Not Back To School Day

Wednesday, August 18, 2010... our annual "not back to school" day!  We celebrated by having Orange Leaf self serve frozen yogurt for lunch and a spontaneous trip to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead.  It's been years since we were here last and they have made so many improvements!  The girls picked up passport books in the "bank" and we headed through the farmstead checking all the "bank boxes" for questions and answers.  We played with the goats, admired the rabbits, laughed at the people who let the baby goats out of the fenced area (those double gates are there for a reason!) and reminisced about all the fun times we've had there in the past.  When the kids were little bitty Deanna Rose was a lifesaver - they could expend a TON of energy in a fun environment, and go home for a nap! Here are a few pictures from our day:

Stripes is now a Monarch butterfly

After about 10 days, the cocoon became very transparent and very "loose" (wiggly).  Later that morning, the butterfly emerged!

Chrysalis

"Stripes" our monarch caterpillar is now in a chrysalis.  In a couple weeks we should have a beautiful butterfly!

Stripes the Caterpillar

This week Rylie found several caterpillars on our milkweed plants.  We brought one inside and named him "Stripes."  He's been very happily munching through MANY milkweed leaves and should be settling into his chrysalis soon.

Summer 2010

Summer has not been any slower for us!  In fact, if anything, we are more busy than ever.  Josh is driving almost everywhere now.  He even manages the highway just fine - unless it's rush hour.  He is looking forward to getting his driver's license next May.  I think I might even be ready for it myself!  It will be nice to have an extra driver around.

Josh has been fortunate this summer to have been offered a paid internship with a friend's company.  He has learned all aspects of the business from cleaning the floors and bathrooms to sitting down with the owner and learning how the business runs to sitting in on phone calls with clients.  It's given him a great insight into what it takes to keep a business running and skills that he can apply to any job he has in the future. He's also coaching a Parkour class with the guy that was his own coach.  That, along with mowing, going to open gym to practice his own skills, a trip to Florida in June and Indiana in July have kept him very busy.  He's anxiously awaiting Not Back To School Camp at the end of August. 

Rylie has been... dancing, dancing, singing, acting, dancing and dancing all summer!  She still lives and breathes dance.  We are currently in the process of finishing the basement as her room/dance studio.  The goal is to have it done by her birthday in September.  She took part in Legacy's Summerstage drama camp.  The performance was Alice in Wonderland.  She was "Rose" - one of the snooty flowers in the garden.  In between all the dance and drama she's managed to spend a fair amount of time at the pool with various friends as well (which was also a goal for her this summer!).  She joined Ballet Legacy (Legacy's ballet performance company) this summer as well, and was just cast in the role of Clara for the Nutcracker Tea Party this December.  She will be sharing the role with another dancer as there are 3 performances this year.  We are all looking forward to Nutcracker this year!

Ellie has been busy as well.  She began the summer with sleep away camp!  She LOVED it and can't wait for next summer to go again.  At the end of June she too went to Florida and the big news for Ellie is that she turned 10 in July!  She celebrated with a tea party/sleepover.  Art still is a great love of hers and she can often be found in her art/craft room creating lovely pieces. If she's not there, check the tree out back...if it's not too hot outside she could be there with a good book. 

Way Too Long

It's been way too long since I last posted anything.  A good indicator of that is when I went to read the blog - my background had disappeared!  I found a new one that I really like, and figured it must have been meant for my blog when I saw the "blinkies" that went with it!  (They are those changing words on the right hand side of the page - Live, Laugh and Love!)

As always our lives are running at top speed.  I'll try to catch up to date in as short a post as possible.

April found us still managing to keep the secret of my parent's 50th wedding anniversary party.  Friday April 16th was the big day.  All they knew was that we were taking them out to eat that evening.  I called them that morning to say that part of our gift to them was a nice get away weekend at a hotel.  They started to get a little suspicious at that point but had NO idea of the weekend that was in store!  We picked them up at 5:00 and headed to the Hereford House restaurant.  We went upstairs to eat and when we entered the dining room, their siblings were there, along with some of their cousins!  It was a great surprise and a wonderful evening.  We presented them their gift of the memory album and everyone had a nice time eating and visiting.  Saturday began with breakfast at the Embassy Suites where everyone was staying.  That evening dinner was at Jack Stack barbeque - a Kansas City tradition.  Everyone gathered back at the hotel after dinner for visiting and drinks.  Sunday morning was brunch at The Bristol - an amazing variety of food!  After that, everyone left for the airport and mom and dad were able to head home and begin to catch up on their rest!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Tuesday Happiness Project

Today's picture is actually two pictures - I couldn't decide between them, so I chose - both!  They are both from this weekend - 63 degrees on the time/temp light on Saturday, and discovering that the tulips are starting to poke through the ground on Sunday!  Both of these make me EXTREMELY happy!

Farm field trip

We went to a homeschool family's farm today.  They raise prize winning cows (I can't remember the name of them - but I'll find out!) and chickens and live on some wonderful land near the airport.  The kids got to see new calves (the newest was a week old), bulls, the heirloom chickens and climb all over haybales.  We lucked out - today was 58 degrees and sunny!  The wind was a bit cool, but it was so nice to be outside!

The Happiness Project

Since I am reading the book by the same name...and one of my goals for 2010 is to take more pictures (with my brand spanking new camera Darren gave me for Christmas!)... it seemed just too perfect to pass up the opportunity to join in Leigh's Happiness Project. The point is to take a picture of something that makes you happy and to post it once a week.

