A fun day at Port Gardner



During this school year our school had a name change.  We went from Home School Alternative HSA  to Port Gardner.

I decided to bring my camera one day and capture some of the fun and learning.  In Jacob's class they were trying different ways of bending a tube and seeing if a marble could travel through it.

In Micah's Science class they were given task cards and then they had to build a car that was able to do the things the task card said.

For the second half of their class they had a special guest "Yo-Yo Man".  He did all kinds of cool tricks having to do with motion and balance and things they have been studying.  When he asked for a helper from the audience, Micah was picked!

The first thing Micah did was to learn the special bow to do after his trick.

He then told us that Micah has going to learn such amazing tricks that the whole crowd would be chanting "Micah, Micah!"

Micah's first trick: he held the string while Yo-Yo Man placed the yo-yo in his own palm and then said "Sit" then "Stay".  He taught Micah a few more similar tricks and before he knew it the crowd was chanting his name!

One thing we love the most about our school is that it is very family friendly and kids of all ages interact with each other.  Sometimes Naomi even gets to participate in class.  In art class this day all the kids were drawing cupcakes so I drew one for her.  Then the teacher gave her a chance to show her coloring just like all the other students.

The same day one of Naomi's friends, a fellow sibling, showed up wearing a very similar dress.  They thought they were so cute!

Cadet Rocket Launch

At the end of this year of Cadets, they had a BBQ and rocket launch.  They built the rockets themselves so they were very excited to launch them.  There was only one problem...it was raining.

Micah was excited to launch his but as they were loading it onto the pole the connector broke off.  So they made a plan B and set it up on the ground.  No one was quite sure which direction it would go so everyone  stood at a safe distance.  It went straight when it launched which made Micah happy. 

By the time it was Jacob's turn the rain was really coming down but he still wanted to do it.  It went  really high.

No one was really happy to cook our hot dogs in the rain but Naomi enjoyed her smore!

Naomi's Art

Naomi really enjoys doing art lately.  Sometimes she will draw things that are very meaningful and a window into her heart.  The first picture, with the pink heart, she said is me.  And then she told me "Mommy, I wish I grew in your tummy."  The big pink circle is her in my tummy.

The second picture she said is Daddy, Naomi and Mommy walking to the park together.  She drew this picture after a rough time  and it was good to see that she views us all together as a family.

Port Gardner Neighborhood Meeting

Recently we saw signs in our neighborhood that said there was going to be a neighborhood meeting.  Since we are new to the neighborhood, I thought we should check it out.  It was held at the local elementary school whichis just a few blocks away so we walked.

The kids and I were the youngest ones there.  Everyone welcomed us and was very nice.  We got to put our names into a raffle and then we sat down.  They covered some basic stuff and then there was a special presentation from a historian about how our neighborhood has changed over time.  He had a slide show with lots of old pictures.  We learned a lot.  At the end of the meeting there were cupcakes and Micah won the raffle. 

he won a plant and he was excited!

Cornrows ... Again

I have not given up and am determined to master cornrows.  I have not practiced for awhile so I thought I would give it a try.  It was crazy because all of the sudden my fingers just seemed to know what they were doing!  These four took me about 30 minutes and I did them before church.  I know my parts are off, which totally bugs me, but I have come a long way!

Sorticulture



Jenn

Jacob

 Friday afternoon we attended an event here in Everett called "Sorticulture".  It is a three day event with lots of vendors and people that all focus on gardens.  You could buy plants, tools, garden decorations and food.  We went with the Timmermans and the kids had fun.  We all made stepping stone mosaics and the kids painted pots and were able to plant a flower in it.  I even found a super cute heart for my kitchen!

Naomi

Micah

Jacob

Micah

Naomi

Delivering Smiles

Things have been a bit rough lately and strangely enough as the time gets less and less it seems to get harder and harder.  Darrick surprised me with a delivery of flowers and a very encouraging note.  I love him.

Garden Update

Our garden is finally showing some signs of progress!  We bought the basil as a plant and then put it in the garden.  It is in the upper left of the picture.  The rubarb, in the bottom left, was given to us by Debbie.  The strawberries are in the middle.  We took some from our garden at our old house and Debbie gave us some more.  We do not have as many as we did though because Ollie snuck in the garden and dug some up.  Bad dog!  The beans, along the top of the picture, we planted from seeds.  The one that is tallest Naomi started in her preschool class.  The tomatoes, on the right, we started from seeds indoor and just put them in the garden a few days ago.

Basil, Rubarb, Strawberries, Beans and Tomatoes

Beans

Strawberries

Fun in the Mud

 The sun was shining this afternoon and when it is I love working in our garden and flowerbeds.  The kids saw this as a perfect chance to get in the mud.  It started out with Micah and Jacob making paths and roads in the dirt which soon led to making rivers.  They had a lot of fun and played for a long time.  Then they all had a good hose down before going in for dinner!

Lets see those muddy hands

Naomi enjoyed smearing it on her arms and legs

"I love how it feels!"

Muddy Toes

This is serious work

Making mud creations

What could be better?

Playing knights in the mud

Biscochos

This semester the boys are taking a class called "Cooking the Continents".  They totally love it.  Each week they prepare and cook a dish from a different continent.  Then their teacher reads them a childrens book that has to do with that food and then they get to eat what they made.

 In a few weeks every student has to bring in a dish for everyone to sample from their heritage.  Jake knew right away he wanted to bring our homemade salsa.  I told Micah about these cookies that my Grandma Dora always made while I was growing up and now my Aunt Belinda makes them.  They are called Biscochos or the mexican wedding cookie.  In fact my cousin Amber had them at her wedding last year.

 I have never made them before so I thought I better try before we make them for the class.  Micah helped me and we made half a batch.  We think they turned out good and were happy with our first attempt.

Ready to go in the oven

They look good...

...and taste even better!