Basketball casualty

Sean was playing a good game until he turned his ankle, fell and then someone stepped on it. 

He has a possible growth plate fracture with pretty nice ankle sprain.   Cast for at least two weeks depending on exam. 

 

Deer oh Deer, It’s Christmas

I took this picture on Christmas Day at my brother-in-law’s. 

 

Christmas in November

My mom’s side of the family celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas all in the same weekend, but not the same day.  We experienced awesome weather so the kids were able to play outside.     As usual, this was a great photo opportunity for me. 

My niece. 

My dad and his brother, Mark. 

Sierra and my brother enjoying the go-kart.

November Field Trip to T.C. Steele Historic Site

As beautiful as this place is in the fall, I cannot wait to go back when everything including the garden is in bloom. 

This is the back of his home.

The kids spread out on each side of the tree to show just how big it is.. the limbs spread out.  It is one of the recorded largest white oak trees in Indiana and was the subject in some of his paintings.

The front of his home from below.  Beautiful hills of Brown County.

Loved this path. 

This hill did not look so big until you were about halfway up it.  I think it had 59 steps and many of those were taller than normal steps.  Quite a workout. 

Sean found this interesting pattern in some rock on the path up the hill. 

Work in progress

Stairs from main floor to the upstairs.  What a mess.  The dust level is incredible after they tore out the stairs carpet. 

Going down the the family room which is at ground level on slab. 

Callie thought the green pad was the new carpet and was so excited.  She thought it was so pretty.   She apparently didn’t notice the roll of carpet laying on top of the pad. 

We painted and painted and painted the paneling.  Cannot wait to see it all finished. 

We are so going to need new linoleum in the kitchen and entry after this. 

Halloween 2011

Do not ask me what they are.   I think one was a witch.  

 

Never Leave Home…

Without making sure toilets are not running, especially if you have a kid who is OCD with toilet paper. 

 

By God’s design, the books on the shelves did not have a drop of water or drywall on them.  Amazing.  The track lighting pulled the ceiling down.

This is why we get new carpet on the stairs and in the hall upstairs.  Also, the tile in the bathroom was removed to assist in drying. 

The ceiling in half the family room was removed.

The view from the bathroom to the family room. 

I think there were about six of those blowers altogether… one in the bathroom in and four or five in the family room.  They ran constantly for 2 days.  Noisy!

Another fun fieldtrip

This fieldtrip was to a local farm (yes, we have those in Indiana too!) and it was less than 10 minutes from our house – a plus!  

Hay ride.

Miniature horse cart ride.

She wants to trade in our lovebirds for turkeys.  I don’t think so.

Petting Zoo

Obstacle course.

Crane ride… way up high.  A little too high for mom’s liking. 

Same Place, Different View

Our field trip today was to our local county’s landfill.  It was a very good field trip.  There were about 40 kids who attended.  We learned about trash and about how to reduce the amount of trash.  We learned about how the Landfill works.  In connection with the local children’s museum, the kids did experiments such as testing water and dissecting owl pellets.  The latter is not what one might first think of when hearing the term “owl pellets”.  Birds of prey cannot digest all that they eat so they will spit it back up much like a cat does a hairball.  Inside the owl pellets, which are held together by dried up hair/fur,  are the remains of what they ate.  The one that I helped with was thought to be a large rodent, such as a squirrel or large chipmunk.  We found the skull, jawbone, teeth, ribs, vertebrae, leg bones, etc.  See below for some pictures.    I reminded the kids why we don’t let the guinea pigs play outside unattended.  They could become lunch. 

The Irony of the Beauty

We had a field trip today.  Joining a local homeschool group was a good idea.  The best part is going to be the field trips. 

We were all pleasantly surprised at how much fun this field trip was. 

First, I would ask if you can guess by a couple of these pictures, where the field trip was?  I will post more pictures later that will reveal where this is but just found the beauty a bit ironic. 

The Changes

It amazes me how much different Sean looks now than he did just two years ago.  And look at how his shirt has changed. 

Friends come and they go

Sierra will miss her friends who are moving.  She does not have many girls to play with so this will be a noticeable loss. 

The oldest girl is only a year younger than Sierra but she’s tiny.  Her sister is three and has the brightest hair.