Category: Uncategorized

He was up at 7:35. Carly had finished the daily calendar pieces over on the window, and last night he had chosen a schedule, including going for a bike ride on the Netanya boardwalk, errands, science, and nature. The order got mixed up from the start as I had a big headache in the morning, but we ended up touching on/doing all of those during the day.

So we started with science, as he watched two Brainchild episodes (on dreams and on germs again) while I rested on the couch. I had recovered enough by the end of those to at least play Minecraft with him, so we did that. Then we discussed our day. He really wanted to do his chocolate idea from yesterday though, so we started with that, melting chocolate chips in the microwave. He made a shape, then put a design of chocolate syrup on the top of it. I used the extra melted chocolate to just make a blob.

He had some frozen mango, spitting one out, which he seems to do every time he has mango nowadays. He then walked around telling me about the chocolate tradition on his planet. We read Fiendship is Magic #4 and he had oatmeal.

He told me about making houses for ants out of gingerbread or something. He then had a cardboard recycling machine that took in cardboard and mechanical arms made it into shapes before a potion machine added magic potions to the pieces and then they were incredibly strong and used for houses.

We watched a Kurzgesagt video about Dyson spheres (https://youtu.be/pP44EPBMb8A), then checked on the chocolate and realized that the syrup doesn’t freeze. He then had us do a Brother game where he was hurt by cactus and other things.

We got ready to go and got driving. We drove to the Paz at the north end of town and got gas. We talked about the color of gas and how it is made. Refinery was a word of the day. As we drove he told me his theory of dreams. Unlike what Brainchild said, he says that it is more than two memories crashing together, and that there is creativity involved. He gave the example of his Mincraft dream, as he didn’t have a memory of ships and planes coming over the water so quickly for his dream to draw on.

We then drove down to a street near the Netanya waterfront where I knew there was street parking (from when we walked along here with my parents) and parked. He ended up riding for 1.5 kilometers. We spent about a half hour riding up, getting up to just north of the elevator, and returning to the car. We then sat on a bench and ate the rest of the pistachios.

As we finished up he asked asked why jet engines pollute if they use air. We discussed how they work, then he told me how he makes more efficient planes. He saw a bunch of ants and called it an “Any formation invasion!” He told me all about the dangers of ants. 500 people a week are attacked by ants. 99.9% go to the hospital. The others die. And ants can attack your car.

We left at 12:35. He told me about substances that eat anything: “annobyte…if the earth was placed in a container of annobyte it would literally dissolve in ten seconds.” Somehow, we got on the subject of the World Wars and discussed those a bit (he told me about the Christmas pause during World War I (Carly had told him) when I asked if he had heard of the wars. Ally was another word of the day.

I drove up to Beit Yehoshua. Getting a popsicle and then picking up meat was the plan. The little coffee place had their signs out, but turned out to be closed. So much for that surprise. But then I saw the ice cream cabinet over at the little store. We went over and he chose a cookies and cream bar for us to share. We sat over at the nice tables by the coffee stand and ate it, then read a book called Over and Under the Pond.

He then wanted to play a Brother game, where Brother went to the Everything that Hurts Brother Park (a joke I had made up when their Dad took them to the wrong park and he ended up getting hurt), gets hurt by a cactus, then rolls down a hill, getting hurt by other things. We played that there, then walked over to the playground and sat on a big swing together and kept playing.

We then drove over to the meat place and got brisket, turkey, and the peppery beef. August got a free bite of the turkey. Out at the car he said it was okay if that’s what we got, but that wasn’t what he had likes best. Very accepting of him, but I told him we had also gotten the brisket that he liked, and he was happy about that.

August wasn’t excited by one more stop in town to get coffee beans at Gutale, but he let me carry him to and from the car, after he said he was lazy. We got a bag, but they only had one choice and didn’t grind, so don’t think that will be a normal place to get coffee.

At home he wanted to practice his drilling and hammering outside. Broke one bit, but he remembered the set that he had bought at Max once. Kept drilling, particularly with the really big bit, which made neat circles. So he was kind of making art. He had me be Brother and asked what I could use the holes for.

We finally went inside for some food. He had a plate with some of the meat, potatoes, and pasta and a cup of milk. He wanted to watch Joseph’s Machines, so we did that, and a vide of Minecraft pranks. He wanted to keep watching more, but when I suggested something else he immediately got upset and threatened to pour the last bit of milk on the floor, then immediately did so. He realized what he had done and when and curled up on the couch. Carly got home a few seconds later.

He eventually talked to her, then asked me to slice an apple. He ate 6 slices of it, then cleaned up the milk. He then went and did Legos with her. He sang a “He is the best, and also you are the best…” song. She was then trying to get him to play by himself, and he told her, “Mama, you’re pushing this too far.” He said it was from Rainbow Dash. He had the idea to get plastic containers from recycling and was filling them with Legos, then had a sort of factory to make Lego bits to give to Carly, who was tasked with making a big structure.

He asked, “What’s Bon Appetit mean?” From something we’ve ready recently (likely My Little Pony). Talking about something, he said, “All my creativity: That’s why I knew I wanted to do this. Because I have an infinite amount of creativity.”

Went back outside to do more drilling. I went and did recycling. He walked across to the junk pile and found another piece of wood to try drilling in. I helped him drill, and also get the nails out of the piece of wood. When he went to the bathroom inside he noticed the difference between warm and cool light bulbs and we discussed that.

We did his evening Minecraft time. Then read a My Little Pony: Micro-Series about Rainbow Dash. A few days ago we had read a Little Golden Book about her, but he didn’t like the non-comic style. He then ate two bowls of noodles. We watched two episodes of My Little Pony. He randomly told me he’s on the side of Israel against Palestinians. And talked about a crazy bomb or something he has with an “Unimaginable gravitational force.”

Then he had a scenario for a Brother game where he is training for a race that only happens once every 100 years. Brother gets really hurt, then wakes up 9 million years in the future. He is excited about the future, only to find out that humanity has learned everything that it is possible to learn about the universe, and it is all implanted in his brain. All that is left is playing Legos.

He then ate a banana, then had some oatmeal. He talked about being on the side of Israel again; but he wants everyone to be able to live here. He then said, “Know what I just realized? The nuclear bombs, they should throw away that idea…in a war EVERYONE would get killed.”

We went upstairs and Carly showed him the MEL Science kit that he come. Of course, since the starter kit got sent back by the post office we have to borrow a couple things from a science teacher to get started. Carly said something about pH and he said, “Did you say pee? Cuz I could happily pee in a bottle.”

She gave him a bath and I headed out for a run.

