Snapped these when we weren't being followed

Me, myself, and ?

A beautiful day in Union Square, but have our identities been foiled? Will the Greenhouse 5 make it back for next week's episode? Is this the end of their supercrime fighting?


I clearly spotted them by the ice rink...


Then again with the 3 little superheroes...


Grammie was even being followed...


A mere reflection?


More subtle, but obviously there...


Stay tuned.

Superdog

A new hero in our midst. Bo "Superdog" Reis. There's mixed reaction to his arrival; there's 2 furry members of the house who pretty much think he's Satan. Princess as you can see below has gotten back into character, and kitty, aka "Rock" has been spending a lot of time on the roof.

I think he's a pit bull / lab mix. Man those jaws are strong, but he seems to be one big BABY. He fashions himself a lap dog and tries his hardest to get into Mr I's lap. We're dog sitting for about 10 days. Dash says he doesn't like "to get slimed"; Dynagirl isn't quite sure about it either, tho both certainly spend a lot of time playing with him. Cosmic Boy is sold on the dog thing, but I'm not so sure his superparents are. Boy, cats are nice.

Hodgepodge

So we got WW acting like she was the queen of tiling here...


And we got Dynagirl modeling her stylish headpiece here...


And lastly, we were invaded by aliens in our living room, here they are...

Up from the grave....

Last week our "Walking Stick" pets died. They had been a gift from a friend of the kids last spring or so. The whole family kind of took to them; they'd crawl over you with kinda sticky (pun intended) feet and also generally creep out the insect hating crowd. We started with 4 or 5 of them but only 2 survived and grew (and grew and grew).

Trouble is, like many pets "for the kids", Mr. Incredible ended up having to do a lot of reminding like "Did you give them leaves recently?" or "Anybody give them water?".

So, sure enough, when they died last week, there were some lessons to be learned. There was a sadness and disappointment in the house, especially since we had no idea how to replace them. The friend we got them from is not geographically close if she even still has them.

So, yesterday, I was up early in the morning studying for a Sunday School class. The topic happened to be "In the Garden"; after studying this passage for the past couple of weeks, I was pretty overcome with the "cup" that Jesus has taken on my behalf...the suffering, the pain, the humanity that He took on. Death. I was certainly wishing my study would get past the death and on to the life...you know that Good Friday feeling you get? The one where you can't wait until Easter?

About 7:30AM, Cosmic Boy came running in..."They're alive!" he exclaimed. Huh??? So the big buggers laid some eggs on the way out. And sure enough, we've got at least 8 of them in there now; who knows how many more are coming since the eggs are really hard to see. Hallelulah!



A sidenote, after the death, we pretty much realized that the Walking Sticks are illegal in California. Sounds like they can wreak havoc on beings that have leaves; you know, pretty much all the things in your yard that you want to keep. Apparently, our crime isn't just a state one; seems that they're also illegal in all of the U.S. Hmmm, what to do with this one? Maybe we'll get a ferret so the illegal prisoners can have some company?! More to come on their fate; their lives may hang on the court of appeals, who knows which way the court will go in this country.

Playin' in the mud again...

Getting there. If I'm playing in mud, there must be light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully next Saturday we tile...

Homeschool athletics

Formalized sports teams at school are certainly not a big issue for us now, but it could be in the future. I found an interesting perspective about it here. Not sure I've ingested it all completely, after all we aren't really homeschooling since we use a public charter school, but it was an interesting read. I thought the 4 points below, even removed from the athletics discussion, rang true to my experience.

========================
Snippet of the article
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...However, despite these factors, there is continuing pressure for increased state regulation of homeschooling. Once regulations are in place for homeschooling athletes, there will be strong pressure to apply them to all homeschoolers, leading to increased regulation of all homeschoolers.

How do we know this will happen? For several reasons, including the following:

* First, through no fault of our own, we homeschoolers are seen as a threat to the educational establishment, The most powerful interest groups in our society. Most of the educational establishment feels that homeschools need to be controlled and regulated and forced to become as much like conventional schools as possible.

* Second, our society does not trust parents and others who are not trained professionals or "experts." Although homeschooling has gained some acceptance, many people still feel there may be "something fishy going on;" the government probably should check up on homeschoolers.

* Third, the general public has accepted increasing government control of public schools, most recently in the form of new educational standards and increased use of state-mandated standardized tests. Most non-homeschoolers assume the government should also oversee homeschools.

* Fourth, some school officials are telling truants, dropouts, and expelled students to homeschool, or at least suggesting it. These officials are then turning around and saying that greater regulation of homeschooling is needed because truants, dropouts, and expelled students may be escaping to homeschooling.

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout

Hmmmmmmmm. Pomegranate guacamole. It's the BEST! Find it here.

The case has many points

So this morning we were tee-peed. No big deal, pretty tame job...a few rolls around some trees and around the cars. The only thing is, we don't really know anybody local that would tee-pee us. Our kids don't go to school here, we have a handful of friends on this side of the hill, none of which would do such a thing.

So a little closer examination and it all made sense. "Being gay is fun. No on Proposition 8" drawn on the driveway using the plentiful supply of persimmons in the front yard as "chalk". Luckily the vandals were pretty tame, I'm suspecting my 16 year old neighbor who seems to always seems to be in trouble and who apparently has a best friend who is gay is probably behind it.

Let's see...just because we put a sign in our yard...Wonder Woman's been verbally assaulted, the sign's been stolen, and we've been vandalized. I admire the tolerance of those who disagree with me. Our society is tolerant of only those who toe the line. Ironic isn't it?

My other neighbor was agonizing over her oldest son embracing the same agenda. She is a staunch Irish catholic and her oldest (first year of college) thinks she's stupid for being pro-life and pro-marriage. Twelve years of school adds up. Don't believe me? Wait 5 more years.

Capitol(al) G

That's a "G" for Greenhouse and an "A" for Arnie.

Coincidence?? I think NOT!!

As I woke up this morning, I was feeling a bit discouraged over the outcome of our presidential election yesterday. Never-the-less, the kids and I began school together, just as we do every morning. We started off with our Bible lesson which listed our Bible reading as Psam 46. As I began reading with the little superheroes, I was struck at how timely and "coincidentally" perfect that passage was for this "day after the election". I had nothing to do with choosing that passage or assigning it to today--it's in my pre-printed Bible curriculum and we just happen to be on this lesson! So, here is Psalm 46--it helped fix my eyes back on the Lord and encouraged my heart--I hope you will find encouragement in it as well. And, the kids and I had a really good discussion as we applied it to our situation today!

Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields ^[b] with fire.

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

It all started by in 1995

He was only 34 years old. He felt silly watching a movie about superheroes...but the draw was strong. He felt as if his future depended on it. In the end, he knew he simply must have it...and he does...oh yes he does.

"The future of {obama} is brain waves. My invention beams any TV signal directly into the human brain. By stimulating neurons, manipulating brain waves if you will. This device makes them feel like they're inside the show. Why be brutalized by an uncaring world?"



Luckily, we canceled cable 2 months before the election and managed to escape the strength of it's grasp. I think it's safe now, or is it? Maybe the mind control has just begun? Yikes, looks like I'll have to wear a funny shielded hat while watching TV.

A little progress

Thanks to Dash for some big help today!