preparedness

2011-03-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Tsunami '04 | Christchurch | Haiti

Hurricane Katrina | Nisqually Earthquake, WA

Lewis County Flood, WA | Mount St. Helens | Snowpocalypse

My partner in my Speech class and I gave our final speech on disaster preparedness, less than a week before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We introduced our topic with these pictures on a power point. The last four we introduced as disasters that happened to "us," the horrible things we see on the news can and have happened here.

You just don't need to be prepared for major disasters: wind, snow, or ice can be just as devastating if you aren't ready to cope with no electricity or undriveable roads.

We found several good sources for information on what you need to have on hand.

FEMA website

Red Cross

This is my favorite of the sites I found: The Emergency Dude "Stuff Happens... Be Ready!" He has some good ideas for food, stuff you can get at the grocery store and won't break the bank to stockpile. A great quote I found on the site, "Being prepared means you aren't living in fear and you aren't living in denial - it's a perfect middle ground."

Here are the basics you need to have ready at all times:

Several gallons of water

food for 3 days of no water or electricity

flashlight and batteries

warm clothing

first aid kit

Prescription medicines

diapers (okay, so we don't need these anymore...)

Nice to have:

alternative cooking method w/ fuel for 3 days

baby wipes (I prefer these to hand sanitizer, they get off dirt better and aren't as drying)

activities for the kids

radio w/ batteries (in the flood our radio stations went offline the first day)

The hardest one for me is the 3-day supply of water for your family. It's a gallon of water per person per day. That means I need to have 27 gallons of water stored somewhere that won't flood! After the Flood in '07 we had no water for about 3 days or maybe even longer and we didn't have drinking water for 4 months. We had plenty of sources of water once the flood waters went down and we could get to town but it was a pain. We got really tired of drinking bottled water, it has no taste. The hardest part was how much water it took to cook (we could run our dishwasher if we used the "sanitize" setting). I had a 5-gallon jug we filled in town or at a friend's but cooking spaghetti took almost 2 gallons!

I went through the house and put together an emergency kit with stuff we had on hand. Other than the water we already had everything we needed, I just had to raid the winter gear and the outdoor supplies we have for Boy Scout events. As long as we keep at least one of the 3 propane tanks filled we can use the stove in the trailer or the BBQ's side burner to cook. My partner brought in a Commercial Disaster Kit with water packs and nutrition cubes. It was in a cool duffle bag but I'm not sure it's worth the cost and I think the kids would have to be pretty hungry to eat the cubes unless I could convince them they were Star Wars or Star Trek rations. I can't find them online to show you, she didn't know where they came from since it was her boyfriend's. His family has one for each person in the house and they keep them in their bedrooms if they have to evacuate.

By the way: I was 9 years old when Mt. St. Helens blew in 1980. We got inches of ash on May 24, it was the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. The experts had no idea if the ash was lethal or even dangerous if we breathed in too much of it. It covered everything and had to be washed off roofs and cars. Because they didn't want us out in it and it was hard on vehicles to drive in it, they cancelled the rest of the school year. We went in one day and cleaned out our desks. Our parents sent Matthew and me to California to spend the summer with our grandparents because they just didn't know what else to do with us and didn't want us cooped up inside all summer. It was scary before the mountain blew, I remember one night we had an earthquake and I freaked out, I told my mom we needed to move back to California before we all died. She told me that when she was my age they started saying that California was going to break off at the San Andreas fault and fall into the ocean, but her parent's didn't move. I'm not sure if I was supposed to feel better or be more scared! We traded a volcano for earthquakes that summer, but Disneyland, Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Knott's Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, fast food, and the beach made it worth the risk...

Spring Break Whine pt 2

2011-03-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

~Erica

This past month I've been frequently asked, "If you homechool why does it matter when the public school takes spring break, you set your own schedule?"

It does matter... I'm on Spring break this week and next, Ryan is off half of next week and the week after, then the following week is the school's spring break (first week of April). We have Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Wednesday night church activities, Chess Club, and 3 kids in Baseball every week so we can't just drop everything and take off to the beach for a couple of days. The week the kids don't have any activities both Ryan and I are back in classes.

I'm going to try and fit in some extra fun stuff in the next 3 weeks but I'm having a hard time scheduling it:

* An XBox game they preordered is coming on Tuesday so they'll probably get an extra XBox day/ time to try it out.
* Tulips should be blooming soon and we'll make our annual visit to DeGoede's, that day we'll try and go on up to Morton to get 1 lb. Ollie Burgers at Spiffys.
* We can't go watch Rush play in Toutle next week and go to Papa Pete's with the team but maybe we'll just go one day for lunch.

After Spring Break we won't have Wed. night activities other than High School youth group. Rush's last high school game is May 5 unless they make it into post-season play. Chess is also over May 5. Cub Scouts is done May 16. Jonah and Tovah will play into June but I don't have their game schedules yet. Jonah will play at least 2 tournaments on weekends. Rush wants to go on the 50-miler this summer so he needs to go on as many training hikes as possible. Isaac also wants to go on those hikes but he won't be eligible for the 50-miler unless they make an exception (he won't be 1st Class because he's going to have to wait until the September Car Camp to do the cooking requirement- we have a Chess Tournament the weekend of Spring Car Camp).

I do have some plans for this week between activities:
-cover the hole in the bathroom with something other than cardboard
-vacuum my bedroom behind and under all the furniture (painting just isn't going to happen)
-work on a StoryBook for a graduation gift
-organize my art in StoryBook, I've got a ton that I've downloaded but never brought into SBC
-figure out what needs to done to bring the kids' baby albums up to date
-answer emails that have been piling up about the homeschooling loop and cub scout questions
-write up some of the blog posts I've listed in my notebook.
-catch up my Project 365 pages
-get back on track taking a photo a day

I couldn't have 2 posts in a row without a picture, could I? I had to write an essay about Monroe's Motivated Sequence and Aristotle's Theory of Persuasive Appeals for Speech last weekend. I used the Allstate commercials for my example. Cause I'm funny like that...

Let Spring Break Begin!

2011-03-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

~Erica

I've got 10 days before school starts again for me. I plan on getting tons of stuff done off my To Do list! HA HA!!!! I'll probably be luck to download pictures off my camera...

Yesterday was my first official day of spring break and it was one of those days that just wouldn't quit- like Whack-A-Mole the next thing I had to do just kept popping up.

Rush was taking the HSPE this week (State test for 10th graders). So he had to be in town at 8 a.m. 3 mornings. I normally get to the college at 7:20 but this was super inconvenient because 2 days I didn't have to go to school at all and Wednesday I had my Spanish final at 8 a.m., across town.

Back to yesterday, I didn't have school so I figured I'd go to Starbucks and get to read a book for the 3 hours he was in testing....

Wednesday night we got the grocery ads to check meat prices and found things at all 3 stores in town. Okay, I'd make a circuit of grocery stores first.

Grandma Hendrickson, Ryan's 91 yo grandma, is in the hospital for a some recharging and had a bad night Wednesday. I added a visit to the hospital to my morning since Ryan was studying for his final and had to work last night.

I had my cup of coffee in grandma's hospital room. It was a cup of decaf given to me by the Food Services worker on the way up in the elevator! I was trying to inhale the fumes or something and she took pity on me. Family Drama was the theme for the day at the hospital and I got back to the car ready to DiNozzo slap someone.

I ran through an espresso stand for a cup of drip on my way to Safeway. After Safeway I wasn't sure where I wanted to grab some lunch so I headed to Goodwill. I forgot my phone in the car and didn't want to go back out for it. I did score 3 pairs of jeans for Jonah, a pair of capris for Tovah that won't be skin tight, a skirt for me, a frame for a project I want to do this week, and some garbage novels for spring break reading at the ballfield.

When I got back to the car I'd missed 3 calls and a half a dozen texts, including one from Rush asking if I was on my way to get him. By this time I didn't not have the energy to face the beauracracy to get his Learner's Permit so we deferred that activity. We ran to the college to check my grade for Spanish so I could return one of the texts and ran to Burger King so I could get some Breakfast/ Lunch. I was looking forward to going home and taking it easy until it was time to run Rush to the school to leave for the baseball game in Rainier.

At home I was reminded that Jonah and Tovah had baseball practice at different times at different fields. Oh, and Isaac and Tovah had to be at Chess Club from 3-4:15. Then there was Boy Scouts, we missed last week so we had to go. And I had told the Family that Ryan would stop by the hospital at some point to check Grandma's lab results and care plan. I got my mom to drop Jonah off, texted a friend to make sure she'd be hanging out at the field at about the time he got done if I wasn't quite there, got Rush to the school, and put a pillow over my head for 20 minutes.

Tovah's coach called as we were getting ready to leave for chess and cancelled her practice (the fields are so muddy right now) so I wasn't going to have to pick her up at the same time as Jonah at different fields. We got home from chess and I went up to get Jonah. About froze to death watching him practice and they got done late (have to take advantage of no rain days). Called Isaac to start the deep fryer. Instead of Irish Stew and homemade bread we had popcorn chicken wraps and Kraft Mac & Cheese for dinner- FAIL! Okay, the kids were fine with it but it wasn't what I wanted to do.

We made enough of an appearance at Scouts to give them one more week to sell coffee and get all the upcoming events on my master calendar. We got to the hospital before they closed the main doors and visited for about an hour. She's getting so many visitors she's having a hard time getting any rest...

Found out that Rush doesn't have baseball today so it's our one and only day of my spring break so I declared it a Pajama Day! But we may go to MeMenamins tonight to see the Portland Opera On the Go program.

Project 365- Week 7 or 8?

2011-03-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm getting lost on my numbering system... is this week 7 or week 8? I do know that I don't have many pictures for this upcoming week- too much rain and snow and not enough time or inspiration.

