Homeschool Plays
Decorating the Christmas Tree
Thanksgiving in Cincinnati
This past week we headed to Cincinnati for the week. I went to work for a few days and then it was on to Thanksgiving festivities. It was a good, busy visit. We arrived Saturday night and got settled in. On Sunday we headed to church with Mar-mar and then hung out around the house. Monday night was dinner at the Caf at Xavier and then we headed to a Men’s basketball game. Both are always highlights.
Tuesday night we had dinner with the Romans and then the Herrels on Wednesday. Thursday was Thanksgiving breakfast, dinner with my parents and the Donleys, and then we watched The Sound of Music. On Friday Lucia and I went for a hike with Be-Bob, Jill, and Madelyn while Susan and the kids hit Ikea. Dinner was the traditional Friday night LaRosa’s.
Playing on the Ice
Outside Happenings
A couple quick videos of us trying to take advantage of the fading warmth:
Andrew Rip Stiking
Nutella Face
Lucia wouldn’t sit still for a picture, so I shot this instead.
Laundry Time!
We have been on a good laundry schedule lately, washing on Saturday and folding on Sunday. This is what our weekly haul looks like, at least this time of year:
Beggars’ Night 2014
Weekend Wrap-Up
The weather was beautiful this weekend and we were able to take full advantage of it. On Friday night the kids and I went on an ‘Owl Prowl’ with Polk County Conservation. We learned a little bit about the owls in our area and then went for a night hike to see if we could make contact with any owls. Our guide was unsuccessful, but it was a beautiful night to be outside. After the event the kids and I hit Over the Top, our favorite ice cream shop in Des Moines. Where was Susan for all of this? She was in Ames with her mother for a craft fair and dinner at The Café.
Saturday was spent mostly at home, with Andy visiting in the morning, naptime (for Lucia) and then we went exploring in the woods on the other side of the creek. The plants are thick so in the summer it was difficult, but now things are thinning out a bit so it is more reasonable. There are some awesome areas for the kids to play and I am hoping to put in a short single-track trail through the woods.
After dinner on Saturday we carved our pumpkins. The kids love it and couldn’t wait. There was some frustration, but in the end it was all smiles.
Sunday was a busy day, with most of the day spent away from home. We left at around 11 and headed to Stone Park, just outside of downtown, for a Cyclocross relay race. My team was Nate, John, Scott, and I. It was fun and the weather was awesome. Susan and the kids were there to cheer us on. After the bike race we headed to Hope’s birthday party at a farm outside of Ankeny. There were a ton of activities, including a very cool corn maze.
Fun times.
Wills Apple Orchard
This past weekend we visited Wills Apple Orchard, a small farm owned by a homeschool family that puts on a fun fall festival. It is a cool place in a beautiful setting.
Lucia turns 2!
This afternoon we celebrated Lucia’s second birthday! We had the Reagens and the Liesses over after Lucia’s nap for some cake and presents. It was a fun afternoon. Lucia loved all of the attention, singing, and opening presents. The cake was great as well!
Lucia continues to be an incredibly sweet, cute kid. She loves to say hello and always offers a hug and kiss goodbye. She uses ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ appropriately, which is adorable. It is hard not to give her everything she wants!
She sleeps with Mari now, though I still get her to sleep in the Boba every night. Every time I try something different it just takes too long, so we keep going with the Boba. It is great time together and I get a lot of reading done! She still naps every afternoon and is by far our most consistent sleeper of the 4.
She loves to dance and sing. She loves participating in the Bean Sprout activities, as well. She is in the Parents & Tots class all the time with Susan and will jump in with the Playgarden class whenever she gets the chance. She loves circle time.
At dinner, usually about 2/3 of the way through the meal, she folds her hands and says ‘pray’, until we pray. Then about a minutes later she folds her hands again and says, “More pray.”
She is not a great eater. She loves noodles and gogurt. She used to eat a lot of cottage cheese, but less so now. She loves rice and for her birthday dinner we had beans and rice.
She loves to go outside and go for walks. The kids do a great job of taking her out and keeping an eye on here when she is outside. She likes stroller rides and bike rides and is always up for an adventure.
If someone gets hurt, she is always there to give them a hug to help them feel better, or she will lightly stroke their leg or back. She understands what sad means, recognizes it, and sometimes imitates it when she is telling a story.
She is a pain to have in church, or anywhere she has to sit down. She likes to keep going.
She still says ‘Eeee’, with an upswing, when she wants to nurse. She calls her pacifier ‘pappy,’ which I think is ‘pacie’.
She loves to join in at the homeschool table when she is not with the Bean Sprout kids. She writes remarkably well (she at least knows how to hold a pencil) and will ask us to write a list of names on her paper, always starting with Hopey and Nate. She loves the Reagens – especially Hope and Nate.
When she sees someone she likes or even knows she says ‘Hi’ and runs to them, Susan gets this treatment all the time.
