Back to the beginning: Our trip to North Carolina

A sailboat ride in the sound!
Amazingly, we saw dolphins,
but the water was too shallow
for them to jump.

Last April, when Covid numbers were quite low, and our family was eagerly anticipating another summer adventure, and Elise, in her own Elise way, suggested North Carolina so she could see where she was born, we booked a trip! Assuming we could be a bit flexible once we got closer to the date.

Turns out, not everything we booked was super flexible. Plus, vaccines happened. Plus, the kids aren't getting any younger. Plus (and I hate to admit this may have factored in, but I think Matt could see the desperation in my eyes), I knew I would never stop working if I didn't leave the house. For a long time. Far away.

So we threw caution and unanswered emails to the wind, invested in some better masks than the ones I could sew, and took our trip.

Good choice? We may never know... seems like it, though.

I like how nearly every event starts really, really early in the morning. And I only just found out from Kalina that this one actually started at 12:04 a.m., when she snapped awake, assumed the clock was wrong, dressed in the bathroom among drowsy and confused cats, and nearly woke her sisters before realizing that, actually, the clock was right after all and slept the rest of the night in her clothes. Hah! It can happen to any of us, right?

Fortunately, we were able to truly start our day at a more normal time, but were heading out the door by about 7:30 in the morning. We were grateful to Grandpa and Marianne for driving us, but I admit, considering we hadn't known for sure even a week in advance that we were actually going to make the trip, I still didn't quite believe it would actually happen. It became more real when they drove away, and we were left at the airport with only our suitcases and other odd items we wanted to bring along (an empty cooler, a fishing rod).

And what an empty airport it was! Security was waiting for us for a change! And the flight had quite a few empty seats! In fact, the only hitch was that Naomi had developed a fear of flying since our last airplane ride. Even the Takeoff M&Ms (yes, they're a thing now in our family, harkening back to Kalina's first flight at age nearly 4) didn't help. Naomi cowered close to me while Elise talked plankton with Matt behind us and Kalina listened in, amused. 

What ended up working for Naomi was simply losing herself in her book (a hand-me-down dolphin book from Elise) so she almost forgot she was on an airplane. I swear this girl is more like me every day. Flying never became easy for Naomi, but she managed to sit with her sisters on our second flight while Matt and I kicked back in front of them. Elise: "I'm not a very good comforter, I'm not sure this is a good idea." They all survived.

Amazingly, our flights were on time, our rental van was ready, our hotel room hadn't been given away, and we did, in fact, find ourselves in a beachfront hotel by about 9:20 that night. Ready to drop, but equally ready to wake up to a beach day the next day. The only thing that didn't seem to work was the bluetooth in the van, so the girls had to listen to us reminisce about our early days in North Carolina for a large portion of the journey. They bore it well: after all, we were taking them to the beach.

First thing the next morning, after Matt did a grocery run that left me eerily uncomfortable because I  hadn't done it (and it was missing some of the things I'd had on my mental list--can he not read my mind?!?), Elise opened an early birthday present, as she'd requested: a new, intact net and a beach aquarium, both of which have become a near-yearly tradition since they actually do seem to wear out. 

And then beach!!! The beach makes everyone happy: Matt for the fishing, Naomi for the sand, Elise for the water and critters, Kalina for pretty much all of it (and shells!), and me because occasionally someone will take a long walk along it with me. 

In the afternoon, and after my own somewhat harrowing Wal-Mart run, everyone cleaned up so we could head out for a large highlight of the trip: a sailboat ride Matt had lined up! Naomi, in accordance with her distrust of any vehicle that isn't a car/van, was hoisted onto the boat rather reluctantly--but that all cleared up as soon as she found out she could go into the cabin and pet a friendly dog and cat the whole time. To each her own. Elise, on the other hand, amused herself simply by proving how much of a natural she was on a boat, even after only a few minutes! She also tried to spend time in the highest and lowest positions she could get to. Fortunately, the boat owner didn't freak out about our monkey child, and reassured us that in many places, the water was actually only a few feet deep.

Kalina, not being a very extreme person, enjoyed the beautiful water, clouds, sunset, breeze, etc., and simply had a lovely time. Not as good as Elise's, Elise would want to remind everyone. But still a lovely time. Just not as good as Elise's. ;)

The next day, I annoyed pretty much everyone by insisting that we visit the Wright Brothers' Memorial (it's right across the street and we could see the tower from our hotel window, for goodness sake!) and the Atlantic's largest sand dune state park, just down the road a little, instead of spending another day entirely on the beach. Sorry (not sorry).

The coolest thing was that we got to use Elise's 4th-grade national parks pass one last time, as we arrived on August 30, which still counted as her 4th-grade year. (We tried to use it on August 31, but there was no entry fee into the historic site we visited. Bummer.)

Actually, the giant memorial was also pretty cool. Even better, we all thought, was the flight path that was marked out with large stone memorials. Kalina ran the whole thing, actually faster than the original flight (she was proud). 

The North Carolina heat was creeping up to the point that the girls started to actually believe my stories about how hot North Carolina can get in the summer, and the time was nearly 11:00 when we reached the sand dune. So we took the path that looked like it might offer tiny bits of shade, watching hang-gliders take lessons along the way, and made our way down to a little cove for some wading. Matt hates sand and just wanted to fish (but was a good sport anyway), but the girls all agreed it had been a good idea to come. 

We didn't spend long, and were heading back around 11:30 or so, ignoring a directional sign since we were both pretty sure the trail curved farther left, and we knew a less optimal trail wound around to the right. Soon the footprints ahead of us began to look older and more weathered, and the signs we had expected to see had not appeared. We guessed too far left, apparently.

Technically, we didn't know where we were, the sun was only getting hotter, shade was scarce, we were surrounded by sand, there were no people, and our water would run out within the next hour or less if we all continued to drink it, which we needed to. Not really an optimal situation if you look at it that way.

Fortunately, however, we could backtrack if we needed to (although that sounded like an arduous, hot option at this point), we knew there were a few buildings and trees farther to our left, and if we just walked right we'd eventually hit a trail. Plus our phones still had signals, so....

So our adventure was right-sized when, with our phones, we quickly determined that a rough trail up ahead would take us back to our parking lot. We took the trail and made it back to the parking lot. 

A real flounder! Two
eyes on the same side
and all!

And back to the beach! Matt enjoyed the best beach fishing he's ever had, catching several varieties of fish, and the girls and I went looking for sea turtle nests (carefully roped off by park rangers, but still exciting!). That evening, after a long, long beach walk, we did find a sea turtle nest that they had just finished excavating (bummer!), and that had been laid on Kalina's birthday!

The next day could possibly be considered the highlight of my homeschool career so far, as we were able to visit the super-cool historic site within a few weeks of reading that chapter in our history book (within a series that covers history from hunter-gatherers to modern times over the course of 4 years, no less!). Compare it to getting a football signed by the winning Super-Bowl quarterback for your home-town team. 

A replica of the ship that sailed
to Roanoke Island. Fun for 30
minutes. Not for like 2 months.

The weather was hot, and either covid or end-of-season reductions had closed some of the fun kids' activities at the Roanoke Island living-history park, so my elation was kept in check. However, thanks to some fantastic interpreters, one of whom eloquently, and at great length, warned us of the trepidations of trying to bring the nail he'd blacksmithed for us back home in our carryon luggage, we greatly enjoyed our visit. We each got a chance to turn chair posts, shave wood, and stand in the stocks (the kids opted out), plus spend some time on a replica ship that felt waaayyyy too small to carry the 100 people it apparently did. And canons. 

We followed this up with a mediocre seafood lunch, and then a visit to the actual Roanoke Island site, with an informative tour, during which we all nearly melted. We were ready to move on.

A hot, humid, steep
climb in a mask!

