Friday, October 21, 2022

Marking Time

With the arrival of autumn, the time to capture family photos arrived as well. The turning of the leaves is always the perfect backdrop for some great photos. We made the appointment, marked the calendar, planned the outfits, and prayed for good weather. God granted us the good weather and good health and we had a blast making some memories.
This year we had an addition to our sitting. We now have someone who we affectionately call "adopted". He's a friend of the older boys who has become like a brother. He hangs out with us in general, enjoys outings with us when he can, he met the family when they came out in summer, he's spent holidays with us, and we're all kinda attached. :-) Meet Levi.
Our photographer has consistently shown up and showed out for us both in interaction and in capturing the personalities of each of us. I love that she can get not jsut a pretty picture, but a picture of who we are at the same time, and she's got a great eye for candids that often make some of the best shots/memories. Thank you very much Heather for taking care of us again!

Where the Wildlife Roams Among the Pumpkins

The weather here has quickly taken a dramatic turn and has become markedly cooler. I know autumn isn't nearly over--calendar wise--but the temperatures are surely refelcting winter. However, we took advantage of a clear day to venture out and enjoy an autumn afternoon at a pumpkin patch that was new to us. This patch was a bit of a drive, but the uniqueness of its offerings were too intriguing to pass up.
Not only were we able to roam through a field of pumpkins to select our favorites and to take them home for food and seed, we also were able to interact with some non-traditional farm animals which was quite the treat.
The hayride took us out to see and feed the camels, emu, zebras, as well as pigs, sheep, and goats.
We also saw ponies, kangaroo, a large tortiose, reindeer, and miniature steer. The topper for the day was visiting with and feeding George the giraffe.
Though the animals were the definite highlight of the farm, we also wandered through the corn maze and identified wildflowers.
After we were done exploring the farm, we stopped for coffee and played a bit of chess while enjoying seasonal muffins before we made the drive back home.
The day was beutiful and though it was a bit chilly, the memories were worth the excursion. :-)

Friday, October 14, 2022

Apple Festival

One of our most favorite fall kick-off events is Apple Festival. It's held in the mountains where the apples grow aundantly, the air is a little crisper, and the beauty abounds. We love to go to enjoy scenery, festival foods, art and vendors, music and memory making.
This year we took a group of young adult friends with us who just added to our enjoyment.
We introduced them to this fall festival fav, learned abount playing the panjo, visited our favorite leather crafter and rootbeer maker, and we even helped one of the girls get a bucket list item checked off--camel riding.
The weather was wonderful and the laughs were plenty. After we ate fried green toamatoes and saw all we could see, we left the fargrounds to top off the day at our favorite coffee house for coffee, conversation, and cornhole.
It was the perfect end to an absolutely lovely day.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

The Start of School

The first week of school has come and gone. It was a busy week but a really good one. Our little school now has students in 5th, 7th, 8th, and 10th grades. Pretty soon we won't have any elementary students--what a thought!
This year we are participating in a co-op PE class. Connor is an assitant coach while the others simply play to learn and have fun. So far it's been great. We have a wonderful private field to play on and a gym to use for the winter thanks to the cooperation of a local church who supports homeschoolers. Our local homeschool groups offers us many opportunities like fellowship, field trips, classes and events, teacher support, and other programs. It's quite the blessing. We jumped right into a class this first week. Outdoor learning was on the docket and tree and snake identification were the focus. The children learned how to identify trees using leaves and bark as key indicators. They made a nature notebook and vowed to continue to fill it up because they were so intrigued. Snakes are a real interest in our area of the country. We see them quite often actually and have croseed paths with them more frequently here than anywhere else we've lived. With 6 of hte 10 most poisonous snakes in North America living in our state, it's pretty important to know how ot recognize species and know if they are poisonous or not, The children soaked up the information and enjoyed the opportunity to meet a couple of snakes that they could touch without worry--a boa and a python. We are signed up for another nature class in October and we can't wait to attend it. :-)
Since it is September, apple season is officially upon us, and we were in the area, we made a trip a little further up the highway to visit an old fashioned farm market before we headed home. The place had everything from fresh veggies and fruits, canned foods and jams, syrups, butters and sauces, homemade breads and pies, ice cream, candies and old fashioned drinks, and even giftables. The children decided to get old fashioned sodas--rootbeer, cream soda, sasparilla, and birch beer (new to me! It was reported that it tasted like cherry rootbeer and that it was really good). We bought two big bags of apples. Between eating them fresh and dehydrating some of them, these apples will be gone in no time! :-) It's not officially Fall yet, but with the stat of school and the weather cooling a bit it sure feels like it. We've even noted leaves falling regularly in our backyard. When it does officially begin, we'll be ready, :-) Welcme to the 2022-2023 school year!