Another Great Week!

Last Monday we started our week off w/ a fun trip to walmart. Yip-cha. When we got home we continued to play Tattoo shop for a bit and had a good round of Barbies in the tub. We are actually scheduled to continue that game tonight. Fun. Tuesday we played school on the way home; math class w/ Daddy, Lionel, and Kelly students. When we got home we learned about nature outside by watching pretend videos narrated by MaryJane. That was cool. Next we played another game outside were we were superhero kids with Chinese accents. I was the father and brother, she was the sister. The brother ended up getting sent to time out for being mean to his sister. While in time out father and sister made bread out of various outside ingredients and honey. We cooked it w/ a lighter and it turned out good and yummy. One more outside game was a must. We were characters from our Magic Cards. I’ve told about this before. I am a Forest Ranger and she is some Dark Girl. This time were started out young, 5 or 6, and were just developing our powers/skills. We later grew to be 12 years old and had full powers/skills. We were supposed to go to a class to learn how to use our powers/skills, but decided to skip that and just go use our powers/skills. Wednesday started off the same w/ math class and again featured outside games, but different ones. Again I was the father and brother, she was the sister. The father was training the brother to be a Forest Ranger while the sister cooked. Again the brother, along w/ another brother (Lionel) mis-behave. They are sent to a behavioral class where they can’t seem to behave and where the sister is presented w/ a Ranger Staff. Our last game before heading in for the night was one where she was a handicap girl named Tina on her first day of school. Lionel and I were mean kids making fun of her, but she was comforted by her friend Kelly. We all went to a class on the porch where I was the teacher. I taught Hieroglyphics. She did great, Kelly copied what she did, and Lionel was so bad he was in the principal’s office a majority of the time. Wednesday was the last day of Treehouse. : ( ,but it was enjoyed. She finished her last Lapbook, and pretty much just had parties and played outside in the rest of her classes. She did a Nancy Drew Swap where her and another kid made something for each other. She did an awesome job of drawing a replica of the first Nancy Drew book for her wrapping paper and then wrapped the first book in it and I helped her w/ the neat pen. She got a cool little clock and a stylish pin for her backpack. We watched Monsters Inc. in my class. Me and my wonderful students.

After Treehouse we jetted and anxiously headed to the book store to get our new books. She got Judy Moody # 4 and I got DragonLance Lost Chronicles Volume 1. After Coffee, Milk, and browsing we went to Wendy’s to eat. We went not long ago and it was really good so we went back for more. They had Detective toys so of course we played a detective game in the restaurant. Kelly and Lionel wanted to be Detectives w/ us, but we said no…that we would only train Kelly to be a future detective. Lionel was bad, but MaryJane used her sleuth skills to catch him and Kelly showed us some of his skills, but they were not good. Got MaryJane a good amount of spring clothes and we got seeds and hoes to start our garden with. It was dark when we got home, but we worked in the garden anyways. Friday I went over to Jessica’s new place for the first time, hung out there for a bit, and then took the kiddos to eat. Sis ate her food and then danced in the restaurant. She’s a really good dancer. At home Sis drew a really nice diagram of garden. I will have to get a picture of it. The night went by quickly so we didn’t get much playing in. Saturday morning was spent playing around the house. MaryJane and I played a game where as usual she was a Pokemon Master and I was a newbie. She showed me and told me about a Pokemon Pass. Basically if you want to be able to do anything Pokemon related in the place you are at you have to swipe your pass before you enter that place. Then MaryJane, Christian and I headed off to Siloam to enjoy ourselves. First stop was the Casino. They had been there before, but not I. It was quite good. I’d like to go sometime when I could venture the area more and give them some of my money. Haha. Then we visited There Great Grandma and Grandpa; Jean and Ira. They had not seen Christian in some time so I was pleased he could be w/ us. We chatted, played ball in the back yard and admired the beautiful quilt she is putting togerther for MaryJane. Upon returning home we enjoyed playing outside. It was wet and it was fun. I recalled something from when I was a kid so took action. Its where you stand under a leafy branch and have someone shake it to make it rain on you. They loved it. After C went to sleep early Sis and I played Doctor. She was the Doctor and Kelly wanted to be one to, but could not. Sunday morning we meet up w/ there grandma and grandpa; Bill and Gina, at Fellowship. Since they had not seen Master C in a while we got there a little early. After visiting MaryJane and I took him to Sunday School where the little “Calico Kitten” had a great time. After Church and and Lunch C was more than ready foir his siesta. He slept for 3 hours…and MaryJane and I played 3 hours. WE played pretend in the living room, superhero figures in the bedroom, and she colored a pretty rainbow. I dropped them off with their Mommy before heading to community group. Another great week completed.

