Smoke detector test

Last night at bedtime, I saw my 3 year old brushing the dog in the kitchen with my hairbrush. I was not happy. Even though our border collie Molly is a great dog, I don't like dogs much. I don't like their hair or their smell, so to see my brush full of dog hair... Uhggg. I put Greta in bed, cleaned out the brush, and set it in a pan of water to sanitize it. I turned on the burner and went to check on kids in bed. I didn't come back into the kitchen after reading a story and turning off lights. Adam was awake and Mike and I were playing with him in our room when we heard the smoke detector go off. Ooops. Mike threw the pan on the back porch and opened the doors to get the terrible burnt plastic smell out. We spent the rest of the evening back in our room; thank goodness the bedrooms are away from the kitchen. Only Jonas was awake and heard the alarm- I think if we really had a fire and had to get out of the house, Mike and I would be carrying 4 sleeping children out.

Jonas' school project

This is Jonas' report on the Statue of Liberty. He is holding a small replica of the statue which Mike cut out and Jonas painted green. The video does turn when you start it.

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Basketball and Cheering

This year Jonas played on basketball league called Upwards through a local church. He played last year and I really liked the program. They teach the kids and don't keep score until the 3rd grade. Clara can't play ball until 1st grade, but we let her join the cheer squad. Where else do they encourage cheerleaders to wear turtlenecks and tights? They teach the kids to memorize a scripture each week, practice good sportsmanship, and give a special star to the player who has the most Christlike behavior during the game.

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Clara & Adam

Clara helped give Adam a bath in the sink while Jonas took photos and Greta supervised. It does really help to have some extra hands to help- although 8 may be 2 too many. Clara choose to share her room with Adam; she has his dresser and changing pad in her room. She evens takes his dirty clothes to the laundry room with hers.