Trouble!

We re-discovered our trouble game! Even though it is such a simple game, we are having lots of fun playing this game. We are going to check our game cupboards to see what other treasures we have forgotten.

The drums

Tim's choice for stress relief! He really just enjoys playing the drums. The whole house vibrates, which is an added benefit. :) Tim always wanted to play the drums when he was a child, but wasn't allowed to get drums. So, when Sam and Eric were about 6 or so, Tim decided he would get them a set of drums. He ended up teaching himself how to play, and has been enjoying them ever since! Eric and Sam will play them on occasion, but not too often.

A new spot

Moving around finding new spots to try and catch the "big" fish!

Fishing

Eric and Tim have been going fishing alot lately. They found a new fishing hole that is much closer than the one they usually go to. Here is Eric patiently waiting.

Working with EFT

We have been learning about EFT (emotional freedom technique), and this book has been really helpful. This is a really great tool to help kids (and adults) process their emotions and physical pains or issues. We used it last night to help Eric with a pain that he was having in his back. We are having fun with it, and the bonus is that it really helps us to feel better when we are stuck in an emotion that just won't let go.

Funny combination

I was getting ready to go to bed, and I looked over at the table, and cracked up. There, all neatly sitting together were these items: A fake bloody knife from a Halloween costume, a ziplock bag with two teeth that Sam lost, the infamous tower of crayons, a few packs of gum, two hacky sacks, and a cell phone. It just struck me in a funny way.

Microwaved marshmallow

We decided to see what would happen if we microwave a marshmallow for a few minutes. Sam and Eric were hoping for an explosion I think, but this is what we got. It looked and smelled really gross!

Hot Air Balloon

We were outside tonight and looked up to see this hot air balloon. We stood and watched it for awhile. Hot air balloons always look so peaceful, like they are just floating along in silence.

A good book

We are reading this book right now, and we are really enjoying it. We have had a hard time finding books that we all really like after reading Harry Potter!

Late night antics

We have been nightowls for awhile in our house, but especially so this summer. It seems some of our most wonderful conversations happen after midnight. I think it also brings out the comedians in us!

James Bond and his friend with the watermelon

Sam decided to dress up as James Bond, and Eric thought he would pose with him holding the watermelon. They were so funny trying to think up silly poses!

Funny crayon names

We had a great time laughing at some of the names of the crayons! It was fun to say, "could you please pass me the big dip o' ruby?" Or the hot magenta, or wait, the metallic seaweed? Either it was late and we were slap happy, or the names are just really funny, because we were cracking up at some of them! We were imagining the employees at Crayola sitting around a table making up the names for the crayons! How fun!

Sam's picture

This was one of Sam's favorites.

Wall of pictures

Some of our artwork beautifully displayed now on the kitchen wall.

The tower of crayons

We found a very cool tower of crayons yesterday. We have been coloring up a storm! It has been so much fun. We colored some mandalas and colored some of our own creations.

Eric's fingerboarding in action

Eric wanted me to take some action pictures of his fingerboarding. He was doing an ollie and some other tricks.

trying out the bike at the park

Sam is trying out an exercise bike that was at the beginning of the walking trail.

A new park

We discovered a new park tonight really close to our house. We had lots of fun checking it out, and watching the ducks swim.

A Tribute

I hesitate to add this to the blog because it is not happy news. Our little chirpy friend died today. We noticed that she was not acting as healthy as the previous few days. When we put her in the grass, she kept falling over to the side, and she couldn't get back up. It was very sad to watch, so we put her back into her box and I gave her some homeopathic medicine. It seemed to work, she perked back up and was chirping again. We had some hope, but deep down, I think we knew something was really just not right. She couldn't perch anymore either. Later that day we had to say goodbye to her. We talked about all of the things that we loved about her, even though she was only with us for a week. I looked forward to hearing her chirps for food everytime I walked into the room where she was. We so looked forward to seeing her fly away to Live Free!

Waiting for some unsuspecting visitors

I opened the door to let Owen out tonight, and this is what I saw. It is so intricately made, amazing what a spider can do.

The swing

We took down this swing to put in bookshelves quite awhile ago, and we just didn't get around to hanging it up again. Well, it is hanging again, and I realize how much I missed it. We all have been taking turns swinging and relaxing, and it feels really good!

Still trying to fly

Well, it has been 6 days, and our little chirpy bird is still with us. She has made some attempts to fly, and she is chirping alot, but no lift off yet! We are hoping within the next few days, she will get some air under those wings.

Batman!

Sam and I went to see the new batman movie tonight. We thought it was pretty good, but also very violent. I forgot to take the camera with me, so this is just a picture of our movie stubs. I wish I would have had my camera because Batman was at the movie theater!

Sam finally gets to hold Freddy

Sam has been wanting to hold Freddy for a long time, but Eric wasn't ready to share her. He surprised Sam tonight by asking him if he wanted to hold her. Sam was very excited!

Yummy muffins

We made some banana, peanut butter, chocolate chip muffins-yummy!

