Drama (and other miscellaneous... stuff...)

The Drama Club performance is in just two weeks!  We're getting down to the wire... this is when leaders are slightly tempted to panic if lines aren't memorized, or if one possible performance location after another falls through, or if there is a huge list of props and costumes to be made... but God is gracious, and it's all coming together!  He provided great blessings (namely Sarah, Kalei, and Shelby) who stayed late after Drama (as in, really late... Kalei and Shelby didn't leave until almost midnight!) to work on props and scenery.  Thanks to them, we got a LOT accomplished!  

We were all rather covered in paint by the end of the night...

Working on one of the backdrops

...Yeah, we kinda made a mess... but believe it or not, this is the least messy of the rooms we worked in. :P The kitchen floor was so covered in paint when we finished that I was scrubbing it until almost 2 a.m. and then for another hour or so the next morning. Note to self: next time, listen to Shelby's most excellent suggestion to put newspaper or another sheet under the one we're painting... ;) 

Sarah, Kalei, and Shelby: thank you SO MUCH for all of your hard work! You guys made it not only immensely productive, but immensely fun as well! :D 

Cecily and I are involved in a writing co-op throughout the month of July. We get to ride there with the Trinkleins... it's always a highly amusing car ride! ;)  There are about 15 other kids involved in the co-op, and it is a blast! Aside from the opportunity of uninterrupted writing time in the basement, there's a "chatting zone" upstairs where we can give and receive feedback, critiques, ideas, etc. There is much discussion of names, character personalities, and random plot ideas- I think everyone will be quite sorry when July is over. Ms. Angie has done a fabulous job of setting this up- thank you, Ms. Angie! :) 

Young Leif is starting to really move around... he can sit by himself, crawl fairly well, and is just starting to find his balance standing up... 

Drama, Babies, Pinochle, Insanity... (such random post titles this blog has!)

Drama Club auditions were May 31st, and meetings have been every Friday since. We have an awesome group this year! Well, we always have an awesome group. ;)  We're doing three plays: Patients Need Patience (by Shelby R. Swogger), Cinderella and Steve (by Louise Aden), and one whose title is yet to be determined (written by the actors themselves). They're all fairly short plays, so we've had plenty of time for games this year! 

During "Out of Your Box": President Mike is being protected from Thor by his bodyguard Caris. 

Another "Out of Your Box" situation: Abi, the babysitter, is trying to put the crying baby Sophia to bed. 

Telephone- Team #1 

Listening to instructions for the next game

Playing "Freeze"

One of my wonderfully mature co-leaders... ;) 

Sophia

Leify is quickly turning into a "big boy"... he has 5 teeth, is starting to eat solid food, and is just beginning to learn to crawl! He's very impatient with his (seemingly, to him) slow progress... he wants to get around and DO stuff!!!  He definitely has a mind of his own and clamors for independence already. With seven older siblings around the house, he seems to think that unless he states his opinion very loudly and clearly, no one will pay attention to him! 

We spent this afternoon playing an "Ultimate Pinochle Tournament." Since we now have SIX pinochle players (joy!), we had three teams rotating (two playing, one sitting out) until each team had played each other team. And each team won one game and lost one game, so we just called a tie. ;D 

Papa went to the store and stocked up on sugary snacks, so we found out exactly what happens when everyone is hyped up on sugar and playing "to the death" in a pinochle tournament...:

Sylvia: (talking about the cards!) Knut, can we trade marriages?
Knut: I wish. (pauses) ...That just sounded wrong...

Papa: (laughing uncontrollably)
Knut: Sylvia, what's the number for the nuthouse?
Papa: (still laughing) 1-800-SEND-JOSH.

Papa: Knut, what color was George Washington's white horse?
Knut: ...White...
Papa: Oh, he really IS smart!
Cecily: Actually, white isn't a color...
Knut: Yes it is; it's a color that's made up of all other colors.
(A long debate ensues.)

