Attention to Detail!

Saturday (5/22/10) - So here it is Saturday and I’m blogging about Saturday. ; ) We started our day w/ Nature Class. We walked down Rainbow Drive. I was the teacher and a student and MaryJane and Lionel were students. She made a nice list with her new multi color pen, I drew pictures, and Lionel wrote down two things kept picking things that were not nature. 2 W+'s and 1 A+. Then it was Barbie’s. It was a story we have done before with a family of 4; Mom, Dad, Daughter, and Son, and a Sitter. The little boy is bad and wont clean his room aside from throwing away a piece of trash or two, so he has to stay home w/ the sitter while that rest of the family goes to Disneyland. This time the daughter grew up later, got a boyfriend, and went to college. She became a Vet and Doc and the boy became a Firefighter and Policeman. The girl ended up keeping her fist animal patient, a LPS puppy that later grew up and had a puppy that she gave to Cinderella. They end up rescuing a ton of animals and finding homes for them. We paused at 9 during Barbie’s for me to go mow. She played Peggle, her newest favorite Pop Cap game. She is really good and is close to beating it already. She is a Peggle Superstar. After lunch we headed outside where we spent a lot of our afternoon. We played where I was the father, Lionel was the bad son and she was the good girl. We then played a game where she was a good Pokémon. I was her owner that wanted to make her be bad and Lionel was in video she watched about being bad. Next we attempted to do water ballons but they wouldn’t bust so we just sprayed each other with the hose and had a lot of good wet fun doing it. We later used the water balloons in a game where she was a vet. We made her a clinic in front of the storage shed and a bunch of animals from our yard sale were treated there. I would deliver water balloons full of medicine and other supplies as the UPS man to her and she would use the medicine on the animals. She did surgeries, removed bad cotton and beads from animals, putting medicine in and on them, putting good beads in them, and she gave one of them stitches and some band aids. I was also the father of Lionel who acted bad and tried numerous times to get into the clinic so he could get yucky medicine and chocolate: things she didn’t even have. We then did school. She learned about the Hebrews going from Egypt to Israel in History and about Matter in Science. After dinner we headed back out for another round of Vet and Lionel feel in love w/ one of the patients, but she wouldn’t have anything to do w/ him. We also had a battle, her using strong Magic 101 moves and me using weak sword moves. After playing a little more where she was the Wizard girl and I was the warrior boy we headed in and called it a day.

Sunday (5/23/10) - Sunday started off w/ 2 games where we use Pokémon cards as our characters. In the first game two 3rd stage cards and their minions (me) picked on some stage 1 cards (her). Another card was a police officer that made my cards leave her cards alone and arrested my cards. Her cards evolved and defeated all my cards. In the second game her group of cards was new to my group of cards neighborhood. My cards picked on her cards and got in trouble. Her cards evolved and my cards quit being mean. Then it was off to Church where we meet up w/ Poppy and Grandma Gina. The Sermon on The Bread of Life by Robert was great. On the way there and back she was a girl that loved nature and music who was new to school. She used her snake instrument to make the areas nature grow beautiful. Me, the teacher, and Lionel, the cranky student, were in awe. After lunch we got outside to play. We played games similar to Saturday. The battle game, except this time I tried to use magic, but it didn’t work. The vet clinic game, except this time she started off as a young girl just practicing to be a vet and I was her cranky brother who wanted to be the manager of a Chuck E. Cheese. She later grew up to own her own clinic and I didn’t get to work at Chuckies. The game where she is a Pokémon, except this time she was a water Pokémon part of the time. Before heading in we filled up water balloons, poked a tiny hole in the tops of them and pretend they were ice cream as we drank the water out of them. Later inside we did school. She learned details about the Hebrews trip from Egypt to Israel in History, about Properties in Science, and numerators and denominators in Math. Before leaving for Community group we played another Pokémon card game. This time we both had a Pokémon Trainer card. Hers had lots of Pokémon that evolved and mine had few Pokémon that would not evolve. She came to Community group w/ me and got to play and watch a movie w/ and 8 year old girl named Bailey while we watched a play called The Beam Seat. On the way there and back she spent some time reading her Bailey School Kids book #2. We found it funny that both her book and friend both were named Bailey. Haha. When we got home we played outside. She was the Wizard Girl and I was her brother who couldn’t do good at being a warrior or wizard. After a Water Balloon Ice Cream we headed inside. She played Peggle before bed and is on the last character. She is really good at that game. Now I’m off to do my chores so I can get in a little Peggle myself before bed. An awesome weekend it was.

