First Family Fishing Trip

The weekend after Christmas, we decided to make good use of their Christmas presents and the awesome weather by taking all three boys fishing for the first time.

All in all the boys had a nice time, despite the fact hey were out-fished by a couple using chicken liver.  They didn't catch anything but it was good practice casting and switching bait.  Amber enjoyed playing with the worms.

Lance then decided we needed to take another trip to Bass Pro shop to get different weights, bobbers and bait.  He definitely has the bug, he even pays the tab.

Week of Christmas

The week of Christmas was both joyous and productive. 

• We spent two days playing with friends.
• Rock Climbing
• I was able complete my history plans for next semester. 
• Our fireplace was finally up and running
• Our gift to the family this year was a second cage for the bird, so he would sleep in a bit as we put it in the guest/lego room where we have dark drapes.
• We Feng Shuied ALL the kids clothes, moving out and redistributing the old between the boys.
• I finally got access to to all my pictures on my computer so I could finally move forward on all the blog posts I was behind.
• Chris replaced all the lower cabinet hinges on all the kitchen cabinets.
• We learned the meaning of Boxing Day and plan to celebrate accordingly next year.
• Chris had a bike clinic and did much need maintenance on all the bikes, followed by a joint test ride.
  

We celebrated Christmas Eve by reading for the first time "Twas the Night before Christmas" to the boys.  Our purpose was not really nostalgia but to give them a better appreciation to the Hillbilly parody we laugh at on some CDs we got years ago from Dollywood.  After the reading, I originally planned a more serious reading of Dickens. However, we I decided we might all enjoy the "Muppets Christmas Carol" a bit more this year, so we rented if from Amazon.  It turned out to be a good choice because even it was a bit tense for some in certain parts.


Christmas Day we continued the tradition of "Daddy French Toast" for breakfast.  One of the few meals everyone in the house will eat.  Followed by our other family tradition, the Otto Family Scavenger Hunt.  I gave them ten hints they had to find before they found their gifts.  I always hold back letting them open some gift from someone till Christmas morning this year if was their gifts from the Parays.


This year we even had a little Christmas miracle; Chris took two broken computers and made one working computer.  The miracle was that it worked the first try and it didn't take too long either.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a the beautiful day and took a walk together.  There are still no animals pics on the Game Cam.  We had high hope because of scat we found the day of bird escaped but I'm sure we'll get something soon.

We finished up the evening playing board games and watching the boys race their RC cars.  It was particularly nice that Chris had off these two days.  It gave us all time to relish in each others company and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Winter Soltice Concert

"Concert" I suppose is a bit of a stretch, but it was a public performance.  The boys' piano teacher had arranged for her students to have the opportunity to play at her local Chamber of Commerce to provide entertainment for the folks waiting to see Santa.

Miss Kathy said the boys were "awesome" and she wished they could have stayed all afternoon to play.  There was a funny though when Titus spontaneous declared "Santa isn't real." as he approached the bench to play.  Thankfully, people laughed and thought it was cute.  Here's the videos of their performances.

When it was all over they relaxed at home with a nice up of tea.

Santa Bob Comes for a Visit

The boys (and I) eagerly awaited Grandpa Bob's (my dad) arrival yesterday.  Lance had himself posed in a chair by the window and Jared kept coming in to ask when he was going to come; they were very, very excited.  I was in the kitchen when the house exploded with "HE'S HERE!".  They were out the door before he even got in the drive way.

The boys had come up with this zany idea that we adults should unload the presents and put them under the tree while they waited in the bonus room, then they could come down and be "surprised" with the gifts.  I have no idea where they got the idea but we decided to play along and Chris added his own flare.  He yelled up the stairs - "Grandpa Bob is sorry he forgot to bring the presents, he'll have to bring them another time."  The only response he got was a quizzical "Really?". 

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sherry clearly spoiled them but that's what grandparents are for, right?

I was pleased at the sincere interest the boys took in each of their new gifts.  The girl was so enamored with the first present she opened, that she would have nothing to do with opening the other presents for over an hour.  It makes me proud that they were so appreciative.

Lance spent a great deal of time organizing all his fishing paraphernalia in his new tackle box.  All the boys are really excited about being able to fish together.

Titus went wild with his new RC car outside.  He also managed to loose his second front tooth.  Now he can officially say "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

We initially told Jared he needed to wait until tomorrow after his school work was finished to put his new Lego set together. A bit later, we found him in the school room getting his work done ahead of time. At this point, Chris sent them upstairs to assemble the new set.  They even tried out their new sleds on the leaves. 