Knut: I purge all unnecessary information from my brain to keep it from interfering with my brilliance.
Sylvia: But your brain should have plenty of space! Remember that "the average human being only uses 10% of their brain capacity during their entire lifetime"...
Knut: That's the AVERAGE human being. I use 110% of my total brainpower.
Papa: So what would take 10% of a normal person's brain takes 110% of yours?

Sylvia: What was the question again?
Knut: What question?
Sylvia: The one I was supposed to answer.
Knut: My brain discarded it because it was useless.
Papa: What's useless: your brain or the question?


Why stop there? Here's the rest of the insanity that has been building up lately. ;) 

(Knut blows out his candles, but one is stubborn and doesn't go out.)
Sylvia: *laughing* Trick candles!
(All candles relight)
Grandma: Oh, they really ARE trick candles!
(Thor bursts out laughing)

(Guessing what Knut's smallest birthday gift is)
Cecily: It's a flea!
Knut: No, it's a JUMPING flea.
Sylvia: It's a single airsoft BB!
Papa: It's some extra air for his airsoft gun!
(Knut opens the gift)
...It really IS a single airsoft BB...
(Thor bursts out laughing- again.)


Knut: Does my shirt smell like chloroform to you?

(Talking about the merits of The Princess Bride)
Cecily: We could learn about how to avenge our father's death?
Knut: Wait, that would mean our father has to be dead first...

Mom: Knut, I told the kids they could have the little pieces. So Sylvia dropped the cookie container...

Thor: So why are people coming over?
Mom: Because they want to try to give their kids chicken pox.

Daniel: Hurry up and kill me so we can continue killing each other!
Knut: Checkmate.
Daniel: Yay!! *jumps up and heads for his sword*

Sylvia: Rosemary, where are Mommy's keys?
Rosemary: I don't know.
Sylvia: You were playing with them; what did you do with them?
Rosemary: Lost them.
Sylvia: Where?
Rosemary: Somewhere.

Knut: Bjorn, how can you not like raspberries?
Sylvia: Knut, how can you not like blueberries?
Knut: (in a "superior" tone of voice) They disagree with me.

Knut: HE is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. YOU are Thor, son of Josh, son of Grover.
Sylvia: And you should be helping to clean up the kitchen, O Thor-Son-of-Josh-Son-of-Grover.
Knut: Yeah. Thorin kills orcs. Thor cleans up the kitchen.
Sylvia: ..................just clean up.

Adventures and Insanity

What a week! We've had Drama, a four-day conference, car trouble...

The CHEF conference (Christian Home Educators Fellowship- http://www.chef-missouri.com/) took place Wednesday through Saturday, although not all of us made it each day. Wednesday was the only time that we all went for the entire day. Thursday, everyone went except Cecily and me... we had Drama all afternoon. Friday was quite interesting...

In the morning, Cecily and I had a Drama rehearsal. Mom drove us up and on the way there, we stopped at a yard sale. However, when we tried to continue on our merry way, the car refused to start. Fortunately, Papa was working nearby and was able to come to our aid with jumper cables. We made it to Drama, albeit a little late, and Papa bought a new battery for the car and installed it. After Drama, we all drove to the CHEF conference. We enjoyed the sessions and took notes and all that lovely stuff, and during the dinner break we went to get some groceries and then go out for dinner. Papa and Mom went into the grocery store, leaving all of us in the car. We listened to Veggie Tales songs and were a little crazy. ;) Then… Papa and Mom came back and tried to start the car.

Well, apparently a new battery didn’t fix the problem. ;)

So, here we were, stuck in the parking lot an hour away from home with 8 hungry kids. ;D

And there we stayed for a little while as Papa attempted to start the car with the aid of some random friendly strangers who volunteered their assistance. Then we had reason to be exceedingly grateful for our awesome friends: the Bridges, who were also attending the conference, happened to be eating dinner in a restaurant right next to that grocery store. Mr. Bridges drove the kids and Mom back to the conference, then returned to the parking lot, and he and Josiah worked on the car with Papa for the next couple hours. The three of them replaced the starter, and made it to the conference in time for (most of) the family economics trivia contest and final music.

