Setting up Camp

While we were figuring out our giant tents, the St. Louis Rackers already had their tents entirely set up.

The professor, Dr. Woelk, is trying to show Christina and Johannes how to set up a huge tent.

Figuring out where everything goes.

Lunchtime

Elephant Rocks

Before camping, we headed over to Elephant Rocks.

The Woelks

The Rackers

Dad had to drag Marcus all the way up that really steep rock.

There were many tiny tunnels we attempted to scramble through.

For this picture, we had to tell Christina to act as if she liked her sister.

Aww...

This rock was hard to climb up, but the picture was worth it! (Isn't interesting that the boy with the broken foot is the one lifting us all up? I thought that the docter told him to be careful and not lift too much weight!)

Right side up...

or upside down?

Either way, Will seems pretty strong.

Getting Ready for Camping

Here is our cleaning robot that did all of our packing for camping (we wish). It is Ben's Lego Waiter, and it even has its own built-in dishwasher.

Making foil packets. Yum!

The Professor

From The Professor: (The Professor will stop by every now and then with some new trick that will stump your mind. )
"I would like you to truthfully answer each question in your head as quickly as possible, and then pay attention while I read your mind and discover what you are thinking of.
What is 1 plus 1?

What is 2 plus 2?

What is 3 plus 3?

What is 4 plus 4?

What is 5 plus 5?

What is 6 plus 6?

What is 7 plus 7?

What is 8 plus 8?

What is 9 plus 9?

What is the first vegetable to come to your mind? Quick! Quick! If you take too long it won't work!
Highlight the next line to see what I think you chose!
Hmm... let's see... The first vegetable you thought of was carrot, right?

I want you to do the same thing for this next problem.
WHAT IS:
2 + 2

4 + 4

8 + 8

16 + 16

Pick a number between 12 and 5
Here is my guess:
You probably thought of the number 7.
Next, we will see how quickly you can answer this question. If it takes you less than 30 seconds, you are really good at it!
A lady stopped a taxi and told the driver where she wished to go. At first, she stared out of the window, caught up in her own thoughts. The drive was taking awhile, however, and she began talking to the taxi driver. She kept on talking and talking, telling him what she thought about the weather and all sorts of other things. The driver never spoke back to her. Finally, he said, "Madam, I while glancing in the rearview mirror, I happened to notice that you were speaking. I am sorry, but if you are talking to me, I can't hear you. You see, I am as deaf as a post". The lady immediately stopped talking, and resumed her look out of the window. After a very long, quiet drive, she reached her destination. As the taxi drove away from her, she realized that the driver had been lying. He was not deaf!
Here is my question: How did the lady know that the driver was not deaf? Don't look at the answer right away- think about it awhile. The answer is staring you right in the face. Here is the answer:
The answer is literally staring you right in the face- in the first sentence of the story! The lady told the driver where she wished to go, and he brought her to the correct destination. He could not have been deaf, or he would not have heard where she wished to be taken.
Thank you! I hoped that you enjoyed my little quizzes. Here is another one: How did I guess what answers you were going to give? Have a good day!
-The Professor"

Names

A picture of Anne ("Nenette") de Guinge

I should probably explain why I chose the name "Nevdroonia" for my blog and "Nenette" as my username.
Nevdroonia is the name of the story that I am writing. I will not say much about it at the moment; only that it is a fairy tale fantasy and quite long by this time. I might actually finish it, which is something that I have never done to any of my other stories. However, I will disclose how I came up with the name, and one of the things that Nevdroonia is.
When I first began homeschooling, I would tell stories to my little brother, who was in school half-days at the time. At first, I would simply retell "Peter Pan" and other well-known classics. After a while, we decided to make up our own story, which we would then act out. I named our game "Nevdroonia" after Never-Neverland (Peter Pan), Droon (a fantasy series I used to read) and Narnia (my all-time, all-around favorite except for Lord of the Rings). Soon I was playing Nevdroonia as an imaginary game with some of my friends. At some point last year, I decided to write a story loosely-based on the adventures we came up with. It has evolved into the novel-length tale that is taking me months to type. (It doesn't help that I am a very mediocre typer!)