20- This is what weekends look like around here. Our only stipulation is we have to stay quiet so Ryan can sleep so it usually means TV, a few quiet chores, and XBox time. Each child gets 30 minutes to play 2-3 days a week. Sometimes when we have friends over they get more time but Jesse doesn't count, he gets 30 minutes like everyone else.

21- Friends came over because they didn't have school on Monday for President's Day. We have an XBox and they only have a PS3 (or something) so any chance they get the playdate gets moved to our house.

22- Isaac was laying on the floor reading and Squeaky pounced on his head! She wouldn't do it while I had the camera out but she sure watched him- her tail was twitching back and forth the whole time.

23- I finished LouAnn's scarf and got it mailed to her. I chose red yarn because she is such a vibrant lady and for the scarlet thread of Jesus' lineage through the Old Testament. The scarf is knit with wool because the Proverbs 31 Woman's family is clothed in fine wool. The pattern is called Feathers and Fans but it looks like waves so it reminds me of the midwives in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. I inset an area of seed stitch that looks like the basket Moses' mother hid him in.

24- Woke up to more snow! We're really getting tired of this. However beautiful it is on the tree branches out my window in dawn's early light... Between the holiday, the weather (ice and snow), and one instructor being sick I had 2 classes all week.

25- I finished my French Press Slippers. I started them after Christmas of 2009. They only needed the flaps and buttons sewn on but I put them away and just didn't get to them. Now they are done and are very warm and pretty.

26- I bake when I'm cold. This week I used up 2 and half pounds of butter and a dozen eggs. These are the Pioneer Woman's Devil Dogs, oh my, they are so good. The frosting recipe was enough for two batches (I skimped on the second batch but they were for Cub Scouts and if my kids were any indication, they were only 1 of about 4 desserts each boy ate). I also made Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls for my dad. This recipe is close but I don't use fat free milk or a bread machine. I made cream cheese frosting for them as well.

Project 365- Week 7

2011-02-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

~erica

13- Ryan and I got a Kindle to share for Valentine's Day. It came preloaded with the Oxford Dictionary and I left it for Ryan with "love" highlighted

13- For my Speech class we tried some variations of PB & J for research. I'll do another post with the list of sandwiches we tried and those we rejected without trying. I'll just say that Nutella is a new favorite food around here...

15- I got a new fridge and a new freezer. Trying to get used to the space and trying to figure out how to organize them. The 17 cu. ft. fridge has no freezer section, we got a 21 cu. ft. upright freezer for the pantry area instead (plus I have a huge chest freezer in the little shop just out the back door).

19- Saturday morning we went out to leave and the van was iced over. Isaac wanted me to take a picture of it because it was just too cool. At 7 a.m. Saturday morning Rush left for snow camp at Mt. Rainier and Isaac went to Tacoma for a chess tournament. Isaac called at 1 p.m. to pick him up, he was bored because he was done. It was sunny but really cold. I tried to think of somewhere we could go for a field trip to make the trip meaningful, but couldn't think of anywhere. So, we stopped at Krispy Kremes, because you have to stop somewhere to go potty...

Bottom Line Duo

2011-02-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

~erica

It seems like it takes a lot more organization to get to go out now than it did when the kids were little and we needed a sitter. Shuffling kids and schedules is a lot of work! Wednesday night Ryan and I got to go see the Bottom Line Duo at the college. My folks heard them about 5 years ago and bought a CD, that we've enjoyed. We always talked about going to Seattle to see them.

They are absolutely fabulous! The music is great and they are so funny. He does all the talking and she just looks at him or makes faces. I was fascinated watching her fingers keep the beat on her cello while plucking strings as part of the melody, it took me a while to even figure out she was doing it. We had to take Arin and Isaac but they had a good time too (the dessert buffet helped start the night out on a positive note). Arin's word for the night, "Inspirational."

Project 365- Week 6

2011-02-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

~Erica

I think last week was a Fail for Project 365. Ryan and I both had big tests and projects due. I thought about getting my camera out but never got to it.

6- Rush turned 16 on February 6. His cousin Allyson baked his birthday cake and brought it to the Superbowl party at church. I redeemed myself by at least making him his choice of dinner on Monday.

10- We mailed Nathan's last package. He's supposed to be home in 6 weeks. It was full of jerky, clif bars, and the funny pages from the Sunday papers I've been buying for coupons.

I'm doing better at taking pictures this week...

More About Peanut Butter Than You Ever Wanted To Know...

2011-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

~Erica

Jonah's sign says "KMN"- or Kill Me Now

For my speech class I worked with a partner to present a speech on Peanut Butter & Jelly. It was an informative speech and we had to have 2 quotes from sources, a "What's In It For Me" attention getter, audience analysis, and ethos. We found plenty of statistics and polled our audience about their tastes in peanut butter. I went on CDKitchen and found a list of 40 varieties of peanut butter sandwiches.

We found out that:

A child will eat approximately 1,500 PB & J sandwiches before graduation
60% of people prefer creamy to crunchy
Women & Children prefer creamy, Men prefer crunchy
East Coast prefers creamy, West Coast prefers crunchy
Eating a PB & J reduces your carbon footprint by 2.5 lbs.

Crunchy & Creamy peanut butter, jelly, cream cheese, nutella,
marshmallow cream, banana, kiwi, bacon, and cheap white bread.

I assembled the ingredients for The Peanut Gallery to try several of the sandwiches on the list of variations. They weren't very enthused about participating but we did it before dinner Sunday so they were hungry.

The Real Thing- this is the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Club uses 3 slices of bread

Fluffernutter- Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Crème

Pooh Butter- Peanut Butter and Honey

Peanut Butter & Nutella

Spitwad Sandwich- Peanut Butter and Marshmallows

The Elvis- Peanut Butter, Bacon, Banana, and Honey

Mean Green- Toasted Bread, Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese, Banana, and Kiwi Fruit

The Ultimate- Peanut Butter, Orange Marmalade, Marshmallow Cream, Shredded Cheddar Cheese

The Elvis and Peanut Butter & Nutella

Ryan and my dad were the only ones willing to try The Elvis. Tovah and Isaac really liked the PB & Nutella, but not with bananas on it. Arin was willing to try a spoonful of the marshmallow cream but not on a sandwich. No one wanted cream cheese or kiwi (that was fine with me, I bought the cream cheese for cheesecake and didn't want to run to the store to replace it).

Legal Disclaimer: No children were harmed in the testing phase of this project. They were remunerated for their participation by getting to eat BLT's for dinner after the testing was complete.

Project 365- Week 5

2011-02-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

29- I downloaded this free Valentine's Subway Art from eighteen25. I printed it at Costco and popped in into a $3 frame. A seasonal decoration for under $5. I'm really trying to update pictures or holiday decorations in our spaces this year, when the boys were little I had no energy and getting photos in albums was the safest place for them. If I change things often enough I can change them before I have to dust them...

30- This is my pile of books that I want to read as opposed to the pile of books I need to be reading for my classes (a much bigger and less exciting pile). I have Tom Clancy's newest Dead or Alive, the Pioneer Woman's From High Heels to Tractor Wheels, The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer, and The Sea of Monsters also by Rick Riordan. I'm about 2/3 through Sea of Monsters and could easily finish it if I just picked it up one evening but then I'd want to read Red Pyramid or Dead or Alive. The Artemis Fowl had to go back to the library but Ryan ordered it for us from Amazon and it should be here next week so I don't have to hurry and get to it. I won't start P Dub's book until I get some other books caught up because that wouldn't be fair to the other books in the pile. Maybe I should just finish my homework, speech, essay, and research paper and then I could read them all... (luckily, spring break is in 4 weeks).

1- The remains of a Family Feast from Panda Express, the kids pounced on me when I got home and I didn't get a chance to take any pictures before or during. I had to run up to the Scout store after my botany lab and grabbed Panda, much to the kids' delight (and mine). We love their Orange Chicken but Firecracker Chicken and Honey Walnut Shrimp are strongly in the running as well. I also like that I can feed us all for under $30 and there are leftovers for lunch the next day.

3- My hazelnut. I'm starting to develop a relationship with this tree... It is just starting to open up its amends. The tree closer to the road that gets more sunlight is already fully open. I'm recording the dates for a Botany lab project as part of Project BudBurst

4- Tovah with Grandma Carol Jeanne and Great-Grandma Hendrickson at a Pampered Chef party.

5- OUR VERY LAST PINEWOOD DERBY, EVER! Can you tell I'm excited? We've been doing this for at least 13 years. Jonah won The Most Colorful Car (thanks to $1 clearance decals from Michael's) and came in 3rd for his den so he got a medal. It was nice to end our run on a positive note.

Project 365- Week 4

2011-02-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

I'm a week late posting this- I had the pictures ready just didn't have time to sit down and annotate the days. Today I got out of school an hour early and came straight home, it was nice to be home before lunch time.

22- This is what the closet in the office looks like every Saturday, that is ONE week's worth of paper recycling from upstairs. I think we may need to look into ways to reduce or reuse.

23- I'm knitting this scarf for a friend. She spoke at the Ladies retreat 2 years ago about Rahab, the Hebrew midwives, and one other character (or not, I can't remember...) What I do remember is God's hand in perserving His people and especially the lineage of Christ. The red thread reminds me of the thread of His story throughout the Bible. The pattern has waves and fans for their time in Egypt and the Red Sea. Rahab hung a scarlet cord out her window in Jericho in order to be saved. There might be more meaning to this but these are the images tumbling around in my head for 2 years that I had to get out in a piece of knitting. I really wanted to do something tan and purple with a red thread that wove its way through the length of the piece but I still haven't figured out how to do that.

