Black Bayou ~ Noah's First Visit Out of the Womb

We had a really fun time once again at Black Bayou. Noah loved being out in the "wild". He is so cute squealing when the wind hits him in the face. He is so joyful with it all. His brothers also enjoyed showing him the ropes. :)


The memories that we are creating with Noah is such a shock to me. He is so easy to take around with us, he fits right into our family. I can't imagine him not here. What joy little boys are.





And just as much as I love what Noah brings to the family, I find myself looking at the not to distant future and seeing my Big boy Eli's boyhood slipping out of my hands. I feel as if his growth is out of control. I always tell Matthew these are the best days of our lives. I know that. I am so thankful to know that before it is too late. Look at how his jaw line is squaring up. :( My baby Man-Man is so big!








This place is so beautiful.





Trying to get a portrait of all three boys is HARD! That little Noah tongue...





Much better! :) Are they not beautiful???





See what I mean by fitting in?





Noah had an encounter with Mr. Fish.





He wasn't too sure about him!





What is this strange creature? He seems to float in mid-air!





The reptiles were sunning...





Noah HATED Mr. and Mrs. Snake!





Matthew took this video of the alligator turtle using his tongue as a lure. We were cracking up here when we watched it tonight. As the the turtle is closing his mouth I am smooching on my Baby Bleu and it sounds like a hinge creaking! HA HA HA! Enjoy!

Our Turtles Have a New Home!

The big turtles were too big for our home and they found a new one. Remy was very sad. :(

Have a nice life little turtle!

Remy found this little guy when we had lots of rain and the swamp/bayou by our house overflowed into a drainage/creek area behind our house. He played with him a while but I made him set him free because we have the mammoths they bought all those years ago in our house and we don't need three of them.

They named him Cosmo.

What a sad walk...

Setting him free!

Now he has an empty habitat to put something else in!

Remy had a blast this year. He found so many neat animals that he kept and played with for a time before letting go. I love that he loves the animals so much.

School Room

I have been working on our school room again. I just need to hang some things, have Mattmos paint the walls the way I have requested, and find some chairs that will reach to the table once we have a job and dig ourselves back to financial norms. ;)

BUT...I had to share some of the work now. Sherri, this is for you!

This table opens up below and I am storing books not in use, craft kits, extra paper, laminater, microscope, stuff like that. On top we have a little tv with vcr for the old videos they kids rent from the library. We only have a dvd player in the house. Remy likes to put my old ballet tapes on and teach himself ballet. The computer has all the kids games on it.

I have the boys art supplies that they like to use the most out on this little table. I plan on finding a better space as soon as I can.

The boys everyday curriculum and my things are in the copper bins on the top of the left shelf. Below that I have the other things I can pull from throughout the year to flush out or replace something we are already using. On the bottom I have adhesives for art and bits of ribbon, glitter, etc. in the black baskets. The other shelf is the kid book shelf and it isn't the way it will be in the end.

Piper is sitting on the science box in this photo. I have all the mad scientist stuff in this tote...it is waiting for a better place to live. But that puppy is SWEET, right?

Remy the nature boy, has raised this turtle from a quarter sized baby. We all call her Big Bertha. She is getting so big.

I will post more photos as we make changes. :)

Company and We are Back to SCHOOL!

One night I go to snapping a few photographs because my boys are just WAY too yummy for me sometimes. :) I love how Elijah loves his puppy doggie. :) He is always snuggling her and talking to her.

And nothing is sweeter to me than my itty bitty asleep. :)

Some of the family have been making the trip to say goodbye to Sweet Paw and we were able to host Matthew's brother Branden and his sister Lindsay one night. She had her two youngest children with her and they are so cute!

Uncle just loved this itty bitty man! Hee hee!

Remy is on a cooking rampage and helped with lunch yesterday.

And then he made cookies...

