First Annual Learning Without Limits Field Day

We have been members of the local homeschooling group, Learning Without Limits, for about 6 years now.  They have been my main support through thick and thin and most of my kiddo's activities revolve around people and organizations that stem off that group.  Normally we have weekly park days, Parent's Night Out, Halloween and Valentine's parties and all sorts of other good stuff.  This year, we held our First Annual Field Day at a local park.  WHAT.  A.  BLAST!  It was so much fun watching all of these kiddos, divided into age-appropriate groups having a terrific time!  It was all of those fun, old-school games that we enjoyed in elementary school.  Now, fair warning, I was stationed at Ainsley's age group area to help organize and run the games, so I have very few photos of Ian.  Some friends were supposed to shoot some, but so far I haven't seen any and that was 3 months ago!  Haha!  Anyway, here are a few pics that highlight that special day!

First of all, who says homeschoolers don't socialize?!?  We had close to 100 kids at this event!

Here's Ainsley competing in the sack race!  She didn't place, but she had fun!

Here she is in the egg-on-a-spoon race, she did a great job and managed to come in third place!

She was more than happy to pose with her ribbon.  :)

And let's just say, this next race, the DizzyLizzy, was NOT my idea!  Just watching them spin around in circles with those bats made me nauseous!  But I have a little girl that LOVES to spin and spin and spin, so of course she managed to easily take another 3rd Place ribbon.

She ran the  Crazy Relay with two of her best buds, Axel and Griffin and they DOMINATED, easily sailing into a First Place victory!  What a team!

So all in all, Ainsley walked away with 2-Third Place ribbons and 2-First Place Ribbons (she took the crab walk as well).  Not bad for her first ever Field Day!

Now like I said, Ian was in another part of the field with his age group, so I saw very little of what went on over there.  I did, however, manage to sneak over in between races and snap a pic of him attempting the "Egg in a Nest" race.  It was the funniest thing in the world to watch my skinny, knock-kneed boy try to steady an egg between his knees and walk down a field!!!

He didn't do so well his first time through, but managed to take home 3rd Place in another heat!  All in all, he came home with 3-Third Place ribbons for Crazy Relay, Egg in the Nest, and the Sack Race as well as a solid Second Place ribbon for Tug-o-war!  Ribbons and competition aside, I just enjoyed watching my kids having a blast on a beautiful spring day!  I am hoping our group makes this a permanent event!

Tiny Dancer

I'm pretty sure that most of you that follow along know that Ainsley has been enrolled in an Irish Step Dance class since September of 2011.  She has been working very hard and enjoying herself immensely.  This past St. Patrick's Day was her very first ceili.  She danced with other kiddos and during one point in the program was allowed to have some time to do a little solo.  She did a great job and we were all very proud!

Here she is in her beginner stance.  Hands to the side with her thumbs in her fist.  I made the skirt special for the occasion!  It was a blast to see her perform!

Spring is a "buggy" time of year!

Every year I order moth cocoons and butterfly chrysalids from Canada.  They spend the winter in our refrigerator crisper and in the spring I bring them out and they do their thing.  This year was no different, except for the fact that we got a new butterfly habitat and were able to send off for live caterpillars as well!  The painted lady caterpillars ate and ate and ate for about 10 days then they all started heading for the top of the container and began to hang upside down.

Terrible pic, I know, but bear with me.  It was freaky because within 30 minutes they went from above to this...

Our minds were blown!  Such a transformation and SO fast!  Once they all pupated, we removed them from the little food jar and transferred them into the butterfly enclosure with the rest of the moth cocoons.  Within about 10 days, we had our first painted lady butterfly!

Isn't she sweet?  The kids, of course, LOVE them!

I managed to get a pretty striking picture before she flew off for good.

Just wonderful!  Over the last few weeks, we have had many creatures make their transitions in our enclosure.  First the spicebush swallowtail...

Then came our lovely polyphemus!  Such a handsome chap!  He was mellow enough for the kids to handle him.

 

Ainsley wasn't scared of their little prickly feet this year!!!

He was quite the specimen with HUGE antennae!  I was lucky enough to get a most amazing shot before he flew away to find a girlie!

Next was our cecropia.  This one was HUGE with a wingspan of at least 6" if not more!

He wasn't that into being man-handled, so I took a pic or two and we let him fly off into the night.

Then came little io moth.  He was much smaller, but SO unbelievably pretty!

