Bug's Life

Bug got glasses!

2012-02-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

Bug got glasses today. As you can see, she's very happy with them. I'll need to get another pic of them....you can't see the blue trim on them in this one.

Cats

2012-01-31T12:54:00.000-06:00

Bug has 2 cats. The older one, Purrl, doesn't like to be held. She's gotten better about it, but isn't much for snuggling. The newest cat, Kitsy, LOVES to be held. Here she is, snuggling with Bug while Bug is reading about American history. I pointed out to her that she would NOT be able to snuggle with a cat during history class in public school. ;)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T00:10:00.000-06:00

We spent the weekend at Grandma's house. Bug is nearly as tall as her grandma, now.

Bug picked out some scented candles for her grandma. They spent some time together talking about them and smelling them.

Bug was thrilled to get a DVD of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Bug's cousin liked the bag that I made for her.

There was some concern over whether Bug had been good enough for Santa to pay a visit...and whether or not he'd know that she was at Grandma's house. She was happy to find a full stocking in the morning.

This tornado lab was a bit hit! We'll be trying it out in the next day or two.

Not sure what happened just before this...

This notepad has the Chinese character for "love" on it.

Almost home!

Christmas, part 1

2011-12-18T19:32:00.000-06:00

We had Christmast with my family last night. Good food, fun conversations, lots of trees....

Before we left our house, we gave Bug her "big gift", as we thought that she would enjoy it during the 1.5 hour drive. What could it be?!

Oh, she sees the word "Amazon" and thinks that she knows...

She's correct! A Kindle Touch.

She seems a bit worried here....

Hmm...this is pretty cool.

Aunt Peg had a big tree...

A REALLY big tree...

Aunt Pat made some crazy slippers for Bug, who appears to have a broken neck.

I saw my nephew a couple of months ago and after confirming that he'd like me to knit a hat for him, we discussed style, color, etc. I think he learned a lesson after last Christmas....although I think that he was a bit disappointed in the wrapping. Not even one piece of tape. Wait until next year!

12-0

2011-12-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

The Green Bay Packers are 12-0. As Bug said to her dad after the game (which she did not watch) "The Packers sent those Giants packing!" What a stressful game to watch. Definitely the toughest one this season so far.

Now, back to what this blog is about...Bug! She's enjoying her new Girl Scout troop which makes me very happy. They were the biggest cookie sellers in town! She's still working on learning Chinese. Our class is switching to the Better Chinese books that we were using on our own and I think that she will find the class more enjoyable now.

Math, the day after Halloween.

2011-11-01T10:02:00.000-06:00

Bug is learning about bar graphs, so we put the candy that she got last night and separated it. She then made a column for each candy, counted how many of each one and filled in the columns. Tootsie Rolls were the most popular treat, it seems.

Fun in our hometown.

2011-10-30T12:42:00.000-06:00

"The Boy" (my friend's son...I was his babysitter until he was about 5...I'm his "cool mom") turned 21 on Saturday. We drove to my hometown (where he lives) and took him out for lunch. We had a great visit with him. I made this leather journal for him. I hadn't made one in this style before. It turned out pretty well, I think. He seemed to like it.

They were having a "Trunk or Treat" event downtown in the afternoon. We went to The Boy's house (where he lived when I was his babysitter) so that Bug could change into her costume...the Mad Hatter again.

We parked the van and Bug led to way to the candy. Her dad pointed out that watching her walk in front of us, she didn't really look much different than any other day...

We ran into some kids who were in ECFE classes with Bug when they were babies/toddlers...AND convinced them to sit on a bench for a few seconds so that I could take a photo.

We also stopped by our former neighbor's house. They really like Halloween. Bug didn't want to leave.

We may stay with The Boy next year and help these guys. Bug was ready to head back there on Monday.

We had a visitor.

2011-10-23T11:22:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week I got a message on facebook from a friend in my hometown. She told me about this Australian guy (Mick)who had stopped by the shop where she works to have some work done on his computer. She found out that he is walking the entire length of the Mississippi River. If you want to know more about him and why he's doing this, check out his blog: http://journeydownthemississippi.blogspot.com/

*if you or someone you know lives along the Mississippi River and are willing to let Mick set his tent up in your yard, you can send him an email...go to the blog address above and click on "contact me"*

She said that he would be coming through the town where we now live. I sent Mick an email and offered our yard to him. I heard back from him that he'd be coming by sometime Saturday afternoon. Bug had Chinese class at 3:00 and we hadn't seen him yet, so I had her make signs for both doors so that if he showed up while Bug's dad was dropping us off (which he did) he would know that he was in the right spot.

When Bug's dad picked us up after class, Mick was with him. We were all quite hungry, so we headed to the Chinese buffet. We ate well and chatted for a while. We then headed back to our place to visit some more. Bug had to check out Mick's tent.

At some point, Bug had mentioned that she likes to make books. She vanished into her room for a while, then brought this out for Mick. She made sure that he put his name on it.

Before we knew it, Bug fell asleep on the couch...earlier than usual, even! She woke around 2:30am and moved to her room.

She was up before Mick, in anticipation of the blueberry muffins she knew that I'd be making. After breakfast, Bug got out her dragon books and taught Mick a bit about them. I love her expression in the first photo!

Before long, it was time for Mick to pack his gear. Bug helped.

Bug spotted a small orange pouch and asked what it was. Mick opened it up and showed her that it was a rain cover for his back pack. He then showed her how it went back together and told her that she could do that while he finished folding the tent and put it in the bag.

Then he said it would be a race. She laughed. Nervously, I think.

I think it was a tie.

Before we knew it, it was time to start walking. Bug walked him to the corner.

He unhooked the wagon from his pack so that Bug could pull it.

Then it was time for hugs.

And he crossed the street....

Good luck, Mick. Safe travels. Thanks for spending some time with us.

Gerda Weissman Klein

2011-10-18T12:10:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful opportunity last night. A local college had Gerda Weisseman Klein giving a talk. She was amazing. She's an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor. She had a knee replacement and got a pacemaker 8 weeks ago. She gave a talk to middle and high school students that morning, then spoke again at 7PM and followed that by signing MANY copies of her books.

We're studying American history this year, but won't be getting to the Holocaust until later in the year. We gave Bug a crash-course so that she'd have some knowledge before hearing Mrs. Klein. Miss Sherri, our children's librarian, suggested that she read Number the Stars. When Bug got to the table to get her book signed, the local teacher who was instrumental in setting up the talk asked her a few questions, including "Have you read Number the Stars?" and seemed a bit surprised when Bug said "Yes!" We also have an abridged version of The Diary of Anne Frank which she also read.

We picked up a copy of Gerda's book, All But My Life, which I had checked out from the library and read before the talk. After getting it signed, I took this photo of Bug with Gerda and the local teacher. I only had my cell phone with no flash, unfortunately.

Girl Scout cookies!

