Update 5.17.11

So. Since it's been a couple of weeks, and we've done a lot, I thought it was about time to add some photos.

Savannah finished the third grade sometime last week or the week before! YAY! Now on to a mix of 4th and 5th grade depending on the subject! (She's NOT counting down days for school to start again...) She just finished reading The Extraordinary Princess and is now in the middle of The Princess Academy. Both books she's hoping to discuss with others who have read them. She is a lot like her mom in that she seems to always have her nose in a book. She may be reading more than one book now... I'm not sure. If only she'd have the same enthusiasm for schoolwork......... (I think my parents may have said the same thing about me!)

Margaret has decided that it's o.k. to stop substituting the "T" sound or "D" sound for certain letters, and is thrilled that she can now pronounce "K" and "R" and "G" properly. (She came running downstairs and announced to me "BONK! I can say, BONK!" And then went back to bed. She's adding new words daily.

LeGrand thinks that we bought him a tractor, but that it's at the neighbor's house because he's not old enough to drive. We didn't. We borrowed the tractor, but he's still claiming it as his own.

Caroline is enjoying life and wandering everywhere she can as long as she doesn't let me out of her sight. Her preferred location is still where I am. Her favorite thing is her stuffed penguin, it's small enough that she's a lot larger than it.

Andrew just finished an amazing entertainment center and some bunkbeds and is now working on a bookshelf! (Pass the word if you know of people needing beds or any other special wood project!) He's right in the middle of baseball season and getting ready to start summer ball and the busy umpire schedule that will bring. He's been hit by the ball quite a bit this year - which has brought some impressive bruising and some nights of extreme soreness, but he still loves it - and I love that it gives him something else to do!

Me... I spent all last week cleaning. I cleaned the sun room (and changed out the picture frames too...) including wiping down all the walls and getting rid of the cobwebs and washing the windows. I cleaned the study. I cleaned the music room. I cleaned the kitchen. I cleaned the bathroom. I cleaned the living room. I cleaned the dining room. I cleaned my bedroom - including vacuuming under the bed. And then I cleaned them all again! I had my first piano recital - it was a marvelous display of talent from my students. I planted oregano. I planted thyme. I planted peppermint (in a container). I planted rosemary. I planted becopa. I planted lobelia. I planted something that I really don't know what is, but the flowers are beautiful. I planted strawberries. I went with the children and purchased tomato plants and other starts to plant in our garden. And I still haven't had this baby. I'm about ready to do jumping jacks. The upside to all of that is that my windows - some of which haven't been washed since we moved in (I know - gross... but I'm really sort of unintentionally anti-window washing) have all been washed. Some of them on the outside as well as on the inside. Amazing what a good washing will do for lighting in the house!

Our home school co-op even took a trip last week down to Albany, OR to see the makings of a new carousel. The animals are being hand carved and painted all by volunteers. It was awesome. LeGrand loved the guy carving stick horses. And all the other animals. I was fascinated by the skill and the beauty of each animal, and the stories behind them. Each animal is sponsored by a different family who got to choose what the animal would look like. The animals are hollow, so that the sponsor can put a little time capsule inside with information about why they chose the particular animal and why the animal has the name and clothing or design that it has. The base for the carousel is circa 1909 with some updating, and was donated by a man who's mother had it in her driveway. (Some people have an excess of vehicles, she had the base for a carousel. Bet she's glad to have the driveway space back now!) After the carousel museum, we all went out for ice-cream cones that were $1.10 each. Soft serve. HUGE. Well worth the money. And then we went home.

Andrew has tilled up space for our garden (hence the purchase of so many plants) and he and the children planted onions and peas last Saturday. We're still waiting for warmer weather to plant the remainder of our crop (which will include 37 tomato plants, a lot of pepper plants, cauliflower, beans, broccoli - just for you, Dad - squash, cucumbers, zucchini, corn and potatoes.) We're hoping to do that this coming Friday (which will be day two of warm weather this week...)