Saturday was the day of the drama performance. Cecily and I had a dress rehearsal at 8:00, so we left at 7:30. Everyone else headed to the conference a little while later, came back to watch the performance, then left for the final activities, taking Cecily with them. (I stayed to help clean up and socialize. ;))

And that was our week!


We're supposed to finish up school next week, so everyone is "crazy busy" trying to get assignments done. Certain individuals still have a lot to accomplish and may just be working into the summer. ;)

We'll be heading to Texas late this month to visit Uncle Noah and Aunt Marina. Because of our recent car trouble and the fact that we would need to take two vehicles since we don't all fit in the limo, we're looking into renting a 12-passenger van to make the trip. Mom especially likes this plan since she doesn't want me to drive the second vehicle for 15 hours straight. *sigh* ;)


~Family Insanity~


Knut: What happened to my fork?
...Knut: Where's my fork??
...Knut: Does ANYONE know what happened to my fork?
...Knut: Oh, wait. I never had a fork.

Mom: Oh, dear! We have only three minutes for French!
Knut: Oh, no, we're all going to die! ...SO VERRRRYYY HAPPYYYY!!!

(talking about Rosemary)
Mom: She'll be hopping along the sidewalk- "look at me hopping!" - SPLAT.
Cecily: She is an expert in going SPLAT.

Knut: Most things have sugar in them. Except for cheese.

Sylvia: *watching Knut pouring mass quantities of chocolate syrup on his ice cream* Knut, someday you're going to turn brown...
Knut: Are you so sure about that?
Sylvia: Yes.
Knut: Well, if I do, there's such a thing as spray paint.

Knut: Le ciel ne est pas aujourd'hui. (The sky is not today.)
Mom: ...there is no sky today?

Papa: ...Hi, Sylvia.
Sylvia: Knut has your computer.
Papa: Hi, Knut.
Knut: *hands Papa the computer*
Papa: Hi, Thor.
Thor: *moves out of Papa's chair*

Thor: He was killed, but he didn't die.

Mom: (reading about historical poets)
Knut: And Evil Steve - the first!
Mom: Evil Steve wrote poetry?

(during Bible journaling time)
Knut: I didn't get anything for that passage.
Sylvia: I got the same thing as Knut.

Knut: And also... Thor, Bjorn, and Leif: the part where it says "the older will serve the younger?" God was talking about Jacob and Easau, NOT us.

Mom: What is the tricolore?
Cecily: The (French) flag.
Mom: The fleur-de-lis?
Cecily: That... thing.
Mom: Marianne?
Knut: Random statue.
Mom: Le Coq Gaulois?
Knut: Random rooster.
Mom: La Marseillaise?
Knut: Random song.
Mom: (sarcastically) Good job; you've learned a lot!

Papa: *looks on counter* *sees cookie container* Ohhh!! *starts singing* Glory be... to Sylvia's cookies!! 

Mom: Vietnam. 2+3=5. 

Sylvia: Mom; are you feeling okay??

Mom: Cecily asked where this story takes place... Bjorn asked what 2+3 is. 

Sylvia: Oh... I thought you said 2+2. 

Papa: Well, stick it in your head and rearrange my faulty words. You are silently correcting my grammar... well, now silently correct my words- SILENTLY. 

(to self) It's a sad thing when one's mouth works faster than one's brain... or maybe it was my brain working faster than my mouth... (to kids) DON'T COMMENT ON THAT. 

Knut: Two negatives make a positive, and two positives make a positive, so therefore a pointless point is still a point. ...It actually makes sense if you think about it. ;D 

Cecily: I think I left my hat there... 

Sylvia: Goodness, Cess... I keep tryihng to remind you not to leave your stuff places... your hat; your bag... and now for once I don't pay attention and you leave it?!

Cecily: You should have been paying attention. 

Sylvia: I know; I know. :P

(Talking about a balanced diet)

Knut: Whereas I… have found the perfect balance.

Sylvia: What, 90% chocolate?

Knut: Yes. 

Mom: This is interesting in light of current events, because the terrorists who attacked Boston were from Russia. So... (phone rings; Mom picks it up and listens/replies, then hangs up.) 