24- Jonah (and Isaac) really needed haircuts but it was one of those things that kept getting put off for another day when we had the time or the $. A friend from church said she would do the kids' haircuts for me when it was convenient and I could pay her whenever. Last week I called to see if I could take Jonah up there and she said she would come over! So the boys' hair looks great and I didn't have to leave the house and to me that's worth a lot more than she let me pay her.

25- This picture is for MaryLinda. She bought the kids The Christmas Story Monopoly for Christmas because she hoped it had the leg lamp piece. We're supposed to bring it to Family Camp so she can play it with them. You know, we've never seen The Christmas Story...

27-Isaac came in the other night and told me I had to take a picture of the sunset for my picture project. I took this one in auto and then started playing with the manual mode. By the time I figured it out the great color was gone, but I am trying. The sillhouette of the bucket in the bush is on top of my mom's trellis for the honeysuckle to climb since we cut down the Indian plum (it made a mess on the driveway and the cars). The bucket gets planted with annuals, I didn't want you to think we just had random black buckets in our trees.

28- The Pioneer Woman's new book! It was at Costco the other day, I've managed to read the introduction and chapter 1 but as soon as I have the time to read it'll go fast.

I seem to average 6 out of 7 days, I think I'm doing pretty good with everything else going on.

Critical Thinking Press-- a Review

2011-01-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

~Erica

Just before Christmas we got the chance to pick 3 books from Critical Thinking Press to review for Timberdoodle. I got to choose which books we wanted to try and let me tell you it was a hard decision... I finally decided that Tovah would get one since she needed some harder busywork, I also wanted to challenge Isaac, and I thought that Arin would enjoy it and he was short of curriculum as he was waiting for Rush to finish the Health book (I've found that they don't share books well).

They came just before we broke for Christmas but I had them start them so we would get a good 30 days done before I reviewed them (I didn't really know how much time off we would take for Christmas and yes, we take snow days if there is the opportunity). Right away Ryan told me I should have just ordered books for the other 2, or at least for Jonah since Rush's curriculum is set this year.

Isaac is doing Building Thinking Skills Book 3 Figural. He is challenged by the shapes but enjoys matching the congruent shapes. He struggled last week with expanding the shapes but worked through it. He likes to work on his own with very little input from mom or dad, this is something he can do by himself so he's happy but it also makes him think so it makes me happy. He is a lot like me, finding the right answer is not difficult but he needs to work on getting past his frustration when he can't do it instantly.

Tovah's favorite part of Beginning Word Roots is combining the roots to make new words. Last week she got to make the word "unicorn" which made her excited since she had just bought a new unicorn pillow pet with her birthday money. She is proudly showing me that she is writing her words in cursive, a brand new skill that the boys never wanted to have... She and Jonah are very lazy spellers and would rather have someone spell for them than sound out a word they are trying to write. With older siblings readily available and a distracted mom it's all too easy to just give them the letters than to remember to stop and have them think about it. The roots are giving her some tools (I hope) to be more independent (I'm about ready to become my 2nd grade teacher who always told us to look it up in the dictionary- it drove me nuts, if I knew how to spell it to look it up then I wouldn't have asked!)

Arin is working in Building Thinking Skills Book 3 Verbal. When I asked him about his favorite part he told me that it was, "Working with shapes." I've enjoyed our discussions on synonyms and how they are alike and how they may be different. We have discussed fine-tuning word usage to make a sentence mean exactly what you want it to say. Arin sometimes struggles with schoolwork and I'm glad to find something that he can enjoy and be successful at, while still being challenged .

Arin, Isaac, and Tovah all have different learning styles and strengths but I think that these books are reaching each of them. I wonder, as homeschoolers, if we sometimes do our children a dis-service by teaching to their strengths and learning styles. We will not always be our child's teacher, and they will at some point have to learn from someone else be it a Sunday School teacher, high school teacher, at college, or even on the job. Knowing how our children learn best is good but we also need to know where they struggle with learning and work with them to learn how to learn under less than optimal circumstances. When I choose the books for these three I knew Tovah needed some tools for spelling, Arin is my visual learner, and Isaac is very verbal. Each of them are working outside their area of strength but they are all being successful, learning some new skills, and enjoying the challenge; they can do their seatwork in any order and they almost always do their "word" books first.

Legal Disclosure:

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of these books in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Taryn Michal

2011-01-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

This is a speech I wrote and gave at school this week. The topic was Self-Introduction: Describe an Obstacle You Have Overcome. ~Erica

This is our daughter, Taryn Michal.

When she was 6 months old she was diagnosed with AML- Leukemia. On October 24, 1992 my whole world turned upside down and changed forever. Over the next 18 months, I learned a lot about myself, about God, and about being a good parent.

I learned that I can do all things through God, who gives me strength. Friends and family surrounded us but there came a moment when I could make it or I could break. Because of my faith in God I knew I could call on him, I learned to take it moment by moment and rely on Him to carry me through the tough spots. I learned that strength isn’t something you can train for or store up or save for later- It is provided at the moment you need it; for exactly as long as you need it. I am not as strong today as I was on any one day of that journey.

I learned that my husband really is my best friend. He was in school and working and caring for Nathan, our 3 year old down here while I was in Seattle with Taryn. Physically we were apart but we could communicate and I think it was because he wasn’t with me, bearing the brunt of my anger and fear, that he was able to support me by listening; and because he wasn’t getting reports from the doctors, I had to face my fear and my what if’s so that I could articulate the situation to him. He was far enough removed from the situation that he could react calmly and talk me down from my emotional “freak out.”

I learned to celebrate Everydays. Taryn should have died the day she was diagnosed- she had had a stroke and seizures from the leukemia in her brain. I really believe that God gifted us with an additional 18 months. The night we sat in the ER I grieved the loss of every milestone even as I held her and rocked her. I had another 500 days to make memories with her. I learned that memories sometimes have to be purposefully made and the mundane things are important and should be remembered. Taryn crawled, walked, cut teeth, grew, and matured even as her little body fought the disease.

I learned to have fun. That seems like it should be instinctive but when faced with a catastrophic situation the body wants to close in on itself to protect itself from further hurts. There was a mom who was about 6 months ahead of us on the journey who modeled fun to me. Her little boy had no chance of survival from his very rare form of cancer. But she made every single day of his life special and she shared her Joy with the other mom’s on the floor. One night she brought in the strangest flavors of ice cream she could find for us to try; another night she snuck in Lethal Weapon for us to watch in the playroom (it was Rated R so against the rules but the nurses turned a blind eye since all the kids were tucked up in bed).

I learned to trust my mommy instincts. I knew something was wrong from the day she was born- she had enlarged lymph nodes and was sick all the time; not just sniffly nose in cold season type sick but needing antibiotics and chest x-rays type sick. But the flip side of that is that now, when I have healthy kids, I know that they won’t die if they pick up some germs. That’s not to say I don’t ever worry, but I can pray about it and turn it over to God and usually let Him deal with it (after I give them ibuprofen and a Gatorade).

I learned that God is with me at all times- because He cares for me. This is the most important lesson I learned. This means that He cares about who I am, He cares for those I love, He cares about what worries me, He cares about my hopes and dreams. I learned that I could talk to Him about anything, I could rage at Him and He’d never hang up on me or stop being my friend. In the dark hours just before dawn I can still rely on His promise that He will never leave me or forsake me.

Taryn died May 3, 1994.

Since then we’ve added Rush, Arin, Isaac, Jonah, and because God likes to keep things fun, #6 was a little girl who is now 8 going on 20. Nathan is 21, married, and deployed to Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan. Do I worry about him? Yes, he has orders to only tell his mom about the boring bits. Do I fret? No, I know that he belongs to God and God cares about him more than I do.

Project 365- Week 3

2011-01-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

~Erica

15- Jonah's a muddy mess...The Webelos planted trees for their Conservation badge. 3 Webelos, 1 Den Chief (Arin), and 4 adults: we planted 100 seedlings in 2 hours. A week later my shoulders still hurt. It was "This is not the career you want" Day (or another reason to stay out of jail when you grow up). We did manage to finish before the monsoon rains started.

16- Rush saw this t-shirt at Old Navy and said we had to get it for Jonah. This picture is for Cassidy from Family Camp.

17- The floor in front of the bookshelf in the office seems to be the catch-all. Everything that doesn't have a home seems to congregate here. I trip over the piles for a couple of weeks then it drives me crazy. This pile includes my Sunday basket, my rainboot box, and clothes for Tovah to grow into.

18- I have a hazelnut shrub that I have to follow for Botany. Every day or so I have to check it for signs of spring, I took this to show Ryan that I could see it from the house... I still have to walk (or drive) over there to check on it. There are some filberts (different from the native hazelnut) in the same area that are really old. There used to be houses, the train station, and a hotel along that part of the railroad.

19- We got the kids a new video camera, it's on the left next to my cell phone. The videos are just as good as our old 8mm Handicam and it cost A LOT less. We wanted to get them one a year ago for Christmas but missed all the great deals. We got this one from Amazon for less than we had planned on spending and it's actually a better camera.

21- Today Ahvri would have been 2 years old. I was doing fine until a friend texted me a picture of a primrose. I stopped and bought a couple and dropped one off with Rita. When I got home Ryan had stopped and got me 4 on his way home. Since Taryn was at Children's primroses have always been a reminder to me of God's promises and that spring is coming.

A New Pretty

2011-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

~Erica

I love the sterling silver jewelry at The Vintage Pearl. Last fall I won a gift certificate from Domestically Speaking and I knew that I wanted a piece with all the kids' names on it. It came last week and I couldn't wait to wear it (no pictures, I didn't think about it yesterday when I was dressed up for church). I ordered it with an 18" chain and its a little too short so I thnk I'm going to order a second chain that's a bit longer, I think I'll put the 6 kids on the new chain and leave Taryn and Ahvri on the shorter chain, that way I can wear the double chain or just the longer chain.

