Trying New Things

I am a bathroom reader. I always have been. I'll read anything in the bathroom; books and magazines are my first choice, but I have been known to read the ingredients in shampoo bottles and face wash. Right now we have "The Great American Bathroom Book" (summaries of classic books) and there is a section of quotes. I love a good quote book.
Do I have a point here? Sort of, but it's taking me a while to get to it. I think there is some sort of quote somewhere out there, maybe in my quote book, that says as long as you are learning and trying new things, you never grow old. Or maybe I just made it up. I'm not even sure I agree, but I tried two new things today and so I guess I'm young!

We are planning a tea party for Bethany's ninth birthday party and we're having herbal tea. I've never made herbal tea before. I'm not sure I've even tasted it. But tonight it was peppermint tea. The girls were very anxious to try it out, but I didn't think they'd like the taste too much. I had to prepare them by telling them that is was just a taste they weren't used to and it was a little different, but not to be afraid of it. They were all very brave and tasted it and didn't distort their faces in disgust. Faith came back for more. Mostly they just loved dropping sugar cubes.

I know this little boy is too skinny. We're working on it, but you know, if you want to gain weight you have to eat more and move less! Cannon doesn't like to eat and he loves to move, so he's too skinny. But that isn't the point of posting this pic. Look at his diaper-- it's a CLOTH diaper!!!! That's the next new thing I tried today.
What am I thinking? Well, I LOATHE buying diapers. I've been buying diapers for 10 years with one three month hiatus in between Elinor and Faith. A couple of months back I asked a neighbor about the feasibility of cloth diapers. She used them with a couple of her kids and she made them and sold them online. She convinced me to give them a try. Today she brought over a few samples she made for me to try out. Cannon seemed quite pleased with this one. These are not the diapers I remember my mom using with my brother. These are so CUTE and snuggly. I still plan on using disposables at night and on days when we're out and about a lot, but I think we'll give cloth a go for a while. I'd love to only buy disposable half as often! If you think this is crazy, remember that I homeschool my children, so I am obviously okay with crazy.
Elinor got a kite for her birthday and she and Bethany had grand success flying it at the park. I love kids flying kites. I love to see their thrill that they have conquered gravity and made something fly!











I know the Olympics are over and it is for the best, but wanted to show Clark's Lego Olympic ski jump. If you could see into the judges stand below you'd see people in there. Also, their is a lego Bob Costas in a suit in the stands. Clark also made a skating short track, but Cannon destroyed it before the picture.