A boy's best friend

I was going through my pictures the other day - sorting and organizing - when I came across these pictures.  They're from quite a while ago but I couldn't resist posting them.  Denver was upset about something and went to sit on the stairs and wallow in his sorrow.  Frodo isn't a big fan of anyone being upset so he right away went to keep Denver company.  

Here they are lying at the top of the stairs. Heads down.   

I think they're both pouting in this picture.  

Check out that face (and the tears!)  

All is right again after snuggles with Daddy.  And of course Frodo is right in there too!  

Art

Our art lesson last week involved coffee filters, markers and water.  Does it get any better than that?  I got the idea from here.  The process involved folding the coffee filter a few times, spraying it with water so it's quite wet and then decorating it with dots on both sides using a marker.  When the coffee filter gets unfolded, the dots have bled all the way through making a cool design.  The next part of the project was to make a picture using the two circles.  Austin and Samara both thought the sample of the boom box was cool so they went with that idea.  Denver went a different route . . . an octopus.  :)  

Samara's boom box

Austin's boom box

Denver's octopus (he explained that the blue part in the middle is the nose)

Victoria opted out of this project . . . just not in the mood for it.  She may still try it at some point as the coffee filter part was really fun!  

Book Review - Minding Frankie

This was such a nice, easy book to read.  Just what I needed.  I always enjoy Maeve Binchy’s writing.  Whenever I need something light . . . a nice story to sit and relax with, she’s one of the authors I turn to.  This story was about all the various people in a little community in Ireland.  They are all from different walks of life but their lives intertwine and they all end up helping each other and looking out for one another.  I particularly love how this book emphasizes the fact that families are made up of people that love each other . . . not necessarily related by blood.  I fell in love with the characters in this book as they are very true to life.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for something light and easy to read.  

Colour Changing Shirts

This year when Grandma and Grandpa came home from Florida they brought the kids some really cool t-shirts.  They're just regular t-shirts with black outline pictures inside the house . . . but when you head outside in the sun, they explode into colour right before your eyes.  It was still winter when the kids received them so there wasn't much opportunity to enjoy them.  But now that the sun is out in full force, the kids have been able to wear them outside and see the pictures turn to full colour.  

Here they are inside the house:  

And here they are outside in the bright sunlight:  

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for super cool t-shirts!  

Climbing

Last week Victoria and Austin had an opportunity to go climbing.  We've never done anything like this before so I wasn't sure what to expect.  The kids both said they wanted to try it and were pretty excited when we were on our way.  On their first climb, they both only went about halfway up.  I guess they just needed to get warmed up because after that, they were up to the ceiling every time.  Once they got the hang of coming down, that was pretty fun too.  Samara and Denver and I even had a great time just watching them climb.  

Harnesses on and ready to go!

Hoping to do this again next year and maybe more of us (even me!) will climb next time. 

Book Review - Wave

Although this book is really well written, it’s just so horribly tragic that I’m not sure I would say it’s a “good” book.   The author writes the story of her experience being swept away in the tsunami that took place in Sri Lanka in 2004.  Her and her husband and two boys along with her parents were vacationing during their Christmas holidays when the tragedy struck.  She was the sole survivor in her family.  The book goes on to describe the immense grief that followed this event and how she forced herself to go on living after having lost the people closest to her.  I can’t even comprehend what she has gone through.  As I said, it was a well written book . . . but definitely hard to read.  

Book Review - Brain on Fire

This book fascinated me.  From beginning to end, I couldn't put it down.  It was hard to believe the story was real.  The illness that started with flu like symptoms and lead to the author's very strange mental symptoms was crazy.  She goes into a lot of detail about how the brain works and what was going on when she was dealing with her illness.  I've done a lot of reading about the development of the brain and the effect of trauma on the brain - plus the kids and I have just finished a unit on the brain as part of our anatomy curriculum - and so I found it extremely interesting.  However, even if you're not interested in things having to do with the brain, this book is still a good read.  I loved how her family stood by her and fought for the doctors to do more when they wanted to just chalk it up to withdrawal symptoms from an alcohol addiction or schizophrenia.  The loyalty and commitment particularly on the part of her parents and boyfriend was remarkable.  The author did a great job telling her story, which is notable considering the fact that she didn't remember a good chunk of her hospital stay.  She clearly did a lot of research and interviews with those involved in her care to be able to present the story in the way she did.  Overall an incredible book.