It's all Greek (and Latin) to me

We are still doing our Greek and Latin language studies for the summer.  It's actually been really fun.

We are using School School Latin, which has been great.  Here is one of the videos that goes along with the course:



And the workbooks are pretty great, too.  Here's one worksheet that Connor just finished.

Before we start on Song School Greek, we are doing the Greek Alphabet Code Cracker workbook, since Greek uses a completely different alphabet.  Here is another worksheet that Connor just did.

We have actually finished learning all the different Greek letters now, and we are almost done with the book.



That's their names written on their water bottles.  In Greek, of course.

Food. A photo essay in two parts.

1.  How Lex eats his eggs:



He has a little bit of eggs with his spices.  BBQ 3000 and BBQ 3001. Both are required.



2.  How Lex eats whipped cream:



Straight from the can.  And often.  Cans of whipped cream disappear quickly around here.

Also, Lex and Daddy have trained Tik to eat whipped cream from the can, too.  It's pretty funny.

Souvenirs

What did the boys pick out from the gift shop at the Truman Presidential Library?

I'm glad you asked.

Lex picked out a little replica of the replica of the Liberty Bell that we saw.  (Yeah, I know, what is he going to buy when we visit the real Liberty Bell in Philadelphia?)  It's a working bell, and he said that he was going to use it to train Tik.  Then he changed his mind, and said that he was going to put it by his bed, so he could ring it and I would know that he wanted his breakfast in bed.  Then he changed his mind again, and he put it with our little village of souvenir buildings. Which is fine by me.  That whole breakfast-in-bed-at-the-ring-of-a-bell thing was a little sketchy, in my opinion.

Connor picked out a coloring book.  Which is amazing!  I am finally getting him to color!  I *heart* coloring, and my children, well, they have always been reluctant color-ers.  Which has been breaking my Crayola-loving heart.  But that seems to be changing!

This coloring book is awesome, because Connor loves the presidents, and he has been fascinated by their pets since we saw an exhibit about presidential pets when we were at the George W. Bush library last December.  For the record, some of the presidents have had some strange animals at the while house.

I also think that he picked it out because he is currently working on two of these types of coloring books already.

We are learning all about the Greek Gods and Heroes and myths this summer while we are learning Greek.  We are also reading the Percy Jackson series of books.  He usually picks a God, and I read to him the page about the God in this book, and then he colors the picture that goes with it while I am reading a chapter out of Percy Jackson.

Sidebar:  Connor and Lex demand that the third Percy Jackson book be made into a movie already!

The other coloring book that we are already working on is this one about pirates.  We did a unit study on pirates this summer, because summer=pirates, and also because we read the Magic Tree House Book #4:  Pirates Past Noon.

I really like the Magic Tree House books because there are two books on each topic.  One is the fictional story, and the other is a nonfiction companion that covers the related topic.  Book one was about dinosaurs, book two was about medieval knights and castles, and book three was about Ancient Egypt and the mummies.  We did an entire unit study for each one of these topics this past school year.  We are currently getting ready to read the fifth books in the series, Night of the Ninjas (the fiction book) and the Ninjas and Samurai Fact Tracker (nonfiction companion).

What Connor didn't know when he picked out another Dover Coloring Book at the gift shop was that I have already bought a few more for this coming school year.

One is going to be used for our United States geography and history lessons:

And this slimmer volume is going to go with it:

And, finally, it is high time that the boys learn the sign language alphabet.  It drives me crazy when I am trying to finger spell a word to one of them as a secret message and they don't get it.  I have been trying to get Kevin and the boys to learn it for years now, but it's time that they actually do.  And this book has a few signs for each letter as well.

Because secret messages are cool.  And they can come in handy when you need them.

Lex finished Kindergarten on ABC Mouse

Today was the day that Lex finally finished the final level of Kindergarten on ABC Mouse!

As soon as he finished it, we thought he was done with all the levels of ABC Mouse, but we found out that they have added a new level 7 for 1st grade!