Project 365- Week 2

2011-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

8- 4 pairs of handknit socks drying on the back of my kitchen bench. Most of my socks can be washed and dried but a few pairs can't go in the dryer.

9- 2 pictures today, it might not be in the rules but I can make up my own rules.
The first is a peaceful picture of the family room, when I get up in the morning and it looks like this my whole day seems less chaotic (I should remind myself of this more often and make sure the family room is picked up before I go to bed).
The second picture is of the little bit of snow we got last Sunday, it started at 4 and by 5 we had a good inch. It was totally gone by Monday morning.

10- Jonah and Rush grabbed the wrong black sweatshirts off the black carpeting. It doesn't seem too long ago that 3 of the boys all wore the same size shirts. That summer we just kept all the t-shirts and shorts in a trunk and they pulled one of each out to wear that day. If we had to go somewhere they had matching outfits to wear.

11- Tuesday night we were expecting inches of snow, we got a light dusting that was gone by morning. Now it's warm and rainy and we're on a flood watch. Tovah and I tried to take some pictures of individual flakes on black paper but it didn't work out too well. These flakes are on the hood of my van.

13- I get to school at about 7:15 each morning. It's been pitch black for weeks now. The other morning the greenhouse caught my eye- it was lit up against the black sky. I played around wiht my camera trying to take a photo in aperture mode but the best one I got was taken in full-auto mode. One of my goals for this project is to become more familiar with using my camera in manual modes.

How We Homeschool- Complying with 11 Subjects

2011-01-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here in Washington we have to teach our children 11 subjects: reading, writing, spelling, language, math science, social studies, history, health, occupational education, and art and music appreciation. But before you freak out, the Legislature realizes that homeschooling is less structured and more experiential in nature (their words) and therefore the subjects can be taught how ever the parent choses- it's written into the law this way. Several years ago I sat down with several other moms and we created this list explaining how teaching the 11 subjects isn't a daunting task, most of it is taught by doing what you're doing every day. Now that my kids are older we do rely more on workbooks and traditional teaching and less on hands on and experiential learning.

Reading = reading but can also include books on tape, being read to, learning to follow directions (recipes, projects, etc.). Take advantage of the library’s summer reading program and Book-It for reading incentives. And don’t forget to read “real” books, not just reading curriculum- fairy tales, mysteries, poetry, biographies, books about places, cookbooks, magazines, etc. Field Trip ideas: library, Barnes & Noble (don’t forget to get your Teacher’s Discount Card), Scholastic Book Sale (a mom field trip)

Participating in a Redwall Feast- there was food, fellowship, music, Redwall trivia (Reading, Social Studies, Health, Art & Music Appreciation)

Writing = writing (fiction, non-fiction, poems, letters, reports, Bible verses, grocery lists, etc.) You do not need a specific curriculum to teach writing- have them copy or dictate to you until they have the skills to complete sentences and paragraphs. We use the book “Write, Now” for fun writing ideas. Field trips: Newspaper, radio station, Toastmasters

Language = grammar (nouns, verbs, punctuation, adjectives, prepositions, complete sentences, paragraphs, learning the parts of a letter, etc.) Schoolhouse Rock is awesome for teaching the parts of grammar. “Writer’s Inc.” is good resource for specifics on how to use them and for reference. Field Trips: See Writing

Spelling = spelling all those nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. correctly You don't have to use a separate spelling curriculum, but incorporate it into anything written at all (thank you notes, reports, displays, etc.) Field Trips: See Writing

Math = math. There are a lot of fun math resources out there, we’ve gotten books on counting Cheerios, M & M's, and jelly beans. There are books on learning fractions with pizzas and chocolate bars, the books about Sideways School are good math puzzles for your random thinkers (concrete children don’t get it). Learn fractions through cooking (and take care of occupational education and health at the same time). Find a copy of Family Math for fun activities for all math skills. Field trips: Bakery, any manufacturer who uses CAD, engineering firms, surveyors

Social studies = any study of cultures other than history (current events, learning about where your church's missionaries live, geography, etc.) Passport Club, Scouts, 4-H, Awana, etc. all expand your child’s horizons and count as Social Studies. Reading biographies & fiction about children in other places and times, missionary stories, etc. Field Trips: Cultural events (Seattle has a lot, also local colleges and universities), Fairs, International Fair, Hands On Museum, Children’s Museums, working farms, Westport Maritime Museum, Pikes Place Market, Olympia Farmers Market

Isaac wanted to bake Na'an, an Indian bread cooked over an open fire (Social Studies, Math, Health)

Packing Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child (Social Studies, Health, Math)

History = study of times past. All you need is a time line and books. Pick a period of history and go to the library to get books about people and places and events during that time, don’t forget fiction written during or about that time period. For fun you can place your ancestors in their time period and see what was going on around them, after all, genealogy is the study of your family’s history. For more formal study we have used Story of the World and A Child's History of the World to provide a backbone to our learning.
Field Trips: Museums (Lewis County Historical Museum, Veteran’s Museum, Vintage Motorcycle Museum, State History Museum), Living History (Pioneer Farm, Ft. Nisqually, Ft. Vancouver)

Museum of History and Industry, Seattle (History, Social Studies, Art & Music Appreciation). The same day we went to the Burke Museum on the University of Washington Campus and saw fossils, gemstones, animals, and photos of an Anarctic expedition

Science = learning about the world around you. This can be as formal or informal as you like. For years we didn't officially study science, but we watched lots of videos about animals and the planet and anything that caught our fancy at the library, we also picked up lots of books with pictures that caught our eye, my kids have always done exceptionally well on the science portion of the CAT test and I'm convinced its just because they were interested in lots of things. The past few years we have done some formal studies with Answers in Genesis' books and Boy Scout merit badges. Field Trips: Mt. St. Helens, Creation Museum, Wastewater Treatment Plant, Zoo, NW Trek, Science Museums, working farms, DeGoede’s Bulb Farm, Seminary Hill Nature Preserve, Ape Caves & Lava Canyon, Mima Mounds, aquarium

Staying up late to see the Lunar Eclipse

Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium- the shark tank is always a favorite stop

Building a worm bin- actually we built 2 and found that the one in the cardboard box did better than the wooden box.

Isaac likes to grow hot peppers (and yes, he does eat them).

Health = Learning good hygiene, nutrition, P.E, exercise, anything to do with taking care of yourself. Playing sports, Gym Time, playing in the backyard, meeting friends at the park, doctor and dentist appointments. Field Trips: Dairy Days, bakery, Fair, Doctor/ Dentist, Hospital, Seminary Hill hikes, farmers markets, dairies

Backpacking trip with the Troop

Archery with Grandpa

Homeschool soccer co-op

Occupational education = Any life skills that they learn (dusting, vacuuming, doing the dishes, cooking, booting up and playing games on the computer, typing, raking, baby or child care, building things at Home Depot or with Daddy, etc.) One day I was cutting quesadillas with scissors and one of the boys told me that I was doing it just like the ladies at Costco, that was occupational education in action! Any activities you do that introduce them to what they may want to be when they grow up. Field Trips: Any of the above

Fire Truck at Home Depot: Occupational Education twice- we met the firemen and built a project

Cooking Man Cakes after watching Man vs. Food (Math, Health, Occupational education)

Art & Music appreciation = This is not necessarily learning to read music or play music, but can include: listening to musical selections by different composers, learning about the lives of different composers, learning to distinguish the sounds of different instruments, writing music, singing in kids' choir, etc. Listen to the radio in the car and see how many instruments you can pick out...that's music appreciation! Visit a music store sometime and look at the different instruments. Better yet, ask for a demonstration! Art appreciation is the same idea as above but related to works of art. Field Trips: Rays Violin Shop (he not just sells stringed instruments but also manufactures violins and bows), ArtTrails, Art Jamboree, Glass blower (there are 2 in downtown Centralia now). Community theatre: Centralia College, Evergreen Playhouse, Tenino Young-At-Heart Theatre, W.F. West HS, Centralia HS, Adna HS all offer inexpensive tickets to family-friendly productions. Tuesday nights are free music at McMenamin’s for all ages, we’ve heard music of every variety there. If your child wants to participate, both Evergreen Playhouse and Tenino’s Young-At-Heart Theatre have annual productions for children to act in. Free concerts and art events abound in Lewis County (watch the loop or local bulletin boards for upcoming events)

Drive Thru Christmas Pageant

Hope this helps clear things up for you. No more stressing out over nothing, OK? :-)

Ni and a Shrubbery

2011-01-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

~Erica

This week really tickled my funny bone, in Spanish we learned about indefinite and negative words, ni... ni is neither and nor. In Botany we discussed the difference between a bush and a shrub. All I could think about was Monty Python's Holy Grail....

Project 365- Week 1

2011-01-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Last year I didn't hear about Project 365 until about the 10th of January and in my perfectionism I just couldn't start late. This year I've already got too much on my plate but after stewing for a year about doing it last year I just had to go ahead and start. I missed one day- Wednesday the 5th but that's our craziest day of the week so I let myself off the hook.

1- Jonah's friend Reuben with one of those spring-loaded, rubber-sucker toys stuck to his forehead. It was bedtime and I HAD to get a picture if I was going to do the project. I thought I'd go in and get a sweet picture of Rush reading to the 2 boys...

2- We had dinner with Oliver and his parents and Fred & MaryLinda at Izzy's in Olympia. We had Crystal and Adam over for dinner early in January last year so this must mean it's a tradition. They moved to Medeira, CA last spring so this was a special visit.

3- My first Botany lab assignment was to find a Hazelnut plant. The darker branch is the native shrub and the bigger lighter amends are from our filbert shrubs (the difference between a bush and a shrub is that botanists call them shrubs, just thought you might like to know).

