Veteran's Day

We had a great Veteran's Day on Thursday! Our city had a little celebration at the Community Center. I felt just a little bad for our poor Fire and Sheriff's Department, though. They were seriously upstaged by the Marines and their tanks! The boys spent about an hour talking to them and asking them about every little thing on the tank. They were great teachers and were happy to explain every detail to Tom.

There was a short presentation as well and the Color Guard had to hold on to the flags tight in the 30 mph winds that were blowing. The boys belted out the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem which got us a few approving looks from the older people around us (made Mom pretty proud) and we watched the Marine Band play and sang along. It was a great morning for sure.

Afterwards, we drove down to Palm Springs for an adventure. We had lunch at Burger King to try to win the XBox360. We lost. :( Next time! And then we checked out the Visitor Center in Palm Desert, picked up some animal stuff at Petco, and played some games and Chuck E Cheese's. All told, it was an awesome day.

Tuesday Day 1

Day 1 of what? Day 1 of me trying to make some stinkin' changes around here!

I could make a list of the things that need changing around here but the first one I'm working on is getting things done during the day instead of "forgetting" to do them. So I'm making a list each day and checking it twice. I write things down as I think of them and when I pause for a minute I check my list to see if there is soemthing that I'm forgetting.

The second one is my weight. Crap! I had all this weight off when Jake was a year old. I was the same size as I was in high school. And now look at me! 202 pounds! That is ridiculous. So I'm writing down everything I eat and staying to the right portions. I'm getting rid of this.

The boys spent the entire day playing on Runescape. They haven't played that in a long time. It was fun listening to them banter back and forth about what they needed to do and what quests they were going on next. They literally played all day. Well, they did stop for a bit to eat and we had to bury the dead rabbit.

Nikki and I got our hair cut today, too. I'm not happy with mine. I like it shorter. I might go back.

CHN's 800# had a boatload of calls today. I felt like the phone never stopped ringing. But many of the calls were fun to take. So many people just need that boost of encouragement that they are doing the right thing. Sometimes they just need someone to reassure them that what they are doing is legal. And sometimes they need advice about finding the right curriculum, dealing with their school district, or finding friends for their little ones. It was a great day for phone calls.

Birthday Celebration

I believe I have won! For the first time, when I asked my son "How was it?" after his birthday party, he replied "Great!" and it wasn't followed by "except..." And it was pretty darn fun, if you ask me.

We had a campout party at our house. Firepit, roasting hot dogs, tents in the yard, the whole nine yards. We had so many of our bestest friends here to the day and some of them spent the night. The party rocked thanks to our friend Anna who's lovely son donated his old drum set to Tom and he is about the happiest boy in the world now. Nikki brought out the electric guitar and we had a bit of a concert.

I love having everyone over but, as usual, I felt like I didn't get to visit with anyone for very long. That's the nature of the party I guess. But it was fun sharing our little desert dream home with our friends and family. I hope those that like it (and the ones that didn't get to come this time) will come back and visit us again. Did I mention I like having company?

We camped in the yard and it was hilarious to have 7 boys in a tent. They are just as chatty as a room full of girls. I spent the night out there as well to help defend the one sister that came along. We had fun harassing the boys. I didn't sleep very well though. I kept thinking of all the bugs I find in the yard and that I was now sleeping on the ground near them.

Sunday morning, the boys awoke at 5AM to lightning out over the hills. That and the rooster wouldn't let them sleep anymore. They came in and played video games for awhile. We made the worlds best breakfast and drank lots of coffee, the parents anyway. :) The kids were all over the property as soon as the sun came up. Later, my cousins husband and my brother initiated an air soft assault on the boys. The war was on for quite awhile. There were few injuries but the boys wore them as a badge of honor.

When everyone went home, I took a nap! I still have cleaning up to do today but it was so worth it. Dan took the boys out to Walmart last night and they got a couple new airsoft guns for the next battle. It seems the adults were outnumbered but they had superior firepower. The battles are already in the planning stages.