2011-10-02T19:19:00.000-06:00

Bug is selling Girl Scout cookies for the first time. I took this photo on Friday, while she was making her first sale.

A new kitten!

2011-10-02T14:52:00.000-06:00

She doesn't have a name yet, but this is the newest member of our family.
We're having fun watching her discover new things. Here are a couple of video clips followed by several photos.

New toy!

Fun in the litter box.

Celebration of MN Children's Authors & Illustrators

2011-09-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

We drove to Red Wing, MN on Saturday for one of our favorite annual events: the Celebration of MN Children's Authors & Illustrators.

We've gone to this since Bug was quite small. She's gotten to know several of the authors & illustrators, but none quite so well as David LaRochelle. This year, instead of having him sign a book for her, Bug brought at book for David. She wrote & illustrated it herself and I helped assemble it.

In this photo, David is reading his book (it's about birds of prey) and Bug is telling him about one bird in particular.

Here, David is reading from one of his new books, The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories. (this is why he chose to wear that tie!)

Outside, Bug found this giant puppet (as she called it) to walk around in.

Our new friend, E and her penguin balloon.

Bug enjoyed showing E all around the center.

Very cool horse sculpture made from all kinds of things...bedpan, flyswatters...

This lady was demonstrating a technique for painting/decorating paper. I think we'll try it!

Bug got a new book, Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor.

After a stop at the park we went out for pizza. While the adults were chatting before heading our separate ways, the girls played on the sidewalk. I had them pose for one final photo. Perfect.

Hiking

2011-09-05T20:37:00.001-06:00

I joined Bug and her dad for some hikes yesterday and today. We tried out some new trails (for us) and discovered some cool stuff.

The first thing that I spotted was a rotting log that we now call "Skull Log". Do you see the skull?

Bug was thrilled to discover a small stream.

The water was pretty cold.

Bug left some wet handprints on the wall. Did you know that she's got 3 hands?!

We found some golf balls in the water, so Bug's dad worked on his juggling...

She tried swinging on this vine.

We spotted a rabbit.

We saw many interesting things...something had been chewing on this.

This looks like something that showed up next to our driveway a year or two ago. Very odd.

Bug spotted this in the trees. It looked like the branches were filled with spider webs.

Then we realized that each "web bag" was filled with worms?
We just got word from the fine folks at Russman's Spot have informed us that they are Tent Caterpillars.

After the hike, we stopped at the playground for a bit. Bug worked on her balance.

On today's hike, we went to an area that we'd never been to before. I think that we'll go there again. It was beautiful.

Bug found a Big Rock to sit on.

I spotted this deer when we made a brief stop.

The water here was even COLDER than the water from yesterday.

Bug found a rock to sit on and had a snack while listening to the water.

After the storm...

2011-09-02T16:57:00.000-06:00

All of the neighborhood kids came over to watch while these guys removed the tree from the car.

Our landlord (who is also Bug's dad's boss) came over with his chainsaw.

DEFINITELY will not be swinging on this!

Morning storm.

2011-09-02T08:30:00.002-06:00

We woke up to a bad storm this morning. I think what woke me was the sound of this limb grazing our roof and crushing the swingset.

This is the other end of what took out the swingset. It bent a small piece of the gutter but didn't touch the roof. We're very lucky.

The lady across the street and down one house was not as lucky. Her car is a mess.

First day of public school...

2011-09-01T16:44:00.001-06:00

We've been doing a bit of homeschooling all summer and started most everything else up a week and a half ago. (science & history start next week) Keeping with our tradition, we went out for lunch...pizza and ice cream...while the "other kids" were at their first day of public school. This year, Bug's friend (and our neighbor) is homeschooling too, so she got to join us. They were VERY excited.

We were nearly done with our ice cream when I realized that I hadn't taken any photos!

Because it was rather hot outside, we were trying to stay in the shade as much as we could on the walk home. While walking past the new parking garage, we discovered poems in the concrete. Very cool! The girls read the first one and moved on to the next. There was a guy just finishing reading that one. While the girls were reading it he told me that he had written the one we'd be passing next. Very cool. In this pic, they're reading his poem.

Who knew that a walk through a somewhat industrial area would turn into a nature walk? The girls found a lot of feathers. They were happy, I was picturing the fight the death scene that resulted in so many feathers....

The Mississippi Explorer

2011-08-31T14:37:00.001-06:00

Bug & I went for a ride on the Mississippi Explorer this morning. We'd been wanting to do it for a while, and the timing was never right. Today was perfect. Not too hot, not too sunny. There was a small group, so it was easy to move around to see whatever you wanted to see.

We saw several bald eagles, an eagle nest (which Bug was VERY excited to see), a large beaver dam, lots of smaller birds, some interesting flowers and other plants. We hope to go out again.

While waiting to go, Bug had a cookie.

They had some binoculars available. Bug liked using them. She's watching a bald eagle in this pic.

Bug got to help. She took a turtle shell around for everyone to see.

This beaver dam was pretty big.

Helping again, Bug shows how people would use the shells to make buttons.

Bug was in the newspaper again.

2011-08-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

I was settling in with the paper on Sunday when I came across this: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/education/article_79ce5bb8-c8fd-11e0-a94f-001cc4c002e0.html
Bug is in the front row, 2nd from the right. (purple pants, Mount St. Helens shirt, HUGE grin)

She had so much fun that day. I wasn't sure that she'd want to go, as it was an 8-hour class, but she was up for it. A week later, she was back there again...this time for Wizardry 101.

Big birthday weekend!

2011-08-15T14:26:00.001-06:00

Bug's dad turned 50 this past weekend. He got a card...

and a Nook. He also got a 3-day weekend because I'm sneaky like that.

We dropped Bug off at the Baldwin BB&Z (bed, breakfast & zoo). She had a great time.

Mmm...bacon & cheese crickets!

Playing at the beach.

Waving at people on a big boat.

MARSHMALLOWS!

Doodle Camp

2011-07-18T10:24:00.001-06:00

See that new link over there? No, over there <---- on the side. It's for Doodle Camp and you should check it out. Here, I'll make it even easier. I'll put it right here (just click on the picture and off you'll go):

Bug got the book, Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls by Dawn DeVries Sokol for Christmas. I recently came across her website and wanted to share this with you. It looks like fun!

Stockholm Art Fair

2011-07-16T19:58:00.000-06:00

We spent the day in Stockholm WI at their annual art fair: http://www.stockholmartfair.org/ Lots of art, music and food. Even better, for Bug, is the play equipment that is right next to the stage so that she can play all day while her dad & I enjoy the music. I didn't bring my camera (other than my phone camera) but we ran into some friends who took this shot.

When Bug was little this guy and his friend played regularly at a coffee shop that we would go to. They even played at her 1st birthday party. One of her favorite songs of theirs was "Cocoa Butter". I took this pic while they were playing that today.

Her FAVORITE thing at the fair. What I (lovingly) refer to as The 4-Tiered Spinning Tower of Death!!!

