Orange belts!!!!!

Here they are.... my three orange belts. I am so proud of them all. We took the month of July off this summer during camps and vacation time. It was a nice break, but the boys were so sad to not be ready to test in August. Sensei Michelle spent a couple weeks of class with them and she declared John Henry almost ready to test, but sadly, she thought Paul and Sam were just not ready. I knew the day was probably coming, but it surprised me. Still, she is the sensei and I trust her judgement.

A date was tossed around for mid-September for testing and then Sensei Michelle went on a vacation and Sensei Allison took over our noon-time classes. She seemed to think the younger boys would be ready, but they needed to really tighten up and be more serious about their lessons. Again, whatever they think is fine with me.

Sensei Michelle came back from vacation and the boys went to class on a Monday. She told me prior to the lesson that she'd scheduled Wednesday for JH to test for his orange belt. I left and tried to figure out how to lessen the blow for the little boys when they realized they would be left behind.

SURPRISE... when I came back to pick them up, Sensei Michelle met me with a happy,"They are ALL ready to test!!!" Hooray!

They tested and passed!

First Cub Scout Campout with new pack

Paul and Sam are members of a new cub scout pack. We are really enjoying it's small size and excellent supervision of kids. This weekend, we went on a campout to Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. We hiked to Pulpit Rock, about a mile hike. Lizzy was a trooper as usual and the boys loved it. Mama was only a little freaked out by the height and the sheer dropoff at the top and... well you get the picture.

Here is Sam with his buddy, Ben. They were lamenting the loss of their favorite sticks to the Stick Police.

This is the Observation Tower on top of the mountain. It was a really cool view and the kids loved it.

We enjoyed our campout SO much. The boys earned two beltloops, made some new friends, participated in skits round the campfire, slept in a tent in their own sleeping bags, and ate with their new camp ware! It was a fabulous weekend for them. Lizzy also enjoyed sleeping in her new sleeping bag and playing with the kids. She collapsed prior to the campfire, but she still had a great time.

It's not a tea party, Mom!

"It's a picnic," said Sam. Okay, whatever helps you get through it. Whatever it is... here are two of the best big brothers in the world having a picnic with their baby sister.

Our new desks!!!

I threw a mini-fit last week and started re-designing our schoolroom. All of us at one table was distracting, too-close, and a constant source of irritation for the boys. SO, I decided I wanted each boy to have his own desk. I found plans and built them MYSELF!!! It was not as hard as I thought it would be, as Lowe's made the hard cuts for me! The boys chose their own colors and our first morning working on them was great! Lizzie is warming up Paul's desk while he is reading in his room.

A close up view of Sam's desk.

All three of the boys working at their desks..... ahhhhhhh. Not ONE "he touched me" or "he's shaking the table" was heard this morning!!!!!!

Another shot of them working nicely at their desks. Can NOT get enough of this!

A HUGE thank you to the Knock-Off Wood blog for her plans and to Steve for letting me use all his cool power tools!

Piper

Piper is five years old. He was born in Pascagoula, MS, the night Hurricane Katrina blew through in 2005. His family left his pregnant mother home alone and evacuated the storm. The neighbor's went out the day after the storm and were looking at the damage to their neighborhood and found Piper's mom and her litter of 6 tiny puppies. They went back daily to care for them. One day, they found only the mom and 2 pups alive. One of the two surviving pups, Piper was badly hurt, apparently by other dogs. His littermates were found nearby dead. The neighbor took the surviving dogs back to his home, nursed them back to health and eventually decided to keep the mother-dog. Piper was put up for adoption at 6 months old and I found out about him from a friend. We brought him home and he has been our loyal pet and protector ever since. He is surely nothing much to look at, nor is he all that bright, but he is very loyal and very protective. And these qualities mean a lot to me, home alone a lot with 4 kids.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PIPER!! You are getting a steakbone as a treat today!

Piper hiding under Steve's desk with his stuffed pet, Ugly Baby.

John Henry and Piper while JH was sick this week. Piper LOVES to snuggle.

