Dumpster Diving II

This is where we left off yesterday, if I remember correctly.

 

Phase I - The Floor

Quickly became a stage for littles.

Johnny doing some kind of happy dance,

while Matthew and Andrew work.

See how old these pictures are? (Marianna still had her glasses!)

Little more happy dance.

Taking a much-deserved break.

 

Phase II - The Walls

Dan keeps everyone busy.

I'll be back with more, as progress is made. 

 

The Ultimate in Dumpster Diving

At the end of the summer, a multi-stage project was started at our place.  Or, rather started across town from where Dan works.  I would have posted this awhile back but the photographer left for college and was a little slow in emailing pics.  Then I had a tiny bit of trouble figuring out how get them from email to this post.  Anyhoo...we're cooking now.  So here's the latest project of the week (or month, or season, or something like that)!

Large, funky, blue building (otherwise known as concession stand/
announcers' booth at the local baseball field).

Neat contraption used for ripping above building to shreds.

Dan and Joe K. getting into demolition mode.

The fruits of their labor.

 

Now you may be wondering what all of this lumber is going to be used for.  We thought the same thing, at the time.  Here's what it looked like out in the soccer field after they got it all home...

 

The next post will feature the rebuilding stage.  Tune in tomorrow, or next week or when I finally get around to it.

Inspired

The kids have been inspired by this book...

 

that I found through a library search for Johnny and Therese. They are doing some Native American studies this year.

As you can see they've really run with the theme...

Our wooded area is now dotted with these shelters.  They had to show them to Dan tonight and I think our master builder was pretty impressed.

 

 

 

 

Good News, Bad News

The good news... Marianna saw Dr. Polly (a retinal specialist) yesterday and was told her retinas haven't changed in the last year. Yeah!

Bad news....lost another pair of glasses yesterday.  That brings the total of missing pairs to four.  Two lost in the last week!!  Where are they going to?  I'm beginning to think the chickens are eating them. (They're eating everything else around here...including my ripe tomatoes, right off the vine.)

Gotta love that girl

 

 

 

 

Therese

 

has been

 



 

 

having a

 

 

really, really

 

 

good time

 



 

with my camera.



The REAL Back to School

After yesterday's post, I thought I'd better redeem myself before the school district comes knocking on our door.

 

See, they're all working very diligently.

 

 

 

Gabriel is thrilled to be "doing" kindergarten.

(Sheesh, where'd the time go?  Seems like he should still be a toddler!)

 

We've been studying bugs, lately.  Excuse me, that's "insects"

because we have learned that "bugs" are

a specific term for some insects.

 

Our budding entymologists managed to kidnap (or would that be bugnap?)

an unsuspecting grasshopper.

We later moved him from the glass jar to this

luxury native habitat...

 

 

so he could be observed.

We were rewarded with an up close view of molting.  Pretty cool!

(Couldn't have PLANNED that, if I'd tried!)

After which, Mr. Grasshopper was freed to live another day.

* Note: No critters were maimed in the creation of this post* 

 

Back to School

After only two days of our planned school schedule, we've already deteriorated to this....

 

Life is just so much better when you can sleep outside and cook your breakfast on an open fire.

So it wasn't my idea of a healthy start to the day.  You saw it in that first picture...marshmallows!!

 

They had marshmallows for breakfast.

 

And oreo cookies....with milk, of course (see, there's something healthy)

Come on !  You can't deny the happiness on that face.



Doing a little sugar-high dance.

 

We still managed to get some "real learning" in.  At least they all did their math... I think!

(photos courtesy of Johnny and Therese)