A tradition on his planet:

Riding his bike in Netanya:

Meow is an alien word:

Broken drill bit:

Drilling art:

More drilling:

I started waking him up before 8. At one point he rolled away from me. I finally got him up at 8:13. He groggily sat up and said, “Let’s go.” I don’t know why he sleeps in every Thursday. Makes getting to Ra’anana Park on time difficult.

We played Minecraft. I stopped early and got things ready. He ate oatmeal, and told me of his beliefs in God: “What I mean by God is that we live in some crazy space and God is someone in the real world in Minecraft…if you keep going out it gets crazier and crazier until you get out of the computer…” And then you’d find that you were tiny compared to the kid who had been playing Minecraft.

We read an issue of My Little Pony: Friends Forever about Twilight and Pinkie Pie, then left at 9:30. He told me about a girl whose power was accuracy with anything she threw, etc. We got to the park at 9:50, and I parked in the pay lot right by the covered playground, since we had his bike and they were already there.

Since Israeli schools are on holiday this week Gilad’s older sister, Colinette, was there, practicing on her rollerblades. August rode in circles around the playground a couple times. Then he got off, and he and Gilad went off to the small spinny thing at the other end of the playground on their own, him still wearing his helmet.

Eventually we made our way over to the big playground. Busier there. August rode his bike around the center area, and we all sat on the steps for a snack. August shared one of the chocolate snack bars with Gilad. August asked them if they believed in God, and told them he does as well, although he didn’t go into what those views are.

They walked up to the nearest parking lot to get picked up, and August and I headed back to where our car was. August was riding quite fast on the flats and downhills and I had to run to keep up.

We drove to the big Tiv Taam and did some grocery shopping. He picked out a Russian treat. We got a new broom handle, as the covering has come off of the one we have. Kind of like with my watch band he wants Carly to keep using the one we have, but he was okay when we could get the exact same handle we already have (blue).

He ate his apple candy, then we drove home. At one point he asked me to change the music because he didn’t want a Yacht song (“Psychic City”), but he liked a Yaz song he wanted added to his playlist. I took the north route home back to Even Yehuda and he immediately realized I wasn’t going the usual way.

We parked in the dirt lot and went to Gutale to see if they sold coffee beans. They do, but it is just one kilogram bags of a single Mauro roast. So no grinding for us or anything special. We bought that and headed home.

We got here ate 1. I felt like having chocolate milk, which I don’t usually, so we had that. Then played Minecraft, waiting for a response from Lauren about Gilad getting on. I made fish sticks for lunch, which August said was amazing. It didn’t work out with Gilad; his brother was not there, and they were just getting errors while trying to connect. So we gave up and watched a My Little Pony instead. Fracas and ruckus were words of the day. He had to skip ahead when Rainbow Dash was in trouble.

When it was time to head to school he didn’t want to go. But eventually said we could go after a Brother game. Brother ws scratched by a tiger, then was finding a new animal. It was a porcupine. He asked what the most dangerous germ is and we ended up watching a video about bacteriaphage, then another video about a nuclear explosion. He asked, “What’s abundance?” We left close to 3:30.

At the school we picked up the package with my new watch band. At the pool we put it on my watch. August tried it on and said it fit better, but said he still hates it because it isn’t the same as the old one.

We started getting in the pool, and August showed me how the surface tension bends the water around his hand when he starts to put it in. He then told me that it was caused by God, or something to the sort. He then said, “I’m just messing with you…I don’t believe in God.”

Carly joined us, and August had a Brother game where Brother has a runny nose that gets over everything and he’s really embarrassed.

We got home at 5 and I made dinner: pesto pasta and cauliflower and mushrooms. They played Minecraft, then went outside. He helped clean up the tree things. Back inside we ate, and read the My Little Pony: Friends Forever issue about Apple Jack and Mayor Mare. I hung up swim stuff and then did dishes while they played with Legos. There were long negotiations about treats, etc.

He then had the idea that we should “train” to put him to sleep and wash him faster using stuffed animals. He had me go get stuffed animals to practice on, and he had us sitting on the couch, practicing, while he played with Legos and sang a “higher and higher” song.

Carly took him up for a bath, then they read Madeleine and The Big Book of Why while I went for a run. He had an experiment where he filled up an old soap bottle with bubbles, and then would see how long it takes for them to all pop.

Carly said good night 9:15. He asked me for creepy things from when I was a kid. I told him about the noises of the settling house during the night. I then sang lullabies, like he had told me during the practice time, and he was asleep by 9:30. My training must have paid off as tht was really fast.

Riding in circles at Ra’anana Park:

Hanging out with Gilad:

More riding at Ra’anana Park:

Sing narrating his Lego building:

He was up at 7:38. I carried him down, and he sat on the couch for quite a while. He asked me to read the Redstone guide to Minecraft. He had seen it in the Libby app, checked out from the library. I read about 15 pages of it, then we played Minecraft. He applied some of it, using redstone blocks to power glow stone lamps. He also worked on building an aquarium.

He had oatmeal and mango for breakfast, then had a Brother game, based on redstone pieces in Minecraft: Brother used a trip wire to get revenge on Sister for selling their rocks (which they had gathered at the beach the previous summer). It sprayed rotten milk and raw eggs at her. August then brought back the stories where they got out of the car, both needing to go to the bathroom, but neither makes it in time and they both pee their pants. Bar was then doing different things that destroyed the toilet, etc. An alien invasion was involved, somehow. Then he expanded to having the grandparents and all the cousins there and needing to go to bathroom at the same time. Finally, a story where Brother finds a little ball thing with eyes on tubes in the forest. It multiplies when it eats bread. He reminded me it was a story from Smurfs, which he hasn’t watched in months.

We then watched an episode of My Little Pony. It was about Zap Apple Jam.

After that we did a lot of music time. He played Yousician, but is kind of stuck on Ode to Joy. He then played with the loops player in Garageband, which we had never done before. I was making salmon for lunch. For the cooking time I set a timer using Siri on my phone. There was a funny message, where she said the suspense was killing her. August asked what suspense meant. August pushed himself around on the floor on one of the couch cushions and said it was his Minecraft boat. We ate salmon for lunch, and I had combined the quinoa and corn and rice and added some garlic and butter and he really liked it and ate it all.

He asked if lemon was used for anything besides lemonade and adding to fish, and I told him about lemon pie and also that it is supposed to keep apples from turning brown. He suggested we do that as an experiment. So I sliced up an apple and put it in two containers and added lemon juice to one of them.

August asked something about black holes, and said “I like to have questions…it’s not because I get more iPad time. It’s because I get to learn.” We watched a few videos about black holes (https://youtu.be/PWx9DurgPn8,https://youtu.be/uRkn1c4mJNw, and https://youtu.be/UdUbpdzCdu8) and before that watched the TedEd video about Sacajawea, which he had watched twice with Carly already (https://youtu.be/PnT0k9wdDZo).

