Veterans Day

We had the opportunity to celebrate Veterans Day officially with the Barton House last week.  On Thursday we attended a flag ceremony put on by the National Guard.  They gave a wonderful salute, and tribute, to the empty place setting.  Many family members of the Barton House residents also attended.

Lilly's special requested hair style for the day

Today (11/11/13) we did some school activities and played with neighborhood friends, who were out of school for the day.

Riding Her Bike - No Training Wheels

Well, we finally got Lilly over to the track, with a softer falling surface, to practice riding a bike without training wheels.  She took to it like a bee to honey.  She rode first through the field portion and began to curve around to come back to us making great turns.  Then she rode around the track, riding for 1/8th of a mile first, and then all the way around, 1/4 mile, the second time.  In the afternoon she was riding her bike up and down the street, around the cul-de-sac, and in & out of the mini road across from us with the big boys of the neighborhood.
The boys all congratulated her and treated her with awe, giving her much confidence and huge smiles!

The Men Who Built America

Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Astor, Ford and Morgan. Their names are part of history and their efforts transformed a country.
Micah and I came part way into the 'The Men Who Built America' marathon on the History Channel Saturday afternoon (we missed Vanderbilt).  We were folding laundry and learning a lot about the Industrial Age.  The episodes went through the life of each man and then how their lives intertwined throughout their lives and the transformation of the United States.  We both learned a lot!

School Photos

This year our school photos were done by an Eastside family named the Dahlquists.  They have downloaded them for us, and these are the images that will be used in our Eastside Explorers Yearbook.  Other poses will be sent out soon, then I'll make a selection to have some printed.


Micah Rich - age 10, grade 4

Lilly Rich - age 5, kindergarten

War Horse

We just finished - our next audio book, in the car, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. 

It is a great story, written from the horse's viewpoint, about the war and devotion.  We had the book along with us in the car.  We own the movie, so we are planning to watch it in the near future and do a comparison.

 

Here's the official synopsis.

A powerful tale of war, redemption, and a hero's journey!
In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

 

 

Boxes

Micah & Lilly were so excited to see the desks ... boxes.  They spent every spare moment today designing, cutting, taping, and playing with the "pony house" that they made.

NEW School Desks

We've been experimenting with different desks that we have in the house to use for school.  Now that Lilly is a 'serious student' this is a more important piece to the puzzle.  Criteria: good working space, appropriate height, drawers/storage, and fits well in our front/office/school room.  While browsing in IKEA a couple of times, a desk (x2) has caught my eye.  I told Matt I would earn some money to pay for the desks and then I could get them when I was in Tempe for Micah's BizTown activities.  Throughout the last month I have sold some furniture items on Craigslist, gotten a birthday gift card, and organized the garage for an upcoming yard sale.  With all of that - I had enough by Monday October 21st - yesterday.  They were built and set up by this morning!  Hooray!!!!  There will be lots of learning, creating, and discussing going on at these desks.  (A special thanks to Dave & Julie Rich for my IKEA gift card.)