Their First Taste of Hiking

Duane & I have always loved hiking. In fact, a pre-marriage birthday present from Duane was an awesome pair of hiking boots. But somehow with all the pregnancies and baby, hiking (and biking) was a forgotten pleasure. But Selah's kindergarten unit on mountains awoke the memory, and hiking we went! And what better place than our own local mountain? Here we are, walking sticks in hand, ready for the climb...

Isaiah didn't quite understand the use of a walking stick, so after it was dragged along for awhile, it was finally discarded...

Hannah did great! Piece of cake for her (but not for her Daddy)!

Lunch break. Time to unload Mommy's backpack...

All that hiking just wore her out!

After lunch Duane took the oldest three to climb up to the very top...

If you have very, very good eyes, somewhere in the distance is the steeple of our church...

A family timed shot- there's always some one not looking...

This was a highlight- stepping stones over a pond...

Only 1 muddy shoe- not too bad...

Thanks, Daddy, for bearing the load...

At the end of our hike we were treated to a roaring mountain stream...

This beautiful boy was fascinated by the water- we had to pull him away...

"Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

More January Activities

One of the blessings of homeschooling is a flexible schedule. So we pattern our teaching blocks around Daddy's unique work schedule, and we plan our field trips for his days off!

Bowling, a field trip? Sure- it's a learning experience, isn't it?!

They loved it. I'm not so sure it would have been as fun if no one had created gutter bumpers...

"My so BIG! My have big muscles like Daddy! 'Cause my 'free' years old!!"

And a special evening with Grandpa turned into a watercolor party...

Winter?? When is it coming?

Did we really have a winter yet? With only 2 real snow storms, I'm still not quite sure. Do I put away the snow boots and snow clothes? Oh well, at least we were able to enjoy the snow when it came. Below is our snow family (with a few 'real' people in the mix!)...

Hey, Daddy, stop kissing 'Mommy' and smile for the picture!

Another view of the line-up...

And a few pictures from cousin Alexander's birthday...

Pretty little Isabella...

"Fun to be one"...

Happy Birthday, beautiful boy!

Staff Party

OK, Ok, I'm a bit behind...

Here are some photos from Duane's holiday staff party... I stopped counting guests after 42...

Full course, catered dinner...

Lots of kids...

Isn't she absolutely precious?!

Soooo many yummy desserts to choose from...

Serious competition...

Andrew showing off his Jenga skills...

A rowdy game of Taboo...

Our kids look forward all year to meeting all the people and families from Daddy's work. He's got such a great staff, and we appreciate them all! Here Selah shows her affection for Sabrina...

School Days

In January we joined the new HRC homeschool co-op. Aside from the initial stress of preparing lesson plans for various classes, the pay-offs have been great. We meet every other week, and our kids are always asking, "Is this co-op week?"

One of my classes is science for the preschoolers... what fun!! Here they are, learning the location and basic function of the major body organs...

John Luke is pondering where his lungs are supposed to go... Silas has it right!

One of Selah's units in January involved learning about various animal groups. On the day we studied pigs there was also a story about a pink pig pinata... so we created one!

Strips of newspaper drowning in gooey wheat paste had to be wound about our pig's fat balloon bodies (several different layers were needed, so it was a few-day-process)...

Not a very educational activity, but still fun and goofy...

A more recent kindergarten unit was all about mountains. So we made a playdough volcano...

...and watched it erupt!

And now, back to the pigs, who were finally dried and ready for their final coat...

Note the concentration...

The boys chose orange (of course- both their favorite color). Note the new kitchen table chandelier in the background?

And so, school continues. We're loving it! Not that it's all science projects and art activities... they just make for the best pictures:-).