He spent some time working with the speech app, then ate a yogurt. We went upstairs and spent several minutes fixing the walls of the fort and added a lot of tape, but stopped short of working on the roof.

He then had a Brother game with a strange animal with two eyes. It turned out to be a bad dream. But he startled his animals, then they were bothering and attacking him and not letting him get sleep. After he went to the bathroom he told me about his country of Constapinion.

He asked about the “That’s one small step…” line from Neil Armstrong (which you hear at the beginning of, I think, the Crash Course videos), then wanted to see what it was like. So we watched videos on Apollo 11 and 12 (https://youtu.be/w4wx_3XOrns,https://youtu.be/gg5Ncc9GODY

,https://youtu.be/FBhIDjWaByg0

.

He did 15 minutes of alone time, then we played Minecraft. We then got ready and headed to school. We met Heather and Eve by the kindergarten, then headed to the library. I returned a bunch of library books, and August had fun identifying all of the Minecraft blocks around the sign on the wall. We went back and found Eve in the kids section. August said we should get more Elephant and Piggie books and I ended up finding three that we hadn’t read before: I’m a Frog, Should I Share My Ice Cream?, and Happy Pig Day! We sat on the floor and I read them all to both of them.

We then headed home. Eve talked about how our car is messy, and claims that she never eats in the car. At the house, that translated into August saying they should look for stuff under the couch, so he got a flashlight out. The bed part had been pulled out, and Eve put it down. She got a xylophone stick stuck in it, and August saw it below. He then got sticks and scissors and was figuring out how to make a contraption to reach it. Very much inspired by Joseph’s Machines. I got the tape to help him complete it, and suggested replacing the scissors with tongs. He then used it under the couch. It would have worked, but it turned out that the xylophone stick wasn’t loose on the ground, but had gotten stuck in the hinge part. It actually took me several minutes of reaching in with my hands and pulling on it to get it out.

Eve was playing outside now, playing with the hose. August went out to show her his invention. She was on the slide, and somehow drenched August with the hose, right in the face. I heard him getting upset, and since he had a stick in his hand he hit her.

He spent about 15 minutes in on the couch, covering his face with the towel I got him. Eve was okay, and apologized to him. While he was moping, I went out with her and I started picking up the tree things. She came over and helped me.

They got back together when she started making a mixture of lemon juice, water, and brown sugar. They both really liked it, and made a full second cup of it.

Eve got picked up, and August wanted to work on hammering. We got a couple pieces of wood from the junk area and he hammered. Rather hard wood though. We also got the bucket out from under the leaking pipe. Carly got home as we were talking about what to do with it. We ended up watering some of the plants with it, then taking the rest over to the cactuses across the street and watering them, as August remembered Carly saying they looked like they were wilting.

Inside the house he was in a kind of loud and obnoxious mood. He found an apple of Carly’s and asked me to cut it up and put lemon on it. He ate most of it. Carly cut up a papaya and called the seeds rabbit poop. He shared the papaya with her. He yelled in my face, just being funny, at one point. Part of his loud evening.

He played Happy Glass for 15 minutes, then we did Minecraft for the rest of his evening time. For dinner he ate the rest of the salmon and the grains and corn dish. We watched a SciShow video about animals that don’t need oxygen (https://youtu.be/zOUlHXsq2m0); then a MinuteEarth video about Cyanobacteria (https://youtu.be/CfNsGppB1Yw). We then read two My Little Pony: Friends Forever issues: Rainbow Dash again, and Fluttershy and the Minotaur. I had him run and jump on couch for a while to get some exercise, then we watched an episode of My Little Pony.

I switched with Carly and she read to him (a Minecraft book) and I did dishes. She took a shower. August and I did a lot of rhyming. I got out the Guess Who game and we played one game. He was fine with that, although near the end I had to assure him I’d let him win.

Got him upstairs, and we let him skip a bath. Carly brushed his teeth and I went down to get him a flashlight. He then turned the lamp off on his own and got in bed. Of course, the flashlight might have caused problems in bed, but it was cool that he was coming up with a solution on his own. I left them at 9:25 and went for a walk.

Making up a tune:

Playing with the loops:

More drum kit:

His Minecraft boat:

Planning his contraption:

Using his contraption:

Lemon drink with Eve:

Trying to get out a nail:

He woke up about 7:40. Took a few minutes, then I read him a couple My Little Pony: Friends Forever issues. One about Luna and Pinkie Pie, then one with the Cutie Mark Crusaders going on a scavenger hunt. August walked around talking about a famous scavenger hunt he runs each year.

For breakfast I made scrambled eggs and cheese, and we also had quinoa and corn. He kept telling me about his scavenger hunt. Switched to criminals. He told me he had watched videos on how to be a detective and how to identify a murder for educational videos time. He also said he Learned that you have to take breaks from texting so the body repairs. Darkness when sleeping helps repair the eyes. He said he just knew this. And he asked, “Do you know what happens if you play for four days and three nights?” You go blind.

We played Minecraft, then went outside to take care of the vines. He asked why the chain on his part of the bike is kind of loose and we compared the chains and discussed them. We went inside to discuss our agenda. We suddenly couldn’t find his iPad, which he had just had before we went outside. I used my phone to have the iPad play a noise, and it was under the coffee table. No idea why he put it there.

We set up the piano keyboard and played with Yousician for a long time. It was cool that he was into it now, and willing to make mistakes and keep practicing the songs over and over. I got masking tape and labeled the keys he was using with their note names.

He played for a long time. When done, he wanted to watch a My Little Pony. I wanted him to get up and move a bit, so I acted like a drill instructor and had him running around the room and running and diving on the couch. We then watched a My Little Pony, after which he talked me into educational videos. We watched a Bright Side on a trip to the Marianas Trench this time, then a video about black, a size comparison of things in the universe, and a short video about ideas for Minecraft. Apex predator was a word of the day from the Marianas Trench video.

He paused at times to tell me about Minecrafr inventions and ate pistacios during the videos. We then had a tuna sandwich for lunch. He was then Bar telling Brother and things to build in Minecraft. he did some alone time, finishing up eating a strawberry yogurt, then just playing around. He now wanted to play Yousician, saying “It’s the first learning app I’ve ever loved.” He said he also loves Blue Apprentice.

After this round of Yousician he did more alone time, looking at books, and I exercised. We then played Minecraft. It was supposed to be really warm today, almost as hot as yesterday, and we had planned to go swimming. I had noticed it looking cloudy out though, and then it happened: thunder. And then rain. We went out to check it out. August came out in it as well. It was light, and August said it was exactly the kind of rain he likes. Shmuel talked to us about the rain and the plants.

