No Pictures

No pictures, nothing new to report. Really, what is ever new in January? It's cold. It's snowing. It's icing over. The boys are trying their best not to do their school. They are fighting. I'm cold. See? Nothing new LOL. I hope February gets better.

Some More Christmas Pictures

The boys all got pajamas and bathrobes from MIL, which they all love. My personal favorite was the set she got for Jacob:



LOVE those polar bears! lol



Here is Troyer in a pair of flannel sleep pants that his aunt sent him:



They are Hong Kong Phooey pants! We laughed over those.



Here is a shot of Levi doing a ninja pose for me. Whenever the camera comes out, he starts posing. Not that he's ever had karate lessons or anything. Too much TMNT probably LOL





Here's another pic I got of all the boys together. I don't like the lighting, and I should have tried to be a bit taller for it. I was sitting in a chair when I took it. But still, it's a record of the moment lol.





One more of Jacob, just because I love the jammies so much!

Ice

They were calling for an ice storm yesterday. It was supposed to start yesterday afternoon. Evening activities were all cancelled. We got a drizzle. Not frozen, just rain. Bah, another warning for nothing. The power blinked a few times, so I figured it must be icy up in the hills where people aren't being careful driving. No big deal. We watched tv, surfed the net, went to bed.

This morning I was woken by the sound of my 4 yo coming to tell me the night light wasn't working. Sigh, such big news that it was worth waking me up for, huh? But when I went to see what time it was, I realized why the light wasn't working. The power was out. Ugh! The boys were freaking out, because they like to get excited about everything, lol, but I figured we'd have lights again within a half hour. Then I looked out the window. Oooohhhh, that's why the power is out! Overnight the rain DID freeze, lol. How pretty! But then again, a PITA! No lights, yes, but also no heat, and no water. Ugh. And for how long, since the electric company will have a tough time fixing things while they are all still frozen. We snuggled on the couch and read books, and some of the boys got out a board game. In the end the power was only out for about 3 1/2 hours, and it didn't really get much colder in the house. If the power had been out overnight that would have been worse, because we have our thermostats set to turn back at night. Luckily it was already up to 61 inside when the heat went off. In 3 hours, it only went down to 60! Nice to have a house with 8" thick walls!



I ran out to get some pictures of the ice covered trees, but it was COLD! The thermometer said 33, but it felt more like 3. Something about that breeze blowing through the icy branches right at me LOL.

Happy New Year!

Overall, 2008 was a pretty good year for us. We moved to our new (and hopefully final!) house, which we all love, and so far we have weathered the economic uncertainty pretty well. We are all healthy, and so are our families. The biggest blessing of 2008 was that my brother-in-law had a bone marrow transplant in July for Hodgkins' and he has come through wonderfully. Last spring things were looking pretty grim, so we are all soooo thankful that he made it through!

I have a few catch up pictures for you, and of course there are more still on my camera from Christmas Day. I got some new photo editing software for Christmas but I haven't played with it yet. I want to try it out on the pictures I have in the camera still.

Here is a shot of the boys piled on the couch watching tv. That's pretty much the year-end photo, as I never did get them all set in front of the tree. Troyer and Samuel did get haircuts the day before Christmas, btw LOL.



Here I experimented with the black and white feature on my camera. I was just playing around so I don't have all the boys in the picture.



Our tree doesn't look as good as it did at the beginning of December. The kitten has been playing with the lower branches (that would be Flame, the younger kitten, not Tigger) and the boys have been moving things and knocking things off. Plus one line of lights midway up have gone out, and I haven't figured out why. Since it is a pre-lit tree, I will have to wait until we take all the ornaments down to be able to check it out competely. All I know is that it is plugged in, and the rest of the lights on that cord work fine.

On the 17th I took the 3 oldest boys down to my sister's to attend her church's production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, which is a "children's opera" about the 3 Wise Men's trip to see the baby Jesus. The set and costumes were great, the singing was impressive for a group of volunteers from a church (this was opera, not just Christmas hymns!) and the best part was that my sister and niece played in the orchestra that accompanied the singers.



We did some marathon baking the last week before Christmas. The first day I let the boys help, which meant it took 3 times longer than usual, and I was sooo tired but not even half way through! I ended up doing the next round by myself and it went much better LOL. I am still not done, as we haven't done the sugar cookies with sprinkles yet. I meant to take some tins of cookies to the neighbors with a card, and it hasn't happened yet. I guess it'll be tins of New Year's cookies now LOL. I DO intend to get them delivered yet!



Last night, New Year's Eve, Troyer and Samuel stayed up with us to bring in the new year. Chris and Samuel went to bed right away, but Troyer stayed up with me for a little while and we watched Dick Clark. I know he does that show for nostalgia's sake, but it was very hard to understand him. I think as a whole it was good as background noise but not so much for watching as entertainment. I am too old to even know most of the musical acts on the show LOL. At least I know who Ryan Seacrest is ;-P

Troyer drew this last night. It is part of a series he has done since 2005:



Happy New Year!

Some Pictures

Not in order, because I didn't edit any pics from Thanksgiving yet, but here are some shots of our tree, and of the boys making their gingerbread houses last week:

Our tree


The ornaments have been rearranged several times already. The boys like to play under it, and some fall, and then Jacob just likes to touch them LOL. All the "good" ones are up high out of his reach. Can you see what is under the tree?




We made gingerbread houses on Monday. That means we opened kits and assembled and decorated, LOL. There are 2 houses and a tree. I wanted the tree kit last year but they sold out and we didn't get it. It looked intimidating because it involved actually mixing the icing and using pastry bags, but in the end it came out great.







