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!

Power of the Letter

Ellie had gotten a package of coconut m&m's earlier this summer. She loved them and was concerned because the package said "limited time" on it. She wanted to tell the company that they were great and she wanted them to stay on as a regular flavor. I told her that she could write a letter to the company otherwise they wouldn't know people liked the flavor. If enough people tell the company, I said, they might keep it on.

She did write them a letter, and we mailed it off. Today she received a letter in reply. It thanked her for sharing her view and included a $1 off coupon for any size M&M/Mars product. She is anxious to get to the store for her "free" candy!

Motorcycle madness

Since Darren and Josh connected earlier this spring with Bill Brown, an instructor at JCCC, they have been going to his house most Wednesdays. They have completely broken down Josh's scooter and repaired it - he can now ride it (only on our street in front of the house as we haven't gotten it tagged yet!). They have assisted in cleaning up many of Bill's cycles and made other connections as well.

One such connection was with a gentleman who invited them out to his house to weld. Josh has been really wanting to learn to weld for some time - and enjoyed his time there very much. He came home with a creation that now resides on the workbench in the garage.

Finally, this past Wed (July 1) Josh got to live his dreams...he rode two different small cycles. One was more "automatic" than the other - but Bill told Darren "I've seen alot of kids ride, and you can tell who has it and who doesn't. Josh has it!" To which Darren replied "Yeah, that's what his mom was afraid of!" However, Josh has a good head on his shoulders, and several years yet to practice what he's learning... hopefully by the time he's ready to own a cycle he'll be a smart driver who always practices safety first.

Garage workshop in process!

Our neighbors moved last weekend into a much smaller home, one where they don't need to do the maintenance - which is a good thing as health challenges have caused much concern for them the past few years.

In the process of clearing out their home, they had ALOT of woodworking tools, lumber, a very nice workbench, etc that needed a good home. Ali wanted his things to go to someone who would appreciate them, so he offered them to Darren and Josh. He'd seen them working in the driveway on many a project and thought they would appreciate all he had to offer.

Boy do they ever! They moved everything over - which took several days to get it all here. The workbench is installed. It had been wired directly into their fusebox so Darren had to remove it from that and then break it down to get it out of the basement. Once back at our house with it put back together, Josh attached a plug to the wire so it could be plugged into an outlet. He's been reading all sorts of electricity books lately and was happy to have the opportunity to put it to use!

The garage is looking wonderful. Several projects have already happened at the workbench, and Darren is in the process of cleaning/organizing the garage so they will have usable space (and still have room for the bikes, scooter, Razor scooters, and toys. I'll post pictures when it's all done!

Changes....

Lately I've had that song "Changes" stuck in my head. Seems to fit our lives at the moment. The "school year" is coming to a close and regular activities are beginning to change for our *slightly* more relaxed summer activities. We're still waiting to hear where Oz rehearsals will be, but those start in a month. Ellie is looking forward to summer art in nature camp at Ernie Miller. But the biggest change is the fact that Josh just turned 14 and got his learner's permit! We now have another driver in the family - even tho he can only drive with one of us sitting in the seat next to him. Being driven around by my child, and planning a 40th birthday party for my husband.... really drives home the point that life is going on!