Girls and Trees!

We kicked off last week w/ a trip to Turtle Creek Park in Rogers. Been there once before and had a good time. We played, she read Judy Moody under the tree, and she wrote in her new secret journal. We had dinner outside on the back deck when we got home and then proceeded to spend more time outside. We played a game where she was a gurl who worked at a do-jo after hours. Kelly and Lionel found her and the story elaborated from there. We then spent some time breaking sticks in Karate Fashion. Hi-yah. A fun night out doors. Tuesday we went for a good walk, picking flowers and petting this huge dog we know. Christian really thought that was a good deal. Played a board game w/ Sis while Christian had fun playing w/ the pretend food. We did our best to break the bed too. Hehe. The newest idea surfaced that night. They lay horizontal together at the end of the bed, Christian being closer to me. I then lift the mattress quickly sending them rolling, w/ C rolling over Sis. They loved it. Needless to say we got a good work out. Wednesday was another trip to the park. This time Attalanta Park which is just down the road from us. Sis, C, and I spent some time on the playground equipment, but the real fun came w/ the water. There is a good, shallow stream that runs beside the park w/ a little waterfall. They enjoyed wading and throwing rocks. They got wet, but not wet enough. When we got home the neighbor had his sprinkler going. They stood, as they have before, as close to his yard as possible in hopes of getting sprayed by the sprinkler. Sis came thru the door as I was making dinner, drenched, saying the guy had let them come into his yard, then she was back out and back in his yard w/ Christian. Now they were good and wet. : ) After a quick change of clothes we gathered around the computer and watched “UP”. Found this great website where you can watch just about any movie you want for free. Its swell. So Thursday was an adventure. Bout the time I was getting to work I got a call from Jess saying she had to take someone to the hospital; not good, but I got to see the kiddos again; real good. We went to Treehouse and played on the playground until class started. Then C and I split. We came to my work, rode the elevator numerous times, and got some money. It took a while to get my check and he was so good the whole time so I took him to Donald’s for eatz and playtime. We crawled thru the tubes having fun and asking each other which way we should go next. Did you know they have 9 sauces for nuggets, even chipotle BBQ and buffalo? Who knew. We grabbed a Happy Meal to go for Sis and venture over to Treehouse. Sis was doing great. She started a lap book about camping and finished the alphabet in A-Z Animals. After eating and playing until her next class started C and I hit the road. We ran a few errands and then hit K-Mart to goof off in the toy isles for a bit. He enjoyed pushing the buttons on all the vehicles pretty much the entire time. I then dropped him off with his daddy and was off to teach at Tree house. We had a great class as always. Played the classic game of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground”, made Adventure Journals, and hunted for balloons outside. She made a couple cute paper plate animals in her art class and something gross in cooking. We got out of there quick this week and headed down the road for B&N. She read Judy Moody and I drooled over 2 DragonLance books. We are going back this week to get a book each. Yea. We had a delicious dinner at Golden Coral next. Just can t beat all you can eat delicious steak. We played w/ Gummy Bears as we usually do there. She made a battle arena in one dish and another bowl full of accessories so that we could make our bears into Pokémon and they could battle. It was so funny and fun. She scored a big yellow kitty from the machine on the way out and named her Daniela. She looks much like an LPS, which is a good thing. She is also royalty and made Lionel her maid. I am his back-up cause he really isn’t that good at it. Before heading home we played a round of mini-golf in Fayetteville. She beat me. : ( Hehe. She attended her Art Class again on Friday. She did a couple masterpieces I have yet to lay my eyes on. I know they are spectacular already. After work was a trip to Subway for a healthy dinner. We always fill out comment cards. This one got 3 out of 5. It was freezing in thurr. Burrr. Hehe. On the way home she pretended to be different Pokémon and I was a trainer that didn’t have much luck communicating or catching the Pokémon. When we got home the game continued in the front yard until I turned in Wubuff Man; a superhero w/ a Pokémon’s names. I saving numerous people we headed inside and called it a night. Saturday we stayed home after being out so much during the week. I like doing things, but a good day at the house is just awesome. We played 3 great games w/ Pokémon cards and made a trade, played school where she taught me from an English book, plus did and taught Lionel exercises on the bed. We wrestled for a minute and then while she was laying there I made her attack me. I just rolled her on top of me and made her do moves while she lay limp. She loved this and we did it upon request 2 more times that afternoon. During and after lunch she made me 3 nice gifts, we read Judy Moody on the bed (her book #3, me book #1), and I carried her on my shoulders while she dusted. The biggest game w/ us playing Fashion Designer. She was a gurl who worked at the studio and I was a teacher that took my children, Kelly and Lionel of course, on a field trip there. Lionel didn’t like it, but Kelly was crazy about it. After leaving Kelly kept sneaking back into the studio to observe the designing. It was a lot of fun. We got some school done and also watched the newest Barbie movie on-line. A very fun day at the hacienda. Sunday morning we played Tattoo shop before we headed off to Church. No Grandma Gina and Poppy today, they were preparing for the family picnic we were going to afterwards at Lake Wedington. On the way there she finished her 3rd Judy Moody book. She is loving that series and cannot wait to read #4. We had a good time at the picnic. They have a tire swing that she loved and played on when we first got there and later w/ Haley when she arrived. We went down to the water for a bit, visited w/ great company, and ate delicious food from the grill. She even got to do smores. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Daddy had community group to lead. We will be back there again this summer I’m sure of it.

