Horsin' Around

After a summer break, Kyrie resumed horseback riding at the end of September. For the past year and a half, she did private lessons, but now she is in a longer, group lesson. She had to adjust to the group lesson a bit as there were new instructors and the format was different than what she was used to. At the end of the lesson, I was told that she needed to move up from her current group and could prepare for some upcoming shows. On the way home, we talked about the lesson, and Kyrie expressed that she wanted to ride "as much as possible." I made arrangements to move her from bi-weekly lessons to weekly, and she was moved to a walk-trot class. She is doing great!

There are several  balancing exercises that the riders do such as the one in these last two photos. The horse (on a lead line) trots in a circle while they ride with their hands on their hips. Kyrie is great at this!

Tooth Trouble

Well, you just never know what's going to happen when you've got kids. One Saturday evening, Kyrie came running into the house crying... which really isn't all that unusual. She ran straight to me and sobbed that she had fallen on the slide and chipped her tooth. I hugged her to me and was prepared to tell her that I, too, have chipped a tooth and it wasn't a big deal...and then she looked at me...and I saw that nearly half of her (permanent) front tooth was gone. Quickly, I hugged her to me again and looked to Darren who was across the room. "It's bad," I silently mouthed over Kyrie's head. I directed her into his arms and got a wet washcloth to wipe off her face and inspect the damage.
She started to calm down, and I called our pediatric dentist's cell phone (for emergencies). He asked if the tooth was bleeding. Though we saw a bit of pink at the highest point of the break, thankfully, the tooth was not bleeding and our tooth crisis was deemed a non-emergency. We went out to find the broken piece (we could not) and I left a message to set up an appointment to have the tooth repaired.
At the end of the week, she had the tooth repaired. The dentist added tooth-colored material to the bottom of the broken tooth and added detail to make it appear real. The tooth will always be fragile and will require a veneer when Kyrie is older. The dentist did a really good job. As her mom, I can definitely tell that her smile is different because the tooth looks different, but I do not think most people would even recognize it.

American Girl Lunch, Columbus

We were excited that Columbus got an American Girl doll store, but avoided it because of the large, summer crowds. After everyone went back to school, we made a lunch reservation and (finally) made our way to the store. Poor Degen was actually quite patient while we looked around the store, but then he got hungry and a bit grumpy (as you can see in the photo below). We had the whole (very small) restaurant to ourselves. Of course, all the employees were wonderful and the food was delicious. We had a great time...even Degen after he got some food in him!

We were delighted that Mimi could join us for lunch!

The kids split a cheese pizza and tomato soup. They loved the star-shaped crackers!

My lunch was a delicious salad.

Both kids got dessert: ice cream, of course!

Kyrie used some of her allowance to make a purchase. 

Wonka Party!

We had been reading Kyrie the classic book Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The copy is actually a book that I read (& loved) as a child. She loved it, too, and I promised her that she could watch the movie(s) when we finished the book. I decided to surprise both kids with a Wonka party complete with golden tickets and candy. The golden tickets were easy to find and print, and after a bit of searching I found a good Wonka bar wrapper. I just wrapped these around regular Hershey's chocolate bars (wrapping on). Funnily, the kids kept referring to the chocolate bars as Wonka bars. The kids just loved the whole thing! They opened their bars and found their golden tickets inside. I put together a little candy tray with nerds, gobstoppers, gumdrops and Oompa-Loompas (eg. Sour Patch Kids) so they could snack while they watched the movie. 

The kids liked the original movie and later, I let them watch the remake. I spent time with Kyrie talking about the book vs. the movies. We compared & contrasted the details in all three. Kyrie declared that she thought the book was better than the movies- which seems a triumph for a parent! This was an overall easy & fun experience for the kids (& me). 

Back to (Home)School

Though we do not take a break from homeschool over the summer, our schedule is a little more lax as we spend time with friends and attend day-camps and such. Come September, our regular activities have started up again, including some of our super-fun homeschool activities like roller skating (photo above). We have some great units in September, which include: Rainforest Animals, Camping & Bears and Autumn & Apples. As I have mentioned before, I hope to do a better job of documenting/highlighting each of our units more next year. Here are just a few pics from some of our September units this year: 

Campfire lunch with beans and a pretzels & cheese bonfire.

The kids loved making their own trail mix for our camping unit. I had an assortment for them to choose from. During this activity, Kyrie learned about fractions and measurement. She also wrote down her recipe. 

I think food/snack activities are one of the things the kids enjoy most about our homeschool units. During our Autumn & Apples unit, Kyrie followed a recipe to make Crunchy Apple Baskets which the kids enjoyed at lunch. 

We were excited to resume "zoo school" in September. Our first topic was animal families. The kids learned a lot about different family units in the animal world. The got to see a sugar glider up close and pet an alligator. Looking forward to another great year of homeschool! 

Cats!

Bentley! Our big, handsome boy!

Here are some photos of the cats because I haven't posted any in a long time. We have had Bentley and the kittens (Sam & Lilah) for a year now. Bentley had rough adjustment coming into our home, but a year later and he is doing really well. He has gotten very cuddly and comfortable with both us and the other cats (though he and Brutus sometimes can get a little aggressive towards each other). He has gained weight and has a gorgeous coat that he spends a lot of time grooming. I am so proud of our Bentey-boy! 

Stretching out!

Princess Lilah curled up on the doll bed!

Brutus

Brutus and the "Bitties" (Diva & CJ) are getting older. They are our original three and still doing great. The older girls spend almost all of their time inside, but Brutus is still outside a lot. They all enjoy their naps and have no trouble pushing their way into getting the loving that they feel they deserve. 

Sam sitting with Kyrie while she looks at books.

 The kittens are all grown up now! They are wonderful cats! Sam is super-cuddly though a tad whiny at times. He is a real lover. Lilah is more of the aloof adventurer. She loves to be outside, and all the neighbors think she is fantastic. She is still tiny (about 5 lbs.) and just a sweetheart. The coolest thing about the kittens is that they are very much Kyrie's cats (Lilah more than Sam). All of our other cats have pretty much been mine (& Darren's), but these kittens have a really special bond with Kyrie that just warms your heart. If Kyrie is outside then Lilah is not too far from her, and she is very tolerant of Kyrie wanting to swing with her and twirl around when she's holding her. Both kittens will sleep on Kyrie's bed, right on her or up on her pillow. To be loved by a cat is a wonderful thing, and to see your child loved by one is just precious!

Kitten love! These siblings are cuddle-bugs!

Bentley likes to relax whenever he has the chance.

The above photo just cracks me up because in true sibling fashion, Sam is laying right on top of his sister who doesn't seem to mind at all. Sam will often find Lilah when she is in one of the cat beds and squeeze his furry booty right on in. The photo below shows Lilah still sleeping even with big bro squishing her. 

Ohio German Language School: First Day 2013

We were excited for the start of another year at the Ohio German Language School (OGLS)! This is Kyrie's third year at the school, and her first year in the children's class. This is Degen's first year in the Kindergarten program. He was a little nervous to start, mostly because he thought that he had to know math and was afraid that he didn't. I think Kyrie was just a bit nervous, too, since she was moving up. On the way in we saw familiar faces, and I think that helped. Degen sat right down to play with a few other kids who were a little nervous, too. When we went to pick him up, he burst into tears (his feelings were unintentionally hurt by another child- he is pretty sensitive), but we were told that he had a great morning. We are grateful to have this opportunity for our kids and look forward to a great year! 

(I am not sure why I am holding onto Degen's backpack.)

On the way in, we were joined by a buddy who was also moving up from Kindergarten.