Hey! Julian here. We've all been looking over the blog and I thought it'd be nice to make another post. This may be the final post to this blog, but that's fine since nobody reads it anymore. The last post was very mundane and there was no closing post, so I thought I'd write this one.
It's been nearly 7 years since there was a new post on this blog, and a lot has changed in that time. We've moved (twice!), Lucy died (may she rest in peace), Kathryn is in high school, and I go to NC State! Even with all that's changed, though, we're all still here. It's fun to reminisce and remember what was, but in the words of Ellis Grey (from Grey's Anatomy), "the carousel never stops turning." This blog is very cool in the sense that it was forgotten for so long; it's a perfect time capsule of the life of the Bondurants from 2007-2012! So many precious memories and photos are stored on this blog, and it represents a chapter of our lives. All things must end, however, and this chapter ended many years ago. I'm mainly writing this post as a sort of epilogue, to give this blog a proper close. Though this blog has come to an end, the Adventures of the Eden 4 continue!
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Morning....and all day...Glory
Julian, the chef
Sunday, July 29, 2012
New glasses
Julian got his new glasses about 3 weeks ago. He is very excited to join the world of near-sightedness. I tried to tell him it is not nearly as cool as he thinks it it, but I guess it feels pretty cool when you're 12. He is handsome!
Look at the size of this flower!
This flower has grown taller than any other year we've had it here (11 years or so). I have no idea why this year is different, but it is easily 10 feet tall right now, and the leaves are about 3 feet long. It's beautiful!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
It's that time again....
We now have 10 days before I have to go back to work. It's sad but exciting too to only have 10 left. We've had a really good summer. It was long enough that I actually got bored at times. It was great. But now it's time to start prepping for the upcoming school year.
We have been to my classroom a few times to start getting things ready there. It takes a lot of work before school starts to be ready when the students come! Plus, all last year I kept thinking of things I would change for next year once I had time to do it. Well, the time is now! I arranged things very differently in my class, hopefully making movement through the room easier. I have begun thinking of lessons, but am not ready by any means for the first week of school. We are not departmentalizing this year since we are a 3 man 5th grade team, so I will be teaching math this year. I am pretty excited, but also nervous since I have not done it much before now. That is what I have spent most of my working time on this summer - getting math lessons ready, finding good web sites to borrow from...
This week I painted the bulletin boards in my room. They were looking pretty pitiful, but I didn't have the time or money last year to take care of them. I think they turned out great, but I do wish I had used chalkboard paint instead of plain black (didn't think of that until halfway through the 2nd coat, unfortunately).
I am planning on 30 students, so the desks are what they are. There are a lot of little people to fit into a room, so desk arrangements can only be so creative. I actually only have 27 desks right now, so I still need to find a few more somewhere in the building.
It's a work in progress, and I have only one more visit before work days begin (I'm allowing myself one day a week to work in the classroom). Next time I will be contact papering my well used furniture to make it look a little less well used We'll see if I can get everything done that I want to before school starts.
Forgive the blurry pictures. They were taken with my phone, which has a ding in the lens and blurs the right side of every picture.
My class library has been moved away from the pencil sharpener. No more pencil shavings on (and in) my books! Right now, the books are just out, they are not arranged at all. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.
Computers moved across the room using 100 ft. Ethernet cables and a 25 ft. power strip.
My constant companions. They are such a great help to me. I would not be able to get nearly as much accomplished without them. And shockingly, they actually LIKE going to my class during the summer. Probably since they get to play on the computer or watch movies the entire time we're there (unlike at home where their electronic time is limited). My babies!
We have been to my classroom a few times to start getting things ready there. It takes a lot of work before school starts to be ready when the students come! Plus, all last year I kept thinking of things I would change for next year once I had time to do it. Well, the time is now! I arranged things very differently in my class, hopefully making movement through the room easier. I have begun thinking of lessons, but am not ready by any means for the first week of school. We are not departmentalizing this year since we are a 3 man 5th grade team, so I will be teaching math this year. I am pretty excited, but also nervous since I have not done it much before now. That is what I have spent most of my working time on this summer - getting math lessons ready, finding good web sites to borrow from...
This week I painted the bulletin boards in my room. They were looking pretty pitiful, but I didn't have the time or money last year to take care of them. I think they turned out great, but I do wish I had used chalkboard paint instead of plain black (didn't think of that until halfway through the 2nd coat, unfortunately).
I am planning on 30 students, so the desks are what they are. There are a lot of little people to fit into a room, so desk arrangements can only be so creative. I actually only have 27 desks right now, so I still need to find a few more somewhere in the building.
It's a work in progress, and I have only one more visit before work days begin (I'm allowing myself one day a week to work in the classroom). Next time I will be contact papering my well used furniture to make it look a little less well used We'll see if I can get everything done that I want to before school starts.
Forgive the blurry pictures. They were taken with my phone, which has a ding in the lens and blurs the right side of every picture.
My class library has been moved away from the pencil sharpener. No more pencil shavings on (and in) my books! Right now, the books are just out, they are not arranged at all. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.
Computers moved across the room using 100 ft. Ethernet cables and a 25 ft. power strip.
My constant companions. They are such a great help to me. I would not be able to get nearly as much accomplished without them. And shockingly, they actually LIKE going to my class during the summer. Probably since they get to play on the computer or watch movies the entire time we're there (unlike at home where their electronic time is limited). My babies!
