Week 4 - Lots of Fun

This week was another great one at Lorene Park Academy, our happy, little homeschool.  I'll let the pictures share the highlights.

Tuesday after school (around 10am) Grandpa came to teach a lesson in bike repair.  It was AWESOME!  They patched tires together on Paul's pedal bike, a bike that currently sees NO action.  We will probably sell this bike before Paul decides to ride it.  He grew.  But it was totally cool to see Dave teach the boys how to repair flat bike tires.  Grandpa rocks.

This is serious business.

These two work well together.

Paul gets in on the action.

And then everyone went for a ride!  Grandma was also there...she took the pics!

Wednesday was another special day.  Luke and I visited the Portland office for Living Water International where he met Stan the Man, our contact there.  Stan was the guy who helped Luke get his own link for online giving.  It was fun to see these two meet for the first time.  Luke thinks anyone  who has been to Haiti and works for Living Water International is some kind of rock star.  And I think Stan thinks pretty highly of our boy, Luke.

Pretty Special Moment - Little Hero Meets Big Hero

I actually took this picture last, so Luke's smile is a little tired.  But I had to get the sign!

Better smile!  The girl in the photo above Luke is in Haiti getting clean water from a new well for the first time. Luke thinks that is cool.  So do I!

 The office is lined with these yellow, plastic containers that are similar to what children all over the world use to haul water.  They carry them on their heads and strapped onto their backs, often for miles.

"This is heavy!"  Yes, Luke, and that one is empty.

 They did have one of these filled with water.  Luke could only lift it about an inch, and I was busy trying to make sure he didn't hurt himself, so no picture.  We are SO blessed.  We are SO thankful for all God has given us.  It is a joy to know that there will be a new well in Haiti because of Luke's 7th Birthday.  Yes, $3,000 was raised!  On a side note, if you donated online and haven't received a thank you from Luke, would you be willing to drop me an email?  Living Water International has been unable to provide us with a list of donors due to privacy issues.  I would LOVE to get a thank you to each of you.

We also did academics this week!  I had two favorite moments with my "class."  We finished reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Thursday.  After Dorothy FINALLY reaches home using the silver shoes that she's been wearing for the entire book, I asked the question, "How did you feel about the fact that Dorothy had the ability to go home all along?"  Luke thought for a moment and then I saw the light bulb BLAZE on.  "Yes, but then the scarecrow would probably still be in that field!  And the Tin Woodman would be rusted in the woods!  And the Cowardly Lion would still be...well...cowardly!  Mom, I think it's a good thing that Dorothy didn't know about the shoes.  It meant that she got to make friends and help them."  Aaah.   Good literature.  Themes that are universal and can be fleshed out by a seven year old.  I love it.

And then my second favorite moment happened on Friday.  It was time for Luke to take his first math test ever.  You see, last year, math was hard.  And it wasn't sticking.  I did not want my boy thinking he wasn't good at math, so I didn't test him.  We just worked and worked AND WORKED on addition.  This year, I was a little concerned that perhaps we might be in the same boat.  Then I decided to write some songs.  Lots of songs.  Every +8 fact has a song.  There's a fun little trick for the +9 facts.  I decided that Luke was ready for a math test.

I took him to the dining room table, where it is quiet.  I gave him two pages, front and back, of math test.  And then I left.  You see, I homeschool.  It's too tempting.  I unloaded the dishwasher, hovering one room away.  It was silent in the dining room.  After almost 20 minutes, I peeked in.  Luke looked up and said, "I'm done.  Can I go play?"

Yep.  I picked up the test.  It took me less than three minutes to grade it.  Here are the results:

 I'm so happy for my boy.  This is totally first grade math and he is sort of a second grader this year; however, because we homeschool, he has no stigma about his math abilities.  I also think about the fact that he is a very young seven.  With an August 16th birthday, I'm not sure we would have started him in kindergarten at five which would make this his first grade year anyway!  ;-)

In one more completely random moment, there is an article in this month's Atlantic about homeschooling!  Crazy, huh?  It turns out that there are some other folks, fancier than myself, who are seeing the benefits of this business.  Nifty.

Maps, Robots, and Toothlessness

We had our second week of school this week.  The boys are really enjoying so many aspects of school right now.  My favorite moments have been in History and Read Aloud (Literature).  In History we are studying the Middle Ages this year using The Story of the World Volume 2.  This is such cool curriculum.  The boys have been avidly listening to the fall of the Roman Empire, the invasion of barbarians, the arrival of Anglo Saxons in Britain, and the spread of Christianity from Rome to Canterbury.  No joke.  I might have studied this stuff in junior high, but I promise you that I cared more about my hair than Pope Gregory or Augustine.  Our dudes can't get enough of it.  Invading hoards, Celtic warriors, and long dangerous journeys - they live for this stuff.  There are even coloring sheets!  Here's a pic of map work the day we discussed Augustine's arrival in Canterbury from Rome.

Okay.  Paul is coloring a figure on a magic carpet with his face pasted onto it.  Last week we pretended to take a magic carpet ride around the Roman Empire at the height of its power.  Paul never got around to coloring his picture.

After they finished coloring, I decided to ride the wave of Map Love.  I opened up the GeoPuzzle of Europe.  This thing is amazing.  Most pieces are the actual shapes of the countries, with some obvious exceptions - Vatican City, Liechtenstein, etc.  Luke spent the next 20 minutes putting this bad boy together.  Paul wanted to do one too, but I only had one Europe, so he did Asia.  We aren't studying Asia right now, but we will be!  A few pics just for fun.