Mom: Papa thought he was picking asparagus, but now he thinks it might be bamboo. So he's bringing it by. 

(Mom stands up and walks out the back door. Knut runs upstairs. A few minutes later Mom comes back with several sticks of bamboo.) 

Mom: I guess we get to have bamboo for dinner tonight! Anyway, back to History. KNUT!!!!! 

(Knut runs into the room)

Knut: You're back? 

Mom: I'm back. I just had to go out and see Papa's asparagus. It was five-foot-long bamboo. 

~The Insanity of Friends~

Jael: Like, your house could blow up and you'd be totally happy for no reason! 

Sophi: Well, I like explosions! 

Sylvia: Mike... you have issues. 

Mike: DUH!!

Sylvia: Well, sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. 

Mike: Wow, you're short. 

Sophi: Who's been eating this pencil? 

Jael: Probably some bored child during a math lesson. 

Abi: Knut thought it smelled like chocolate. 

Drama and FLL

The Lyceum Drama performance was on the 10th, and it was AMAZING! There were four plays, so the performance was pretty long, but it was worth staying to the end! We're so blessed to have such fantastic directors and actors in our group. Ms. Jo, the head director, puts an enormous amount of work into Drama each year, and the performances just get better and better! She's taught all of us so much.

A few pictures...

Sarah, aka Trouble Maker (The 'Urloined Letter) She received a huge round of applause during her play for saying Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers (etc.)... without the letter "P". 

Noah and Shelby, aka Jean Valjean and Jeanne (Valjean). These two did an AMAZING job! 

Noah made me cry at least 4 times during the play... once onstage. :) Shelby's main role was in a different play, but during the short time she was onstage for Valjean, she managed to bring me (and I would guess a good portion of the audience) to tears. 

Katie, aka Madame Ratigniolle (Valjean), also did a fabulous job. 

Johnathan, aka the Sergeant (Valjean)

Kalei, aka Madame Magloire, having grey put into her hair. As usual, her character was a cross old lady. ;) 

Playing cards before the performance

Sophi missed several rehearsals due to illness, but even so, she did an AMAZING job! She was an innkeeper (and a very mean one at that). ;)

I am currently trying to find someone who was able to get group pictures at the end of the performance. When (and if) I manage to do so, I will be sure to post them!

FLL

The Robo Raiders had their qualifier the same day as the Drama performance, so Knut and Grandpa were the only ones to be able to go. :( Of course they advanced, but they also got the Champions award... meaning they were the best team there!

VX3 competed at a different qualifier, which took place last Sunday. Since they're a first-year team, we didn't expect them to advance... but they did, and also received the Judges' Award! Their team is extremely excited to be heading to Chicago in January for the Regional competition!

Zoe, Zerah, and Cecily passing out candy

Thor making balloon animals and hats for kids on other teams 

Waiting for Core Values judging 

Research Presentation 

Robot Run 

Photo credit: Mrs. Phillips

The Robo Raiders team volunteered to help out at the competition. They reset the mats after each robot run, as well as helping in any other ways they could. (And I don't know what was the deal with the hats. ;))

Knut waiting to reset the mat

Cecily writing down the referee's comments after one of the robot runs

The team, with glorpes! 

Lyceum... with video, as promised.

Yes, this is the moment you've all been waiting for... 

THE VIDEO. 

Enjoy. 

Back to "Normal"

We are now in our second week of school, and pretty much back to normal! Just about all of our 'normal' activities are beginning within the next couple of weeks.

Lyceum starts next Friday! We're all excited about it. Mom's leading her two usual choirs, but she didn't anticipate how popular the younger choir would be this year. Lyceum Singers (Jr. High-High School) has 31 kids, but Lyceum Choir (Preschool-6th) has... *dramatic pause* 50 kids. Yes, 50. 50 crazy homeschoolers between the ages of 4 and 12... is my mother ambitious or what?

Drama parts will be announced the first day of Lyceum; auditions were a couple weeks. I'm the only Peterson doing Drama this semester! Knut opted for helping with a glorpe-making class instead, and Cecily is taking choir. Everyone else is too young.

