Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous

We hopped in our local time machine and took a trip back to the Revolutionary war!  We landed right in the midst of a raging battle, the battle that determined whether the Americans or British could lay claim to the Western United States!

Zoe very much disapproved of their muskets and cannons.  "IS LOUD!"

Jed, you can see, also plugging his ears. Can you see how much fun the kids were having?  Don't worry, though, because MOM was having a blast.  Which is the important thing. Even though it was the first week of June, temperatures were in the high 90s and we were hot, hot, hot!  On the way up, we stopped and grabbed an umbrella which was a lifesaver.

The local military band came through while we were watching the Revolutionary era juggling show. In the background you can see a little 1700s market full of period costumes and foods and wares housed in period tents.  Nearby, a military encampment where the reenactors stay for the week in old fashioned everything.  So awesome.  Me Homeschooler Geek OUT!

We visited the Rotunda at the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park.  We had never even heard of it before, but the lady at the Rendezvous entrance recommended it to me.  We worried we wouldn't find it, but turns out a gigantic monument is pretty easy to find in a small town.

The inside is breathtakingly beautiful.  Also, air conditioned.  The walls are full of old murals depicting the Continental Army's victory in Vincennes and surrounding area.  Did I mentioned it was air conditioned? We took the audio tour several times just for (cool) kicks. Loved it.

But the best part, naturally, was the food.  YUM!

Father and Son, Mother and Daughter

Jed. 5 years old.

Mom and Babes

Family Moustaches

A Very Merry Unbirthday

One of Jed's favorite books is "Cake Soup" by Richard Scarry.  A few weeks ago he set upon the idea of making his own "Cake Soup" just like the book.  When we were shopping that day, we bought all the ingredients and that afternoon we made the cake!  Complete with cake mix, eggs, oil, orange juice and CANDY!  We made a little 6 inch cake together and frosted it that afternoon.

Jed asked me if he could hide the cake in his room, which I thought was fine.  One thing led to another and after many trips into the kitchen for this and that, taken and put to some mysterious use in his bedroom, this is what Jed finally led me in to find:

A surprise birthday party for DAD!

 Yay for parties!  This one was replete with decorations, balloons, cards, surprises, and of course, CAKE.

 Also a cute baby.

Jed carefully cut and served the cake, which he entirely frosted and decorated himself.

 He also had a big box of presents for dad - colorful paper airplanes Jed folded himself.

Every dad deserves a Thursday afternoon post-work party like this.

 Another superfluous baby photo because I can.

 Just to catch the wonder of nature, here is Jed unlatching his jaw like a snake, so as to fit in the maximual amount of cake in one humongous bite.

 Playing "Toss the Balloon" with Dad.  Pretty much the best game ever.

Happy Unbirthday Dad!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Zoe hasn't changed much over the years. She's still our happy girl!

Big Brother Rides

Isn't having a big brother great?

Beautiful Baby Boy

Picnic Table

It's a good thing Michael made our picnic table extra, extra long. Because we filled it all the way up today!

Our friends the Monroes came over for most of the day, and then Sophia and her mom joined us for lunch. I'm so glad the weather was beautiful, because there is no way I could have crammed that many people in my tiny dining room around my tiny table!

I was a little worried about entertaining a big passel o' kids all day, but it turned out great.  The boys played cars and blocks for an hour or so in the beginning, and then spent the rest of the day outside running in the sprinkler, playing balls, and loving up the chickens. I failed to consider sunscreen, so, um, sorry burned white children. Zane took a nice long nap, bless his little soul, and loved all the big boys around to entertain him.

Turns out Kaden really loves our chickens, especially Michael's little Buff Orpington, Halcyon. He ended up holding all the chickens at one point or another, but I think Halcyon is his best chicken friend now. Here they are hanging out in the carport:

She sat quietly in his lap like that for literally hours. We decided that he is the Chicken Whisperer!

We finished off the day playing games inside.  The only thing I need to work on is having more snacks around, since all those growing kids are, um, extremely hungry all the time. Ha! I was so glad Stacy was here just to help me cram enough foods in their mouths whenever they came up, "starving" since they hadn't eaten in ten minutes.  (rolls eyes.)  And here I thought it was just my kids who were hungry all the time.

Love these fun summer days with friends.

3 Kids

 This little one is soft and fat and strong.  At ten months old, he sleeps beautifully, still doesn't crawl, and has no teeth.  In other words, he is the best baby ever.  He sits on the floor with his toys and beams happily at the world all day long.

 This handsome young man loves his dad more than anyone (but he still runs over to give Mom hugs occasionally so I don't feel left out.) His imagination runs wild, as does his mouth, all day, every day.

This little girl is "big!"  Last night she laid down on the floor and stretched herself out as long as she could.  "Look, Mom, I TALL!"

What Jed Dreams at Night

Mom, did we ever see a castle with a ring waterfall?

No, I don't remember that, Jed.  Where did you see that?

In my dream.

Tell me about it.

Well there were these characters.  No, they were pretend characters pretending.  They built a huge castle. It was so high it reached the sky.  They pretended it was a bad guy castle.  And there was a HUGE waterfall in a circle.And there were big tubes inside that sucked up all the water and took all the bac... bac...bac... (blinks) ...yucky stuff out of the water so it was all fresh and clean and it would go down the waterfall back into the dirty water.

Anything else about the dream?


No that's all I wanted to say.

Child Labor

We're strong proponents of it.  Start 'em young!

Baby and Flowers