Wait for it.... POW!

I'm telling you folks, science at its finest!  We always enjoy the spring and the wonderful critters we get to experience!

Ian the Science Guy!

Starting in November, Ian joined the "Science Club" at the Austin Nature and Science Center.  He and Ainsley both take classes there once a month, but this was a club geared toward science experiments and the scientific method.  The ultimate goal was for them to choose and perform an experiment, document results and present to the class at the end of the term.  They set it up where the presentations were due about 2 weeks before the Austin Energy Regional Science Fair, so if the kids chose to, they could enter the science fair.

We started the actual experiments in early January.  He chose to explore reaction rates and how particle size and temperature affect those rates.  There was lots of fizzing and bubbling going on in my kitchen!

Once he obtained all of his data, we began working on his presentation board.  Although Brady and I had to help with photos, typing, and printing, Ian was in charge of presenting results and information and setting up the board.  He did a GREAT job!  His teacher was impressed and encouraged him to join the science fair.  At first he wasn't going to because there was a conflict with basketball, but that weekend freed up and Ian decided to go for it!

We arrived early the day before the fair to get everything set up.  Here he is with his finished project board.

I kind of thought he might be nervous the day of the judging, but he wasn't.  He was actually looking forward to talking to the judges so he could discuss his project.  My kid has more confidence at age 10 than I have at 41!!!  He makes me so proud!  After judging, we took him out to lunch and came back to see how he had done.  He got a 1st Place blue ribbon and we were so happy!

Now at this grade level (4th grade), they do not compete against each other, they are judged to standards.  So a 1st Place ribbon meant that he provided all the necessary information in proper format and performed the experiment properly and safely.  He was very proud of himself and has already been talking about what kind of experiment he wants to do next year!  What can I say, he's my little science guy!

Blanton Museum of Art

Many people think homeschoolers just stay at home and read books all day, and in all fairness, sometimes we do, but usually we're out exploring!  Field trips and impromptu museum or zoo visits abound.  In January, we met up with one of our homeschool groups for a tour of the Blanton Museum of Art down by the UT campus.  I love this museum, the displays are well-rounded and it's big, but not TOO big.  It's just perfect for school-aged kids to explore.  On this day, we split up into two groups, Bigs and Littles.  I was stationed with the Littles, so you won't be seeing very many pics of the boy in this post!

Ainsley and one of her best friends, Joaquin paired up for the tour.

 They really enjoyed the modern art room!  They were both quite sure this was a lemon!

Then it was time to check out a strange piece called "Missao/Missoes [How to Build Cathedrals]" by Cildo Meireles.  It is made up of over 600,000 pennies, 200 suspended cattle bones and a column of communion wafers through the middle.  Although the depth of the piece is pretty much lost on 5 y.o.'s, they were quite impressed with all the shiny coins and the black drapery around it.

While waiting for the Bigs to finish their tour, Ainsley and Joaquin decided to build a castle in the activity room.

They made a great team and the castle was MARVELOUS!  ;)

After the tour, I packed up the kids and headed over to P. Terry's for a burger.  We had planned on seeing the "Architects of Air" display at the Long Center, but as luck would have it, the line was 3 HOURS long!  There is NOTHING on the planet that is worth standing in line with a recalcitrant 5 y.o. for 3 hours!  There were a few tears shed, so I scrambled to salvage the day.  Peter Pan Putt Putt and life was good!  Then we made our way over to Zilker Park for a train ride and a sno-cone!  Hey, it's all about flexibility!

 And a nice view from the train of downtown Austin.

 A day in the life of a homeschooling family!  And can I just say, Texas winters RULE!

Mr. Ian turns the BIG 1-0!

It's official.  My baby boy turned 10!  How is that even possible?!?  I mean really.  How did we get from here...

to here...

so damn fast?!?!  I know it's cliche, but it really did happen in the blink of an eye.  He is such an amazing kid and I'm amazed on a daily basis that he's mine!

Since it was the BIG 10, he wanted something special for his party this year.  Unfortunately all of the cool outdoorsy stuff is out of the question in late January.  The weather is just too iffy at that time, so he settled on a safari party.  We hired the nice people at Wild Things Zoofari, out of Taylor, TX, to bring out some furry friends to help him celebrate his big day.  It was quite an adventure!

I made sure he had festive cupcakes!  Brady is the King of Tiger and Zebra Striping!

