Perilous Preparations {Advent Lights}

Joseph makes a mad dash to get to geometry class, with Peter on high.

Sparing no efforts and wasting no time, Joseph and Peter cooperatively executed a well schemed decorating project which effectively illuminated our exterior surroundings.  Following in the footsteps of their Grandpa Cliff, famous for fantastic lighting displays, the boys spared no expense, spending their own money to acquire new strands of lights for the festive design they envisioned.

A written plan, complete with diagrams and check lists kept Peter and Joseph focused and coordinated their efforts to meet a common goal: become the brightest house on the block. 

Alpine Christmas (a planning list)
1. Get more lights soon (extra bulbs)
2. Acquire evergreen branches
3. Place lights with branches
4. Eat dessert
5. Pray to Baby Jesus

Decorating into the night, Peter perches near his handiwork.

  
Not without great danger was this enterprise accomplished.  The farthest reaches of our roof top stand about thirty feet above the ground and come to a small point on diagonal angles.  Although Joseph knew this section of the job was beyond his comfort level, Peter volunteered willingly.  Disappointed that Dad wouldn't let them attempt reaching this corner in the dark, they begrudgingly agreed to postpone completion.  This most perilous corner had to be accessed twice, as the first attempt to secure the lights failed at first wind.   Admittedly quivering, yet bravely determined to complete the project, Peter scaled the heights a second time to attach the wayward strand. 

Joseph and Peter strike a post-decorating celebratory pose.

The great reward for their decorating efforts came in the form of Grandpa Cliff's compliments, complete with an honest expression of his amazement, "I can't believe you put lights up to that corner!"
Mission accomplished.

Life Goes On {New School Year at Home}

Joseph hits the books

-1-

New room assignments took effect at home after a newly vacated bedroom provided an opportunity for Joseph and Peter to spread out.  Their bunk bed dissembled, mattresses on the floor temporarily (while plans for loft beds are in the works), the extra space and brotherly separation reinvigorated spirits at this time of family transition.  A fresh paint scheme and new carpet in Joseph's room help mark the beginning of high school and signify a dream come true in having his own room (again) after so many years of sharing with his younger brother.

Peter sits at Zac's old desk, working on pre-algebra homework.

-2-

Home school is back in session after our two week journey to and from Notre Dame.  Our home school now sports a dress code; Joseph and Peter are looking sharp during school hours.  A renewed emphasis on discipline this year also extends to keeping order in the classroom/bedroom environments.   These upgrades are due in large part to a few comments made by our first graduate about "sleeping through most of his freshman year."  His younger brothers can thank Zac for their new and improved code of conduct and environmental regulations. 

Brotherly love at Great Grandma's house

-3-

Benefiting Joseph (grade 9) in a special way, our new home school dress code gives him super incentive to complete his day's assignments without delay, thereby freeing him to change into shorts and T-shirt.  Known to linger at his desk, easily captivated by long readings (not assigned) in a history book, Joseph now feels a more urgent desire to stay on track and finish assigned work.  Peter (grade 7), greatly enjoys the moment of completion when the books are closed and the collared shirt and slacks are dispensed with for the day.

-4-

  Breaking News from our freshman at Notre Dame:

• classes are challenging, interesting and demanding
• weather is beautiful; insects are loud
• football games are extremely exciting; for standing fans only, except during half-time
• dorm's dryers hot; shrinking clothes left tumbling for full cycle

-5-

Maybe a few readers will remember our story of an eventful emergency landing on our journey home from New Hampshire when Zachary was discerning his choice of university.   It's a powerful story, and one that I have posted about in greater detail over at Discerning Daily.  Go check it out if you are interested.

-6-

The expected life span of a lawnmower parked at our house is under one year.  This could be due in large part to the fact that these machines come home from our pawn shop, where customers sometimes pawn their broken things and walk away with the money and no intent of returning to claim their goods.  This is the cost of doing business as pawnbrokers, for sure.  So, we keep replacing broken lawnmowers, one after another.  

