Shaggy no more

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but we had some seriously shaggy boys in this house.  Eric and the dogs were all very overdue for haircuts.  So, we got all that done this weekend.

New fish

Eric and I have been looking at new fish.  He finally picked two he wanted and had already named them.  We went to the store to get them last weekend.  It did not go well.  The two fish were placed in a bag together.  One was a marbled molly and one was a guppy.  The guppy appeared to have something on it.  I asked the man about it.  He pretended to inspect it very closely and then said it was just the color of the guppy.  I tried pointing it out to Robert, but he was trying to check out a big bag of dog food.  We get in the car, and it is apparent to me that some type of fungus is on the guppy.  Robert said we would check when  we got home.  Well, the molly should never have been put in the same bag, because it became stressed and started nipping at the guppy.  Eric and I were both distraught.  Feeling bad for the poor little guppy.  We ended up not putting either into our tank.  We were afraid the guppy would spread something throughout the tank.  And at this point, Eric was so distraught over the molly, that we didn't want him in there either.  It was a very sad day.  E and I looked at fish all week, but he cannot find one he wants.  He is still very attached to the guppy we did not keep.  :(

This weekend we went to a new fish store that only sells fish.  Not a pet store.  Eric did not see a fish he wanted (at least not one that would work in his tank), but we did go ahead and get a small algae eater.  Our tank does not really have visible algae yet, but it starts before you can really see it.

Introducing Otto - the algae eater.

The Tetras were so funny.  When he was placed in the tank, all 4 of them rushed over to meet him.  They circled him and followed him around the tank for at least 30 minutes.  It was cute.  They were very curious about their new friend.  Dusk, on the other hand, continued to sleep through it all tucked away safely in his plant.  

Anne Frank and beyond

We went to the Holocaust Museum for a homeschool day today.  They do such an amazing job!  Today our rotation included:

The Brave Butterflies.  The project is based on this poem

The Butterfly by Pavel Friedman 

“The last, the very last, So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow. Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone. . . . Such, such a yellow Is carried lightly ‘way up high. It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye. For seven weeks I’ve lived in here, Penned up inside this ghetto. But I have found what I love here. The dandelions call to me And the white chestnut branches in the court. Only I never saw another butterfly. That butterfly was the last one. Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

The goal of the project was to collect 1.5 million handcrafted butterflies - one for each child that died in the Holocaust.  We were each given a diary page or story or poem of a different child that had died.  Then we were asked to write questions on the back.  Then we colored our butterflies.  I cried.  Here was Eric's child, his questions, and butterfly.

Then we watched a movie on the short life of Anne Frank.  I cried.  

Then we walked through a room with different people from the Holocaust.  Each panel had a different person, and his perspective on the situation.  We went over perpetrator, victim, bystander, and rescuer.  Then each child was given a passport with a person.  He was to go look at that person and answer some questions.  Then he was to determine which category his person fell into.  Eric's was a rescuer.  

Then we heard from a guest speaker named Edward Francell.  His family left France shortly before the Germans invaded.  They were able to get out because his grandfather was an American, therefore his mother had dual citizenship.  Several members of his family were killed or taken to labor camps.  

Here he was telling Eric that he is an only child also.  Eric thought that was pretty neat.  ;) 

Our weekend

E had a soccer game on Saturday, and he ROCKED it!  He was very aggressive.  Another boy shot a pass right in front of the goal.  E was in the perfect position, and scored!!!!  E is great at being in the right position.  Does that surprise anyone?

It was a sunny, beautiful morning.  Eric and I wore sunscreen.  Robert did not.  Guess who is a little burnt now.  Sigh.  Will he ever learn?  

We celebrated our Easter on Sunday.  There were baskets:

Empty tomb biscuits;

Some Apples to Apples time:

Then church.  

Then a birthday lunch for Robert at Papa P's.  

Then home for an indoor Lego egg hunt.  

I filled 15 eggs with pieces I had ordered from Brick Forge.  Then Robert and I hid them upstairs.  E had quite a time trying to find them all.  We were definitely not easy on him!  He loved it!

Then off to the library for another Lego day.  This month was a free build (build whatever you want), and it was the coolest one E has made there yet.  

Then Eric and Robert went to practice some soccer while I worked on getting our school stuff back out.  We are starting full days back after a lengthy break.  

Then some dinner at home and a new educational game to work on multiplication speed.  

Finished the day with two different sets of Resurrection Eggs and some reading time.  Whew!  I'm worn out from the last 6 weeks.  It's been so busy, but it's been fun also.  Glad to get back to our normal routine though.  

11

He's 11.  The cutest, sweetest boy on the planet is 11.  

How I got to start my day.  With a fella who is in his last day of the 30s and another who is in his first day of being 11.  Love these two!

We had some new friends come over.  They played here for a while and ate lunch.  Then we went to a park.  

They have a younger sister too.  She was not in the picture.  

Then E and I went for a Frosted Lemonade at Chick-fil-a.  Each (we usually share).  If you have not tried one, you should.  They are delicious!

Church services were cancelled because it was spring break in that county.  So, we went to soccer practice.  

Egg hunt

The Zoo was hiding eggs around the Atlanta metro area to promote their new Scaly, Slimy, Spectacular building.  Each egg contained a stuffed animal and a pass to turn in for 4 adult tickets to the zoo.  They started hiding them near the end of March, but most of them were too far away to make it worth driving to look.  On the day we arrived in AR, they hid one in our town, just feet away from where Eric swims.  Bummer, right?  I assumed it was long gone.

Well today the zoo posted that a few had never been reported as found.  The one near us was one of them.  E and I loaded into the car and headed for the park.  We parked at swim (it would start in 30 minutes) and walked up to take a look.  Eric found it in less than 5 minutes.  We were pumped!

Legoland

Hello.  It's been a while.  Our lives have been a little crazy lately.  Taking this first day home to go back and blog some.   We had the Cowleys here for their Spring Break.  What a blessing that was.  I love those kiddos and miss them terribly.  I got plenty of hugs throughout the visit.  (Helped make up for all the ones I've missed)  We took them to Legoland Discovery Center on their second day here.  What a cool place!  I think we will be visiting there again before too long.  

Waiting for our time slot to go into Legoland.  

E and E.  So cute!

Eric would weigh 31,500 bricks.  Is that all?

Two excited boys waiting to take a class from the Master Builder.  Unfortunately, he did not teach the class - the manager did.  But, it was still fun.  

Oh how I love these two boys!  So sweet!  Can you believe they are only 6 weeks apart by looking at this picture?  Caleb is a tall boy!