Kids and Grandkids

Fun time at a wedding

The kids got to go to the first real wedding that they can remember.  I think Sean was about 1 or  1 1/2 when he went to a wedding. 

This one will be one they will not forget.  Well, at least the reception will be remembered. 

 

 

Sierra loved the bride, our new niece.

Callie enjoyed being all fancy. 

Dancing the night away. 

Last time we got dressed up together was Jeff’s sister’s funeral.

Lovely wedding at a beautiful church.  The reception was a very nice time.  The kids enjoyed it and we had to drag them away from dancing when it was way past our bedtime. Sean was really sore from doing so many handstands and all kinds of dance moves. 

“Senior pictures” of Cal-Rae

Since she is done with school, but was never technically a senior, we are improvising for her senior pictures.  She would be a senior this school year if she had not finished early.  I hope to take some more pictures but it is not likely I will have her cooperation. 

These turned out really well.  I took well over a hundred shots to get these.  It is very hard to get the girl to relax so I set the camera for whatever it’s called for multiple shots and just held down the button and hoped for the best.  These were taken in our back yard.  After these turned out so well, I decided to order an older version of a photo editing software which was still much nicer than the free one that I had been using.  I think it was worth the $15.

Deep bone bruise

 

 

She slipped and fell on the stairs and landed on her elbow a couple weeks ago.  We did not go to the doctor until this week just to make sure she did not have a fracture.  It is still very tender to the touch but the discoloring is gone.  She has always had full motion so we didn’t think it was fractured but thought it wouldn’t still be so sore.  He said it is a deep bone bruise and said something about sprain strain tricep.    He suggested therapy because she is afraid of it.  He also prescribed an anti-inflammatory.  We are holding off on both due to her not wanting to do therapy which means she will not do the exercises.  They are not necessary for recovery.. more for psychological reasons.. so I am not going to insist.  After reading all the side effects and “tell your doctor immediately if this happens” we are also holding off on the anti-inflammatory medicine.  She’s extremely sensitive to prescriptions anyway so best to see if we can do without. 

From Tiger to Wolf to Bear to Webelo

 

Same shirt.  In Webelos, it is optional to wear the blue shirt or to get the tan Boys Scout shirt.  

He will move from Webelos to Boy Scouts in February 2014.  Webelos is more aggressive than the other levels and seems to be structured to get them used to Boys Scouts.  It expects more responsibility.  What is fun is that some of the activities fit perfectly with school subjects so we will be incorporating them in our schooling. 

State Fair–Part 2

Our next stop was the DNR building.  Sean and Callie shot archery but I did not get pictures because Sierra and I were in line to get registered for the Fishing Pond Youth Catch and Release.  We were going to a presentation and needed to be in the first round.  We happened to be the last three signing up for the first spot so that was a close one.  This was Callie’s last year.  It is for kids 5-17 and next year she will be over the cutoff. 

They give the kids a talk for about ten minutes and then they get to fish for 15 minutes or until they catch three fish.  They had no problem getting their 3 fish. 

 

 

Then we rushed over to the DNR Amphitheater for an evening with an eagle.   Her name is Belle. She is an immature bald eagle.  She will remain in captivity because she is blind in one eye.  She was originally put into rehab because she was found shot and with a broken wing.    I thought she was beautiful and as expected, she was the highlight of my photo taking of the day.

She is not sticking her tongue out on purpose.  It was hot and she started panting after a while.  He let her cool off and calm down before giving us the chance to photograph her on the perch. 

Indiana State Fair Fun – Part 1

The first event we attended was a free show by African acrobats.   They were very strong and flexible.

 

 

After the acrobats, we went through some exhibits in the 4-H buildings and found Sean’s and some other friends’ projects. 

Sean got a blue ribbon.  He was pleased. 

After the 4-H building, we went to a Superdogs show where we saw some very talented canines.  They were fun to watch but it was even more fun to watch the kids watch the dogs.  In one part, they had a race between two teams of dogs.  In the first video, you can see Sean at the bottom left side cheering on the last dog in the relay.  The dogs were very fast.   In the second video, you can see how serious Callie was taking in the whole thing.  You’d have thought she was watching an Olympic event.  Watching her was more fun than watching the dogs. 

 

Race to the finish–Superdog show at Indiana State Fair.

Callie cheering at the Superdog show.

 

There was no temporary stage at the grandstand this year, due to last year’s tragic stage collapse (from high winds) before the Sugarland concert that killed seven people and left several with very serious injuries. Concerts were held at a different location this year.

Below is a picture I took last year as we were in the infield at our van ready to leave.  The end of the rainbow appears to end above the stage which has the blue top.  This was taken 4 days before the accident. 

 

And because our school and extracurricular activities are starting to mount, I will have to post more pictures later.  It is time to get ready for Sean’s first soccer practice. 

Busy Week

We started school on Monday, went to the State Fair on Tuesday, school on Wednesday… extra school so the kids could have a sleepover with their cousin as the guest.  Today, Mamaw took them to the local children’s museum and the local indoor playground.  I stayed home and scrubbed the linoleum and put a shine on it that was way overdue.  Another coat tonight I hope. 

Everyone except my dad came over for supper and then Jeff and Sean went to cub scouts. 

Here are the younger cousins. 

I will post more on the State Fair in another day or two.

 

First Day of School

Following our local public school corporation’s calendar, we started our home school today.  They recently adopted a balanced calendar which means a little shorter summers but longer breaks.  My favorite part is that there will be a two week fall break instead of two days. 

It is easier for us to just follow their calendar most of the time since many of our activities are scheduled around the school calendar.

School went well.  We got off to a rough start with Sierra having major sleep issues last night.  Part of it was that I made her take a nap yesterday afternoon and she was not sleepy at all.  Also, we some pizza buffet and I think something bothered her tummy.  We’ve been eating very limited dairy so I don’t know if it was the cheese or possibly pepperoni.  Anyway, wide awake with a stomach ache and unable to sleep until the wee hours.  And then, when things were settling down.. in comes the oldest one complaining of her elbow hurting.  She fell on the stairs and hit her elbow on the top one on the linoleum strip.   She did that around 10:30 and didn’t have any near passing out symptoms but was complaining about it around 3:00 a.m.   It is nice a blue today and a little swollen.  She has good mobility  so far so we are going to just keep an eye on it and see if it bruises any worse or if the swelling and pain get worse.   We’ve done this before.  Jeff is an expert on broken elbows

I am trying out a new tracking software that I like very much so far.  After I have some time with it, I will give more details.  It seems to be a relational database which is how my brain thinks and it is FREE.  My favorite 4-letter word . 

The one thing I am going to try to do different is to keep track of grades.  Since grades are mostly an indicator to the parents and teachers about how a student is doing, I haven’t felt the need to give grades.  But when it comes time for high school, if we home school through high school, grades become more important as does record keeping.  I thought I better get started early on that so I won’t be trying to figure it out at the same time I am trying to figure out high school credits and dual college credits. 

Just as we did last year, we are taking a field trip on our second day of school.  We are going to visit the State Fair which is a lot of fun and this will be our third year in a row. There is plenty to do and see.  One day is really not enough but I do not know if we will try to go a second time or not.   We just try to prioritize what we really want to see and do and work from that.  We do not do the midway or eat fair food.  We pack our lunch and snacks and go to the van when we are hungry.  Then we come home and collapse from all the walking. 

It if fun to look back at last year’s post about the State Fair and see how much the kids have changed.   I hope to get some pictures again tomorrow.   This post is after a long day of school on a short night of sleep and I am not going to proofread it, so I apologize in advance if it does not make much sense when you read it. 

GiveAway

I have started following a blog that I really enjoy.  She is having a Thirty-One giveaway.  Check it out here:

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New Glasses

These are Sierra’s fifth pair of glasses and the first pair that are not plain gold-rimmed frames.  She loves the flowers on the sides.

Ice Skating in the Summer… great way to beat the heat.

Sierra took the summer session of skating.  She had moved up to level 4 after only 3 sessions.  This level proved much tougher but she is a hard worker.  While other kids hung out on the wall during practice time, she was concentrating on her turns.  One boy that she refers to as “the show off” would make a very good hockey skater… he skates fast… but he never practiced his turns.  Consequently, the ones on the wall and “the show off” did not pass level 4.  But the hard worker, Sierra, passed with a thumbs up from the instructor. 

We’ve known these instructors for a long time.  Callie started skating at about the same age as Sierra.  What is funny is that the instructors say Sierra looks just like Callie.  They do not know why that is funny to us.  The instructor she had for the first three levels called Sierra “Callie” a few times.  Funny.  They have the same color hair and Callie also wore glasses at that age, so I can see how someone could see a resemblance.

This was Sierra’s first time to have this instructor.  She is tough.  She does not tolerate goofing off or not paying attention.  She’s almost too strict but maybe this is the level where they weed out the less serious ones or something.  

Sierra is a quick learner though… she especially learned quickly to listen close and follow instructions.   Of course, now she wants to do gymnastics.  Sean does too.  Probably has a bit to do with what’s happening in London these days.  Sean asked me yesterday, “When can we get a pommel horse?”   They both have taken gymnastics in the past but we let them do one thing at a time and other things like ice skating, soccer and basketball have taken priority.   Sean is already signed up for fall soccer but Sierra is in between and must choose what to do next.  I want her to take another session of ice skating  while we have some skates that fit her.  I prefer to avoid renting skates for lessons.  A friend passed these skates to us after outgrowing them.