Birmingham Art Museum

Our first field trip os 2010-11 with our homeschool group was to the Birmingham Museum of Art. We had a really nice time. I would have taken pictures of the tour, but most of ours was off-limits to photography AND I went with a mom's tour, instead of with the children. I could totally get used to mom field trips!!! It was awesome.

Then we had lunch in Linn Park. It was a very pretty day, not too humid, and plenty of shade in the park for us to enjoy. We had picnic lunches and the kids ran around and played. We were able to catch them for one group shot, though!

Nice day!

Newest Cub Scout in the Family

Isn't Sam the cutest tiger cub scout you've EVER seen?? His time has finally come. Sam has been watching his brothers participate in cub scouts ever since he was 2 years old. And finally, 2010 is Sam's year. We ordered his uniform and once it came, he has been just SO proud. He's worn his hat every day, all day.... even attempting to wear it during karate, church, and to sleep! He's worked extremely hard all week in school and was even able to complete his first belt loop AND pin....map and compass.

Here are the three Glenn boys in all their scouting glory. We are extremely proud of these boys. They really enjoy scouting. AND, it is helping to shape them into wonderful young men.

Here's the whole gang. Lizzie is constantly asking,"When I be boy scout, too?" She is so cute here, too, posing like a model!

Here she is again, just 'cause she is so cute.

2010-11 School Year Begins!

The week after we came home from vacation, we started our school year. This year, John Henry is in the 6th grade, Paul is in the 3rd grade, and Sam is in the 1st grade. They are all getting so big and I am so proud of them.

John Henry is now 11.5 yrs old and is in the 6th grade. He is in his 7th year of homeschooling and is such an excellent student. He works hard, he is easy to motivate, and he rarely fusses about doing his work. He loves history, does really well in math, and is constantly working on improving his reading and writing.

Paul is in the 3rd grade and is now 8 years old. He is a good student, too. His only problem is getting too involved in what he is working on and not wanting to move on to the next thing! Such a problem to have! He loves science and reading and is working hard to get better at writing. He starts cursive writing lessons next week!

Sam is now 6.5 yrs old and is in the 1st grade. He is good in all subjects so far and is advancing so fast, it is hard to keep up with him. He is enjoying writing a lot this year and is reading 2nd-3rd grade level books.

I am so proud of my boys for the students they are. We celebrated the first day of school by having breakfast at Legend's Smokehouse. It was a great start to a new year with 3 wonderful students.

Hotel Party....

On the way home from Oshkosh, we stopped midway and had a hotel party. The children LOVE staying in hotels. They are old hats at camping in an RV, but a hotel is a huge treat! The next morning, I went into the boy's room when I heard movement and found Paulie had already made his bed. LOL!!

Oshkosh-2010... The Airshow

Every year for MANY years, our little family has been going to Oshkosh, WI for the annual EAA AirVenture airshow. This year, we invited Steve's cousin, Rachel, too. We drove up in the RV, got there on Saturday, and she flew up on Monday. We all enjoyed it very much again this year. Seeing old friends, making new ones, and just enjoying the cool Wisconsin weather is a fun way to spend a week. Here are all the children with Rachel under the brown arch. We get this picture every year, too! Aren't they cute?

Here is Rachel with one of the really nice airplanes they keep in the Pioneer Airport hangers off the airfield. It is just such a good picture of Rachel, I had to include it.

Here is a picture of John Henry flying a simulator at KidVenture. I've been volunteering at KidVenture for the past two years and the older boys come and spend the time with me there. They go from booth to booth doing activities and I work in my booth. JH flew this sim so much, he filled up two log books! He really loves this stuff. He was able to get about 6 requirements for the Aviation merit badge checked off while he was there as well.

Here is Lizzie "flying" a pedal plane at KidVenture. She enjoyed things this year and talked about them. She is getting to be a real big girl.

The weather prior to our arrival had been the wettest on record for Wisconsin, so there was LOTS of mud and water to contend with. We were even unable to camp in Camp Scholler the first night because of it. Once we were finally IN our camping spot next to the airfield, the boys enjoyed playing in this creek every day. They built a bridge (not a dam, Mom... the water is still moving through!) and everyone who came by commented on it.

Oshkosh 2010-First stop .... Memphis!

