A Quiet Autumn Hike

Just what we needed, an hour or so away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A short drive, a few dollars for admission, finding the right spot. We chose to hike the Vineyard Springs trail in Glen Artney, supposedly popular with the mountain bikers. We crossed paths with just three. The path was easy at the start, and other than one short but steep climb uphill, remained that way. The colors were beautiful, the air was crisp, the quiet was wonderful.
Enjoy photos HERE.

My birth, by Jamie

I was born on June 17th, on a Tuesday. I looked cute like all babies. I was given lots and lots of cards and presents and Dorth got some too.

a third list

Jamie would like:

just about anything Pokemon, but specifically the items found at this wish list.

Other things: Legos, Star Wars, fun/character t-shirts (size 10 or larger), science experiments (especially ones that explode!), nerf

another's list

Dot's wishes







http://hopefullyhelpful2u.blogspot.com/2011/09/wishlist-for-2011.html

Christmas List

DVD list:
Wizard of Oz
King & I
Sound of Music
Brigadoon
Hello Dolly
(any classic musicals!)
Young Victoria
Jane Eyre (new this year)
Sherlock (new BBC version, season 1 and/or 2)
(Of course, if you find the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes at a thrift store, I wouldn't be opposed to that!)

plain gold hoop earrings
turquoise jewelry (not with silver)
sapphire jewelry (not with silver)

bathroom hand towels (cream or blue)
vintage pillowcases

as always: Fiestaware, vintage sewing patterns

Colonial Life

This past weekend we took off on a mini-vacation (or, extended field trip) in Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown were offering steep discounts for homeschoolers. We chose to visit Williamsburg and Jamestown over two days.

While Williamsburg is lovely, and large, I don't think I would suggest anyone pay full price for admission. There are countless other re-enactment sites throughout the nation that are just as educational, even if they don't have a wigmaker on staff. That said, we did have a nice time visiting. This year they instituted a new program, RevQuest: Sign of the Rhinoceros. We were given a bandana to identify ourselves and a packet containing a puzzle book, code book, and "colonial money." We spent about 2 hours to tour the town and figure out the who, what, and where of the puzzle. In the afternoon ceremony we were given a brass coin to celebrate solving the mystery.

At Jamestown we were signed up for a 2-hour tour. Again, the site is nice, but we wouldn't have gone at full price. Jamie was the most engaged on the tour (it was geared toward his age level), but we enjoyed seeing the sites as well. My take-away? Those ships were tiny! I can't imagine the trip across the ocean!

Overall, the kids thought the trip was fun, if sneakily educational. The best part, of course, was the hotel: pool, cable tv, and bacon for breakfast!

See Pictures HERE.

Rain, rain, go away

Last week Hurricane Irene came and left her mark in our basement. Now we have an mostly empty basement ready for fixing up a bit, and a garage full of stuff with no room for a car.
This week Tropical Storm Lee has come to visit while Jim is in California. We tried out the new generator, and it keeps the sump pump going. That's all we ask of it, really. Keep our basement as dry as possible.
We could use a dry autumn now, as our ground is like a sopping wet sponge. A day of sun, with a nice breeze to dry things up a bit, now that would be nice.
Pictures from Irene, HERE.

Summertime creativity

Even though we aren't doing school, the kids don't get to have the entire day to waste. We still meet for a short while each morning to read from a book (currently, Names of God), during which time the kids can draw or color. To help them, I have brought home Ed Emberly's drawing books. They have really enjoyed his thumbprint book. Here is Dot's "choir" picture, full of action.

Jamie, on the other hand, has decided to move into more 3D artwork. Actually, he only decided this during dinner the other night. (Our children do not like eggs right now, and I have been trying different ways of cooking them to see if they will change their minds. So far, no luck.) We had soft-cooked eggs, which while they weren't good enough to tempt them to eat, they were terribly fun to crack open and spill out over the plate. This is Jamie's "mess of eggs."

My sewing machine has been busy. Not only have I made many pieces of clothing, I have also begun a series of baby quilts (there are lots of church babies due this summer!). The first was for a mom of two boys who is expecting her first girl. She loves shabby chic, so I made a simple 9-patch quilt and added in blocks with rosettes. Very girly!

NASA visit

Saturday was NASA/Goddard's open house, and after a trip to Dot's recital, we headed over to check out what they had on display. Lines, lines, lines... there were so many people! Jamie did not get to go to the Lego program (someone said that it was just an hour of letting 200 kids play with legos on the floor, so I suppose we didn't miss too much!), but Dot did get to hear a woman speak about being an astronomer. We visited quite a few booths and picked up lots of posters, stickers, and bookmarks. We looked at lots of models and pictures of satellites, and wandered through a rocket garden. The highlight, for Jamie, was what we took pictures of...

story time

The Hidden Treasure

by Jamie

April 8, 2011

Two boys were playing in the back yard. One decided to dig a hole under the house. He wanted to trap people in their scary basement. While they were digging they found a treasure map. “Wow!” they said. The treasure was on an island, Australia.

The boys went to a pilot, and offered to pay him with gold coins after they found their treasure. He flew them there. As they followed the map, they found a forest. A boy ran by, saying, “Don’t go in there! There is a skeleton in there!” The boys were not afraid, and went on in. They found the spot and got out their shovels. They dug up the treasure. Then they met a skeleton that said, “Put me treasure back!” The boys said, “ If you come back with us we could make the ultimate scary house! We’ll pay you two gold coins!” The pirate skeleton said, “Only if they have a 10 on them!” The boys agreed. As they left the forest with their treasure, they met the scared boy again. He asked how they got the skeleton to come with them. They said, “We paid him two ten-gold coins!”

The boys paid the pilot and flew back home. The skeleton and the boys put on parachutes and jumped out over their house. They dug down to their basement and put the skeleton inside. “Tomorrow is Halloween. When you hear people coming, say ‘Aaarrr!’ and scare them! We’ll make sure they come in. This will be the perfect trap. It will be a rubber hole gag – they will fall in and you will get them!” said the boys.

The next day was Halloween, and the whole neighborhood fell into the trap. The boys were happy because they got all the candy, which they shared with the skeleton. They couldn’t wait to do it again the next year.

updated photos

I wanted to take advantage of Snapfish's 11th anniversary sale (111 photos for $1.11 plus S/H), but had to get my photos ready first. I now have more photos up on Picasa, including this past Christmas, a couple of snowstorms, and a field trip or two. Check them out here. (Of course, they don't compare to the tropical beauty that KJ has posted recently on FB...)

Second grade writing

My Funniest Relative
by Jamie

Uncle Andy is very funny because he makes things make-believe seem real! He tells jokes. he even told us to go on the table for breakfast! He is weird and funny. He is a Rupert.