Sunrise or Sunset?

Is our children's future growing brighter or darker? Are we getting stronger or weaker?

"Whilst the last members were signing it (the Constitution of the United States) Doctor Franklin looking towards the Presidents Chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that Painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. I have, said he, often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun." (The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Max Farrand, Vol II, page 648, 191, Yale University Press)

I recently took up the challenge of learning more about our country's history and that of its founders. This is the first quote from the book we are reading. "The 5000 Year Leap" by Cleon Skousen. I have to admit I'm inclined to feel that the sun is setting. The future is getting darker, harder to see through to what is on the other side. I feel that we are stumbling around in the failing light in a feeble attempt to prepare for the darkness to come. My hope is that there is light on the other side of the darkness, that the sun will come back up. We only need to be ready to get ourselves and our children through the dark while losing as little as possible. That is what I'm doing. I'm learning, talking with others, reading books, gathering books, in an effort to know as much as I can and be able to pass that knowledge on to my children and those around me.

Monday

Monday's apparently suck. We had a dentist appointment this morning in Laguna Beach, but I over slept and had to cancel it. Then we thought we would go to the water slides in Yucaipa instead, but found out it is closed on Monday's. And then I got my husband to take a few minutes off during the week and go to the used book store with me, but it is also closed on Mondays!

We did have a good time playing with a science experiment kit that I had hiding in the laundry room. Tom had all the stuff all over the table and ended up burning paper roll caps one by one over a candle. He tried to fill a balloon with steam for quite some time but gave up. Jake mixed oil and water and food coloring and sprinkled salt to make lava in a cup. That was cool. Science Bob is an awesome website. We talked a long time about molecules, heat, and reactions. I was thinking that there should be some kind of kit of common stuffs with a book to make fun science in your house. I think I'm going to make it myself. Everything I've seen out there is too technical for my kids and my attention span. And it has to be cheap! I'm thinking of naming it "The Dollar Store 'DIY' Science Kit"!

Sunday Sunday

It isn't hot!! Ok, it may be hot to you and it may really be hot, but it doesn't seem as hot as it should be at the end of August. It was 90 degrees today and pretty windy. This morning it felt like fall, windy and dry and cool. So nice.
One of our chickens is sitting on eggs. I'll keep you posted. Dan is still working on replacing the garage roof, but it is coming along nicely. The plywood is all up and he is working on putting primer on the face boards. Nikki is teaching Tom to play guitar. She is teaching him all the things that Eric has taught her. It sounds so nice to hear them work together on something. And Tom is really spending time on it. Jake spent some time teaching Grandma Ann to shoot the pellet gun this afternoon. Then she came over for dinner. It has been a nice afternoon. I even got a nap!

Moonridge Animal Park

We drove up to Big Bear today for the first time since we moved out to the desert. It is a much nice drive from here, only an hour away and no traffic. It is such a pretty drive too. We went up there to visit Big Bear's Zoo, Moonridge Animal Park. It was an awesome trip.

The zoo is a rescue place that helps the animals in the area and keeps animals that can't be released into the wild. It is small but cute and not expensive. We spent about an hour looking around and then went and had lunch at "Get The Burger" which had the best onion rings ever. Well, except for the "Julian Cafe" they have the BEST onion rings. Then we drove around, found some other things to see next time we came up, and went back to the zoo to see the animal feeding tour. Coolness watching a bald eagle tear up a rat!

It was warm and muggy up there, but it wasn't 100 degrees so we were happy. I got a bit sunburned. We got ready to head back down the mountain and we heard thunder. It was very loud! Tom kept jumping out of his skin every time he heard it. We ran into Walgreens to get a candy snack for the road and when we came out it was pouring and hailing!! We couldn't believe it. Crazy weather. We watched it from the car and then drove on the mountain much to the dismay of my son who thought we were all going to die. It was a great day!!