Mitzie

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Day at the River

I should never have waited so long before posting about this trip to the Sisquoc River back in April when it was full.

It was a beautiful day. We met Carmen along the way and headed out. We walked a ways down the shoreline until we found a good spot to settle in.

The kids discovered a bunch of tadpoles...

... and some raccoon tracks.

We had planned to make some miniature boats out of some river willow growing nearby, so we started gathering some good branches.

Then the girls discovered some real branches - driftwood logs, actually - and said, why don't we make a real raft?

So Carmen, well-prepared, creative and versatile, set to work armed with a pocket knife, some twine and some logs.

The kids set to work wrapping and tying...

and testing out the seat.

Then they took turns trying it out.

Michael even gave Xena a ride.

What a great day! I'm so glad we made it out there before the river dried up.

Warning: very sad! Paul Gravett: Article - China Earthquake

Paul Gravett: Article - China Earthquake

Purty teeth

I got my braces off yesterday after almost three years! Just a reminder, what my teeth looked like before (this was actually after a month or two of braces on the top; at first they couldn't even put brackets on my incisors because they were so twisted and crowded):

And after...

Cable in the Classroom

Don't forget to check this month's Cable in the Classroom guide to see what you want to watch/record. Here's what I don't want to miss.

Ancient Mysteries on A&E
Digging for the Truth History Channel
Gold! on the History Channel
The King's Highway: El Camino Real on the History Channel
Lincoln 200 Years on C-SPAN
Sports Figures on ESPNC
Biography - Charles Darwin on A&E
Forecast Earth Hurricanes on the Weather Channel
How the Earth Was Made on the History Channel
The New Explorers on A&E
The Wrath of God on the History Channel
American Politics/Road to the Whitehouse 2008 on C-SPAN

ZOMG Check out William!

He is undefeated at this weight lifting competition three years in a row. I about had a heart attack when I saw this video. The best part comes after about 2:30.

Ben’s Birthday - he’s 9!!

We started celebrating a little early by giving him his main gift from us - a portable keyboard. We wanted him to have it for our camping trip Kevan, Ben and I were leaving on for 6 days.

He had been playing the piano non-stop for several days, having used the YouTube method to learn to play Through the Fire and Flames on the piano. He was lamenting the fact that he wouldn't be able to play at the campout, not to mention at the talent show the last night. Well, he did perform at the talent show! Here's the video:

Through the Fire and Flames Piano - 8 year old Ben

Yesterday was his actual birthday. We went to Hometown Buffet for brunch, and then Grandpa came over to help us celebrate. Grandpa Roger and Nana are in the Philipines so they didn't make it

And grandpa brought over the big hit!

He's already jumping!

How many Bruces does it take to put in a trampoline?

Wait! The safety net isn't up yet!

There we go!

Woot!

Holy canoley! He's flying!

Kevan frosted the cake and William decorated it.

And my baby is 9!!

Kitty!

As you may or may not know, Kevan has been volunteering at our local Humane Society for awhile now, socializing cats. Basically that means grooming and playing with them so that they are sweet and friendly and adoptable. Here he is (with his friend Doug who was visiting) in the kitty room.

So the Humane Society called us yesterday afternoon with the following sad story. A lady named Christine just moved into a new (to her) house last week. They smelled cat urine in the sunroom, so they realized there was a cat living underneath the house. They had a dog, who soon chased the cat out and they boarded up the openings. Soon afterward she started to hear kittens mewing. She opened the openings again, and waited for the mama cat to return, but she did not. The dog had chased her away. Christine found the kittens (two of them) and put them on the porch hoping the mama cat would come get them there. One of the kittens died waiting. She thought both kittens were dead, but one of them was still hanging on. She heated him with a heating pad and purchased some kitty formula and bottles, and then called the Humane Society. She had two small children and could not handle caring for this kitten. The Humane Society can't take them in until they are eating on their own and litter box trained, so they asked us to foster the kitten until that time.

We went and picked it up from Christine at around 2:00.  It was mewing loudly and desperately looking for food.  Its eyes were still closed.  We took it home and started trying to feed it with the bottle Christine had already prepared and was using.  Turned out the nipple didn't have a hole in it.  Once we rectified that problem, the kitten ate like a pro and fell asleep.  Kevan and I read up on orphaned kitten care and learned how to stimulate her to go potty, and how often to feed her, etc.  She is sleeping in a pet carrier with a heating pad wrapped in towels (when we're not holding her that is).  She slept until evening (about 4 hours) and we fed her again.  Kevan and Ben slept downstairs by her box so that Kevan could feed her when she woke up in the night.  He said he woke up a few times, but the kitten never woke up and cried in the middle of the night.

I woke up early this morning (had a meeting at 5:30).  I got her out at about 6:00 and woke her up and started mewing, so we fed her breakfast.  Now she's sleeping again.

Pictures!

William and Ben selling sodas at Will's soccer tournament.

Homeschool Spring Fling park day!

A Few More Pictures (from Will’s camera)

William at track.

Easter Sunday

Jamming