Underground Rabbit Hutch

This summer both kids got a rabbit.  Eden's is almost all white and is named Blue; Z's is spotted and named Duff (after the Dufflepuds in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader).  Nathan converted an old dresser into a really nice hutch which we kept in the garage, but they were still a mess to clean up after.  Nathan found an idea for an underground hutch, which supposedly they could live in year round, so we decided to try it.  We picked a spot in the corner of the yard that had a little grass hummock in it.  We found a bucket with a snap tight lid, and Nathan cut a hole in it and attached a length of tube (just an old piece attached to our gutters) to it, and then buried the whole thing in the little hill.  Z and I built the fence enclosing the whole area, so the bunnies can go in and out and roam around the enclosed area.  They've lived out there almost a month, and so far, so good!  They seem to really enjoy it, and so do we!  It's fun to go in and hang out with the bunnies, but it's great not to have to clean up after them or bring them in and out every evening and morning.

A peek inside the bucket.

Eden's First Book

Eden has written her first book, which is both a chapter book and written in Spanish!!  It's called The Adventures of Soli.  Soli is a little girl who has fun with her friends.  In the first chapter they play outside until it starts to rain.  In the second chapter Soli and her family go camping.  While they are hiking they meet a bear and find a treasure trove of gold and diamonds!  In the third chapter they go to the zoo.  I looked up six or seven words in Spanish for her, but the rest she did all on her own.  Pretty incredible!

Conversations with Eden

Eden does speech therapy at school two days a week.  She loves it and she loves her teacher.  And she's doing very well.  Yesterday she and I had the following conversation:

Eden: Mama, my speech teacher told me today that if I keep working hard I'll be done with all my sounds in two or three weeks.
Me:  Great!  Good for you!  What do you think about that?
Eden: Well, I'm a little sad.
Me: Did you tell your teacher that?
Eden: Yes
Me:  What did she say?
Eden: I don't remember exactly what she said, but I think what she meant was, sometimes you have to grow up.

So true. 

Lost Teeth

Eden lost her first two teeth last week.  They had been loose a looong time, but she was not eager to pull on them too hard.  In fact, the two new teeth had already come up behind the little ones, so she had four teeth in the spot where there are only supposed to be two.  But, she finally gave the loosest one a little tug and out it came!  A couple of days later she did the same for the other one.  The picture is from when she lost the first one.  It's hard to see, but the gap is in the middle on the bottom.

First Day of School

5th grade and 1st grade, here they come!