Mr. Fox

Just popping on to record the terrible cell phone pics I captured this morning of the red fox that traverses our neighborhood.

A big litter of about 7 kits were born a few blocks up in the Spring.  They were so darling and we watched them grow.

Since we have no bunnies to worry about anymore, and no chickens in our yard, I love catching a glimpse of him.

 I'm really just suburb-living here, but after being raised in the city I am still like a little kid every time a deer, coyote, fox or hawk is seen in our forest.  I run to the window with the rest of my children and delight in these woodland creatures!

Happy Weekend!

First Day of School (belated post, of course)!

Coming back from the Southwest with 10 days until the first day of school, we had to dive-bomb the last remaining school supplies left in the stores, rush order missed curriculum items, and try to get as clean and organized as possible.  A few days into the school year, breathing something close to a sigh of relief over actually getting up and running, I found myself in a dance store upon an afternoon in the pouring rain. (I'm not going to re-work that run-on.  Just hang with me!)

Three girls in ballet is a bit of a commitment for sure.  The tights alone!!  But they love it.  And I am refusing to buy Galadriel bigger pointe shoes until her teacher confirms that she REALLY DID grow out of them (I bought them in May!!!)

As for the first day of school?  I have thought of Elizabeth Foss' words of the subject every single year since she wrote her article on that here.  If I went to write my own thoughts on the first day of school, I'd just be doing a worse job of what she said there.

In a nutshell, after a decade and a half of homeschooling, I have learned that the first day doesn't really count as a school day.  It's sort of pretend.  We go through the motions of a real school day and just see what is missing, what is broken,  and how many kids are crying (unless it's me in tears) by 10am.

I just make a list of missing subjects, order them right away, and carry on as calmly as possible.  If I hadn't been in the Southwest this summer, the theory is that I would have had more time to be ready, but judging by past years, I bet it wouldn't have really made that much of a difference!

I just cheerfully encourage my children in as saccharine a voice as I can feign, "it's ok, yep, this is what I need to know! No Spelling book? Ok! No lesson plans? Check! I'll order it right now! Remember, we're just getting started! This is how it's supposed to be!"

And then I make a really great lunch.

Can you see something in Bilbo's desk?

Look close!  It's Wilma.

Like most 4-year-old girls I have known, Eowyn wanted a white cat.  She reeeeeallly wanted one.  As in, tears, all day, and lots and lots of persistent days of wanting.

Our last little kitten was given to us by my Mother-in-law's farm hand Pablo, who couldn't keep the little guy on the farm.  "Cooper" was a darling little stray, but he was super scrappy, scratchy, and soon...aggressive.  I just didn't feel comfortable with him in the home with my then one-year-old baby.  We keep in touch with his new owners, and he is full grown, fat and sassy!

We certainly didn't want to get another cat only to give him or her away, so we took a while to make the decision.

We are committed to this kitten and have every intention of keeping her forever.  Luckily, she is fitting in well.  Cats are so nice and....quiet!:)

To say Eowyn was pleased would be an understatement.

Wilma is a Himalayan.  We are all getting used to seeing our little puff ball sneaking around the corners of our home, or jumping out at a toy to play.   She's fun to have in the school room.

I put this art supply cart together for a handy storage place this year.  What happened on the first day of school?  Sam turned it into a scooter!

Amazingly, it didn't tip and spill everything out all over the floors!  haha! Nope, that happened on day 2!

Eowyn, 4-K

First day of school 2018!

Arwen-11th grade, Aragorn- 9th, Gimli- 8th, Galadriel- 6th, Bilbo- 5th, Rosie Cotton- 3rd, Legolas- 1st, Eowyn- 4K, Sam- Pre-preschool.

Up in my high schooler's study, Arwen enjoyed company on the first day of school when Wilma took a nap on her desk!

Hope your school year is off to a great start!

Summer 2018 Road Trip Photo Dump

You all know we head out to the Southwest to visit my in-laws as often as we can.  Last Easter vacation we weren't able to make our usual visit due to kids' activities.  Earlier this summer the boys were in baseball, so we headed out in later July.

We drove 24-hours in two and a half days.  We did it in two on the way home.

This summer was the summer of smoke.  With all of the wildfires in California, the skies were grey and hazy.  It was also just about 100 degrees all August.

But, we made the best of it, and discovered that one of the coolest places to hang out was the pond on my mother-in-law's farm.  Reina loved it there as well!

We made a day trip up to Colorado and Bilbo got to try his hand at trout fishing.  You can see the mountains are dark.  All of those pines were burnt earlier in the summer.  So sad.

An old man was snagging the trout right and left, and he gave Bilbo his spot, as well as a few pro tips.  It was awesome!

The kids had fun in a rusted out row boat hanging around the pond.  There weren't oars anymore, so they found big logs to row with!

usual road trip photos fro the car

Getting some exercise outside of the hotel before starting out for another day on the road.

Gathering up and ready to head out of the hotel.

We got home with about a week left to organize 9 children for a new school year.  It was a bit of a scramble, but today we are finishing our first week of school.  That's a post of it's own, but this is my best shot at catching us up!!

Happy September!

Twelve!!

We have a tradition to keep: Galadriel had another birthday, and you know that her birthday means candy-covered, colorful, beautiful cakes that she decorates by herself!

This year? Rainbow!

 Just as cheerful and pretty as the birthday girl!

Galadriel grew out of her old bike, so this year her present was a bike that the salesman said should last her through college and beyond! Yay! I love it when my kids get to the full-sized bike stage, so we don't have to buy new ones.  Hers is a pretty blue.

And, most special of all, my Mom made a "Junior Life Guard" jacket by sewing on an official, retro badge that she found on Ebay onto a red jacket.  She also found a retro, official, junior life guard pin, and put it on the collar.

My Mom was a lifeguard and is VERY proud of Galadriel for completing her Junior Lifeguard course this summer.  Galadriel worked so hard, and she deserves her coat!

I'm late on getting this post up, but I didn't want to miss the chance to document it: Happy 12th Birthday Galadriel!!