Book Review - My Brother Sam isDead

Wow! What a wonderful story. I was crying at the end. I think mostly because people talk of the end of the USA and fighting now. It scares me that my boys would have to live through this and start lives on the other side.

The American Revolution is glorified in so many ways. This book does not do that. It tells the story from the point of view of an average family. Not taking sides because you just don't want to fight will not keep you from the war. Taking sides is hard as well, if you don't know or understand the principles that the leaders of both sides are fighting for. And even if you do understand it all and can see what the other side of the war can bring, do the ends justify the means? Do we need to kill to get our way? Or is there another way?

Jake picked this book up at the used bookstore in town and read it in two days. He told me I had to read it, but it had a sad ending. It did. I'm glad I read it. Jake loves to talk about the books he is reading and this one needs to be talked about.

GREEK!

We were talking about what things we might want to learn more about this coming year and Jake said he wanted to learn Greek. Ok...I did a quick search for "greek language learn", of course Rosetta Stone comes up, but then there is a youtube video series. Cool! That was at 2:30. It's 4. He's still working on it, writing down all the letters and making sentences that are strange like "if cat step boom". I'm worried. When he was about 5 he said he wanted to learn to write. I picked up a writing workbook at Walmart the next time I was there. He sat down with it and filled out every page in a few hours, came back with a completed workbook and told us he now knew how to write. I wonder if will happen the same with Greek! Oh I hope so!

Tom is still working through his Latin lessons. He does a few pages every day no matter what and has a large vocabulary already. He likes to use the words he knows all the time and wants to learn more words, faster. I'm going to get him some story books in Latin that will help him gain vocabulary just like he did learning English.

So now what? I'm doing the Mom thing. They want to learn! Push them into more! I know it won't work. They have to want it and search it out. I should leave them be and let them drop it when they don't find it interesting and move on. That is what I will do, but I do dream of classically trained children! :)) They have inspired me though. I really want to know more about the New Testament and early Christianity and I would love to learn Hebrew or Greek as well. Maybe I'll join them in discovery!

Home School Fair!

Every year we go to the Home School Fair in Ontario and it is the best! Tom and Jake love it and spend the whole day pie eating, competing in the Olympics, and talking to everyone they can find. It is truly a special event and I really wonder why more people do no participate. Why would you not? This year, as usual, we made big plans to do more next year. We shall see!

This year, I had a booth set up for CHN.

And the boys made a catapult game and gave away prizes. Next year they want to go into business for themselves though. There were a lot of kids there with booths selling things or that had clever games. One pair of boys had the Wii and had a Wii Resort game tournament. Very cool.

I didn't see much this year since I had to be at the booth, but I did get to talk to lots of great people and tell them about CHN. I loved being able to stay there and have the boys come back and tell me all about the things they were doing. Tom loved the Olympics and Jake wasn't interested but he went along to keep Tom company. They came back sweaty and tired with a handful of ribbons. Tom came back once with a face covered in ice cream and pie crust. He said he didn't win the eating contest but he DID get pie and ice cream. Jake didn't know about it. It was starting right when Tom walked by, so Tom bought him a snow cone for missing out.

I came home with a big bag of used books! This is one of my favorite parts of the fair. Tom walked around behind me asking if we really needed those books, but they were 50 cents or a dollar! How can you pass them up?!

I did get a chance to walk through the gym and see all the kids' projects up. There were some pretty amazing things in there. Legos displays, cakes, stories, artwork. The boys love seeing things that other kids made. Jake thinks he might have a booth making personalized leather bracelets and key chains next year. I think it would be great! And Tom might make a robot to display.

Jake

Jake reading up about Halo 4 before bed. He's reading it out loud and I have no idea what he is talking about.

More Baseball!

I know! You're wondering, "What? More baseball already?" Today was Jake's game and here he is playing for the Minor Nationals.

Safe on first but thinking about stealing second.

Jake up to bat!

Master of the Right Field

Baseball!

