28 August 2023

 First day of school!  This photo is actually from getting haircuts the weekend before.  Three kids are at three schools, although Bobo and Nut Brown are in the same building.  They walk to school and Rosebud catches the bus.  We missed the bus this morning, and the other parents at the bus stop said that it's because it always comes ten minutes earlier than the schedule on the internet says.  *shrug*  Everyone survived the first day.  Rosebud was extremely happy (she gave her school a five-star review based on the back-to-school night last week), Bobo was resigned but not in crisis, and Nut Brown is having a difficult time.  We did a lot of back-to-school nighting with all three of them, and I think we're going to make a go of this.

27 August 2023

 Last week I came home from an outing and discovered that everyone was in the den ready to watch a movie together.  Our family loves the Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse movie, and we watched its sequel for the first time together.  We really enjoyed it, and it gave us lots to talk about.  Afterwards we ordered pizza and played D&D together.  Rose Pink is acting as DM and has a story arc she's leading us through.  It was wonderful to do so much together as a family doing things we enjoy!

25 August 2023

It has been a summer of manga and musicals.  Nut Brown discovered manga at the library this summer and he and Bobo and Rosebud read manga all summer.  Nut Brown and Bobo memorized all the words to Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog and Hamilton.  There was much mutual singing which would break out whenever there was conversation.  One or the other of them would quote a lyric and they would just go on from there.  

Here are some of the other things we did this summer:

Looking in amazement at the phenomenon of water falling from the sky.  They were reaching out the window to catch it in their hands.  And of course there are mushrooms when it rains!  Notice the multitude of rubber bracelets on D's wrist.  He collected them at his Texas school and wore them every day for several months to use as a fidget.  Sometime in August he took them off.

Walking along the Ma & Pa Trail downtown.  The boys are singing.

 

Fourth of July parade downtown.  There were a lot of marching bands.  Also a float celebrating the fact that our county declared independence from Britain three years before the rest of the country.

Hiked out to Kilgore Falls, the tallest free-falling waterfall in Maryland.  We didn't come prepared to wade, and the kids went home completely soaked!  

Enrolled kids in school for next year.  Nut Brown and D are in the same school building, so after D finished, he and Rosebud and I shot his rubber bracelets at targets in the hallway while waiting for Nut Brown to resolve his class schedule.

Went to the county fair.  Checked out the livestock and fired squash out of squash launchers to win prizes.  We also watched draft horses drag weights in a contest.  Rose Pink and I liked that best, but the younger kids got restless.

Celebrated Mr. Brown's birthday.  Nut Brown energized the planning for it and made a pinata.  We tried to make it a surprise but 

We went on a tour of a potato chip factory, which was cool. They gave us chips hot off the line, which were tasty!  That evening some friends came over for a treasure hunt that led to the pinata, followed by pound cake topped with brain-shaped jello.

We picked up several bags of obscure potato chip flavors at the factory, and Rose Pink gave Mr. Brown a  big bag of some more.  He was literally covered in chips!

The next was our family birthday.  We went out for a fancy dinner per tradition, and chose a seafood restaurant in Havre de Grace so we could eat crab, which is a big thing in Maryland.  Unfortunately it turns out that none of us really like crab.  Mr. Brown's salmon was amazing though.

Spent an afternoon at Hammerman Beach on a lake in Gunpowder Falls State Park.  It was a perfect day and we had a good time.

Picked huge blackberries at a you-pick and made blackberry jam. The blackberries were amazing fresh and the jam is good too!

Celebrated Nut Brown's birthday.  Mr. Brown and I did not get as many celebrations of Nut Brown accomplished for his birthday as we felt that he deserved, because he is awesome and amazing.  He finished summer off by passing the test to and getting his learner's permit.

On to school! Three kids in three new schools.  Maryland is full of kind people, so we are not worried.  Nut Brown and D are actually in the same building, and they are walking to school.  Rosebud catches the bus to the elementary school.  She is stoked and very excited.  We went to the open house, and met her teacher, who is named Miss Hershey.  Rosebud mistakenly called her Miss Reese - something to do with chocolate anyway!  She started writing a review of her elementary school as soon as we got home and gave it five stars even before the first day of school.

Here we go into fall!

8 July 2023

Rosebud, trying to get a sense of how old I am: "Mom, did you have stores when you were a kid?"  

6 July 2023

 Last Saturday we went to the farmer's market and came home with exotic homemade jam (mulberry, strawberry rhubarb pineapple orange and lime ginger plum) and also five types of honey.  The beekeeper sold sampler bear shaped jars that were only a couple inches tall and very difficult to resist.  I decided the best way to sample everything was with a tea part, so we acquired some bread and crackers for tasting, made three pots of different teas, added a few other delicacies, and had tea (the meal) together.  It was really fun!