Paul loves puzzles.  Luke loves maps.  They both love GeoPuzzles.

Both dudes hard at work.

Finished and pointing to the United Kingdom because we are studying it right now.

Finished and pointing to Thailand because Grandma and Grandpa have been there.  Cute!

We are continuing to read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  It is always the last thing we do each day.  The boys snuggle with me on the couch in the playroom and listen intently.  It's a pretty delightful story.  The boys are noticing that even though he wants to ask Oz for a brain, the Scarecrow often comes up with the idea that saves the day.  It's so fun to read great literature with them.  I don't have any pictures of that sweetness.  Sorry.

Today we did a Kiwi Crate craft.  I love these things.  They send a box with all the materials AND instructions to create two cool crafts.  This is seriously a dream come true for me.  I am NOT crafty.  And I don't want to be.  I want to open a box and have an instant opportunity for my kids to be creative while I go pour myself a second cup of coffee.  Don't judge!  I have other gifts.  ;-)

Here are the pics of the Kiwi Crate craft for today - My Robo Buddy!

Using metallic pens and paper to decorate their robots.  Serious business.

Luke with his finished Bot Buddy

Paul with his finished Bot Buddy

The Kiwi Crate included a little wind-up toy robot that you place under your Bot Buddy, thus enabling it to move around and be even more adorable.  Both boys were hugely entertained by this.  Luke created three more bots with extra materials so he could have a train of them.  Paul created a cart of sorts with his extra materials and ended up with a dump truck-like thing.  So fun!

 In other Bangsund News, Luke lost his second tooth on Wednesday afternoon.  He was super jazzed.

Calling Daddy to share the fun news!

Happy with the hole in his mouth!

Anniversary Getaway

Erik and I have run away from home for a quick getaway to celebrate our 13th Wedding Anniversary, which was actually on August 7th.  Better late than never.

We are staying at a sweet bed and breakfast in Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast.  Erik has incredibly fond memories of Lincoln City because his grandparents owned a house here while he was growing up.  More about that later.

We got in around 3:30 pm yesterday afternoon.  The weather was great, so I went down for a walk on the beach while Erik rested.  He's been struggling with a cold and needed some down time.

We watched some football, cheered for Michigan State in honor of a new buddy of mine, and then headed out for dinner.  We were able to get reservations at the highly acclaimed Blackfish Cafe.  Yum.  We started with little bowls of amazing clam chowder.  Then Erik had the sword fish with polenta and I ate the salmon with bleu cheese au gratin potatoes.  Here's the picture of my plate.

After dinner, we came back and watched some more college football.  You have no idea how delightful that is to me.  I have been waiting and waiting AND WAITING for football to start.  :-)

This morning we headed downstairs and were treated to fresh German pancakes with homemade cinnamon apple syrup.  We will come stay here again for that syrup alone.  No joke.  Here's a picture of the pancakes.  I know.  I'm a goof.

After this deliciousness was enjoyed, we headed out for the day.  Our first stop was the beach!  It is sunny and about 60 degrees here.  We have loved just sitting and watching the waves without the presence of small peeps.  After enjoying the surf for a bit, we headed to the outlet mall.  Seriously, folks.  The opportunity to shop without kids is golden to me.  I knew I needed some new jeans, and this was my chance!

The Levis outlet was having a sale AND they have great jeans.  I bought two pair.  We also got the boys some little bits, including $12 jeans at Old Navy that have that hammer loop thing.  My guys LOVE to hang stuff from that loop.  Swords, water guns, vacuum cleaner attachments.  All sorts of stuff.  I'll try to get some pictures when we get back.

Now comes the sweet part of our adventure.  Erik really wanted to find the house his grandparents owned.  I was totally game.  We headed to the right neighborhood and proceeded to drive up and down the street, texting family members trying to find it.  And then we did!  We parked the car and went up to knock.  Sadly, no one was there, but there was a family name and a business card taped to the window by the door.  So, we called!

Erik spoke with the owner, a dear sweet woman who gave us permission to walk around the house, and enjoy the deck.  We grabbed our picnic lunch and had a stunning view from the back deck of Erik's childhood beach house.  It was so special.

We just missed the owner's son being here yesterday, but she was amenable to the idea of opening communication about seeing the inside at some point.  She prefers snail mail to the telephone right now, so we will write her a happy little thank you note and hope for the best.

Here are the pictures that we took at the house during our little picnic.

We found it!

We took a picture of the house number, so that we can find it more easily next time.  :-)

This wood paneling and the silver birds on the wall are leftover from Erik's grandparents.

The back deck.

Side yard

The little patio on the side where Erik remembers hacking down humongous weeds.

The spot where Erik was sprayed down by Uncle Bob after time on the beach as a child.

Another memory.

I love my husband's smile in this picture.  If I could give him anything in the world, it would be this house.  He has so many favorite childhood memories here.  Maybe someday.

The stairs from the deck right down to the beach.

Amy needs a smaller beach jacket.  But the view is still incredible from this deck.

More view.

Our picnic spot!

Pretty cool.

It was a very fun and rewarding afternoon.  We are gearing up for the Pre-Season Oregon Ducks game at 7:30 pm.  I know.  We are on vacation.  We should go out and party or something.  But folks, watching football with no kids to interrupt is stinkin' glorious!