It was decided that J needed to do a bit more work on his new rocket before it will be ready to launch, so he suggested that everyone make their own rocket to launch today. Tin foil, construction paper, bits of cardboard, yarn and drinking straws were used to assemble their creations around the engines.
These are the four rockets the boys made. From left to right are J's, M's, S's (on the launch pad), and The Man's is the tiny one behind the big rock.
This is S adjusting his rocket. His went up a little ways and landed safely.
M's launched straight up (relatively) and then shot across the creek. The nose cone came off at the launch site.
J's went up, then crashed and burned.
Here is what was left of The Man's. His consisted of little more than the engine to begin with.
Said at supper tonight by a child who does not wished to be named: "When I was a kid I remember that...but then when I turned seven..." I hope they do have wonderful memories of being kids.
By the way, The Man said he should start his own blog. No, he doesn't have time for that, but he says he would like to post about not being allowed to have a motorcycle when he was little. He's heard that might be a good way to get one!
Happy New Year! From all of us, we hope you had a wonderful holiday season.
Our big plans for the day include taking down the tree and shooting off rockets (again). We'll do that later this afternoon after The Man awakes. He just got home and went to bed because he's been working in the ER since last year. That means he hasn't slept since last year. He usually gets adequate sleep during his shifts, but last night being what it was, he didn't.
We had an enjoyable Christmas with family. There was way too much food, but at least we didn't have to visit the grocery store last week. We also received many wonderful gifts from friends and family. The one I've used the most is what I found at toe of the stocking from my parents.
Apparently my mother read this post. It is about 30 years late, but still much appreciated!
After making sure all my posts here were backed up, I just upgraded to the new Blogger. I'd put off making the switch because I just didn't want to deal with all the changes, but now is the time. I may get around to categorizing my posts. Considering I've made less than 30 posts since starting this blog, it shouldn't take me too long to categorize them all. However, considering I've only had time to post less than 30 posts since starting this blog, don't hold your breath waiting for me to find the time to do it.
Here is one of S's gifts before its maiden voyage last week. It survived. 
Guess what? We've been traveling again! I need to convince myself that that IS normal and plan accordingly.
We will be home for Christmas this year so The Man and children went out in the forest yesterday to find a tree. It is a beautiful BIG tree. The Man got it out of the pickup and stood it up in the front yard for me to see. "Oh, it looks a lot bigger here than it did in the forest." After careful measuring the man cut off a foot or so from the bottom and brought it into the house. After situating it in the stand and trimming some off the top it nearly reached the ceiling. All was well and fine until The Man brought in the decorations and I unpacked the star.
"It won't fit," I said. The Man agreed and started contemplating how much more he would have to cut off the tree. I told him not to cut it, but just attach it to the front of the tree. "I don't care" was the response I gave to how he would go about doing that. I really didn't care. I was tuckered out from my cleaning and bread baking marathon yesterday. I really didn't care.
With a smile, The Man looked in the produce drawer in the refrigerator. He came back and affixed the star to the tree. It was still a bit wobbly so he went and retrieved something from another drawer.
"I'm blogging this," I told him.
"You can't complain, you said you didn't care." I'm not complaining. The tree is beautiful.
When the lights are on, the produce-sized rubber band and thin strip of duct tape aren't even noticeable.
I happen to think it matches beautifully. Orange baling twine would have clashed. I probably would have complained about that.
Our most recent travels have been happy and sad. Last weekend we went to Washington to visit my brother and family, with a stop to see some special friends on the way. Prior to that we attended the memorial service for The Man's Grandpa.
He was 99 and in failing health, so although it wasn't completely unexpected, it was still very sad. Since he was a Navy man—a Pearl Harbor survivor—the honor guard came and participated in the service. It was very touching.
During this season when we remember the birth of One who came here as a babe, we also remember that He died for us so He can return with the sound of the trumpet and claim us as His own. Matthew 24:31. Praise Him!
If you are a Philomath, you may enjoy the new feature down at the side or very bottom of this page (it can't seem to decide where it will be). A daily word match and hangman game for your learning pleasure.
Last month I mentioned our chore chart/laundry system. Considering it was used one week, we went on vacation, we used it one or two more weeks, we went on vacation, and we're starting our 2nd uninterrupted week (which includes a holiday), we're still fine-tuning it all. Before I show you the photo I will say that I had an idea in my mind what it would look like. I was wrong. It wasn't until I was taping up the pockets that I realized how h-u-g-e this monstrosity was going to be. And...colorful...blindingly so. I had ordered 4 packages of the library pockets from a homeschool supply company that will here remain nameless since I'm very aggravated at them right now for this and various other reasons. I received 2 packages of one color scheme and 2 packages of a slightly different color scheme.
