Bennett's Awesomeness.

Bennett's Robot Dance Machine from Margaret Hansen on Vimeo.

We had a perfect Christmas together!  It was truly lovely. I will post about it.  But for today, something a little different. 

Bennett showed us his mad dancing skills and then I remembered Uncle Michael's awesome video.  And, the rest is history....

Hope the last day of 2009 is groovy for you too!

Trades

Parker traded his braces...

for a mustache instead.

Proof That My Children's Brains Haven't Rotted This Summer

"Timmy and Tommy"
by Parker Hansen

Timmy and Tommy were doing their daily homework.

Tommy got stuck on a problem and yelled, "I CAN'T DO THIS!!"

Then I reminded him, "We are not antelopes eating cantaloupes and we're not textbooks with hexed looks and we're not cattle from Seattle."

Tommy just stared confused.

THE END

I've Been Trying....

to teach this boy to look directly into the camera lens for YEARS!

And, tonight it clicked!!!

I couldn't be happier! :)

Going to the Movies....

is not as safe as it used to be!!!

The Homework Blues

Lowden wrote and composed this song for his guitar lessons recently.

He calls it "The Homework Blues"...



* disclaimer: I think he really does loves his teacher and all that school entails. But it wouldn't be the blues without some conflict, right?!

"The Homework Blues"

My backpack is heavy

It weighs a ton

I watch the 3rd graders

Having so much fun

I think my teacher is selfish and rude

I think his behavior is downright crude

I don't wanna do it

But I gotta get to it

I got the homework blues

It counts for my grade

And it goes without change

I think the whole idea is crazed

We're unfairly treated

And we feel so depleted

I don't understand why homework is needed

I don't wanna do it

But I gotta get to it

I got the homework blues

I'm up at 7 and I'm on my way

I watch my little brother play

Twelve at night is when I just got it done

I barely got to bed at one

I don't wanna do it

But I gotta get to it

I got the homework blues

Lowden's Newest Accessory

Last summer, I was with Lowden at the pool and he mentioned that the numbers on the side of the pool looked a little fuzzy out of one eye. I took him to the eye doctor to check it out and she said he was near-sided in one eye but not the other. She asked to see him in 6 more months to see if there was any change. Sure enough. Six months later, she found that both eyes were near-sided now.

So, Lowden is the proud new owner of these cool looking glasses! He doesn't have to wear them all the time. It's just for seeing the chalkboard, movies, and TV. But, he is feeling pretty swank with his newest accessory....so much so that he wore them all the way home from the doctor with a big smile on his face.

I think they make him look even smarter than he already is! Sure love you Lowden.

LEGOs Inspire

My boys were cracking up yesterday when I showed them the LEGO creations on Cathy Zielske's blog. It led us to the LEGO a Day blog. Our personal favorite was the Rock, Paper, Scissors photo entry! Lowden says he totally wants to do this now and then he was off to make a LEGO creation of his own with matching captions. And here they are for yesterday and today...

Day One

"When I signed up for the shark tank, I didn't think it would be this literal!"

Day Two

Princess Leia (referring to her character on Lego Star Wars): "Is that supposed to look like me?"

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Daddy and Lowden threw up some serious points!

Bennett on the left with the brown hat and Mommy totally focused and ready to shoot.  And, my score was WAY higher than this says.  Must be a computer glitch.

My mom, Parker, and Lauren had a LOT of fun!  

More pictures from our trip to California are coming!  I just wanted to post these for now. 

In Other News....

Lowden won the first round of OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) at his school with his team of two. He was really excited. Next week is the school semi-finals...wish him luck!

Princess-Even-More-Polka-Dots

So sad to see my little girl so sad and spotty.  She is hoping they go away quickly.

I was diagnosed with strep throat yesterday so we are quite the sight together. Greg has been taking care of us. We love him SO much!

Lauren with Polka Dots

This morning Lauren red dots on her body that seemed to multiply ever few minutes.  I took her to doctor to get her checked out and sure enough...she has chicken POX.  She had her chicken pox booster as a baby but they are NOW recommending a second booster between the age of 5 and 8.  Now, we know why!  The older two boys have both had 2 boosters and Greg and I have already had chicken pox.  But Bennett has only had one booster so far...so we are hoping he doesn't get it to. 
Lauren is REALLY sad that she will be missing her Valentine's party at school on Friday.  :-(

The good news is that since she had one booster, she should have a milder version of the pox that could last as little as 5 days (and not 10 like usual).

So, word to the wise, get your kids BOTH boosters of the chicken pox vaccine.

Quick Vacation Quotes...

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Southern California.  I only took 718 pictures!  (eek!)  Here are a few from our trip for now with a few of my favorite quotes.

(Lauren on the beach at Coronado.)