Sewing School

2011-07-08T16:52:00.000-06:00

I got this book for Bug a few weeks ago.

We finally found/made time today to sit down with it and get started. She sewed on her first button today while making a needle holder out of felt.

Next she'll be making a small pillow for her stuffed animals. Keep watching!

Farewell to Small Mouse

2011-07-07T19:23:00.000-06:00

When Bug's dad got home from work today, he got some pine out and made a coffin for Small Mouse.

We wrapped him in his favorite piece of flannel.

Bug put this note in with him. She had decided that "Prosper" was a good name for Small Mouse. (she's been reading The Thief Lord...) She and her friends added some clover, as well.

Her dad helped her hammer in the final nails.

I dug the hole and she placed the coffin inside.

She then filled the hole. We are all a bit sad, but happy that Small Mouse/Prosper was comfortable and happy while in our home.

Small Mouse has died.

2011-07-07T08:37:00.000-06:00

Small Mouse has died. I went to feed him and he didn't run up my hand. He was moving a bit and ate a little, but died in my hand, wrapped in his bit of flannel. We only had him 3 1/2 days, but we'll remember him much longer.

Small Mouse has a bath.

2011-07-06T18:47:00.000-06:00

Small Mouse is a messy eater. (S)he's had 2 baths today. The 2nd went better than the first. They're very tiring and one must rest and warm up afterwards. Looks cozy, don't you think?

Small Mouse trying to walk.

2011-07-05T14:38:00.000-06:00

We haven't come up with a name for the mouse yet, so I've been referring to it as "Small Mouse" lately. I put it in a shoebox to let it stretch it's legs a bit today. Things didn't go so well...

A tiny mouse.

2011-07-04T08:37:00.000-06:00

Bug and some friends found this little guy all alone in the alley yesterday. She ran for her dad and they brought him home. I did a quick google search and sent him to the pet store for kitten formula. We think it's a little over a week old. The eyes are not yet open. We made it through the first night, so are a bit more optimistic today.

Bug met Tommy Shaw (Styx)

2011-06-17T18:29:00.001-06:00

Bug got to meet Tommy Shaw from Styx today. He's a really nice guy and chatted with us a bit. When he heard her name he told Bug that he had a grandma with the same name which Bug thought was pretty cool.

Doris Mae is on the move!

2011-05-30T21:52:00.000-06:00

Doris Mae is our geocaching travel bug. See that teddy bear up there? If you click it, it will take you to a page that will show you where she's been. We dropped her in a cache in Washington state when we were on vacation last fall. She spent some time in Canada and is now in Ketchikan, Alaska!

Zoo!

2011-05-27T21:04:00.000-06:00

Bug & I went to the zoo yesterday with our neighbors. Bug was thrilled to find out that there was a baby (5 months old) lion cub named Leo Pold. Here's a short video clip of him playing with his mother.

Big tree!

2011-05-16T10:31:00.000-06:00

The three of us went for a walk on the marsh trails yesterday. What beautiful weather! Bug remembered that there was a big tree that she liked to climb on. She was excited to find it and see how high she could get.

Bug is 9!

2011-05-15T12:47:00.001-06:00

Bug turned 9 yesterday. How did that happen so quickly?!

She started the day by opening a few cards while still in bed:

Since she was going to go with her dad while he donated blood, I asked her if she'd like to take the ipod Touch with her. She turned it on and saw Capt. Jack Sparrow...this was her reaction:

Then she went to the next screen where it said, along the top, Happy birthday, Bug! She was stunned.

...and very happy!

This thing seems a bit dangerous...

After she got up she opened some more cards. This one from her aunt made her laugh. A lot.

While reading this one, she's trying to figure out who it's from.

She couldn't figure it out. Apparently when the children's librarian signs her name without the "Miss" at the front, it means nothing to Bug.

She seemed to enjoy opening cards more than presents this year...pretty funny. This is the one from me & her dad. I think she likes it!

She's usually quite good at crossing her eyes. She was just too giggly to do it this time.

Every.single.time. that Bug sees these little Moleskine notebooks she pesters me to get some. Finally...I did.

I made 2 cakes. They each had the Chinese character for "9" on them. This one was for her Chinese class.

We took this one to the Chinese buffet to share with the kids there.

Make way for ducklings!

2011-05-10T09:20:00.000-06:00

Bug came running into the house yesterday, yelling something about ducks. I followed her outside. There was a mother mallard and 10 ducklings in the neighbors yard. We got to watch them for a bit, then it was obvious that she was ready to get them back to the river. We followed along, knowing that half a block away is a very busy street...which must be crossed if you want to get to the river. I ended up standing in the middle of the road (glad that it was a one-way street) stopping traffic so that they could get across. It was nice to disrupt traffic and get smiles & waves (all five fingers!) in return.

Piano recital.

2011-05-10T09:13:00.001-06:00

Bug had a piano recital last Friday. She played Young Hunter along with her teacher. She was very excited and did a great job!

We were just out feeding the ducks...

2011-05-04T15:04:00.001-06:00

Bug & I were just finishing lunch at the park when I spotted this guy who looked rather familiar. Know that Elton John is in town, I was pretty sure that this was his guitarist, Davey Johnstone. We fed a few ducks, then got back on our bike. Before long, I spotted him and we rolled up and asked if he was Davey. We chatted briefly, he asked Bug her name & age...told her that his youngest is 6 1/2. He was kind enough to post for a pic with Bug. When we got home and did some research we found out that it's his birthday on Friday. If we'd only known...Bug was thrilled when I told her that he'd played with Alice Cooper at one time.

Easter pics...finally.

2011-05-03T09:54:00.000-06:00

Better late than never, right? Bug was quited excited on Easter morning. The hunt was on for the basket. Where could it be?

Success! She was thrilled to find the 2 birds from the movie Rio.

This looks like a tasty carrot!

E.B.!

Toe socks? It might not look like it in the pic, but she was VERY happy to get these.

Bug & her dad made the paper!

2011-04-18T10:40:00.000-06:00

We went to an Earth Day event on Saturday. Bug very much liked learning about raptors. We were surprised when we got our paper the next day and saw this:

Japan

2011-03-15T11:00:00.002-06:00

Our friend, Takeshi, lives in Japan. He was on a plane at the Narita airport, ready to come to the U.S. to play so Irish music when the first earthquake hit. Here's an article/interview about his experience: http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2011/03/13/r_wg7iruous84x7vwrdqo3q/index.xml

Dinosaurs!

2011-01-24T09:16:00.003-06:00

Bug & I headed down to the Children's Museum the other day. We hadn't been there since September! I'm not sure why it took us so long to go back, but we will be making it a regular stop again. Bug was excited because there was a new dinosaur exhibit. We'd seen the footprints on the sidewalk...

She practiced flying...

She made some new friends...

She did some construction work...

I left the museum with a Very Happy Bug!

The (Good) Advice Book

2011-01-06T15:33:00.003-06:00

Bug started this book over the summer, then abandoned it for a bit. She finished it today and gave me permission to share. I thought it might be good for us all to start the new year with some (good) advice!