Tom had a game last night and his team was a little short on players due to Science Camp for the public schooled kids. The coach got some pool players to fill in, but they were STILL short! A kid from the Oriole's was on hand and Jake got to help out too. He wasn't dressed for baseball, but Dad ran home and got his cleats. It was another exciting game, but we still lost. Didn't bother the boys at all though. Tom was a little shook up over a confused out at third base since the other player advanced thinking Tom was on his way home, the ball came in and Tom tried to run back to third...no where to go, he was out. Jake got walked and struck out. Tom played catcher the whole game. It's so fun watching them play! Hopefully next year we can have them on the same team.

Cougar Crest Trail Hike

Another amazing hike! Monday morning I woke up and realized we had no baseball...so we just HAVE to go hiking! It was supposed to be 95, so I asked the boys if they wanted to drive up to Big Bear and they were all for it, if we go to the slides and maybe the arcade and the burger place...Ugg. I said 'HIKE'! I told them I had only $20 for the adventure, so they were going to have choose one thing, or cover the expenses of the other. All agreed. Chores done, snacks and water packed, off we go!

On the way up we talked about a lot of things. How to pass on the highway, why check your speed, how to avoid collisions, why the highway is out there, how great video games are a lot like a great book, what's an 8% grade, why use a lower gear, how gears work, and on and on and on....Travel time is always well spent with us and now that we have a smart phone, some questions are answered right away!

It was 75 when we go up there! Ahh!! The slides were closed since it was Monday and the off season, and so was our favorite burger place. So we stopped for candy and KFC to go. I started to get irritated with them because I kept saying "And then we'll go for a hike...." but they always thought of something else they wanted to do. I reminded them that Mom has needs and she did the driving....We went to a picnic spot. That is where the real fun began. Sitting there in the shade eating lunch with my boys! Pine air, relatively quiet, jays harassing us for snacks, gophers digging up the ground nearby. It was nice. I remembered that I had put a GeoCache app on my phone and we checked it. There was one right on this trail! So we looked for it. Jake found it. Lots of cool stuff in there. Tom took a pen from Edward AFB and we  put in a little magnifying glass. I wanted to leave my legless plastic pig, but Tom said that was good luck, so I had to keep it in my bag.

Where's Jake?

Jake has a new friend!

We headed back down the trail and decided to check in at the Discovery Center. That place is so pretty. There is a spot you stand in that echo's only to you, like you have your head in a box. It's weird, but no one there can explain why it does it. Tom counted the rings on the big tree slice they have. We've seen it before and I still don't understand it. Does a tree grow from the outside in? Because the rings are all labeled latest date first. I'm confused, but no one there had any information about it. Now if you want to know where the recycle trash cans are or how to prevent forest fires, they've got it covered, but science, forget it. Jake found a donate box and put in a couple dollars because he said they do a nice job there.

We headed back to the parking lot. The boys were happy. They loved the walk and the trees smelled so sweet. Don't ask me how we got on the topic but we discussed sin, the bible, jesus, israel, laws, prisons, punishment for crime, whether you would want the death sentence or life in prison, nazi's and russians....ahh the evolution of thought with young boys!

The view from the summit on Highway 18

We headed home. Going back down is always fun. We watch the temperature rise as we drive down the mountain and munch on our candy stash. I love our adventures and I'm so lucky to be able to have so many with my guys. Dad misses out on a lot of the little day ones, like today and he is the sweetest to listen to us without being envious. Poor Dad works so hard! But we will be going on a Grand Canyon Adventure soon and Dad has vacation! Yay!

What a climb!

Yesterday morning was gorgeous and the rest of the week is supposed to warm up AND there was no baseball, so I decided we needed to climb Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park now or wait until next year. The boys were up for it and I didn't even have to bribe them! Later, I did need to offer them $5 to get to the top, but it was rigorous and for some reason I desperately needed to get to the top.

So we rushed through chores and such, got the crock pot going, quick Latin study, and headed out the door. When we started walking up the steps on the path I remembered how hard this was going to be...for me anyway. I'm not in the best shape you know!

It was nice though. Not to hot (there is absolutely no shade on this hike) and the wind was mild enough to keep us cool but not blow us off the mountain like the last time we tried this. Lots of green stuff growing right now and flowers!