Lake James
We visited Lake James over a long weekend to spend some time in the Great Outdoors. The Catawba river ran behind our cabin, so we were able to swim and fish in the river without getting in the car. We also hiked to the top of Sitting Bear mountain, elevation 4000 feet! It was a very steep climb; the first strenuous hike we've ever tried with the children. They did great! It was hard, and there were times the path was not very clear, so we had growing things touching our legs. This freaked all of us out a bit (spiders, snakes, other critters...), but especially Kathryn. She did tell me she was proud of herself for sticking it out until we got to the top. I am very proud of Julian and Kathryn (and Jason and myself too!). That was my favorite hike so far. I can't wait to get back out and try another trail once it cools off a bit. Hiking is just not as fun when it's 100 degrees.
Our cabin was converted from a one room mountain cabin. The former exterior wall is now an interior wall to the living room. Of course Julian decided he needed to climb it (and Kathryn followed his lead).
The beginning of our hike on Sitting Bear mountain:
We made it to the top! This is looking down the length of the Gorge, but of course it was hazy, so nothing can be seen clearly. At the time, we could see the shimmer of Lake James in the far distance, but it didn't show on the photo.
Back at the cabin, we lit a fire and cooked hot dogs and s'mores. And the kids just played in the fire. Something strange happened when we were sitting around the fire after dark though - hundreds of toads came out of...somewhere...and everywhere we stepped they were there. It was creepy; it felt like the beginning of some kind of horror movie!
We visited Linville Caverns as well, although the kids had already been there once before. It was fascinating! I took a lot of pictures from inside the caverns, but will not post them since I'm sure they are not as cool without the tour guide explaining what each formation is. But anyway, my beautiful family!
Then back home for fishing. Kathryn was a natural! She cast like a pro and waited for a bite. Julian was OK, but he just does not have the patience for fishing. He told me he did not like it because he couldn't catch anything. Well, none of us was catching anything until the very end, but Julian kept reeling in and casting again and again. He didn't leave his line in the water long enough for a fish to try it out! We will try again, but I'm not sure Julian appreciates that fishing is a lot of waiting...and waiting...and waiting (and bug bites while you're waiting). It was challenging to fish in a river. It was shallow in most places and the current pulled the line away from the spots we wanted our hooks to stay. But it was fun anyway. MOST of us enjoyed every minute of it.
Jason's catch!
And mine...mine was bigger! ;-)
This will definitely be an annual event for our family, however, we will not be staying in the same cabin. The owners are very eco conscious and don't like exterminating. The house was COVERED in ants. We couldn't sit food down anywhere for more than a few seconds before hundreds of ants were on the dish. Yuck. We decided we would just look at this as camping with nice soft beds and air conditioning at the end of the day.
Our cabin was converted from a one room mountain cabin. The former exterior wall is now an interior wall to the living room. Of course Julian decided he needed to climb it (and Kathryn followed his lead).
The beginning of our hike on Sitting Bear mountain:
We made it to the top! This is looking down the length of the Gorge, but of course it was hazy, so nothing can be seen clearly. At the time, we could see the shimmer of Lake James in the far distance, but it didn't show on the photo.
Back at the cabin, we lit a fire and cooked hot dogs and s'mores. And the kids just played in the fire. Something strange happened when we were sitting around the fire after dark though - hundreds of toads came out of...somewhere...and everywhere we stepped they were there. It was creepy; it felt like the beginning of some kind of horror movie!
We visited Linville Caverns as well, although the kids had already been there once before. It was fascinating! I took a lot of pictures from inside the caverns, but will not post them since I'm sure they are not as cool without the tour guide explaining what each formation is. But anyway, my beautiful family!
Then back home for fishing. Kathryn was a natural! She cast like a pro and waited for a bite. Julian was OK, but he just does not have the patience for fishing. He told me he did not like it because he couldn't catch anything. Well, none of us was catching anything until the very end, but Julian kept reeling in and casting again and again. He didn't leave his line in the water long enough for a fish to try it out! We will try again, but I'm not sure Julian appreciates that fishing is a lot of waiting...and waiting...and waiting (and bug bites while you're waiting). It was challenging to fish in a river. It was shallow in most places and the current pulled the line away from the spots we wanted our hooks to stay. But it was fun anyway. MOST of us enjoyed every minute of it.
This will definitely be an annual event for our family, however, we will not be staying in the same cabin. The owners are very eco conscious and don't like exterminating. The house was COVERED in ants. We couldn't sit food down anywhere for more than a few seconds before hundreds of ants were on the dish. Yuck. We decided we would just look at this as camping with nice soft beds and air conditioning at the end of the day.
Our firepit
A few weeks ago, we had a great time sitting around our fire pit telling silly stories, laughing, and just having fun together. It didn't even seem to matter that it was 90+ degrees when we started the fire...go figure!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Keeping busy
We are always looking for activities for the kids to keep them off the TV and video games. Kathryn got a bracelet making kit for Christmas, but until this summer she was too busy with school and homework to focus on making bracelets. The kids and I have had a great time this week trying all of the variations of the kit.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Jackson turns 4
My nephew has his 4th birthday party this weekend. I cannot believe he is 4 already!!!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Cross stitch
It feels like I've gotten a lot finished...
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