Let's Party

E was very excited to be celebrating her second birthday. Every time we started to sing "Happy Birthday" she'd grin so big!

She loves butterflies so it seemed a very appropriate theme for my littlest one!
The big kids were very much a part of the celebration

E has mastered the art of picking of candy from the pinata.

D and L look on as E opens her first gift.

E wears her second gift as she parades around the house.

Gift #3!

E with her butterfly cake!

Blowing out candles!

Thanksgiving at last

We finally got to eat our Thanksgiving turkey on Friday night. It was a long time coming and the kids had just about given up. However, we did get to celebrate at last!

I would love to claim some responsibility for the turkey. However, other than taking it out of the oven, I had nothing to do with it. Mom did it all!! It was absolutely delicious!
E and Grandma hang out while the last preparations are finalized.

Grandpa reads to D and L to help pass the time.

THANKSGIVING!!

Thanksgiving, Plan B

We had to go to plan B this year for Thanksgiving...unfortunately we all got sick!! E started last week with fever. L started Saturday with a stomach bug and then Derek and Mommy joined in Monday night. Tuesday was a quiet slow day in our home as all laid around while Papi worked. Wednesday we were doing much better, but then Papi started to get sick. So, we had to tell Grandma and Grandpa to wait until the coast was clear; we didn't want to share our germs. Finally on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we were all fairly well. However, it was too late to cook a real turkey so the following is the only turkey we ate on Thanksgiving Day.

L shows off the turkey she made with cookies and candies.
D has made two turkeys complete with wattles.

E even joined in the fun!!

And then proceeded to eat her turkey! So funny...when I told L at bedtime that on Friday we would celebrate Thanksgiving complete with turkey she said, "Okay, but I really don't want the brown chewy thing that got caught in my teeth" She was referring to our turkey's head, a milk dud. I quickly clarified that we would be eating a REAL turkey with mashed potatos, fruit salad, bread, etc!

Why homeschool?

Homeschooling can be such a challenge, especially with a little one, so it's good to have reminders of WHY I do this.

E watches as D looks up verses for Bible. Would we have this type of interaction and learning opportunities if my children were gone all day?
It's such a joy to be part of the learning process with my children. I get to witness them grow daily!

Here E is doing something much more characteristic than the first picture where she was "learning" with D. She has digressed to putting stickers in D's hair as he reads.

Beautiful to Brrrr

Friday Papi took the day off work so we planned a trip to the zoo. Our Saturdays are full with D's soccer games so we haven't been to the zoo as much as we like. It was an absolutely beautiful day!!!

Perfect for the zoo. D, E and I checked out the monkeys.
L checked out the people.

No, we didn't buy anything from this machine. However, L pressed every button more than once. Despite her persistence, she came up empty-handed.L has found herself a place to rest.

The kids love sitting on this Komodo Dragon.

Why is L pointing to the children in the back? They were in our picture, much to L's dislike!! There were many school children at the zoo. How did I, a former school teacher, not think of field trips?

E and mommy

We are actually dressed a bit warm for this beautiful day. We could have gone in short sleeves!

Saturday, in contrast, was very cold and extremely windy.

Here are the boys on the sidelines of the soccer game waiting their turn to play.

The girls are snuggled up with one of their soccer friends. What a difference from just the day before!

We survived CAMPING!!!

Not only did we survive, but we even went so far as to call our camping trip successful and fun and worth repeating! WOW! I was skeptical but God was good!

L is preparing our camp site. Yes, I realize she is sweeping the dirt ground but when you get really energetic about cleaning, it's easy to get carried away. Hey, what do you expect, she had her grandma showing her how it's done. No, Grandma didn't sweep the dirt, but she did get every piece of cement clean.


For some reason, the kids carried their camp chairs around everywhere. I guess the chairs were so easy to fold and carry that they figured they were truly portable.

Leave it to Grandpa to get that fire going!

E had a blast throwing the leaves up and letting them fall on her.

We are ready to sleep!

The men and children went on a morning walk while Grandma and mommy fixed breakfast.

D took his dishwashing job very seriously!

Walking the dog was a fought over job! I must mention that the dog would have rather NOT been walked, but the kids didn't ever realize that.

Checking out the lake.

So much fun to play in the sand!

L figured this dishwashing business must be fun so she decided to get in on the action.

E found a (dead) katydid and was fascinated by it. She held it, checked it out, pet it.

When E finally put the bug down, L went to investigate. This is as close as she got. (The bug is at the edge of the cement.) Before she got this close, she ran screaming away. Obviously, my girls have their differences!

No camping experience is complete without s'mores!

E just kicked back and enjoyed her s'more to the fullest!

So what do you do with your children when they are awake, no one else is and it's still dark outside? We put on a video in the tent! (Sorry, can't explain the doggy on my son's head.)

Hot chocolate and marshmellows before breakfast...definitely camping!

D sits to enjoy his hot chocolate! Can't you just see him twenty years from now with his coffee????

E helps us pack.

Grandpa plays with the girls!

Walking through the woods!