Kathleen's donation

Yes, we have no pets!

We are, however, enthusiastic caretakers of other people's animals. It's the perfect remedy for kids who think they'd like a houseful of little critters! Currently, we are housing a couple of guinea pigs; a 20-gallon tank full of fish; 2 little bunnies; and the frequently-visiting, ever-loitering neighbor cat...not to mention the jar of fruit flies (science).

The 6 ft. x 2 ft. 2-story critter mansion.

We're caring for these guys while their owner's house is on the market.

Just to restate: We really don't have any pets!

Dives on the Ides of March

According to the kids, their inaugural leap into swim season HAS to happen in March.

Even though we've already hit 92 degrees (last week), they chose this 70-degree sprinkly day as their day to don wetsuits and take the leap with a visiting friend...into the unheated pool.

Mike knows his limits...especially since his wetsuit was on loan. He waits.

Taking off right where he left off from last season, Mike started his breath-hold laps.

...while the others flip and twist and splash about.

Brrr!

They're teenagers!

An Ash Wednesday composition :: by Jimmer

Such a coincidence that Jimmer had this English lesson today.

Here's the explanation from my teacher's book on what he was to think about before we started our main lesson.

Keeping with his unique Jimmer personality, he wrote this piece.

Typed version:

Jimmer Roche
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012

There was a boy named John who was a caveman. He got VERY hungry one day. It was Ash Wednesday, and he had to fast. He was VERY hungry. He thought that if he ate his hunting club, it wouldn’t be considered food. So he ate it. After that, he had to go to the hospital because he had splinters in his stomach. They got the splinters out, but he still had to wear an eye patch because he also got a splinter in his eye. John was still very hungry.

The other kids were quite entertained with this one!
Tough to imagine what all goes through that boy's mind.

Valentine's Day Fun...thanks to Gramma!

Made the kids feel very special, it did!

Some happenings

Been a long time, been a long time...

Just a handful of photos I found that basically represent what we've been up to lately.

Homeschooling at its best.

Kathleen played another home recital.

(No video up yet)

Because the kids consider this blog the closest thing they'll ever know to a scrapbook/record of our lives, they like for me to post things they want to remember...such as every time they crack open a double-yolk egg!

And when they have some major N-Tropy mojo going on.

They also want to remember this old guy who has sort of adopted us.

Amos, the 12 year old cat, does have a real home, but he's left outside all day. When it's chilly outside, he comes to the door meowing quite pathetically.

So pathetically, in fact, that it's usually too difficult to bear. So, we let him in to warm up a bit.

He's a pretty uptight sort and has a tough time relaxing around a bunch of strangers, don't you think?