The Upstairs Bus Terminal

The kids called me and my camera upstairs the other day to see their bus. 

It was quite the gathering of kids and animals and babies!
(There were several baby dolls in every box in the back.)

Love, Us.

The Box Boat

Joe and the kiddos took advantage of the huge pile of boxes that I had been saving for "something". 

At first they were going to make a house. Then it was going to be a spaceship. Then it was a flying house. 

Finally, they all agreed on a boat... a fighting boat that had plenty of space for transporting their babies, of course. 

Dad was the mastermind behind the design and did most of the grunt work. 

Everybody helped in some way, however, and the result was quite impressive!

Yes - it even had a mast that barely fit in the living room!

 And a flag, alongside a sail that could be hoisted up and down!

These are some very happy crew members in their box boat! 

Please note the presence of both guns and babies. 

The boat obviously fulfilled all requirements set out from the start.

Love, Us.

Vacation Bible School

All of the kiddos and I have had "vacation" from school this week, but we have been very busy. 

We've been at Vacation Bible School!

I led a "Crew" of kids. T and D actually attended during the week. 

P and R enjoyed watch care with some wonderful ladies.

Here are some pics from the week.

The Catholics were the "Blue Team". Check out that huge grin on the little guy!

One day, David was picked to play a big role in the Bible Drama room - 

he was the bundle of sticks that the widow was picking up when Elijah arrived. 

He did a great job, and it really made his day!

Both T and D showed off their dance skills at the worship sessions.

This was most of my "Crew". They really were wonderful kiddos.

Love, Us.

A Disco Ball Night

Something woke me up around 10:30 last night and was keeping me tossing and turning for awhile. 

At first, I didn't wake up enough to figure out what it was - but then I finally gave in. 

It was lightning! 

The reason that I was shocked by this discovery was that it was bright and constant enough to keep me awake, 

while not being accompanied by either the sound of thunder or rain! 

It was just about an hour of silent disco ball lightning off in the distance! 

It may have lasted longer, but I got smart and pulled the blankets up over my head. 

I did, however, first go downstairs for a moment and take a movie of the "action". 

It was too dark to catch all of the "smaller" strikes, but if you enlarge the video and watch closely, this gives you an idea.
Enjoy!

Love, Us.

Picking Locks

Being in the line of work that he is in, Joe will teach his children some interesting skills over the years. 

T had her first lesson in lock-picking recently.

She can now say that she picked her first lock at age 7!

First, dad tested T's knowledge of tool vocabulary and knowledge of the locking mechanisms.

Then, he demonstrated proper hand and tool positioning.

And T went at it!

 I didn't get the picture of victory when it popped open, but take my word for it. She did it!

Love, Us.

Summer Reading Programs

Truthfully, we were really let down in the summer reading programs available in our new area. 

None of the local libraries or book stores have any kind of actual contest for kids to partake of. 

Everything is either a luck-of-the-draw contest, or simply an every-reader-wins program. 

However, we are still earning our little prizes and enjoying the programs that they are putting on. 

So far we have enjoyed many story times, a magician, and a great band! 

The theme at one library is music and the other is Super Heroes, so we are in store for lots of fun programs! 

Here we are enjoying a couple so far.

And who knows - maybe we'll be the lucky ones and (even though not due to any real merit)
win the big prize at the end of summer!

Love, Us.

Playing Lifeguard

As a logical follow-up to my "Kiddos at the Pool" post, today are the pictures of the kiddos "Playing Lifeguard".

So... David had an encounter with a lifeguard a couple weeks ago.
In my professional opinion, it was unnecessary, but, nevertheless, he did.
He was TOTALLY fine (as I said - her getting in the water was NOT necessary).
However, it did give him a chance to encounter and come to appreciate what lifeguards do. 

So... the kids (with absolutely no instigation, encouragement or coaching from me)
immediately turned on the sprinkler in the back yard and started practicing the trade. 

Enjoy the step-by-step photo story!

The Victim - limp in the water.

The Guards - sounding the alarm.

Going in for the two-man rescue.

Look at that teamwork!

A text-book save.

Sometimes, though, you have to go it alone.

Yes - Patrick was thoroughly enjoying his part in all of this. 

Being the little brother and playing war and soldiering so much around the house, 

he pretty much has the whole death and dying scene down pat.

What a ham!

Love, Us.

Kiddos at the Pool

It is a good pool year here at Castellum Librandi - all of the kids love the water!

Here are some shots of that enjoyment so far this summer.

R LOVES splashing in the shallow waters!

P is an expert jumper and "swimmer" in the 2 foot zone.

T has mastered her back float and is ready for her first REAL swimming lessons next week.

D is also learning his back float and will be joining her at lessons.

To end today, a picture that D will be happy NOT to have uncovered for his high school graduation!

Love, Us.

Happy Father's Day! - Take 2

So... some days I am an idiot. True story. 

Last Sunday was one of those days. Why, you ask? I thought it was Father's Day. 

News flash: It WASN'T!

So... long story short, Joe got the joy of having two Father's Days in 2015! Can't beat that, huh!?

We did the classic things on our first Father's Day in 2015.
We hid balloons in the closet and had dad open the closet and be surprised by them. We made him cards and made his breakfast look like a smiley face. We bought him a vise. We took daddy and kiddo pictures.

It looked something like this:

Then Father's Day #2 rolled around today, and we had to break the mold a bit. He wouldn't fall for the old balloon trick again. We'd already given him the manly tool. So, what else could we possibly do for this awesome dad? 

Nerf guns, of course!

It was a great Father's Day(s)!

Love, Us.

Zoo and Science Center

The Sci-Quarium was connected to a small zoo and fun science center. 

It was very enjoyable and definitely worth returning to again.

It was a very hot day... as the alpacas' demeanors attested to.

Love, Us.

A Sci-Quarium Visit

We had a really fun time at a nearby science center a couple weeks ago. 

Here are our pictures from the "Sci-Quarium" portion of the center.

Penguins are always so much fun!

Fun Fact #1: You can easily fit three Librandi kiddos in a one-man wooden submarine.

Fun Fact #2: This was a really UGLY fish!

The Shark Tank!

I think little boys are SO CUTE when they stand nicely with their hands held behind their backs.

Be still, my beating heart!

Love, Us.