The Dog Day of Spring and other Fragments

It's Friday and it's time for some fragments. These aren't technically fragments, but the way I've been rolling lately if I don't post them here they may never get out.

Last Tuesday we had fun at the old ball park. The White Sox have a Kid's club and each year our kids get two tickets to see a baseball game. We parked for free brought in our own dinner so besides some lip balm in A White Sox container that Amy bought and some cotton candy for the kids it was a cost free affair (Okay gas is like $4.00 a gallon, let's not rub that in!)

Here we are on our way to the stadium.

Spider Droid and I playing catch before we head in.

Each year we try to go to Dog Day. Which is where some fans can bring their dogs and the dogs are able to walk around the field. Puppy loves this for obvious reasons.

Nothing beats food at the old ball park.

One of the best features of U.S. Cellular field for our kids is a place called Fundamentals. It is a number of baseball skill related games that the kids can play for free. There are batting cages (more on those later), and other batting and throwing drill games. There is a miniature field where you can practice fielding and throwing with the staff there. Here is spider droid making a solid play.

My favorite of the games by far is a running race where the kids practice running from home to first base. Here is puppy running for the dogs.

Oh yes there was a baseball game and yes the Sox won.

Now Bunny also participated in some of the athletic stuff. She is a very fleet runner and even tried the batting cages which is way out of her comfort zone. There are two batting cages ans she had to go into the 8 and older one which is medium speed. She did fine the first time and a few innings later she went back. On that occasion she got hit by a pitch which gave her a nasty contusion.

What followed was we went to the bowels of the ball park to first aid. She was treated like royalty even being taken there in a wheel chair, which of course she both loved and embarrassed by. (she's almost a teenage that is a mix of emotions she needs to get used to.)

While we were in First Aid a 20 year old came in with severe alcohol poisoning and perhaps drug use. The nurse had to leave Bunny for a while to help this girl. When the nurse and helper were able to help bunny they were very impressed with her and made some nice comments about her deportment and about her being home schooled.

On the way back to our seats we walked by the main offices of the Sox and I took a quick picture of Bunny with her arm in a sling in front of the 2005 World Series Trophy.

All in all it was a great night. A week from Monday Aim and I will go to a game and plan to actually watch it.


************************************************************************************

Fragment 2: Bird Feeding



Bunny got a book about birds from the library and wanted to make a bird feeder craft so she could sketch some birds in the back yard. She obviously didn't get the memo that neither her mother or I are crafty but we tried it anyway.

A) Start with some pine cones and then coat them with a peanut butter lard mixture. Then put some eye screws on the pine cones.




Step 2 string the pine cones between 2 trees.

Step 3 get on a ladder and try get the pine cones up properly.

step 4: Pine cone treats for obliging birds.

Fragment 3: Drawing Birds

There is a restored prairie land 1/2 way between out house and our church. On Monday morning I took the kids to the prairie so they could sketch some birds.

And of course so Spider Droid could be goofy. He found a dead mouse and will post about it in his blog soon.

*********************************************************************************

Fragment 4: Light Show

The other day Bunny tried to create a way to turn a light on just by opening a door here she is to tell you about it:

Well that's all the fragments I have for today for more Friday fragments stop over at half past kissing time click here.

Next Time: Six Word Saturday

It's not the end of the world

I wasn't going to blog about this. Really, I wasn't. False teachers preaching the end of the world is not a new thing and it will probably go on right up until the end of the world. But recently Harold Camping began proclaiming that Jesus was returning on May 21, 2011.



I used to make a joke back in the 1980's about these kind of proclamation's of Christ's return. I would say that it preempted his coming back because He would be all set to come back on a certain day and then someone would say He's coming back on that day and then of course Jesus would have to choose a different day because no one could know the day or the hour and someone found out.





Of course, May 21st came and went and Christ did not return. The next day this billboard went up in Greensboro, N.C.

The reason why I did blog about it is twofold :

1) That is awkward is one of my 3rd grader's favorite expressions, right along with why interrupt a very good show with kissing.

2) The whole prediction thing reminded me to live like today could be our last day on earth. On Friday, I talked with all my kids one on one and made sure they understood what Jesus did on the cross for them. I made sure that Amy knew how much I loved her. I didn't really think that the rapture would happen on May, 21st. I was just reminded that our time on earth can end at any moment. Just because you can't predict it does not mean it's not going to happen.

(If there is a )Next Time : The Dog Day of Spring.

