Gittin' some larnin'

Karen and Emily have embarked on a new adventure this year. For 7th grade, Karen is homeschooling Emily.

They've been going for about 6 weeks now, and beyond not killing, maiming or emotionally wounding each other with their continual proximity to the other, they've actually thrived. They're both really enjoying learning & teaching at home.

It's been a really great experience for them.

I wish any of my junior high teachers had been this hot.Of course, I probably wouldn't have gotten much done if they had.

I also wish I could have worked on my Algebra whilst sipping an iced coffee......with this view.But again, I probably wouldn't have had as much self-discipline as Emily and would have ended up hopped up on caffeine and daydreaming about rock-climbing.

One of the most fun things about their home school has been the science experiments they've done, some of which I've been able to witness, and some we re-did with the other two Smithereens.

One involved the density of different liquids and how their density keeps them from combining.Another investigated chemical changes when substances are added. Here, Emily filled a balloon with ammonia then waved it under her sleeping sister's nose to see how fast she would wake up. The liquid in the bottle is what Anya threw up mixed with the ammonia from the balloon. An interesting look at chemical bonding.
Okay, really she watched water dyed blue by purple cabbage turn pink when vinegar was added, then release gas and fill up the balloon when baking soda was added to that and then the solution in the bottle turned blueish yet again. It really was an interesting look at chemical reactions.

For this one, she discovered the principle of surface tension and what kind of things break up surface tension most efficiently. Pepper was sprinkled across the top of this bowl of water.

She dipped several items in with little or no effect on the pepper. But when she dipped a piece of soap in the water, voila!The pepper scattered to the sides, as the thin film was broken by the soap and pushed the pepper away.

I've noticed the idea of soap has a similar effect on small children. They scatter when they see it coming.

This one was the effects of exercise on small visiting children and dim-witted dogs.Okay, that wasn't really an experiment. More of an observation. Shocking how activity made them so tired.

I'm considering signing up for a few classes at Smith Academy. I've developed a crush on one of the teachers.

A moment...please?!

With three adolescent girls around the house, there's not a lot of alone time for the parents. That's a good thing, mostly. I mean, we all enjoy being around each other, and the girls don't tend to hole up in their rooms to get away from their hopelessly out-of-touch parents. They like us.

Sometimes they just like us too much.

Like when a great song comes on during shuffle play on the iPod, and I grab my beautiful wife for a slow dance to "Sea Breeze", and we think the giggle-prone offspring have wandered to another room, but no, they have to come in and make noises that show their disgust with our affection for each other, and not only disturb us with their rude behavior but have to infringe on our 4 minute reverie by pulling out the camera and documenting what they deem as so offensive to their sensibilities.I don't know why our displays of love are so nauseating to them. We've asked them, "Would you rather we yelled at each other constantly and threw eye daggers across the table during dinner?" They say no, they don't want that, they just don't want to see or hear the evidence that we love each other. They just want to know it's true. You know, no kissing, no grabbing each other's buns, no suggestive talk about what we want to do together. Preferably no hugging unless they aren't looking.

So a tender dance moment in the living room is completely out of bounds. Especially if my hand should happen to wander below her lower back...horrors.None of their feelings or running commentary has stopped us, mind you. In fact, we often intensify our public diplays of affection when they begin to protest, just to prove that we are in control and can do whatever we want. We're married. It's all legal.

And it's even more fun if it disturbs them.

Jumping for joy

Way back 6 years ago we were looking for a home to buy. Karen and I took a tour of the house we're now living in and we loved it. But when we showed it to the girls, it was an immediate sale, primarily due to one feature: the trampoline.

It's a 14-foot diameter circle of love, mounted over an immense hole in the ground. And through the past 6 years it's provided hours of Tiggeriffic fun.

So it was particularly disturbing when one evening a few weeks ago, the girls emerged from a bounce session with the tramp looking like this:Anya did a great jump and instead of flying back up into the air, she heard a rip and fell through. It's remarkably difficult to jump when the mat has a large tear in it. Who knew?