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Random photo of Rosebud who came out with this hairstyle after I asked her to brush her hair one morning:

3 July 2023

 Tonight, at dinner, Mr. Brown made lasagna and it was amazingly delicious.  He and I got to spend most of the day together and it was pretty great.  He's my favorite.  After dinner, Nut Brown suggested singing Dr. Horrible karaoke and he and Bobo and Rosebud sang the whole thing together.  The boys have really been on loving that musical and they love singing it together.  This morning we walked on the Ma and Pa Trail and they sang selections from it as we walked through the tunnel and on the path on the way back.

on the trail this morning

singing together this evening

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this is what happens when there is an unexpected thunderstorm downpour right as it's time for bed and Mom says that you can't go outside in it because it's time for bed and she wants to talk to her sister tonight so you have to stay inside:

29 June 2023

Back in May, we went hiking in Gunpowder Falls State Park.  We found fallen trees to climb on, the ruins of old farmhouses, and tadpoles to catch in a creek.  Lovely day and a lovely hike.  

 

26 June 2023

Last night Mr. Brown gave Bobo a task to do during scriptures, to keep his hands busy. It was grinding animal crackers in a big mortar and pestle to prep them for a cheesecake crust. It was so interesting that the rest of us got out other mortars and pestles from his collection and joined the fun.  Scriptures was derailed and instead we had a great time crushing crackers to powder together. Love it!!

22 June 2023

Nut Brown competed in his first jiujitsu tournament and he won second place in his weight class!  Mr. Brown and I are so proud of him, and he was very proud of himself!  Even though he lost his last match, he didn't give up any points, which is quite an achievement.  He has learned and grown so much from participating in the jiujitsu training at the Texas gym.

21 June 2023

Last night Bobo came tearing upstairs with Nut Brown hot on his heels, hollering about something Bobo had done. He dashed into his room and shut and locked the door, leaving Nut Brown pounding on the outside.  I asked what on earth had happened, and Nut Brown told me that Bobo had closed all his tabs on the internet browser. He had plugged in his wireless mouse, and then when Nut Brown wasn't paying attention he had closed the browser and all the tabs!  Mr. Brown and I both laughed about it, and Nut Brown acknowledged that it was a good trick, albeit frustrating for him.

15 June 2023

 Last day of school and fifth grade graduation for Bobo, who is headed to middle school this fall!

With his friend Everett

Mrs. Kalthof

Mrs. Derby

Mrs. Heilman

This morning, when he came out with his Sunday shirt on, I asked him why, and he said that Mrs. Derby had told them that they might want to dress up, so he did.  He hates wearing his Sunday clothes, so I can tell that he really loves Mrs. Derby.

When they had Teacher Appreciation week, I helped both Bobo and Rosebud write thank you notes to their teachers.  Despite the fact that he hates to write, he did put his thoughts on paper for them.  He let Mrs. Kalthof know that she was the most chill teacher in fifth grade ("will she know what chill means, Mom?") and thanked Mrs. Heilman for letting him read her books.  Then he wrote to his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Derby, and thanked her for the plant (which he was happy to have as a gift for me), and for helping him earn cookies with his behavior at recess, and for "helping me understand my mom's concern and helping me keep track."  Mrs. Derby has been wonderful for him and deserves all the loyalty and affection that Bobo gives her.

He was sad at graduation because of the farewell aspect of the ceremony.  He is very sensitive to the losses that happen at the end of every school year.

14 June 2023

Nut Brown came home with a lot of these from high school. 

and his class placement:

 

13 June 2023

 A friend of our has two cherry trees that are having a gangbuster year.  We are reaping the bounty.  Rosebud was happy to help me pit several hundred!

4 June 2023

 This evening our friends Jon and Megan hosted a welcome party for us combined with a farewell party for another family leaving the ward.  Bobo brought a lego creation with him and lost a piece of it on the lawn.  He asked me to help him look for it.  We started combing through the grass, and he said to me, "I'm going to go pray."  He went off and came back a few minutes later, and we looked on the lawn together.  Almost right away he said, "I can't find it, it's not here, we'll never find it, we might as well quit," but I reminded him that God couldn't help us if we stopped looking.  A couple minutes later, a brother from church called out to me, "Sister Brown, are you looking for something?"  I explained about the lego and he said, "Oh ho, I've been there!" He and his teenagers came to help us look.  He asked Bobo if he had prayed, and Bobo said he had.  His daughter found the missing lego piece thirty seconds later.  Bobo was amazed.  He said right away, "I'm going to go say a prayer of gratitude."  I'm so grateful for the examples of faith that have taught him that God hears and answers prayers.