August said he was cancelling the swimming plans, and also bike riding for the day. He got a cup to catch rain in, then a bunch of pots. Unfortunately, it had started to stop by then. We went back in and he did a little more Yousician. He then read on Rivet: a book about tigers to me and parts of others.

He went outside to check on his water catchers. No more rain. He went and got the binoculars as he wanted to check the coming clouds to see if they might rain. We ended up walking out on the sidewalk so he could get a better view. He also watched a couple birds up on the wires.

Back inside we finished a My Little Pony we had been reading. Carly got home. He drew a picture and when I asked what it was he said it was sad monsters “Locked in a jail cell. They got caught by humans.”

I left to go to guys’ night at Neal’s house, about 4 miles north. I stopped at Mega, the underground grocery store, on my way out of town. A horrible selection, and no cold beer, so I got a bottle of wine. It was my first venture to one of the poker night guys’ nights. It was okay, but not nearly as good as the usual ones. They would talk for two minutes bout something, but then do a hand and the subject would stop. Pizza from Shabtai was good. I had little interest in the poker though. Probably won’t do another poker night one unless Jeff comes to talk music.

They played Minecraft, ate popcorn and watched some videos (one about Sacajawea in particular), had dinner in stages, went out and watered plants, took a bath, and were reading the Minecraft book when I got home around 9. I helped get him ready for bed and said good night and went for a run.

Clues for his scavenger hunt:

Yousician 1:

Yousician 2:

The first rain:

Carly got him up around 8. He had some breakfast and played some of his Minecraft time, but not all of it, as we got going. We left about 8:45. We were headed up to the rocky beach with the pools up north where we had gone last week. This time, Tessa and family were meeting us there.

In the car we read the My Little Pony: Friends Forever story about Rarity and Babs and watched the episode where Rainbow Dash gets a pet. We know now the story about how she gets a turtle named Tank that has a helicopter attached to his back so he can fly.

We stopped at the gas station by the beach and they went in to the bathroom. I remembered that August had wanted a stick to push himself around in the water. I found the perfect stick off in the bushes. He was very happy about it.

We parked before 11. As we got out he discussed the sculpture. He wasn’t too impressed with it, comparing it to how he used to just do nonsense rhythms while drumming, but now he’s doing actual rhythms. I think what he was saying is that he used to just do totally abstract art, but now he does art that is more meaningful. I asked if it makes more sense, and he said, “Kind of do and kind of not.” He was then being silly, asking, “where is Gilad? Where is Eve? Isn’t Omri’s supposed to be in the boat on the sea? Why can’t I see the titanic?”

We sat in the shade of the sculpture and ate our sandwiches. Well, Carly and I did. August refused to eat, which wasn’t a good sign. We headed down to the beach, and that lasted about a minute. He slipped and caught himself with his hand. He tried to shake it off, but it was kind of raw, and he lost it. He wanted to go to the car and leave. We took him up in the shade and he wasn’t recovering. He wasn’t being logical, like repeatedly telling Carly to get away from him, but he was on her lap.

Tessa and Ofir and the kids showed up. They headed down to the beach. August wasn’t doing any better, so Carly took him and sat in the car. He ate some popcorn and calmed down and was talking. They finally came back to the beach. Had a good 45 minutes or so wading around and exploring. Carly got to do some floating. I very briefly talked to Tessa about her classes. Tessa mentioned something about mermaids hiding in seaweed. August then seemingly made it his mission to gather different kinds of seaweed to prove to Tessa that mermaids don’t exist.

He showed her some, but then she headed off with Nava. Ofir and Liam were off floating. I was with August for 15 minutes or so while we gathered seaweed and found snails. Carly came back and August asked her to go get Tessa and Nava, who were now out on the sea side of all the rocks. Carly went, but didn’t come back. August started asking why they weren’t coming back, and eventually started to worry about it and wouldn’t wait anymore, and started to make his way out.

It turned out that what had happened was Nava had pooped, and Tessa was washing it out in the water. I guess she was washing it out in the sea side so it wouldn’t be in the calmer pools. But they were pretty far out so I’m not sure. Anyway, Carly was helping watch Nava through all this, so couldn’t leave.

August had completely lost it by the time we made it out there and headed back in. He blamed Nava for it all, so we worked our way back in and grabbed our stuff and headed for the car. Ofir and I had a short funny conversation about the deep conversation we’d had and how it had really changed our deepest beliefs.

Neither August nor I ended up doing any floating. We left around 1:30, stopping at the gas station to all use the bathroom. I drove home, taking a route that headed east of Haifa to get home. We let August watch My Little Pony when he started to fall asleep. He watched two more episodes. We got here around 3.

I made coffee, then we played a Brother game where he found animals in Minecraft. There was a hybrid animal. He pointed to his body, explaining: “This is the wolf part, this is the donkey part, and this is ocelot feet.” The animals kept hurting Brother.

Carly made salad, and I got to see him eat it this time. He then remembered the Green Planet game, so I let him check on that and play it for a few minutes.

August and I then went out for a ride on my bike. This time we went even further, going close to 2 miles. I measured it this time, and it was close to 1.5 miles by the time we got back to the house. But then he was asking how the gears worked and we walked it, changing the gears so he could see, and then he wanted to ride some more, so we went out for a few more minutes. When we got back we saw Adam and he helped me lift the bike into the yard. They were getting ready to go, then David and all the kids came over because they wanted to see the bike.

Carly wasn’t downstairs, so we called her on the phone. August did the calling, and he said she was upstairs in the bedroom. He asked her to come down. We then let him watch a StoryBots episode about music and I helped Carly brainstorm for work.

They then did his evening time on Minecraft and I went up to work. He ate a bunch of food, one item at a time: salad, sweet potato raviolis, persimmon, a fried egg. They were playing with the electronics kit when I came down. I then read My Little Pony: Friends Forever stories to him: Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, Luna and Spike, and Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. We went upstairs and played a Brother game where Bar makes an interstellar space boom. Then there was craziness with Brother’s tigers.

Carly took over and did his bath, including hair washing. At one point he said he’d do something “But only if you apologize for being on Tessa’s side.” There was a lot of drama, but he didn’t really get upset. I also heard him ask, “Who has the most control in this family?”

Before going to bed he asked to know more about Sacajawea (like what happened to her after the expedition—they had watched a Ted Ed video about her) and waste treatment plants. And he asked about floodlights and what a supernova looks like. I said we could look them up tomorrow. They had also learned about pomegranates earlier, as well as genetics and Mendel and his peas. And pointing to the mandala, he asked, “And also, HOW DID OMA DO THAT??”