\
\\

Sledding

2010-12-27T12:54:00.002-06:00

Bug got an inflatable snow tube for Christmas. The folks next door to us talked to us and when plowing their driveway have been pushing it all to one spot to make a hill for Bug.

She could hardly wait to get outside today and try it out.

Christmas in Milwaukee

2010-12-27T12:31:00.005-06:00

We spent the weekend in Milwaukee at Bug's Grandma's house. Fun was had by all and nobody went hungry!

This is Bug during the 3+ hur drive to Grandma's. She read the entire way there. She looks a bit tired, don't you think?

Here's what was waiting for her at Grandma's house:

She got a lot of books this year. She just started the Warriors series, which is about cat clans. If you know Bug, you know that this is PERFECT for her.

Great-Aunt Susan used really STRONG ribbon!

Owl pellets!

Really, she was excited about this movie. It's "Up", and I think she'd just spotted Kevin on the cover.

This looks like trouble...

What caused her to do this?

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, of course (if you recall her Halloween costume, it will all make sense):

Alienology! She looks through this book every time we're at the book store. She had NO idea that Grandma was getting it for her.

Bug surprised everyone by playing "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" on the piano. She started lessons in October, but we kept it a secret, knowing that we'd be at Grandma's for Christmas.

Lucky was extra-friendly with Bug on this trip and was more than happy to get some attention.

These are some of the gorgeous wooden boxes that Bug's dad made. I don't have a photo of mine, yet...but it's awesome.

What happens when you tell me that you want money for Christmas.

2010-12-19T16:12:00.003-06:00

While talking to my sister, I asked her what my 15-year-old nephew might want for Christmas. She asked him and he didn't have an answer, other than "Money". OK...he got what he asked for.

Step 1: Cut the bendy ends off of 150 straws, then cut the straws in half.

Step 2: Take twenty $1 bills and roll them up VERY TIGHTLY (a toothpick came in handy here) and then wrap a bit of white paper around that and stuff it into a straw.

Step 3: Roll up about 20 pieces of white paper and put them into straws, too. We don't want this to be TOO easy.

Step 4: Remove the tissues from a tissue box and put all of the straw pieces into it.

Step 5: Replace tissue.

Step 6: Wrap the box.

Step 7: Put some stuffing into a shoe box and place wrapped box into it.

Step 8: Seal with duct tape.

Step 9: Put some stuffing into a larger box and place duct-taped-box into that.

Step 10: Add more stuffing!

Step 11: Seal tightly with duct tape.

Step 12: Wrap nicely.

Step 13: Be prepared for 20 minutes of laughter (from those NOT opening it) and glares (from the nephew). I think he'll have a gift suggestion for me next year...

Snow and art.

2010-12-13T08:56:00.004-06:00

Winter is most definitely here! Bug is enjoying it very much. These were taken a week ago after the first snowfall. We got another 17" or so this weekend. More pics to come.

This was taken shortly before she broke through and came out the other side.

Bug loves it when her dad tells her about the time when he was at an Alice Cooper show and while his bad seats meant that he couldn't see the front of the stage very well, it DID mean that he could see exactly how Alice made it appear that his head was being chopped off. I can only assume that that's what inspired this series of drawings:

Owl Pellets!

2010-11-15T17:01:00.004-06:00

While in Washington last month, I picked up a book for Bug called Owl Puke. It came with a bone-sorting tray and one owl pellet. Bug read the book and read some other books about owls. We finally got around to dissecting the pellet today. We'll clean the bones up and work on identifying them on another day.

She was so excited. She wasn't quite sure what to expect.

I was a little surprised that she was ok with holding it.

Hard at work and very focused. She had spotted a small bone and was trying to get it loose.

Success!!! (though it's too small to see in this photo)

Part of the lower-jaw.

Tall socks!

2010-11-05T09:30:00.004-06:00

Bug likes to wear "tall socks". She's got a pair of shoes that she likes, but they're a bit loose. Solution? I got out the yarn & needles and made her a pair of thick tall socks. Hopefully her shoes will fit better now.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-24T16:20:00.001-06:00

Washington - Oct. 2010 - part 5 - coming home

2010-10-22T15:54:00.006-06:00

The first two pics were from out trip TO Washington. I didn't have them when I made those posts, so I'm adding them now. I didn't even know that they had been taken. Bug's dad was outside, stretching his legs. Bug & I were in our room.

On our last day in Washington Bug got to go to the children's museum in Everett. She'd been there 3.5 years ago and couldn't wait to go back. She went there with her dad & Uncle Craig while I went yarn shopping with my sister.

While at the train station, I got Bug to sit down with me & my sister.

Bug being Bug, she insisted on a "silly faces" photo, too. There was a lady sitting further down on the bench from Bug's dad who was enjoying this quite a bit.

I can't find the pic from 2004, but Bug's dad took a shot of her just like this on our last visit to WA. He had her pose the same way.

Taking a flying leap!

Since we had coach seats on the way back, we spent quite a bit of time in the lounge car. Bug took advantage of the table to work on a comic strip.

She enjoyed some reading before going to sleep.

Saying goodbye to Antonio.

Washington - Oct. 2010 - part 4 - the zoo

2010-10-16T08:58:00.007-06:00

We went back to Seattle so that Bug could go to the zoo. We'd gone there on a previous trip, when she was 2 1/2 and really liked it. We were not disappoined.

Bug was thrilled that she got to see the jaguar EATING.

This penguin seemed to be playing with Bug. It was the coolest thing to watch.

Just before the trip, Bug & I saw "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole", so the owls were high on her list of cool things to see.

Bug got about a 5-minute one-on-one chat with this lady who is holding a peregrine falcon.

Bug loves meerkats!

Washington - Oct. 2010 - part 3

2010-10-13T10:17:00.004-06:00

We took the ferry to Whidbey Island. Bug thought that it was pretty cool to drive a car onto a boat.

It was a bit windy...

We made a stop at Ft. Casey. Bug had a great time exploring the whole area. We found a geocache, too.

A little roomier than the train closet!

The lighthouse was only open on weekends, so we didn't get to go inside.
We then headed north to Deception Pass. We had brought along a travel bug to leave in a geocache. (click on the teddy bear towards the top of the page to follow her travels) This is the view from where we left it. Definitely worth the hike.

Bug, holding Doris Mae just before we put her in the geocache. She's been removed and is in Canada, but hasn't been dropped in a cache yet. We're looking forward to following her adventures.

Washington - Oct. 2010 - part 2

2010-10-13T08:22:00.004-06:00

Bug LOVES Halloween. When Aunt Mary told her that she'd take her to the Halloween Store, she was overjoyed. I then told Bug that we had packed the perfect outfit for such a store:

We also stopped to see the remains of a really big tree.

Bug got put to work pulling weeds.

Max kept an eye on her.

