Savoring Each Moment

Of
.Autumn.
.SunShine.
.Green Grass.
.Picnic Lunch.

.Blond Curls.
.Sweet Cheeks.
.Baby Rolls.

.A Boy Almost A Man.

.Adventure.
.Fun.

.Laughter.
.Self Named Sloth Boy.

.Doing What Dad Does.
.Looking for Bucks.
.No Fear.

.Siblings.
.Love.
.Protection.
.Joy.

.Homeschooling.

Don't worry, we weren't trespassing.
We funded the signs.

Things to come

What I learned this week..

In no particular order...

When sat on, a chocolate chip granola bar looks enough like something else that a complete stranger will come up to you and tell you your 3 year old has an 'issue'.

Sippy cups with straws flow like a river when opened at 36000 feet. Note to self, unscrew lid slightly before opening to release air pressure.

A 3 year old can and will talk for an entire 3 hour flight.

$3.50 for a regular ole (small) cup of coffee is not too much money to spend at an airport for coffee if you are traveling with 4 children.

If your flight gets canceled, run to another carrier as fast as you can. You might be able to get your tickets transferred to another airline.

You can never pack too many wet ones.

Shout Travel Wipes remove smeared chocolate that looks like something else on the pants of a 3 year old.

Do not put an electric kettle on a hot stove burner, the plastic will melt and flames will be seen.

It is almost impossible to explain the concept of homeschoolings to a foreign Asian woman who can hardly speak English.

Fall Fun

We've been blessed with gorgeous weather recently. We took advantage of it last week and went hiking in our timber.

Braden found a rock and decided to see what was under it.

There was a worm, which was immediately used to...

scare little sis.

The girls...
Which I have been informed by my two year old I am not. No, I am a mom, NOT a girl :)

The three oldest on the log we always take pictures on.

All of us, minus dad.

Gabrielle enjoying the leaves.

Christopher Columbus, er, the boys, seeing a new land!

Thank you Lord for the beautiful weather! I needed it. My patience was a bit lacking last week. ~Annika

The Zoo

Ahh, the perks of homeschooling....
We were able to visit dad on the job site last week and go on a field trip to the zoo, not just any zoo, the Henry Doorly Zoo!
The Henry Doorly Zoo is a place you don't want to miss. We go every year and it never gets boring. You're children (& you) will love it.
Plan ahead, you will need the entire day. It really is that fun :)
The Desert, A Rain Forest, Kingdoms of the Night, Aviary, IMAX in 3-D, Gorilla Valley, and an Orangutan Forest are just of few of the adventures you will encounter.

Home School, who says it has to be at home

The weather has been exceptionally nice lately. Last Thursday, we packed our school books up and headed to the Reservoir.
This is where we spent the morning working & playing.

When we were finished with our books, we headed to the Visitors Center and the Fossil Gorge to explore.

We found big rocks...

and fossils!

We weren't allowed to bring any home, but we had fun finding them.

We looked in crevasses and caverns...

and jumped over the water.

We had fun.

The next two pictures are of the area by the spill way.
This top one is how it looked during the flood. The water is covering the beach and upper and lower parking lot.

And this is how it looks today.

Mountain fun

Ok, I'll let you in on where we are, I know, the suspense is killing you *grin*
We are in the Smokey Mountains.
Signs like this have been on every trail we have hiked. We have been hoping to 'run in' to a bear hiking. Sadly we haven't. The only place we have seen a bear is from the back porch of our cabin.

We hiked again today. This was at the end of the trail.

All the hiking was wearing on my little one. You can see it in her eyes.

The waterfall was worth the hike.

And even the little one perked up. Snacks always help the mood.

The go carts lured the boys in. And boy did they have fun!

Tuesday Adventures

The men kept the children after we were done with school on Tuesday. My friend, Sarah, and I went on an 8 mile hike. Now, I consider my self in pretty good shape. I run daily, I've been swimming several times a week this summer. I'm active, I chase kids all day! But this wasn't 8 miles of rolling terrain, it was challenging. We climbed over 2000' in elevation, through trees, over rocks, under branches. It was great! We were hoping to see a bear. We thought the adrenaline rush might help up pick up our pace, but no such luck. However, we did see fresh, really fresh, bear droppings. Sorry, I didn't take a picture, you'll just have to believe me.

We went over the river...Through the woods.
And this is what we found...
The 100' Ramsey CascadesThey were beautiful.Any more guesses where we are?
Don't cheat and Google the falls!

We did see a Bear later in the day, pictures will be coming tomorrow.