Wrestling

Last Thursday the boys got their wrestling uniforms.  Both of our boys were clueless to what wrestling was all about other than getting down on the floor and trying to pin someone to the floor.

This whole wrestling thing has been a fun learning experience for them.  They had no clue they were getting uniforms so you can imagine their excitement when they got them.  Both boys came home wearing their new jackets, then eagerly began to open each bag revealing their pants and black team t-shirt.  Neither one clued into the last bag with something red in it.  Maybe the fact that it was so small made it appear to be insignificant.  I had no desire to spoil the surprise for them either.  To be honest I wasn't sure how they would handle that last piece of wrestling attire.

The next morning it was pretty obvious the boys had finally opened that last package.  You could hear giggling from their room and before I knew it out came Bryce in his singlet.  He thought it was the coolest thing in the world.  In fact, the boy wouldn't take it off all day and proudly showed his singlet to anyone who stopped by that day.  Eventually I had him put on some shorts.  I could only take the singlet for so long.  Brian eventually put his on.  He wasn't as keen to wear it all day as his younger brother.  He did comment that the singlet was great for holding his fat in.  Yeah right...like Brian  has any fat.

By the way, did you know how tall Bryce is getting.  He is just about as tall as Brian.  He is losing weight and getting taller.  With wrestling he is getting more and more focused on exercising and building his muscles.  Yep, I think we made the right choice signing the boys up.

Wordless Wednesday

Dioramas

Brian has reached the segment of his Awana book where he is to create a diorama depicting a story from the Bible.  The book gave him three options of stories to recreate and he chose to do the story of Paul and Silas.  In Acts, we read about how Paul and Silas were arrested because they were preaching the Gospel.  They were then placed in jail and chained to the walls.  That night, while singing songs of praise to the Lord, an earthquake hit that caused their chains to break off and the doors to open.  The Roman jailer came running into the jail thinking that all of his prisoners had escaped.  However, Paul and Silas called out to him assuring him that everyone was still there.  At that point the jailer fell to his knees and asked how he could be saved.  "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," said Paul.

Jailer (red) praying, Paul (standing) and Silas (sitting)

Brian and I worked together on his project.  We used thin sheets of Styrofoam for the walls and floor.  I used Todd's soldering iron to melt grooves to make the Styrofoam look like bricks and a stone floor.  Brian painted the walls and floor. 

Silas

Together we made the men.  I couldn't find my clay and didn't have enough salt to make playdoh so we made our own clay out of glue and cornstarch ( 1/3 cup cornstarch to 1/4 cup thick, white glue).  As we were shaping the figures we realized that their body parts wouldn't stick together so Bryce came up with the idea of using toothpicks to join the parts together.  We even used the toothpicks to attach the figures to the styrofoam floor.

Yarn was used to simulate the chains, and I made tunics from felt.  While searching through my fabric box I remembered some fake fur that I had and figured it would make cool hair.

Paul

Brian was pretty pleased with the results.  I can't wait until it is Bryce's turn to make one.  I think we will try to do the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.  I have got a book on how to make a chariot.  Hmmm...maybe we could go ahead and make it now.

Piano Lessons

Bonnie and I just got back from a meeting with her new piano teacher. 

I am so excited for her.  The best part is that the teacher lives just a mile away (Bonnie thought it was 3 or 4 miles away and too far to walk so I checked the odometer to verify that it is just a mile and definitely walkable.)  and we know each other from our Alpine Boys Ranch days. In fact, Bonnie's teacher sold us her baby crib and changing table when I was pregnant with Bonnie.  It's another case of "It's a small world." 

Bonnie will start her first lesson next Thursday.  Her teacher, Kathy, said Bonnie could practice with the books that we already have and to bring them in next week for her to look at. 

I am so excited for her. 

All Good Things Must End

Yesterday, was our last day of skiing.

It has been so fun for all of us to head up ski hill and ski.  Bryce never did make it to the big hill, but he is skiing like a pro now.  I sat back and was excited to watch him glide down the hill, weave in and out of people, and turn to ski past me then back into line at the tow rope. 