We are undecided about whether or not he will do that level, but our subscription is up in early August.  Maybe he can finish 1st grade in the next two weeks?  Hahahaha!

Does this mean that Lex is now technically a first grader?  He says so.  Well, actually, he is interested in being a second grader as soon as possible.

In which Lex's feet get bigger, but his style stays the same.

Lex outgrew his blue shark crocs.

He denied it, though.

I finally figured out why he was in denial that his shoes were too small.

It was because he didn't want to get rid of his blue shark crocs.

When he discovered that he could get a new pair of blue shark crocs, he decided to go ahead and admit that yes, his shoes were too small.

He is now wearing a size 13.  Oh, and this isn't the first time this has happened.  This is actually his third pair of blue shark crocs that he has purchased.  He had them in size 11 and 12 before now.

I get it.  The robo-sharks are awesome.  And the eyes light up when he walks.  And Lex knows what he likes.

Homeschool Field Day

Our local homeschool group organized a field day for the elementary-aged homeschoolers, with the high-school aged homeschoolers helping to run the events.  It was very well done, and Connor and Lex had a blast!



They played a little horseshoes to start.  Turns out that the kids thought it was pretty fun.  I haven't played horseshoes since I was a little kid.



Kevin was pretty sun smart.  He didn't get sun burnt at all with his nice hat.  I, on the other hand, got a little sun burned on my shoulders, even though I put on sunscreen.  Boo.



This next photo is evidence of some sort of Nana-abuse.

I think Grandpa was pulling her hair.  Just for the photo, mind you.  Silly Grandpa.



During the bubble part, my kids blew all their bubbles as quickly as possible, and then they turned their bubble wands into bubble swords and commenced bubble-sword-fighting.  Because boys.

I think their favorite part of the day was the epic water balloon battle at the end.



I took this photo just as they both hit each other with water balloons.



Here is a pile of boys fighting for the last few water balloons in the cooler.



Because boys.

A Brush With Art

I took Nana and company to the local paint-your-own-pottery place for her birthday.  She had never been to one before, and the kids love doing it, so it was definitely a hit.



Lex painted an angry pig.  He said it was the general pig.



Connor painted a cross.

I painted a mug for Nana.



See?  I personalized the back of the mug for her.



Nana painted a little caterpillar.



Stay tuned.  We'll pick up the finished pieces soon.  Lex can't wait.

Swim Lessons: Week 4 Update

The boys are currently taking their fourth week of swim lessons.  They are doing so well.  Connor and Lex are both diving to the bottom of the pool now, and they are both swimming on their fronts and backs.  There has even been some swimming underwater!


It's been a wonderful experience for them.  I'm sure that they are going to have so much fun swimming this summer.  Especially since they are getting so much better at it.

This Kid is Wearing a New Pair of Glasses

So, exactly one week after Lex got his 7th pair of new glasses, he went to the ophthalmologist again, and we found out that he needed a new prescription.

And you know what?  That was okay.

The warranty that provided us with that 7th pair of glasses meant that we got them at zero cost, but they wouldn't remake them with a different prescription from the pair that were being replaced.  So, no matter if we had used the warranty or not, we would have had to buy pair number 8.

Of course, Lex picked the exact same style frame again.  Which is fine.

And now, pair number 7 are in the cupboard, waiting as a back-up for when he breaks pair number 8.

Sidebar:  Lex tested at 20/30 at the eye doctor.  Which is two lines worse than he was last time when he was 20/20.  Boo.  Hopefully the new prescription will help.  He will keep wearing the eye patch for three to four hours a day for the time being.  Also, he has been spending a lot of time in the pool without his glasses, and that might be a small factor.  So I ordered him some prescription swim goggles as well.



He loves them.  Apparently it is really nice being able to see while he is swimming.  I don't know why it never occurred to me before that I should order him prescription swim goggles.  They were pretty cheap online, to boot.

Fun with Grandma Ella and Papa Kirk

Grandma Ella and Papa Kirk came to visit for about a week, and we sure were glad to see them.