Our annual trek to Oshkosh, Wisconsin started with an overnight stay in Memphis. Steve is in training and so the kids and I went to Memphis to meet him and the camper! We spent the night in an RV park with a pool and enjoyed that very much. The next morning, we had a rare treat in which we toured the Fed Ex pilot training facility.

Here's John Henry in the simulator.

And Paulie...

And all of us.....

These tours have to be prearranged and we have to be escorted. I was terrified the whole time that one of us would touch some button and wreck a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. But, thankfully, everyone was on their best behavior and we survived!

Paul's 8th Birthday

Paul was born 8 years ago, July 10th. He is growing into a wonderful young man. Funny, precocious and alarmingly smart, Paul makes us laugh and shake our heads every day. He still loves duct tape and creating things. He's great at his schoolwork and he's really doing well with karate and in scouts. Often, he sneaks into my room, sits beside me on the couch and asks questions or makes statements like:

"Mama, I think I am xenophobic." Me.... (quickly googling it),"Are you afraid of strangers or foreigners?" He considered this for a moment and said,"I guess I am only afraid of foreigners is they are also strangers."

Or "Do you think the electrons in a lightening bolt get pushed by the wind during a storm?"

He keeps us hopping! We had a small family party while we were in Four Points visiting the cousins and grandparents.

He requested a fire truck cake, so I made four cakes.....each in the shape of a vehicle. Each of the other children received presents for their half-birthdays! We had fun!

More Sumatanga Day Camp-2010

Santa Sam!

Tana

Sam canoeing.

Paul and the parachute.

Paul

Sumatanga Day Camp 2010-Paul and Sam's week!

Paul and Sam went to day camp at Camp Sumatanga this year. This was Paul's second year and Sam's first year. Each one went with their best friends, Cole and Conner and they all had a great time. They actually went in June, but the pictures were just recently posted on photobucket by the camp. It was a fun, busy week getting the boys to and from camp via the bus at church. Catching the bus is a new experience for us homeschoolers, but they really liked it!

Lizzie did NOT approve of the big bus taking away her brothers each morning and cried after them all day the first day. Sam jumped off the bus the first morning and she ran to hug him. He said,"Lizzie what did you do while Sam was gone all day?" She replied,"My cried and my cried, but my happy now!"

Overall it was a good week for the boys and their friends and they cannot wait to do it again next year.

Sumatanga Day Camp 2010

Paul and Cole in a pyramid pile up.

Sam and Conner

Cole and Paul concentrating on an craft project.

Preparing to swim.

John Henry at Boy Scout Summer Camp

John Henry has been at boy scout camp since Sunday. I've missed him so much. We got to go up and see him for Family Night. All the parents came and we brought food for supper. Apparently, the cafeteria doesn't even do pizza well!

John Henry was thrilled to see us, running up and hugging us all. But, thankfully, he was equally as happy to stay for another couple days. He is in his element and is loving it. His only concern was that to earn the fishing merit badge, he would have to catch, prepare, and cook a fish. Catching... NO problem. Killing....BIG problem!! He said,"Mom, I just can't do it. Maybe when I am older, but I just can't think about doing that right now." Poor kid. I told him we'd worry about that one another time. He got happy again after that. Here he is with Lizzie. She was mighty happy to see him. And mighty sad to leave him again. Just two more days!

Paul and Daddo's grand adventure!

Steve has been hosting this Cessna 180 for a few months. He's been really enjoying it. However, he had to get it to Oshkosh, WI in preparation for the big EAA airshow. He had a 5 day break from his 777 studies in Memphis and decided to get the airplane moved. Paul is about to be 8 years old and it was his turn for a grand adventure with Daddo!

They left early Wednesday morning in the 180 from Billy and Lynn's airpark, where the 180 has been visiting since her arrival in Alabama.

Here they are during the flight.

Here's a picture of the view they were enjoying on the way.

Here is Paulie sitting in the cockpit of an airplane that is now sharing the hanger with the 180.

Here she is! She'll wait here till the airshow and then some lucky boy will get to fly with Daddo and land at the airshow!

Here is Paul about to board the airplane for his ride home. This will be the first airline trip he remembers. He is excited!!