I left them at 9:35 and went for a run.

Playing at the rocky pools:

Playing on the rocks:

Eating salad:

Working on the balance bike:

Brother game with Sonic Rainbooms:

I was hoping he would sleep until 8 again, but he was up at 7:18. Rather stuffy and rough sounding, but it could be worse. He did sleep pretty well. He woke up a little more than usual, but I think I only had to urge him to lay back down once.

He sat on the couch for a couple minutes, then went and yelled “Boo!” to Carly. They came in and she read the zombie book. They then played Minecraft. He was then grumpy when she made food for herself (he wasn’t hungry) and he wanted her attention. I got him to have a strawberry yogurt. He talked about how getting hurt and dying are different in Minecraft and games than they re in real life. He used his drum sticks and talked about straight DNA he discovered. There are five building blocks, Z Y X W V.

He remembered the Joseph’s Machines videos on YouTube so we watched the Sibling Distractor and Exploding Lunchbox. He was then talking about Minecraft and argued caves are dark so that zombies can live in them. I argued it was backwards logic and gave examples, like with water being cool because of physics, not so it is refreshing to us. But then he made the jump to god, and apparently completely changed his beliefs he’s stated before: “It’s because God cares for us…Also, I don’t believe there’s a god, I know there’s a god. I discovered that in my lab.” I then reminded him about how cold wate wasn’t good for people on the Titanic: “God forgotted about icebergs…I should go up to space and tell him…” Carly also speculated he thinks about himself as a sort of god in Minecraft.

He still wasn’t eating anything, so I finally proposed pie for breakfast, which we had talked about yesterday. We te pie, then did a Brother game based on his lunch getting stolen. We headed upstairs and watched two episodes of My Little Pony as Carly went to the store. We then went downstairs and he did alone time, hanging out on the couch and then looking at the dinosaurs book. I pulled bits off of the vines where they are getting attacked by this white stuff.

He then had a Brother game where Bar was making gross things. Baby sister was eating them. Bar cut her in half to get the gum out, then put her back together. I made us a tuna melt for lunch. He said it “looks suspicious.” He thought I made something gross like in Joseph’s Machines, where they put ketchup in strawberry cookies, etc. and kids ate them.

Carly got home, and we showed her the bugs and white stuff on the plant. He said they were “Statomites” and from his planet. Back inside he ate sandwich. Then there was a Brother game where he saved an oceot and it was stolen by the farmer. I had reminded him earlier of that whole series of stories that we used to do.

Then watched three SciShow Kids videos: one about other planets (https://youtu.be/Sk5FUDaP5XU), The Farthest We’ve Ever Gone in Space, and Meet the Five Dwarf Planets.

He cuddled with Carly and sang:

“Don’t forget the ahem when you talk to somebody.”

“Don’t forget the pillow when you go to sleep / Dont forget the pillow sealant…” He then got the globe and was asking her questions about it.

I then took him out on a bike ride. We rode down to the old highway and back, going further (to where we could turn around and come back on the other side of it this time) then rode home via the road. As we got back he asked, “What would happen if the atmosphere suddenly disappeared?” I talked about going upstairs with him, but he said that downstairs was better because it has “cuddly mama.”

We ate some nuts, then he watched part of Formula 1 qualifying (for Japan—it had been delayed a day because of the typhoon) with me. We ate pistachios. He asked, “Why are there so many computers? Also, what’s the purpose for racing?” After he ws tired of that we read more My Little Pony: Friends Forever. I paused to get tea. He got distracted and decided to do alone time. Carly took over and I went up to work.

He had his 15 minutes on Minecraft, then a big moment as he ate some salad. Which he’s never done. Carly sent me a couple photos of this momentous occasion.

They then were outside in the yard (August took a bunch of photos) and David, our neighbor, invited us over for Sukkot dinner at 7. They were then skyping with Cherie when I came down at 6:20.

I asked him about eating salad and picked him up. Carly was talking to Cherie about the Breathe poster above the couch. August likes it, and somehow equated it with our summer and said we should hang up a picture for each summer, and talked about hanging them up so they’d be symmetrical on the wall.

He wanted to do some art, so got out a piece of paper and drew a picture. We then watched a couple of educational videos: one bout lead poisoning (which he had asked for) and a Bright Side video about a journey to the center of the Earth that was quite good.

He was then telling Carly about his civilization. He was stuck on a word and described it as when monkeys looked more like humans. He meant evolution. He said that they had evolved to not need sleep.

At 7 we headed over to the neighbors’ house. We met their two daughters and 5 grandkids. One of the sons-in-law is Adam and is a music teacher and knows Jonathan, the band teacher at WBAIS really well, having studied music together.

August was a little nervous about things at first as we sat down for dinner and went through the prayers/chanting bit and got to food, but then got into it and did quite well. Food was great, as was the wine (particularly the Shiraz from Jerusalem). Mainly talked to Adam and David, as I sat next to him. Learned that they had been living here 30+ years since building their house with Shmuel when our house was built.

A fish dish came out, then goose. August asked for my camera to take photos so he could remember things. He played with toys in the yard. Odd moment was when we learned that their black cat, that is always in our yard, is named the Hebrew equivalent of the N word.

Adam’s wife, Noah(sp?), is a pastry chef and had made the bread, and also the birthday cake. They sang happy birthday for one of the grandsons, who had just turned 4, and we got to have some cake. August had two slices.

We finally headed home. It was time for bed, but it was hard for August, as he felt he had missed some of his evening routine and wanted to do things like earn more iPad time. I got him to compromise by reading part of a Friends Forever story on the bed, then taking him in for his bath. We then finished it. He was frustrated, but not really angry. We got him ready, and I finally left them after 10:30.

I went for a walk, sort of a rest day from running, then was up late watching the rest of Formula 1 qualifying, then the race.

Letters time with mama:https://youtu.be/p-DPD2sDsgA

Doing some art:

Sukkot dinner 1:

Sukkot dinner 2:

He got up just before 8:10. I was getting up in the other bedroom, having had my book group meeting during the night. I greeted him, then he went down with Carly and I went back to rest longer, coming down again around 9. They had been reading the Minecraft zombie book, and were finishing up his iPad time, playing Minecraft. He had a hard time putting it away though. He did, but then swung the iPad away and hit me with it. They were able to talk about it after a few minutes.

I read a few of the I’m Just No Good at Rhyming poems to him, then went to get my iPad to read to him more. They decided to play with Legos though and did that for several minutes. He destroyed the structure we’d been working on for the last couple days and started something new. He was doing a lot of rhyming again this morning.