4- Ryan got his new gas grill. He and Rush assembled it in the dark and ice and sub-freezing temperatures so they could grill steaks for dinner. It has 4 burners, a lid, and a thermometer so he can try smoking in it. It also has a side burner so I can use my wok and make mongolian BBQ all summer (I'm not a die-hard griller). Rush is the Beaver in the family- he reads and follows instructions so he's always assigned to help Ryan (the Golden Retriever) when some assembly is required.

6- Tovah started Chess Club this week. She doesn't want to play in any tournaments, we'll see how long that lasts. Isaac is looking forward to going to State again.

7- I had to take a picture of Rush and email it to the school for his ASB card. He's all paid up and ready for baseball to start (as soon as I get his medical form signed and turned back in). He won't get a haircut until the night after his first practice (at least that's what he told Coach last month).

December Highlights

2010-12-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

~Erica

I was hoping for a quiet December with plenty of time to complete projects and relax. I had three weeks off of school and we gave the kids 2 weeks.

My dad bought Isaac a 3/4 scale bass guitar for Christmas, birthday, etc. I overheard my dad explaining to him that it was his to use but not his so he couldn't sell it or trade it with his friends. Isaac's excited to learn how to play it.

We had Walk & Knock on the 4th. I don't have any pictures- I took my camera but never got it out of the case. Rush, Arin, and Jonah went out with drivers while Isaac and Tovah stayed at the Grange to sort food. Before all the routes were in Tovah and I had to leave to get her to rehearsal and Isaac and Arin were picked up by one of the scout leaders to go on Isaac's compass hike for 2nd Class Scout.

Tovah had a solo in the kids Christmas play Back to the Manger on the 5th. She's all Engle- no stage fright for her.

Ryan and I had finals the 6th and 7th. Tovah and Jonah started out the week with the stomach flu. I lost my first half week at home being sick with the kids- it was a nasty stomach bug. Friday night our youth group rented the theater to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Unfortunately our boys don't drive yet so they had to be escorted and accompanied to the movie, my dad and I went but Rush had to stay home because the stomach bug hit him about 4 hours before we left. Ryan took Rush, Jonah, and Tovah to the see the movie the next week. I'm not sure if I would consider it the best of the 3 but definitely in the top 2.

The kids put the tree up.

Ryan played Santa for a friend's preschool class. Jonah sat on his lap just to get a candy cane. All the boys wanted DS's and the girls wanted Blizzard Makers except one girl who wanted some penguin toy.

We drove through Fantasy Lights in Spanaway. The weather had been so bad that I didn't want to go to ZooLights in the rain and the nights that had good weather the crowds were bad. Afterwards we took the kids to Sonic in Puyallup. Rush and Cheyney had the Tex Mex Coney dogs and Vanilla Dr. Peppers, she took a picture with her phone but I didn't get any pictures of the food. It was fun but definitely a summer eatery so we can sit outside at the picnic tables.

My mom took us to the buffet at the casino for lunch one day. I had heard about Restaurants.com and knew that they had 50% off coupons available to the Lucky Eagle. I got an 80% off code and got the coupon for $3- It saved $48 off the total order! I didn't take any pictures and haven't been able to get copies of the ones Cheyney took. The kids like the buffet because they can eat whatever they like and get dessert.

It's interesting to see what they choose and what they go back for, I think they are incredibly picky but Ryan says they really aren't. They are getting more adventurous in their tastes- fish, shrimp, sheep cheese, goat cheese, hot peppers... I think Jonah eats quite a bit of lamb at the neighbors and doesn't realize it (and they aren't going to tell him.)

It was cloudy and misty but I did get a few pictures of the lunar eclipse. I went out every 10 minutes or so, when I went out the last time and the moon was totally gone it was the wierdest feeling. I can see why ancient peoples freaked out when the moon disappeared, I knew where it had gone and it was still a bit of a shock when it was not where it was when I saw it last.

John brought gifts over for the kids. He got Rush a shotgun to go duck hunting in January. He wanted to take him bear hunting this fall but had to cancel. Next year he, Nathan, and Rush will go.

Tovah got horses, grandma has her eye on them to add to Grand-daddy Wilbert's collection. The other boys got really good binoculars- they each got their own pair.

New fingernail polish from Cheyney and new nightgown from The Disney Store's BOGO free and free shipping sale that week.

We didn't celebrate Christmas until Monday when Ryan got off work so we spent the weekend in our jammies watching movies, playing XBox, and I scrap-booked. Sunday night Tovah and I went to Jillian's 9th Birthday party. Tovah brought home a huge bag of candy to share with the boys.

The kids got new jammies, books, videos, DS games, and XBox games.

Rita brought over Max and Squeaky but Max didn't work out. The kids are enjoying having a new cat, once Squeaky came out from under the stairs where she hid for 2 days. We went to Applebees for our Christmas dinner. Tuesday Ryan and the boys went to see Tron. We had a Family Game Night Tuesday night with friends. The boys did a good job inviting their friends but forgot to tell people it was for the whole family, we finally got an invite out on Facebook a few days before the party. We had a great time...

The big kids played XBox

The littler set found the Marbleworks and Legos in the boys' room

Downstairs there was Mexican Train dominos, Settlers of Cataan, In a Pickle, the new electronic Scrabble, and lots of food and laughter. We had 17 boys here, 8 girls, and 17 adults. Next year we'll do a better job of getting the word out ahead of time...

Tonight's New Year's Eve- Ryan's at work, I've got most of my Winter Break To Do List to finish, and the kids are watching the Dr. Who marathon on BBC. We have have one more day to stay in our jammies all day. Church on Sunday then school starts for everyone on Monday.

Randomness

2010-11-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

~Erica

***Today I'm trying to catch up with all the things that have gone undone since school started. I've lost a brand new shirt that I only wore once and I'm pretty sure one of the boys has it since they pull their clothes out and fold them and they won't learn to fold the picture out so they can see what t-shirt it is. I'm sure my new bejeweled black t-shirt is folded in one of their drawers

***The other day a friend emailed to ask which email address she should use for me- she had 4 in her address book and was that a reflection on how much was going on in my life? I didn't have the heart to tell her that I actually have 7 email addresses that I check regularly (though to be honest 3 are "future" addresses):

-2 are our "family" email addresses at our old carrier and our new carrier that will be our only carrier as soon as Ryan and my dad figure out what to do with my dad's website hosting

-2 are my personal email addresses with our old and new carriers. I had to get my own email address to have my own facebook account. They are really only used for things I don't want cluttering up our main email account.

-2 are Lewis County Homeschool email addresses with our old and new carriers.

-1 is my new student email account at the college and to get to it I have to log into a whole new window and it's a real pain but I don't have the time or energy to try and figure out how to forward it to one of our other accounts.

-I think I may also have a google email that I got at some point for some reason I can't remember- it's just a vague feeling that I did it.

***I've made 3 trips to the post office to mail packages in the last 24 hours- I got Nathan's monthly care package off so I can now focus on his Christmas Care Package, I mailed Marylinda's birthday socks to her (only a week+ late and I didn't take any pictures), and I mailed a magazine to a friend who I thought would enjoy it (Elaine, you should get it Monday). All three were in different piles and I just had to get to them.

***This morning I had 37 emails flagged in outlook that I needed to deal with, I'm down to 19.

***I'm really keeping busy so I don't have to think about writing my research paper on "The Pros and Cons of a Personal Income Tax" that is due Dec. 3. I really don't want to do it. I did some research last night and emailed a bunch of articles to my school account to print out on their paper on Monday so I can pretend like I've worked on it this weekend. Also I have a book in at the library that I need to pick up. I need to type up an outline and turn it in to the teacher by last Thursday (it's an online class that I set all the deadlines except the Dec. 3 deadline- this is dangerous territory for an expert procrastinator).

***Last night I got to spend 2 hours at Barnes & Noble while the bigger boys were at a Warren Miller film (it was my reward for spending 2 hours at the Scout store early that day trying to straighten out the popcorn sale fiasco- not really, I was already scheduled to drive the boys to Olympia last night). I found the new Artemis Fowl book The Atlantis Complex but Ryan wouldn't let me spend $18 on it so I bought a $4 book (Lauren Willig's Temptation of the Night Jasmine) and a $5 Peppermint Mocha and did research on the school library from B & N.

***This Wednesday I have 6 items plus school on my calendar and I'm trying to figure out how to add a funeral to the day. Mrs. Verley died this last week. She was my first Freshman Advanced English teacher plus I had her for 2 trimesters of AP English my Junior yr.

***Wednesday night Ryan is doing dinner at church so Jennifer and I can go to the college and hear Ann Rule speak. Our county has hit an all-time low, we now have a criminal case worthy of an Ann Rule book. I read all her early stuff when we lived on Guam and I worked at the Stars & Stripes bookstore. I had to stop reading them when Ryan went to Japan for 6 months- I heard too many bumps in the night that freaked me out.

***I can't remember the last picture of my kids I took, I know we took our camera last weekend to my aunt's service but it never came out of the case. I took a picture on my cell phone of some cool driftwood balls in a store display window last night while we waited for the boys to come out of the movie. Ryan's working most of Christmas break and I'm going to spend entire 3 weeks scrapbooking and see if I can get caught up to 2010 before 2011 starts ) minus the 3 days I spend cooking for the dinner theater at church.

***One of my friends' daughters will be 11 on 11/11/11. How cool is that?

***Tonight I have a Creative Memories Photo Solutions Party. My first one in about 3 months. I should go and review what I'm actually supposed to do and get my bag packed. My lapboards are all over the house being used for schoolwork (they are perfect for the mouse when I have my laptop on my lap).

