Happy News!

 Guess who's back?



It's Mxyl and Klenda, back from Spain!!



They are incredibly happy and surprisingly tanned!

Sorry to leave Spain, Tia, Tio, and their cousins, but happy to be home with Dad, Mom, and their brothers and sisters!


They brought Choclo and Oob an interesting collection of rocks, shells, and corals from the mountains and beaches of Spain.

They look serious here, but they were just fascinated. They really loved the addition to their collection.





 They brought Zorg a sketchbook from the Prado museum, so that he could keep all his ideas in one place.  Zorg overflows with cool ideas and drawings, but they often get lost on loose sheets of paper.



And they brought Leena these cool shades!

They also brought the Emperor and I a print from the Prado, and a cool book mark/magnifying glass!

So much cool stuff!  So happy to have them back!

They're Off!

 Mxyl and Klenda are off on a grand adventure:  off to Spain, to visit Tia and Tio and their cousins!

Zorg wanted to squeeze into the carry on luggage, but, alas, he didn't fit.  He will have to wait a couple of years for when he and Leena will have their turn.  Tia is his godmother, and he really wants to see her!

Zorg almost fits!

Mxyl and Klenda have set up a blog just for their time in Spain.  You can follow their adventures at: Mxyl and Klenda's Excellent Adventure: To Spain!!

I don't think they have anything posted yet since they just arrived this morning, but we should see something soon.  They'll be there nearly a month.

Actually, Leena is off this week at Grammy's, doing a nature photography day camp, so we'll catch up (with pictures!) when she gets back, too.

This leaves us with only three kids at home, which feels very strange and quiet!

Can We Come "See" You?

Excellent news!  We've come into a heap of imaginary money!  We've decided to use it to take a once in a life time imaginary trip around the world to see all the places we've always wanted to see! (I know it's a lot of exclamation points, but we're, understandably, very excited)

We are going to figure out how and when to travel where we want to go, where to stay, what to see, what to eat, and how much it's all going to cost.  If you live in any of these places, let us know in the comments what is fun to go and do or see, and if we can "stay" with you. If you live in a different country, let us know why we should come visit!

Don't worry, we aren't going to physically show up on your doorstep, you'll just be giving us a virtual tour of fun stuff to do near where you live.  That probably means just telling us in the comments (we'll find pictures online to post about our trip).  If you have a blog, you can post about our imaginary visit, and we can link to you.  Which I guess would make us your imaginary friends.  But just remember,there are eight of us, so it'll be an imaginary party!

Here are our plans so far:
Starting where we live near Washington DC, USA
Hawaii (can we come see you Annabelle? We'd like to see one of the volcanoes, and a beach)
Australia (what do you think, Sue? I'd like to see your gum trees. And blue fairy penguins, although I think they are south of you,and, oh, lots of Aussie stuff!  You live in Leena's favorite country!)
Japan (We'll have Mxyl show us around)
Mongolia (the land of the Great Khan: I still yearn for a yurt)
India (probably in the north, near New Delhi)
Svalbard (hoping to time it to see the polar bear cubs and northern lights)
Iceland (glaciers and hot springs)
Denmark (Choclo wants to see the original Legoland)
Germany (where I was born and Neuschwanstein Castle)
Spain (Tia and Tio!)
Switzerland (to see Angel and her husband and their new baby girl)
Rome, Italy (Vatican City!)
Jerusalem, Israel (Holy Land sites)
Egypt (pyramids, of course!  And we'd like to cruise on the Nile)
Ethiopia (the great stone churches)
Kenya (Safari heaven)
Zimbabwe (Great Zimbabwe)
Antarctica (penguins and southern lights)
Chile (cruise along the Andes, more penguins)
Peru (Machu Picchu and the source of the Amazon)
Brazil (Amazon river and Rio)
Guatemala (Seeing friends and Aztec and Mayan ruins)
Back home to Washington DC! 

Around the world in 80 days?  I think it might take longer...

Naturally, you're invited to join us on our travels by way of the blog!

College Daze

One reason that I'm backed up on the blogs (not just mine, I haven't had time to read blogs!) is the adjustment to our "full load" schedule.

When Mxyl turned 16, he became not only  eligible to drive, but also to take college classes at out local community college.  So he did!

Continuing his interest in computer animation, he is taking a computer graphics course and an art history course.  This means he's off at college twice a week for 5 hours a shot!  He's having a great time and learning a lot (foremost how to juggle time, homework, and deadlines).

He's also taking Japanese in a separate, online course.  And all the rest of the high school stuff.

Did I mention he just got elected Senior Patrol Leader for his scout troop? And he's doing art lessons. And Youth Group. Plus, he's teaching himself how to play guitar.

And he, along with the rest of the Zoomlians, are doing the co-op, Anatomy and Physiology, and Adventurers with us.

Amongst other Zoomlians, Klenda is learning Spanish in preparation for a trip to Spain next summer, and she's doing art and piano lessons, and Junior Ladies of Charity and the rest of her stuff.

Zorg is beginning preparations for Confirmation next year!  And he's doing Spanish (for an eventual trip to see Tia and Tio), Art, Geometry, and his regular stuff.  And he's been elected Patrol Leader of his patrol of his scout troop!

Leena is doing Art, Piano, Spanish, Junior Ladies of Charity, and the rest of her stuff, all while keeping up her sunny smile and social whirl.

Choclo is doing Wolf Scouts, and Oob will soon be starting Tiger Scouts.

I am working through Anatomy and Physiology, and not reading many blogs!

It reminds me of when I had many kids under five: it's like drinking from a fire hose.  It's all great, fun stuff, but there sure is a lot of it!

It should settle down as we find our rhythm, but it's kind of wild right now.

Feasts

We've celebrated a few feast days in August.

St. Dominic was August 8th, and we made white cupcakes with chocolate "cappas"  in honor of the Dominican habit. 

Although, admittedly, I've never seen a friar with sprinkles!

 August 15th was the Assumption.  I wore my Assumption shawl to Mass!

It was a gift from beloved friends who visited us from Spain when Mxyl was a baby.  The shawl is embroidered silk with elegant long tassels and is really a beautiful work of art!

Every Feast of the Assumption I wear it to Mass and pray for my friends, Tia and Tio.



Also for this feast, Klenda made an angel food cake and I made blue, raspberry flavored whipped cream.

We garnished it with fresh raspberries - yum!!

The Big Trip

We're back! We had a fantastic time in New Orleans!

We stayed with our friend Fr. Mark. He had mentioned that southern architecture was more... elegant than we were used to. Well, yes. This first picture is the seminary where he lives (and we stayed).



We toured the entire city! This is the Cathedral in Jackson Square (the first place I prayed for the Emperor!). It's dedicated to St. Louis, one of my favorite saints.
And we had begneits at the Cafe Du Monde!

We also saw some of the more rural areas. Really remarkably beautiful. Best of all was this tree.


You can take the home schooler away from home, but... Here is Chalmette Battlefield - the site of the Battle of New Orleans, the last battle of the War of 1812! There really is nothing like touring historical places with your own private historian. Fr. Mark's doctorate is in Church History, but most of his other degrees are in secular history. For one thing, we knew to take the picture with this cannon instead of the other anachronistic Civil War cannons. Also, when talking cannons with a priest historian, the opportunities for puns are fantastic! (He's lucky he wasn't a canon lawyer).

Back at the ranch...
The kids had a wonderful time with Mumpy and Angel. Best of all, Tio came and recruited them to play soccer for Spain!

And the Zoomlians loved the masks we found for them in the French Quarter!