I didn’t really take notes for last week or this week so far. I’m going to start typing each night about our day. That way it will all be fresh on my mind, I can get all the good details in there, and I won’t get behind. I can tell you we have been having a blast. I will get a little something put together about last week and put it here… and include a tad about this week so far when I do my Monday post. Later.

A Fun Week Indeed!

Last week was great. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday master C was with us. Monday night started off w/ a few rides on my shoulders each up and down the hill in the back. Sis an I played a game where she was a girl in the jungle an I was a guy from New York that found her and learned from her. We alter watched an outside show called “Bamboo Shunu”. C is Bamboo Shunu and we watch episodes of him doing whatever he is doing at the time. We laugh hysterically, which entices him to really go crazy. After some Hieroglyphics it was off to bed. Tuesday night Sis opened a natural beauty salon by a tree in the front yard and we watched more Bamboo Shunu. Wednesday was a trip to the park by the Bentonville Library and to the library itself. We had a picnic at the park and did plenty of swinging. Sis got Judy Moody # 6 so when she finished # 5 she would be ready. She is reading #6 (and a handful of other books) now. : ) Thursday on the way home MaryJane enjoyed light up spray candy and taught Lionel to read. When we got home it was a popular game of pretending to be Chinese. After spending some time throwing stuffed animals into the ceiling fan and laughing our heads off we had Ballet Class. Friday night we played a game of being Chinese w/ Doddle Bear and Black Bear, played School w/ Kelly and Lionel, and I was taken back to my childhood as we threw stuffed animals into the ceiling fan and laughed our selves silly. : ) Sunday morning we spend a brief time in the bed playing w/ Build-a –Bears and a brief amount of time on the futon playing Neopets before playing school for a good while. She then spent some time painting a beautiful flower picture for her Mommy for Mother’s Day. The afternoon was filled w/ more pretend school, Barbie’s, real school, and playing outside. Speaking of playing outside, we spent soooo much time playing outdoors Sunday afternoon. It was one fun game after another. A fun week indeed.

A Wildgirl and a Wildboy!

Last week MaryJane and I again started of our week w/ a trip to Wal-Mart. We go their way to much. We have been doing Harps some too. Higher prices, but easier to get in and out off and MaryJane and Christian love to have me race them down the aisles. At home we enjoyed going crazy on the bed, looking a t a Disney book together and checking out a star system model she made a few years ago at Treehouse. It has glow in the dark beads on it. I raised a question about how they glow and she responded w/ a very detailed explanation, including a very detailed diagram. It’s quite a complicated process. After a bath and a story it was lights out. Tuesday we played Reading class, Ballet class, and Singing class before I mowed half the yard. She got some pipe cleaners the night before and decided she was going to make something for the Silent Auction at the Treehouse Gala we were attending at the Jones Center on Thursday night. She made the braids you see below. Nice huh. Before bed we played some w/ the super hero figures again. Wednesday C joined the party. I finished up my mowing while they played outside. Ran them thru a bubble bath after the outside action. We then played on the bed…before sleeping in the bed. Thursday was the Gala. Mommy had to work so I took the kids. We grabbed a bite at Arby’s where we formed a girl club and a boy club. Tried to convenience Kelly to join our group , but he wouldn’t. The Gala was fun. We browsed the auction quite a bit. She got a mug full of candy and her item sold for a few bucks. : ) After that we moved over to the Theater where we watched performances and a play. MaryJane sat w/ her friends while C and I sat together. He enjoyed clapping after the performances and laid quietly on me during the entire play. Took these pictures outside after the Gala was over. What cuties. Friday we played around the house, including Karate class w/ Kelly and Lionel and where MaryJane pretends to be different Pokémon. Saturday was awesome. We got up at 6:15 in the morning and played for 4 ½ hours straight. We played a lot of Barbie’s, some super hero figures school, and where she is an orphan girl who lives in a treehouse. We then headed for Springdale where we made our return to the Library. We hadn’t been in quite some time; instead only going to Bentonville. Now we are doing both. : ) She got quite a few books, including Judy Moody number 5 which she is already finished with. We went to Gully Park in Fayetteville. We played there for 1 ½ hours. Spent some time on the play places, but a majority of it was spent in the wooded area by the little river. She was a girl who lived in the wilderness and I was the father of Kelly and Lionel. We meet her and she showed us the ways of the wilderness. Lionel complained and Kelly tried numerous times to convince her to come w/ us, but she would not. However, at the last minute she decided she would come w/ us for one night. : ) Sunday we played LPS for a bit before Church. After wonderful Church we finished up the new Alice in Wonderland, played Barbie’s, and read books on the bed. She came to Community Group w/ me and afterwards became a VIP on BarbieGirls.com. What a fun week.

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.