I'll leave you with a picture that will be the theme for the rest of my week:

I'm Impressed

2010-11-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

~Erica

It's the simple things that make moms happy: Tovah got a Dora "piano" book at Costco last year- it was her money and she really wanted it. I really don't like those because it seems like the batteries die quickly and then to replace them costs twice what the book originally cost, you see dead ones at Goodwill and garage sales all the time. This book came with a card for replacement batteries from Publications International, Ltd. I was able to order 3 sets of replacement batteries for $7.99. They came today and had everything I needed including an extra screw for the little flap and a card to order again. She's back to making music and I'm rather impressed with the cost and the ease in which I fixed the book. I didn't even have to look for a screwdriver...

Jonah's birthday

2010-11-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jonah! Jonah's birthday was September 16th, he is 11 years old and he made sure that I wrote that he got $47.00. Here are some pictures of Jonah's birthday:

Your love never changes

2010-11-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Rush, Arin, Isaac, and Jesse at the wreck of the Peter Iredale, Ft. Stevens, OR

I don't have to be afraid-

There may be pain in the night

But joy comes in the morning

Since Sunday I've been singing these 3 lines to myself, over and over. I just couldn't remember the rest of the words but these are the ones I needed.

Aunt Jane

2010-11-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

~Erica

June 2010 at Nathan's party

Deborah Jane Johnson

June 1, 1952 - October 29, 2010

My Aunt Jane died last Friday night. She had AML and had gone through a Stem Cell Transplant in July using Stem Cell's from my father. Her stem cells had grafted but the steroids preventing GVH caused too much damage to her systems and she just couldn't recover.

One of my earliest memories of family is going with Aunt Jane when she drove a school bus route. I think I was about 3. We left long before dawn to start the route. I sat in the first seat across the aisle from her so she could keep an eye on me. I fell asleep about halfway through and woke up back at the bus barn. I was so disappointed to miss seeing the school.

When I was 6 we lived in Portland, OR while my dad went to Multnomah. Jane and Dwayne lived in Gresham while he attended the mortuary school at Mt. Hood CC. They lived close to the campus and we would go out there and walk onto campus to watch old movies. That summer we saw Old Yeller and the Jungle Book (I think we saw more but those are the ones that stuck with me.) Dwayne had to make a funeral mask out of plaster and hung it above their front door. It totally freaked me out. To this day I don't like anything on or near my face.

Later they moved into Portland (not sure where but I remember we turned at the Fred Meyer). My uncle had the coolest garden in the attic. Then they moved to the Hollywood district of Portland- I can still find that house because I was driving when they lived there. It was about 20+ LONG blocks from my great-grandparents apartment (I know how long it was because we walked it one day).

I loved going to visit them- when we were there nothing was expected of us, I could read or watch TV all weekend. Dwayne died in July 2004. It was hard to imagine that he wouldn't be there when I went down. I always told each of my uncle's they were my Favorite Uncle.

Jane loved to laugh and sing and to be creative. She loved to weld and do stained glass and garden and crafts. She loved camping and family. Best of all- she loved Jesus. She spent 3 days with us in June when Nathan was home from Afghanistan. We went to an outdoor concert and cooked and baked and played dominoes.

She left behind a daughter, Sarah, who will be lost without her mother. 2 brothers, 2 sisters, many nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews.

Trigger Finger Mittens

2010-10-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make Nathan a pair of mittens with a trigger finger for Afghanistan. I thought I had found a pattern online but when I sat down to make them the pattern called for bulky yarn and I had worsted weight. I took bits and pieces from several different patterns and found a tutorial on making gloves. I will compile all the bits into a pattern once I try knitting another pair (that won't be until December because going to college full-time severely limits my knitting time).

These knit up very quickly. I'm thinking I'll make a pair for my mom for Christmas so I can work out sizes. Nathan's are a little big for Rush (he wouldn't come outside and model them for me). I used Cascade 220 Superwash and it took just under 1 skein for the pair.

Summer Vacation

2010-10-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm back from summer vacation. I went to Boy Scout camp, & the SWWF.

My favorite part of the summer was unlimited rides at the fair, my favorite ride at the fair was the vortex.

This is the 1001 Nights ride at the fair

At Boy Scout camp I got to shoot rifles, go canoeing, & hike, a lot. I'm looking forward to this school year. I can't wait for chess to start, this year I don't have to qualify to go to the state tournament. So that's my first blog post.

And this is the Vortex.

The "S" Word

2010-09-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

~Erica

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she was considering homeschooling her children. I quickly encouraged her to look into it and then the public school folks jumped in with the "Socialization" argument- they won't be socialized if they go to school at home. It's such a tired argument and my first thought is "Really, that's all you can come up with?"

When someone uses it to my face I usually counter with a joke, "We have to schedule time out of our social activities to get school done," while I'm thinking if I socialized my kids the way public school does I'd go to jail for child abuse. And how many of us heard from our teachers, "Miss, you are not here to socialize, you are here to learn."

When new homeschoolers ask how to meet other homeschoolers it makes me sad. It means that they are not reaching out to the community that is out there available to them. When we first started homeschooling I didn't wait for opportunities to come to us, I made our own. I found a couple of other like-minded moms and we started a field trip co-op so that we could do something fun with the kids each month. A few years later I got involved with another group of moms in a learning co-op using KONOS. The group disbanded after a couple of years because our older kids were getting involved in other things and it was time to move on.

Nowadays our family does very little "socializing" with other homeschoolers because our kids are so involved in activities that have nothing to do with school- Scouts, sports, church, etc. We do go to Homeschooling Swim Lessons because it works into our schedule. Isaac is involved in a chess club that is homeschoolers and the kids from the Christian school. All the kids' closest friends go to public school or the Christian school.

In our area there are lots of opportunities for homeschoolers to socialize with homeschoolers- soccer co-op, baseball co-op, swim lessons, Chess Club, and several new learning co-ops. It's easy to get involved but you have to leave your house and maybe your comfort zone

I'm still alive, barely...

2010-09-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

~Erica

School started a week ago and I feel like I've been buried alive- I have class 2-hours a day and then it's taking me about 5 hours a day to do my homework. I took Geometry and Trig my Jr. year, those formulas are buried deep and having a hard time coming to the surface. My Spanish seems to be bubbling up a lot easier but we haven't moved past Dora yet. My English class is a whole 'nother story- I feel like I'm reading in a foreign language and can't make sense of it at all. Being sick all last week didn't help. Tonight is the first night I've even felt like I can slow down and do something other than homework. I have tests in Spanish and Math on Wednesday so we'll see how it goes...

The kids have written some posts that I need to edit and match pictures to. I'll get it done and upload them as soon as I find the camera and get the pictures on my laptop.

Too funny: we took Jonah to Applebees last week for his birthday and one of the managers came over to talk to Ryan. She asked if that was his grand-daughter on the soccer team with her daughter? Because its usually grandparents who have such big cameras...

Countdown to School

2010-09-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

~Erica

September 20 is our official first day of school. I'm trying not to go into panic mode because, after 16 or 22 years (depending on how you're counting) I'm going back to college full-time. It seemed like the right time for a lot of reasons but the closer that day comes the reasons why it's a really bad idea are becoming more apparent.

1) We can't go to Disneyland for 4 years or more as I will have a set schedule that can't be moved or ignored.

2) I'm already triple booked most days how am I going to fit in 2 hours of classes plus an online class and study time?

3) It's been 16 years since I've strained my brain and I'm not sure it's up to the challenge. Just reading the course descriptions makes me weary.

These really seem trivial once they are written down. This is a good time- the kids are capable of independent study, Ryan's home most of the week, my mom may pick up Tovah's enrichment activities (not that I would do any with her if I was home full time), in 2 years we may not be eligible for financial aid but I have time to qualify for scholarships if I start now, and if teaching 5 kids in 5 grades isn't challenging to the brain then I don't know what is!

So, in a little over a week I'm going to school to earn my degree in Sustainable Agriculture and if I never use it- that's okay, I'll know I have it.

For the kids- Monday we are going to start our school schedule and focus on Scouts until the rest of their curriculum arrives, Rush has 3 Eagle required Merit Badges started and really needs to finish them before he gets busy with life. Arin and Isaac have a couple to finish as well. Cub Scouts starts Monday night- Rush is Den Chief for Webelos 1, Arin is Den Chief for Webelos 2, and Jonah is in Webelos 2. Tovah has soccer games on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next 7 weeks, AllStars starts Wednesday at church, and Thursday is Jonah's birthday (as well as 4 kids are getting fillings, including the birthday boy).

This is them walking "naturally"

Puttering at Projects

2010-09-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

~ Erica

I've been working my way through my project list 15 minutes at a time. I'm getting a lot done and getting more ideas about personalizing our space. I took all the pictures off the walls 10 years ago when we raised the house and put in a new foundation and I've never gotten them back up because I wasn't sure where and how I wanted to do it. I'm spoiled because the old half of the house has solid wood walls under the sheetrock so it doesn't matter where I put a nail- the new half of the house is modern construction and looking for studs is a pain. I've used quite of few of the 3m hangers that are like velcro.

In our bedroom I hung the silhouettes I made of the kids along with the silhouettes from Disneyland- the upper one is me when I was little and the bottom one is Nathan and Rush from 1996. The lamp has to go, I think I'll bring the floor lamp in from the family room and the candlestick lamp cam sit in the window of the family room to give me a little extra knitting light, the purple shade will have to go. The paint and wallpaper are on my Project List but we need to change out a window and repair the sheetrock before I paint.

This is in the new schoolroom.

I finished my chalkboard! I'm not totally excited about the chalk pens but will use them for now. The kids aren't detail orientated so a general overview of the events of the week is all they need.

A place for featured art or cards. I may try and paint over the blue stripes, or not. I think I got the idea from Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss I had the frame stashed in my closet, it's glass got broken a long time ago.

