When I asked Darin how it went, he said "well I think the cool factor wore off after about the first 30 minutes and then they were more fascinated with the airplane seat." He captured that statement with this photo of Luke.

Here is Luke at Red Robin for his birthday dinner on June 16, 2006. This is is favorite place to eat (Just like his Dad!) Grandma, Grandpa Tom, and Auntie Amelia joined us for the celebration.  

So Luke did turn 6 in June. We had an Incredible Hulk party. I thought it was an odd choice, but when I asked him why he wanted the Hulk he said "because he's really strong, green and really cool! (then it made sense) Trying to get 8 boys ages 6 & 7 to be serious is quite a joke as you can see from the photo. Luke had a great time and that is all that matters.

I took this photo of our butterfly bush that is outside our front window. God's creation is so beautiful!!! It provides lot of entertainment for the boys and myself :-) 

Our family took a homeschool field trip out to the Hillsboro Airport in late May to see how Tony Martinez reports the traffic on Channel 12 News. The boys were so excited, especially Martin as wants to be a helicopter pilot when he gets big!! They got to sit in the front seat with the head set on and watch how everything works (Darin and I were in the back seat). They sat so still and listened very closely. It was a great time of information and memories. Note- The helicpoter was grounded the entire time...bummer

Good Day Oregon

April and the boys on tv!

Martin's 1st 5K Run

Martin and Dad before the 5K (3.1 mile) Starlight Parade Run. This was Martin's longest run so far. He ran the entire run without stopping and had a blast! Check out the video clip below

Finally after 27 years of putting it off Darin's brother David ran the Starlight Parade. It was fun that he invited Martin and Darin to join him. Martin says he wants to run it next year!

5k Run

I think Martin may be a born runner!

Vertigo

This comes close to capturing the reason I love mountain climbing

shed demo

It's good to not take yourself too seriously!!!

I walked down stairs a couple months ago and this is what I found. Martin set this entire scene up himself. I guess the boy is a bit anxious for summer to come! 

I had the boys photos taken a couple months ago and here are the best ones...definitely not Dad quality. The top one is my favorite!!

Here are our boys....growing up too fast! 

The boys participated in the Awana Grand Prix at church this year. It was their first year and really enjoyed it. We learned some tricks this year to make our cars go faster for next year :-) 

Here is a close look at the cars the boys made for the Awana Grand Prix race at church. 

Luke has been in soccer classes this year. He LOVES it. I think we have found a sport that totally fits Luke. 

This year Martin has been taking Karate lessons. He really enjoys it. This is a photo of an outside forearm block. If your wondering.... non of the moves he has learned is allowed to be performed in the home or on anybody he knows (specifically his little brother) . :-)

Martin LOVES the drums. We bought him this set at Christmas. He can play about 8 different beats at this point. He just sits down and comes up with something new every day. We will be starting official lessons next year. 

This was a sad day. The boy's first pet, our fish Larkin, died. We buried him out by the shed in a little box. The rocks are so we wouldn't forget where he was buried. Martin wanted to make a cross out of sticks in memory of Larkin. 

VALENTINE'S DAY!!

The boy FINALLY lost his first tooth. He was one happy boy!!!

The boys had to make a car for them to sit inside of for drive-in movie night at Awanas last month. We used stuff we had around the house and came up with these. Martin drew all the webbing all around the entire car...it took a long time. I was proud of his perserverance. 

OUR HOMESCHOOL MEDIEVAL FEAST

Here are my two kings. My Mom bought this outfit for me to wear the night of the feast so I would fit the part. The boys made their own crowns and septors. The castle was a joint effort with the boys doing most of the work. Auntie Amelia made the king outfits the boys are wearing...she did an awesome job! This medieval study took A LOT of time, but was a fun was to learn and it created a lot of fun memories.

Martin gave a speech on the castle we worked so hard on. He wrote down on the scroll he is holding all the different parts of the castle and how it was made. He did a great job. We had another family here that participated in the feast. It was Martin's first official public speech. He did great. You can see that Luke is in the background inside the castle. He was Martin's helper during the speech...pointing out all the parts as Martin talked about them. Brothers working together...how sweet. 

Let's eat!!!!!!!! No silverware was used during those times except for an occasional spoon. We used the traditional trencher for plates (bread hollowed out) and cloth napkins...paper ones were not invented yet. It was a really fun and messy night with lots of food.  

Luke started off the evening with a speech regarding the table manners. He then sounded the horn for the feast to begin! 

The table setting of the medieval feast. 

Martin having a bit of fun before he painted the last side of the castle. 

This is the beginning stages of our castle we made for our homeschool unit study of medieval times.