 

This week it's a shot of our dog, Toby.  He makes me crazy, but he makes me so happy too - he's so funny!  He does this thing with his eyebrows!  And being a basset, he's always got a soulful look.  When he was a puppy (we got him at 5 mos old from a rescue group) I wasn't sure he was going to survive to become a "good dog!"  He ate anything and everything, he was untrustworthly to the core!  But now that he's 4 he's finally "grown up" and is truly a "good dog!"

Year 2010 50+ Reading Challenge

I've taken up the challenge to read 50+ books in 2010.  It started Jan 1st so I need to go back and list the books I've already read.  I'll create a list on here by the end of the weekend!  I'm going to see if any of my kids want to join me in the challenge!  It should be fun!

Pointe Shoes!

Today was the day Rylie has been waiting for since she was 3 years old and danced for the first time - Pointe Shoes!  The girls met Michele at Degage and each had a turn for their fitting.  Rylie's feet are REALLY narrow, but after many tries, they found a pair that fit her - we think!  She's going to have Michele check them tomorrow, but I think they are the ones.  Ribbons have been sewed on, so I hope they are able to be returned if they aren't correct!

House thoughts

A certain house has been on my mind alot lately.  We looked at it in December with my Dad.  We weren't sure there was enough space in the walkout basement apartment for my parents to live happily.  I can't get this house out of my mind though.  Something keeps drawing me back to it.  I wonder if a second look is in order.  Maybe when the weather breaks we can get my mom over for a look.  In the meantime, I'll keep pondering why it is that this house returns to my thoughts so often.

Catching up!

Well, the goal of blogging at least once a week got away from me!  Once our "regular" homeschooling activities started back up life got crazy again!  To play "catch up:" 

Josh has been asked to take over teaching a Parkour class at the gym starting in June.  The instructors are leaving for California to pursue their stunt work careers.  We have also found a gym right down the street from us that is willing to let him come in during the week to practice.  Five minutes down the street is wonderful news - considering the other gym is 35+ minutes away! 

Rylie has been asked to go on Pointe at the end of this month.  She's thrilled, to say the least.  Feb 28th is the big day - off to Degage to buy the pointe shoes!  Auditions for "Annie" at Theatre in the Park are Feb 27th - the end of February brings big events in her life.

Ellie is really enjoying the ceramics class that she is taking this session.  She also is involved in a book club and a drama class as well.  Wednesdays are a busy day for her.

I've added some pictures of our snow.  For one snowfall the kids built a snow hill in the front yard (poor KS kids have to make their own hills!) and a great time was had by all!  More recently (above picture) we had some gorgeous HUGE snowflakes.  I believe at one point they said it was coming down at 2" an hour.  Crazy!  We are scheduled to get more tonight into tomorrow so I'm sure there will be more snow pics to come!

Parkour

Josh changed focus a bit this fall.  He felt like he wasn't progressing enough in the Parkour class, so he switched to going to Open Gym on Saturday nights.  The instructors of the class are there to provide some support, but he can work on the things he most wants to do, without all the waiting around that class involves.  Here's a pic.

Knitting!

I've managed to keep my hands busy during the snow by knitting Josh a pair of slippers. He'd been asking for them - so I took advantage of a yarn sale to make them. Even with the dry air in the house, it took 4 days for them to dry out! But he likes them alot - based on how much he's been wearing them ever since!

I also made Rylie a Calorimetry (a cross between a headband and a hat). It will let her keep her head and ears warm while still allowing her to wear a ponytail. With a normal winter hat, the ponytail gets all bunched up inside. With this calorimetry it can hang out!

New Year, New Goals

I really let keeping up with this blog get away from me. I have a goal of posting at least once a week for this year. We'll see if I can keep up with that! I look at this blog as my journal, of sorts. I was never very good at journalling, but I want to be sure to keep track of all the things going on in our lives. This seems like a good place to do that.

Let's see... things going on since last August. Josh no longer attends the Wed night motorcycle gatherings. I think he was getting a little burned out on the every week attending, and since he doesn't have a cycle of his own felt like he was more of a gopher than anything else toward the end. He and Darren did make a wonderful connection in Bernie, another person who attends the Wed night motorcycle gathering. Bernie has welding equipment at home and has worked with Josh before on just some basic welding. Josh showed him the book he got for his birthday called "Bike, Scooter and Chopper Projects for the Evil Genius" - and the project he wanted to try. Bernie was all for it, so Josh and I trekked off to the metal supply and he bought what was needed to get the project started. He also bought a kids bike at a thrift store. Between these things he has a "souped up tricycle type" bike in our garage that just needs a few more items in order to be finished. All the welding is complete however.

Rylie's fall was consumed by Nutcracker rehearsals. The production took place on Sunday Dec 6. There were two performances. I was backstage at the first one and we all attended the second. This year was special since we were all there. Last year, Papa Mohr went into the hospital the morning of the performances so he didn't get to see it in person. All the hard work was worth it - the shows were wonderful. Each year seems to be better than the year before.

All three kids took part in the SCENE (homeschool co-op classes) this fall. Ellie's choices were Math Games and Ceramics, Josh did basketball and banned book club, and Rylie also joined in the banned book club. We're all looking forward to the classes resuming at the end of January.

A big part of our winter so far has been the snow! Starting Christmas Eve day we got what eventually turned into a blizzard! Over the past 3 weeks we've ended up with over 14" of snow. Sledding in Kansas isn't easy, but the kids managed to build snow hills to sled down in the yard, as well as talk their dad (who was ever so willing) to take them sledding at some nearby hills.

I think that catches us up (somewhat) to this year... and I hope to be more consistent in the future!