Sunday, October 31, 2010

Dinner Conversation

Tonight at dinner, Shane mentioned that the first man in space was a Russian.
Shayla: "Oh, in history we were talking about the Russians getting into space first and that it caused the Americans to go into a frenzy to step up science and math in the schools. They really wanted to catch up."

Me: (Missing the "to" and completely baffled as to why ketchup would be so important in the Space Race) "Ketchup? Wasn't ketchup already invented by then?"

Shayla: "Why no, as a matter of fact they were all 'We must have a condiment, made of tomatoes--and before the Russians!'"

Shane: "Our students must get on this right away!"

Sam: "It will contain vinegar and sugar and the secret ingredient: X!"

Cue the hysterical laughter--we really crack ourselves up.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

And They Call It Puppy Love

Meet the newest member of the Gale Family

This little fellow was rescued with his litter mates from
a dumpster.
 They were only a day old and it was on a 100 degree day last August!

He's our little dumpster doggie.

We were all pretty surprised to see Dad's reaction: snuggling? baby talk? letting the puppy lick his face?
Turns out he's a "Dog Person"...
Who knew?

So, any suggestions for a name?


Friday, October 22, 2010

A Knight's Tale

The Gale Academy of Classical Education...
 ...took another FIELD TRIP!


 Even FURTHER back in time this time..


 To the time of KNIGHTS and LADIES.


 Bagpipe and drum


 Hand-forged weaponry



 Quill pens


 Interesting pants
Silly hats

And  horseback transportation



 But this brought us back to reality



As did this: Ye Olde Porta-potties

I thought the whole experience was interesting and amusing.
 Don't ask Shane what he thought about it.
(At least there was no up-chucking in the car this time.)
.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Time Travel

The Gale Academy of Classical Education...
went on a FIELD TRIP!
A trip back in time to the REVOLUTIONARY WAR!
But first we had to take a car trip--two hours on the road--a twisty, turny road.
One of our passengers got car-sick. The sound of car-sickness triggered the
same response in Shane...a case of Monkey See, Monkey Do.
Or Monkey See, Monkey Puke.
Just minutes before we left the house for this fateful trip, I threw a roll of paper towels and
a container of wipes in the car.
Good call.
I always keep spare bags in the glove box: Mom 101.
So the Barf Brothers felt better after that
and everyone else managed to keep their breakfast down so we
made it to Riley's Farm without further incident.


There we got to see how a blacksmith makes musket balls and toy soldiers.

This blacksmith was dressed as a British Redcoat--later in the day, he was
a casualty in the fight for Liberty.

This young lady was an American Colonist--she showed us some of the
toys and games of the time.

Here she is mixing up biscuits for the British soldiers who were quartered in her home.
She explained the Quartering Act and we got to see why that would
cause resentment toward the British Soldiers as they barged in and told
her she and her family would have to sleep in the barn.

The tension was building throughout the day as we learned
about the Stamp Act and other Intolerable Acts and took part in a trial.
One of our group was accused of smuggling!
At the end of the day, there was a battle with the British.
Shane and I were on the American side and used our musket handling skills
to fight for freedom and liberty.
Miraculously, all the Redcoats arose from the battlefield after the skirmish
and mingled cheerfully with the colonists who had just killed them.

I'm thinking we could use one of these now that the
youngsters have outgrown Time Out.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A New Kind of Super Hero

When it was time to make their lunches,
Sam tied on this red blanket and announced:
"I AM LUNCH MAN!"

Then he tried to convince Shayla to go out to the
garage to get the Sun Chips with:
"But you have to be my trusty sidekick: CHIP WOMAN!"

She didn't find it as hilarious as the rest of us did.
Never a dull moment around here.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

You Had a Birthday, Shout Hurray!

This little cutie had a Birthday!


Balloons, friends, a teddy bear and a Birthday Crown....
does it get any betther than that?
Well, if you are lucky enough to have a Shanna in your family,
it just gets better and better!
Happy Birthday Nunny!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Soccer Mom

I am out standing in my field
(Hahaha)

You might think this post would be about me going to one of my kids' soccer games.
You might think there would be awesome pictures of them charging up and down the field.
You might think I would be the one handing out Capri-suns and orange slices.
But you would be mistaken.

My decision to join the team was a last minute one.
A friend of mine was sick and they were desperate.
They told me all I needed was a red shirt and some shin guards.
I'm wearing Shayla's shorts, socks and shin guards
and Sam's LaCrosse cleats.

 The red shirt came from our local thrift store--a last minute purchase
that left me with no time to wash it before the big game.
Shayla tagged along to laugh at us cheer us on.
She is the reason there is picture evidence.
Yes, I am wearing a knee brace (that was mine)
 I really didn't want to be carried off the field on a stretcher
(Please note that the person I am stealing the ball from
is at LEAST 20 years younger than me.
Just saying.)



I started out apologizing every time I kicked even close to someone, and trying not to bump into anyone. Apparently the other team didn't get the memo about our
friendly little game of soccer.
So I had to kick it up a notch.
And here's a little shout-out to P90X:
Thank you for shredding all my sorry little muscles
And building them back into something useful.

One of the funny moments of the game:
A child on the sidelines yelled "Mom!"
and we all looked over...then the mom said,
"I can't help you honey, I'm playing soccer right now!"


Sometime before halftime, the lovely fragrance of
Thrift Store
began to waft up from my warm, damp shirt--
did I mention it was 80 degrees?
By the end of the game I was regretting that I didn't have time to wash it.
My team was probably regretting it too.

Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...