Chris and I enjoyed talking with my dad about all manner of things past and present.  The boys enjoyed listening in too.  I few times Lance popped up with a "please keep telling the story" if an old tale was cut short.  These are the special times they'll remember when they are older.

Throughout the day, the boys challenged Grandpa to three different games; Blockus, Ticket to Ride and the finally traditional Grandpa vs. Jared chess match.  Grandpa made sure to jovially remind the boys that he won all three games.

We also continued our tradition of French Toast meal for dinner.  It's one of the few meals that EVERY member of our family really enjoys.  Chris was kind enough to be the chef this year and let Grandpa off the hook.

In the evening, the boys put on a beautiful piano concert, complete with singing by all.  Jared had worked on a special piece by request and it was great to see him play "The Yellow Rose of Texas" while Grandpa sat with him on the bench singing along.  

(You may have to click "You Tube" not the picture to see the video)

It was an absolutely wonderful evening that everyone was reluctant to let it come to an end.  But end it must and with sad hearts we said our goodbyes and yet look forward till the next time when we get together again.

PS.  The next morning found the kids up early busy playing together again.

Rabbit Day Book Review - November

One of the things I like about our family is our love for books.  Often they bring them to the table to eat meals because they don't want to put them down (Of course, we tell them they have too once we start eating).  For that reason, my husband gave me leave years ago to buy whatever books I wanted for our personal library.  I'm frugal and try to buy used and not take advantage of it.

I like old books, they have so much personality.  I will search, sometimes for years, for a bargain on old book.  Plus, when you buy used you never know when it will be delivered; it's like Christmas all year.  The kids and my husband will ask what it is and I'll honestly say "I don't know" because if it came from overseas it can take many weeks to arrive. If you are having trouble finding a book I recommend in the library or for a good price used, I encourage you to keep looking, sometimes it just takes time and patience.

One more note on buying used books - if you use amazon to buy your used books, you might want to search heavy this month; they'll be adding sales tax to all used book sales starting soon.  Abebooks has been much cheaper lately anyway but it takes longer to get the books.

Big John's Secret by Eleanore M. Jewett was our family History Read-Aloud this month.  This covers the time period of the 5th Crusade.  The story centers on a young boy's search for his missing father and his heritage.  The plot was well liked and not easily discerned by any.  The most charming part was the weaving of a true account between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan of Egypt at the time.  This is the best book I have found about the Crusades, giving insight to the perspective of both sides at the time, without getting into a lot of gory battles.

I went off topic for Lance's Independent Read this month.  He's reading a modern biography of the most famous German Shepherd trainer/award winner ever.  Her name is Winifred Strickland and she only died a few years back. Chris and I had followed her for years before the boys were born and this book was on our shelf. Joll and Me describes both her life and the evolution of her remarkable training techniques.  He is really enjoying this book and talks even more about someday training his own dog.  With the chaos of the holidays it will probably take him through December to finish.

Jared surprised me this month by asking to read a book Lance had finished reading a few months ago.  It was nice both to see his enthusiasm for reading a longer book and desire to challenge himself.  The book he chose was The Good Master by Kate Seredy.  This is one of my all time favorite books and the fact that it's the author's autobiography makes it all the better.  It takes place in Hungary at the end of the 1800's.  The amount of trouble this young girl gets into is amazing, as she slowly matures from a "bag of monkeys" to a beautiful young lady.  It's incredibly written; has adventure, humor and sentimental moments as well.  This should be on every book list. Both my boys enjoyed it immensely and want to read part two but I'm making them wait till we approach WWI in World history.

For Titus, I picked up three books by Peter Reynolds called Ish, Sky Color and The Dot.  These are cute books that encourage the artist in all children.  They have be requested more than once so I'd call them a success.

For himself Titus again found a gem.  Science books by Vicki Cobb.  These are the best early elementary science books I've ever read.  I fall Down was our first selection.  I have to admit I thought it was a baseball book until we started reading.  I was pleasantly surprised by the simple yet complete explanations and fun experiments.  Though it was suppose to be our bedtime read, the family found Titus and I downstairs doing the experiments. They were very easy and amazingly still fun.  Next, from the library, we checked-out I Get Wet.  It was equally pleasing and we look forward to finding the rest. (I wish science books were listed by author at the library.) 

When I started my blog, I wanted to only talk about books that we enjoyed. Listing and critiquing every mediocre or inappropriate book I try would take too much time. I have decided to change my stance on this and I will occasionally comment on popular books that I just don't understand why anyone puts them on a reading list.

