A Sad Day . . . . .

The family has been thrust into adulthood by the loss of something very precious. No, the children haven’t left home… yet. Kade’s lost her front two baby teeth, and just in time for Christmas. In two short days our baby’s all grown up. *sniff sniff*
We’d watched the Music Man, an old musical with little Ron Howard, who played a small boy with a lisp. Kade wanted to imitate him, and tried, to no avail, until with Tonya’s help, the front two teeth finally came out. Now she lisps, to the utter joy of Jost, who asks her to repeat an endless amount of sentences. So if you want to know what Kade sounds like, imagine Ron Howard with a lisp, and that’s our daughter.
------------------by Peter R. Leavell

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Atomic Cookies

Today was a good day! There I said it. It is written down forever in black and white. We did have one day that wasn't just good it was great! Kade got an A on her math test. Her first A in math. I was just hoping she would pass.

Both Jost and Kade had a test in English which they passed with flying colors. Peter is doing such a good job with them. I don't like English enough to make it fun.

Then Jost made his first really grown up joke. He was listening to part of Obama's speech and he asked, "Mom, is he equivocating about the meening of equivocation?" What do you know! I laughed so hard.




They got Happy Meals to celebrate their great grades this morning. Jost's "toy" was this "American Idol" headset. He never heard of it so he's walking around saying, "Come in Houston. This is outback. Come in Houston."

So what are Atomic Cookies? We are studying the structure of atoms so each cookie had a nucleus with Orange/ Yellow/ Brown/ Red protons and neutrons. Around the outside is the corresponding number of blue electrons. We made the first 7 elements on the periodic table. Can't wait to eat them!

Poor Buddy

Jost wins a prize for having the worst possible day yesterday. He started off the day by waking up with pink eye. Not terrible - but it did sting. I made a doctor's appointment since we've never had pink eye and I wanted to be sure. On the way to the doctor's he had a huge nose bleed. It continued bleeding during the appointment which made it hard for the doctor to see his eye. It isn't unusual for him to have a nose bleeds. I guess he takes after Papa that way. Then for the grand finale - we were at Monte & Jeneen's. The cousins were playing outside when I heard a wail - scream - groan coming from the garage. Jost came into the house with blood covering his face. He had leaned down to pick up a bat and hit it on the end of the weight lifting bar. The gash wasn't too long, but it was wide. Since it was on his face we decided to take him in to the Urgent care. Poor guy! He ended up needing four stitches and a tetanus shot. He was terrified when they told him but when they actually did it he was very brave. They tried to numb it with a gel but it didn't work. She started the first stitch and it hurt so they had to stop and give him the numbing shot into the skin. For me that was the worst part. He never screamed or hollered just said really politely "That hurts - it really hurts!"

When he was done we went back to Monte & Jeneen's. We topped off the night by goofing off with Chris and Michelle and Monte and Jeneen and the cousins. We just wanted to have some fun. Today Jost says everything hurts. He has a goose egg under the stitches. Plus his arm hurts where he got the shot. Now we just have to wait and see if it scars. They will take out the stitches next Wednesday, so we should see then.

Back to HOMESchool

Well, it is that time of year again. Kids are headed back to school and we head back to HOMEschool. They really are two different things. Jost started me thinking about the difference when he wished that just one sign would say "Back to Homeschool."

We started on August 10th and have two solid weeks of class under our belts. After missing so many days last year I am thankful for every completed day. Our days are less like traditional school than ever before - despite our new "school room." Jost has moved from the Grammar Stage into the Logic Stage. He will learn to ask questions and to weigh arguments. He also does more independent studying on his own. If he want s to know something, I tell him to find out for himself. He is also studying logic on his own. I just review with him to make sure he understands completely.

Kade is doing much better in school this year. The SPD treatments are really helping her focus and engage her mind. Adding the treatments -or activities - is an extra layer in every class and I have to be prepared for any unexpected loose moments. It is kind of like constantly watching over machinery that wants to come unscrewed. It is really rewarding though to see her math finally click. Today she figured out the "trick" to adding nines. She was so happy that she did the whole worksheet wrong. I don't mind; I was thrilled too.

This picture is from their craft last week. We were exploring the challenges and methods of cave paintings. It turned out really well - and looked a lot like the real paintings. Maybe those are really cave "kid" drawings. After all, there isn't a lot to do in a cave when it is cold outside. I know we have been tempted to draw on the walls - or climb the walls - during cold snaps.

Happy back to HOMESCHOOL.

The Burning Bush

This is the last straw! The fourth of July is - officially - our least favorite holiday. We were walking home from the fireworks when we saw the smoke. We could tell it was near our house, so Peter took off running. The kids and I hurried as fast as we could. Jost was a few steps ahead and when he rounded the corner he let out a scream and started crying. I could see the lights from the firetrucks and smoke billowing but I couldn't tell where from.

The fire was in the huge bush at the apartment building behind our home. It was started by a firework of course. Thankfully the residents and the neighbors got water on it before it spread to any structure. As it was the kids were terrified and Peter and I were furious. Drinking and fireworks never result in good things.

We ended up with the kids in our bed until about one o'clock. And we all woke feeling terrible. The news last night had some great pictures. Check them out at the website below:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jul0509-fireworks_aftermath.108051a0.html

In a Jam

When I am old, I think the taste of jam will always remind me of these summers with the kids. I started making jam the first year we moved to Boise because a group of us from church had gone berry picking and I had so many berries. Now my children and I are spoiled. Store bought jam just doesn't taste the same. You can't taste the sunshine and blue skies. You can't taste the fun of spending all day together in the kitchen.

This year I discovered why you don't add the pectin right away. Think strawberry fountain in the microwave! Oops. That's a mistake you only make once.

This year's jam is a little bit different. For the first time I had a helper all the way through. Jost and Kade washed and destemmed the strawberries for me. We had 2 whole flats and they did them all. I was so proud of them. It really helped me a lot and the whole process went faster.

We get our berries from a local, pesticide-free farm. You can pick your own, but we didn't do it for strawberries. We plan on picking our own blueberries as soon as they are ready. Our kitchen will be red, white, and blue by the time we finish! Truely an all American summer.

12 Things We Learned on Our Trip

1. You DO NOT call them palm trees!
They are Palmettos. I thought those were the red things inside olives.

2. Jost swells up with mosquito bites just like I do.
He said "I guess I taste good."

3. Dr. Pepper bottled by Pepsi tastes better then when bottled by Coke.

4. Spanish Moss is neither moss nor Spanish.

5. You can never find an alligator when you want one.

6. Roads are either twice as wide as needed or narrower than one car.

7. The street lights are not temporary. The hang them like that so they will flap in a hurricane.

8. Wearing real leather sandals in the sand leaves your feet feeling like they've been sandblasted.


9. If you say, "I'd like to flip around." when making a U-turn, people look at you like your head is on sideways.

10. Kade picks up accents quickly. You should here her say "Charleston."

11. Never eat Mexican Food in a town this far east. Eat the fish instead.

10. We love South Carolina!!