We did some geocaching. There were 3 of them on Aunt Mary's street!

I forget the name of the yellow flowers, but they've got Bug's name in them.

In Seattle, getting ready to go underground!
Bug seemed to really enjoy this tour.

Here she is by a big totem pole in Seattle.

By the big pig at Pike Place Market. She then turned around and got to watch the guys throwing fish to each other.

Washington - Oct. 2010 - part 1

2010-10-12T08:27:00.004-06:00

Our family just got home from an 11-day trip. We hopped on a train and headed west to visit my oldest sister & her husband. We treated ourselves to a family room for the ride out there. Bug was so excited when she heard that she'd be sleeping in an upper bunk ON THE TRAIN. Just before we left, she spotted this eye mask at Old Navy. It makes for a funny pic, but she ended up not really using it.

There was a very shallow closet in the room, but Bug was able to squeeze herself in and shut the door.

Here she is, relaxing with her dad in our room. We were on the lower-level of the train and had a window on each side.

Antonio was one of the servers in the dining car. He had seen Bug's tiger and joined us in the observation car to discuss wild cats. We later found out that he'd be getting on the train heading east the same day as we were.

Bug & her dad checking things out during one of our longer stops.

After arriving at our destination, we headed to the house to drop off our bags. Bug ran to this tree and did this:
We then took her to a nearby park to burn off some energy.

I don't know how many times she went across these, but it was a lot!
We wore her out!

Fun with atoms.

2010-09-17T07:52:00.003-06:00

Bug is using a new science program this year and we LOVE it. We're using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey and are studying chemistry. Yesterday she built 10 atom models out of marshmallows.

The large white marshmallows are neutrons, the pink ones are protons and the little green ones are electrons.
Here we have Hydrogen, Lithium and Beryllium:

Here are Helium and Boron:

Next up, Carbon (Bug's favorite element) and Nitrogen:

Oxygen:

Flourine:

Lastly, we have Neon:

Fun times with old friends.

2010-09-11T20:31:00.003-06:00

Bug's dad didn't work on Friday so that we could go to the Twin Cities to see our friend, Garnet Rogers, play. On the way we stopped in our hometown for lunch. We used to have lunch at this Chinese buffet every Wednesday. The owners are so nice. When we moved they marked Bug's height on their wall. See her shoulders? That's how tall she was when we left.

While eating, our old mailman came in. We found out that he's retiring at the end of the year. He delivered mail to Bug, me, my mom and my grandma. When I remind him of this he says it makes him feel old.

When we got to Minneapolis we went to Jack's house. He just turned 4. He & Bug had a great time playing together.

We went to see Garnet Roger's show with Jack & his folks. 5 other friends showed up, as well. It was fun to see everyone. The following morning we met up with Garnet for breakfast before heading back to our hometown. Bug was happy.
The weather on Saturday was perfect. There were some civil war reenactors there. Bug loved the cannon. She got to see/hear it get fired twice.

My old high school counselor & his wife were participating. I got them to pose with Bug.

We met some new authors & illustrators. This is Tim Kehoe who wrote a pretty cool book and has invented some very cool toys. While waiting for him to do his talk Bug started reading the book and discovered that there's a character in it with her name! Oh, be sure to check out the colored bubbles that he invented. They are crazy cool! www.zubbles.com

This husband & wife duo wrote and illustrated a Civil War alphabet book. It turns out that the wife, Pat Bauer, was at the Garnet Rogers show the night before and recognized Bug. Small world.

Though not on the schedule this year, David LaRochelle let us know that he might be at the event. Bug made a dragon quiz for him. (he passed)

We had gotten a copy of his latest book the week before and brought it with us in case he was there. Not only did he sign it, but he drew a "number dragon" in it for Bug.

Writing Tales!

2010-08-28T19:08:00.004-06:00

While we never stop schooling, Bug & I started up full-time homeschooling 2 weeks ago. We are using a new (to us) writing program called Writing Tales. I hadn't heard of it until I saw it mentioned on a homeschooling message board. I did a bit of research and realized that it would be perfect for the girl. I went back to the homeschool board and did a quick search in the 'for sale' section and found a copy at a great price. Yay!

The way this work is, we read a fable, learn some grammar, then Bug writes the fable in her own words. The second week, we keep working on grammar, Bug writes a rough draft where she is allowed to get creative...give characters names, change what animal they are, etc. At the end of the week she writes her final draft. At the end of the school year, she will have 15 fables that she's written that we can bind into a book.

With Bug's permission, here is her retelling of the fable, The Crow and The Pitcher, followed by her rough draft (where she got to be creative). If you click on the page and it will open up a bigger version. It didn't scan clearly, I suspect because it was written in pencil, so I'll type each version here, as well.

Retelling:

A crow was strolling around on an island, looking for water to drink. Suddenly, something caught his eye. He looked over to his left.......and he saw a Pitcher! Overjoyed, he bounded over and stuck his beak in, but something was wrong. There was very little water in it! To solve it, he took 20 pebbles and dropped them in, one by one. Finally, the water was high enough so that he could drink from the Pitcher.

Rough draft:

Once, in the jungles of Africa, there was a baby panther crying under a boabab tree. She was thirsty and her name was Sniffy. Her mommy was killed and she needed someone to take care of her. She got up and set off to find some water. Suddenly, she tripped on something and fell right on her sensitive, little pink nose! She got up and turned around to see what she had tripped on. It was a large, tall, hollow rock, and it didn't have a lot of water in it! Sniffy saw a big piece of meat lying nearby. She picked it up with her mouth, put it in the water, and the water level rose. Then she drank the water.

More sock creatures.

2010-08-19T07:54:00.003-06:00

I've been busy with my latest obsession....sock creatures. This first one is one of my favorites. It also took the most work, of course.

Bug has claimed this pink cat for herself.

I made the tie-dyed frog for my friend, Donna, of Southwind Treasures. Be sure to check out their site. All of the tie-dye that you see on us comes from them.

Cute, but I don't think I'll do any others without feet. I don't like how the bottoms turn out.

This guy is LONG. The neck is a bit weak, too.

Milwaukee

2010-08-17T19:10:00.006-06:00

We took a quick visit to Milwaukee over the weekend. I got to meet an "internet friend" after nearly 9 years of online chatting/telephone calls. I wish we'd had more time.

We went to Discovery World and had some fun.

Bug was brave enough to touch some fish this time.
This sound/light table is so incredibly cool.

She was having fun, I swear!

Just before we left, Uncle Scott called from Germany. It was hard to hear, as it was pretty noisy in the building, but Bug managed. Look how happy she was!

It's always fun to see Cousin E.

They even got S to sit for a pic.

Just before we left, we realized that we'd taken no pics of Bug with her grandma.

She's excited that she's nearly as tall as Grandma, now.

New toys for Bug

2010-07-25T07:51:00.002-06:00

I'm trying something new and made these for Bug.

I was all set to put a mouth on this guy...

