Space!

As always, time goes faster and faster and we are already over 1/3 of the way done with our school year.

We have been very eclectic this year! As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to be a little looser with our curriculum.

So, we are doing a Space unit. The girls have wanted to do a Space unit for a couple of years, and we simply never had time because of our very structured curriculum. I love a structured curriculum, but one of the best parts of homeschooling is our ability to learn things that we are excited about. So, this is the year where I am taking the plunge and trying to incorporate the kids' wishes. Hence, Space.

We have spent far longer on it than I thought we would, but we are having a lot of fun with it, so it's worth it. We have read lots of books (The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is so far a bust, we may just switch to the movie instead), are working on a fun lapbook, visited a Planetarium, and made this really, really cool diorama. It's one of my favorite things the girls have made in all of our years of homeschooling:

We learned about the phases of the moon, courtesy of Oreo's. This was their favorite:

And so, we continue onward. There are good days and bad days, but overall things are going very, very well. We really do have a lot of fun together!

Denver Zoo

This week is full of co-ops! Normally I try to not do more than 1 co-op a week, but there were some great ones so we signed up.

Today was Free Day at the zoo, and we had a co-op that focused on classification. We hadn't been to the zoo in a couple of years, so it was great to go again. We had a great time! Even though it was super crowded when we got there at 1, by the time we left at 4 it was pretty empty.

Camille was super excited for the penguins.

Claire took this picture- and I think it turned out really cool:

Traffic was awful coming home, but we survived.

Then, for FHE tonight I thought I would do a cool experiment that Emily Freeman recommended in regards to Hebrews 4:2: "...not being mixed with faith in them that heard it," which refers to a group of Jews who had the gospel preached to them, but because they lacked faith the gospel didn't mean anything to them and had no affect on their lives. The idea was to make caramel corn. When we added baking soda, or faith, to the caramel, it was supposed to expand and explode in the pan to show what we become when we add faith to the gospel.

Let's just say the result were...underwhelming to say the least. It didn't expand at all and was quite disappointing.

Trunk or Treat

We couldn't get the building until tonight, so we had our Trunk or Treat the day after Halloween. Somehow, I am on every committee for every activity, so I was part of the committee for this activity. I put together our flyers:

I decided to actually try for our car this year. Normally I just throw some of our decorations in the back and call it good. But, my friend did this idea and it was pretty easy and cute. Plus, the girls got really excited and into it:

Our numbers were down from last year, presumably because of the day. It's a bummer, because it really was great. The owners of our favorite, though now closed, restaurant Piere Michele made the dinner- three different types of soup (pumpkin, French Onion, and Ministrone), and mac and cheese- not Kraft, the actual good stuff with real cream and good cheeses. They even made a gluten free pan for people like me who can't eat gluten!

It was a great night. And, now Halloween is officially over. Hallelujah!

We brought Audra's friends Brooke and Sarah with us:

Ben and Camille came late because of Camille's basketball practice, and when they got there we pretty much never saw our kids again because they were off having fun.

Happy Halloween!

Well, it's been a pretty horrific Halloween week.

We got hit with a double storm- one on Sunday, then another worse one on Monday. Trick or Treat streets were canceled. Cloverleaf was canceled so they couldn't wear their costumes to school. The pumpkins all froze, so I didn't even bother buying any- so no jack-o-lanterns this year (I wasn't at all sad about that!).

Pretty much, it was a bust.

BUT- that actually kind-of made today much, much better.

A homeschooling family organized a Halloween party for this afternoon that was not canceled.

There were lots of games, and then the movie, "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which, believe it or not, we ha never seen before. Here's my thoughts: Tim Burton has a very strange mind! Brilliant, but strange.



Then for the main event. The weather was chilly, but not horrible. Last year it was like 15 degrees, this year wasn't so bad. We had about 30 trick or treaters. The girls stuck to our neighborhood for the first time and had a wonderful time. They went with our neighbor, and Ben bonded with Tom which was nice. They made a major haul! I feel like this is the first year they really had to work for their candy! They were out for a couple hours, which is more than normal, since they didn't go to all the other trick or treating and events and they weren't already worn out from those events. It was great!

We do still have trunk or treat tomorrow, but even without it, I would call Halloween a huge success, even if the "week of Halloween" that has been our tradition in years past was a bit of bust.

Another 50 Degree Temperature Swing

For the second time this month, we have experienced a 50-plus degree temperature swing in 24  hours. It was beautiful on Saturday, then the snow came. And has kept coming. We are on day 4 of snow, with about a foot accumulated so far, with more on the way. Cloverleaf is already canceled for tomorrow, which is a bummer because the girls were really excited to wear their "Book Character" costumes.

I really, really hope this isn't a sign that we are going to have a bitter cold and eternal winter.

Camille's Soccer Season

Camille had a great season of soccer! She is still playing a year up because she wants to play with her friend Ivy. This year she had a great coach- we felt very blessed. But, not surprisingly, she is moving up with her daughter to a more competitive league next season. I wasn't at all surprised as she was very intense about the team.

Here is what her coach said about her:  "Although I'm sad to lose Camille next season, I completely understand Camille's and your circumstance.  I'm just glad she's going to continue playing as she is doing an amazing job playing a level up and doing as well as she has this season!

It has been my pleasure to coach Camille this past season.  She's determined every practice and game to do better and it has shown with the level of improvement she's had from beginning to end.  I couldn't be more proud of her as I'm sure you are too. :)  My favorite memory is when she "struts" across the field like she owns the place and then when it's go time she switches gears  in a split second!  It's so fun to watch.  She is a firecracker!"

For the end of the year celebration, we went with the team on a Haunted Hayride. It was a blast! And, it was right before a storm came in, so it was nice to be outside while we still could be.

It was fun seeing her play goalie just like her mom:

Here is the team at the hayride:

Birthday Adventure

For my Birthday present/activity this year, I decided I wanted to go to The Molly Brown House Victorian Horrors- thank you, Beth, for the idea!

Basically, it's an historic Victorian home that they decorate very spooky. They hire actors to come and read spooky stories- one of which being the creepiest Edgar Allen Poe of all time reading A Tell-Tale Heart. There were 5 actors total, and every one was simply fabulous. We LOVED it!

We started the night at Steuben's, where I ordered their famous Maine Lobster Sandwich and learned a very expensive lesson: I do not like lobster. At all. There goes that $30...

But, the Victorian Halloween was so wonderful! So the night was still the best, and I'm so glad we went!

Oh, and Edgar Allen Poe was really a creepy dude!