Cecily and Thor are joining First Lego League this year! They're forming a new team- VX3- with younger siblings of Knut's team members. You'll have to ask them what their team's name stands for. ;) In the meantime, Knut's team- Robo Raiders- is working extremely hard and getting better all the time!

Robo Raiders and VX3 having completed a team-building activity: they had to line up, in age order, on this... wooden thing... on the playground. All of them had to be on the wood. 

Bright Lights will be starting in a week and a day. Papa and Grandpa are also talking about starting Light Shop, which is a boys' version of Bright Lights. It would meet at the same time as Bright Lights, but would probably be over at Shady Oaks while Bright Lights met here.

This Friday, I get to head to Canada with Grandpa and Grandma Davis! (They certainly like "kidnapping" random children from our family...) We'll be there for a family reunion over Labor Day Weekend. I shall post pictures upon my return! In the meantime,

Drama

Thanks be to God, the Drama performance went off MUCH better than I had hoped! The dress rehearsal was horrendous, but the actual performance was great. The actors all did marvelously!

Unfortunately, I hugely misjudged the length of the first play, and the entire performance ended up lasting three hours! Next year, I'll be sure to choose shorter plays. ;) 

 I've been so blessed to work with such a talented, creative, and (for the most part) well-behaved cast. Of course the summer hasn't been without its glitches...  I had a few days when I ended up stressed, discouraged, and exhausted... but the Lord has taught me so much, and the cast is amazing! 

Now, for some photos from cast and family members:

Knut getting his makeup on (with great objection) 

At the end of A Little Princess

Sarah and I were literally dragged onstage by the cast at the end! 

"Jack O. Reo" (Johnathan C.) and "Chip A. Hoy" (Knut) in The Great Cookie Caper

"Misty Fields" (Jenna G.), "Smith" (John P.), "Chip A. Hoy" (Knut), and "Wesson" (Joe P.) in The Great Cookie Caper

Bjorn the Monkey

Potluck dinner after the performance

We were unable to get a video of The Great Cookie Caper, but I will be uploading A Little Princess to YouTube in a few days. 

Drama Club, Bright Lights

Pictures from Drama Club last Friday:

Picture by Josiah ( http://josiah-notperfectyet.blogspot.com/  )

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Josiah ( http://josiah-notperfectyet.blogspot.com/  ) 

Bright Lights

As some of you may know, my friend Jael and I are starting a Bright Lights group in the fall. (If you don't know what Bright Lights is... click here or copy and paste the link: http://tomorrowsforefathers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=54)

As I've been going through the leaders' training CDs, I've appreciated a lot of the points that Sarah Mally makes, but one of the biggest things I've noticed is how ministry-oriented she is. Her entire family looks at everything as a possible mission field, from the conversations they get into in the store to praying in public at a restaurant to holding conferences all over the nation. It struck me, how many times do we walk right past a ministry opportunity because we're afraid? How many times are we put into a situation where God could use us in amazing ways, but we don't utilize it?

As a student right now, my primary responsibility is to prepare for ministry... to invest time in personal devotions, Scripture memorization, etc. in addition to academics. That should be my number one goal right now, but how often do I skip devotions or just read a few verses instead of really delving into His word?

The human mind has the capabilities to memorize the entire Bible, but I don't stick with memorizing even one short book of it over the summer.

These CDs have been really convicting. They've encouraged me to spend a lot more time with God... to spend more time praying about how I can be ministering to others... to spend more time getting to know Him.

If you don't mind, I'd appreciate prayer for faithfulness in all these personal disciplines. :)

Drama Club Meeting 6/8/12

Thanks to Cecily and Gloria for taking pictures this week! 

Papa brought over a bunch of folding chairs from church with the help of Knut, Cecily, and Thor. 

Rosemary was part of the greeting crew outside! 

This is Stevie. Stevie tends to "liven up" Drama Club meetings considerably. 

Since Sarah was gone this week, four of the older kids helped me out. While I was with one play, two of them were in charge of the other one, and vice versa. This week's meeting couldn't have happened without their help! 

The Great Cookie Caper

A Little Princess