I made oatmeal. He requested cinnamon. He talked about having syrup in it “yesteryear.” As he at he requested a tornado video, then I showed him the Dominoes video that Cherie had sent (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO3do77Y9cY) and he watched another.

I then read the first two My Little Pony: Friends Forever comics, then we did music time. He did some drumming, then had me playing keyboard along to his digital drum patterns on his iPad in GarageBand. He was doing the drum programmer, and making shapes and pictures. He said, “No no no Picasso. You can’t make music AND art. But Picasso said ‘Yes!’”

Carly was communicating with Tessa about swimming together at the pool. She got ready, and they left at 12:50. As he was getting ready, August said, “When it’s cool and not rainy I’ll ride my bike to school.”

They went swimming. Carly said it was still enjoyable, but that she never really warmed up. Pool season is about t its end. At some point, they saw bird poop and August told Tessa how the white part of it is acid. He told her he was 90 percent sure, so she might want to look it up. Apparently he and Carly had learned this the other day, as birds don’t pee, so that is the acid that would otherwise be in the urine. He also took a picture of a cat under a table.

They invited them back to the house. Carly called to ask if I could get some food started. I went down and started cooking pasta with pesto and cheese as they got back. They also brought a can of corn to heat up for the kids, and I cooked a couple of the chocolate pancakes for snacking. We also had fruit. We threw together quite a bit of food given that we didn’t have anything much planned.

The kids kind of all did different things much of the time, but it still went well. When August didn’t want to play with them outside, he started playing by himself inside. He set up his drum kit on his own and was playing. Nava got the doctor kit and I got the stuffed animals for her. Apparently she’s really into playing doctor with animals. They got August’s attention when they played with the My Little Pony dolls and he talked about them. August got out the keyboard and GarageBand and played that a lot as well.

And he found the little foam ball and he and I were playing catch in the living room. Suddenly, he was catching this little ball several times. Just suddenly clicked; not something we’ve been working on. Once when he threw it it went up above the refrigerator and I had to use tongs to get it out of an odd open space up there. Succeeded eventually though. This was after we had also all had pie. He wasn’t entirely happy when the kid went upstairs and were looking at the cardboard fort, but he allowed it. Apparently, Carly said, he’s a little embarrassed by the fact that it is falling down.

Tessa was talking about the destruction of her kids as they left. August matter-of-factly said, “Take about a week to re-repair…re-repair our house for a playdate.” They left at 5:40.

We played his Minecraft time. He asked, “What’s modern mean?” A word of the day. We read a My Little Pony: Friends Forever. #6 or 7. Then watched episode 3 of season 2. We went upstairs for a Brother game where he finds a big egg and takes it home. The resulting bird destroys the house. Then one in which he finds a new kitty cat, leading to lots of chaos.

Carly came up at 7:40 and we switched. I went for a run, and he did some alone time then Minecraft, since he hadn’t during the day. Carly made him oatmeal with cinnamon again. He again got upset about the idea of a bth, and we discussed why it is so hard for him to take a bath nowadays. He said there is so much in his brain to do. I was having this conversation with him in the bedroom. I then convinced him to head into the bathroom with Carly for his bath. He told Carly “His parenting trick was…” I think I had given him some sort of choice about what to play in there, or of what to do after.

We Skype with my parents after his bath. He said, “I want to be an astronomer when I grow up.” And he talked about how “I’m studying a squished sandwich I found in the road.” He talked about the spoiled cheese.

He said good night to Carly, and she left by 9:45. He likes the mantra, so I found a version of it to listen to on YouTube, and he was asleep by 10:30.

A food delivery machine:

Drumming on his drumkit:

Music during a playdate:

Drumming during a playdate:

I went to wake him up at 7:45. I patted his shoulder, then lay down next to him. He initially popped up and asked “Where’s mama?” But then he lay back down, using my stomach as a pillow. Cuddliest thing ever. He started to get up again, but then stretched out on the other side of the bed for a few minutes. He was enjoying waking up slowly. He lay in bed, upside down, his feet pressed between my arm and body for warmth, his hands under his back to keep warm. I think he was sort of looking out the window. Finally, about 8:05 he got up and gave me a funny look and pointed downstairs. We walked down and he declared he was going to watch something. I asked what, and he said, “It starts with a ‘yuh’.” I guessed YouTube and was correct. He wanted to watch marble races.

He then changed his mind and we switched to Minecraft. I made oatmeal. He told me he had a scratchy voice and asked for milk. He said that was better than water for his scratchy throat. The scratchy throat would last throughout the day. He then had an idea for a Brother game: Brother got revenge for Sister sewing up his shirt into a quilt by taking her favorite shirt (from Space Camp) and sewing it up. They ended up arguing, then Bar put them both in jail. He eventually just had her putting Sister in jail. I didn’t quite understand his logic on that. Bar also made a hoverboard for him, and he ran into things. Finally, there was a Door of Chaos. Brother had to choose the correct code to type into it. When asked something bout it, he replied, “Who knows‽” He then gave a preview of the next part of the story: “Preview: Aack. Dead.”

We switched and read My Little Pony: Friends Forever Volume 8. We read the Rarity story and reread the Fluttershy story. Brawl was a word of the day. He then watched some SciShow kids videos and I got us ready to go.

We drove up into town and got to Stop City before 11:30. We bought ingredients for an apple pie and a few other things. August saw something that looked good, and told me where it was “For future reference.” On the way home he told me he had made a “Gum treatment plant” (he had chewed some gum while we were in the store) that collects chewed gum from all the garbage cans and processes it and then sends it “to art supply stores” so it can be used it art projects.

We got back just after 12. I took a photo of the digger and the dump truck across the street for Colin. August told me of his super fast jet, which makes tornadoes. He did alone time, then 15 minutes of Minecraft as I started the apple pie. He then helped me with the pie after I’d chopped up the apples, then did his next fifteen minutes of Minecraft. Got the pie in the oven, then he had a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

He had a Brother game with a purple death ray fish that Brother found while swimming. Brother would end up in a coma for 3 million days, then wake up to find that everyone was now cyborgs, etc. He then read books to me in Rivet: Twins, Our Big Pool of Slime Fun, and These Are the Sounds of Animals. He then had a Brother game where he finds a huge spider that puts him in a coma for a billion years. All of his animals were also still there as well when he woke up.

The pie was done about 3. At first he didn’t believe me when I said it needed to cool for a few hours. But he accepted it when I said it was true, and he later told Carly how it had to cool and we had to wait until after dinner.