Lauren: "Are their snacks on the plane?"
Me: "I think they have peanuts."
Lauren: (With concern in her voice) "Well aren't they hard to open?"
Me: "I'll help you open the peanuts Lauren."
Greg: "Come now Margaret. She's just trying to think of things to worry about. She's coming along quite well." (Poking gentle fun towards my tendency to worry.)
NOTE: Turns out they don't even have peanuts on the planes now! I miss those nuggets of snackness in the sky.

(Bennett in front of the Hotel Coronado...which isn't where we stayed)

When Bennett heard there was a pool at the hotel, he said:
Bennett: "We forgot to bring a towel."
Mom: "The hotel has some that we can borrow."
Bennett: "That will be fine."

Summer Chp.6- End of the Summer Backpacking Trip

I am sure you are tired of reading about last summer. But for posterity sake, it must be done.

The weekend before school began Martin and Greg took their oldest kids on a hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness.

Left to Right - The hikers, as relayed by Parker, are:

Lowden- AKA "The Squito Master" because he barely got bit at all by mosquitoes

Martin- AKA "Sweaty Yeti" because....why? I don't know why.

Parker- AKA "The Sneakster" because I'm good at card games.

Morgan- AKA "Captain Morgan" because she was usually in the front of everybody

Olivia- AKA "Sweet Veins" because ALL the mosquitoes were after her.

Greg- AKA "The Huckle Hunk" because he really really, really, liked huckleberries!

Here are some highlight pictures:

Um....no one told me my kids would have to cross a river?!!

Is that a bear cub in the tree? No. It's PARKER!!!

And look it's the bear cub's older sister!

I'm with Morgan. The shore looks warmer!

Might as well have a snack while your waiting!

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

Don't Worry Honey....I've Got Everything Under Control

Our Little Reader!

I've been noticing for awhile now that Bennett has been recognizing words.

I didn't really think much of it until I started reading "The Happy Lion" to him the other day...

I am reading along and he starts interjected words....the right words, as I am reading to him.  So, I stop reading and instead point to the words to see how many he can recognize.

He shocked me with how many words he knew.

Here is the paragraph and I will BOLD the words he read:

"His home was not the hot and dangerous plains of Africa,
where hunters lie in wait with their guns.
It was a lovely French town with brown-tile roofs and gray shutters.
The happy lion had a house in the town zoo, all for himself,
with a large rock garden surrounded by a moat,
in the middle of the park with flower beds and a bandstand."

I clapped when he finished!  Then, I just had to kind of blink and take that in for a second because he's my fourth child and, to be honest, we haven't spent much time teaching him to read. 

When Greg came home, I had Bennett read the same paragraph for him and Greg said, "We should totally take credit for this!"  Which, again, references the fact that we have no idea how he learned this skill!   But, we sure love him!

Buddies

Bennett and Christian got to play together today.  Not only are they cousins, but they are also true buddies .

While driving in the car, I asked Bennett and Christian what we should have for lunch.  Then, Bennett said to Christian:
Bennett: "Can you calm down! I'm trying to talk to you."
Christian:  (Quietly looks at Bennett)
Bennett:  "Hey Buddy!  Do YOU like peanut butter sandwiches?"
Christian: "No."
Bennett:  "Have you tasted them?"
Christian: "No."
Bennett:  "I bet you'd like them if you tasted them!"
Christian: "No."

When it was time to get out of the car, Bennett unbuckled Christian and then said:
Bennett:  "Ok.  You are free to go now!"

After I took off Christian's jacket for him, Bennett turned to Christian and said:
Bennett:  "That's a nice shirt you got!"

But true bonding happens over lunch...
Christian:  "I burped 2 times!"
Bennett:  "I burped 3 times!"

At lunchtime, I asked Christian if he wanted a sandwich afterall...he was still solid as a rock on "no" sandwich.  So, I offered some toast and he agreed.  I added some cheese and a little juice and he seemed pleased.  After he left, Rachel texted me with Christian's analysis on his stay with us:
Christian:  "Der's toast at magwet's house!"

Buy One Fish, Get Four Free

Normally, these are a few of the aquatic friends Lowden sees in his aquarium. But a few weeks ago, we went to the pet store and got a Balloon Belly Molly which looked something like this except fatter.

A few days later Parker noticed little flashes swimming around in the tank. Sure enough the mom must have been pregnant because she had four babies. One was eaten by another creature in Lowden's tank (not sure whether it was the frog, the other molly, the danios, or the long shot- one of the snails?) before I was able to figure out how to separate them. I bought a screen insert for the tank and now three of the babies are happily swimming around and getting bigger everyday. The sad news is the mom died from stress...we think. They weren't easy to photograph but here is one of them.