Levi's looking longingly out into the back yard and Zephan's dragging a table across the yard and putting it under the nursery window in an attempt to break in from the outside.
Our school year is off and running! (Furgus likes to keep a careful eye on the students :)
Our little bird, now named Brighten, is growing into an insufferable pest due to all the attention she's received from the boys since her hatching. She'll be our tamest bird by far, although her mixed parentage has made her a bit of a mongrel.
The Clubhouse is coming along nicely...it has a roof now! Micah's trying his hardest to get the door up and siding on it before school begins, but time is getting away from him with school preparations and working overtime.
I've had a few fun craft times with my boys, including beading their Converse, making breads and fun snacks, and doing this to the big boys' socks:
"Why?", you may ask? Because their Sensei spends 10 minutes each class correcting the boys on their right and left feet. I kept hearing, "...now, step forward with your left foot. No, Malachi, your OTHER left." So, I brainstormed and got out my tempera paint and alphabet sponges. Worked great! Sensei LOVED it!
And our first field trip of the year was at the beautiful Oregon Gardens for Homeschool Day. It was gorgeous.
I wish I could have taken more pics, but my little guys need both of my hands. They're such good little guys, but with so many ankle-bitters running around, it's easy to lose track of mine!
Thank you, Lord.
So, if anybody even comes around here anymore (I've been so lazy about sitting down and posting since the weather has been so awesome!) Here are the end-of-summer-ish updates, in chronological order :)
It got to be REALLY hot for us Oregonians - 107 degrees! The sun chased us to the beach where we enjoyed time with Nana, overcast but warm conditions and just a perfect day in general. The waves were georgous, the boys played and then Nana treated us all to lunch at The Spouting Horn, right on the world's smallest bay. We watched the boats come in and ate bacon cheeseburgers until our hearts were content.
The kids are great and we're gearing up for another year of homeschool. All their curriculum came in the mail and supplies are bought. Levi will be starting Pre-School this year and I'm excited to see how quickly he picks things up!
On the Zephan front - the adoption still isn't finalized (I WOULD post that, no matter how nice the weather!) and his caseworker told us that there was a little legal issue they had to clear up but they didn't want to worry us as it's not a big deal. Hmmmmm. This beautiful pic was taken after he fell and broke his lip open. We e-mailed the worker to let her know what happened and she mentioned the amount of supervision he requires. We'reconsidering having him evaluated to see if he would be elligible for the next higher bracket of benefits, for kiddos who require more assistance. I think this guy would qualify, but I don't want it to bite us in the butt when we apply for a new little one. Will they think we have enough as it is and not place with us? I don't think so, but we need to think a bit more about it....
Let's see. What else. Oh, our pigeons didn't waste any time "getting to know" one another and produced these 2 lovely eggs. Of course, because they're fertile, this means that we don't have all females (duh). And, of course, we can't have this going on continually, but it's a cool life-cycles lesson for my boys and I was thrilled to get the 3 eldest out of bed last night so they could watch the babies hatch. Congrats, Moo & Mr. Grey!
Solomon tested and passed for his yellow belt! We're so proud!
I tried my hand at cornrowing Levi's hair, and I think I could become proficient at it. I missed the curls, though, and lamented the fact that it made him look older, so I soon took them out. He really liked them, though, so we'll maybe experiment some more.
Micah is building the boys a clubhouse! He's trying to get it all up before school starts...we'll see. They're already having fun with it! Micah was able to find cheap windows and even a skylight from a place that sells things that are still usable from tear-downs and slightly irregular building supplies. The clubhouse is the big topic of conversation around here and discussions are being had concerning exterior paint color, flooring options, and if we'll be able to find a small section of kitchen cabinets to install inside. They're happy as clams about it.
Well, soon school will start and we'll have more structure and with more structure will come more posts, but until then....I'm off to finish enjoying the sun!
So, this is what I usually see while I'm doing dishes: One or more boys in the aviary, one or more cats waiting vigilantly on the roof, praying to God that one of those kids leaves the door open, and the dog supervising the whole arrangement.
Kids have been cute as ever, see below:
We had a fun week with Auntie Cyn visiting and my little Malachi turned 6.
We met a bunch of his friends at the splash park and then in the morning. 
Then, later on we had family over to eat Alien Cakes :) 
Can't believe that kid's 6! 
Combine that with camp for the bigs, tons of activities and swimming weather and you get zero blog posts! Consider yourself updated! Looking forward, this next school year is going to be crazy. Crazy exciting, crazy busy. God is doing a new thing in our little family - wait and see!
