8 kiddos

8 kiddos

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Monday, November 21, 2011

Ranch trip

We had a great week at the ranch - hunting, playing, and spending time together.  Hans is pictured here with grandpa's mule deer.




 Seven batches of lefse will be enjoyed this holiday season, thanks to the kitchen crew.
 We played a few fun games of "hay bale tag"in the corral.  It's getting harder to catch those big girls!


We toured Jewel Cave and were amazed at the beauty deep within the earth. 
 Traveling with the whole gang is always an adventure.  We concluded our vacation with a home school lesson in problem solving... cancelled flight in MSP with a rebooking two days later.  We did find a way to get home sooner.  "Go, Team Bettendorf!" 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Some daily happenings...

 One of the hundreds of reasons we love home schooling!  Can you think of a better place for Hans to nap  - while keeping Megan in one place long enough to make serious progress on a reader?
 Luke gets an "A" in dishwasher loading this week.  Chores rotate around at lunch time and he has become an expert loader (although he far prefers to have dog duty).
Couldn't resist sharing a photo of Rachel in her bed full of "stuff".  Yes, she does notice if some of this "stuff" is missing when it's time to nap.

Deer hunting

Hunting season is a special time of year for us.  Lots of good times together with family - grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, siblings...
Our kids actually think it's a holiday that should appear on all calendars.  I suppose it does qualify as a holiday - celebrated annually with traditions, family and special foods (peanut m&m's, cashews, hot chocolate and picnic sandwiches).
Luke and I spent the morning together in the stand on Saturday.  I treasure these sweet times with my boy - just being quiet together and listening to everything around us.  Not much action for deer this year, but Luke did spot the does before I did!  Hannah and Megan always try to earn quarters from grandpa by spotting deer before he does.  They both came home with some change in their pockets.



 Sweet Hannah got her first deer yesterday with one shot.  So proud of our girl!!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lefse

 Left-over potatoes turned in to delicious lefse this morning.  Megan has become an expert "roller" and Hannah manages the grill like a pro.  So fun to have my girls making yummy Norwegian treats for us!   Can't think of many foods better than lefse hot from the grill dripping with butter and brown sugar.  
 The little girls got tired of watching in the kitchen, so they set up their own lefse production downstairs. Della put Rachel to work as the "roller" while she managed the stick and grill.  It won't be too long before these two will take over the real kitchen!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tuesday


An afternoon in the woods is good for everyone.  
We gathered firewood in preparation for the spring syrup season.
Luke looked for dragons and goblins (we're reading the Hobbit right now).





 Caramel apples for dessert tonight... Hans was happy to chew the sticky stick.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Birthday girls

Pecan pie for 5 year-old Della and a mint chocolate cake for 12 year-old Hannah.  
Love to our birthday girls!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

A day with grandpa and grandma



We spent Friday with grandpa and grandma - making memories, pies, cookies...playing trains, raking leaves and being loved.  Good times!








Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Beautiful bike ride


We headed north this afternoon for a bike ride along the shore.  The colors were beautiful and the kids were happy to have a "family field trip" and get some exercise outside.  Love this time of year!!