Is Jupiter Moving?

In another act of extraordinary spontaneity, we took the kids (at the suggestion of Mr. Sleep-Deprived) to the Devil's Punchbowl, to view the Aquarid Meteor Shower. The park is very scenic (note the family photo), with a nice short nature trail for little ones, a wonderful small recreation room with live (caged) snakes, a real beehive, scorpion, velvet ant, and ironclad beetle. Outside there are also three live owls (two great-horned owls, one barn owl).

The meteor shower started around 9 pm. We were able to see Jupiter (gas clouds clearly visible) and three of its moons through an 11 inch telescope set up for viewing.

After seeing the first two meteors, our 6-year-old noticed that Jupiter's position was different and asked, "is Jupiter moving?" I responded that we were actually moving (because of the earth's rotation) and that was what was making it seem like Jupiter was moving across the sky. He responded with a very sincere and convincing, "OH, I GET IT!" Both Mr. Sleep-Deprived and I were quite impressed with his "a-ha" moment, until we saw him running from one spot to another noticing how its position was changing. I guess that would be a lesson in perspective.

It was a fun evening, and for being out so late past bedtime, it was well worth it. Kudos to Mr. Sleep-Deprived for scouting out the location and event.

Good Golly, Miss Molly's Comin' to California!

It's a good thing the kids have been brushing up on their riding skills, because we finally found a pony and her name is Molly. I'm SURE there will be photos once she arrives!

Family Photo

In an act of extraordinary spontaneity on my part, we all headed to a picnic site in the Angeles National Forest for an early dinner at the suggestion of Mr. Sleep-Deprived (who also gets credit for packing all the stuff for the outing). It's not a perfect picture, but not bad for a camera on a tripod. I still haven't figured out how to get a one-year-old to smile at a tripod and flashing camera light. Of course even if Ms. Dimples had cooperated, our 4-year-old seems bent on goofing around (note the horse shoes), and our 2 1/2-year-old has his usual "canned-smile" that really isn't a good look for him. But hey, we're all there and accounted for - and I don't look particularly sleep-deprived!!!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

One of the fringe-benefits of having four children is a gratifying sense that toys really earn their keep. In this instance, it is a gift from Grammy and Papa that has worn so well. The funny thing is that 3 out 4 of our kids (right about age one) have used it as a seat, when it is actually a table/busy box. Only our third-born (noticeably absent from all these photos) didn't sit in the table, but it may have been the chaos of our home addition that distracted him from the opportunity.

Where's Spucci?

At dinner tonight I was talking with the boys about the discovery of the New World and introducing them to Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. A little later our 2 1/2-year old was doing some exploring of his own around the house asking "Where's Spucci?" (aka Vespucci).

Little Drummer Boy ... and Boy and Boy and Girl

A "Three Bunk Bed"

Maybe this is why our four-year-old (the bottom of the pile) has been asking when he gets to be in the top bunk.

"I Like Doing the Dirty Work"

...said our 4-year-old in the midst of shoveling...

And I believe him. I think it runs in the family.

See No Evil?

"If I were just a LITTLE taller"

3 out 4 Kids Are Sprouting New Teeth

It was no surprise that our 10 month old was teething... her lower incisors are coming in (she sprouted her four top front teeth all at the same time).

A couple weeks ago our almost 6 year old was complaining about his tooth while eating an apple. I took a closer look and noticed that his permanent tooth has already poked through the skin, and the baby tooth is a loose.

This morning brushing teeth I noticed that our 2 1/2 year old has his second set of molars poking through.

Considering all these eruptions, I'm surprised there hasn't been MORE whining going on around here.

How Time Flies

Amazing how quickly time flies. The top photo was taken five years ago (when our oldest son was our only child) when the poppies were in full bloom at my parents' house. The bottom photo was taken this year - my oldest (pictured in the first photo) is almost 6 years old, and our youngest is just 6 weeks shy of a year.

It Reads Like a Headline...

Our son was having some fun with the magnet letters when he came up with this little ditty.

For the record, Said dog is guilty as charged.

Only In The Car....

Why is it that the only time everyone naps at the same time is in the car, when Mom can't lay down and take a nap too? When we pulled into the garage and I started unloading the van following our Zoo-outing, I saw this sight. Oh to be able to join them for a few minutes of snooze-time...

Look at all those EYES!!!

Another zoo-observation from our four-year-old.

Look, He's Smiling

...or so thought our four-year-old.

Perspectives of a Homeschooled Child

Tonight my husband tried to show our 5 1/2-year-old the constellation Leo on National Geographic's Star Planetarium. Things did not go as he expected.

Dad: "You see, it's called 'Leo' because it looks like a lion."
Son: "No it doesn't, it looks like a trapezoid."

Follow the link and you might agree.

Safety First

What happened next?

There's not a picture of it, but APPARENTLY that mud was VERY slippery, and on the next shovel, our four-year-old went into the water head-first. I was reassured by his Uncle that our son had put his swimming lessons to good use. (Don't worry, Grandma, Uncle and Auntie were all there with them, and he was quickly rescued from the cold water). Why the large clothes? I was still up at the house getting a little extra sleep after a rough night and none of Grandma, Daddy, Uncle or Auntie knew where the kids' jackets were, so they improvised with some of Grandma's clothes.

By the way,that is the waterdog Taz himself taking a dip, no suprise there.

Remembering Grampa