The first book I will comment on and the reason I changed my stance is Kidnapped by Rudyard Kipling.  I am a fan his other works, but I simply could find no redeeming quality in this book.  There's tons of violence, child abuse, compromised morals and, well, that's about it. These types of books are why I pre-read them before the kids have access to it. Just because a book is popular does not mean it will be appropriate for my (or your) family.

Season of Thanksgiving

When the Parays come for a visit, everyone gets so distracted by their excitement that little gets done, besides cleaning.  Somehow the boys did manage some school work on Monday but Tuesday was a bust.  

To occupy the time before they arrived, Chris made a great dent into building the retention walls for the back yard (in a light rain mind you). The boys helped some but preferred to keep asking if we should leave to pick them up.  They arrived later than we hoped (they were trying to get on standby for an earlier flight), but they were safe and sound and that's all that mattered. I had shopped via text message with Mae as they waited in Atlanta, so we had all the groceries waiting when they arrived. This meant we had nothing better to do than talk and catch up, which is all we wanted to do anyway.  FaceTime is a great way to keep in touch, but it can't compare with face-to-face for us.

Wednesday was another rainy day.  Mae and I went for a walk and did some bargain shopping, while Chris stayed home with the kids.  Chris was not working for a change, well at least not for pay.  He did replace the bath exhaust fan.  The kids did their own thing, playing games of all sorts. When they come for a visit, It is like favorite cousins coming together again.

We had special plans for the afternoon.  First, we had the traditional trek to Corbett's Burgers and Soda Bar for lunch.  Then we came back to the house and got all gussied up for the Winter Children's Concert at the NC Symphony.  Since our neighbor's had been kind enough to loan us a car, we all were able to join in the fun.  The Symphony was nice and Amber (her first visit) sat rather well once the program began.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we did what most people do on Thanksgiving - cook and eat while the children play and eat.  I had made two pumpkin pies earlier in the morning so they had time to chill.  Then two loaves of pumpkin bread before starting on the main meal.  We got a 16lb brined turkey this year and it was super juicy.  With it I made a whole bag of potatoes mashed, green beans, special mac & cheese and stuffing. The turkey wasn't the only thing stuffed by the end of the day.

Unfortunately,  the kids (esp. Lance & Matt) are growing so fast that there wasn't enough food to provide leftovers for more than one meal on Friday. We have to try for a 20lb turkey next year!

To prepare for the leftover meal, Mae and I took off again, this time to hike Hemlock Bluffs and of course partake in more conversation.  While we were gone, the kids "helped" Chris move the bridge over the creek about the half the distance to its future home. It was no small feat but an activity messily enjoyed by all. They scared up what we think is a MudPuppy and one large Crayfish! It's great having our own little ecosystem to enjoy.

After our afternoon meal, Mae and I decided it was time for our Black Friday shopping, so we headed over to the computer. Going out on Black Friday is crazy, so we let our fingers do the walking on the internet.  We were quite pleased with some the deals we managed to get by the click of a mouse.  So we celebrated and finally made the time to watch "Pride and Prejudice" together.

After the sun set and the kids came in from frolicking outside we sat down to do some art projects: Japanese block prints and masks.  While making the masks out of egg crates, Lance earned a new nickname "Egg Boy".  Mae said when Lance hits the big leagues she's going to yell "Egg Boy Ignite" loudly from the stands.

It was hard to go to bed Friday night because the Parays would be leaving the house the next morning at 5am for their return flight, which meant once we went to sleep only Chris would see them again this visit.  But time flies quickly and it will only be a few months until we are together again.  I am so thankful for that and the relationship between our families that has grown over the years to be more than friendship. We are family.

SEEK

SEEK is a co-op we joined this fall. Last night was Family Night and Chris got to come and see a bit of what had been happening the last 13 weeks. Thankfully, my opinion and optimism for the co-op has not dwindled since my initial review.  The kids kept saying over and over again on Thursdays "Thank you Mom for singing us up for SEEK!".  What more needs to be said?  Well, I say a little more...

Amber ended up flourishing in her class and quickly didn't mind me leaving for the second hour.  By the end of the 13 weeks, she even chose to join in on craft time.  She is quite the little instigator/leader when it comes to playing her games and the other kids seem to enjoy her ideas.  She's made a number of friends.

Titus thoroughly enjoyed both his classes.  Titus' first class was "Community Helpers" where he met a police man, a doctor, firemen, pastor and others.  Sometimes it took some figuring out to understand whom he met in class that day (like the day he said he met the president and it was really the mayor). His enthusiasm to tell us was always wonderful.  His "Dramatic Expressions" (which he loved) was fantastic and they even put on a play at Family Night for us all to enjoy.  Titus was the "fire" in the old fable about the pig that would not jump over the fence.

