Brothers

Brothers always share some exciting times together, whether it is was eating out with Mom on a road trip at In and Out, wrestling for domination, or dressing up with crazy hair for Awana theme night.  Memories will continue to meld the bond we share.

Our Cats

Our two little kittens who wandered up into our backyard in the summer are now exploring new aspects of the world:  heights.  They figured out how to climb up on the roof and the pergola and look down on us while doing our school outside.  Yes, they needed some help getting down the first few times, but they will learn.  They have also become very fond of snuggling with the boys now that it is getting a little cooler outside.  Luke and Leia are fairly constant entertainment in our backyard.

October Highlights 2014

October was quite an adventure.  Soccer was in full swing and we found one of our boys to be quite the goal scorer.  Brett finished off a three day business trip to Atlanta for a research meeting.  Then there were many Giants victories celebrated, pumpkin patches played at, state capitols to visit, costumes to wear, church history to study, and anatomy to consume.  Check it out and eat a pomegranate to remember a great month.

September Anatomy Begins

This year our science focus is on anatomy and physiology.  So we began with the study of the cell and semi-permeable membranes.  We also studied cerebral spinal fluid and the brain.  Later we looked at the skeletal system and bones.  The fun will continue all year long.

We are ready to learn science!

Two yummy tasting cells with all the components inside.

A semipermeable membrane, will the baking soda become colored by the iodine?

Trying to come up with the best preservative for apples led to a variety of mixes including baking soda, epson salt, and table salt.

Rex shows us the rack of ribs, which we learned have muscles all over them and some marrow inside them.

Tonight we focused on the skeletal system.

Dessert was pretzels with marshmallow tips covered in melted white chocolate, looks like a bone.

What will happen to bone when exposed to a bath of water versus vinegar?

One of them cracked easily...I wonder which one.

The egg is this container survived me running around crazy when it was surrounded by water...kind of like CSF helps protects our brain from concussions.

September Brothers

The brothers worked on some good brotherly photos this month.  Of course there is the added motivation of displaying an entire lego setup together.  But some of these pictures were a preview of what may end up being on our Christmas card...yes we will send one out again this year.

Get crazy faces...some crazier than others.

While the 49ers were stinking up the first month of the season, we at least were productive in making a great Lego city setup.

Knights Ferry

We had heard it enough...you have lived in the area long enough and you haven't gone there?  So it was our turn to finally go to Knight's Ferry.  Of course we made it a historical lesson and learned about the time of the first ferry crossing being set up and how this correlated with the increase travelers heading up to the gold country.  Wouldn't want to forget the reason why the current covered bridge was built...a flood had knocked out the old one and the mills that had been established also.  Now we are even more thankful for the upstream damns.

A 330 foot covered bridge crosses the Stanislaus River.

I will read the sign for us!

We added some sports while we were there...badminton on the volleyball court and then whiffleball.

Garrett won the whiffleball game with a walkoff two-run double.

Sticks can easily be transformed into lightsabers with a little imagination.

Awana Begins

Awana often features special theme nights and this month featured a duck tape night, so all of our boys made different bandanas and had either eye black or special wallets created for the night.

September School

September school was the first full month of school this year.  The boys took to the white board to work on perfecting their drawings of the United States, our emphasis on geography this year.  Garrett has been in the Essentials program at Classical Conversations which is an afternoon class that focuses on writing, vocabulary, and math.  During the afternoon, Bryce and Griffin are in an art and PE class that was put together by Joy (she found the teachers).

Assignment:  draw the US and all the states.

Griffin gave a book report on Dinosaurs Before Dark and made a mural as well for his presentation.

Garrett gave a presentation on Apollo 14 and his mural...doesn't the guy in the middle (Alan Shepherd) look like Uncle Roger?  We had read a biography on the life of Alan Shepherd.

Garrett's Essentials class.  He is next to Caleb (orange shirt) who is as tall as the teacher, Mrs. Merzon.

Garrett giving a presentation on his creative writing assignment.

Root beer float celebration earned by accumulating rocks (class point system).

Art project at CC:  draw the Golden Gate Bridge.

Science project presentation on the layers of the skin.

Mom's class featuring Jack, Ty, Josh, Zach, Garrett, and Will (left to right).

Showing off the owl drawings from class.

Kittens

Our kittens, Luke and Leia, continue to become more and more adventurous in the exploration of our backyard and their world.  Climbing is the newest skill they have been working on.  How are you going to catch a bird if you can't climb a tree?  As long as they can get themselves back down, then we are fine with their continued exploration.

Luke  found a branch in the pomegranate tree to his liking.

Obligatory love hugs from the brothers.

September Highlights 2014

There may not be much to the overall events of the month of September.  We juggled three soccer teams with five practices and three games combined a week.  We spent a nice day away at Knight's Ferry as a family.  The boys continued the weekly rotation of dates with Dad, this time it involved a slurpee and some catch with a baseball.  Brett and Joy had two straight weeks of dates at Rivets where they ordered pretty much the same thing each time--good to get out and spend time together.