We got to school around 3:30 and changed and went to the pool. At first he didn’t want to go to the pool, as there were no kids there. He agreed to go when I said we could do Brother games. Carly showed up as we were finishing getting changed, and we all went in together. It was starting to feel pretty cold getting in. He played by the stairs for quite a while on his own. He then remembered the Brother games and we did variations on the hide and seek games. This time, Brother was doing things like running away so she wouldn’t find him. I got out after a while and he and Carly played with the kickboard. She was trying to get points and he said she got zero, and something about “I’m being very critical this time.”

When the one person that had been swimming laps left, August was surprised, thinking she was coming to the pool, not leaving, and said he hadn’t even realized she was there.

We headed home. He asked, “What’s somewhat mean?” At home he wanted to skip to the pie, but knew he needed dinner first. He agreed to eat a carrot. As he ate his carrot he told us about “The amazing world of Noteblock.” It is a website where he has music games based on Minecraft. He wouldn’t eat the last chunk of carrot and when I insisted on him eating it (I’d already cut off part that he didn’t need to eat) he asked, “Can’t you give me a choice? A parenting trick?” He also said, “Dada. You should learn some new parenting tricks. I’ll teach you.” He ended up eating some raw tofu instead, and spent some time reading fridge magnets.

We then had some pie, which he said was amazing. We played Minecraft, then checked out and read the My Little Pony: Spike Micro issue. He wanted to watch videos of floods, and levy was a word of the day. We played with Legos, adding to our latest structure, and listened to new 808 State and he liked it. He walked around and told me about “BrainBlock…you make a world by thinking about it.” Other games like ScreamBlock and ScratchBlock. He got grumpy when Carly talked about going upstairs. He had some oatmeal, and asked, “What’s eliminated mean?” That was from a My Little Pony story, I think. He also read a Rivet book to me.

They did spelling time, which was really cool. Lots of science and Minecraft words. He came up with games they could do. He was telling her about “whithers” in Minecraft, which sounds like “rivers”—combines his difficulties with the w and r sounds and the th versus v sounds.

I folded laundry and she took him up for a bath. We got him ready for bed, and Carly put him to sleep again. I went for a run.

Describing his scavenger hunt:

Pool game – I’m very critical this time:

Reading about frogs:

I started waking him up at 7:35. It was hard for him to wake up. I sat next to him, and at one point he opened his eyes a bit and said “Hi,” then curled back up again. That had happened the other night when I was sleeping with him, and Carly made some noise as she came into the room. He had half sat up, said “Hi,” then curled up against my back. I finally got him up at 8. He asked, “Where’s Mama?” Shortly thereafter he said, “Dada, we should make our own notebook.”

We went downstairs and started Minecraft right away. I got him oatmeal ready during it and he ate right after. As we got ready to go he told me about the “Deathascope,” which flings things in the air and shoots lasers at them. He went and added a few pieces to a Lego creation he had made with Carly yesterday, using the bodies and heads of the Lego people and said “Since I see-ed my Lego creation I’m stuck into Legos.”

As we left he remembered the video we watched of how scientists used the material in diapers to actually expand pieces of mice brains so that they are easier to study. He said he had made tiny robots to studied the brains so they don’t have to do that.

As we drove to Ra’anana Park, just a bit late, and I had told Lauren, we saw them trimming the palm trees, and also saw people stopping to pick up the extra leaves for their structures for Sukkot. As we got out of the car he told me he had invented the “Cheapest and funniest translator.” The problem is that it doesn’t work well and gives nonsense answers. It is mainly used for cheering up babies.

We beat Lauren and Gilad by a couple minutes. August found a little kid ball by the pond, and I guessed it was from the woman pushing two kids in a stroller, walking nearby. It was, and we returned it. When Gilad ran up he immediately asked about Minecraft. And said, “I’ve been waiting to ask about Minecraft!”

We started to walk over to the big playground. It was busy in the park today. Israeli schools still have school, but it seems like there was an Arab Israeli school or two doing a park day. We got to the big play structure, and August and Gilad wandered around a little. August complained about it being busy and didn’t know what to do.

We ended up walking back towards the small playground, but it was busy too. Gilad went on the music thing. August wanted to find things to build with. We found an ant nest, with the ants trying to pull in a small feather. August wanted to destroy it and when I said I was watching it he got upset and eventually hit it with a stick.

He was really grumpy, and said something like, “I’m cancelling this play date.” Or officially cancelling or something like that.

Luckily, the school group left the covered playground and he and Gilad finally started playing together with the airplane game. We were playing there as some guy came along with a leaf blower and asked us to move. We walked up to the concrete maze sort of area. Played for a few minutes, then Gilad had a snack and August had cheese crackers. August was wanting his bike, so I left him with Lauren, and hurried back to the car and got his bike and helmet and brought it back.

He rode around the concrete area a little, then down the hill towards the play area. We stopped at the bench area and he and Gilad rode and ran back and forth a bit, then were a distance away from us, talking about Minecraft add-ons.

We had given them August’s username for Minecraft. Lauren was going to send us a message when they invited us. We got going and he rode his bike most of the way back, although I walked it down the big hill to the pond.

We drove over to the Domino Pizza in Ra’anana this time (not the U.S. chain). We got a couple cheese slices and drinks and sat outside. They invited us to a world and we tried to ply from the pizza place, but it wouldn’t let us connect to their world.

We drove home, August made a world, and we invited Gilad to it. It worked this time, and we spent about an hour playing with him. I helped type some messages to him. I played with them for much of the time, building a house in a cliff. I gave August 15 more minutes at the end. We said goodbye, and wished them a good camping trip. Lauren said that Gilad’s older brother was helping him, making suggestions like to not explode TNT by the house. I told her how, when Gilad made a big tower, August wanted me to ask him if August could cover it with water. Before I could ask, Gilad started to add water himself.

August handled getting off well, then we read My Little Pony: Friends Forever volume 8. He kept postponing a bike ride, finding other things to do first. We did a Brother game where he tried to be an inventor like Bar. At one point he made self-aware robots: “I don’t program them. I made them to think for themselves.” He then asked to watch a video about how chocolate is made (https://youtu.be/ZtMfiWDQHT8 andhttps://youtu.be/zJdeQABAc_w

) We watched a couple. Cacao was a word of the day.

I then took him up to the park to ride his bike. He did that for a few minutes, then decided we could go back to the house and switch to the big bike and trailer. Can’t ride on the streets so easily now, so we headed over to the trails, being careful with the sharp corners getting there. We rode all the way down to the old highway, then partly down it before turning around and coming back. Our biggest ride yet.

We were back by 4:50. We then looked at apple dessert recipes, and he decided on a classic apple pie. I was making him chocolate pancakes for dinner. He invented “fruitables” for things that are between fruits and vegetables.

When he needed to go to the bathroom he still wants one of us to come sit outside the bathroom. Today I told him that most people prefer to go to the bathroom in private. He said, “I don’t believe in privacy like that.” Then he added, “You know difference makes everyone special.”