Bodie Island
Lighthouse!

This time, moving on meant heading south on Hatteras National Seashore to our next location. We began with a pre-arranged climb up the Bodie Island lighthouse. We'd had to order tickets first thing in the morning (like, I set my alarm). Elise desperately wanted to climb it (surprise!), Kalina was fairly willing to be convinced, and we ordered one adult ticket as well, that I knew would go to Matt most likely because although I was pushing the lighthouse climb (how often do you get to climb a lighthouse, honestly?), I get really shaky with heights. Then Naomi astonished us all by saying she wanted to try it, so I booked an extra 2 tickets, because if there was even a chance a climb could happen, I wanted to enable it, and purchasing a ticket was the only way to even go inside.

As soon as Naomi actually looked up at the towering spiral of stairs, however, her courage failed her--especially when we were told only one person could climb each flight of steps at a time. I convinced her to climb about half a flight, then I climbed a flight, and then we headed back outside, where a nice ranger gave Naomi a junior ranger booklet, which she enjoyed far more than a lighthouse climb. It had a word search, after all.

This actually worked out really well, because Kalina scoffs at junior ranger booklets, and Elise does as well, though not as loudly. So although Naomi completed a couple when she was really too young (when her sisters weren't scoffing), she had yet to complete a booklet while being the right age to enjoy it. Sometimes it's nice to get Naomi away from her sisters for a bit...

We unfortunately missed seeing Matt and the girls at the top of the lighthouse (I guess they didn't think to wave?), but were happy to share stories once they'd made it back to solid ground again. The biggest surprise was how much Kalina enjoyed an activity she'd had to be talked into. We all already knew Elise would have fun. This ended up being such a highlight of our trip, totally worth the early wakeup (and the donation of two virtually unused tickets!).

Next, we made the trip down the skinny, less densely inhabited, windblown island to the spot near the tip where we'd be staying for the next four nights. The room was beautiful (think mini-apartment!), and soon we were all out on the beach finding the best shells of the trip, and catching a fish or two. Elise verified that the hotel was, indeed, mere steps from the beach, just as the advertisement promised. (Actually, she verified that it was exactly one jump from the steps to the sand.) 

We also verified that several kittens lived on the premises! Kalina enjoyed watching as one kitten stalked a littermate, while another brother or sister stalked it. We noted that on a beach, the world is your litterbox. 

In this wilder part of the island, we found a lot more sea turtle nests! On a walk one evening, we were able to speak with a couple who were watching the nest to keep it safe from all types of dangers, since it was getting close to hatching. We thoroughly enjoyed learning from them...until the skies opened and rain poured down, sending us on a 10-minute, harrowing run back to our hotel. Eek!

Our favorite sea turtle nest.

We checked back on the turtles each night and each morning, always making sure to fill all the ghost crab holes with sand to help keep the crabs too busy to catch turtles. The evening after it rained, we decided not to stick around as long, watching the sky. It didn't rain that evening--but the baby sea turtles hatched just 30 minutes or so after we'd been there, as we found out the next day. Ouch!!! I remember asking Kalina if we should turn back and just go check back one more time on the turtles, but trying to convince myself there was absolutely no chance, and we were crazy for considering it. Turns out, I wasn't crazy, and next time I will probably be more likely to convince Matt to stay and risk another drenching. (To be honest, though, our clothes took nearly 2 days to dry, so....)

To finish out the sea turtle saga, the following night was our last one, and we stayed until the couple watching the nest left, just in case more baby turtles would follow, as they often do. No luck. We still learned a ton and enjoyed being caught up in the excitement of it all. 

Elise loved riding the waves!

Over the next couple days, the weather varied from, at first, quite hot, to, by the end of the week, quite chilly! We enjoyed some lovely beach time, and the older girls became braver in the water and on the boogie board. Elise got completely drenched by waves at least once, but she was totally fine with that. Kalina and Naomi built some pretty cool structures in the sand, we gathered tons more shells, and we even flew a kite. Along the beach, we found a puffer fish (past rescuing), jellyfish, and plenty of crabs.

We liked this ice-cream store,
but the heat made the cones
really drippy. Like, really,
really drippy.

Off the beach (because we did leave, sometimes a bit too much for Matt's liking--but there's so much to see in the area!), we visited the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, spent a rainy and very chilly morning in a pretty cool shipwreck museum, stocked up at the grocery store, visited a toy/candy store where Naomi found a souvenir, and visited one of the typical beach shops, where we bought a second boogie board that ended up being our only one, as apparently our first one had blown away in the night. Bummer! In the room, Naomi diligently worked on her junior ranger book, and we enjoyed a few meals in front of the TV--a complete novelty to us.

On our last day, we took the ferry to Ocracoke Island, a pretty exciting trip. Because it's a ferry. I'd heard that the shells on a particular beach near Ocracoke were nearly so plentiful that "a perfect conch could wash up right at your feet." Matt, reluctant to leave his fishing pole, mocked the ad that told me this, but the girls and I convinced him to go with us anyway. Thank goodness, because there's no way I wanted to drive onto a ferry... :)

Matt was right--although each girl found a special shell, our haul was overall disappointing Trying to keep moving so that we'd be able to get back to the hotel in decent time for more swimming later that afternoon, we only stayed for 20 minutes or so. We weren't in our swimming gear anyway.

The pony pen was a bit disappointing (why are the "wild ponies" cooped up in a pen???), but Matt had found an amazing restaurant right on the dock--the best in outdoor dining! They actually were serving 3 different foods on the older girls' seafood bucket list: calamari, shrimp, and crab cakes. So we ordered them all, ate approximately half, and spent way too much. But totally got what we came for.

Afterward, we went to go get Naomi's junior ranger badge, as she'd completed all the necessary requirements and was quite proud/fulfilled. Unfortunately, the only park ranger was leaving for lunch, but she very kindly did the whole junior ranger thing with Naomi, and Naomi wore her badge for weeks afterward, creating small, but unfixable, holes in all her summer dresses. Fortunately, she'll be too tall for most of them next summer, anyway.

Our last stop was a hike (so, not really a stop) out to the location of Blackbeard's last stand. We liked it for the cool hermit crabs and water to play in.

The last morning, we took a long walk on the beach before reluctantly heading inland to our kayak tour of and Alligator River trail. Nobody wanted to leave, and let the powerful serenity of unspoiled beach recede with the waves. Fortunately, the waves had one last gift for us. A perfect conch washed up nearly at our feet, just as the advertisement had promised could happen. I was gratified to see that Matt was the one to find it. Hah! He got to claim the perfect conch, and I got the last laugh. It now sits proudly on our mantle, except for when the girls are holding it up to their ears. 

Sad to leave such a nice spot, we picked up some breakfast ice cream on the way out of town. In cups this time, not cones. We also stopped at a sound-side inlet to try to find some cool microorganisms and plankton for Elise to view in her pocket microscope. She found one cool little guy, but not the hoards of crab larvae she was really hoping for.

Our adventures certainly weren't over, because the kayak tour turned out to be incredibly awesome. Winding through narrow water trails and spotting a couple gators was pretty cool, but the best part was when, paraphrasing Kalina, "I was paddling at the front of the group, and a big strong guy started paddling up towards me, looking like he wanted to pass me. I just kept going. Eventually he got really interested in a tree off to the side and dropped back to look at it." Probably for a whole host of reasons, Kalina and Elise were better paddlers than most of the rest of the group. Yay! Naomi survived, by the way. She's becoming a good sport (or at least a really resigned one).

We then drove the rest of the way to Raleigh/Durham, and pulled into Matt's aunt and uncle's house for a quick visit (unfortunately, Aunt Ruth, and cousin Lynn and her family were at the beach). The girls were a bit nervous about meeting Uncle Peter for the first time in their memories, but within 30 seconds he'd charmed them all with his gregarious personality, funny stories, and kind and hilarious insights. We didn't want to leave, but knew we had a big day the next day and figured we would probably want to have slept. 