It is in a handy place, on the side of a kitchen cupboard, that is only visible if you're coming from the computer or the utility room. It consists of 4 sets of cards (one for each child) with 3 cards each for Sunday through Friday. The card for Sabbath mornings is something quick such as making sure the previously-cleaned entry or bathroom is straightened before we leave for church.
What I like about it:
1) It is flexible. When vacations are coming up or I can see that the trash will really need to be taken out tomorrow instead of Wednesday, it is easy to switch a laundry or trash card to the day it actually needs to be done instead of what was scheduled on Sunday night.
2) It doesn't get lost. Previous chore charts have been too portable, which meant they were prone to being buried in a pile of paper.
3) It has been helpful to me that the chores (such as laundry) are spread out over the entire week instead of me doing marathon sorting/washing/drying/sorting/ folding/putting away laundry all day on Friday. Each child has his or her own hamper and on his laundry day he removes the sheets from his bed and those along with his clothing make a good-sized load. He adds the clothes to the machine and is able to fill the cup with detergent. I help the younger two turn on the machine, but they stay and enjoy watching the water fill the machine. Mid-morning I'll remind him to switch the laundry to the dryer (I switch A's) and before supper he puts the clean clothes back in his rolling hamper and takes it to his room where he will fold and put away the laundry and make his bed.
I've adjusted some things to make it as easy as possible for the kids to take care of their own laundry. As they were outgrown or got holey I phased out all white socks for the boys. With the way S & J tend to "lose" their boots outside it was impossible, even with bleach, to keep them white. I have bought a bunch of dark colored socks for the boys so we don't deal with bleach. J and M both have a dozen pairs of identical black socks. The most "unmatched" from any load is one sock. It is simply thrown back in the hamper and will hopefully find a mate the next go-around.
The chart is a lot "fuller" now than it was when I first put it up. I purposely didn't fill in every slot because I knew I would think of other jobs that the kids were capable of that needed to be done on a regular basis. Now the dog gets brushed (almost) every day and mouse traps in the garage are checked 2x a week. Before it was just whenever I happened to think about it.
It is hard to see in the photo, but just to the left of each child's set of cards there is a plain 3x5 card taped up with daily morning activities such as get dressed, put away pjs, brush teeth, make bed, etc. Then, each child has up to three jobs that day. There are other things that I'll ask them to do or help me with, but these are things that need to be done on a regular basis and assigning them here just keeps me from having to remember to tell someone to do it later.
We're still working on a regular "chore time," but for now, whenever a child seems to have too much time on their hands they can be reminded to check their chore list for the day and that usually keeps them appropriately occupied.
That's all for now. I may think of more once we've actually had a chance to use it for more that 2 weeks straight...and I just had a shocking thought...could it be that we've never had more than 2 "normal" weeks here? Off to ponder...
I know it has been a while since the blog has been updated when I start getting emails from faithful readers wondering where we are. We are here. However we have been traveling, both near and far.
This morning we went up to the city for the 2nd annual Turkey Trot. One of the clinics that The Man works at started a 3k walk/5k fun-run last year with about 50 participants. This year they didn't advertise as much and only 16 showed up to participate, including the six of us.
Along with the Dog we started and ended the 3k walk together with a time of 29:44. The best part was the surprise that a local grocery store donated 10 $25 gift cards to be raffled off. That's right...sixteen participants and ten gift cards. While walking we discussed the probability of all six of us getting a card vs. none of us getting a card. It was decided that statistically, we probably wouldn't get them all, but we probably wouldn't go home empty-handed either. The Man, S, and I, along with 7 other non-related participants, were the ones who got the cards. We stopped by the store on the way home and allowed the kids to pick out anything they wanted. Mushrooms and fresh pineapple topped the list as well as sundry items such as flour, onions, and yams. It was definitely worth the trip over the mountain for a little morning exercise!
We spent the beginning of the month partying. The Man's birthday came first, mine was the next day, and The Man's grandpa had a birthday the next day. We all went to help him celebrate the big 99! Here's a picture of the 3 birthday boys.
As you can see, we also celebrated S's birthday, which followed 2 days after Great-Grandpa's.
We arrived back home just in time to celebrate S's birthday again. He requested a garter snake and mouse cake, along with green leaves and vines around the edge. I aim to please, although Grandma did think I was crazy (or mean, or both) when she called and I told her the cake was iced and the garter snake and mouse were in the freezer. The silence that followed told me that I needed to explain the mouse and snake were made out of icing that was hardening in the freezer. 
Whatever would possess a child to ask for a garter snake and mouse on his cake? It must have been J's request 2 years ago for rattlesnake and rat cakes. I aim to please.
This is S adjusting his rocket. His went up a little ways and landed safely.
Here is what was left of The Man's. His consisted of little more than the engine to begin with.
Said at supper tonight by a child who does not wished to be named: "When I was a kid I remember that...but then when I turned seven..." I hope they do have wonderful memories of being kids.