Spring has Sprung!

So Last week Master C was with us For the first half of the week. Monday when we got home I gave them rides up and down the hill, which they love. Sis used the ZuZu pets as the keys (yes…I make car sounds). Hehe. Sis helped make dinner and plated the food. We played in the back yard for about an hour I think. Sis had a restaurant where she served up natural dishes that were outstanding. She was Nanny Mcphee and very serious about her restaurant. Christian was my wild child that ran rampant and threw things in the restaurant. We then went for a short walk before it got dark. She was again Nanny Mcphee and Kelly, Lionel, and Christian were bad kids. She would freeze and move Kelly and Lionel around w/ her stick, but for some reason the magic had no affect on Christian. Hehe. Sis and I played Copy Cat on the way back. I ran their dirty little bodies thru the tub, they had a snack along w/ the ZuZu pets while finishing up Bee Movie, and it was off to bed. Sis peeled me a carrot for snack time. I declared that she is now officially in charge of dinner and snacks at our house cause she serves up super yummy food. : d Kelly and Lionel took a field trip to Harimuka on the way home Tuesday night. MaryJane whipped up some more goodies again when we got home. She was MeMe this time and she served real food. She made me a yummy banana and cherry smoothie and a veggie and fruit salad. Yummy. We watched part of Wall-E before taking a break to go for a walk. MaryJane rode the skate board down the road and did impressively well. C rode it all the way back….except he was on his belly w/ me pushing him. Hehe. We finished our movie before bed. I like that movie more every time I see it. Wednesday we went to Memorial Park in Bentonville. It a very interesting park. It has a slide w/ no sides, spider webbing, and plenty of other things you won’t find at your typical park. We had a real good time. Monday and Tuesday we had not jumped on the bed and I knew C was missing that so we cranked up the radio and did our thang. Before bed Sis grabbed a bunch of change and they competed to see who could grab the most money (I even dumped money on there heads which they seemed to enjoy). and she taught some from an old homeschool book. A cool, fun 3 nights the gurl and the dude. : ) Thursday was Treehouse. She finished another lapbook (baseball), is nearing the end of the alphabet in A-Z Animal Science, made some sort of chocolate whip cream in Cooking, and my class sent great. We did Wall-E. We played basketball w/ trash and made boots which we planted flowers in (recall the plant in the boot from the movie).

