Bikes

The youngest two have really enjoyed riding their bikes lately.

It is so nice to see them happily playing outside when it is wet and chilly.  We hope to get them to the bike trail some weekend when the weather is decent, so they can really ride farther.  

Pop-Up!

Everyone is very excited about our new pop-up camper.  Well, new is a relative term; it's a 2006, but our last camper was 30 years old, so it sure seems new to us.

It's very cold, but these two are excited to play in the new camper.  It is noticeably bigger than our last one - which is good because we were pretty cramped in it - but it is not too heavy for us to pull with a minivan.   And it has air conditioning, which means that Nathaniel will go camping when it's warmer, not just when nights are cold.  We plan to break it in at Spring Mill in the spring!

4th Grade Book List

Someone asked me to write up which books I'm having Lydia read this year, so I thought I'd post it.  These are just the ones that she's required to read each month - in reality she reads many, many more.  For example, last week she finished Pippi Longstocking, a book about a pioneer girl, and Farmer Boy during her free time, as well as several nonfiction books on animals and at least one American Girl book.  She has just recently turned into a voracious reader, and I am so glad!  It was only a year ago that I struggled to convince her to read a chapter book - any chapter book.

Anyway, here is the book list, with both the books I read aloud to her and the ones she reads on her own:
August:
 Read-aloud: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
 Independent: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
September:
 Read-aloud: The Mitchells: Five for Victory by Hilda van Stockum
 Independent: Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Praire by Laura Ingalls Wilder
October:
 Read-aloud: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
 Independent: Willy Finds Victory by Joan Stromberg
November:
 Read-aloud: Canadian Summer by Hilda von Stockum
 Independent: Mr. Mysterious and Company by Sid Fleischman
December:
 Read-aloud: Mary Emma and Company by Ralph Moody
 Independent: The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks
January:
 Read-aloud: Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls by Raymond Arroyo
 Independent: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
February:
 Read-aloud: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
 Independent: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
March:
 Read-aloud: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff and My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada
 Independent: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
April:
 Read-aloud: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
 Independent: Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson
May:
 Read-aloud: Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth
 Independent: The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder

I have read most of these books, but not all of them.  I've never actually read The Hobbit, for instance, so that is one we'll discover together.  (Nathaniel, Elijah, and Malachi have all read it and loved it, but I have neither read it nor seen the movie.)  Some of these books I haven't read since I was a child, and it is often interesting to re-read books as an adult.  I've already got more books in mind for the summer or next year...

Museum trip

We headed to visit my family for the weekend.  While Nathaniel and the big boys were helping Pa on the new house and Nana was busy making Thanksgiving dinner for all of us, my sister and I joined 2 friends and headed to the museum for their free winter event.

Gyunay was excited to see that Santa was there.  He hopped right up on his lap.

We had a great time.  The kids were very fond of the real train.

Here's the kids in our crew.  Fortunately, there were 4 of us moms to keep a head count, as parts of the museum were very busy, and the playground was insane!

Holy Land of Kentucky and a Trampoline

There is no school in Kentucky on election days, so Malachi and I went on his confirmation field trip to the Holy Land of Kentucky, Bardstown.

Here Malachi is in the old log cabin that belonged to some of the first Catholics (and first settlers) in the area.

We also visited the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, two early churches, and the Abbey of Gethsemane.  

Back on the home front, Nathaniel put together our gift to the kids:

They are all very excited about it!

October Harvest Totals & Etc

I made this rack to hold my sweet potatoes, but unfortunately, I've got lots of room for more.  I only harvested 8 lbs of sweet potatoes.  I'm pretty sure they needed more sun.  The good news is that I planted them from slips I grew myself, so at least it was free.  The rack, of course, is not, and I still need to finish the last 3 or 4 trays to go into it, but it can hold winter squash, onions, or potatoes, too, so it will still be used.  When I get it totally done and sanded, I will move it upstairs.  I may paint or stain the rack (but not the trays that the food sits on).

October Harvest Totals:

arugula - 2c

cucumbers -1

eggs - 165

peppers (Bulgarian) - 2

radishes - 3

sweet potatoes (purple) 8 lbs

tomatillos - 4.3 lbs

tomatoes - 3

The boys were playing a video game together.  Both Malachi and Gyunay jump up and down while they play, while Elijah holds the gamepad entirely too close to his face.  Meanwhile, Lydia was thrilled that the shop roof was full of leaves again.  After sweeping it, she hung around up there for at least half an hour.