We had way too much fun while they were here.



We ate lunch at Red Robin.  The kids have never met a cheeseburger or corn dog that they didn't like.

We went bowling.  Lex loves bowling, and he's actually pretty good at it.  He bowled two games for himself, and he bowled most of Daddy's turns, too.  Those spares on frames 9 and 10 on Daddy's score?  Lex threw those.



And we went to swim lessons.  Lots and lots of swim lessons.  Lex got dressed all by himself for this lesson, can you tell?

The Epic Tennis Pose has Become a Thing Now

Remember this last week?

Well, Lex wanted me to take a photo of his "epic pose" again this week before his tennis lesson.

I guess it's his thing now?

In which Lex destroys another pair of glasses

Lex's 6th pair of glasses lasted about nine months before he cracked one of the lenses *and* broke the frames.

He was just roughhousing with his brother, and then the glasses were busted.  A few days later, he was roughhousing again, and they were busted more.

Fortunately, we have a warranty, so he is getting a brand new pair of glasses, exactly the same as the last pair, at no charge.

How long will the Lucky No. 7 Pair of Glasses last?

"Hey Mom, Take a Photo of My Epic Pose"

We had tennis lessons today, can you tell?

Swim Lessons

Today the boys started their swim lessons for the summer.

Lex was the best swimmer in the group.  He was the only one who was able to dive down to the bottom of the pool and retrieve the ring.



He was super proud of himself.

I'm proud of him, too.

Amarillo Hoof Prints

So, remember our project of taking pictures with the horses around town?

Well, the boys are still happy whenever we find a horse, but they don't seem as keen to photograph them as they did when we first came up with the idea.  We pass many a horse without stopping.  Or waving.  Or honking.  We just pass them by.

But, Lex agreed to take a photo with a horse this week.  Connor, not so much.

And without further ado, I hereby present the fourth official horse photo for this blog:

This one is called "Reflections of Love."  It's unique because of the little baby horse.  And the mirrors.

I think Lex is posing with hands above his head because I had just read the sign telling him not to touch it because the edges on the horses were sharp.

Homemade from Scratch Pierogies

Kevin and Lex made pierogies.  Kevin made the filling and the dough from scratch, and Lex helped him roll out the circles and fill them up.

It was a ton of fun.  And they were delicious.  Probably the best pierogies ever made.

But they made a little bit of a mess.  I mean, they were cooking, after all.



Lex was the flour specialist.

Look at that plate of deliciousness!  And the joy.  It was quite the bonding experience.

Texas State Pokemon Championship 2015

This past weekend we went to Dallas for this year's Texas State Pokemon Championship.  Both Connor and Lex participated in the trading card game championship.



This is the game mat that was designed for this year's competition.



The boys were very excited to see their Pokemon friends from Houston.  And Lex was very excited to buy a plushie Charizard in the vendor hall.  It's the same Pokemon that is on his shirt, and I think it's his favorite.

We found Pikachu!

This year the Junior and Senior divisions were separated from the Masters in their own ballroom.  It was so very loud in their room.  I took a photo during this round because Connor and Lex happened to be sitting pretty close to one another.

Hanging out between rounds.  The Junior division had enough participants to play six rounds.



Lex won a raffle!  I'm not sure why he was posing with a tired pouty face.  He was really excited about winning.



He won a mouse pad with a similar design as the play mat.  It will be put to good use when he plays Minecraft at home.



After Lex won a game during the first round against an opponent with a much higher player ranking than his, the computer moved him all the way to table number one.  It was photo worthy.  Then he got hungry and decided to forfeit the round for a snack.  Because he's five years old.  I was proud of him, he did play in all three rounds after lunch.

Both boys played really well.  Connor finished the day with 3 wins and 3 losses, and he was 24th.  Lex had 2 wins and 4 losses (2 of those losses were rounds he forfeited because he was more interested in snacking than playing), and he finished in 33rd place.  And, more importantly, both boys had a fabulous time!