Rainy Week

Anders won 3rd place in the history competition. His speech was titled "A Song in Our Heart", and he alternately sang and spoke concerning the history of spirituals in the south. This was the first time for him in this particular competition, and we're very pleased. Trying to catch up the history notebooks...

Josiah has become quite the farmer. He has grandiose plans and initiative to back them up.

He's working on a new piece and gave it a run-through for the first time with Mean Ol' Mama checking the notes.

Stennes played his hard piece from memory with just a few wobbles.

Poppins bought Stennes an early birthday present: lots of odd tools from the local pawnshop thrown into a nice storage tote.

Stennes was thrilled and quickly set about sorting the tools and making plans. Beware, broken machinery! Your fix is at hand!

Mean Ol' Mama and 2 of her favorite rascals...

It began to rain mid-week, and Mean Ol' Mama got the urge to make doughnuts. It's just so cozy when you're rained in, ya know?

The final product...

And the final product five minutes later. [...sigh...]. Mean Ol' Mama saved two for ChubChub, who was taking a nap.

Leche, Mami? [Milk, Mommy?]. He was quite pleased with his snack.

Stennes just couldn't get enough of this sweet little guy.

And neither can Josiah. Isn't it sweet when they love each other? Do they always? Well...

Branch was assigned an Australian sheep-shearing dance. He really enjoys playing his violin and goes to it with vigor.

ChubChub removed his shirt, backed up to Mean Ol' Mama and requested a back scratch. Must be nice...

And look who came to visit Mean Ol' Mama's chair: a black widow spider. Poppins promptly sent her to the great web in the sky.

This is how we spent our rainy Saturday: playing games, reading cookbooks from the library, watching DVDs, and just being together.

Stennes fried up a few eggs in his little skillet.

And Poppins cooked up a big batch of French Toast. We went through 7 loaves of homemade bread in 2 days. Ufda!

The rain and wind blew in some beautiful birds. The boys were very excited to see some new faces out in the yard.

Ever wondered what rednecks do for fun? They wait for a heavy rain and then go tubing in the puddles. Pitiful, ain't it?

Another Week Races Past

The Girl and Branch acted out a fascinating story about Prince Stinkerbug (ChubChub's favorite story hero). They kept him entertained quite well. Mean Ol' Mama was thrilled to discover fishing worms in her fridge, right in front of homemade yogurt (a gift from a friend). Simply thrilled...

The Girl learned how to "borrow" in subtraction and finished out four pages perfectly and quickly. She's quite pleased with her new skill.

ChubChub worked on perfecting his pull-ups while the others were doing schoolwork.

The three older boys have 10 new chicks each. The heat lamp keeps them warm since the nights are still cool.

Stennes has been busy in his garden. His potatoes are coming right along. Behind him is a chicken pen that he's building for the chicks.

Branch set out a little plot of turnip seeds, and they're green and growing nicely.

Mean Ol' Mama likes to keep Stennes busy with her "honey-do" lists.

Our resident Titmouse has built a nest in the birdhouse over the sandpile. She is a cheerful little bird.

C'mon, guys, higher...higher...a little more...

Master Wrestler ChubChub has conquered again!

Josiah helped The Girl with her Easy Bake oven. They made little brownie cakes. The kids were not impressed with the taste. Mean Ol' Mama has spoiled them with tasty treats.

Waiting...waiting...when will those cakes be ready?

Stennes finally finished the last part of a very difficult 2-page piece. Now he just has to build speed and smooth out a few places in the music.

Remember the worms in the fridge? Mean Ol' Mama was equally thrilled when Josiah brought her a little snake that he found. Yep, thrilled...

The Girl hosted a lovely tea party, Magical Muffins in March. We made Capuccino Muffins w/ Cocoa Cream Spread, Peanut Butter-Cheesecake-Brownie Babies, Oreo Oh Ohs, and Lemon Sparkles. There were tasty bits of salty things, too.

The Girl and her friends had a nice time with personalized plates and tasty treats.

How sad to see half of a muffin. Someone should just eat that little bit. Since you insist...

This is how Mean Ol' Mama spends the first few minutes of her day. ChubChub needs to re-connect every morning.

A dear friend gave the "bird boys" a bird encyclopedia. What a marvelous gift!

She also gave them a telescope, and Stennes was enchanted.

Mean Ol' Mama found a love note on her pillow thanking her for cooking. The Spanish wasn't perfect, the letters were crooked, but it was simply perfect.

This cowboy ain't riding shot-gun, folks...

Stennes and Josiah went to a plant sale and brought back a Curry Leaf for Mean Ol' Mama. Gotta love it...

Saturday was spent at a homeschool family day. ChubChub got to ride in back of the truck carrying a genuine cannon.

The Girl and ChubChub checked it out carefully after hearing that very loud BANG!!

And of course Josiah fished. That boy should have hooks instead of fingernails.

Branch fished, too. Ideal vacation for him.

ChubChub found a pal.

Showing off the catch of the day with some very special buddies...

Poppins and the boys camped out Saturday evening. It was the perfect evening of a near-perfect day. Breakfast was sizzling before the sun rose too high.

This is the life for a boy...

Eeeeek!!! Is that the same snake, Josiah?

ChubChub went netting while Branch fished. Again. Yep.

Mean Ol' Mama and The Girl joined the fellas for a cup of hot spiced orange tea. Tasty.

And Poppins? Well, it's a rough life but someone's gotta do it...

We had a wonderful meeting Sunday evening in a neighborhood in Cairo. The people were extremely kind and receptive. It was truly an unforgettable time.