Spreading her wings

She is making a good attempt at flying, but still not getting much air!

Bath anyone?

Her first attempt at taking a little bird bath. She wasn't quite sure what to do, so she just hung out in the shallow end!

surfing

While Eric was waiting to see if our little birdie would fly, he was zooming around on his ripstick. To me it looks like land surfing. He is really good at balancing it. I, on the other hand, can't even stand on it without it tipping over!

Let's try to fly

We thought our little birdie might want to try to test out her wings today. She seemed ready at first, but then changed her mind. So, Eric thought he would just hold her and let her go at her own pace. She is an unschooling bird! haha It was very sweet to watch her looking around, just enjoying being out in her real home, taking her time.

hold me

Sam wanted to hold the little bird too, so he held her while I cleaned out her temporary home.

what do I do now?

We put the little munchkin in the grass, but she really didn't feel like flapping her wings. So, she sat and listened to the other birds chirp, and looked around. We thought maybe if we put her back near where we found her, maybe her parents would come back to feed her. We moved away and watched, but nobody showed up. We are really not sure where she came from exactly because we aren't sure where the cat got her. So, we get to enjoy her for a few more days.

learning to perch

Eric was trying to help our little sweetie to perch on his finger. She was really getting the "hang" of it! Her little legs are getting stronger.

beetle caught in a web

While we were out in the garage hanging out with our bird visitor, a beetle landed right in a spider web. We felt bad for the beetle, but it was fascinating to watch the spider, which was smaller than the beetle, wrap the beetle up in it's web.

Day two with our visitor, the sparrow

Well, she is getting stronger, and soon we will get to see if she can actually lift off when she tries to fly. She loves to chirp really loud! We are enjoying our time with her while she gets strong. We know she is a sparrow. She is great at opening her beak to eat.

A temporary visitor

We were outside playing baseball last night, when we heard a loud chirping noise. We then noticed a cat in a hunting position. Then, we saw the fledgling trying to run away from the cat. So, we rescued the bird, put it into a box, and then called Second Chance Wildlife for help on what to do. We went to the store to get some dry dogfood because Owen eats raw food. And, she ate like a champ. Still not sure what kind she is even after looking at our Birds Of Ohio book.

Here she comes around the corner

She cautiously makes her way out, only to run back behind the dryer quite a few times. She did finally come out, thank goodness she was safe!

Freddy escapes

I came downstairs this morning to discover that Freddy somehow escaped from her cage. After searching for awhile, we found her behind the dryer. However, it took a couple hours to lure her back out.

on the way in to the Beast roller coaster

I felt brave enough to go on the Beast today.I had a headache for a few hours afterward though!

The Beast

It has been really cool to watch the progression of riding roller coasters for Sam. Two years ago, he didn't want to ride any of the bigger thrill rides. Last summer he started riding the Racer, and this year he is riding the Beast. We were both scared going up the very steep hill, but overall it was fun. It is a bit rickety, but very fast and it also lasts long. Wow, how different these rides feel on my body than they did 20 years ago!

Here is a description: Come feel the excitement as The Beast – arguably the greatest wooden roller coaster ever built – unleashes its awesome power on the unsuspecting. This coaster sprawls across a densely-wooded, 35 acre site. It is topographical, so the rugged, natural terrain adds to the excitement. The Beast is the longest wooden coaster in the world at 7,400 feet (1-3/4 miles); travels at speeds approaching 70 mph and has a ride length of nearly four minutes. It features two incredible vertical drops (135 and 141 feet) and has three dark tunnels, plus a spectacular 540 degree helix turn at the end.

Winning basketballs

At King's Island, Sam loves shooting baskets to try to win a ball. Today he won two in a row! He was so excited. He gave one of the balls away to someone walking by.He thought it was pretty neat when he was walking away that the guys working there were trying to get other people to play by saying that Sam had just won two balls!

Gotham City Pizza

Sam is so excited for the Batman movie next week! He saw a commercial for Dominoes Pizza that said they have special Gotham City Pizza in really cool boxes. So, here it is right after it arrived. The box was very cool looking.

The pizza retriever

Owen absolutely loves pizza! He becomes so focused, it really is funny! Eric is usually the one that gives him pizza, so here he is begging with his eyes. He will not take his eyes off the prize. If Eric is having a late night snack of pizza, Owen can be in a dead sleep upstairs, until he hears the plate hit the counter. He goes bounding down the stairs in hopes of finding some scraps!

another tooth comes out

After many agonizing hours of the tooth barely hanging on, it finally fell out! Yeah!

Crabby

Another one of our friends-the hermit crab.

fort building

Sam and Eric and a friend built this very cool fort today. They were really enjoying crawling in and out, and Owen was having fun trying to figure out where they were!

emergency exit!

Late night at the video store

It felt good to say YES to Eric when he really wanted to get a baseball game for the Wii at almost 11:00 pm tonight. I love it when one of the kids gets so passionate about something, and I get to help them get what they want and need. I love unschooling!

one more of Freddy (by Eric)