In a sad turn of events, Elise dropped a bag of shells she was bringing home and most of them broke. In an Elise-like about-face, however, she decided some of the pieces could be glued together to make a sea turtle, so that's good.

In the morning, we packed everything tightly (and more securely) to be ready for our flight, and set out to do the best we could at showing the girls Durham. Of the sites we wanted to see, Duke Gardens was the only one that was open, didn't need advance reservations at an inconvenient time, didn't cost a fortune for the short time we'd be able to spend, and provided some nostalgia. Seriously, like the only one. 

The gardens were appropriately beautiful, and I had fun telling Kalina a few of the things she used to do there (chase the geese and ducks, hang out on a bridge, etc.). We greatly missed the giant lily pads, but did enjoy taking the path up to Duke's campus to see the cathedral, and reminiscing a bit more about the time we spent in Durham.

There were so many places we wanted to eat at for lunch, so we turned to the most convenient option: the Mellow Mushroom in the tobacco warehouse district, which was pretty cool since the area's transformation began when we lived in Durham. We loved the pizza, too. Ironically, we hardly ever spent time in the tobacco district when we lived in Durham, and had eaten much more frequently at a number of other restaurants, but, whatever. The store we wanted to look into was closed, so we just did a quick lap and headed south to our old home, driving past a historic church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached once.

Elise seemed very concerned that we'd zoom past our house and she'd blink and miss it, but with our tiny, twisty neighborhood, that would've been nearly impossible. The house was still cute (although yellow now!), and Matt was interested to see that no one had fixed the front steps, which had needed fixing even when we lived there. 

But how much would Kalina remember? She had told of us a few memories at our house. Not too surprisingly, though, it looked quite different to her, even the mailbox area she seemed to remember fairly well. I was hoping we'd jog a few more memories, but we simply didn't.

Next, we drove to an old favorite park, where we unloaded the contents of the rest of our cooler since we couldn't bring it on the airplane. We walked a bit around Woodlake, just for old time's sake. And then it was time to depart. There's a lot more we could've done, but we wouldn't have traded our time at the beach.

Heading home was sad, and most of us questioned at least once whether we should just move back to North Carolina. I'm guessing we'll all be back someday... and this time we're totally stalking a sea turtle nest until it hatches.

Kalina's sand structure!

We did see sea turtles!

We had trouble getting good selfies! This is the
only really good one.

Naomi was feeling silly. But at least she was
smiling!

Elise = 11

Possibly Elise's biggest
surprise: the Plankton book
she's been rechecking out
from the library since early
summer. Less expensive than
$200, even!

After warning me this would happen for more than a year, Elise finally turned 11! Go Elise!

Her party ideas were vast: "I want all of my friends to go camping together," "I want all of my friends to go on a trail ride," "I want all of my friends to do glass fusion at a pottery place." These were all big asks. Fortunately, Elise is actually a reasonable person, so we settled on pizza, a campfire, and a night hike in our backyard and on our trails. Totally doable.

She couldn't sleep the night before, which is nothing new, but did manage to get back to sleep after waking at 5:12 (she said). She's really growing up! The kitties came in to wish her a happy birthday, and very shortly, Elise had pinned on the Birthday Girl button and was  digging into the special cereal she wanted to try: Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters. And then Naomi's present, which I had admittedly underestimated: a cuddly stuffed moose that she adored, still being a huge fan of soft things and especially against her cheek.

Sometimes I feel like birthdays rocket off to a start. Very shortly, we were all playing a board game Uncle Tom had given her, and digging into a cross-stich kit from Aunt Nancy. Then Elise opened a scooter, and Kalina and I sent everyone off for a ride while we prepared her present--a "treasure hunt" complete with clues. 

Which worked marvelously! Elise pulled her final clue out of the minnow trap that had been lowered into the stream, and found... a giant water bear stuffed animal! If you don't know about water bears, you need to Google them now. Elise was delighted--especially since it's actually a pretty cute little guy.

Somewhere along the way, Elise also opened some Bertie Botts Every-Flavor Beans from Kalina/Harry Potter. She weathered "vomit" pretty well (Naomi cried when it got stuck in her tooth--but I have to give her credit for trying it! I was astonished, after licking my miniscule portion, that they hadn't somehow managed to make it taste good. Nope, not good at all. Ergh.), and actually enjoyed the light-blue "soap" bean. Later, she accidentally tried "earthworm," which was definitely not as tasty as the "cherry" she was going for. Lots of laughs, and a few good flavors (watermelon, blueberry, sausage, etc.).

After the now-traditional lunch of Matt's chocolate-pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles (I suppose if you can call Lucky Charms breakfast, you can call chocolate-chip pancakes lunch??), we Zoomed with Grandma and Grandpa and discussed all things Elise, including our recent trip. She opened a few more gifts, including a cookbook, an aquascope, and a beautiful plankton book she'd had from the library since mid-summer, and that had cost $200 when we looked it up on Amazon. Fortunately, we found it a good bit cheaper thanks to diligent re-checking, and Elise now owns her own copy. Which she still pours over even though she seems to have it mostly memorized. Elise enjoyed showing Grandma and Grandpa some of her most favorite critters.

One of the many expressions
of Elise

The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying presents and getting ready for the crowd of Nature Club friends, plus a random new neighbor we're really excited about, that would be descending on our house.

And what a fun evening! Pizza and a shell-painting craft got everyone warmed up, and then we divided into teams for a scavenger hunt along the trail. Which somehow, fortunately, we wrangled into a tie.... After that, flashlights, a campfire, "Smoreos," (although most girls opted for traditional smores), and night games finished out an amazing evening. The girls have super fun friends, and the evening couldn't have been more beautiful. Best of all: Elise actually ate enough Oreos and Smoreos that she felt a bit sick. I feel like that's a win, in its own way.

Another amazing year for Elise! She's actually grown (we were wondering there for a while!), she's expanded her world into the micro-world, made new friends, and read her first Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet--which she finished while I was still trying to remember whether it's appropriate for youngsters). 

Elise has been loving every minute of being 10, except for the minutes in which she's doing math, practicing music, doing chores, singing in front of people (or dreading that event), visiting the dentist, and occasionally squabbling with Naomi. All the rest have been pretty great. And seriously those are pretty much it.

She's still a sweet, fun, talkative, easygoing and enthusiastic girl, and is channeling all those positive traits into her various pursuits. She loves her leadership positions with AHG ("It's so much more fun when you get to make the decisions!" and her role as "the adventurous one" in our family (their label, not mine). She tries really hard to get along well with people, and it usually works out for her. 

But then there's math. She's just fine at math but, well, it's just hard to finish something you so strongly dislike. Right? She enjoys easy one-digit long division (but NOT 2-digit or 3-digit), factoring into primes, any math that seems to have a purpose, and a new math game I bought to help improve her outlook, but that's her limit and, frankly, she's often been just a bear during math time. And not the snuggly furry kind. (Although a few new developments have made math go much more smoothly lately.... I'm still holding my breath to see if we've turned a corner, though.)

She perks right up, however, when given a complex writing assignment or freedom to "do her plankton book"--a super-fun curriculum I bought her over the summer--and readily forgives me for any math I've forced upon her. If she held grudges, I'm not sure we'd ever be on speaking terms.

Fortunately, she always seems ready to give people another chance, which gives her an advantage in the world of middle children.

It's nearly impossible to chat with Elise nowadays and not hear about various types of plankton, or her plan to create a unicorn using a few types of DNA. She now knows she wants to be some sort of a microbiologist when she grows up, or possibly a park ranger studying sea turtles. I think it's safe to say that water+life are in her professional future.

