Variety

This morning my boys are both engaged in artistic pursuits which perfectly portray their individual preferences.
I've known for awhile now that these two dudes are different from each other in pretty meaningful ways. The encouraging thing to me lately has been watching them enjoy these differences rather than fight over them.
Currently Luke is happily doing a color by number math page while Paul paints with water colors. Every once in awhile they check on the other's progress. Paul likes to make crazy guesses about what Luke's picture will be. Luke likes to see the dragon in Paul's painting. I can totally tell that they are impressed by the other's abilities. Luke is doing multiple digit addition and staying in the lines perfectly. Paul is creating pictures out of nothing. God has gifted these guys in different ways, and I think it's awesome.

A VERY Full Week

The past eight days have been really full.  Erik and I both finished our BSF year with Sharing Nights on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday, I provided childcare for some moms to attend their Sharing Day in the BSF Day Class which I used to attend.  So, there were six kids in my house between the ages of 11 months and 7 years.  Yepper.  Blessedly, I had awesome help from my current Teaching Leader (think totally awesome chick who teaches the Bible and shepherds my soul) and my BSF carpool buddy.

It was actually a super fun day, despite being a little crazy at times.  My guys did pretty well with all the visitors.  It didn't hurt that I organized some activities around a common theme - DINOSAURS!  We are studying dinosaurs, so we read a book, did a craft, and played a game having to do with dinosaurs.  Pretty fun.

I don't have any good pictures of the day because I had my hands full, but there are pictures of other events later.

We did Upward on Saturday and it rocked.  Luke's team won a game!  You would think they would be bummed about winning their first game so late in the season. NOPE!  They were all really jazzed.  Luke ran for about 20 yards on his favorite play, "The Luke Sneak."  It's a pretty cute trick play that involves Luke taking the snap, handing it off and then doubling back around to receive the ball in some double-reverse-like action.  It works pretty well because they only use it once or twice per game, and it differs pretty significantly from all their other plays.  Here are the pics from the day (and the previous Upward Saturday which we missed, but Oma caught).

 Paul coming through the tunnel on May 18th.

 Luke's May 18th Tunnel Pic

 Daddy helps Paul with his flags on May 25th.  Cuteness.

 Paul on the ball!

 Luke's game face - FIERCE!

A picture of Luke carrying the ball on the Luke Sneak.  He made about ten yards on this carry.  It was the second time we'd run the play and they caught on quicker.

I spent most of Thursday and Friday focused on preparing the house for the weekend.  We were super excited to have Mr. Mark Tai as our houseguest Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Mr. Mark is the best.  He really is an honorary uncle for my guys.  He swoops into town.  He plays fun games with them.  And he will listen to them talk about video games forever.  He rocks.

Saturday night, we hosted a tri-family pizza and game night with the Fessendens (BSF carpool buddy), the Willseas and the Bangsunds (including honorary Uncle Mark).  Nineteen folks in our living room playing an awesome game called Four on the Couch.  Google it, people.  It was epic.  I have no pictures of Four on the Couch, but here are some pictures of earlier activities.

 Lots of fun people doing lots of fun stuff.

 These girls were both in Erik's Level 4 BSF class this year.  And I'm not jealous...YES, I AM!!  I love these two.  They are exactly what every thirteen year old girl should be - kind-hearted, Christ-focused, fun, and available to babysit. :-)

 People gaming and a mom getting a back rub from another mom.  This is a very Bangsund party.

 These two could have eaten this all by themselves, but they are very well-mannered and settled for just eating two thirds of it.

Buddies!

Then Sunday came and I decided to bless my husband in a very real and big way.  I took the boys to the Children's Museum on my own for nearly five hours, allowing him time to play video games with his buddy, Mark.  The boys enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit, which again, coincided perfectly with our current science curriculum. I love it when it all comes together.  :-)

 The smile says it all.  The dinos were small, but neither boy seemed to mind.

I call this one "Brooding Brothers."  I did not tell them to make these faces. So. Very. Odd.

Sunday evening we all did Roots together.  It was great to introduce an old friend to all our new friends.  I found myself smiling a lot and saying things like, "Paul, this is Mark.  Mark, this is Paul. You are both awesome people."  It was fun.

Monday we had another friend over for more board game time.  The original plan had been to hike, but the weather was monumentally disgusting, so we stayed home.

Today we did school.  We are SO close to the end, people!  EIGHT MORE DAYS!!!  The kids are largely unaware of how close we are to the end, so they don't get antsy or crazy.  Me?  I'm climbing the walls.  June 7th!  June 7th!  June 7th!  Oh dear.

In completely unrelated news, Paul really likes to use my knee socks as costuming.  I think this is a good way to end the post.  Check out this brand of awesome.

Mud and Maps

The weather is lovely and the boys were able to enjoy some outside time today. I let them make mud. They love it so. Here are some pictures to prove it.

In other news, we began Week 34 of 36 in our Core today. Core means Bible, History, and Read Aloud for those who don't run in Sonlight circles. It's just amazing to me that we are that close to the end of our year. Miraculously, we will also finish language arts, writing, and spelling right on time. Math will be a summer activity for sure.

Like all homeschool moms, I didn't get to it all this year. And like most homeschool moms, I have sneaky ways of facilitating educational moments. Happily, these two traits met each other today.

Last June I bought this super awesome beginning geography workbook. I had high hopes that I could add it in to our seat work routine. Nope. Never got to it. So, I left it lying around the house in plain sight. Paul spotted it today and immediately asked if he could do it during rest time. Sure, buddy. Let me make a few copies. Oh, Luke, you'd like to do some, too? No problem.

