The One With the Cousins

Family is one of the few constants we have in life. Cousins are an important part of family life. Mark and I both grew up with dozens of cousins. I have such happy memories of racing around my grandma's house with my cousins. My kids also have fun with their cousins. Instead of dozens of cousins, they have only four. A total of four.

Thankfully the cousins make up in quality what they lack in quantity. Alex and Brittany are 17 and 14. Noah and Austin have fun playing with them on a peer level. They have fun browsing Facebook together, or shooting each other with airsoft guns. When we went on a family cruise, they had a blast exploring the ship together.

Johnny and Sophie are 3 and 1.5. Austin and Noah are very entertained by their antics. Even though there is a spread in age, Noah loves entertaining Johnny and being the "big kid" around him. They both like to just watch little Sophie. She's just so darn adorable that they laugh at anything she does.

We love our family!

The One at the Science Museum

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit is what finally prompted us to make a trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota. These scrolls are rich in history, power, and culture. The exhibit was very impressive.

I would have stayed for hours reading and absorbing all of the information. Alas with a 14 year old and an 11 year old, things didn't work that way. Austin found the display to be interesting, but was ready to move on far more quickly than I was. Noah poked his head into the entrance and promptly declared it to be boring. I guess you can't win 'em all!

When we finished the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit we toured the rest of the museum. As a science lover, Austin found many things to hold his interest. Noah always loves hands-on activities. Most of this museum is meant to be explored in some way.

I found it especially impressive that the museum is full of volunteers who explain the different displays. We went into a biology lab where the boys learned how to identify micro-organisms. The woman who helped us was a retired college professor. Her enthusiasm for the subject was contagious. We all learned from her!

There were many things we left unexplored in the museum. That was fine with us because we purchased a membership to the museum so that we can visit as often as we like.

The One With the Ducks

Every summer we raise Mallard ducklings. They are the perfect temporary pet. We order them in the spring. They come to us as fluffy little puff balls and leave as beautiful creatures who fly high in the sky and journey hundreds of miles.

Our ducks have given us countless hours of entertainment. When the ducklings are little our dog, Lego becomes their mother. She takes it upon herself to make sure they are safely huddled together under her watchful eye. She worries over them and even gives them a bath!

It is such a wonder to watch them transform from soft, downy covered babies to beautiful feathered birds.

As they grow, they learn to eat cracked corn out of our hands. They are a wild animal, yet they become somewhat tame. If we are calm, they will let us pick them up and hold them and stroke their beautiful feathers.

They become so used to humans around them, that they become lonely if aren't nearby. One morning I was home alone and didn't go outside for a few hours. I heard quacking at the front door and peeked out to see that the ducks had taken it upon themselves to come visiting!

This year we adopted our own sort of "duck call". When the ducks were free ranging in our yard we would yell out, "Duck, duck!". They would answer back with a quack and come waddling in our direction. Now that they have have answered the "call of the wild" and moved themselves far away to the pond in our yard, we can still shout out to them and hear them answer back from the water.

Soon these ducks will fly away to a warmer location. They may come back to this spot next year, but they will never be tame again. We look forward to next spring when we can raise a new batch of babies!

The One With the Holocaust Survivor

The Holocaust is an event that had such a profound effect on history. It is also an event that is quickly fading from the radar of our society. There are very few people left who lived through WWII. There are even fewer people left who lived through the Holocaust.

Last night, we were privileged to hear Murray Brandys speak. Murray is a Holocaust survivor. He was 12 when the Nazis invaded his homeland of Poland. He was 14 when he was snatched from the streets of his neighborhood and thrown into a truck with dozens of other men and boys. When the truck reached its destination, they were separated into two groups: Jews and Aryans. The Aryans were told they could leave. The Jews were loaded into train cars for transportation to camps.

Mr. Brandys' voice filled with emotion as he described how most of his family was murdered in these camps. Seven decades have failed to quell the tears that threaten when Mr. Brandys speaks of his experiences.

Mr. Brandys titled his lecture "My Name Was No. 133909 .....and I Sang". Austin and Noah were amazed at the horrific experiences that faced this young man. They have both read books about the Holocaust in school, but hearing someone speak about their first hand experiences was riveting.

We purchased Mr. Bradys book with the same title. After autographing it for us, he posed for a picture with Austin and Noah. The evening was one the boys will remember always.

The One When They Carved a Pumpkin

There is nothing like pumpkin carving to kick off a beautiful fall weekend. Noah and Riley decided that they were going to tackle carving our pumpkin on their own. I gave them a few suggestions, and drew the design that they suggested. It was cute watching them plan and compromise with each other over the final design. Noah wanted triangles for eyes. Riley wanted a square nose. They both wanted fangs.

They had fun digging through the pumpkin guts and sorting out the seeds. We decided to save the seeds and make toasted pumpkin seeds. It was fun watching them go through this process. Best friends always pave the way for fun projects!

The One at Nickelodeon Universe

Amusement parks are the stuff childhood memories are made of. Austin and Noah had a fun opportunity to take a day with Mark's parents at Nickelodeon Universe. Wes & Bev bought them each a wristband for a day of unlimited rides.

Noah loves any ride. The more thrilling, the more he loves it. Austin enjoys some of the milder rides, but can pass on the thrill rides. Noah had to ride a few rides alone, but he didn't seem to mind.

Since they went on a week day when most kids were in school, they were able to walk onto all of the rides without a wait. There are many bonuses to being homeschooled!

Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma for a fun filled day!