Bonnie spent most of her time skiing with her friend Makenzie on the big hill.  The slopes were so slick that Brian could ski down the big hill, glide across the middle section and half way up the small hill. 

Now we have to be on the look out for used equipment.  This is one activity I want to invest in for my kids.

Kayaking

Friday has become Todd's day to go kayaking.  Yes, it is winter time.  Yes, there is snow on the ground and ice floats in the water.  And, Yes, my husband can't wait to get on the water.  This is his time off; his way of relaxing; his way of refreshing himself.

On this particular Friday, we woke up to ice covered vehicles and roads.  In fact, the schools were delayed to allow the salt/sand trucks to prepare the roads before the buses could get out.  Ice, however, didn't stop Todd.  He loaded up the kayak on the top of the Blazer, and had me follow him up the Tumwater Canyon.  We dropped his truck off at the Tumwater Campground and then Todd jumped into the Blazer with the boys and me and we drove up to Plain. 

Todd chose to get into the Wenatchee River near The Rock, a favorite swimming spot.  Everything was covered in ice.  To get some pictures of Todd, the boys and I walked/skated down to a snow/ice covered bridge.  I was too scared to go to the edge of the bridge to get really good pictures.  I had fears of slipping on the ice and sliding through the railings so the boys and I stayed safe in the middle.  That meant I had to duck and try to get pictures through the railings to see Todd.

Todd usually takes someone with him but decided to go solo today.  This particular route took him five hours the last time he went down it, so I was surprised to see him back home just two hours later.  The water was rising and flowing a lot faster due to the warm weather and rain. 

I try not to worry about my adventerous husband.  I know he needs these moments to feel refreshed.  He doesn't get a day off so I won't begrudge him a few hours to himself, just cover him in lots of prayer. : )

The Crud

I've got the crud.  You know, that I am filled up with mucus and junk stuff that is going around?!  Yep, I got  it.  It started with sinus headaches this past weekend, those headaches that make you feel like your eyeballs are going to bug out.  By Sunday night, the mucus starting flowing, and well, do I really need to go into anymore gory details? 

Our school week has been impacted by my lack of desire to do anything except blow my nose and lay in bed.  However, I have determined to keep everyone going and found a wonderful solution to my predicament. 

Our history has been centered around Ancient Greece and the Persian Wars.  We had just read about Leonidas and the 300 Spartans at Thermopalae.  Since I am very visual, I  went to my favorite resource, Youtube, and found the History Channel's documentary on the Last Stand of the 300 Spartans.  It is a 100 minutes long so we broke it off into two segments and spent Tuesday and Wednesday watching the program.  It is a great tool to see how Spartans were raised and trained, the weaponry of the Greeks, as well as key figures in the Greek-Persian Wars - such as Leonidas, Thermosticles, and King Xerxes.

We didn't advance in our Latin studies but continued to review lessons 6 - 9.  I think the kids have it and are ready for one more lesson before the test.  Brian is quick to memorize.  He memorizes so easily and remembers it that the other two get quite frustrated with him.  Hopefully, it will motivate them to learn their stuff and be quicker on the draw when verbally quizzing.

In math, Bonnie is factoring polynomials, Bryce is subtracting fractions with borrowing, and Brian is working with graphs.  I am having to lean more and more on Todd when it comes to explaining Bonnie's math to her.  I think it is about time to buy a teacher's manual, or start scheduling a time for Bonnie to have math with her dad. 

In language, Bonnie is learning how to identify and diagram gerunds, infinitives, and noun clauses.  Brian is dealing with adjectives, and Bryce is focusing on his prepositions.

Bonnie right now is reading Homer's Odyssey, Brian is being forced to read a Magic Tree House book on Ancient Greece and Bryce is reading faithfully everyday in his readers.  Me...I am reading through the Janette Oke books again because they are here in the house and I need something to relax with.

The week is just about over and I am praying that this crud will go away.  Thank goodness for Nyquil to help me sleep at night.