Screaming Tweens!!!

My ears!!! Today I took the kids to see the Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert complete with copious amounts of squealing pre-adolescent girls! Very reminiscent of the Hanson Brothers when Frankie was 12 or the New Kids on the Block a decade earlier. They are a wholesome group of previously home schooled kid, who made it big! Caleb liked the music but wasn't a big fan of the screaming girls. Abigail sang and clapped along with every song! Frankie, well, Frankie smiled and enjoyed popcorn, Dr. Pepper & MilkDuds!

If you haven't seen the latest 3-D technology it really is something to see. Disney/Pixar will be releasing a new 3-D movie monthly throughout the summer, should be fun! Oh, in case you were wondering . . . No, Jon did not go! Some lame excuse that he had to work! That was the same excuse he had for the Hanson Brothers concert & the Hannah Montana Concert!

Those Unsocialized Home Schooled Kids

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I always get a kick out of people who ask, 'what do you do for socialization?', when they find out that we home school. Here is a group of those unsocialized kids! From seven to twenty-four years of age, they laughed and played together. It was OK to include siblings in the fun. Everyone had a blast at the natatorium. The mom's had a good time too!

Anything you can do . . .

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Caleb's ball practice has begun and so has Abigail's. She will be playing catcher for an 8U team. She, like Caleb will have practice twice a week. This is the first year that Jon isn't coaching one of the kids teams, and I'm not team mom. We are looking forward to sitting in the stands together and cheering!

Take Me Out to the Ball Park

Baseball Season has begun! Tonight was brother's first practice. He's on a team with several friends and one of the coaches he had in Fall Ball. His hamstrings were a little tight after several weeks of taking it easy after the broken ribs. The girls hung out and listened to their Mp3 players. Padme' joined us at the ball park, she is always a hit with the boys!

Michael's Birthday!

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The kids and I made a quick run to Tulsa to wish my brother a happy birthday. Michael was born in February and me in December of the same year. So from December 28th until February 21st we are the same age. On the 22nd he becomes a year older than me. It is always fun to tease him unmercifully on his birthday. He returns the favor in December!

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While we were at Papaw's the kids took turns on Mimi's inversion table. I know, I know, yes that is the child with the broken ribs dangling upside down by his ankles!

I went to a garden party . . .

After school today the kids and I went to a friend's home for a garden party. Each family is growing different fruit and veggies. Hopefully this spring and summer we will have a great harvest to share with each other. We have planted blueberries, black berries, raspberries, and strawberries. In addition we have starter plants for tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, bell peppers, corn, green beans and potatoes. We also put in a small herb garden with dill, basil & oregano.

The kids all took turns with my camera today. We have about 8 versions of these photos. It was a beautiful day.

Casa Manana's Miss Nelson is Missing!

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This is the story of a beautiful, sweet teacher who has one of the most terrible classes ever. Everyone is mean, acts up and nobody ever listens to her. Miss Nelson knows that something has to be done.

One day, when she doesn't arrive to class, the children are so happy. They think they have driven her away forever. They are all smiles and grins.....until....

They meet Miss. Viola Swamp, an ugly and mean teacher who looks like the Wicked Witch. She puts them to work, yells at them, and makes them do tons and TONS of homework. Desperate and worried, the children turn to a detective in order to solve the whereabouts of Miss Nelson.

The story is fun and gives a good moral lesson at the same time. The kids especially enjoyed the literary reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, because we have just finished reading that book. The play was darling, Casa Manana always put on fabulous performances! Abigail said that I 'sometimes sound like Ms. Swamp, even though I look like Ms. Nelson!' hmmm

Black History Month

Every year we get together with our homeschooling friends to exchange valentines and have fun! This year before the party began each child or family gave a report for Black History Month. Caleb and Abigail chose to report on Muhammad Ali. Frankie, felt she was a little too old to participate in their silliness, but did agree to hold their poster.

10.0

I thought it would be a great idea to take Caleb to the pool to exercise in the water, work on stretching etc. He is able to begin activity because it has now been three weeks since he fractured his ribs. Somewhere in the fun, Abigail asked if she could go off the high dive. Of course, that was fine. I turn around and there is the child with the broken ribs going off the 15' diving board! Uggghh! I was so close to the 'Mother of the Year' award. No, he didn't hurt himself. He said it stung a little bit, so we decided he wouldn't do that again!

Jackpot!

The little kids hit the jack pot at Dave & Busters! They were drawn to the pyramid mummy game, and with their money cards they played until they had over 1,800 tickets! They used their winnings to buy a monkey for Caleb, a hat for Abigail, a hat for Jon and candy for Frankie. This photo was taken after Caleb hit a bonus 500 tickets!

Home Depot Day

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The first Saturday of the month means it is Home Depot Day. The kids attend the workshop class. Today Abigail built a trinket box with a heart lid. Caleb built a leaf press. It's one of those things that Caleb is getting too old for but he knows Abigail loves the classes. He goes along with it and has fun with it! Abigail is big into reading the directions and doing it herself. Like the safety goggles?!

Brotherly Love

The photo above is our veggie garden. I asked Caleb and Abigail to turn the ground over in the garden to prepare the soil to plant our veggies. They come back inside after about 45 minutes and want me to see what a great job they did. They dug a hole big enough for Abigail to lay down in flush. I think they missed the point!

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They begged me to photograph Caleb buring Abigail! I told them that I was going to title the photo, 'What Hapens When You Complain About Math!'

Superbowl Party

After services tonight we headed over to a friend's house for the 6th grade Superbowl party. When the youth minister was looking for a home to host the 6th graders, I volunteered Ms. Donna's home. We brought some food, and she gets to clean up after everything! Great deal! No really, they live fairly close to the church building and I knew we would have a better turn out of kids for a school night party. Anyway, the food was great, the kids had fun. Caleb hung out in a recliner taking it easy. Frankie enjoyed being with the girls! These kids are a really good group, it's always fun to hang out with them!