Art and science with Nerf guns

-7-

We may issue course credit for the science of Nerf gun modification, recognizing the educational value in the ongoing series of scientific and artistic projects involved.  Youtube instructions taught the method:  dissemble, remove air restricter, upgrade springs, make minor aesthetic changes to gun's appearance, reassemble.  Shoot.  One thing we didn't see coming, Joseph getting the third degree from the clerk at the hardware store as he purchased a few cans of spray paint for his Nerf modding project. 

Go visit Jen via Camp Patton for more Quick Takes!

Science Battles {Home School Weapon Art}

Joseph's 14th birthday gift from Collin, Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction served as the inspiration for a series of home school science projects wherein ordinary household items were transformed into weapons (of mass destruction).  Joseph's fascination with the scientific concepts, coupled with his unrivaled enthusiasm for weapons that shoot stuff, meant that several other required subjects waited on the back-burner while the maul gun and Viking catapult were assembled and fired repeatedly (at no one in particular).

"I love making things that can be used to play practical jokes on people." ~Joseph (14)

 "I like putting things together for some reason." ~Joseph (14)

Pentecostal Insights {7}

This flying visitor looks red-dy for Pentecost today!  It is a migrating Western Tanager.  We mark our family calendar to remind us to be on the lookout for these beautiful birds.  Our house is in their flight path in mid-May each year. 

Recognized for his soon-to-be earned AA degree with 60-some other high school 'Running Start' students, Zachary (somewhat reluctantly) took his place of honor on the stage at Whatcom Community College.  Each student had a moment in the spotlight where his academic and other successes were outlined and his plans for the future were announced.   After Zachary's introduction, a collective gasp was heard in the auditorium.  Seriously.  This kid is amazing.  May God be praised!

 If I had to guess, I would say goldfinch, the state bird here in Washington.  But maybe it is a female warbler migrating with her mate?  Ryan?  There was a time on our home school when identifying birds was very high on our to-do list.  We listened to recordings of bird calls to further assist our identification efforts. 

Time with the twins is more fun than ever, as they have grown into playing together and say many words and are better at expressing their wants and needs.  Their mom brings them to play at least once each week, and last week we even had a sleep-over.  Luke must have missed the memo about the sleep part, and he had more of a scream-over.  But Leia slept through all his hysterics and we remember well his dislike for naps and bedtime from the many months he lived with us as our foster son.  They are so dear to us, even when they are screaming.

One more funeral, bringing our total to three this week.  May Belia rest in peace.  Every moment with our pastor is a gift, especially as we prepare for his departure from our parish in one week.  I am especially grateful that we made the decision to center our home school schedule around daily worship, giving us all the chance to be students of Father Qui Thac.  His pastoral ministry, solid teaching and bringing us Jesus every day has blessed us profoundly during these past six years.  He will be missed.

As he prepares to enter the Benedictine Monastery, our pastor has gradually and continually been getting rid of all his stuff.  He will have no personal property as a monk, and therefor has no need for his things.  After the funeral on Friday, the boys helped him take his vestments to his car, to be donated to the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry Chaplain.  Father Qui Thac's emptying of his closets, drawers and shelves serves as a great reminder for us all that we can't take it with us in the end.  So there's no use being too attached to it now.  Let it go.

The second annual Iwo Jima float at our local Ski2Sea Grand Parade featured two of our boys, and two sets of brothers from our close home school and Scouting friends.  The Marine Auxiliary sponsored the float which won either 'best green float' or 'best Memorial Day themed float' (we aren't exactly sure).
The boys love being able to play military and dress up like heroes for the day again this year.  We sat along the route and cheered for them as they passed us by.  Free hamburgers grilled by the Harley Davidson shop a few blocks away made lunch a snap.  Happy Memorial Day all.

Go check out Jen's Conversion Diary next...

Lost Birds {Pigeon Wanderings}

Up on our roof, one of the boys' racing pigeons played peek-a-boo through the skylight.