The final products:







Wait, did you get a good look at that last one? Did you see the level of artistry? Did you see...

Santa smashed on the roof?


The hyptnotizing snowman in the front yard, or the vampire on the roof?


Do I get points for letting them do just what they wanted on this house? I hope so, because it was hard! I like Micah and Caleb's better LOL.

Many Pictures, All Still in the Camera

You wouldn't know it from my blog, but it is almost winter here! It is NOT almost 70 anymore, LOL. I have a few pictures from Thanksgiving (not as many as I would have liked); Jacob got a haircut; we put up the tree; and various around-the-house shots. We had some snow, too, but I didn't get pictures of that. Now it's time to do Christmas pictures. I hope to get some pictures posted soon, if only to get them off my to-do list! I did get Christmas cards out last week, without pictures of the boys. If anyone REALLY wants a picture, please let me know, and I'll send out a second card once the picture is done. Still on the list: Christmas cookies, and haircuts for the rest of the boys....

One More

Another leaf jumping video, this one Photobucket again. I think Photobucket distorted the video the least.

More Leaves!

I'm having fun with the videos. I think the photobucket upload came out the clearest. What do you think?

This one is another upload to Blogger:


Hmm now I have to learn how to edit the videos so I can cut out the end LOL It would have been better if I could cut off the part when Noah leaves for the bathroom!

more videos

and here I try Blogger's video hosting, to see how they compare:

My First Ever YouTube Video

Here is the first of several videos I took of the boys raking and jumping in the leaves. I'd have more, and picked the best ones, but even with DSL it took soooo long to upload! Also, the quality isn't as nice as it was on my computer.

Here is Jacob helping with the raking. You can hear Caleb talking in the background.


Here is a video I uploaded to Photobucket, to compare uploading times and picture quality. It is a short one of Levi jumping into the pile of leaves.

They're Baaaack!

According to the website Muppet Central , Disney is making a push to bring Muppets back into popularity. Part of their strategy is to release a bunch of videos on YouTube. Some of them are hilarious. Here is one of my favorites:



My kids Looooove the Muppets, as properly taught by their Muppet-loving parents :-)
I hope if we are going to be seeing some new material, that it is as creative and funny as they were at the start.

They've also filmed a new Christmas special this summer, to air some time in December. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for air time; it will be on NBC.

Autumn

These are the days that make Fall a favorite season. As opposed to the cold grey rainy days LOL

Indian Summer

Today it was almost 70 outside. In November. Woohoo! The boys took full advantage. Some went bike riding, so went tree climbing. This afternoon they started raking. We have too much yard and too few trees to really care about the leaves. They will blow across the street into the cow pasture eventually. But they make great piles for jumping!

In the back yard:


Jacob helps out:


Levi jumps in!


I love this one of Troyer and Noah; Noah is just about to jump in and ruin Troyer's pile LOL:

Happy Halloween!

Finally got the pumpkins carved this afternoon!



The younger boys' design:


Troyer designed this one:


We don't dress up or go out; and out here in the country I doubt anyone will be coming to the door. I went out and picked up some candy for the boys to share at home, and the pumpkins are really just for their fun.







Happy Halloween!

Definitely My Favorite Political Video So Far This Fall

Rats, the video was removed. It was hilarious. Aha! Found it again on YouTube!

Celebrity Sighting at WalMart

Look who we saw at WalMart a few weeks ago:



There was a contest to guess how many Lego pieces it took to build this model of Jango Fett. When I saw it, I knew I had to come back with my camera and a few boys!



The next time I was at that WalMart, I brought Noah and Levi with me. The model was still there, but they had already run out of entry forms for the contest.



Unfortunately by the time I came back again with Troyer the model was gone. There hasn't been any notice about who won or how many pieces there actually were in the model. I assume the model has travelled to another store. I thought a good prize would have been to win the model!

October is Fire Safety Month

One of the requirements we have to meet for homeschooling is to include a lesson on fire safety each year. Since October is Fire Safety Month, many homeschool groups arrange tours of fire departments. Our local school invited us to come along on their tour this year. I found it very interesting, and the boys loved the trucks and the gear! It's a fun way to take care of that requirement. When we got home, I printed off some safety coloring pages and puzzles.

In the truck bay:


The ambulances:


In the ambulance:


Learning about the different kinds of trucks:


Climbing into the engine:


The best part was when the fireman put all his gear on. He wanted to show the kids what a fireman looked like when he went into a burning house, so that if one of them should ever be trapped inside, they wouldn't be afraid when they saw him, and would let him rescue them. I thought it was a good idea; I'd never thought about it but a small child could be very frightened by a fully suited fireman, especially when already scared from being trapped. I guess a lot of kids try to hide because they are afraid. The kids liked when he turned his mask on and talked through it.




This is one of the better tours we have taken. There is a firehouse museum, but it was closed when we were there. I would have enjoyed seeing the antique equipment, and some history of the department.

Pathfinder and Adventurer Induction

Last Saturday afternoon, the Pathfinders and Adventurers held their induction ceremonies. This is where the new members are welcomed in, and returning members pledge to another year in the club. Mostly it is for parents and new members to know what the club is about. They sing the club song, recite the Pledge and the Law, and then do a candle lighting to represent the new members joining the club. It was fun to see everyone in uniform again. :-)

Micah and Caleb up on stage after lighting their candles:


Samuel lighting his candle:


Noah has been a member for 2 years already, so he got to do one of the readings:


And here are all 4 outside afterwards. Don't they look sharp?