We gave the kids an easel for Christmas and I love using it for school. Remy also likes to do his work on it. :)

His cursive writing is coming along well and he has worked way ahead in his first grade reading and math. He really likes those subjects. I bet he is done with the reading before lesson day 85 of first grade. I am glad I have learned from Eli and allowed him to do more of one subject if he so chooses for the day. That way he is meeting his own level. But it helps when you either have the next years materials on the subject or the price isn't as high as the first time you order it for the oldest. :)

Remy made a snowman and a card for his Uncle Branden. :)

Okay, I have to share a photo of the CRAZY turtles! The biggest one will be sunning and the tiny male will climb on top somehow and then pull his legs in and then sit there like they are stacked rocks. He is balanced on the very tip of her rounded shell! It cracks me up. Hee hee....he uses her to get closer to the light. Silly turtles. One day I will have to sit on the boys bed and wait to see how he does this.

Remy started his first school reader!

I have awaited this moment! :) He did lesson day 75 yesterday and I was able to surprise him with a new book. :) We have of course borrowed library books and he has read those with me and he has read lots of sentences and stuff on the magnet board with me and in his phonics workbook. But this was exciting because he LOVES Eli's readers and to have his own was very exciting to him. :)

I like how they start out slow to build confidence and to allow the child to feel big and smart. I will keep everyone updated on the reader situation! :)

Elijah learned about the plot in a story yesterday and he had fun with that.

I thought I would post some updated pictures of our little turtles we adopted a year back in Dallas, Texas.

Matthew cut up this watermelon but he did it differently than normal. When he cut it in a circle shape he noticed this natural filagree pattern in the watermelon! Can you see it?

And this is a purple flower that stunned us all! We have a ivy like plant out back that blooms yellow. This one was there but we didn't know it! But there is a different vine on the trellis!

And of course I have some natural and free time outside to share. :) The boys are in the "creek" out back, it runs into a marshy body of water down the road. It was empty this day. :)

And here is Eli showing great brotherly love and helping Remy up the bank with a stick. :) I love these moments.

3 more days and we leave for VACATION!

Turtle Conservation in the Spring!

Okay, so the turtle that Remy found too far away from his water source the other day, was set free. He was so upset that his favorite creature find ever was leaving him for the wide open wild. But we told him how by doing this he was doing a grown up job called conservation. That is was a conservationist! He liked that idea...being caretaker of his small outside world.

Matthew took them down to the water before he left for work and this little turtle smelled the water and went NUTS! *laugh*

Today we had a normal Saturday at home. We are staying home more often so we can afford some splurges during vacation. We live for Disney this coming Saturday! YAY!

I did take them to the library because I had some movies on hold for them. And then I went and bought the bathroom stuff we would need on our trip.

Matthew had work early and then a photo shoot at a Prom for the local paper. He just arrived home.

On my way out to the library today I checked the mail. And a very interesting spider was flung onto me. I was shocked, but thought it was only a bee. It was quite stocky. I flung it to the middle console and saw it wasn't a bee! I was a very suspicious spider!

I put him in a playdoh cup with a lid and brought him into the house. Here he is.

I haven't had a chance to look up what it is just yet, but I do think Remy has a spider book. This thing had a web bundle on a Dominoes flyer in my box. I think he traveled a bit! I will update when I find out what he is...but I am sure Rhonda will come through for me. :)

While in the front yard I had to take some photos of Spring once again. Enjoy!

I wonder if the strawberries will bear some fruit???

Update on our Spider from What's that bug website:

Jumping Spider(03/01/2005) bug definitionI have these Spiders in my Garage. Last year my wife flipped out and killed one that was between 1/2" and 3/4". All the ones that we have seen since have bee half that size. We live in the pacific Northwest. If it helps any, these spiders are very aware. I had one on the hood of my car while I was waxing it. I tried to sneak up on it. As I got about 4 feet away it turned towards and me and reared up it's head as if it had no fear of me whatsoever and wanted me to know it.

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/images/jumping_spider_nw.jpg

You have a species of Jumping Spider from the Family Salticidae. They are small, often colorful, do not build webs but stalk their prey, and are harmless to humans. They have excellent eyesight and have very rapid movements

Here is the page:

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/spiders3.html