When I realized that he was kind of cool this way, too. After discussing it with Bug, we've decided to go mouthless, so that she has more options with this one.
A rather sad (maybe confused?) tie-dyed sock bunny. I like it.

Where the magic happens.

2010-07-22T14:19:00.002-06:00

Bug LOVES to draw. I have an old Hoosier-style cupboard that doesn't fit in my kitchen, so we use it for art supplies and a desk for Bug. It's right behind my computer desk, so we can be together while working on different projects. If I turn my chair around, this is my view:

A trip to our home town.

2010-07-10T21:33:00.003-06:00

We went "home" for an art show today. Of course, we had to go our favorite Chinese restaurant there. In the first photo, Bug is pointing to the mark they made the last time we ate there before we moved...almost 2 1/2 years ago.

Bug visits an old friend, Mudboy.

She's very silly. If you've read this blog for any length of time, you've seen other photos of these two together. They go way back. He was even at the pirate party she had when she turned 3.
How awesome is this horse statue? It's made from found objects.

Not real easy to see, but Bug really liked this bird sculpture.

Of course, we can't go on a drive without a good book.

Green belt!

2010-07-09T21:19:00.002-06:00

Bug tested for her green belt tonight. Here are a few photos:

11 kids tested for belts tonight. Here's a group shot.
Bug with her instructor, Mr. T.

Dragons!

2010-07-08T13:34:00.010-06:00

Bug recently made, wrote and illustrated a book about dragons (heavily influenced by the movie How to Train Your Dragon) and sent it to her author/illustrator friend, David LaRochelle. Today, she received a letter from him. She was SO excited. She gave me permission to post the pages from the book and her letter from "Tall David". If you haven't read his books to your kids, you really should. We highly recommend The Best Pet of All and The End (that's Bug hugging David in the photo for The End). You can click on the pictures to make them larger and easier to read.

Notice that the Reading Dragon is reading "The Best Pet of All" by David LaRochelle. Here's the letter she received today:

Sidewalk chalk

2010-07-07T17:21:00.003-06:00

Bug has been busy with the sidewalk chalk lately. This sentence made me laugh. (I did like the proper use of commas, though.)

Summer fun

2010-07-02T16:37:00.002-06:00

Bug & I checked out Riverfest today. She got a wristband that gave her unlimited time in all of the bounce houses. She was thrilled. It also gave her access to this...It was odd hearing parents shouting at their kids (who were having fun) "Use the gun! Use the gun!"

I couldn't find Bug at the library on Tuesday night. Finally, I spotted her on this comfy kid-sized chair.
This is her current favorite outfit. The hat was purchased at a garage sale some time ago. I just found the t-shirt & skirt at Goodwill. After I asked, she assured me that it is ok to wear at lion shirt with a leopard-print skirt. Whew.

REO Speedwagon

2010-06-19T23:17:00.006-06:00

We got to see Three Dog Night and REO Speedwagon. Bug was pretty excited, as she'd met REO's guitarist, Dave Amato, earlier in the day. Both bands sounded great. I still remember listening to Three Dog Night (8-track!) on my brother's stereo (when he wasn't around).

Here she is, before REO started playing.

After the show, we got to meet the rest of the band.

This is the bass player, Bruce Hall.

Neal Doughty, keyboards.

Her new friend (see below), Kevin Cronin, vocals.

With Dave Amato once again. He's the reason we got to be there.

Drummer, Bryan Hitt.

When she first met Kevin, before she could get him to sign her backstage pass, he heard the fireworks outside and said "You want to go watch the fireworks?" and off they go, out of the tent. I followed behind and tried to catch them. In the photo it looks like she's just following him. I wish that I'd been quicker with the camera.

She caught up with him later to tell him that he was a good friend. He asked if she got good grades. She nodded, then told him she was homeschooled. In this shot they are discussing homeschool and school buses. (we got to ride one there from the parking lot)

Geocaching

2010-06-13T10:32:00.003-06:00

Bug & I have had fun geocaching the past couple of weeks. We've found about a dozen caches and NOT found several more. We always seem to find SOMETHING, though.

She found this deer jawbone down by the river.

Yesterday we found a snake skin.

Birthday round-kicks!

2010-05-15T18:16:00.003-06:00

At karate class today, the other students got to line up and give Bug her birthday round-kicks.

Bug is 8! (also, Mandarin links have been updated)

2010-05-14T21:25:00.000-06:00

Bug is 8 today. I don't know how that happened so quickly. It sure has been an eventful 8 years. 8 years full of art, music, pirates, dragons, volcanoes...oh, and HATS. Lots of hats.

I love this shot of Bug laughing. It's so very much HER.

Here's what brought it on...How to Train Your Dragon Mad-Libs.

She just finished reading book 2 in the series (from the library), so was THRILLED to get book 3 as a gift today.

I think this shot sums up her day.

Pre-birthday party

2010-05-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

Bug's birthday is tomorrow, but since we had friends coming to visit we had cake today. I made it yesterday and banned her from the kitchen so that she had no idea what it looked like.

Here she is this morning, getting her first look at it.

After lunch at the Chinese buffet. She LOVED the Wall-E candle!

I offered her a choice: hand or eyeball....she chose hand. Since it had black and gray icing, here's what her tongue looked like:

Rocket Girl

2010-04-24T18:59:00.000-06:00

The first pic was taken during Bug's very first visit to a playground. Many shots were taken, but this was the best of the best. We call it "Rocket Girl". Over the next few years, Bug posed (usually willingly) on the same rocket, but we never again captured the magic of the original.

School in the park.

2010-04-21T21:01:00.000-06:00

The weather was great today (again) so Bug and I decided to take advantage of it (especially since they're calling for rain Fri.-Sun.).
We took care of math, narration and dictation at home, then got out the bike. We grabbed some lunch on the way and rode down to the park. Bug wanted a pic taken by this cannon.

After lunch we read Bruce Colville's retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

We then threw the frisbee around for a while. At some point Bug decided that she just wanted to throw it by herself, so I tried to get some shots. The last one is blurry, but I like it.

After playing, we studied Mandarin for a while, then went out for ice cream. Yum. It was then time for karate class.

On our way home we picked up some bread and stopped at the park again to feed the ducks.

This one was very noisy. Bug said he was "double-quacking" at her...and that's exactly what it sounded like.

This squirrel chased 2 ducks away to get this.

Our new ride.

2010-04-13T10:20:00.000-06:00

Bug & I do a lot of bike riding when it's nice out. We had an old (15 years) pedal trailer with a 20" wheel, but decided to get this new one. It's got a 24" wheel and can be used until Bug weighs 80 lbs...which should be quite a long time.

Science!

2010-04-10T20:11:00.000-06:00

Bug and I worked on some science projects today. First up, we set up a water-filtration system to see if we could turn dirty water into clean water. In the first pic, Bug is working on putting the parts together.

Here's the final product. The top layer is gravel, then sand followed by active carbon and, finally, filter paper.