After Treehouse we went to McDonalds to eat and pay. We always go to one of the two w/ a play place. She had a restaurant in the baby part of the play place that had a drive thru from which i ordered and we played this game we do where i have to guess which slide she going to go down by going to it and then seeing id she comes out of the one where i am at. Before i took her to her mothers we went to the Bentonville library where she got books and we spent some time in one of the private reading rooms making animals in books say funny things. We love doing this and always laugh so much. Friday night we went to CeCe's Pizza for dinner. Yummy food, nice people, games, and prizes make this place a hit w. us. When we got home i had to mow. She worked in the garden, helped me mow, and placed a ton of dandelion seed in one spot of the front yard so a bunch of sunflowers will grow there. Before bed i took Margaret and Charlotte to the doctor/hospital. Charlotte was good and got a treat while Margaret was bad and got shots. hehe. Saturday a lot of fun. We started our day of by playing Polly Pocket for over 2 hours. We could have played longer, but had to get ready for our trip to town. In the car we played a game we do where we make Pokemon cards talk and do things and she spent time reading Judy Moody, a new book series she is loving. We went to a book swap at the mall. She traded in close to a dozen books for i think 9 or so really good, nice books. It was better than i could have imagined. Next was Wilson Park in Fayetteville. Havent been there in ages. We had a short little picnic when we got there and then headed for the castle.

While there we discovered a lot of clues. We pieced clues together and came away knowing we needed to find out more about a jewel bird. We also found a secret code, E S 6 6, that we needed to figure out what meant. We then headed over to the play ground area where we ran into Haden and Haley. MaryJane and Haley had fun playing together. We did her Math, Reading, and Science when we got home. She id doing great in all 3 subjects. We watched some of the last Beethoven movie and then went outside. We did some gardening as Vikings and played this game we do where we set up we set up shops out side. She sells good items and i sell junky items. I went to her shop and stuffed animals went to our shops. None of them wanted anything to do w. my junk, but they all enjoyed buying nice things from MaryJane s shop. Sunday morning we meet up w/ Grandma Gina and Poppy for Church. I think we are going to start going w/ them every week which is awesome. Sunday afternoon was packed w/ games. We played like a million different things. A few mentions are more detective work. We figured out more about the clues. We uncoded the secret code and got "rose" so we know now it is a red jewel bird. We also played Scooby Doo and caught the bandit puppy who stole the clementines. We colored too. She did a fabulous job on this Groovy Girls picture and i did a Peanuts page. Another awesome week.

This is a card she made for me the Friday prior to last week in the art class she is taking at The Jones Center.  What a sweetheart.

A cool coloring page she did Thursday night in the car....

...and the cool back.

A cute kitty cup she made and drank from.

Happy Easter!

