Cute Boys

My Fingertips Are So Sore!

The really hot glue gun worked for the pinecone wreath! Of course it looks a little off center in the picture, but that's ok. My fingers are sore from handling so many poke-y pine cones and I went through almost *80* gluesticks for this project. Each cone took at least one gluestick! Seriously, they don't make hot glue guns like they did when I did such crafts before.

The wreath was supposed to go on Percy The Shed, but I don't have any confidence that this wreath will hold up to wind, rain and snow. So it's hanging outside the kitchen door where is scares us when we walk by, thinking it's a burglar outside. This wreath COULD be used as a weapon- it is so heavy and sharp!

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and the strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” – George Washington Carver

HT: thatmom.com

History Lesson Gone Wrong

Question from Hope's book "Mystery of History": What are the names of Adam and Eve's children?

Hope's answer: Slim

We have work to do.

And today, Winter Days, apparently

What happened to Fall?

Baby, it's cold outside.

Fall Days

Balloon Boy Tweets

SpunkyHomeSchool linked to tweets about "Balloon Boy" this morning. I clicked over and posted a few of the good ones:

#Balloonboy just received the Nobel Prize for Physics! He didn't go up in Balloon, but was THINKING about doing it.

Breaking News: If this story couldn't get more bizarre, it's just been announced that Obama was awarded a prize for rescuing balloon boy.

And my personal favorite:

Beyonce to #balloonboy family: "If you liked him then you should have put a string on it."

Job Update

After months and months (and years) of a less than ideal job situation, Brian met with his boss today to ask to be transferred to a different department within the company. This would mean that he would not be working for the manager who has caused so much strife and hopefully put him around people who are more appreciative of his skills and efforts.

The downside would be that he wouldn't be working closely with his good friend anymore, but they could still meet each other for lunch sometimes.

The tech job market is still bad here, so changing departments could be the best solution for Brian right now. We are mindful every day that there are those without employment and we are grateful for this job.

Fall Projects

While at Hobby Lobby the other day, I found a few "fall picks" that looked like they went together. So I made a wreath to replace the rather anemic one that hung there before. The anemic one looks better on the china cabinet anyway so she is not offended by the demotion.

The wonderful geraniums that graced the urns this summer have been replaced by pumpkins and leaves from the maple tree (courtesy of Hope). The front door wreath has also benefited from Hobby Lobby's bounty in the form of faux berries.

The kiddos and I are trying to make a pine cone wreath but the pine cones won't stay glued on. I tried googling "pine cones won't stay on wreath" but just found tutorials on glue-gunning on pine cones, which as I said, wasn't working for us. Sigh. I sure don't want to wire on a hundred pine cones!

And Hope is greatly enjoying all the silver and gold glitter we bought to decorate Christmas ornaments. The *whole house* now glitters, especially the kitchen table.

*Photo taken on the last day of summer*

It's a foggy day outside my window. Yesterday I sat in the sun for awhile and I loved soaking up the warmth, knowing that winter is on the way. It's getting near the time for the peak fall colors, so I hope we'll be able to take a drive to the mountains soon. We don't have many trees close by, so our neighborhood color is limited to the sagebrush which turns red, yellow and orange.

In our classroom, we finished our study of the Middle Ages and are now moving into the Renaissance period. After the Renaissance, my history lesson plans stop, so I should probably figure out what happens next.

Jacob's new science textbook is slated to arrive this week. He's in sixth grade but the book is the 8th grade text. You can guess what his favorite subject is. If he only liked writing half as much as science, we'd be in good shape.

Hannah got her ACT test results back and they were high enough for her to meet her graduation goals. They were not high enough for her to qualify for the "big" financial aid awards at the colleges we checked, so she wants to retake the test and see if she can do better. She plans on re-taking geometry with the "Math-U-See" curriculum (her original geometry was taught by a local tutor using a different method) not for school credit, but to help her on her college entrance tests.

Looking at colleges takes me back to the time when I was Hannah's age. Today there are so many more options for higher education that it can make the prospect more daunting at times. I would like Hannah to take some Bible and English/Writing classes and she is anxious to investigate Art classes. We are praying for wisdom for this next year as Hannah weighs where (and how) she would like to further her education.

Abby is thinking about writing an essay for an online publication. She is a good writer and thankfully, she has a sister who can help her with her spelling (that dyslexia, again!). I am excited to see her motivation for stretching herself academically. She has recovered from her flu and thankfully the rest of us didn't get it.