Currently both boys are in their rooms with clipboards, colored pencils, and five pages from a very fun and engaging geography curriculum. All too easy. (Insert sinister laughter here.)

Don't bug him.  There's a code to break and a map key to create.

Matching symbols with their meaning.

The curriculum that sold itself to my kids today.  LOVE it.

The Monkey and the Injured

Having finished our seat work for the day, the boys were downstairs playing this morning. Suddenly I heard the wail that means someone has sustained significant injury.
When I arrived on the scene, Paul was bleeding from the chin and Luke was looking sheepish. Apparently in their game of Push and Shove, Paul encountered the wall in a rather meaningful way. The two of us ascended the stairs in search of band aids, leaving Luke to reflect on the wisdom of inciting a game that nearly always produces bleeding.
Upstairs, Paul got a fun little square bandage and extra attention from Mommy. After about five minutes Luke, the self appointed jester, arrived to cheer the convalescing Paul.
"I'm a monkey, Paul! Look!" It was pretty cute.
So rather than stayed ticked at my oldest for causing injury to my youngest, I took their pictures and decided to blog it. It's better this way.

New Shirts

Luke has grown. He has continued to wear his size 6/7 t-shirts, despite the fact that they are clearly too small.
Today I finally managed to remember his need for shirts while I was actually in a store and could do something about it.
I bought him three new shirts, but two probably would have been sufficient: one that is destined to be his second skin and the other to wear when I force him to launder the first.
Pics?  Yep.
Incidentally, rather than cause brother to take up arms against brother, I bought one for Paul, too. I'm no dummy.

Upward Fun

It was another great Upward day.Paul played center and stayed on the field the entire game.

Luke played quarterback on offense and safety on defense. He had two nice runs but confesses getting distracted by the cheerleaders a few times on defense.

Lest you think this is anything other than platonic interest, I will dispel that myth. Luke was distracted because the cheerleaders normally only cheer for the bigger kids. Things were out of order in Luke's world, hence the distraction. That is SO my boy.

And now the pics (taken with my new phone). The jury is still out on the quality and I definitely don't appreciate not being able to caption them. Hmm...

A VERY excited Paul running by at top speed!

Paul plays center and passes it to the fabulous Annie who often runs for touchdowns.  :-)

An action shot from Paul's game!

While Luke practiced, Paul and I watched the big kids play on the big field.  At half time, Paul threw water balloons into the bucket on this man's head.  FUN!

Paul with his water balloons.

Our sweetie little friend.

Luke coming through the tunnel and Paul waiting to give him a high five.  I'm a happy mom.

Luke's team getting ready to go!

Luke at QB

I figured out how to caption the photos by publishing from my phone and going back with my laptop to edit the post.  A bit clunky, but it works!

Happy Saturday, Everybody!

Super Fun Friday

We went on a field trip today to the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem.  We had heard great things from our dear friends and knew it would be worth the trip.  We even invited three of them along to be our guides on this fabulous adventure.  It was epic.

We started our adventure on the gi-normous outside play structure.  That doesn't really describe it.  It's a multi-leveled, area of absolute awesomeness.  The kids ran and played for quite awhile before deciding to head into one of the houses.

Let me explain.  The "museum" part of the village is housed by two fabulous Victorian houses that have been completely renovated.  Each room contains something fun and awesome.  I keep using that word.  I can't help it.

The exhibits are similar to the Portland Children's Museum, but there is just something magic about it all being housed in this very unique and special architecture.  Going up winding staircases with beautiful woodwork to find a room where you can practice Mandarin characters on a piece of slate while looking out the nearly floor to ceiling windows...seriously awesome.

Everyone had a blast in all the different rooms.  We had a picnic lunch outside at tables painted with game boards for Shoots and Ladders.  Yes, they played when they finished eating, thanks to an app to roll dice on Erik's phone and some handy dandy rocks that served as play pieces.

We finished the day with a visit to the nearby Salem Carousel, a hand-carved masterpiece well worth the $1.50 admission.  Everyone picked their horses and I realized looking at the gleeful look on my seven-year-old's face that this was his first ride on a carousel.  I know.  Negligent parents.  He's seven.  What can I say?  It just hasn't been a priority.  Anyway, they BOTH loved it.  A lot.  I don't have pictures of Paul because he was around the bend with the Daddy-Man.  But we will go back for sure.  It was amazing.

Here are some pics of the day!

 This was my favorite moment of the day.  These are the homeschooled kids, who found a room that had couches and books.  Clearly, it was time to stop and sit and read.  And they all did.  I did NOT pose this picture.  After they had checked out all the exhibits in the room, they all just gathered around while Paul read aloud about nano technology, the topic of the exhibit.  Meanwhile about a half dozen kids visiting with a school group wandered in, spent less than five minutes and wandered out again.  We were there for at least 15 minutes.  It was sweet.

 This thirteen year old girl loves to play with my kids while simultaneously not allowing them to get away with anything.  I love her.  A lot.

 Very cool.

 The kids spent about 20 minutes play acting in this jungle themed room that included a stage.  The pith helmets were very inspiring, along with the presence of many puppets and velcro-armed monkeys.

 This eleven year old boy has the heart of a servant and loves my five year old, even when he is being a turkey.  And he looks awesome in a foam pith helmet.

 I'm a dork.

 Part of the play acting.  She is the secretary to the ruler of Jungle Land.  And she has lost some monkeys.  Very upsetting.  ;-)

 The crew in the big chair on the porch.

 This eight year old girl can keep my seven year old entertained forever with only a piece of string and her imagination.  She rocks.

 These awesome goggles and aviator's cap belong to the sleepy eleven year old behind Luke.

 The crew checking out the carousel, waiting to ride.

Luke found a horse with armor.  He could not be happier.