His first guest was a Brazilian short-tailed opossum.

Next was an African Pygmy Hedgehog.  Cute!

Next was Meiko the Mountain Coatimundi!

Then there was Lucy the Cotton-Topped Tamarin.  She was feisty!

And last but not least, Oliver, the Ring-Tailed Lemur!  He was, without a doubt, the star of the show!

We had so much fun visiting with these critters, eating cupcakes and spending a fantastic afternoon with our family and friends!  I don't think he could have asked for a better 10th birthday!!!

Another Year, Another Birthday

It seems that no matter how hard I try to ignore it, my birthday comes around every year!  What is up with that?  Oh well, even though I'm a year older, I like to think I'm a year happier too!  Each and every day brings a new experience and a new adventure and every day allows me to spend more time with my beautiful family and friends.  I have so many friends dealing with such hardships this year and it reminds me that every single day is a gift and I should do my best to make the most out of each one.  Even if we don't go out and do anything "exciting", I should at least make sure that I teach my children something new, or read something satisfying or take an amazing photo and most importantly, tell my husband and children that I love them.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  DAY.  I am now 41 and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Mama got a brand new car!

Well, at least new to me!  Turns out our 2003 Honda Pilot was starting to go downhill a bit and our mechanic mentioned that we were either going to have to fork out some big cash to fix it, and at that point we would need to drive it forever because the resale value was steadily decreasing since it was over 100K miles or we would need to trade it in ASAP.  We figured we would probably fix it and keep it forever, but for grins and giggles we went to one of our used car dealerships, just to see what they would offer us for the Pilot and were SHOCKED at the offer they made!  So we did some quick finagling with our bank and within 3 days we were driving off the lot in a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe with 20K and an extended warranty!  It was a little sad to let the Pilot go, it was a good car and the 3rd row of seats came in handy, but the new Santa Fe is smaller, more gas efficient and has a couple of really nice perks (first and foremost being that the doors actually work and now children can get in and out of the appropriate doors!)  So YAY for me!  I love when things come together!

Ainsley loses her first tooth!

On January 10, 2012 my little stinker lost her first tooth!!!  After much drama and crying, she finally let me yank it (it was practically falling out of her head in the first place).  It came out with a little pop, shot across the room and she looked at me in sheer surprise and disbelief and stated, "Was that it?"

Ian's New Wheels

Yes, it's APRIL and I have not had one post from the year 2012!!  I just cannot even believe how ridiculous my schedule has been the last four months.  As it turns out, the adage that stay-at-home moms do nothing but sit around and eat Bon-Bons is a TOTAL lie!  Wish someone would have told me that in advance!  ;)  Anyway, the boy is feeling a little puny today, so I am giving him a pass on schoolwork which in turn, is opening up a little bit of time for blogging.  Let's see how much I can pack into a couple of hours!!!

I don't know if it was mentioned in a previous post, but the kids both got new wheels for XMAS.  Ian got a new bike, which for him was a BIG deal.  Years ago he had a bike and when we took the training wheels off, he bit it hard on the asphalt, threw his bike down and swore he'd never ride a bike again!  We were heartened when just before Christmas, he expressed the desire for a bicycle!  So we took him out, measured him and bought him a new bike for Christmas and he was so happy, albeit a little scared of learning to ride it.

I looked up some different techniques on how to teach a child to ride a bike without training wheels and came across a program that looked perfect.  You had to find a nice little hill (not too tall) where the kid could roll down the hill and learn to steady the bike with his feet off to the side and not on the pedals.  I sent Brady down to our neighborhood park with the boy while I ran some errands with the girl.  The plan was for me to drop by after errand to check on progress.  Well, I drove up and immediately noticed Ian and Brady sitting on a bench and Ian looking sad and distraught with a big wad of Kleenex up to his nose full of blood!  All I could think, was "Oh crap, we are NEVER gonna get this kid on a bike again!"  Brady informed me that the boy has no balance and he didn't think he'd ever learn to ride a bike.  I was so bummed!  We decided to go, but Brady wanted Ian to try, just one more time and Ian reluctantly agreed.  He got positioned on his bike at the top of the hill and Brady helped him push off, the next thing I knew, the boy was riding all over the park like a pro!  Turns out, they were totally yanking my chain!  The bloody Kleenex was from a nose bleed due to the cold, dry weather NOT an injury sustained from crashing and burning!  Boys are such buttheads!  But you can't imagine how happy I was to see my young man riding around and having a blast!  Seriously.  There were tears!  2012 is gonna be a big year, I can already tell!  Here he is, showing off on his new ride!  Yay, Ian!