I replaced the Armed Forces Insignia poster with my Narnia map- this was a Christmas present when I was 12 and I've never found a replacement for it. It's old and tired but aren't the best maps the aged ones? This is the hallway (can you call it that when it's only a door width deep) between one of the bedrooms and the bathroom. I thought I wanted a cool Ikea full-length mirror here but then I decided that maybe I didn't want that many glimpses of myself.

I decided to hang the maps in the stairs, there are always handprints on this wall so laminated maps are a good choice. Next time I will put 2 kids on the corners while I step back and check that they are level rather than asking the kids to tell me when its straight.

I still have a chalkboard to hang in the kitchen and I want to paint some rocks with the rest of my chalkboard paint and move a bulletin board so I can hang a phone center next to it but that has to wait for Ryan to remove the thermostat from that wall...

Finally, baking was on our list of things To Do this summer. Arin wanted to try the Petite Vanilla Bean scones at Starbucks and I told him we could make them from Pioneer Woman's recipe. They turned out okay- I didn't have cream or vanilla bean so we had to use half & half and vanilla extract. They baked a little too long so they were crunchy rather than soft.

Then my mom went blueberry picking and we made a pie (you can see the crust).

We froze about 20 pounds and dehydrated a couple of pounds. We thought that blueberry scones sounded really good. I don't have a picture but they were wonderful. I didn't add any vanilla, I used 1c dried blueberries (soaked in water- next time I will simmer them or at least use hot water), I still didn't have any cream so I used half & half instead, which made them a bit wetter, and I dropped them in big spoonfuls on my baking stones. I glazed them with powdered sugar glaze made with half & half.

We have one more week before school officially starts so I guess summer's over. We're hoping for a few nice days next week and if it does get warm we'll try and go agate hunting or go to the rock farm to get my chalk board rocks. We won't get to go to a parade, there's one in Hoquiam on Saturday but Tovah has soccer pictures and the Jamboree. We'll save our NW Trek passes till later this fall when the leaves are off the bushes and the grass has died down- a sunny winter day is the best day to see all the animals, they come out to lay in the sun on the warm blacktop tram road.

LEGO Games- We All Win!

2010-09-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

~Erica

In June the kids asked if we could go to the Lego Games 2010 Tour they were having in Seattle or Portland at the end of summer. It was 2 months away so I said what all mom's say, "Maybe." I was thinking it would be fun and I had plenty of time to make arrangements.

Last week Isaac reminded me and I still thought we could go to Portland on Monday.

Sunday I decided I was out of my mind trying to make it happen- it was a holiday weekend, 2-hours down and back in heavy traffic, bad weather, 100s of people, and a week before payday. At a minimum I figured it would cost us $40 in gas and $10 for parking or the Max plus some spending money for snacks and then they'd really want to buy a game. So I told them we could go to the event or we could go to Walmart after dinner and just buy a game.

They decided that they really wanted Minotaurus. It cost $25 so I came out ahead...

The point of the game is to get your 3 heros through the labyrinth to the temple avoiding the Minotaur. You can block your opponents by moving sections of the wall. The biggest problem I see with the game is that only 2-4 can play at a time.

Ryan wants to get these for them for Christmas

http://games.lego.com/en-us/products/3844.aspx

http://games.lego.com/en-us/products/3840.aspx

This post is linked up with Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

Racing the Rain

2010-09-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Last week my dad pulled the roof off the Little Shop so he could tie in the new back porch roof. The weatherman was saying that we would have a rainy Labor Day weekend. Ryan helped him until 1 on Friday when he had to go to bed to get ready for working the weekend. Dad kept working by screwing on the panels rather than nailing them (nailing anywhere in the house wakes Ryan up when he's sleeping). We went into the weekend with the sheathing on the roof. Monday morning I woke up to the sound of rain and cars on the wet road. It stopped during the day but more was expected.

My mom got to go up the ladder to help with the last few pieces.

We just made it. At 6 my dad had to run to Home Depot for another roll of paper while I started the barbecue. It started sprinkling while he was gone but they got the last few pieces on before it really started raining. Dad says the paper will last years... just kidding. A friend is coming over to help us roof later this week but the shop is dry for now.

He Cares

2010-08-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Tonight it seems like all the worries and cares of the week are piled on top of me. I was burdened with someone else's situation today and it's not one that I want to carry. My aunt's bone marrow transplant seems to be taking but I worry if it will really work and then what, I worry as my dad recovers from donating to his sister. I worry about Nathan in Afghanistan and the world situation. I worry about Grandma who is 90 and can't live forever. Because I am a fixer by nature its hard for me to not try to solve these problems even though I know they are all bigger than I am. I have to remind myself that God is in control and He is bigger than all of these.

I cast all my cares upon You
I lay all of my burdens down at your feet
and any time I don't know what to do
I cast all my cares upon You

I review His promises to me...

1) Hebrews 13:5 God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

He is there even if we aren’t looking for Him

2) Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I may not understand what is happening but I am assured that He does and I can refer to Promise #1

3) 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
He will never give us more than we can handle and He will provide a way of escape for us. Job was tested beyond my imagining- he lost all his children at one time. Mother Teresa said once that she knows that God will never give her more than she can handle, she just wishes he didn’t trust her quite so much.

4) John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
He loves me so much He sent His Son to die for me.

5) John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
This world is not my home. He has gone to prepare a place for me and He is coming back to get me. I don’t know when but I’m ready

6) Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
ALL things! Not some things, not only in certain circumstances, ALL things. Check your Bible, its there.

These are promises we can rely on- Jesus told us that trials will come, trouble will seem to prevail, we may lose life, liberty, and happiness but God is still standing there saying, “I won’t leave you, I know what’s going on, I know you can handle this, I love you so very much, your home is almost ready and I’ll come for you, it’ll all work out for good, trust me in this.”

So before I go to sleep tonight I'll hand each and every worry over to him and trust him to take care of them. And tomorrow I'll do my best not to take them back and fix them....

A weekend without the children...

2010-08-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Last week Ryan took me to Leavenworth for my birthday. We had been there 17 years ago with Nathan and Taryn but it was winter and cold and long time ago. We made a serious road trip of it- we took Stevens Pass up to Leavenworth then came home over Blewett Pass through Ellensburg and Yakima and over White Pass. It was a very long roller coaster ride that took 2 days. There were fires burning in Cashmere and Stehekin so the air was very hazy.

Leavenworth is quaint, kitschy, touristy but pretty cool. It was converted to a Bavarianesque village in the 60s when the logging first started drying up. They did a pretty good job of the buildings on main street and now its all covenanted so everything has to be built to specs. I think there are 2 officials fonts for signs- I got a kick out of how they got National chains to comply. I didn't get a picture but McDonalds did not change their Golden Arches M but the building looks like a chalet. The main attraction is shopping and I think my shopping gene has withered and died. There is hiking and water sports but since we were there without the kids we were "relaxing." We might try and go back next year and rent kayaks for the Wenatchee River.

Thursday afternoon we had a terrific rain storm, I heard some thunder but didn't see any lightning and didn't hear that any more fires had started. It cleaned the air a bit however the humidity went up. We went to the Brau Haus for dinner and ate bratwurst. They had a German sauce (that's what they called it) that was red and slightly sweet with some curry. It was great and I would have brought home a big bottle if we had found it in the stores. The air seemed brighter so we took a few more pictures and got to go to the Farmers Market that is open in the evenings.

Friday we went into Cashmere and did the Aplets & Cotlets tour. The only thing we bought was some Aplets & Cotlets to bring home to share with the kids.

Downtown Cashmere

We had lunch in Yakima before coming over White Pass.

We saw the helicopter filling up from the lake at the top of White Pass, I'm not sure where it was taking the water as there weren't any reported fires in our area of the state.

I tried taking this picture of Mt. Rainier as we drove down the pass. It was the first time we'd seen it all weekend- the sky was so hazy in Eastern Washington that we couldn't see past the foothills. I just about got carsick trying to look through the viewfinder as we drove.

In Morton we stopped at Spiffy's for ice cream- the kids like to stop there on Boy Scout outings so we thought we'd give it a try. We went to the new Centralia Deli for dinner (Ryan wanted BBQ). I was ready to go home but Ryan said we couldn't go home for another hour....

We got home to a house full of guests who came for cake

Music Campout

2010-08-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

~Erica

My folks have been camping with friends at the Old Timey Music Campout all week. I have a hard time camping when its hot and my bed is 10 miles away, so we went a couple of times so the kids could swim and to celebrate my mom's birthday. I forgot my camera the first day but yesterday I went down to the water so I could take a few pictures before I went back up and fixed dinner (chicken stir fry- I only get to use my wok when we are camping since that's the only time my gas burner is out).

My folks have been to a lot of music campouts and there is always music being played, people sit in their campsite or find a bit of shade and start jamming. So you hear voices, dogs, kids, water running, and always music. As we went down the path to the river the music was getting louder- there was a trio playing music right on the riverbank. I told my mom that if the kids had ever seen Deliverance there was no way we would get them in the water. She said if she had ever seen it then there would be no way she'd take them. Note: I've never actually seen Deliverance- just the Dueling Banjos and what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about it.

Isaac and my mom sat in the middle of the water and the others floated down to them and then went upstream to do it again. Grandma was a little worried that the boys wouldn't wear life jackets but I think the deepest water Arin could find was mid-chest on him and it is a very slow-moving river. (This is the same mom who had no worries about what Matthew and I were doing in the river when we were kids).

Played Bocce after dinner then home for baths and an early bedtime since they were all hot and cranky. I had let them stay up til 11:30 the night before to try and watch the meteor showers.

I Have A Schoolroom!