I forgot to take a pic of the dirty water...we mixed water, soil and cooking oil together. Here's Bug, pouring it into the filter.

Here you can see some of the dirt being filtered out of the water.

Here's what came out the bottom. Clear water! (we didn't drink it, though)

Bug also got this egg for Easter. We put it in water and it's supposed to crack open and something will grow out of it...stay tuned!

Meat Puppets!

2010-04-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the big night...the Meat Puppets concert! Bug was pretty excited about it. Here she is as we're getting ready to leave.

Here she is outside the venue. She got many comments/compliments on her shirt from the folks who were hanging around, waiting for the doors to open.

She was asking how long it would be until we could go in when I told her to turn around...and she spotted Curt Kirkwood. (singer/guitarist) He remembered her from last summer, said he still had the note that she gave him and was more than happy to pose for a photo.

As soon as I was done taking that picture the rest of the band showed up. I was just going to get a shot of Bug with them but they insisted that Bug's dad & I join them. They all thought her shirt was pretty cool, too.

Bug had had Curt sign her "Too High to Die" CD cover last summer, but didn't get to meet Cris until tonight, so she had him sign it.

Cris asked Bug if there were any particular songs that she was hoping to hear. Her reply? "I'll write you a list." She got out her notebook and got to work. I think he was worried, but I knew that it would only have 2 songs on it: Coming Down and Flaming Heart. They played Coming Down, but we had to wake her up to hear it!

It was a long night for Bug. She did have fun, though.

They had some kid-sized shirts available, so we got her one. Her dad took it back and had the band sign it. Cris went a little crazy on the back.

Leopard frogs, M & M Swirl, and Meat Puppets.

2010-04-02T20:30:00.001-06:00

Bug and I went for our first bike ride of the year yesterday. While on the trail we spotted this leopard frog sunning itself.

Today, Bug and were out doing a bit of shopping. We stopped for lunch and then Bug had dessert. The flavor of the day was M&M Swirl and she decided to try it. It was a big hit.

Bug is going to go see the Meat Puppets this weekend. She LOVES their "Too High to Die" CD, so I made this shirt for her to wear to the show. She got to meet the singer/guitarist last summer, but didn't get to go to the show. She's quite excited about it.

Marsh trail.

2010-03-30T00:11:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed the sunny (but a bit chilly) weather yesterday. We started out with a walk on the marsh trails.

We were discussing what might live in this hole that we found.

Bug, trying to see what might be in the hole on this tree.

Another hole in a tree. Do you notice a theme yet?

One of the trees that Bug always looks for when we're on the trail. It's decaying and she enjoys seeing what has changed since last time...oh, and she counted 7 (I think) holes in & around this one.

This is another shot of the previous tree.

One more tree with a hole.

Bug saw a couple of geese on the water that were eating. She got out her nature journal and settled in to do a quick drawing.

When we were done at the marsh we climbed up the hill to Bug's favorite playground.

Not only can Bug cross the monkey bars by herself (mastered last year) but she's tall enough to get started all by herself. Yay!

Bug's dad gave her a pretty big push. She's holding on for dear life!

Today's outfit.

2010-03-26T12:20:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share Bug's clothing choices for today. I think it'll make you smile. Or laugh. Whatever.

Free Energy on Late Night with David Letterman

2010-03-18T10:14:00.002-06:00

These guys played on Letterman last night. 3 of them (singer, bassist & lead guitarist) grew up in my hometown.
CLICK HERE

I updated the link as the previous one was taken down.

Molly the Barn Owl

2010-03-18T09:30:00.001-06:00

We are hooked on this webcam. Molly is sitting on 5 eggs which should be hatching any day now.
Online video chat by Ustream

Orange belt!

2010-03-12T20:59:00.000-06:00

Bug had her orange belt test tonight. She was so excited! She did really well and stayed pretty focused. Here are some pictures from the evening:

Here she is with her new orange belt.

With her friend, Laurie who is a 3rd degree black belt.

Bug and Mr. T. This is serious business...

The best part of earning a new belt? Going to The Pearl for ice cream!!!

A look back...

2010-03-11T11:59:00.000-06:00

I was looking at my old blog and thought that I'd share the pics that were there. Bug looks so little in them! In these photos, she's about 3 1/2.

In the first one, she'd been "painting" the sidewalk with water. This would keep her busy for a LONG time.

She then found a pile of leaves to play in. She decided that it was a volcano and in this shot, she is erupting out of the volcano.

Lastly, here is Bug working on making letters.

This next set is from Feb. 2006, so Bug is not quite 4 years old.

I had found a great pattern for a knitted/felted wizard hat. Bug, of course, had to try it on BEFORE it was felted...

I think that it fit just a little bit better after the felting...

Bug's dad was telling her about different kinds of wood and one day he brought some pieces home, along with some shellac. Here is Bug, experimenting.

And, finally, it's time to wash the dishes.

Polar Plunge!

2010-03-06T16:57:00.000-06:00

Today was the Polar Plunge which raised money for the Special Olympics. Bug raised $125! Thank you to all who donated. Here's a photo of her team (from karate school). Together they raised over $6500!

Since she was "Too Chicken to Plunge", Bug got to hang out in the Chicken Coop.

At one point they had all of the chickens gather there to do the chicken dance. Bug wasn't sure what to think about that.

Here are the kids before the plunge. Look! Sand! They had to cut and remove a bunch of ice from the river so there was a place to do this. The good news is that the temperature was in the mid-40s today. The water temp, however, was 31 degrees.

I was only able to get one photo of the kids running in.

After the plunge, we all headed back to the karate studio for a party. Bug decided to make a bed and relax.

Mandarin Chinese links - updated Sept. 18, 2010

2010-02-14T21:53:00.010-06:00

Here are some links that I have found to be useful. I will be updating this regularly.

PRONUNCIATION HELP
Type in a word and hear how to say it. - standardmandarin.com

FREE READING MATERIAL

Beginner-level, free reading material. - chicool.com

A variety of reading material. - A Chinese Text Sampler

GAMES

Learn Chinese characters - Sagwa on PBS Kids

CARTOONS

Cartoons in Mandarin - click on a picture and see what you get! - cartoons

SONGS

Chinese children's songs

Children's songs in Mandarin

WHERE I GET OUR MANDARIN BOOKS

Child Book

Better Chinese - we're using My First Chinese Reader Level 1. We found them here, but ordered from Child Book. (see above link) There's a great free online trial available, as well.

VIDEO - STORIES

Many stories from Sun Flower Language Studio

Crouching Ox, Crowing Rooster

A Fox and a Cat

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

VIDEO - SONGS

Lion King - Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Lion King - I Just Can't Wait to Be King

Lion King - Hakuna Matata

NEW - Jungle Book - Bare Necessities

LESSONS

Language Guide GREAT interactive site.

Kids Chinese Club only 3 lessons, but they got Bug off to a good start. We did a 12-week subscription for $12, then canceled. She got a lot out of it.