We started of our week w/ a trip to the library. We have recently become frequenters of the Bentonville Library. While the selection is not as vast as the Springdale Library it is very nice and very close. We enjoy our visits there browsing, reading to each other, and Sis has even helped shelve books. Kelly and Lionel visited the doctor and dentist on the way home and we finished up the 5th, but not final Beethoven movie that night. Sis says its her favorite and I have to say it is really good. There is one called Beethoven’s Big Break that we will have to check out next that is not in her collection. We hit McDonalds for a bite Tuesday night. She made a friend as she usually does. They played and Lionel chased them a bit. We went for a walk later to pick up trash around the neighborhood. It was relatively already clean this trip. We ended up down in the back yard of Jessica’s old house. There are some chains that a board used to lay across that made a swing, but the board was gone so she just held on to a chain and I pushed her that way. I told her there was some wood in the shed behind the house that we could use to make a new seat. She said the one before was painted black; that she was going to paint this one. So when we got home I drug out a good board; a 1 x 8 I guess is what it is. I set up some benches and she cut herself a swing seat. She is a really good at sawing. She then laid it on the porch and painted away. She finished the top of the seat that night and it looks so cool. She painted a picture of Toothless, the main dragon from the new How to Train your Dragon movie. She only lacks about a quarter of the back to go before she’s done. I’ll have pictures of her, her swing seat, and likely some swinging this week. Wednesday Christian came to stay w/ us. With the warm weather I thought I would take them down to the boat drops. This is a good size almost island like area made of dirt and rock. Master C and I spent time chunking rocks into the water and MaryJane and I played a game where she was an Orphan Indian. Can’t wait for the water to be warm enough to swim. We later jumped on the bed. Thursday was Treehouse. Wow…so lots to say here I guess. Last week was one of the final four sessions. MaryJane is loving it as always. She is taking 6 classes. Poetry in your lap (she makes elaborate lap books based on things like pirates, butterflies, baseball, etc.), A-Z Animal Science, The Nancy Drew Book Club (She likes Nancy Drew a lot. Each week they talk about and do things related to one of the books), Art Exploration, Cooking, and Pixar Playtime. If you didn’t know (which you probably don’t) I am teaching her last class there this semester. Each week we talk about one of the wonderful Disney Pixar movies and play games and do activities related to the movie. I have MaryJane, her BFF Eliana, and 4 other children in my class. It’s a real joy to teach and the kids really enjoy themselves. We are doing Wall-E Thursday. So after Treehouse I always take her to do something and last time we went to see How to Train your Dragon; the latest movie from DreamWorks. We went to McDonalds first. They have Dragon toys. Her new Dragon challenged Lionel to races and jumps around the restaurant. There was basically no one there so we ran circles around that place. It was much fun. I’ll get a preview here… I have had a love for Dragons for a long time now so I was equally excited about seeing this one. It was a very good movie. It had an awesome story. It was a great week. Check back tomorrow for details on the great weekend.  I picked up MaryJane Saturday morning. A couple things I found out. 1. that she had learned how to write in viking language and 2. that it was Kelly’s sisters birthday We then headed to Home Depot to build. She made a Butterfly house. She was really on her hammering game I tell ya. We then grabbed a bite to eat and then it was to Wal-Mart to get a few things, including cupcakes for Kelly’s sister Tina’s birthday. When we got home Tina (middle) and their mother Blue Kelly (right) came out.

MaryJane wrapped a snow white video (Tina’s fav movie), I made a card written in viking language (becasue she can onlyu read viking), and Kelly had a SpongeBob card for her (also in viking language). After cards and gift we sang and had cupcakes. Tina had a very nice Birthday.

We had a lot of fun coloring eggs. We colored 24 eggs. With 12 colors to choose from, a wax pencil, stickers, and 5 coloring swabs some very nice eggs were produced.

We played a game where MaryJane was another girl named Tina and I was a boy named Jack. We were viking children that had lots of work to do. Kelly and Lionel wanted to be Vikings too, but were to busy playing hot wheels. Hehe. We also practiced karate Saturday. She is a karate master; ouch. Hehe. MaryJane wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny and placed it along w/ two carrots and an eggs on a plate for the Easter Bunny before bed. Sunday morning we awoke to find an Easter basket filled w/ goodies. Here she is w/ her Reeses Bear.

We then got ready for Church and headed out to meet up w/ Grandma Gina and Poppy at Fellowshiop for the 8am Easter Service. It was very nice. Bill invited us to come to there house for Breakfast and to visit so I accepted of course. MaryJane made scrabbled eggs and Gina made pancakes and bacon.

It was super yummy. MaryJane and her grandma spren some time outside picking flowers afterwards while Bill and I cleaned up and visited. Gina asked MaryJane and I to sign her wooden table w/ a wood burner. Here is a picture of the great job MaryJane did.

Later Jessica's sister Lisa came over with MaryJanes cousind Haden and Haley. MaryJane and Haley had fun palying outside and in the basement. They are great friends. We all had a wonderful time together. Next it was off to Nana and Grandpas. On the wasy MaryJane taught Kelly and Lionel how to do some Karate moves. She got a basket from her Great Grandma and Grandpa when we first got there, shortly after we had a delicious lunch, and then it was time to hunt eggs. Nana had stuiffed a ton off plastic eggs w/ candy and money. Trenda hid them all and then MaryJane and her cousin Brena hunted. They both had much fun and made a haul.

MaryJane hunted real eggs once and hid them for Brena a few times. Dad, Cody, and I played a few games of washers. MaryJane was my cheerleader which i just love. MaryJane and i spent some time outside playing on some wood boards and practiced more karate. Did i mention shes a karate master. hehe. It was a very nice Eater afternoon. We got home in time for her to hide our eggs around the house for me to hunt before bed. What a great Easter 2010.