Climbing The Walls!

 Nuff said!

Maggie's Birthday Bash

August 27th is the day to celebrate Maggie's eighth birthday!  She came to us as a fluffy rescue at 7 months old almost 8 years ago.  Whoa the time has flown by!  Sid wanted to make her a cake and did it all on her own. 

 First she picked veggies from our garden.   An overgrown zucchini, a bunch of really large purple beans, some tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers were washed and sliced by Sid and added to the pot.  We included a couple of carrots and then it was on the stove to boil.  Sid stirred and cooked and when it was done I strained the mix and she mashed and added rice and a tin of salmon.   MMMMM dog birthday cake!

 While it cooled we went off to Kajukenbo for a class and more leaning of Ch'ang Fa 1

 Back home and it was time for cake for the girls.

 Here it comes and a rousing chorus of happy birthday to set the mood.

 Happy Birthday Maggie with her new stuffed cow toy and her full tummy.  Sid was so proud of her birthday plans. 

 Even Lilly got to enjoy the new toy.

Sid is now the resident party planner.  She is awesome!

Cemeteries, Science and Night Skies

Sid has always been interested in cemeteries and loves studying the old tombstones.  "When did this person die? How long ago was that? What do you think they died of?" and the questions go on and on but they bring up some fascinating conversations about early life in Canada.  Sid has decided that (in her words) she LOVES the olden days and wants to live like that.   This past week we did a couple of caches at these little old cemeteries that we would have never found had we not been geocaching.   There are one to two cemeteries in every small town or village around us and we are now on a quest to visit them all.

This is from a tiny cemetery on an old gravel country road.  The cache was well hidden but Sid found it with ease.

Then we found this cemetery right in the middle of Vars hidden down an old over grown dirt road and surrounded by forest.  It was a bit creepy how a bustling little village could hide a cemetery right in town.  We found the second cache here also in the crook of a tree.  We have a few more geocache expeditions planned for next week if the weather continues to be this amazing!   With September knocking on our door we have started accumulating some curriculum and ideas for this coming year.  Sid's first surprise arrive this week.  The Magic School Bus Young Scientist Club kit!  We got a great discount on this program through Homeschool Buyers Co-op.  Every month for the next year, Sid will receive a science kit and detailed instruction book in the mail.  

The kits include all the supplies needed for the experiments, a 12 page instruction guide and work book plus access to online videos and extra projects.  This month the topic is water. 

One of the first experiments was to find out what dissolved in water to create new solutions.  Above, Sid mixes water and oil, and water and food colouring to see what would happen.  She also mixed water and sand and water and salt.  There was also an experiment to make our own submarine with a tin can. She had lots of fun playing and we still have 5 more experiments to do over the next week or two!

More science happening in our yard, includes the TONS of grasshoppers that fly and jump all over the place every time we set foot in the grass.  The nets are out and the camera is at the ready.  This little guy tried to hide from us, no such luck!

With the fire ban gone we finally had another campfire.  It was warm with no wind so the bugs were no problem and it was perfect for the telescope.  Thanks again Uncle Greg, Aunt Shae and Addy.  The telescope you got Sid is amazing.  We spent hours looking at the moon, planets and stars.  Sid is quickly becoming very educated in all things space which is one of Dad's very favorite topics.  Go ahead, I dare you to ask her what a black hole is :)

The beautiful telescope that is opening up an entire new world for Sid

Mom playing with her camera.  The red in the left hand bottom corner is the reflection of the fire off the willow.  I LOVE long exposures at night!

I had to add this piece of art we created this week.  It was really fun and easy to do.  You can get the full tutorial here:  foil and glue art
Basically you draw a picture on a piece of cardstock or cardboard.  Then outline it in thick glue (I did the glue outlining), let dry and cover with foil.  Use a Q-tip to flatten the foil around the glue then use a dull pencil to draw shapes and designs in the foil.  Gently cover in black shoe polish and wipe off for an antique look.  TA-DA!

And finally, Sid wanted me to add that after waiting a WHOLE year we are finally starting Harry Potter 3.  Our deal is one book a year and we have exhausted book 1 and 2 and both movies.  We are trying to make this last by only reading a dozen pages a night.  It is tough because it is such a great story.  I hope we can make it last until the end of September!

Whirlwind Weekend

Dad took off Friday for the worlds fastest trip to the cottage.  He was off to fix the pump and get the water flowing again.  He arrived in Cape Breton on Saturday, fixed everything and then left for home Sunday at noon.  He arrived back at home Monday at 3:00.  What a crazy weekend for him!!!

While Dad was away, Sid and I had our own whirlwind weekend.  Saturday morning started with Karate.

With September right around the corner, the kids have begun their training for the fall tourney's.  Saturday class was the usual 2.5 - 3 hours.  It was then time for home, rest, dinner then off to Lumiere Festival!