Hope is in third grade and loves all her subjects. She has been the easiest to teach so far and she reminds me of Hannah in her independent way of studying (plus a little of Abby's drama thrown in for good measure). I don't know what we would do without this little firecracker of a girl in our family!

Looking forward to a quiet week of schoolwork and fall walks in the neighborhood and the nearby park...

With Grandpa and Grandma

Camby, Grandpa and Grandma's newest service dog- in-training looked a lot like the display dog at the restaurant!

Unusual flowers...

With Cousin Doug

Grandpa and Grandma

Back Online Again

Hello there! Our computer had a major heart attack and has been in the hospital recovering. It has mentioned that it would like to upload the pictures from our camera, but it might take a few more days of pampering for it to do this.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying the fall sun and snow (!), Grandparents and the swine flu. I guess we haven't really been enjoying the flu, but what else can you do besides eat chicken soup and groan? So far it's just Abby with the flu- I think the rest of us had it at the beginning of the summer, albeit in a much milder form. In a few days we'll know for sure.

Looking forward to resuming blogging soon...

Meet Percy, our shed (and summer project)

Because of the high winds out here, Brian had to reinforce the walls so we wouldn't be chasing the shed down the street one spring day...

We are loading up Percy with the contents of our basement (one of the final steps in the basement project) and with a few things from the garage. It's not a big fancy barn like most of our neighbors have, but now we can say we have an "outbuilding"!

Hope with Mini

Yesterday was a sad day for the bunny lovers in our home as one of our rabbits, Jack, died. He started to show signs of illness only the day before and quickly went downhill. We were driving to the vet in the morning when he passed away. Now we are down to four bunnies and two of them are getting to be older. It will be strange when this stage of life has passed- breeding and raising rabbits. The kids have said they want a little dog to compensate for the lack of bunnies someday. We'll see.


Now, for you Facebook fans-

Jennifer says she is glad to be getting over a bad cold.

Jennifer is always surprised how messy the house gets when mom is out of it for a few days.

Jennifer says it's really hard to drive your sobbing children to the vet when you have a bad cold.

Jennifer is glad that the bunny died *before* we got to the vet and so we don't have a vet bill to go along with the grief.

Pikes Peak Cog Railroad with Grandpa!

So excited for the train to start.

She was just a little toddler the last time she rode a train.

On the way up the mountain, the tour guide informed us that around 90 years ago, a woman gave birth here in this house. That was one tough lady. Obviously. Look where that poor woman lived.

That baby grew up and worked on the cog railroad.

View from the top of Pikes' Peak.

The views that inspired the song "America the Beautiful".

Our train ready for the trip back down the mountain.

The cogs that the train grips all the way up the steep terrain.

"Diamond Rock".

Apparently I've Been Hiding Under A Rock

Because y'all are on Facebook!! I knew about it, but never really checked it out. Do you twitter too?

So I finally look around with Brian's account and see my Dad there. I thought parents, especially retired ones, were supposed to be behind the times (like me, for instance).

For goodness sake, my grandmother used to ask me if I had an internet. I thought it was impressive that she even knew of the existence of the internet. Explaining that I did not own THE internet didn't get very far, however.

So, let me ask you- do you really like Facebook? Do you actually care what your friends had for breakfast or what color they just painted their toes?

Let's Go Fly A Kite

With the past week feeling more like fall than late summer, Jacob and Hope were able to take advantage of the breezes by flying kites.

It's nice to be able to do this in the open fields without worrying about getting the strings caught in tree branches.

We were thankful, however, for a tree and its branches close by for Jacob to repair his kite the old fashioned way.

Interview with Aunt Jewel

Brian's Aunt Jewel stopped by for an overnight visit in July and we enjoyed the chance to ask her questions about her life and get to know more about the family history. We even discovered a few family skeletons in the closet! (Today, though, the circumstances would not be considered scandalous). Here is part of the interview with Aunt Jewel. (I need to download the pictures we took while Aunt Jewel was here).

Jewel's paternal Grandfather, James P. moved from England to Grafton, Australia to find a job. Once he found employment, he sent for Sarah Woods, his fiance, who arrived from England. They were married by the ship's captain in Australia. While they lived there, they ran a store selling fresh produce. In fact, their son (Jewel's father) has a memory of getting food on a truck from the warf when he was a toddler.

