End of the Summer Fun

Our days have been very full lately. I thought August and September would be relatively open months, but they filled up with lots of fun. We cleared out some boxes we had on the third floor and found that we had lots of old financial records we no longer need. We put them in boxes and asked Ethan if he wanted to learn to shred paper. At first he wasn't interested because he was busy on Webkinz. Once he found out it involved a loud machine that wreaked mayhem on hapless sheets of paper he was all over it.
I love the outfit he put together that day. The shirt ("I do all my own stunts") is from his Nan-nan (godmother) and the hat was on its way to Goodwill when he intercepted it. He made the earrings and the necklace himself.

Water still looms large in our activities. Ethan adores going to Hammonasset Beach. I really like this photo of him hanging out there. It was taken on 21 September 2008. We went to the Guilford Fair and Ethan wanted to go to the beach afterward. The water as warm, but the air was too cold for Ba or Mimi to want to get wet. That didn't stop Ethan. Nothing stops Ethan from going into the water. I have no doubt he'd say yes to skinny-dipping in Fargo in February.

Ryan declined to go to the beach. He likes the water well enough, but his passions are his DS and his Webkinz. He's not with his Webkinz here. This time he's sharing his DS secrets with Chiquite. Chiquite is a travelling stuffed monkey. He goes from homeschool house to homeschool house hanging out and having fun.
Ryan is also a big fan of lollipops. We went to the New York Renaissance Faire which is not lacking in the lollipop department.

Chiquite came to the Ren Fest as well. That monkey just cracks Ryan up.

Alphabetize, avalanche, and gardening

Friday is cleaning day in our house. Ryan and Ethan cleaned their rooms, though I have to hand it to Ethan. His room has pretty much been clean since last week. I managed to get all the laundry washed, hung out, and taken in before night fall. That has to be a record.

I got into the garden today. The seedlings are coming along nicely, so I took the time to move around some plants. The back fence now has a nice row of hosta and pother plants. Ryan thought the I had dug up a row of dirt for him personally. He got a few Rescue Heroes and one of their vehicles and created a scenario in which they were stuck in an avalanche. He informed me that I could take all the dirt I wanted as long as I didn't free said vehicle.

Ethan has found that he can battle and trade Pokemon with his friends while talking to them through the DS all via our wireless internet. In order to do this efficiently, he has to be able to locate his Pokemon quickly and easily. This prompted him to learn first letter alphabetization. Score one for the unschooling concept.

Clean rooms, freshly laundered clothing, rearranged plants, alphabetizing, and an avalanche overcome all make this a good day.