Elise embarks on the
treasure hunt created
by Kalina!

In fact she nearly cried when Matt tried to talk her out of grad school (as he does everyone he meets who's considering it). I had to reassure her later that we would happily help her make the best decision when the time comes, and besides, she'll be like 22 by then so.... She perked right up.

Elise also continues to enjoy theater, and voice lessons (but not voice practice!), hugs, pets, anything outdoors, and a little writing club she has with a few friends. She's dug into some great books this year, from Romeo and Juliet to The Hound of the Baskervilles, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women. And loves them. Oh, and she still adores sugar, a little too much....

While not the cleanest person in the house, she at least does recognize the need for the occasional tidying up, possibly thanks to Kalina, who's a total pro. Recently, her desk went from unusable to quite lovely, so I know there's hope. When the girls is motivated, she achieves her goals. 

The end of the treasure hunt!

Elise is super sweet with Naomi on their good days, with a lot less squabbling than there had been for a while, and they've logged a lot of hours working on shows, drawing comic books, making up stories, and playing at the creek.

She has a great memory and enjoys telling us things she used to think when she was little, which also has the advantage of triggering Naomi's memory as well. She can rollerblade, play a little tennis, take care of poison dart frogs and other pets, bake/cook pretty well, sew nice things on a sewing machine, make friends with almost anyone (as long as they're nice, and at least slightly interested in nature), coordinate an outfit, 

The prize from the treasure
hunt: a stuffed water bear!

She wants to be taken seriously, and usually is, but still gets those crazy ideas that sound so very plausible to her, but make the rest of us smile. She's still Elise, for sure.

May she always be!

Eight is Great!

 Naomi had super exciting plans for her birthday! Like unicorns! And cake! And presents! Woohoo!

Apparently, a little too exciting--at 11:30 the night before, she was still awake, and stressed about still being awake, setting a family record for sleeplessness on the eve of a big day. I don't think even Elise has made it that late due to sheer excitement. Sheesh. (The thunderstorm that set in at about 11:10 didn't help.)

This happened only because Matt and I were watching a movie. Fortunately, Kalina let us know around 11:00 that everyone was still awake. Um, thank you? 

I told them all in no uncertain terms, but tempering my words with kindness, or at least confusing them because I sounded sugary sweet and yet very firm at the same time (because Naomi can sense the tension and then has even more trouble falling asleep because "you're mad at me"), that no one may wake up any sisters in the morning, despite it being a birthday.

I questioned why I'd put so much time into all the preparations when everyone was just going to be melting down anyway. Except, to give my kids credit, they actually do really well (eerily well, sometimes) on way too little sleep. 

For a while, I sat beside my 7-year-old, silently willing her to just fall asleep, before she dismissed me, letting me know she wasn't actually super scared of the storm anymore. I guess she's growing up after all (although in truth, none of my kids has been super scared of storms at night--or at least, they haven't let me know until just recently).

Despite my honey-drenched words of warning the night before, at 7:30 on Naomi's birthday, the children were all wide awake. Awake enough, in fact, to startle Matt and I out of our slumber by blowing birthday horns upon entering our room. Matt, not able to rocket into the festive spirit quite that quickly, only just managed to avoid ruining the morning by saying things he'd regret later. I only thought them, and squeezed out a disoriented "Happy birthday Sweetie!" that probably sounded anything but cheery, but was at least present. Usually the roles are reversed nowadays: the parents up and the kids sleeping in. But not on a birthday, no matter how late we were all up the night before!

All that to say, Naomi was pretty psyched about her special day!

Breaking about 10 years of birthday tradition, I required everyone to have a bowl of healthy cereal before diving into the Chocolate Lucky Charms "birthday cereal." "We can't have both sugar for breakfast and a poor night of sleep," I insisted. The guilty parties put up very little fuss, and grabbed the Cheerios without a fight. And then a present or two.

Naomi had been guessing presents (and coming up with last-minute new ideas) all week. And her first one was, as predicted, a stuffed animal and a book, both from Elise. She also opened up a lot of Playmobil this year, being super excited about it at the moment, and unicorn-themed items, like a unicorn stapler with rainbow tape for her brand-new desk.

The day before, we'd found a cake--a Wal-Mart one, with pink frosting and yellow shell borders that we knew we could doctor up a little. Sure enough, Naomi had the great idea of adding frosting "clouds," and placing stuffed unicorns (and a friendly dragon) in them. Plus a candy Happy Birthday. Plus unicorn sprinkles. And voila! A magical unicorn cake. I love home-making birthday cakes and I also love picking them up and checking them off the list. This felt like the best of both worlds and definitely not a cop-out. 

The morning was broken up only by a few presents and from the high-maintenance baby hummingbird we were caring for temporarily (long story!). Naomi played, the older sisters created a joyful environment, and I finished prepping for her impending birthday party. 

After a delicious lunch of Daddy's chocolate chip pancakes (a new tradition?), we video chatted with Grandma and Grandpa. We enjoyed catching up, and Naomi enjoyed showing off all her new gifts. Like, all of them.

Then it was about time for her mini-party! Naomi's 3 friends arrived amid neighbors mowing lawns and cutting down trees--not exactly a festive atmosphere when you have to shout and make sure no debris hits you. We ended up indoors for craft time (painting squishies) and a few games (pin the tail on the unicorn and outdoors again for a donut pinata). The pinata was the best I'd ever seen, actually spraying candy (and the non-candy items I insisted on, too) for each of at least 6-7 hits, and not needing a golf club and a grown-up to break it in the first place. I'd been unrealistically nervous about the pinata (and Naomi's expectations for things to happen over which she might have no control--like being the one to break it open), and was relieved that it ended so well. 

Since Naomi only had 3 guests, they each got to customize their own cupcake (frosting flavor and mini-plastic-unicorn-decoration color). I realized I also had mythical creature frosted animal crackers, and fortunately, this amount of treat actually filled the girls, even the one who literally devoured a 4-day-old corn muffin the last time she visited because she's always, always very hungry (yes, her parents feed her). 

I then hurried the lagging guests through painting the rest of their squishies, as Naomi had one last activity she was very passionate about: staging a play.

It was late in the game (i.e., two days before) that I realized not only did she actually really want to perform this play she'd been formulating, but that the stakes were going to be high. But, despite lots of pressure; lack of sleep; a guest for whom, as I had to explain to Naomi, acting in a play would be akin to Naomi touching worms, a simile she could begrudgingly relate to; and a severe time shortage thanks to all the other fun we'd been having, the girls managed to perform something. There may have been a mini meltdown that we managed to divert. In the end, the play happened and it was cute, it was sweet, and it covered many, of the story elements Naomi had wanted to include. She did a great job of formulating it so that people could be any character they wanted, making everyone (I think) happy--even the girl who ended up just helping out backstage (much to her relief--I learned later from her mom she'd been worried about the play all week!). Kalina goodnaturedly accepted being volunteered to be a stand-in, and Elise, who'd naturally been planning to perform all along, helped fill out the character list. Thank goodness for birthday girl sisters, who are always the heroes of all of the birthdays in our house.

The guests left and we crashed for a few moments before getting the house ready for birthday dinner with Grandpa and Marianne! I enjoy Saturday birthdays because you pretty much only have to clean your house once to do all the celebrating, but it really is a whirlwind.

For dinner, Naomi chose the traditional Jason's Deli, and then we dug into the cake, which was quite special for all the toppings. She's still a little nervous about birthday candles (fire!) so she shied away at first, but got them all blown out after a couple tries.

Naomi showed Grandpa and Marianne all the gifts, and then opened a few more. She was all ready to dig in and start putting things together, when bedtime happened. This was a tragic event, because it meant that the birthday was over. Really over. I agree, Naomi, it felt like it went too fast! Just like the last 8 years!