Nenette is the nickname of Venerable Anne de Guinge* (1911-1922). Her example is incredibly inspiring. Anne was a stubborn, difficult little girl, but a profound change took place in her when her father died when she was four. Through great effort, Anne turned the resources of her heart and will to the practice of perfect obedience. Anne found numerous ways to practice self-denial in her family's French chateau. She would do simple things, like skipping desert or playing a game that she did nor really enjoy- all for love of Christ. One of her friends once remarked how remarkable it was the Nenette managed to get the worst of everything for herself. She would offer up the difficulties she had doing these things for the souls of her "great sinners". Her ideas about following Our Lord were as simple as His command: "If you love Me, keep my commandments" Very few people have the strength to be really simple, and it is an ongoing challenge for everyone. "I am inclined to be proud and lazy," she once wrote when she was nine, "so a daily struggle is necessary for me." Anne had a great love of Jesus in the Eucharist, and would often visit Him in church. Nenette was always concerned about others, and would never hurt their feelings, even if it was very difficult for her. She would never complain about any aches or pains, but always made sure that everyone else was comfortable. Nenette died of an illness when she was 10.
* pronounced Geen-yay

Here is a link to a website about Anne.

http://www.catholictradition.org/Children/anne-guigne.htm

Marcus Can Walk!

Here is the now-pro walker, Marcus!

He took his first steps about two weeks ago. Now he can go all the way across the living room and hallway without falling or tripping over toys. He rarely crawls anymore.

Pirate's Woe

Hopefully, in the future I will have more sensible and interesting posts than the ones that I have done so far. Here is a poem that I began for my English/Writing book, Lingua Mater.

The Ballad of
Pirates’ Woe

I have heard a story
‘Bout a secret treasure trove
And all the pirates would hurry
To find a secret cove.

Bright jewels, they all say,
Had once been hidden right there
An’ what wouldn’t a pirate pay
For these riches uncompared!

So one night, Cap’n Trapp
Went out with a secret crew
For he had a treasure map
With an old’n secret clue.

Cap’n Trapp was a terror-
He carried a cannonball-
A right frightening sea-farer,
The worst pirate of them all.

He had a long saber,
A cannonball, sword, and harpoon
He’d force all men to labor
From dinner until noon.

“The treasure must be found!”
Cried the dread Cap’n Trapp
“Every one of you will be drowned
Before I will turn back!”

But to this great treasure
There was more than jewels or gold
There was power of great measure
From the mighty kings of old.

Those who found the treasure
Could conquer the whole world
And Cap’n Trapp, with mighty pleasure
Sped on with sails unfurled.

Across a jungle trecked
A boy who’d seen the pirates
“They must be stopped, they must be checked!
Those nasty, awful tyrants!”
The boy’s name was Ian
And the island was his home
He and his friends were guardians
Of the cove. And there the ship roams!

“Come hither, dear fairies
Come join me, animals, now!
Pirates come- we must not tarry
We have to stop them- but how?”

So cried Ian, the guard
And they answered his call
The pirates’ challenge would be hard
For the fairies, boy, and all.

Old Pirate Captain Trapp,
With his mighty will of steel
Was sure he could not be trapped.
His strong conviction was real.

For his ego that day
Had fancied he could destroy
Any dragon that’s thrown his way
And beat every rig or ploy

Cap’n Trapp was very pleased
With the way things were going
For all the while he had’nt been teased
by any resistance

Ian was readying;
Preparing to thwart Cap’n Trapp.
Carefully the animals worked
For there could be no mishap.

Monkeys climbed through long leaves
For coconuts for cannons,
While beavers chewed up many trees
For firewood for cannons.

Sometime (maybe) the poem will finish with Ian, the fairies, and the animals defeating the pirates. The island will then be called Pirate's Woe. It takes alot to write a "ballad" like this one- every line has to ryhme!
I have written much better poems, but this is the first poem of this type that I have attempted.

New Blog

This is my blog! Yay!
This is one of my favorite quotes from G.K. Chesterton:
"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten"