Spring Has Sprung

We have had lots of things happening around here lately. It seems that the pace was no slower after the holidays! We started back to co-op with me teaching two classes this semester. I love to be with the children and teaching, but I think I should have stuck to one class. There is a lot to prepare for with two classes.

Somewhere shoved in there we had Carter's 7th birthday party. We were blessed with many friends to share it with. I told him he was a very lucky little boy to have all those friends that care about him.

We have also been busy with Cub Scouts. We have had den meetings, pack meetings, the Blue and Gold Banquet in February and then most recently was Pinewood Derby. Carter chose to make his car into a fish. It definitely wasn't the fastest and he didn't win for design either. One of the Boy Scout leaders officiating at the race said that it was definitely the most imaginative he had seen in a while. Carter had fun and that's what matters!

We did finally take a little break last week. We took a much needed short vacation to celebrate our 14th anniversary. We took a short family trip to Gatlinburg. That was the second time that we had been there since Carter was born. He didn't remember his first trip because he was only 2 the last time we were there. He didn't know what to expect before we went but he didn't want to leave when it came time to return home.

Happy Holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Co-op completed!

We have had a full week and it's only half over!

We wrapped up our first homeschool co-op today. We all took a breakfast dish this morning and enjoyed the fellowship of all the other families before 1st period classes. That was a lot of fun! Then we had a short class. I did a treasure hunt for my class (12 k-3rd students). It was cold and rainy outside, so we had to do our hunt inside. I hope we didn't disturb all the other classes too badly! The kids had fun and that's what matters! Then we all got certificates and had cake and ice cream after our 2nd period classes.

I feel like this first co-op was a great success. I know that I was blessed to be able to work with all the children in my pirate class. It won't be long and I'll start preparing for the next semester (two levels of hands-on science classes for me).

Carter really enjoyed co-op this semester. When we came home after classes today he played with some of his toys as if he was the teacher. First he taught them about pirates and then he held his own cooking class. I don't think we realize how much of an impression things can make on our kids!

This week we have also been to a soap class given by a mom in our homeschool group. I didn't know that Carter would like it because he usually doesn't get into crafty things. Well... he loved making soaps! It was so simple to do. We'll probably do it more at home now that we know how fun it is.

Now that we have a bit of a break from some of our other activities we will have time to slow down and enjoy the next few weeks of the holidays. It will be nice!

October 31st, 2008

Carter dressed as Anikan from Star Wars. Everyone thought he was Luke Skywalker. He didn't hesitate to tell them who he was! This was his best Anikan pose. It was a beautiful day to get treats on Main Street. He got his picture taken at the newspaper office and it was in one of last weeks editions. I think this is the only picture I got of him by himself that day.

The second picture is Carter with his good friend "Strawberry Shortcake"!

Festive fall recipes - my favorites

Hot Mulled Cider

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 quarts apple cider
1 tsp whole allspice
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 oranges sliced, with peels

Combine brown sugar & cider.
Put spices in cheesecloth. Add orange slices to cooker. Cook in crockpot on low 2 to 8 hours. Note: I think it is best to serve this within 4 hours because it tends to begin to seperate when it after several hours.


Pumpkin Dump Cake

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large can (29 oz) pure pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix pumpkin, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and condensed milk. Pour into ungreased 9 x 13 inch dish. Sprinkle spice cake mix over top. Pour melted butter over the spice cake mix. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 350 for 60 minutes or until golden brown.

It's been crazy here!

I was all excited about blogging when I started this. It has just not slowed down at all since mid-September. It seems like every week has been crammed full of happenings. Several families from our homeschool group started a co-op in September. I teach a group of twelve k-3rd grades in my Pirate class and that keeps me busy with lesson planning. We have also started cub scouts. Jeff took the Cubmaster position and I am the assistant. We have been busy with training and meetings for that. During September and October I worked about four days a week with a friend in preparation for our Autumn Street Fair where we had a craft booth. I thought once that was over life would slow down a bit. Boy was I wrong!

Within the next few days I hope to have some fall photos posted that everyone can enjoy.

Joining the blogging world! What to expect here.

I have wanted to start a blog for a long time. I have just never sat down at the computer with nothing else scheduled and taken time to begin one. Finally... I have made the move. I'm excited about it! I have been reading some blogs of friends and I'm glad I finally got started on our own.

Here you will find a mix of our daily life happenings, special occasions, as well as homeschool happenings.

I will post as often as I can. Sometimes it gets crazy around here!

Have a great day!