Naomi, at 8, is a sweetie who enjoys being young, but shows some sure signs of growing up, too! She can read just about anything, but often prefers a stack of picture books. She's equally at home discussing the Underground Railroad and the aftermath of the Civil War as she is making up imaginary dragons. She does her own hair, but insists on pigtails. 

Naomi still cares for and names all her stuffed animals, and many other animals, as well, her most popular being Oreo, Smores, Midnight, and Marshmallow (as it turns out, most animals are either black and white, various shades of brown and white, just black, or just white. The gray ones kinda stump her.).

She's intimidated by the idea of riding a bike, but flies on a scooter. She's pushing herself to swim underwater (and is totally getting it, one paddle at a time!), and I've watched her shoot baskets (at a slightly lower hoop, but still--considering she gets zero practice, not bad!). She doesn't really enjoy piano unless she's good at the piece, in which case she likes to sing along (and is asking to switch to voice lessons...we'll see).

And she's still very sensitive at the table, although she voluntarily licked a tomato this year and she's agreed to try to get used to spaghetti. We're determined to work more on it and ease her out of some of her anxiety Her favorite foods are all the sugary ones, and her least favorite is, assuredly, meat. 

Naomi can entertain herself for hours with craft supplies, and has trouble seeing a recyclable without thinking, "Hey, I bet I could make ______ out of that!" She's considering being an art teacher when she grows up, but mostly just wants to be a mommy. Which she practices for by befriending all the little girls who are younger than her, and keeping track of all those stuffed animals. I think she'd be totally fine with 30+ kids.

Naomi is much more of a trooper than most people would want to give her credit for, having hiked for miles over rough terrain, only about the first 30 minutes of which she enjoyed, and only complaining in earnest when I was about ready to as well. She constantly has to keep up with her sisters in this way, which is probably why she cried real tears when we suggested another Colorado vacation instead of our planned beach one. She'll take sand any day (she loves it).

Sometimes she surprises me with her knowledge--for instance, she had somehow internalized that plants and animals have different types of cells from one of the conversations I'd had over her head with Kalina and Elise. She put it on a poster she was making about animals. And then there's math and spelling... don't let the pigtails fool you--she's clearly not to be underestimated.

Naomi was the very first of all my children (not adjusted for age!) to figure out:

1. If you get all your schoolwork done before lunch, you have an entire afternoon of free time ahead of you.

2. How to swim underwater without getting water up her nose, and without face-mask goggles (although it's not a mastered skill yet, she's just made it further than either sister).

She recently managed to clip all her fingernails by herself (not sure what age this is supposed to happen, but she was good enough at it that I'm pretty sure we were overdue), and can sound out melodies on the piano, take care of some laundry, and take care of the bunny 100% by herself (she's super proud of this, and can also get him to cuddle up next to her).

Of the things she dislikes, worms, mentions of death in books, anything "human body" (blood, broken bones, major organs), most foods, and competitive games top the list. I can't blame her on a lot of these.

Despite her disgust at all things medical, she loves having loose teeth and, paradoxically, grossing me out with them, which she does quite well. She always leaves a nice note for the tooth fairy, with lots of questions.

It's beginning to be clear that the poor girl suffers from some real anxieties, but she does actually work on conquering them. Sometimes she ventures upstairs all by herself, she always calms down fairly quickly after being placed into a boat against her will, and, again, she licked a tomato. 

Naomi gets a huge kick out of puns and jokes, and enjoys making up her own. "All you do is find a word that sounds like another, or has the same meaning. Then, it's easy!" Showing even better taste, she adores the original Winnie the Pooh stories. Because they're amazing, and she knows it. And they really give her the giggles. She doesn't, however, like to be surprised by endings, especially if there's any suspense, and will happily read the last page/chapter before restarting the book from the beginning. Just to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

She's the most ticklish person I know, and Kalina's mastered the ability to "tickle" her from across the room, with Naomi begging her to stop. She still insists on dresses, although occasionally wears a skirt and shirt. The dresses are always cute, though, and she even has a dark blue one she saves for outdoor activities at which she might get messy. She's prepared. But she bemoans the fact that every place offering t-shirts (art camp, AHG) don't also make dresses. 

Most of the time, Naomi is happy to do her own thing, or play with her sisters, or complete a good worksheet (she loves worksheets, although she can't really admit it around her sisters). She loves word finds, codes, fortune tellers, and drawing lessons, plus any good book or little animal setup.

Naomi enjoys her friends and craves playdates, even when they've had to be outside due to covid. Fortunately, her two besties live quite close and their parents also highly support outdoor playdates, covid or no, so she barely suffered at all during the past year and a half. 

Naomi's a little sweetie, and we're all just delighted to celebrate her! 

Sweet 13

Here's Kalina, having
overcome altitude
sickness at Rocky
Mountain National
Park. I was proud
of her for venturing
cautiously back up
to the heights!

 Kalina's 13! As the girls have reminded me for the past, oh, year and a half, she's now a teenager. This is so much fun for them. Less so for me.

They also like to pester me about when she can drive. Also not fun, but I'm secretly relieved she seems to want to learn, ever (many teens don't really anymore).

Since Kalina is 13, it seems strange to blog about her. Shouldn't she be doing the blogging?

So it's a good time to revert to more of a highlights reel. Pictures are below. We celebrated well, including kind of a last-minute kayaking/paddleboating party with a few friends. Amazingly, the only major wetness was from the occasional very light rain on our chilly day. On Kalina's actual birthday, the rain kept us from a walk at the Arboretum, but we enjoyed extra time board gaming, so it all worked out.

At 13, and aside from a few occasional lapses in judgment regarding treatment of her sisters and the cats, Kalina's hit a sweet spot of ultra-capable and pretty amenable, as long as you're not asking her to do anything unreasonable like sing on stage or join a basketball team. Is 13 one of those in like a lamb, out like a lion things? 

Kalina's favorite hobby is still reading, and she sleuthed out Sherlock Holmes this year--a wonderful find that I enjoyed, too--plus an author that Uncle Tom loved as a kid (and who is still writing). But she'll read almost anything, from a few of Elise's current faves to the around-the-world books I'm pushing on everyone this summer as part of the reading program I created (because I'm that kind of homeschool mom). 

Kalina's traditional
ice-cream cake. 
Yum.

Kalina's also been loving the orchestra she joined this year. She can often tell you what the other instruments are doing at various points in a piece, and is highly motivated to practice to keep up with the group. She was switched to first chair viola for the final concert, and is getting ready to audition for the highest orchestra in this particular program (just a homeschool program--don't get too excited) later this summer. She gets personally offended if people confuse her instrument with a violin. 

She's also been enjoying tennis with Matt, lots of board games (the more complex the better, sometimes!), hanging out with kitties, biking, kayaking, hiking, and, amazingly, helping out at various activities. She would like it to be known that she enjoys science and the outdoors nearly as much as Elise does, just more quietly. Especially astronomy, meteorology (seriously, since she was 2), ecology, and anything involving animals. She's kinda interested in robotics, too, and definitely has the mind for it.

I try not to post pictures
of other peoples' kids'
faces, so here's my
best shot!

Around the house, Kalina can tidy up a kitchen (or desk, or drawer) like nobody's business (a newfound, much-appreciated skill, on the same level as toilet cleaning about 3-4 years ago), and organizes her books by personal favorite ranking. She enjoys learning about house maintenance, and doesn't seem to mind weeding. She'll cook if there's a purpose (like frying an egg on the days I decide everyone's going to make their own lunch), and is a good help on the (rare) occasions she volunteers to help with something.

She's developed a solid affinity for plants, with a happy little cluster (except the one that died, and the other one that's dying) under her grow lamp. She reports regularly on their progress. And through the winter she enjoyed her usual stint of crocheting, even delving into quilting because she loves their patterns. 

