Week In Review: October 9th, 2010

It really took some thinking to remember the beginning of this week.  Seems like that's always the case - you ask me what I did yesterday and I'm totally clueless.  Luckily, I take pictures of some of it.

 Trent got hold of Cameron's glasses.  Good thing we had the back-up pair.  Cameron learned that the bathroom counter is not a safe place for such a thing, and I learned, well, several things about being a good mother.

Ethan played in another soccer game.  He kinda kicked butt at goalie, apparently.  I was home tending to Drew's never-ending diarrhea, so Joel took Ethan to this game.  Thanks, Joel!

We went to Lagoon - those season passes are almost spent.  We're hoping to get one or two more visits out of them.

Trent was really upset that  he didn't get to ride the bumper cars.  He's too little.  Imagine that!

This was the first time we ever tried this ride.  It was higher than it looked and scarier than I imagined, but Drew laughed like a maniac the entire time.  At one point I took my arm away from him so I could adjust my sunglasses, and he screamed in terror, "Don't let go of me!"  So I put my arm back, and he resumed laughing.

 Ethan kept everyone calm on the Littles' favorite ride.

 It was a spooktacular time!

 Sandy and Mindy came for a quick pit stop visit on their way to see Holly.  We had a good time during those few short hours and were glad to get to see them.  Even more glad to see them beat each other with the weapons Joel made for my boys.  Good show.

 Speaking of weapons, we've spent the last two weeks studying the Middle Ages.  The boys learned tons of useless facts about medieval times.  It amazed me the things their brains chose to remember and the things that were cast out, never to be recollected.  Anyway, they made shields and painted their own coat of arms on them.  I forget what each one means, but the boys chose the symbols and colors based on what they wanted to represent.  I think the dragons indicate that the boys are guardians of treasure.  I think the only thing they have to guard is the family jewels and a nickel that Ethan managed not to spend at Lagoon.

We had cousins come over and build castles with us.  It was kind of insane, but the boys had fun.  I put the boys in teams of two, and now I have more cardboard in my kitchen than I know what to do with.  One of these nights I'm going to have to sneak them into the trash while the kiddos sleep.  Hopefully in the morning they won't be able to figure out why the square footage in the kitchen has doubled.

 Yes, I need to clean my baseboards.  What of it?

 We did several other projects which I managed not to capture on film.  My favorite was 'Sir Cameron and Sir Ethan's Code of Chivalry' book.  They each depicted several rules that they are to follow in order to be nice, respectful, chivalrous young men.  My favorite was the page that says, "Respect Women", and shows a doorway covered in cobwebs while a man bows to a woman and says, "Ladies first!"  I'm not sure if they think they are funny or if they really didn't get it...  Anyway, the above picture is the grand finale to our Medieval unit - the Medieval Feast.  We dined on roasted chicken, yams, red cabbage, banana bread muffins, apple cider and apple tarts.  All atop a "mess", because they didn't have plates back then, you know.

 As King, Andrew presided over the feast, while his noble knights sat at his table in the tunics they painted themselves.  Trent's is the sun, meaning glory.  Cameron's is a flaming star, meaning zeal and nobility.  Ethan painted a bloody sword, which means he is warlike and apparently very good at it.  Drew's is, according to him, a dragon and a dinosaur.  I'm not sure what that means.

Langer's was the chief supplier of cider back then, didn't you know?

 

 I was the peasant woman who made all the food, but the men let me eat with them anyway.

The cider was the only part Trent partook of.  I don't think he appreciated his bread plate. 

So there you go.  It was an exhausting, but very fun week.  Next week we're going to keep things simple with homeschool.  The history of Halloween, a little geology, a bunch of math, and lots of reading.  And here we end.