We found recent Big Horn Sheep poo so kept an eye out but never saw them. One guy that passed us told us he saw them at the beginning of the trail and someone else on our way down said he saw them earlier, so we must have walked right by them. No surprise though. I keep telling the boys to be more quiet so we can see critters, but they are pretty rowdy.

A Face Looking Up at the Sky

On the way up, we passed a older (than me) couple coming down so I told the boys if we couldn't make it, then there was something seriously wrong with us.

The top was amazing! You can see the whole park! Next to Keys View it's one of my favorite places in the park, but Keys is easier to get to.

Just Keep Walking

On the way down, I fell...three times! The first time, I turned my ankle but walked it off. The second time, I slipped on the sandy rocks and landed on my rear. Tom looked back and said I should be careful here and here and here, and then I fell again. I just sat there and said I was going to take a rest right there. I almost cried. Stupid rocks! The walk down is just as steep as the walk up, so my knees had had it. It was still fun though. And I'd do it again!

Hmm...Nice View!

Tom Falling

Panorama of the Valley View

We Made It

And Back Down the Mountain

Awesome Orange Flowers in a Rock

Ren. Faire!!

Nikki's Pork Chop on a Stick

Yay! We finally got to go again! We went to the Renaissance Faire a few years ago and had a blast, but we haven't found the time to go again for a couple years. This year, I actually found the time to make a few costumes for the kids. I ran out of time before mine was done, but next year...it's on!

All the usual Ren Faire excitement was had. Fencing, eating, drinking, crossbows, and jousting. We saw a mock battle between the Saxon's and Celts, but Tom says that William the Conqueror took over in 1100 so by 1500 (when the Renaissance Faire is set) it would be the English and the Irish, so he was irritated. But it was a pretty good battle anyway.

Fencing Lesson

We watched "Midsummer Nights Dream", some Kung Fu demonstration, and some Indian dancing. I guess they were branching out from the English Renaissance. As usual, there were some pretty colorful characters there, as well as a wide variety of cleavage for the world to see. Seriously, some of them looked a little uncomfortable.

The best show we saw was a couple guys that said they had a Russian Circus and then they didn't show, so they did the whole circus themselves. It was hilarious!

Jake's Turkey Leg Lunch

Next year, we have to plan the day better so we can see more of the shows. And I'm going to start working on costumes. I think we should go Scottish. "If it's not Scottish it's crap!" Can't you just see the boys decked in kilts. They are SO excited! This year they almost had wives but they blew it. :))

Jake Flying (not sure how that's Renaissance)

This thing made me sick just watching them!

And a little archery!

A Fine Bunch of Peasants

Check out these Bad Boys!

Do these guys look like trouble or what?

Cousin War

We spent the day at my brother's house for Olaf's 9th Birthday. My brother is a total nut when it comes to parties. He had a pretty good one this time. He made a pinata for cryin' out loud! He made a great cake, meatballs, and we had tons of fun. What the boys are sitting on is the remains of an archery target that he made with balloons stuck all over it with prizes inside. They all proceeded to destroy it after the game was over of course. That was half the fun!

We brought the RV and stayed the night in his driveway. The boys had a slumber party in the house. They said that Mr. Chuckles (my brothers french bulldog) kept them up with his snoring and laying across them in bed. We had a great morning harassing each other over a breakfast of scrambled eggs and waffles, while my brother entertained the troops with his impersonations.

Great fun was had by all and I know we are all looking forward to doing again soon!

Book Review - "The Cay"

This one that Jake wanted to read and when he was done wanted me to read it too. It's was written by Theodore Taylor in 1969. Set in 1942 in the Dutch islands off Venezuela, Phillip (about 11 years old) learns that war isn't as fun as it sounds and to overcome his fear of black people. It's a great little book and Jake and I loved it. We fell in love with Timothy and Phillip struggling to survive and trust each other on a deserted island. Jake said that it was a little hard to read the "negro dialect" written. We heard that in an article about Tom Sawyer a while back. Once we realized that he was speaking in a Caribbean accent, it was a little easier to understand, but even Philip in the story had a hard time with the way Timothy spoke at times. Because of this book, we use the word "outrageous" quite a bit!