Kalina has been taking on a leadership role as a newsletter editor and an honor flag ceremony member for our AHG troop, making a solid entrance into the middle/ high-school unit. We've discovered that she'll see several sweet friends both at our co-op and at AHG next year, which just seems perfect for her. 

Kalina's becoming more serious-minded, and is happy to plan for her future. She still wants to be a science writer, and mostly is managing that by working pretty diligently, but still trying to do as little work as humanly possible. Who can blame her? 

She's pretty even-keeled, not usually losing her temper or getting as excited as either of her sisters. Which could easily mean she'd be overlooked, but sometimes I'm not sure she really minds....

Kalina's dislikes haven't changed much: dresses, being the center of attention, rhyming books that do a poor job of rhyming and/or telling an actual story, a packed schedule, anything out of tune or not lining up, fashion, broccoli, handwriting, and probably a few things she doesn't tell me about because she's fairly tactful. Although she'll definitely call me out if my logic doesn't seem to line up.

She dreams about cats, making a cat room, making a catio, making cat shelves, etc. Her happy place is on her bed with a book and a cat--especially the one who's become accustomed to ear-scratching and will cuddle with her.

Happy 13th birthday, sweet Kalina! So proud of how happy, healthy, and mature you're becoming! May there always be a cat.

A Day In the Life: School in Spring

For Valentine's Day, we did
some candy heart chemistry
experiments!

The sun is shining. The temperatures are breezy. The leaves are budding and the air smells just delicious. 

But none of that matters, because we're doing school!

Actually, we don't have to--but we do need to reach 186 days of instruction according to state law. Plus we need to check all the boxes that count, because the kids have that kind of a mom-teacher. 

Besides, my kids insist on a real summer vacation, and so do I. 

So here's what it's like to school in the spring:

Lately, the kids have been hopping out of bed relatively well most days. In the winter, they would easily lie around for 45 minutes or an hour if we let them. Kalina still tries to sneak in extra reading time (not exactly a crime), but they know they have animals depending on them and it's sunny, so they get up.

A very common scene lately as
Elise says hello to her tiny
critters. In the background,
Naomi has arranged fake
flowers for us. She's always
loved vases of flowers.

Elise has further motivation, which kind of energizes the whole room. She's intensely into freshwater plankton right now, and has set up a portion of kitchen counter as her lab (plus the entire stream). The other girls, fortunately, have not asked where their portions of kitchen counter are and they, being used to Elise, roll with it when she talks of nothing but hydras for basically the entire day. It's been hydras, copepods, daphnia, and not much else for a good week. The microscope gets used hourly, as do the pocket microscopes the girls received for Christmas. This will be a common theme throughout our day, so I'll stop for now.

Everyone completes their chores quickly today. Naomi has her bunny jobs done before I'm even downstairs, and she informs me that Daddy changes the water nowadays since there are usually escaped fruit flies in it, plus hay and fur that shouldn't go down the drain. I'm beyond grateful for this solution, because it's been a problem as Naomi is terrified of all bugs except, amazingly, bees and wasps. The wasps because we've had so many in the house that she's just kind of grown up with them, like siblings. Except you don't usually go after your siblings with a fly swatter or Daddy's special salt gun (even if you really, really want to at times). Once a pest control guy came to our door and was freaked out by all our wasps, dodging and ducking them, while Naomi placidly let them dart around her head, not blinking an eye. So proud! And the bees because they're her favorites. But harmless ants and fruit flies? She's still not using the bathtub in the kids' bathroom because for about a week when the weather warmed up there were ants around it. Just terrified. [Just FYI, the wasp problem was finally taken care of last spring when Matt started working from home...yay!]

Everything is better
with a cat! This
particular one was
caught pin-pawed,
having slept on
Kalina's chalk
drawing the night
before. This was
not her first
offense, either.

Kalina scoops the cat litter (but doesn't refill it, which it totally needs) and Elise empties the dishwasher. Usually it takes her about 20 minutes because she darts back and forth to tadpoles, micro-critters, cats, tadpoles, and any other distraction she can possibly find, but today it's pretty much finished by the time I'm downstairs. So nice not to have to nag on that one today.

 Sooner than usual, we're ready for breakfast, over which we begin a little Bible schoolwork to start our day. I relay the news--the wood ducks who'd been nesting at Grandpa's have flown away and the mask mandate in our county has been lifted--plus I list the girls who will be able to attend Nature Club later (not many this time, but at least one friend for everyone). They're super excited about Nature Club, and so a little more motivated than usual. They choose outfits accordingly, with Kalina in her hiking pants and new peach activewear shirt, Elise in some new shorts and a nature T-shirt, and Naomi in her dark-blue dress that she wears whenever she knows she might get wet or dirty. It's her version of old shorts and a T-shirt, but she always looks totally put-together in it. Sometimes she reminds me of the women who wore full "bathing costumes" for a dip in a lake.

I tell Elise that she has a good 45 minutes if she wants to dress quickly, brush her teeth and run outside to look for hydra (she's obsessed with the idea of keeping them as pets). She insists that there aren't any in our stream. 

"Really, the entire stream?" I challenge.

"Mommy, I just feel like I would have seen them. I look really closely."

"But how long have you been looking for hydra?"

"Just yesterday, but I see everything, I would have found them by now."

"But they're tiny/how can you possibly search the whole stream/I'm not taking you to the pet store to look for them until you have spent a lot longer looking for them here, etc." (She knows they're invasive species and has heard you can find them living on snails and plants at pet stores.)

I ask her if her watch works since she hasn't been wearing it lately and she has to be inside at 9:00. She says the time is off but it's still ticking. When she brings it to me, I reset it from DST and we're good to go.

Later, she concedes that maybe there are a few places she hasn't looked, and I concede that she really might be right, but I want her to give it a really good try, and I'll even go looking with her. She's satisfied for now, but then wonders how she'll feed them because they eat live food. 

In the end, Elise ends up simply staring into space a while and then reading either a Gordon Korman book from the library (thanks, Uncle Tom) or a Diary of a Wimpy Kid which is basically trash, but they have to learn pop culture somehow. She acts surprised when I call her to start school, but I know it's just an act.

Kalina seems ready to start early, and indeed agrees to a head-start on math. Her most recent assignment had some sloppy mistakes, and a few that aren't-so-sloppy, so I bring them to her attention. Fortunately she handles it all quite gracefully for a pre-teen, and quickly figures out the right answers. She's very analytical and doesn't mind math, but by the last two problems I had planned to go through with her, she's tuned me out and instead become fixated on some little thingy she had in her hands. We're in a good spot, so I give up and leave her with her day's assignment. She's been more motivated in math lately because every Monday morning she Zooms with a friend to complete part of an assignment together. Amazingly, they're at about the same level, and we're coincidentally doing the same curriculum, so it's been a great arrangement for both of them. Next year, they'll both start Algebra 1, and we've agreed on to use the high-school curriculum so we can keep it up. 

Kalina's comments from a month or two ago about how effective my help is:

Kalina: "Every time you help it's like that show where you go through an obstacle course and they dump slime on you and squirt you with giant tubes of ketchup and mustard and stuff."

Me, caught completely off-guard: "You mean Double Dare? Huh. Is there a way I could help more helpfully?"

Kalina: "No, it's pretty helpful."

We both cracked up.

By the time I finish getting Kalina started, it was 9:00 and time for Elise and Naomi to begin. I'd been hoping to put through an Old Navy order for a few summer clothes this morning, but it got put on hold in favor of doing math with the youngers.

