Thus Begins a New Year...

Some changes this year:

The Littlest Dude has joined the school ranks as an official Kindergartner. But he keeps saying he's in "One-th Grade."

The Middle Dude is spending this year at a Local Christian Classical Academy. Oh yeah, and that's the Dragonslayer's Academy book that he couldn't bear to put down for a couple seconds while I took his requisite first day photo.

[warning: curriculum speak coming - for those who are interested. and for those who are not - skip to the bottom ;-)]
The Eldest Dude is taking his first online class (Classical Writing Diogenes). And though we have him here pictured with his current books, he'll soon be finished with Elementary Greek and Latin Prep. He'll then be using Machen's New Testament Greek for Beginners and a combination of Lingua Latina and So You Really Want to Learn Latin 3.

Picture credit to the Eldest Dude for the photos of me and Brett together. Didn't he do well?!?

Another Littlest Dude quotable...

Littlest Dude: But WHY do I ALWAYS have to change my clothes ALL the time? [editorial insert: this, said by the boy who gets to wear his clothes to bed and wear the same thing the next day if it's not dirty!!! Don't judge me. It's just the way we roll around here.]

Me: Because I might want to take some pictures of you today, and I want you to look cute.

Littlest Dude: But I don't want to look cute. I just want to look like myself.



And earlier this week, as we were discussing beginning our first week of school ...

Littlest Dude: But I don't want to be "TEACHED-ded"!!!.

The Waimea Adventures

So with the assurance of the handy brochure, we left our room at o'dark hour in order to arrive at Waimea at Sunrise (y'know, for the best photo opportunity ... yup, the Big Dude totally didn't protest the absurdity of the idea, maybe because our biological clocks were still set to California time). So off we went...



Hmmmm ... better visibility???


I don't think so. So much for the sunrise...


But beauty everywhere, nonetheless...


And, of course, the Big Dude is leaping crevasses. Business as usual.


Aah, here comes a patch of sunlight to chase away the clouds.






What a place. I totally want to go back there someday.

Kauai Flora