Happy Easter!

A little posing of the birds!

Peeps!

And obviously Spring is here because the Cactus Wrens are hard at work!

Just finished...

The Hunger Games books! Wow! If you haven't read these...do it! All three! I was reading yesterday and Jake came up to me and asked me if I had gotten to certain part, something about "bread and circuses". "Have you noticed the Greek/Roman gods names? And that the Capitol is like Rome?" Holy cow, that kid is smart! I had a vague feeling that I recognized some of them, like Plutarch and Pollux, but I hadn't looked into it. And then he sat there and told me about how the gods personalities were like the characters in the book. And that Panem was Rome. And we sat and talked about it for a long time.

It's Just Baseball People!

Aren't games supposed to be entertainment and exercise? I go through this every year, I know, but every year it's a jolt to my completely uncompetitive mind. The coaches that yell and fight with the umpires. The parents that scream from the stands when players make mistakes. The kids that stomp out of the batters box after a umpires call. It's all so foreign to me. And I know it will get worse as the months go by. By the end of the season, I usually watch from the outfield fence because I can't stand to listen anymore. The boys say they usually can't hear a word from the stands. They are focused on the game and aren't listening. But I do wonder what effect these coaches attitude has on those kids even if they don't complain about it.

Tom and Jake love baseball. Not sure why, because no one in either of our families is really even a sports watcher, let alone any kind of player. But they really love it. And every year I worry that they will have a psycho coach or some parent in the stands will say something that will make me have to beat them. Mostly Jake I worry about. He's such a sweet sensitive boy. Ok, he's my baby! :)) Tom's tough, he can handle it. In fact, Tom thrives on the challenge of dealing with people, but my Jakey...he just holds onto his emotions long enough to get alone and let them all out in sobs.

There is a coach this year, not my sons, that I can hear on the next field during practice yelling at the kids. These are 9 and 10 year olds. If that were our team, I'd be there and if I heard that, I'd have to make it up to the boys somehow, but they would not remain on that team. One parent did call about him though, so that makes me feel better. Maybe I should have walked over there and made a call too.

I find it really odd that there are rarely any parents at the practices and if they are there, they sure don't want to talk. I have found some awesome new friends over the past three years though!

Honestly, I'm not a sports fan, but it is fun to watch the boys play. They exude happiness when they are out there. Tom played catcher last night and did a great job. He looks like a little man. Jake played outfield last night. He was happy with that after having to play catcher the whole game on Saturday.

Birthday's and Baseball

What a weekend! It was so busy that we had to take Monday off completely to recover.
Saturday was supposed to have Little League opening day and a game, but the opening ceremonies were moved to next week. Thank goodness cause it really helped to have those extra hours to get ready for the party on Sunday. Jake played his first baseball game of the season and won! It was a good start to the season for sure. He was pretty happy. He struck out the first time he was up and walked the second, but did score a run for the team. He played second base for two innings and did a great job scooping up that ball and getting it to first base. He even got someone out.

I love watching my boys at the ball field. Jake walks around so proud and confident when he is there, but then again when does he not? When we got there, Tom and Jake were walking together when one of Jake's coaches said hi. They talked for a second and then Tom extends his hand to shake and says "Hi, I'm Jake's brother Tom. I'm on the Cubs this year." Like a little man. I actually got choked up watching it. Too bad they are both so un-socialized. :)) I over heard another conversation that made me laugh. Some kid asked Jake if he played World of Warcraft and Jake thought he said World War Two.

Minecraft Cake!

Sunday was Jake's 10th birthday party! I still can't believe he is 10. Crazy boy getting big. It was so fun. I love having everyone over. My poor Mom was sick and couldn't make it though. So sad. And my brother and cousins entertained everyone with their antics. We had some old friends come that we haven't seen in a long time. Yay! And I got to talk with my new friend's husband a lot this time. It was a great afternoon. The kids spent a lot of time on the go-kart and chasing chickens!

Uncle John and Eric try the stilts.

Carson and Uncle John Rockin' It

Jake's Table Cloth

Tom Giving Go Cart Rides

Jake, John and Melissa, and Carson