Naomi has been sailing through her book and working almost completely independently lately, although for the first 3/4 of the year she insisted on my joining her (which was fine!). But the girls' math curriculum is written so well that as long as a child is somewhat motivated, they can pretty much learn it themselves step by step, and now Naomi doesn't always like to wait on me. It's also called Math Mammoth, which is another reason we like it, because we were able to acquire a stuffed mammoth "support animal" to accompany it. Naomi used to take possession of Barney, who would "check her work" amid joyful giggles at the end of each assignment (because Barney is a very majestic, very funny mammoth), but now Elise is more likely to be holding on to him.

Elise is enjoying
candy heart math
around Valentine's
Day! 

Because Elise is just a mess when it comes to math. Not in the sense that she gets the problems wrong, because she generally doesn't, but because she is terrified of doing so. She also doesn't like that each problem only has one right answer, and that it's really dry, and that there are a million other things she'd rather be doing. She hates it almost as much as dentistry. Lately, the thing that works best is for me to crochet while she snuggles up to me on the couch, and I nag her through the assignment between conversations about miniature pond life. It's very relational and sweet, if you can get over the extreme grumpiness, whininess, and self-pity. Tell it to the mammoth, Child. She's currently getting introduced to decimals and frequently shows a solid understanding even while freaking out about them. She hasn't always been this way and I know I need to nudge her out on her own again, but this is working for now, and summer is so, so close. It's like letting a 12-month-old nap in the swing for the nap they'll be giving up really soon.

And yes, I constantly remind her that scientists need to be good at math. Now that she's decided she wants to be a plankton biologist when she grows up, it's almost working. "Finish these 5 problems and then we can look at another page of your microorganisms book."

Today, she actually begins her math outside for the first time in a while, which I let her do but remind her to come in and get help right away if she needs it, and that she can only work outside if she actually works outside. Naomi wants to work in her room, probably because there's a cat on her bed.

For about 5 minutes I'm living the homeschool mom's dream: each child is actually working on math independently and no one needs help. I finish the breakfast dishes--before lunch! And I reflect that that's one thing I love about school in the spring--the kids have finally learned the routine given up all resistance and have finished a subject or two entirely and really figured out others. It's so much smoother than, say, October, when things are just starting to get hard and they all still remember summer vacation. 

Then Elise charges back inside--which I'm grateful for because it means she's not daydreaming her math time away in the crabapple tree--and demands help. We initiate the couch routine.

Naomi is learning
about perimeter
and area with her
hearts. (Kalina
refused a photo.)

Naomi, who loves nothing more than a checklist she can mark off, unless it's a fully marked-off checklist, zooms through most of her usual 2 pages before approaching me near tears for help with the final problem. At which point I discover two more tiny mistakes that I know she can fix. She tries again, and comes back actually crying because she's not sure exactly how to do it. It's one of those things I know she thoroughly understands, but it just tripped her up today, so I do my best to reassure her and help liberally so as not to shatter her confidence. Elise also helps cheer her up. Crisis managed.

I'm trying to peel Elise off of me now that I know she understands the new concept (something she usually denies, and then proceeds to get all of the problems right while simultaneously trying to hide from them under couch pillows) so I can help Naomi with her language arts when Kalina enters the room, flops down on the schoolroom floor, and announces that if she does any more math her head will explode. I totally understand, so I offer for her to work on something else for a while. In fact, I'm kind of delighted that she has acknowledged this--as I noticed a couple months ago that Kalina and Elise had both developed the (normal, developmentally appropriate) tweenage skill for making a simple math assignment drag on for 1 1/2 or 2 hours, I've been encouraging them to switch gears if they're stuck and return to it later. I feel like focus has been better all around lately, which means a lot less time spent on school and more time for microbiology and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

I get Kalina started on Duolingo Russian, which we just started recently. Matt has been diligently working with the kids on Spanish, and while I hate to slightly compromise his efforts, the kids are all actually excited about the "renegade" language of Russian. I mean, just look at the alphabet! So as long as they're motivated.... Plus Kalina just seems to like languages, and I think secretly doesn't mind learning Spanish, too, but can't let her little sisters know that because they're pretty vocal about their negative feelings. Although I think secretly Naomi might also like it. But Elise is loud, so.... Kalina works for a long time on Russian, even getting the tricky verbal portions right, which I'm glad Elise didn't hear, because she struggles with them. In fact, I even stop her so that she has time for her other subjects. 

We quickly do spelling with none of the usual pushback, and then I send her upstairs for writing. She'd begun a poetry analysis assignment yesterday and finished it today, again without the usual "Why are you forcing me to do this?" or "Can't I just read?" or the sarcastic "Yes, your majesty" that I would enjoy except that I can just hear the eye roll in it. In fact, afterword Kalina even sweetly admitted that she doesn't dislike all poetry (which she'd been leading us to believe as we've all been reading and memorizing poetry this month), but she only likes the really good stuff. I compliment her taste and say that she shouldn't like the bad stuff. Fortunately, the assignment in the book was about a poem she actually does like, even though you'd never have known it on Wednesday when we discussed it together ("The Bells," by Edgar Allen Poe). She completes the assignment and moves on to her "booklist" literature assignment, which is due today and that she's had a month to do.

Romeo and Juliet
was not on Elise's
reading list--it
just happened! She
read it in 2 days and
asked for more. "Do
you think the library
will have A
Midsummer Night's
Dream?"

This is one of my favorite things: every year (for two years now!) I've created a list of quality books I want the girls to read (this was triggered when Kalina read nothing but Harry Potter for about 3 months--nothing against Harry Potter, but she needed a nudge). This year, I put them in 5 different categories (science, history, etc.). They must read one a month for the 10 months of school. For each set of 5, they get to choose a book for me to buy. Naomi's list is more simple because she only started reading really fluently about a year ago, but next year it'll be more in line with her sisters. They also have to fill in a form to prove they read it and supply some insights, vocabulary, etc. They actually appreciate the book recommendations, and love the system, so it's a win-win.

Naomi working studiously on
geography. She used a guide
to draw a whole world map
in one sitting!

Meanwhile, I've completed language arts with Naomi. She learned (a little) about symbolism, worked on rewriting some sentences to make them sound more descriptive (she loves this), practiced a few spelling rules, and wrote complete sentences to answer questions about a chapter of a book (which always stresses her out to the point of tears because there aren't usually enough lines to write a complete sentence). Then we did a little literature lesson together where she learned what a yoke was. She colored a paper yoke and set up a pair of bunnies in it. She also loves this kind of thing. I set her up to copy the poem I'd written down for her yesterday--"Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear"--so she could practice her Z's, which she still gets backward because really, how often do you write a Z? She enjoyed drawing a fuzzy bear to illustrated it--as she also loves drawing.

I'm not going to name names for who my easiest one to teach has been this year.

When she was done, she delightedly wiped these subjects off of her whiteboard list and noticed she was nearly finished, with only piano and history left. I'd purposefully kept the lists a little short today because of the beautiful weather and impending Nature Club, but lately Naomi finishes everything quickly. "Mommy, I like to get everything done so I can have free time, but then sometimes when I have free time I want to do school!" I can totally relate--why do you think I homeschool?

At this point, Elise has completed her math, Russian work, and literature book form. Since I'm available, I seize the opportunity to work on spelling and grammar with her. Or try to, anyway. She's back at her lab, fishing critters out of the cup of streamwater she's keeping them in, and slipping them into the microscope. I realize these are problems you want to have, but even microbiologists need to spell. Eventually I drag her over. She just switched to a new spelling curriculum a few weeks ago, having gotten bored with the old routine. We find we get super bored with spelling unless we switch it up every 6-12 months, and she's a good speller, anyway, so I don't stress about the lack of continuity. Last time Elise kept making really sloppy mistakes, but this time she's more on her game, and only misses the words that are actually difficult and new. This takes a good 20-25 minutes, though, as we keep having conversations in between sentence dictation passages. About what? One guess.

