So why have we been MIA

Basically no school is getting done despite my best efforts. We have done math perhaps 3 or 4 times in the last three weeks. We are living our days in the car between dr appointments, baseball games every night, swim practice and swim meets. While driving it is impossible to take pictures! I do have some baseball,s wimming, and camping.....YES....CAMPING pictures to share later this week. For now, we have a Baby Peep funny to share with you all.

Me: Guys, you have to pick a song to sing. Musical friend wants to hear your singing voices.
Oldest Peep: I am NOT singing. eyes rolling far into her head
Middle Peep: Do we really have to? What kind of song?
Baby Peep: I want to sing too!

Me: Come on guys. You all have very nice voices and if musical friend gets a group together you are going! Like it or not. So start liking it!

(We have had this conversation over and over and I am at my wits end on how to get them excited.)

Oldest Peep: I can't sing and I don't want to sing in front of people. It is scary.
Middle Peep: I am shy. What kind of song do you want us to pick?
Baby Peep: I want to sing!

Oldest Peep: I am scared.
Middle Peep: It is scary. I could sing a Blake Lewis song.
Baby Peep: Yeah, mom! I am stage frightening like oldest peep. (No, they don't call each other peeps.)

We just laughed and laughed and laughed. If you know Baby Peep you realize just how frightening it WOULD be for him to be on stage. He meant to say he has stage fright like Oldest Peep. Exactly the reason I will drag push them gently to join this group. When looking at what each peep said in the car you clearly see their personalities. Oldest peep always quick to say no and stay there until I blow my top so to speak. Middle Peep will share his fears but will aim to please. Baby peep always wants in the fun...no matter what the idea.

We can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday

Writing With Ease

I finally received my copy on Wednesday. I finished reading it yesterday. Now there is not much to read since it is mostly a week by week guide. I did skim the pages for year two,three and four but really only spent time in the introduction and then year one. I opted not to purchase the workbook and am up to week 15 in planning our own based on the guidelines in WWE. It lays it all out simply and clearly. We will also use the books he is doing copy work from as our read alouds. Now I don't have to plan another list! I am all about efficient. The only thing that worries me is that the workbooks have integrated grammar from FFL. We are almost onto FFL2. I will have to figure it out. This of course is for Baby Peep. I still plan on switching him over to Classical Writing in 4th grade. I can't wait to see how that works out.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #16

Once many year ago, we had a garden when we first moved to the South. I still had tomatoes in December! Then we moved to a house with an almost completely shaded house. I had no place for a garden. Seven years later we moved to a new area with a different growing season. I almost did not start a garden at all because we had no Spring and I was not sure it would ever warm up or the sun would ever come out. But it did and I quickly ran to get seeds. I forgot all the research I did all those years ago and just threw seeds into the ground and hoped for the best. Below is the fruit of our labor.

Well, I can say we have pumpkins growing pretty well.


Baby Peep's



Middle Peep's



Oldest Peep's


The carrots did not do so well, but at least we have two! (We planted 2 rows of 5.)



The sun flowers are all finally growing. This part of our yard, due to the fence, doesn't get direct sun as I thought. Despite that they are growing pretty well..........I think.............











The tomato seeds never did come up. Neither did the mint I planted near by. So I went and bought 2 tomato plants. They are holding up. One had tiny tiny buds while the other is definitely flowering. One is a cherry tomato plant and the other is a Big Boy.

Cherry Tomatoes



Big Boy Tomatoes



After finding the tomatoes I found strawberry plants. I really thought it was too late to grow these but since the nursery had them I bought two and crossed my fingers. Last week it was really hot and I guess I was not watering enough because the leaves started to dry out. We have now doubled the water they get and they seem to be coming around.





Lastly, we have 4 cucumber plants. I am not sure we will ever see cucumbers but we have enjoyed seeing them grow. I think the growing season for them will end before we actually get any.








The 2nd to last cucumber is being eaten by something. This bottom one shriveled up today. I don't understand why!



We planted some herbs but NONE have turned out. We will try them in containers next. However, we are not discouraged. We plan on getting manure, fertilizer, and lots of top soil and raising our beds for fall. We want to try spinach, carrots again, potatoes, Echinacea, broccoli, blueberries and we will see what else I find to try out.

Bee Study

Baby peep and I have been slowing working through a bee lapbook. I did not think he was getting much out of it but one day while reading about the hive he pulled out some manipulatives and built the following:


Middle Peep just had to join the fun as well!

Butterflies!!!

Two weeks ago we got some Painted Lady Caterpillars. We have watched and cared for them. About 6 days ago they turned into chrysalis and today they were born!!!! Well, so far only 4 have been born. Oldest peep has set the video recorder on to see if we can catch the last one born. I put a banana at the bottom of the net and we have seen several fly down and roll out their proboscis and drink up the fruit. Baby Peep has been especially excited. Enjoy the few shots I got of this wonderful process. It is difficult to photograph them through the netting.

Wordy Wednesday

The weather that I was promised has finally arrived. Although the forecast shows partly cloudy, it is wonderfully sunny. We are enjoying it as much as we can therefore the blog has been a bit neglected. We will blog regularly once the rain returns. Sending you all cool thoughts.

Puget Sound Weather Outlook
Updated Tuesday 4:35 p.m.

Come for the seafood, stay for the sunshine...

That might work well for any e-mails the Chamber of Commerce might consider sending out this week. We're looking at another day of sunshine Wednesday, but while the rest of the nation bakes -- of all major cities in the U.S., only Buffalo and -- believe it or not -- downtown Los Angeles are expected to be cooler than Seattle Wednesday -- we'll still be in a very comfortable upper 70s range. (Medford, Oregon tomorrow? 106...)

We're still locked in the perfect weather pattern of just enough high pressure to keep the storms away, but just enough westerly breeze to keep the temperatures from, well, getting to 106 like Medford.

Tonight will be clear early, then perhaps some low clouds toward dawn. It'll be a touch breezy near the water in the evening but that's just our refreshing seabreeze. Lows will be in the upper 40s to mid 50s.

The marine breeze looks a little stronger for Wednesday, and that will perhaps bring a very brief layer of morning clouds, but it'll go away quickly leaving mostly sunny skies and another afternoon seabreeze. Highs will drop just a touch to the upper 70s.

Thursday and Friday will be under the morning clouds for a larger part of the day -- perhaps until early afternoon on Thursday and midday Friday. As a result of having to be more patient for the sunshine, high temperatures will drop to the low-mid 70s.

We'll rebound a bit to quicker sunshine on Saturday with highs back into the mid-upper 70s, then drop back down to the low 70s for Sunday and Monday with more morning clouds....then climb back up for Tuesday. Still a very pleasant weather stretch, all in all.

So a great time to visit Seattle, rest of the U.S.... even if you don't like seafood :)

Scott Sistek
KOMONews.Com Meteorologist

Liga de Quito won the Copa Liberatores

VIVA ECUADOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Boys gone wild!