All together, James and Sarah had thirteen children with three dying in infancy. Their oldest child was named Jim and their youngest was named Ethel.

When Jewel's father, Reginald, was two years old, the family moved back in England (in 1896). The reason given for this move was that Sarah was homesick. In England, they also ran a produce business.

In 1910 or 1911, the whole family moved again, this time to America. The came into Montreal, Canada, and then into the US. They first went to Arkansas and tried to buy land there, but it didn't work out. So they went to Benden, Michigan near Traverse City and bought land for a farm. There they raised cattle, wheat and vegetables. Jewel said they would listen to the radio to find out good farming practices for that area of the country. (Too bad they didn't have the internet back then!).

Jewel remembered going to visit her grandparents on their farm, having to drive all night to get there, and getting to sleep in her Grandmother's bed (her brothers had to sleep in the barn!). She remembered her cousin Johnny who would drive his Model T into the nearby bay and pull the cousins on a raft around the lake. She also remembered when her brother Stoney had scarlet fever, the doctor recommended fresh air, so he lived at his grandparent's farm during the summer for his recovery.

After Grandpa James died, Uncle Tom took over the farm. Grandma Sarah stayed with her children, Aunt Ethel especially. Aunt Ethel was a nurse who took training to help people with polio, then later worked at an Elizabeth Arden beauty salon. Grandma liked to visit Ethel's fancy apartment.

Jewel's father (and Brian's grandfather) Reginald was born in Australia. He met his wife Charlotte Adams at the Methodist church where she was the Sunday School Superintendent. They married when they were both 28 and together they had three children, Stoney, Jewel and Lloyd.

Reginald, Charlotte and Lloyd

Reginald worked for the University of Chicago Press where they published books by professors. He set type at the press and corrected the type after the first run through. He worked three days a week during the Depression and had another job selling shoes during that time.

In retirement, he worked at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago setting up their printing exhibits. He would set up the antique printing machines and used them to print out menus and invitations to museum events. He loved talking to people and teaching them about printing. Reginald also enjoyed gardening in his victory garden and singing in a group called the "Glee Men".

Jewel met her husband Jim in high school English class and she liked that he was sociable and that he paid attention to her (!). They liked to go to movies together. They were married in the early 50's and he was in the Navy. Jim was stationed in Cuba during the Viet Nam War for three years. Jewel lived with Jim in Cuba for 6 months on a naval base. Jim and Jewel had three children, Dana (who is currently a librarian), Jimmy (who is an engineer) and Pam (who is a college Chemistry professor). Jewel has three grandchildren (her daughter Pam's children).

I asked Aunt Jewel in what ways she resembles her parents and this was her answer:

Like her father, Jewel has a love of learning. She likes to sing and she thinks that her personality is similar to his.
Like her mother, Jewel was a good housewife and enjoyed cooking and sewing. She thinks she resembles her mother physically.

Charlotte, Jewel's mother

Now that Jewel is in her 80's, she remains active and continues to enjoy traveling and camping. Her life has been full of both academics (Chemistry, especially) and with rafting, camping and outdoor adventure. Her goal is to continue to travel with the other women in her camping group.

Aunt Jewel's camping gear

Finally, I asked Jewel what advice she would give to someone else. She answered, "Be sure you know how to have meaningful discussions with people, your spouse, your children, and to know how to communicate with others. Relationships are of primary importance."

It was wonderful to sit down with Aunt Jewel and learn more about Brian's side of the family. I learned a lot and enjoyed hearing about the exciting and adventurous life Aunt Jewel has led!

Bits and Pieces

Hannah has been making more cards from her paper flower collection. She enjoys making them after her schoolwork is done and she can unwind while listening to music.

Since the weather has been feeling more like late summer/early fall, I made a fall wreath for the front door. Hopefully this act will change the weather patterns and we can get back to summer.

This book was a good read. Although I didn't agree with everything the author said, I appreciated his thoughts and viewpoints. (My brain isn't working well enough right now to compose a summary of the book!)

We have completed our second week of school. So far it has been going well and we are enjoying our group/history time of studying the Middle Ages. The kiddos are reading books from this time period for their independent reading/English as well.

Jacob hurt his ankle and we tried all kinds of things to help it. We finally went to the doctor who said to put ice on it. So we did and the ankle feels better. Now he says his knees hurt. Grrr.

And finally, Hannah got her driver's permit and is ready to start driving around. I'm not sure I'm ready for *this* stage of parenting.