Naomi completes her piano practice independently during this time, and asks me to print off a new practice chart so she can track her time. When we used to attend lessons in person, her teacher would hand out the occasional prize for a completed practice chart, and Naomi hasn't kicked the habit of recording her time. I'm certainly not going to stop her, plus we start in-person lessons again on Monday.

I straighten up the house a bit, but since we did a lot of cleaning up yesterday so it's not to bad. This not only gives me a little more time to work with the girls, but just makes me feel better at life. Most days, it's a constant battle, emphasis on the word battle, to keep the house clean with all of us here all the time. Although I think if we eliminated pencils, books, and couch pillows, that would go a long way.

After Elise studies her spelling words, we move to grammar. By this time, Kalina is working on typing and is sitting with us, plus Naomi's around for some reason, so I quiz Naomi on her parts of speech, and Kalina gives Elise a few pointers on simple/progressive/perfect-tense verbs, and then goes off to try to finish her book form. Next year for grammar, we're planning to work with our good friends in Pella on the same exact book for our oldest kiddos via Zoom. It'll be a much-needed review for Kalina as this particular grammar book covers everything, and new for the rest--but newest for Elise since she's the youngest. Fortunately, Elise finds grammar fairly intuitive, and is sailing through at the moment, so I think she'll be alright. At least she's highly motivated. Today, she learns that a prepositional phrase works as a single part of speech, plus she practices labeling the verb tenses. I tell her she needs to finish before lunch, multiple times, as she ping-pongs back and forth to her lab. It's taking forever for her to get it done. Finally when she's up again, I actually raise my voice (which I don't do much these days due to overused vocal chords that need a break), only to find that she is done, having completed the final 1/4th of the assignment in the approximately 60 seconds I took to pour a few lunch pancakes with Naomi. I swallow my comment about how much free time she could have if she just applied herself the same way through the rest of her assignments, as she's heard it already.

It's hard to see, but
we made prints on
notecards a week
or two ago as an art
project. Hers
has two bunnies
that are just adorable.

Pancakes are for lunch because we virtually never have them for breakfast and they're something everyone will eat. Plus I make them with with whole grains and protein, so they're fairly healthy. Naomi's finished with all her work and is starting to bug her sisters, so I invite her to help me with pancakes. She mixes them a LOT, and then pours them into the pan, making little baby pancakes, too. Which are really hard to flip, but I don't mind because we're actually running a little earlier than usual for lunch. We round out the meal with fruits and veggies and such, and I heat up some leftovers for myself because I get tired of kid food, amazingly.

During lunch, we always watch CNN-10, our favorite news program. When that's over, we sometimes watch a portion of a documentary, Geography Now, or our new favorite, Tudor Monastery Farm on Amazon Prime, which goes along great with our study of the middle ages. We're all together all day, and this gives us something new to talk about. But today, we work on some memory work songs until everyone starts to wander away.

Generally after lunch we have recess so the kids can get some outdoor time or read if the weather is crummy (plus I can get a breather), but today we launch right into history so we can finish up for Nature Club. Elise wants to do it outside, so we gather everything and head out, with me stipulating that if anyone starts mowing, we're heading in. No one is particularly happy at this point--they mostly enjoy history, but are antsy to be done.  

Sometimes for
history and science
you have to do the
less-academic
projects, like
building a castle out
of Rice Krispie
treats. We kinda
sorta learned
parts of a castle,
but that's really
a stretch.

It goes downhill. Half a paragraph in, Elise recognizes that she went through the exact chapter (Copernicus and Galileo) two days prior in her co-op history class. Which she signed onto anticipating that it would be the "activities" portion of history, and later found out it was the same reading that we do as a family. She still mostly enjoys it for the lively discussions, and knows all the answers. I let her go hang out on her monkey line until we start the questions and mapwork. Naomi immediately becomes jealous, so I semi-patiently explain it in terms she can understand. Kalina asks to sit inside the screen door and pet the cats while I read. Everyone is annoyed with everyone, and Naomi keeps asking if I would tell her what to write on the map so she could just get done with it already! 

Fortunately, we are able to finish even with the general grumpiness, and with only a few arguments over colored pencils. I make everyone grab a history-based book for a little individual reading, and the girls all scurry off to complete their work. I end up reading Naomi's aloud, because I can. Matt arrives home from his second Covid vaccine, and starts working on various projects.

This fall while Kalina
attended orchestra,
Naomi and Elise
did nature study and
other subjects with me
at the nearby park.
We've only done it once
this spring thanks to
weather and general
busy-ness, but it was
great while it lasted!

Soon-ish, it's time to be ready for Nature Club! We are still plastering on sunscreen when the doorbell rings and two sisters from church Elise's and Naomi's age arrive. My girls rush out the door and dash to the stream. It's almost quiet in the house!

The rest of the girls eventually arrive (only a couple more this time), and I step out to chat with Kalina's math friend's mom about some options for next year before she grabs her bike and rides the trails. And then, as Matt has settled into his "home office" (corner of our bedroom), the house is actually quiet. I soak it in. Some chocolate is involved.

I can see the girls from the window, but when I hear a little too much laughter and Kalina suggesting a water fight, I rush out the door and remind everyone that their parents might not want them to get soaking wet. (I also get tired of lending out dry clothes out to everyone--but fortunately several of the girls had brought their own changes of clothes.) Although one has already fallen in, and they insist their parents will be fine, they all agree to tone down the water fight. Later, they come back for walkie talkies and head out a short distance away on the trail. 

It's the blubber experiment,
using Crisco and ice water! I've
been wanting to do this with
them for years. Naomi found
her seal mask for the occasion
and is being a seal.

By the end of it, Elise has needed a band-aid, the two sisters needed their changes of clothes, and everyone got somewhat covered in red clay that kinda stains. But they had an amazing time! I chat with the parents during pickup, but have to leave soon with Naomi. One of her besties who's about to get a new baby sister had invited her over for an outdoor playdate and I figured we should take the opportunity for some playtime. Yes, it's a lot in one day--but it's also April. I have Naomi clean up (she puts on her favorite dress) and I fill a container with soapy water to receive Elise and Kalina's stained clothing in an effort to get the spots out.

After dropping her off, I head up to the grocery store for my own second Covid vaccine. While I'm waiting, I read a fiction story from one of my writing students, text Matt to have the girls soak their clothes, text with Aunt Nancy, and check headlines. After the vaccine, I pick up a few groceries, and, amazingly, it's time to pick up Naomi, who bursts into real tears because "she doesn't want to end on soccer!" We graciously give them a few more minutes, and Naomi shows me their giant hopscotch (they made it to 200!) and shoots some baskets in their hoop. Huh. Naomi's friend's mom and I talk about the possibility of meeting up at the ice cream food truck that's supposed to be at the neighborhood pool that evening.

Our one indoor field
trip this year: the
local aquarium! We
were first inside and it
was practically empty,
but it really
complemented our
marine biology
study!

Back at home, Naomi and I wolf dinner--Matt has already mentioned the food truck to the girls, and we're all eager to go. I also work on the clay stains. Kalina grabs her bike and Naomi and Elise get their scooters--it's only about a 12-minute walk, and a shorter ride. They also each grab money, because Matt and I offer to pay for the cheapest item only. Normally, we'd use after-dinner time for a simple walk, board game, showers, and/or music practice, but the urge to walk/ride to ice-cream with friends and beautiful weather is too strong. 

At the truck, Kalina and Elise both enjoy double scoops (they're humongous), and finish them, and want more. Naomi enjoys her scoop of vanilla on a cone, but even more, seeing her friend again. We all chat way too long, such that our friends have to bike home in the dark, and we ride through our dark woods 

This is the latest we've been out in a long time, and people are ready to settle in when we get back. Matt reads the Tripods books to the girls, and I read the next chapter of our American Girl book to Naomi. we're through most of the girls, and we both thoroughly enjoy the books.

And that's a wrap!