Square Dance

Our home school support group hosted a Square Dance this afternoon at a local school gym.  There were about 150 parents and children who attended.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many danced.  The caller was the same man we used last spring for our co-op unit celebration so we knew what to expect during the sets.  He called for 2 1/2 hours.  After the square dancing, we all enjoyed dinner together.

B left home not fully convinced that he was going to enjoy himself.  But once he got there and found his buddy, Ian, they were dancing machines.  Seriously, B danced every set except the last.  "I was just too tired to dance any more!" - B



H and Alexa planned ahead to wear their Laura*Ingalls dresses.  They were dance partners too.  One set they convinced their brothers to trade partners so H danced with Ian and B danced with Alexa.  Their older brother and sister, Owen and Emily, were in their square too so they were with kids they knew.

B is swingin' his partner.

"Circle left..."

We finally got E and C on the floor for the very last set.  Our square was mostly younger children so it was a mix of dancing and laughing.

"Left hand star..."

Mom and Dad doin' a little "dosie doe".



A bird's eye view of all the squares during the last set.  (Thanks, Mark Herbert!  I hadn't thought of taking a photo this high up on the bleachers.)

Upward Praise

The KidzTown Praise Team sang during the devotion time today for the last Upward games of the season.  H had a solo a few times during the afternoon.

Special thanks to Emily Rudolph for all she does to encourage the kidz to use their talents for Jesus!

International Fair - China

Our home school support group hosted an International Fair this evening.  We participated last year and enjoyed it so we decided to participate again this year.  We chose China for several reasons, the main two being cousins J and O.  The kids also have some cool outfits that Aunt Debbie brought them on their last trip to bring O home.

H is watching her friend, Rebecca, demonstrate her outstanding "chopstick" skills.

C had a fever the day of the Fair so she could not attend.  (Big disappointment for her!)  So Dad opted to stay home with her while I took the other three.  (I'm suppose to be wearing the blue jacket on the table.  I forgot before we began our presentation.  Oops!)

All three children shared about China then the other children could walk up to see our table and displays.

"Stamping" passports for China.

Special thanks to Uncle Brian and Aunt Debbie for providing many of the props we used.  Those gifts are treasures and were shared with joy.  And there's a big photo of J and O on the display.  I just didn't get a good photo of that side of the disply.



Sunday Bike Ride

The weather was absolutely amazing today.  So we loaded up the truck with all the bikes and went for a ride around the seminary and down Main Street.

Here are all my ducks in a row...Daddy Duck too!



Jumping

Our children are such good neighbors.  They wanted to make sure their friends' trampoline didn't lose it's "jump-a-bility" while they were out of town.  So our four went over and jumped on it each day our neighbors were gone.  I happened to catch two of them on my camera.  (The other two had wandered back home to help Dad transplant some rose bushes.  There's something exciting about digging a big hole and not getting in trouble for it.)

 C doing a flip.

 H catching some air while doing her flip.

Jumping is such fun!

Basketball Fun

I changed some settings on my camera this week.  Some photos turned out better, some didn't.  But here are a few more of our Upward games this season...

 B scoring.

 B scoring again (#21).

 H taking the ball down the court.

 H finally got to shoot a free throw.  And this one went in!

 H scores!

 E scores!  (She's #13 just in front of Coach Dad.)

 E plays a good game of defense.

C scored too but I was so busy yelling that I forgot to snap the photo.  She's got her defense game going on here.



The Snowy Day

We read The Snowy Day this week.  One of the amazing teachers at co-op had the students make a snowman candle.  Our three who are in the class loved the activity.  These are their finished candles.

 It was more fun to walk around the backyard using them as "lanterns" than to just let them sit on the mantle.  (This photo was taken with the porch light on so we could see the snowman faces.)

And with the porch light off.  Ready to go exploring in the woods with their candle lanterns.

Yes, those are short sleeves.  It was still 60 degrees in the evening.  We sure did enjoy those few days of "spring like" weather.

Chinese Dragons, Rockets and Valentines

We have done so many fun projects at co-op the past few weeks.  I wish I had photos of more than I do.  But here are a few of the fun things we've done.

 During our study of China, the kids learned about the Chinese New Year celebrations.  This is a dragon made from an egg carton.

 While learning about the race to the moon, the kids made bottle air rockets.  It was a big hit!

 B shooting off his rocket.  See the straw just above his head?  Josiah has his ready for take-off.

 Ian's straw is flying through the air in front of him.

 I saw Josiah aiming his rocket at his mom.  Caught! :)

 And it's always a fun day to exchange Valentine's Day cards and have a party.  We enjoyed pizza and sweet treats for lunch.

Upward, Upward, Upward

We have three more Upward Saturdays remaning so I thought I should get some photos posted before the season ends.  I just have a hard time getting any good photos in the gyms.  Bad photos make me not want to post.  But for the sake of the grandparents, here are a few so-so photos.

 B is having another good year.  He enjoys the sport and it shows.

 I just get a kick out of the look on the player's face beside B.  Guess you can call it an action photo.

 E and C are on the same team (thankfully!).  E certainly knows how to guard her girl!

 And she can dribble that ball like a pro.

 C is another pro!  It looks like one of her teammates is having a time of worship but she's really just waiting for a rebound.

 I pushed the button a split second too soon.  C scored on this shot!

 B, Ian and Brent find other things to occupy their time when they're on the bench.  (Coach Emily rocks!)

This is the best I can do on H right now.  Will try again tomorrow.  She's in the middle in gold.  She's having a fun year too.  This is the first year for them to officially keep score.  They are 3-1-1 right now.