And so it begins...

While sitting around the kitchen table making Valentine's cards for our bowling party tomorrow, Ian drops a bomb on me that I was totally not expecting.  AND of course, he said it in front of his sister.  "So Mom, are Santa and the Tooth Fairy real or are they just an elaborate hoax put on by parents?!?!"  At the moment I am in avoidance mode, trying to figure out the best way to address this.  I read a beautiful blog awhile back that totally explained everything in a way that still allowed you to feel the magic of the season and for the life of me, I can't find that damn blog!  I knew I should have printed it out!!!!  I will keep everyone posted on the outcome.  Damn 10 year-olds!  Why is he growing up so fast?!?!

Christmas Festivities!

We started our Christmas celebrations with a wonderful evening at Linda and Woody's house.  Our company included my mom, the folks, Woody's mom and her friend, Bill.  As per tradition, Woody made a pot of his renowned chili and Linda made 2 types of cornbread!  YUMMY!  After dinner there was some gift-giving that had to be attended to.  Normally, we buy a Christmas Eve gift for the kiddos.  Usually it has to do with one of our favorite movies, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and this year was no exception.  Ian received a new Jack Skellington sweatshirt and a Jack water bottle and Ainsley received a set of "Nightmare" figurines and a Sally water bottle.  But this year, there were a couple of other gifts to hand out.  Over the two weeks before Christmas, Brady and Ian worked on a little CD of some of Woody's favorite songs.  Brady played ukulele and Ian sang "Yesterday" by the Beatles and "Travelin' Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks.  Needless to say, after "Travelin' Soldier" there wasn't a dry eye in the house!  We also surprised Linda by sneaking some new photos into her house.  Many months ago, Brady decided he wanted to take some of Linda's old photos and re-do them.  So he set about finding flight suits, shirts, shoes, a cowboy hat, etc...  So we set out to take the SAME photos, but with Brady and Daren as adults.  Needless to say, they turned out awesome, and I for one, had the BEST time taking these photos!  I giggled the whole time!  Linda was completely surprised and overwhelmed!  She laughed so hard she cried!  The idea that her boys would go to that extent to make her smile, definitely made her day!

After we stuffed ourselves with chili and cornbread, we all sat down for a visit and an impromptu sing-along!  With Brady on uke and my mom on mandolin, we sang some oldies and some goodies!  It was a great night!  We finally decided to call it quits, when NORAD was showing Santa entering the Eastern time zone.  Had to get those little rugrats into bed!  We set out gingerbread cookies and some milk for Santa and of course, oats and carrots for the reindeer.  The kids and I read "The Night Before Christmas" then I tucked them both into bed.  Before long, they had visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads!

We're lucky, our kids come and get us before racing downstairs.  So we got up and Brady went downstairs to gather the camera and take a couple of shots of the LOOT before the kids got their hands on it!  And they waited at the top of the stairs OH so patiently!

Here is the calm before the storm...

Ainsley was SO happy that Santa brought her Penbo!

Ian was thrilled to get a new Nerf gun and some new video games!!!

While Brady, Mom and I enjoyed watching the kids play with their Santa stuff, Linda and Woody, packed up Grandmama, Bill and the rest of their presents and headed over for gift-giving!

Ainsley got some new hats!

And a new handmade crib from Nana with a new dolly,

Both kids got brand new, handmade cowboy boots from Grammy!

Ian got a million new Nerf guns, so he is now officially armed to the teeth and prepared for any and all Nerf Wars in the park!

As a side note, Daddy is NOT allowed to play with this particular gun anymore because he shot my eye out with it later that night!  Right after we finished watching "A Christmas Story"!!!!  What are the odds?

Needless to say, the kids over-dosed on gifts and wrapping paper!

I was so happy that my mom was able to come and celebrate with us this year!

And it is SO nice to have Linda and Woody in town so we can spend all of our Christmases together!

We were also so pleased that Grandmama and Bill could join us!

We had a wonderful dinner complete with spiral cut ham, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, Parker House rolls, spinach salad and of course, pumpkin and pecan pies!  We were all full, happy and thankful for all of the good food and good company of the day!  It was truly a Merry, Merry Christmas!!!