Dorito's Demise

Remember how John got a great betta fish gift for his birthday? That's when Dorito came to live with us. He was a really fun gift with unique story. Well, Dorito died this week. Fish don't live that long, but it was still sad. So what do you do with a tank set up that's fairly new, but empty? You get another fish! So off to the pet store I went for a new resident. When we arrived, the girls and I saw some great choices, and we went home with a beautiful blue crowntail betta we had named Cool Ranch (AKA Mr Cool) to stick with the chip theme.

We excitedly took him home and introduced him to John and we put his plastic bag into the tank for acclimation. Not long after, Sonja reported that Mr Cool was floating upside down. :-( Distressed, I called the shop which graciously told me that stress will occassionally do that to fish and they told me to come back for another. So, Sonja and I packed up Cool Ranch and went back to the store. Once there, we traded him in for another betta. This time a Dragon Scale Crowntail.

He's a little harder to fit into the chip theme but Nikolas suggested Buffalo Ranch. I'm not sure we've settled yet. We might leave the chip department and move into dinosaurs as the tank is Jurassic themed. If so, I think we'll name him Malcom--after Dr. Ian Malcom, notable for the chaos theory in the Jurassic movie. After all, it was with much chaos that we ended up with him anyway. In the end, our new addition is doing well, and now, we can honestly say we own leopards and a dragon. :-)

Her Rendition

I saw something on Etsy that I wanted to get for the fall season. I showed it to Sonja and she said, "I gotcha".

She took one of the pumpkins we had purchased and disappeared into the office. A while later, she emerged with a great replica of the art I was eyeing! Sonja did a fabulous job!

Too bad it's on a pumpkin that will rot. I'll have to get a plastic pumpkin and have her do it again. :-) Great job Sonja!

Apple Fest

We recently made our annual trek out to apple country to enjoy a fall festival. This was our fifth year of attendance--wow! The day started out really foggy and cool, but rather quickly the sun came out and blessed us with beautiful weather which made for a super enjoyable time.

We joined up with a couple of friends again, just to add to the fun, and Bethany was home on fall break. :-)

We enjoyed wandering and looking at what the vendors have to offer while chatting and listening to music. And, of course, there are all things apple to enjoy. However, we can't pass up the homemade rootbeer stand--so good!

Sonja rode the camel with Claire--which made Claire's day. :-)

Bethany and Nikolas had a caricature done--super fun!

Once we left the festival, we headed over to the apple barn to buy some apple treats. Nikolas insists on a fresh apple fritter. I picked up a bushel of appples. The outing ended wiht cards and coffee at our favorite specialty (bourbon barrel coffee) coffe house.

This week we've spent several days processing those apples for our enjoyment. Connor made dehydrated apples, apple chips, apple sauce, and apple butter, while Sonja made apple bread. All of it turned out delicious! We still have apples to process so we'll just make more. :-) Yay for apple season!

Consolidated Teen Time

The youth group took advantage of a day off of school to host an extended teen event. The group is large--about 45 children, so any event is an undertaking, but worth it. The guys had a campout--they really set out to rough it. They were responsible for bringing any and all supplies (food included) to spend the night in the church parking lot as a group. The evening was filled with games led by Jozsef which included a rousing game of capture the flag which resulted in one boy falling and rolling into the lake--the church as a great piece of property. Thankfully, he was easily retrieved and unhurt. However, due to conditions, he was sent home early so that he didn't experience hyperthermia. The low for the night was 38! Besides night games, the boys enjoyed a fire pit complete with smores, and other games like cards and cornhole. Boys either tent camped or set up hammocks in the trees for thier overnight support. Jozsef had a great time as a leader and playing games with the boys. Connor and Riley had raving reports of their experience.