With Carly he did the activity he’d been wanting to do earlier: melting chocolate and then making shapes out of it. We read more of My Little Pony, then he ate the chocolate when it had hardened. Then more Brother games, where he found a cat, then a lynx which ate all the fish.

We watched a few SciShow Kids videos. First a couple about using temperature sensitive paper, with Hank Green in them (https://youtu.be/YkuBX4UC1TE). Thermochromism was another new word. Then he chose a Bright Side video about the end of the universe:https://youtu.be/4qndOMjlThc

. Then back to Brother games: “It’s three days in the future, and Bar invents total high tech chaos…” It involved turning animals into cyborgs, life on Mars, etc.

Before we went upstairs August was playing with his light for the invisible ink (the one he’d gotten from Andrea this summer). He realized the light looked purple on some surfaces, and blue on something else. I didn’t have an explanation for that. He made up a nonsense poem that went something like:

You see you see the peak of the beak

Peak of the beak on the pumpkin beak

Carly gave him a bath. I then played a Brother game with him on the bed, where they were fighting over baby sister.

I went for a run. They watched some video that Carly had about education or child development. He told her, “I think I learn differently. Because I mainly learn from dada.” “At preschool they mainly played with toys and that was boring. That’s why I watched.” Talked about being bad because he hit and he wasn’t forgiven. Gave her a thumbs in the middle for talking to Andrea again. She then put him to sleep.

Ants with a feather:

Biking in Ra’anana 1:

Biking in Ra’anana 2:

Laughing on the couch:

Pistachio shelling machine:

Riding at our park:

Eating melted chocolate:

Eating his frozen chocolate:

Lego bodies sculpture:

Uff song and Legos:

His creations with Gilad

He popped right up at 7:05. I was awake but still in bed but he didn’t see me. He was downstairs with Carly for a minute, then when I brought down his iPad she read him the Minecraft Zombie diary book. Offended was a word of the day. He then agreed to play Minecraft by himself for 15 minutes. He went to the bathroom, and when he came back said, “If I was on Saturn right now I’d be screaming.” I don’t know where that came from.

Carly was making a swimming pool and he was rather critical of it. I made a couple puns and Carly wasn’t amused. August defended me and said, “I would kill for Dada.” Don’t know where he learned that usage. I taught him the more lighthearted use of it, such as “I’d kill for a sandwich.” Carly pointed out it is hyperbole.

We played a Brother game where he found a huge millipede and took it home, then another one where they were stranded on an island and this time a blob protects them from the tigers by eating the tigers.

We went out and did some bike riding together. A good amount of riding around. When he wouldn’t go up to the traffic circle Crly went for a walk again and we rode home, this time going down the street back to our house. Back at the house he did a good amount of the Speech Blubs app. I’m not liking that it doesn’t narrow in on the sounds he needs, but he likes copying the other kids, and it is good pronunciation practice for him. We then watched two episodes of My Little Pony, the first two of season 2, as they went together.

He had a Brother game where he finds a stick bug with faces of all the people/animals he knows. We didn’t really play it, but it was a pretty creepy idea. Carly suggested the bike trailer and also stop motion. We did a Brother game where Bar was flying super fast and he was jealous. She destroyed the earth with her speed. It turned into a game where August was “the spirit of chaos…I am God. God. God. God…” Lots more chaos. All influenced by Discord in My Little Pony. She turned Brother into a statue at one point. He said, “Preview of the next episode: Crying with Horror.” Although there wasn’t a follow up to that.

For lunch he ate a strawberry yogurt and egg salad sandwich. He made up a rhyme during lunch: “Giraffe, math, laugh. Which is the path?”

He then wanted to go out in the yard and try his balance bike again. He was actually getting the hang of that as well, picking his feet up. He then agreed to try the trailer to my bike. We started slowly, with me just pushing us along, then he let me pick my feet up and pedal. We ended up going around the Holly block a couple times.

I talked about having Mama come out to see us, but he said he wanted it to be a secret for now, for some reason. Back at the house he saw part of a documentary she was watching. There was someone drumming and He said he wants a drum kit. Carly remembered that the band teacher said we could come play the instruments at school sometime.

I went up to work for a couple hours. They built stuff and worked on a couple stop motion videos, finishing one that involved him in a bat costume. I came down before 3:30. He was listening to A Tribe Called Quest. Literally what I had just been listening to upstairs, but a random song that he had had Siri play.

He did his iPad time with Carly. He was being very grumpy about what she was building (the pool wasn’t deep enough etc.) and he was upset when the time ran out.

At the end of the last time we had left the bike and trailer locked to the light pole outside, intending to ride again. Now he didn’t want to go back out on the trailer again, so we used blatant reverse psychology to get him to ride it. Carly came outside of take a video this time. At the end Naomi, the girl from across the street said hi again.

August was casting spells on us: “Strength spell 1092…” He asked Carly, “What’s it feel like to be you?” He started to tell the story from The 117-Story Treehouse: “Once there was a dot…a tiny little dot that started to form more dots…” Formed squares and bigger squares. Really confused her as she didn’t know what it was. And he told us, “Do you know what I do when you’re asleep? I go out on your bike and cast spells…balancing spells, speed spells, stopping spells, shrinking spells…”

They went back out to ride his pink bike at 5:10. I studied Hebrew while they were out. When he was back we finished volume 6 and started 7 of My Little Pony: Friends Forever. Carly came back from a walk. August asked to do his evening time with her and she thought he was joking at first and that he’d already used it, as it was now past 6. But we had actually been reading that whole time.

We played Minecraft and were working on our cave basement. He had frozen mango. And Carly made him a pancake. She had made a batch of the veggie chocolate pancakes earlier when I was working. I got ready for a run and they watched a video about the atmosphere and tilt of Mars. He then wanted a small oatmeal.

I went for a run. He was doing Legos when I got back. Carly working on the Velcro for our homeschool calendar. I took a shower, and he wanted a Brother game. After my shower we played it on the bed. Carly says his new phrases of the day are astronomical event and take offense. He had Bar going so fast she removes the atmosphere. She then goes to the moon to practice her flying, but tht destroys the moon, causing asteroids to hit Earth. Luckily, she is able to put everything back.

Carly gave him a bath. We then read the Pinkie Pie and Granny Smith story from volume 7. I had planned to put him to sleep, but they changed, and I left them at 9:20.

Riding on the street again:

Leading the way home:

Leading the way home:

Bar breaking the Earth:

Bar making more chaos:

Balance bike in the yard:

Never make mis-taks:

Trying out the bike trailer:

Getting going on the trailer:

Riding the bike trailer: