handsful

Abbey and Marley decided to introduce Lainey to the fine art of dress-up today.  I was very surprised when they came downstairs, to see Lainey actually keeping the tiara on…she usually rips anything off her head about a nanosecond after you put it there.  Incidently, that tiara has some major history.  I wore it when I was 9 and Ball Queen for a local little league team.  Ah, the memories…

the gals all glammed up…Abbey looks ready for the prom, while Marley looks ready for the saloon. 

Thanks, Miss Anne, for the great “dress”!  You can’t tell in the picture that it almost hits the floor, but she loved it.  She’ll be growing into this tee shirt for a while! 

About 4 months ago, friends of ours approached Randy with the idea of making a homeschool project out of their 45 year old go cart.  We have several friends with boys our age, and they’re all best buds…and, Joy was anxious to see her childhood go cart run again.  Randy has a good knowledge of making broken things work again (he’s a very hands-on kind ‘a guy, can fix just about anything you give him…yes, ladies, you can be jealous).  So, it all just fell into place…the boys and Randy met up at Dirk and Joy’s house just about every Saturday this summer to work on it.  Randy taught them about engines and how they work.  They took it apart, sanded, primed, painted, repaired the fiberglass, etc.  In Randy’s words, they did a “frame off restoration”.  Sounds like auto shop language to me. :) 

They took the engine almost completely apart, replaced the broken parts, and put it all back together.  They had to get a little assistance and one extra part from an outside source, but the bulk of the work was done by the guys. 

This past Saturday, our boys and two of their friends got together to take it for a spin.  All that work sure paid off. 

Unfortunately, the day had an abrupt ending.  Ethan was driving it, and the steering locked up.  He hit a fence.  He’s fine, but the go cart body didn’t handle it as well.  Randy said it can be repaired, so no worries.

I guess go cart class isn’t quite over yet. 

 

Major congrats go out to our Payton for completing his speech therapy today!  He graduated, performing at 100% on all “r” sounds in all positions and levels.  Way to go!!  He was so excited and we’re very proud of him.  Mom is happy that this is one less place we have to visit each week ;) 

About a week or so ago, a gentleman from our local paper, The Creekline, came out to do a story on us and our adoption of Lainey.  It showed up in today’s edition and we’re on the front page. :)  You can see and read it digitally, on their site, by clicking on the photo of the front page on the right side of the screen.  http://www.thecreekline.com/index.php  There are a few typos (Bengbu, not Bengu), but overall he did a great job.  It’s a bonus that we’re all looking at the camera and no one is closing their eyes!

 

Yesterday was quite the day.  By chance, we ended up with a jam packed schedule…thankfully, there was enough time in between to make it to the next thing on time :) 

First, we headed to the Diamond Dude Ranch, for a field trip with our homeschool group.  Nature trail, hay ride, feeding and petting animals, pony rides, etc…loads of fun.  I took pictures…surprise, eh?

Abbey enjoys the hay ride

Stop off at the animal pens for feeding time…Marley (and Payton on the left) feed the sheep!

Lainey tried, but got a little scared and dropped the food.

Pony rides were next…Payton, are you having fun?? 

Lainey rode Duckie, the miniature horse…she didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either! 

Nothing like a lazy day on a farm…

The girls meet Miracle, another miniature horse on the farm

EJ and Lainey make friends with Bruno, the brahma bull

Abbey caught this shot…love it! 

After the ranch, a friend took Abbey to her 2pm pottery class while I drove the other kids home.  Put Lainey down for a nap, and about 30 minutes later, it was 3:30…time to pick Abbey and her friend back up.  (Randy was home, so Lainey could snooze away)  Dropped Hannah off at her house, drove home, and then ran around trying to get ready for Abbey’s softball game (i.e. pull together the uniform, softball bag, water jug, food for the other kids, etc.).  A few blinks later, I was driving again…Marley had gymnastics at 6pm.  Dropped her off, took Lainey to the consignment store, then picked M back up.  Stopped by Wendy’s for the girl’s dinner, and headed to Abbey’s game that started at 7:30.  Abbey did really well for her very first time in a softball game…she fouled the ball off once, and ended up scoring a run on a dropped 3rd strike.  She played center field and stopped everything that came her way.  We’re proud of her for trying this brand new sport.

Taken at home, before the game.  Ain’t she cute?

First time up to bat!

She’s got her game face on :)

Yesterday was fun…really.  I’m glad they aren’t ALL that busy, though.  It should settle down somewhere around the end of November, when softball and baseball season are done.  And, we all know how relaxing the month of December is.  ;) 

Carole is a cyber friend of mine in my Ladybug Believers group.  She returned from Ethiopia about 5 weeks ago with 2 precious boys, Paul (5) and Samuel (3).  Samuel was in a bad accident and has sustained very serious injuries.  Please join me in praying for this sweet boy.  Her blog is listed on the sidebar “Carole – Paul and Samuel”.  They also have a Caring Bridge site sponsored by the hospital, with the most current information on his condition. 

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samuelphillipson 

Thank you…

The Red Sox played their 4th game today, and they’re 3-1 so far.  Ethan has been on a streak lately, getting hits, walks, scoring runs…He struggled last year, so to see him really begin to shine this year is just plain fun.  Way to go, EJ! 

Okay, enough about the youngest boy in the family.  How about the little one who turned 27 months old today? 

As you can see, she was getting a little impatient for her turn. 

She wanted to show how much she’s learning from her gymnastics-pro sister, Marley.  Looks like she has some work to do on her over/under?

Music is also Lainey’s thing…here she demonstrates how the babies on the bus say “wahh, wahh, wahh”

All that talent can wear a girl out…snuggle time with mama is in order!

 

See our budding guitarist, EJ, jamming with his guitar class today.  We belong to a homeschool co-op group called Christ Church Homeschoolers and we have classes every Friday morning.  There is a full assembly between B and C block classes, where all the kids get together.  Today, EJ’s guitar class played “Every Move I Make”.  EJ is LOVING his class, and loved being on stage.  He’s also taking piano once a week here at home, so it’s a very musical year for him. 

A shot of the audience…Abbey is in this pic, right side, blue shirt, facing the camera. 

Lainey is the youngest child in the 2’s and 3’s class, where I help teach for B block.  Here she is enjoying her favorite part of the day…snack.