2010-08-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

~Erica

When we remodelled I didn't get a schoolroom but we moved school upstairs from the kitchen table to the family room. The kids work on the couch, their beds, the kitchen table, or wherever. We had 3 rooms that were public spaces- the family room, the TV room, and the office. The TV room was cute and cozy (with a Mariners theme) when we had 5 little kids but has slowly been shrinking and when the kids started asking for a Wii or a Kinect for our XBox we knew that it just wouldn't work. Ryan wanted to have both computers in the same room (of course the laptop doesn't stay there- I'm in the bedroom writing this). We discussed moving the TV & couch out into the family room, moving the computer desk and a 2nd desk into the TV room and moving my table into the office.

Before: Family Room, TV room with XBox drumset, and office. I love my bookcases but I need more!

I don't like change. I had tentatively proposed moving furniture and the rooms but I was still getting used to the idea. Ryan wanted it done, so Monday we did it. The big stuff is all moved but I still need to work on some details- like where all the little junk goes and clearing out 2 laundry baskets of clutter.

The kids were pretty good about moving everything. They put orphan socks on the their arms to dust things as we moved them to their new home. We had to do it in stages to get everything to fit- it was like a slotted puzzle game. Ryan had to take a propane heater off the wall of the family room- we found it was cheaper to heat with electricity. Now we have a hole to patch, but that is for another day.

As soon as we got the computer moved to the other room we discovered that its too far from the wireless hub to go online so we had to move it back to the office. It took 3 of us to carry that desk.

The TV's new home. The cradle has swim suits and towels and is looking for a new home

Now there are 2 couches for TV viewing plus plenty of floor space. Those old cushions are going to the dump tomorrow and I'm bringing some new ones upstairs

2 desks for 2 computers in the office. Plus a new printer that works on the wireless network so I can print from my laptop!

And now for the best part! I have a schoolroom. It needs a lot of finishing touches to make it look good but its functional and even has some storage.

A table and a reading chair. I have a chalkboard I think I'll hang above the table and 2 big maps that will go on the wall above the dresser.

Rush is wiped out! He did most of the moving.

This post is linked up the Heart of the Matter's Not Back to School Blog Hop School Room Week

2010-2011 Curriculum plan

2010-08-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

~Erica

I've been meaning to do this for my own planning and the Not Back to School blog hop at Heart of the Matter has just given me the added motivation to get it done.

One thing I’ve found in the past 13 years of homeschooling is that every year looks different and no matter how you plan things happen to change the plan so I need to be flexible and allow the change to happen. This year both Ryan and I will be going to school- his classes are distance learning however I’m taking 2-3 classes each quarter on campus. My plan is to take early classes and be home before the kids are even up and going or better yet, they get up and get their day started so they have most of their lists done before I get home, in my dreams…

Rush is a 10th grader this year, he will be working at home and online through the private school we use to carry his transcripts. Because he’s in high school he counts credits rather than doing the 11 required subjects (watch for a post about these soon). His core texts will be A Beka Language C, Number Power 3 & 4, A Beka Biology, and Spanish 1 (online). For Bible he will be continuing the youth group challenge to read the Bible through in a year and he will be participating in a small group Bible Study. He has a lot of Scouts to finish up in order to complete his Eagle this year (by Dec. 2010) he has several merit badges; Family Life, Camping, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, and an Eagle project to plan and carry out. He’ll play baseball in the spring for a PE credit.

Arin will be in 8th Grade, again. We are calling this 8 Part B. He’s not quite ready to jump into high school courses and I’m not sure I’m ready for him to be done in 4 years. He can start some of the 9th grade texts and take 2 years to complete them (several Rush had a hard time completing in a year). He will be doing A Beka Language B, Math-U-See Delta, Total Health, and WA State History, I'm not starting the actual text until next year but he can start working on his notebook. He will also be reading the Bible through this year. For Scouts he needs to focus on merit badges starting with Family Life and Personal Fitness. He’ll run Middle School Track in the spring.

Isaac is in 7th Grade. He will be focusing on math and Scouts. He needs to complete the work for his 2nd and 1st Class Scout badges and also work on Family Life and Personal Fitness merit badges. He will be doing the Pathways text and work book Seeking True Values, Number Power 2, reading through the Bible in the year, and WA State History, Isaac has 2 years to work on his notebook before doing the textbook in 9th grade. He participates in Chess Club and wants to compete in a couple of tournaments this winter.

Jonah is in 5th grade and Tovah is in 2nd grade. They do a lot of the same work, they will be doing Pathways readers, Math-U-See, and Breakout Bible Study which is our Wednesday night curriculum at church. Jonah will be doing Apples Daily Spelling Drills and Webelos. Tovah is reading the Bible like the big boys (and Grandma will buy her ticket to Wild Waves next summer). She and I will be reading the Little House books and doing some activities from Prairie Primer. We will get together with friends to do God's Design for Life: The World of Animals from Answers in Genesis.

I've used Math-U-See for many years and really like it but have found that it moves too slowly at the upper levels; a year on fractions and then a year on decimals puts the kids behind for starting high school level math. Arin will probably stay with MUS since he struggles with math and is a VERY visual learner. Rush moved to Number Power last year and liked the pace, however, we may move him to an online math course that is offered through the private school we use for his transcript.

The Washington homeschool law allows us to teach subjects without using a formal curriculum or book so we do lots of activities that count as PE, art & music appreciation, language, spelling, reading, and science. I keep copies of their weekly schedules, a book and video log, and our calendar and at the end of the year go through and categorize everything we've done. I'm always very surprised by how much we've done without really trying.

Can't get it out of my mind

2010-07-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Ryan pointed these out to me the other day on the way home. He asked me what they said?

"Oat hay." I was tired but not that tired...

"No, say it all together."

Thanks, now I can't get it out of my mind.

We walked down so I could take a picture, I didn't get the picture I really wanted but I think I'll have to do it without the kids, at about the school driveway Isaac started telling me that I could see it from there. We stopped at Coffee Outfitters on the way back and bought Suzie's Cinnamon Rolls because its Friday and that's the only day they are available. Of course eating even half a cinnamon roll totally defeats the purpose of walking the 3/4 mile to the corner and back.

I couldn't find a better video of the Little Rascals.

We're Home! but too exhausted to get anything done....

2010-07-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Shh, let sleeping babies lie...

We're home from Climb '10 Family Camp, Camp Hahobas, and IYC and we're totally wiped out. A good time was had by all including the 2 who were roughing it at Boy Scout camp. Today we should be done unpacking and getting caught back up and be able to return to real life- tonight is youth group, tomorrow is Scouts, and Ryan has to go back to work tomorrow night whether he is ready or not. We've taken lots of pictures and had lots of adventures that we'll tell you about later.

This is our honorary grandson, Oliver (not the name his parents gave him but we like it better). He came up to see us at camp and we're hoping to have a longer visit when they are home at Christmas.

Leaving on a jet plane...

2010-07-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

~Erica

Rush left last Wednesday for IYC in Orlando, FL. I've gotten 3 texts and 1 phone call from him. The first 2 texts were good- telling me they had arrived, it was HOT, the conference was good, he was tired. Then he texted me asking me to make sure I packed his ukelele and music for Family Camp... Then he called me to make sure I got the message. He didn't tell me about the conference, or how hot it was, or the thunderstorms, or anything except making sure I packed his uke. I'm just wondering if I've instilled a little too much independence in him...

On the other hand, this morning I sent Arin and Isaac off to Boy Scout Camp and if they were allowed to bring a phone I'd already have heard from both of them and I don't think I'd be hearing highlights...

Kinetic sculpture at the BMW Museum (audio swap)

2010-07-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge "Red, White, and Blue"

2010-07-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

by Erica

I created this as a new header for the blog. It's how we spent our 4th of July: Nathan back with his Stryker Brigade in Afghanistan; Rush on a High Adventure trip kayaking with our Boy Scout troop; Arin, Isaac, & Jonah presenting the flag at the Demolition Derby at the fairgrounds; and Tovah, well Tovah got to hang out with us. This isn't how we planned or like to spend the 4th, we like to have everyone home and do lots of fireworks but we spent the day in Service- Service to God, Service to our Country, and Service to our Community. As I reflect upon the day I don't think we really could have spent a better day.

This post is linked up with Home is Where You Start From's

L.E.N.S. photo challenge "Red, White, and Blue"

4th of July

2010-07-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday Rush left to go to Quadra Island, British Columbia for a week of kayaking with the Boy Scouts. It didn't seem right to celebrate without him or Nathan but the other 4 still wanted to celebrate the 4th.

We went over to friends' after church to swim and BBQ. It wasn't very warm but they had heated the pool and the kids didn't seem to mind. It was nice to sit and visit. Ryan called at 1 to say he was awake so we headed home shortly later. We planned on going to the parade at 4 to catch candy but there was a family camp issue we had to deal with so we couldn't get out of the house in time.

The boys were asked to do the flag ceremony at the destruction derby. We'd never been to the derby- the closest we've been is 2 years ago we went to the fairgrounds afterwards to watch the fireworks. The kids weren't sure about going since it meant we had to delay our own fireworks. We all got pit passes and got to sit right up front for the derby and fireworks. We had a great time. It was fun to watch the cars fall apart and at the very end it was a no-holds-barred-last-car-running event. Towards the end of the evening Tovah thanked us for bringing her so I guess we are forgiven for delaying our own celebration. The boys want to do flags again during the fair and take grandma and grandpa and next time Rush will get a chance to participate.

It took about 30 minutes to clear the cars and get the fireworks set up. A lot of people went home and some moved out to the grass north of the grand stand to watch the show. I thought the best part was listening to the little boys in the next group over. One of them described a whistling firework as "the sound a bird makes after its blowed up." Every firework was his "favorite" one. They were good but by then I was cold and tired of sitting on the bleachers. It's pretty sad when you have to wear wool socks and hoodies aren't warm enough for an evening outside in July.

We didn't get home until after 11. The neighbors were still shooting off stuff. Tonight we'll do our fireworks but I don't think it'll bother anyone because I'm pretty sure they'll still be doing them too.