The Story Behind The Picture

The problem with Wordless Wednesdays is inherent in the title. No typy, no talky, just the flash ma'am. I am a blogger who likes to say things so when I show you a pic like this . . .


or even this one taken about a minute before . . .

Is that without words it doesn't tell you what happened between the two. Or the story behind the picture.

So, Puppy had her ballet recital and she did great. I had bought flowers for here and I was lined up with them behind my back to give them to her as she walked into the gym.

So after taking the first picture, I did just that. What the camera did not catch is when I handed puppy her bouquet, she handed them right back and said "Not, yet!" and marched right into the gym.

Of course all the other parents thought this was adorable. Apparently giving Puppy flowers as she was walking back in the gym was before the event was over was (in her mind) not acceptable.

She gladly accepted them when in the gym and the first picture was taken. I still plan to post wordless pics on occasional Wednesdays. But from time to time I'll tell you the story behind the picture.

Other Words:

For those who saw yesterdays post here is the correct order of the sentences:

3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 4, 6 , 10, 8, 2, 1

**********************************************************************************

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up at The Home Spun Life.

Next Time: The Dog day of May

Monday Morning Paragraphy

Mondays can be a real jumble. You get up and you try to get everybody ready for a new week. But inwardly and outwardly can be something of a muddle. Last year I heard about a teaching tool called paragraphy @ http://www.byrdseed.com/. You write a paragraph. Paragraphy switches the order of the sentences. Your students then put the sentences in the correct order. Since Mondays can be a real jumble, I have decided to occasionally put a post through the paragraphy machine and let you you loyal readers try to make sense of it. This really isn't much different than my regular posts.

Today's installment will actually be a little piece I wrote about my current Monday jumble. I hope you enjoy.

1. That's the plan any way.









2. I hope to have Bunny work on some of her stuff before we go, some at the library and then we can all do some table activities when we get home.









3. Mondays are not just for morning quarterbacks.
   









4. Yes, I can say I knew him when.
   









5. Generally our Mondays are spent at our home school co-op and Awana.
   









6. The interview will be at the church where our co-op usually meets.
   









7. Since they have both ended for the school year, our Monday's have become a regular school at the table day.
   









8. Not sure what all we will do after the interview.
   









9. This week is going to be a little different from our new routine.









10. I am going to take the girls to a branch library near the church while the team meets with the reporter.








11. Spider Droid's robotics team is going to be interviewed for a magazine article.

Next Time: The story behind the picture

500th Post Proclamation

It's finally here. My 500th post here at HSD over the past few weeks I have been making some tweaks to the blog but have not really announced them.

First of all, I have joined the 2nd decade pf the twentieth century and am now on twitter. Going forward I will be tweeting a link to all my new posts. I will also be tweeting my Next Time announcement that appeared and have now reappeared at the bottom of my posts.

Secondly I have added two new pages to the blog. Earlier this month I hosted the Carnival of Homeschooling with a post about my Top 10 Films of all time. I have made that a page as well as a 500th post page.

There are a few other changes, but you can check those out yourself.

I promised something very special for 500 posts. To commemorate the occasion, I have written a song. Within the lyrics, there are links to some of the posts that have appeared in HSD over the last 2+ years. So without further explanation and WITH my apologies to the Proclaimers, I present . . .

I Just Blogged (500 Times)

When I wake up, yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about playin' puppy on the floor.
When I go out, well you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about a field trip to the store.

If it's Christmas, yes you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about how much we like to bowl.
And if it's Easter, yes you know I'm gonna blog.
That it's not a little rabbit that makes us whole.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might blog 500 more
To blog and ask what you guys do
With children screaming on your floor.

When I'm teaching, yes you know I'm gonna blog
About something good that Bunny or Spider did.
And when puppysims come
I'm gonna post 'em here. She's really quite a kid.

When we travel. yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
Whether close to home or Washington D.C.
And when we get back you know I'm gonna blog
With words and pics and videos for all to see.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might post 500 more
Just to be the guy whose 1000 posts
Will make you laugh but never snore.

When I'm fed up, yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog 'bout how my family drives me mad
But when I think straight yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about the super times that we have had.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might tweet 500 more
Just to be the guy whose posts and tweets
reveal the passion at his core.

So that's it for post #500. Unless I get a lucrative contract in the music biz. I will be back very soon inching my way to 1000.

Next Time: Paragraphy for a Monday Morning.