Now it's home!

Ok, not that having the animal mounts somewhere else really made me not feel at home, but they look so nice now that they are up.  Kevin will have the deer he got a few weeks ago mounted and it will be all the way to the right.  I think it really makes the entryway look nice.  Those walls were so bare.

Visitors for Lunch

While we were getting some lunch together yesterday Sarah spotted this little visitor on the fence in the back yard.  There was also a red cardinal but he flew away before she could get the camera.

Casual Learning

Jake conned Sarah into stacking 2 bean bags last week so he could read his books up top while we had our class time.  What a goof!

A New Twist On A Classic

The kids have been watching tons of Christmas movies lately.  There are the many we own plus the fact that we have a free month of the Hallmark Channel which has Christmas movies on all day all month.  We have watched the new Jim Carey version of A Christmas Carol as well as the Muppet version, a generic cartoon version, a musical version featuring Kelsey Grammar and others.  Yesterday Jake was going through the house saying "OH, Brown Hound dog."  I could not figure out what he was talking about or where he got that.  Then yet another version came on when I was looking for something for him to watch while I made dinner and he said "Mom, Oh Brown Hound Dog is on!"  OK, he should be saying "Bah Humbug!"  Kids are so cute at 4 years-old.

Yeah Daddy!

Kevin finally took a day for himself!  He went out deer hunting on Monday & got a very nice buck.  Even though a few of the antlers are snapped off  it is still a very nice one & will be added to our wall.

The Reeves Home & Museum Field Trip

Monday we had a local field trip to the J L Reeves Home & Museum.  It was very interesting, especially with the local bits of history and the fact that we had a good friend as our tour guide.  It is a very open home with no ropes protecting priceless, irreplaceable items.  I was a bit nervous with 13 kids in our group.  They all did very well, paying attention.  We even got out without anything sat on, knocked over, touched or broken.  It was a nice visit with friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving

 Yesterday we were invited to join some friends and relatives for an Authentic First Thanksgiving Meal.  There was hard tack, fish, venison, smoked turkey, butternut squash, cranberries, blueberries and home made biscuits and cornbread made by the kids.  They all had a great time and the food was terrific.



Alex gets his instructions for making biscuits.




Jake gives it a try and wears more flour than he puts in the dough.



Sarah learns about the various nuts that the Pilgrims would have eaten.



Jake asleep in his Pilgrim hat, boy was that a big day!

Be sure to check your refrigerator setting.............

Make sure you don't set your refrigerator too cold.  This is what happens when it gets too cold & freezes a can of pop!  The ruptured can was kind of neat to look over but the mess in the fridge to be cleaned up, not so much!

Pumpkins

This has really been an off year. Usually we carve pumpkins, I make the costumes that the kids are all excited about, we go trick-or-treating and all the fun stuff associated with Halloween. Since we live out in the country now it seemed a bit foolish and a waste of money to make costumes since it was likely they wouldn't be wearing them. Besides, with homeschooling I truly did not have the energy nor time to make anything.
We did get pumpkins but didn't really feel like carving them. Kevin had the great idea to give them the sharpie markers & let the draw on them. They had fun & got more that one image on the pumpkins.  Earlier in the day I had the kids scoop them out.  I finally got smart & had them do this on the back porch since inevitably one of them shakes their hands wildly to get all the goop off.  This year it was Jake.  They did have fun out there though!

New Elmers Products!

If you didn't already know, I am a Buzz Agent.  This is a "word-of-mouth" advertising company.  I get a notice of current campaigns that I may be interested in and then sign up for those I am interested in.  I have gotten to try out lots of really great products this way.  I recently signed on for the Elmer's Crafters' Campaign.  This is a new product line of adhesives, cutting tools, etc. for the home crafter and school projects.  Being a homeschool family we have really enjoyed trying out these products and sharing with our homeschool friends.  Here is a picture of just some of the new products out there.  Try them, I am sure you will love them as much as we have.  I especially like the glue pen & glue spots.  No more messy glue running down the latest masterpiece the kids have created.

If you are interested in joining Buzz Agent, let me know so I can send you a referral.

Fall Pictures

 My wonderful neighbor took these pictures of the kids on Sunday.  It was such a beautiful day & they came out great!

 What can I say?  Jake just loves to dig in the dirt.

Birthday Cake

Poor Kevin!  He wasn't sure what to do yesterday.  I had been telling him that I did NOT want to be 40.  I know that I will be, whether I want to or not.  He was afraid if he did something & I just wanted to forget the day it would not be pleasant.  But then he also thought, "Well, if I don't do anything, she may just get upset too."  He brought home this adorable ice cream cake, figuring even if I was upset, the ice cream would make it better.  I do so love my husband!

My 40th Birthday Present

Since I really do not need anything I asked if my family and a friend could come and help me to clean out a planting bed that is on a bank behind the pool.  Every time I looked out the kitchen window, all I saw was the mess it had become from neglect.  The kids and I had done a small section over the summer but I was just such a big project I felt overwhelmed.  They all dug in and it looks amazing!  I still have a little clean-up to do, well actually Kevin does since most of it is heavy tree roots.  I have gotten some perennial starts that we put in as well.  I cant wait to get more in and see how it shapes up next year.  There were plants in there I didn't even see because the ground cover that was planted in there had completely covered them up & nearly choked them out!



Before, when we first looked at the house in May.



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After all our work.

This boulder had a garden pond form shoved underneath it.  The kids helped me dig it out a few weeks ago.

The boys help Aunt Kerry pull out the out-of-control ground cover

   

Jake loves the swing in the tree in back.

 

Lauren enjoys her Smore cooked over the fire where we also had hot dogs for lunch.



Jake was talking Grandmas ear off while she worked. 



Beautiful Sunsets

One weekend recently we were over at Kevin's parents cutting wood for the winter.  As we finished up I looked to see the sky the most beautiful pink I'd ever seen.  The pictures really don't do it justice.

Oh yes, and Jake got to ride on Grandpa's big tractor with Daddy.

Schoenbrunn Village

The Smithsonian Institute recently sponsored a Free Museum Day.  It included Museums of all different types, all over the country.  We were lucky enough to have one of the participating Museums just a few miles from our home, Schoenbrunn Village.  This is a Moravian Missionary village founded in 1772.  The kids had a great time since Grandma Couchey was able to come with us.



They had to get a picture of me at the desk of the one room school house.



Wolf Timbers

Last month for a school field trip we went to Wolf Timbers in Bolivar.  It is a Federal Wolf Reserve and Conservation Center.  I have know it was there since moving to Zoarville 12 years ago but never went to check it out.  We all had a great time & the man giving the talk was very knowledgeable.  The wolves were so beautiful and we got a real close up view.  The kids even got to toss them some apples for a treat.