At the same time, at a different location, the girls had a sleepover. The girls' leader needed help due to the large number of girls in attendance, so I joined the fun. Hannah and Sonja both joined me (which was part of the reason I said I'd help). The girls watched a movie, did an art project, had waffles for dinner, sang karaoke, and giggled and talked all.night.long. It was a l-o-n-g event but I was happy that I went to help--Ansley needed it! After we had a quick breakfast and sent all of the girls home, my girls and I headed out. They had had more than their fill of the sleepover and both said that they now appreciate why "no sleepovers" is a standard in our house. Sometimes experience is necessary to solidify a lesson. :-)

But we did it! And we all survived and made memories along the way. :-)

Pumpkin Patch

October has been a busy month. It seems like all of the activites were compressed into two-ish weeks. It's been a bit chaotic, but fun.

We took a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Copper Creek was a bit of a drive, but it was a pleasant country drive. When we arrived it was rainy--just enough to get us wet and make the ground muddy. However, the sun showed up and blessed the rest of our day, so overall, it was enjoyable. We had a variety of activites to fill our day. We started out with gem mining. The activity didn't produce the same quality as our previous gem mining experiences, but it was fun to do.

We toured pumpkins of varying kinds and chose our favorites.

We took advantage of photo spots and enjoyed the giant corn maze complete with lookout bridge.

The hayride took us out to pumpkin growing and wildflower fields for our expoloration.

There we also explored Copper Creek and an attached lake--really pretty scenery. The children milked a cow (a demonstration cow), jumped on a pillow pad, went down a drain pipe slide, visited barn animals, blew gigantic bubbles at the bubble barn, zipped down the zipline, and gathered candy fromt the candy cannon before we left for home.

It was a full day, which we ended with homemade pumpkin milkshakes--a bit of a tradition. :-) Fall is fun!

Throwdown Time!

Our fall kick off was a hoot! The youth group hosted a family fall throwdown. :-) There was everything from a live Bluegrass band (they were so good!), line dancing, card playing, bull riding, ladder toss, corn hole, a petting zoo, and a grill that just kept turning out the good eats! The weather was perfect and we had a blast! Jozsef is on staff and was running around helping to keep the acitivites running well while having fun on the job. John and I manned the food tent and the children had a great time enjoying the activites with friends. We look forward to what the rest of the year holds. :-)

Starting School

With Summer officially over, it was time to start school and we've been busy, as evidenced by the fact that I'm just now documenting the first day of school. :-) The weather was wonderful on our first day into new grades and we enjoyed it. This year I have four students grades 6, 8, 9, and 11. It's amazing to me to think that next year we'll leave elementary school behind--although, depending on who you ask, we already have. It's common here for 6th grade to be considered middle school. In my mind, and as we've always counted it, elementary school ends with 6th grade, Jr. High is 7th and 8th grade, and High School is 9-12th grade. Hannah is excited that 6th grade is considered middle school in many spaces, because that means that this is the year she graduated from Sunday school and moved up into the youth class, which means she also is now attending youth group with her siblings. It's been quite the adjustment for all of us! Hannah is no longer the odd one out and it means we have a house full of busy but fun activities. :-)

Riley is finishing out Jr. High this year. It's already been a huge adjustment for him. In our other church circle, Riley was held back from youth group because he is young for his grade. He was very dismayed by that which meant that he was super excited that he would finally be rightfully placed with our church move. Riley had a great summer of activities and is looking forward to much more fun throughout the year. It's all kind of an accelerated space for Riley since he added into the group late and yet he'll be in high school next year. It's a lot of adjustment, but he's ready for it!

Sonja has entered high school this year. She's really excited. Sonja, much like Nikolas, tends to like to try to skip to awesome. :-) She's already noticed that high school requires more of her effort, but she's fully equipped for it. Sonja has taken the church move/social change the hardest, which makes sense to me. But she's a friendly girl and she had a great time over the summer with her new group so I think she'll adjust well. :-)

Connor is already half way through with high school! As an 11th grader, we have some career exploring to do this year which should be fun. Connor is doing well in school and he's adjusting to our social move. In so many ways, Connor just needs to figure out who he is as a gifted person and where he is going in life. God has a great plan for him, we just have to see how this plan develops. :-)

As a teacher, I'm continually learning alongside my students, which means that I have to be flexible and open to truly seeing who my students really are. As they get closer to all being in Jr/Sr High, my workload certainly increases, but it's all very much worth the effort and I'm extremely thankful that we have this learning route available. Here's to another great academic start!