Heaven

Sam, my funny, smart, sweet middle child, is 7 today! I remember so clearly the first moment I held him after he was born. He was so soft and round and pink. Now he's the boy I play board games with on Thursday afternoons, and the one who "announces" entire baseball games while playing catch with himself in the family room. Here he is holding his prized Bakugan picture that Charlie "bought" for him with his tickets yesterday at Enchanted Castle~And with his birthday pancakes before church~

Always the generous, patient big brother - giving Mary a chance to blow out his candle~

My handsome seven year old~

After church we met Grandma at 2 Toots in Glen Ellyn, for Sam's birthday surprise lunch~

Mary is pretty excited about this place, too. But what I really love in this picture is Charlie's sweet, satisfied expression in the background~

Sam was delighted with his old-fashioned milkshake~

Even more fun - your food comes to you by train~

The food was actually pretty good; typical diner fare~

It's really cute here. There is even a pony to ride, which only costs a quarter~

Happy Birthday Sam! Seven really is heaven~

Life of the Party

Sam invited some of his friends over for his birthday today~
The plan was Enchanted Castle, followed by football in the snow. The football in the snow didn't pan out, but they did make it to EC for about an hour, where Sam hit a jackpot, and Charlie hit a GIANT jackpot, returning with gifts for all!

They came back to the house and had pizza~

And cake. Sam picked this out and I tried to copy it from a picture online~

Placing and lighting the candles is (more than) half the fun~

We really end up having week long (or longer) birthday celebrations around here. This is just the tip of the iceberg - coming up we still have the surprise restaurant and Sam's family party, as well!

No Bones About It

Charlie participated in the Greenhouse Science Fair this evening. We figured out what happens when you leave a chicken bone sitting in vinegar (the calcium leaches out, leaving the bone pliable). For the purpose of comparison, we left another bone in tap water. It was really disgusting a week later - the smell made us want to puke.

Hoop Dreams

Basketball season is underway. Sam had his first Upward game this morning. It's like riding a bike~ Mary is having more fun that ever, now that she's old enough for doughnuts~

White Out

After Latin today, we decided to check out our favorite sled hill. One of my favorite benefits of homeschooling, is being able to do things during "off-hours". The place was deserted~ This hill is steep! And the center track is a sheet of ice~

The sun was so bright when reflecting off the snow, I couldn't even see through my camera's viewfinder. But here's Charlie towing Mary up the hill - what a great brother~

She likes it~

Eventually Mary and I just watched~

The boys love sledding. I think it's about the only good thing about snow~

Blades of Glory

We're finally getting into the swing of our Wednesday routine. Last year we went roller skating, bowling, and ice skating once a month on Wed, for about 9 months straight. The Lombard Roller Rink has (unfortunately) discontinued their Homeschool Skate, so we're down to just bowling and ice skating. It works out okay, because it leaves us two Wednesdays free a month for field trips and play dates.
Sam really wants to play hockey (it's a little out of our budget right now) ~

And for now, Mary is happy to snack on trail mix. This time next year, though, she'll probably want to be out there with them~

Irish on Ice

Last year we found out that Notre Dame hosts a pretty big hockey tournament every year, just twenty minutes north of us. Sam loves Notre Dame, everyone else loves hockey, the tickets are relatively inexpensive, so Scott, Grandpa and the boys checked it out for the second time~
This guy's brother plays for the Blackhawks~

I found two ND shirts at the thrift store a while back. Upon closer inspection, I thought one of them might be a ladies' small. I mentioned this to Sam, and he said, "I don't care if it's pink, if it's Notre Dame, I want it!" ~

Grandma gave Charlie a digital camera for Christmas. He's thrilled with it~

Here's some video he took of warm-up~

And a tiny bit of action for a quick hockey-fix~

"a harmless annual institution"

Homemade pizza + watching the movies we got for Christmas + Polar Dash = New Year's Eve!! It's nice to stay home, safe and sound~ Mary, who got into the purple markers yesterday, was probably "shushing" someone in this pic~

And they're off~

Mary actually stepped outside, naked, like her brothers, but was so quick about it that I couldn't get a picture. Sam was the most excited about staying up until midnight. Mary and I crashed around 11:50, and the boys made it until just past 12.