Chinese For Kids

Free online lessons

BLOGS

http://mandarinkids.wordpress.com/

http://wenjonggal.wordpress.com/

Posts from my blog

Bug's first try at Chinese writing

Video of Bug counting to 10 in Mandarin

Chinese New Year's Eve party 2010

新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) Happy New Year!

2010-02-14T10:59:00.007-06:00

Today is Chinese New Year. We were invited to a New Year's Eve party last night at our local Chinese restaurant. Bug was excited because it meant that she would get to stay up late, as we didn't head over there until 9PM. Here she is with the kids whose parents own the place.

We have a couple of Flat Stanley's visiting us right now, so they came along for the party, too.

Red envelopes = money!Many pictures were taken...

Our hosts for the evening.

Here's a shot of just about everyone that was there.
There was food. A lot of food. They were unable to tell us what much of it was. Other than the one container of soup (below), there were 2-4 plates of each of these. There also was a really good saugage (we think) and asparagus dish that I didn't get a picture of. It came out later, and I forgot to take a shot.

The butter shrimp was tasty.

Bug was fascinated by these shrimp.

We're pretty sure this was octopus...

Very yummy fish.

Pickled chicken feet, anyone? When they brought this out they said "chicken legs". We all looked at it and said "No, chicken feet." This was followed by laughter all around.

Duck and beef. Quite tasty.

Too Chicken to Plunge

2010-02-09T11:35:00.002-06:00

While she's "too chicken to plunge", Bug does want to help out the Special Olympics along with her fellow karate students. Will you help her raise some money? Click here to donate: https://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org/pp10/pledge.asp?id_p=5738

The Wedding of WALL-E and Eve

2010-01-30T22:53:00.002-06:00

Here's a comic strip that Bug made the other day. WALL-E and Eve get married....by a Rabbi.
If you click on the drawing, you can see it MUCH bigger.

3M girls visit again.

2010-01-25T21:46:00.004-06:00

My friend, M and her girls M & M visited us on Friday. The girls were all thrilled to have a no-homeschool day. First stop: the Children's Museum.

We have a Flat Stanley visiting us, so he came along for some photos. Here he is, on the weather map.

Helping Bug deliver the news.

Bug and M playing Neos. What a FUN game!

Of course, we had to go out for the best ice cream on the planet!

Flat Stanley even got to see how they make the waffle cones. Yum!

We went to the local university to check out the archaeology lab.

M took this after I climbed across the driver's seat to get in. There was too much snow on my side. I think she was just in awe that I could do this...or maybe jealous.

There's a small museum at our library. Right now they have several old vehicles there. This is a 1933 Oldsmobile that is the only one in existence. This one was used in the Johnny Depp movie, Public Enemies. There's a photo next to the car of Johnny standing in front of it. This car is huge and gorgeous.

Garnet Rogers

2010-01-10T14:39:00.002-06:00

We had the chance to see Garnet Rogers again last night. We always enjoy his shows. The music is great, the stories interesting/entertaining. Bug lasted until about 10:30, falling asleep underneath a blanket that Garnet supplied.

I didn't get any pics at the show, but here he is, playing a guitar that Bug's dad built.

We went out for breakfast this morning. Bug was so excited that she didn't eat very much.

She did, however, write this note. (Gail is Garnet's wife)

Christmas - part 4

2010-01-01T20:11:00.004-06:00

Because of the blizzard, we didn't get to my sister's house on Christmas Eve...we postponed it until New Year's Day. Bug was thrilled to have one more chance to open presents. I think you can really see her joy in this pic...or at least her tonsils.

I had to make Cousin B work for his gift...

He LOVES grape Laffy Taffy. This makes gift-giving easy.

I finished the sweater I was making for Bug's newest cousin. I wove the final yarn ends in on the drive there. Whew....

Bug and her cousins wanted to show us how strong they are.

They had a great time. It was hard to leave.

Family photo...

2009-12-31T14:36:00.001-06:00

I keep forgetting to post this "lovely" family photo. We were at the mall the weekend before Christmas (yes, we're crazy) and I forced everyone into a photo booth. Much fun was had by all, as you can see.

Christmas - part 3

2009-12-28T15:39:00.004-06:00

After emptying our stockings, we hopped into the van and headed across the state to Grandma's house. Here's Bug when we were about 10 minutes away.

There were a few gifts waiting for her there...

Uncle Larry & Aunt MaryLee made a good choice, it would seem...
Grandma got Bug the Littlest Pet Shop Clubhouse (or something like that)

Of course, the child who's had Chinese food weekly (or more) since she was old enough to eat (and is now learning Mandarin) NEEDS this Littlest Pet Shop pet. Check out the giant fortune cookie!

We're going to have fun with this, I suspect.

There's always room for one more kitty.

Ooh...cousin M did a good job, too! Look at the excitement on Bug's face. Dragonology!
Cousin S was drawing & writing later in the evening. She kept hoping that the new markers were scented...but they weren't. You can see every color that she used, though.

Christmas - part 2

2009-12-28T12:17:00.005-06:00

Christmas morning, before heading to Milwaukee.

Bug made this sign and put it on the room where the tree and stockings were.

Santa filled Bug's stocking AND hung a purse on the doorknob for her, too.

Santa came through with something she'd really, REALLY wanted.

This WALL-E book is really cool. It has lots of the early drawings and layouts.

Fun CD! Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants .

Bug checked out her cat, Purrl's stocking, too.

Christmas - part 1

2009-12-24T16:49:00.007-06:00

The snow/wind/rain/ice kept us from visiting my sister today, so we decided to open our presents. I was able to completely surprise Bug's dad! As soon as he saw the case he knew what it was (it came from the shop he works at) but he had had no idea that I was buying it. Yay!
It's a Yamaha Silent guitar...very cool design. In this shot he doesn't have the upper bout attached yet. Because it is removable, I was able to get the case into a box that was narrower than most guitar boxes...he had no idea. I think he likes it!
Bug still loves Wall-e, so we got her a few things.

Bug used to have what she called a "grabber arm"or "robot arm". It broke a while back and she'd been asking for another. I spotted these online and ordered a pair. She was thrilled.

The big hit was the WowWee Alive Tiger Cub...there was a 50% off sale, so we got it as kind of a last minute addition. She LOVES it and informed us that his name is Hobbes and he will be sleeping in her bed tonight.

This is cool, but kind of funny right now, as we're in the midst of a blizzard....it's a "make your own glacier" kit...

When I saw this book, I knew that I had to get it for the girl.

Robots!
Bug thought that this package looked like a giant piece of candy. Sadly, it was not.

It did, however, contain not 1 but TWO new Beatles shirts!
Tomorrow we get to empty our stockings and see what Santa brings...stay tuned for part 2.

More birds.

2009-12-21T20:43:00.001-06:00

I managed to get a shot of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker this morning. It doesn't stay very long, so I had to be quick.

The Downy Woodpecker spends a LOT of time on the suet feeder.