Saturday

Yesterday we took the kids down to the church bookstore and to the Portland, Oregon Temple.

This is such a treat for them, and us, as we all love to walk the temple grounds.

What a truly peaceful place it is.

"Temple" is one of Myles's most used words. He is constantly asking to go see the temple, he builds temples with his blocks and he likes to look at pictures of the temples.

So, needless to say he was quite excited yesterday to actually be at the temple.

It was an exciting day for Aeva because she got to pick out her very own set of scriptures and a ctr ring since she is turning eight and she will be getting baptized in January.

Here are some pictures from our wonderful outing yesterday.

Where's the Beef?

Rhaevyn helped me make hamburgers for dinner on Monday night. Everyone was getting their plates and hamburger buns ready. Myles had his all ready to go......

I had to uncover it layer by layer to see exactly what he had on the plate.
First comes pickles,

Then comes onions (which he highly dislikes),

And last but not least is the lettuce. Who needs the beef??

He wanted all this and the bun, but refused to eat the meat.

Just one of the many joys of homeschooling......

is watching the kids spend time playing, bonding and teaching each other.

I had the math manipulative cubes out as well for Myles to play with. I had to laugh because the girls constructed these people and Myles constructed himself a gun. I am sorry that I didn't get a picture of it.

Some interesting things from my talkative little boy.....
"Hold on". Gee I wonder how often he hears that from me?
When asked to share food "of course."
Right now with all the Christmas music on the radio he asks several times a day "Christmas time?", and then he proceeds to ask "present time?" He asked me that last Saturday as I watched him hover over the presents in the closet. I keep telling him that, no, it is not present time yet. The girls and I caught him several weeks ago in my room sitting with several presents in a circle around him with a frenzy of wrapping paper strewn across the room.
And when I ask him where my handsome guy is he turns to me with the most gigantic smile and sparkle in his eyes.
I finally made him is own cape with the letter M sewn on it for Super Myles. Although, he still prefers the girls' Tinkerbell outfit.

Myles gives Aeva a ride around the kitchen.

Yesterday, my wonderful husband brought me home my favorite color roses.
It was such a sweet surprise, not because he isn't thoughtful like that, but my actions/mood the day prior didn't make me very deserving of them.

All I can say is, I am one very loved and blessed wife :)

Rhaevyn is nearing the end of her Lemony Snicket series. Today something very exciting arrived in the mail for her. It was a telegram from Lemony Snicket, mailed from Canada. It was all in code.

School work is done for the day, and we are about to make sugar cookies and listen to Christmas music.

Fun, fun!

Fieldtrip On a Rainy Day

Today Myles, the girls and I went on a school field trip to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Cathlapotle Plankhouse. We learned about the Cathlapotle people....how they lived, what they ate. We got to handle some artifacts. The plankhouse was pretty interesting. FYI, Cullen, this would work out well for the commune idea :)

After listening to the speaker and trying to contain Myles, we were off on a hike to look at wildlife. There really weren't too many animals to see, as it was a pretty stormy day. We did get to see an otter. The nature hike was very cold and wet, but beautiful.

Here are some pictures to enjoy.

We had to walk up and over a footbridge. Myles did not like this at all.

However, it was over railroad tracks, so that distracted him somewhat since he loves trains.

This is the outside of the plankhouse. I wish I had pictures of the inside, but it was pretty dark.

It was pretty rustic inside, but very interesting.

And we are off on our nature hike.

Looking back at the plankhouse.

Myles was trying to get in on nature bingo.

Pretty lichen and fungi.

The picture below is of an anthill.

I thought these berries were pretty.

They are snowberries....poisonous to humans.

We saw some amazingly humongous maple leaves.

This was about the size of two of my hands.

Rhaevyn at the entrance of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse.

When we reached the van to go back home Myles had to strip from the waist down, as he had had a run in with the mud twice on the hike. Everybody else had muddy pant legs and shoes. After everyone got sanitized and removed muddy shoes we enjoyed a nice warm ride home with gingersnap cookies. Mmmmm. Home we went to a nice warm shower, nice warm towels, hot chocolate and spaghetti. Makes one appreciate all the modern conveniences of our time.

Overdue

It has come to my attention that I am overdue to post a new blog entry.

A lot has been going on around here that has kept us busy.

Chris has been busy being MacGyver around here.

He fixed my vacuum, which I had been limping along since June.

We thought he might have sent the poor thing to its grave entirely when he was vacuuming for me, but fortunately with his handy skills he was able to order a part for it. Unfortunately while the part that had broken was fixed, it still would not work. Fortunately for me, because I'm married to A MacGyver man, he was able to replace one of the vacuums fuses with an automobile fuse and voila, it works! Good thing, as I could barely see my kitchen floor.....it was covered in crumbs.

After fixing the vacuum, my washing machine decided it didn't want to drain. Chris tore the top apart and got it to work for a week. Then, using a zip tie, he got it working for another three weeks.

After getting one more month's use of it, the washing machine finally decided it was over and gave up the ghost. Chris tore it apart, but he said there was nothing he could do for it. I have to say, to its credit, it lasted 12 years (thanks dad!).

So, goodbye old pal.......

Hello new friend.

Next came the toilet that needed the workings of the tank overhauled.

Now, if only my MacGyver guy could fix my printer that just keeled over.

On to other news.....

Myles has been enjoying all the tents and mazes the girls have been making for him.

Rhaevyn has been spoiling us with her good cooking and homemade oj. I almost don't have to cook anymore :)She has also been busy with lots of science experiments. In science right now she is studying solutes and solvents. I think her favorite was the reaction that vinegar and baking soda produced. I know it was her favorite because she used up my all my vinegar and baking soda repeating the experiment several times.

Aeva has been busy plunking away at the piano. Right now she is teaching herself Joy to the World. She is trying to talk us into being her singers for this song. Before this song, it was We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet, which she has been playing by ear. She just came home from church one day and sat down to plunk it out.

It's a girl folks!

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hand and head

The girls are ecstatic that they are getting another sister.

They are under the impression that they will have a sibling who won't beat up on them.

I keep reminding them that Myles really does love them, but he is a boy and therefore

plays a lot differently. Who knows, he might teach his little sister a few tricks of his trade.

We are just happy that the baby is healthy.....as we haven't heard otherwise.

A side note: I've reached the halfway point already!

Myles has discovered the wonders of the Christmas Wish Catalog.

Wow, this brings back memories. I remember how I would sit for hours circling all the wonderful things I would like to have. Although, I didn't just circle toys. I circled towels, sheets, furniture and curtains I wanted for my house 20 years down the road.

Until next time......