(Click two photos below to see video)

Lance's fishing class has made him truly "Hooked On Fishing".  His passion was infectious and his brothers are now asking for their own fishing polls so Lance can teach them.  "Let's Play Sports" is what Lance likes to do most and there's no surprise he enjoyed that class as well.

Jared was just as excited about SEEK as his siblings.  For his first class, he enjoyed learning about all the different nuances of Thanksgiving in his "Celebrate Thanksgiving" class.  

For his second class, he (and the whole family when Dad read aloud) really enjoyed the book "My Side of the Mountain" and all the neat activities they did along with it; such as making moccasin shoes, building forts, meeting a Peregrine Falcon and more.  At Family night, they even but on a play/advertisement for a company that taught the skills they'd learned in the book.  Jared did an awesome job as you can see in video below. Like I always say he's my thespian in the making.

(Click pic below to see video)

For me, I enjoyed getting to know the homeschool mom's the most, be it while helping in Amber's class, participating in my "New Comers" class or at the park play-dates after SEEK each week the weather permitted.  Unlike other experiences we've had, this one was fairly stress-free for me too.  So much so that next semester (because I'm a crazy lady) I'm going to teach a class with my friend.  Stay tuned!!

P.S.  Despite the busy day and night daddy still made the time to read to everyone before bed.

Over the hill to OUR house Grandma comes!

Grandma came to visit this weekend to visit along with her friend Norm.  We kept the visit a secret so the kids were surprised and over joyed when they saw her get out of the car in our driveway on Friday.

After they gave her the grand tour and we got acquainted with her friend Norm, we decided we all needed to get out of the house for a bit and took them to hike at Hemlock Bluffs Park.  It was a beautiful day for hiking and talking.  When we got back, we unloaded some toys for the kids, including a Kinetex set that kept the boys busy for two hours before they had a fully working double Ferris wheel.

Following dinner, the boys made chocolate chip cookies with Grandma.

Saturday, the boys opened their official Christmas presents; The camo pajamas were a huge hit; Amber got right to "cutting" up her new veggies; but the biggest hit was having their own copy of the board game Blokus.  They got right to teaching Elaine and Norm how to play and once that game was done they leaned to play their other new games as well. 

After the excitement of presents and lunch, we all went for a nice long walk around the neighborhood.  Then we headed out to see a community performance of "Anne of Green Gables". Jared knew someone in the play and was anxious to go.  The play turned out to be a lot longer than we expected.  Amber, Titus and Lance only made it through until intermissoin then Chris headed home with them.  We called them when we were heading out and we all met back up at Corbett's for dinner.

Sunday morning, found the kids making cookies again with Grandma; this time molasses.  It was fun to watch her orchestrate all the kids into the process.  After cookies, Grandma brought out the art supplies and the kids all enjoyed time making ornaments and cards (incl glitter).

Since seats were limited in our van, Amber and I stayed behind and Chris took everyone to hike and tour Yates Mill Park.  It worked out great because the girl was too young to take the tour and I had wanted the boys to see the inside and how the mill works.  As a special treat, Norm taught them how to make corn pipes with the corn cobs they'd gotten from the mill when they got back home. 

(Click the pics above to see the videos)

As Sunday was our Anniversary, Elaine and Norm gave us a chance to sneak out to dinner, while they played more games with the kids.

With a long trip ahead of them, Elaine and Norm said goodbye Sunday night.  We were all very sad to see Grandma leave but at the same time very thankful for the wonderful time we had together.

Fall Ball

Chris volunteered to coach Jared's baseball team this season. This was Jared's first season of kid pitch and thankfully Chris was able to draft Jared's friend.  Kid pitch was a unique experience for everyone and the important thing is that Jared had a good time.  They even had a nice Pizza party at the end.

Fall ball was different for Lance as well.  Chris was an assistant coach again but with a new coach and all new players.  Lance's goal was to play something other than catcher and he achieved his goal; playing first base, a lot of short stop and doing a decent job pitching.  The leagues does not keep the kids on the same teams as Spring, it was odd having some of his friends playing against him.  It was a little fun sometimes though, seeing Lance keep a straight face as pitcher or catcher when he got an old friend on another team out.

The part that made things most difficult was the all the rain during the season.  Sometimes the kids would go 10 days without a practice or a game.  In fact, Jared's last game was rescheduled three times and finished with us all getting soaked in a down pour.  After being here through two rainy falls, the boys agree that maybe we should skip Fall Ball next year and do something else. :-)