Apparently the boys' new backyard pigeon loft is a destination loft.  This week a banded pigeon (probably from some one's racing fleet) landed at our loft and hung around for a few hours chatting with the captives.  Probably seeking shelter from the rain, this banded bird did not put up a fight to being captured with a fishing net and granted asylum inside the shelter.  The band number has been reported to a 4H member with connections in the racing community.  It may yet be returned to the rightful owner.


Add one bird to the mix. 

 While Peter's recent fishing expeditions were unsuccessful, the net did come in handy for capturing wayward pigeons.

Experiments in training racing pigeons; you win some, you lose some.

An eventful but slightly unsuccessful 4H experiment, the first release of Joseph's and Peter's racing pigeons from the new loft for training purposes ended in a mystery.  Seven pigeons were set free to fly approximately thirty feet to the open loft, but not one cooperated with the training plan.  One bird was apprehended a few hours later and placed in the loft.  Over the next few days, the wayward pigeons enjoyed the neighborhood and surrounds, and eventually four flew into the loft willingly.

Subtract two birds from the mix, and the plot thickens.

Breeding Begins {Pigeon 4H}

Joseph releases on of the pigeons into the new loft.

After months of hard work designing, building and finishing (with a few more hours yet to go) the new loft is ready-enough to house the pigeons.  Several pairs are now nesting in special breeding boxes with the hope of little eggs hatching this spring.  Birds born at home will race back to this loft someday when they are old enough for competitive flying.  The old loft now stands vacant, abandoned in the shadow of the new Taj Mahal.

Members of the boys' 4H club will continue to give public presentations in the months to come, leading up to a crescendo at the NW Washington Fair in Lynden in August.  Joseph and Peter will be presenting not just pigeons, but also the loft building project in upcoming public speaking opportunities. Talk about a multi-disciplinary home school unit, this loft building project covers all the bases and then some, all taught by a great teacher and pigeon expert: Grandpa Cliff.

 Peter peeks out from one of the rooms in the new two bedroom unit for the pigeons.

Grandpa leads a careful study to find the right matches for mating.

Peter and power tools, under the watchful eyes of Grandpa Cliff

Looking in at the two room design, before the "window" installation

Loft Building 101 {Pigeon 4H}

A Home School Project

with Grandpa Cliff

 

Power tools replace pencils in the hands of our middle schoolers.

It's not an Eagle Project, it's a pigeon project ~ an extension of the 4H Pigeon program in which Joseph and Peter participate with Grandpa Cliff.  It all began with a few pigeons given to Peter on his "anything that breeds" birthday in 2010.  From there, the interest and enthusiasm spread to the point that we will soon have a racing pigeon loft in our back yard. 

the frame goes up

 It's not an official break from (home) school, but due to the enormity of this construction project, there is very little actual desk work being accomplished during pigeon loft work weeks.  The exception is Joseph's math homework, since he's enrolled in an algebra class taught close to home on Monday and Wednesday mornings.  Speaking of math, before the pigeon loft project took off, Grandpa Cliff taught Joseph and Peter how to use the plans and measurements to determine the projected materials list.  He has included them in every step of the project, his patience is heroic. 

Yesterday after a full day's work with hammers, drills and power saws, Grandpa Cliff left the boys with a gallon of paint plus supplies and instructions for painting the interior and the untreated exterior.   Peter stayed outside painting until it was dark, but Joseph called in quits in time to make swimming practice. 

Physical education is involved, particularly climbing and balancing acts. 

Once it's complete, the loft will have sectioned off areas for the fancy birds, the racing birds and the
sick birds.   Pairs of pigeons will have their nest boxes, and in non-breeding seasons the males and females can be separated.  Expect great things from these pampered birds, their new home is fit for kings and queens.

planning, measuring, assembling 

Joseph paints the inside of the loft, before construction of the nest boxes.

Painter Peter

Reaching for Rank {Zac's Eagle Project}

Zachary's quest for Eagle rank is an ongoing concern.

Recently, the survey crew was at the project site, marking the property lines.

Zachary was invited to try out the equipment, and learned how the survey process is done.

Here's the site where Zac hopes to build the rectory carport.

Great homeschool science lesson, and great to have progress on the Eagle project.