 We were lucky to meet up with Bella and another one of Bella's friends.  Here the girls are enthralled by the Company of Fools version of Shakespeare's Henry V.  It was Bella's fourth time seeing the play (she is a HUGE fan) and was super excited to share her new found passion with Sid.  Sid really enjoyed the play too!

 We left a bit earlier then planned but managed to get one shot with lanterns.  We were home by 9:00 then it was off to bed because Sunday morning would be the beginning to ridiculous day!

 Sunday started with a birthday party at the movies.   Six of the kids were Karate friends so Sid was right at home.

 We chose not to stay for the movie (ParaNorman) because the reviews say it is scary for little kids and best for nine and up.  Since Sid is still very sensitive with scary things we thought it best to just skip it.  By all accounts most of the boys were fine with the movie but it was very scary and a few of the girls got quite worked up. 

On the same day another good friend from Karate had a cousin with a birthday party at Calypso and two of her cousins friends cancelled at the last minute.  Since the party was paid for they called Sid and asked her if she wanted to come to Calypso for the day starting at 1:00.  So we left the theater and drove quickly to the water park for party number two.  I left Sid with my good friend and picked her back up at 4:30.  She had a fantastic time!!!

As if that wasn't enough, I had hockey at 8:30 that evening so after a quick supper, Uncle Rick came to the rescue and was available to entertain Sid for a few hours.  I dropped her off at his place at 7:30 and picked her back up at 10:00 p.m.  She was a trooper.  Still laughing and happy even though she spent the day with cake, hot dogs, pizza and cupcakes coursing through her body!  What a day!  And Sid said she had the best day ever and while she liked the two birthday parties, spending time with her Uncle Rick was the best part of the day by far!

Rick you are so awesome.  Sid loves you so much and I thank you again for loving her so much and coming to the rescue at the last minute :)  She cannot wait until I have hockey again lol!

So that was our CRAZY weekend.  This week we are keeping it low key, maybe a trip to the bog and Friday in the park as well as a full week of Karate.   We plan to enjoy next weekend as a family, quite, at home and hopefully uneventful!

A Snapshot of Our Week

It started with the Great Zucchini Chase.  All three of my dales love veggies, to a point of annoyance.  I can't keep them out of the garden!  They ate my peas, strip my tomato plants and pull carrots when no one is looking.  This week Lilly found a new game.  Zucchini keep away.

 What zucchini?  No really I don't see a zucchini!  Oh.....you mean this stick?

 As fast as fast can be, you will never catch me!

 Making a break for the woods to hide from the other animals and to devour the treasure.

 And speaking of treasure, this is King Perogie in all his jewels.  Gawd our animals are patient!

Uncle Rick came over for a sleep over and it was awesome fun!  Here he hides behind big bear while big bear goes in for the bear hug!

 We went on our annual pilgrimage to the Papanack Zoo.  It was warm and sunny so we put in a full day with the animals.  I still haven't process all the pictures yet.  I grabbed a few and converted them for this post but I am behind in my processing! 

 I love the picture above. I call it Ann Elk!  As in Ann Elk who says "a brontosaurus is loooong and skinny at one end, much, much thicker in the middle and looooong and skinny again at the far end" :)  My python friends will understand this completely!  The rest of you please just carry on lol!

 I haven't processed this picture, I will sharpen it up and lighten it so his eyes pop.  He is so cute, he completely reminds me of the raccoons we fostered. 

 Above is a sheep.  This is not from the zoo but a heritage breed found at the Cumberland Museum.   A homeschooling family organized  a homeschooling trip to the museum and it was awesome!  Lots of fun and friends and space to run.

It was a great day to fly a kite and hang out.   I have some fantastic pictures from the day and will get them processed. Some of the pictures of my friends turned our really nicely.  I will get to them soon, I promise!

Paul Cezanne is the first artist we covered in art history.  We found a great free curriculum from Concodia U. and since Sid LOVES to paint we have decided to skim through these artist portfolios out of interest.  She totally got into this one.
http://www.cuchicago.edu/experience/arts/visual-arts/art-lessons/

After reviewing the info about Cezanne Sid decided to create her own version of the Blue Vase.

Next she drew it and then painted it.  I did most of the outlining with a small paint brush and black paint but she did all the rest.  Oh, I believe Daddy helped with the cup too!

Overall it was a really interesting morning art class.  We covered a lot and Sid got to practice her drawing and painting with an emphasis on depth.  Too cool!

We certainly don't have to look too far to understand where Sid gets her creativity from.  Dad is so uber talented.  Here his is at a recent gig at greenfields. 

And below Sid is busking with Daddy at the NROC Tools For Schools Fundraiser!  So awesome.

Gotta go catch up on this coming weeks plans.  Fall is around the corner so there is lots of planning in the works.  Ciao!