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!!