Helping Grandma Audrey

My mom had total hip replacement last Wednesday, so we flew out to be with her and be some extra helping hands around home.

Getting ready to visit Grandma in the hospital.

Nurse Katie.  Note the paper crafted toys.
Who needs store bought toys?

Serious nurses and a willing patient.

Savings Accounts

David's company has a "Cash for A's" program for students who turn in their semester report cards.  We decided this was the perfect time to start teaching the kids the importance of saving money.  They're pretty proud of their accounts.

Crafting

Both kids have seriously taken up paper crafting, designing and building their own toys.  It's kept them occupied for days at a time.  It amazes me what they are able to dream up and actually pull off.

Working on a box of some sort.  Her little tongue still
sticks out when she's concentrating. :)

Merry Christmas

Combining all the Christmas gifts into one
grand playing adventure.

Making pumpkin ice cream for dessert

Exploring around the property after our
flooding and then deep freeze.

Amazing beauty!

The ice was so clear, even as thick as it was in places.

You can tell how high the water was.

There's Hope!

My flighty little one who can't find anything, even if it's right in front of her, surprised me.  I asked her to straighten the books on the bottom shelf.  She didn't just straighten them, she took them all off the shelf and organized not only by series, but even volume number.

Adventurer Christmas Party

Jingle Rails and President Benjamin Harrison's Home

We were invited again to go with the local church school to go on a field trip.  It just so happened to be on Ethan's 7th birthday, so he got an extra special day.

Looking up at the trains running on the
tracks up above.

All the scenes were replicas of national parks and monuments.
They were made of natural materials.  No plastic here!

Aspen

Cliff houses of the SW

And of course...the Lucas Oil Stadium

The lower graders listening to the tour guide explain
what State dinners were like in the Benjamin
Harrison home.

The Harrison dining room

Late 19th century exercise equipment.  President
Harrison took it with him to the White House.

Our original Pledge of Allegience

We had been learning about the Constitution
and Declaration of Independence at home,
so Ethan was fascinated with this copy on
President Harrison's desk.

My Little Crafter

Katie wanted to give crocheting a try.  She didn't get anywhere, but she really enjoyed the attempt.

Jonah in the Whale

Ethan was sick the first week in December, but he kept begging to go to Adventurers.  He kept talking about some whale that Mr. Jimmy was going to have up in the gym.  I had no clue what he was talking about, but I'm glad I finally gave in.  This whale filled the gym.  We all got to go inside and walk around.  It really gives the perspective on just how massive these amazing creatures are.

Thanksgiving

Our good friends, the Austins, came and spent Thanksgiving weekend with us.  As always, we had a great time together.  Sunday all the guys tore down the last outbuilding and created a massive bonfire.  It turns out it was one of our last nice weekends before turning ice-cold all winter. I'm so glad we got it done before the deep freeze hit.

Tradition holds that David (my David) has some sort of fun kid activity whenever our two families get together.  Sunday evening the kids got to explore the properties of dry ice.  Pretty cool stuff. :)

David A. showing the kids what happens
when you dump a bunch of dry ice into
the kitchen sink.

Little Teacher

Science Central

Early in November we got to enjoy a special homeschoolers' afternoon at Fort Wayne's Science Central with some homeschooling friends.  The boys joined a class about volcanoes, building their own play doh eruptions.  The little kids spent the afternoon exploring all the activities the museum had to offer.  What a cool place!