It made a pretty good mark on her leg, although it doesn't show too well here.Of course, this state of affairs could not last long. I mean, we all need a little jump-love once in a while, not to mention a place to express our inner kangaroo.

So we bought a replacement mat.

And let me just say that any instructions you might ever read about removing an old and installing a new mat will not do justice to the effort that is truly required. I guess we should have known it would be difficult. After all, we were trying to remove and reinstall a mat that is spread so tight it allows those who embark on it's smoothy goodness to leap to heights unachievable under mere leg power. And the old one was pulled outward so forcefully that a rip immediately spread most of the mat's width. I mean, we had some clues it would be difficult.

But it was achingly hard. We used muscles we didn't know we had. I managed to get snapped with a cord traveling at near light speed when we used it for added torque and it released unexpectedly.

That left a mark. Ouch.

After much sweat, grunting and straining, we had a beautiful new trampoline mat.And of course three girls dying to break it in. Just like a High School Musical Poster.Truth be told, the parents have been jumping a bit, as well. We just didn't get documented.

Thankfully.

Teach an old dog new tricks

I've discussed previously our dog, Shelby, and her lack of...shall we say...reasoning skills. She's a great dog, easy to have around, just not incredibly bright.

And I still stick to that evaluation. Last night she gave me a perfect example of her dimness.

She sleeps in our bedroom in her dog bed in the corner. The corner that is out of the path to anything, so if we get up to answer nature's call or if I'm having a sleepless night and leave the room, there's no chance I'll step on her. Her bed is in the corner, away from the action.

But this morning, when I awoke early at 5:30 and decided to get up and begin the day (which is still dark) I walk by the foot of my bed and proceed to kick Shelby, because she's laying there on a blanket that fell off the bed during the night. And she yelps when I inadvertently kick her (it is dark, after all, I can't see her) as if I am to blame for her lying in the path of travel.

Dim bulb dog.

However, she recently showed us that she is capable of learning, with the right motivation. Our friends the Jordans were here with us for a week, along with their dog Frannie. Frannie knows how to High 5 in order to get a treat.

One day, Shelby was sitting by Frannie as Yvette waited for Frannie to High 5 and then gave her a treat. Shelby whined at Yvette, so Yvette held up her hand and Shelby immediately gave her a High 5.Note that Shelby has never done this before in the 5 1/2 years we've owned her. Never.We were all more than a bit surprised at Shelby's propensity to perform given the right reward. But I was probably most stunned, given my well-documented evaluation of Shelby and what I would call her un-giftedness.

And yet, she can learn. She does understand.

I think she just doesn't care most of the time.

Stewart Falls with friends...pt 2

I posted earlier this summer about the relative ease of hiking when friends are included.

So, back in August we did the Stewart Falls hike with another fun family, the Bradleys. They'd never been, so we were glad to introduce them to its wonders.It's still beautiful, still wet, still a fun hike. And still much less laborious for our children when friends are around.Emily loves hangin' with her best friend, Jessie.Plus, everyone is more attractive with the right backdrop.

Bad blogger...bad

I've been chastised by my family for not posting for such a long time. I have no excuse. I've just been uninspired for a bit. Call it blogger's block.

Someone who shall remain nameless...or not (Jackie Fuchs)...said I should have the kids do it, but they don't think they'll be as funny as me so they said they're just gonna wait for my blockage to pass.

That's a lovely word picture.

I'm not sure it's that I'm all that humorous. Or perhaps they just find me humorous. Or are just laughing at me. Given Anya's age (15) I'd say that's highly likely, in her case.

I do have a few things in the pipeline, so they should appear here over the next week or so.

For now, find contentment in this shot from the summer after a round of mini golf.
By the way, Jenna and Anya tied for victory on this particular night. I tried to add a "they're #1" sign to their victory pic. That's my finger at the bottom.I was chastised and banished to the background.Not just bad blogger. Bad daddy.