word of the week

I decided to add vocabulary lessons to our schooling by choosing and posting a word of the week. (I actually got the idea from a great book we read, suggested by Misha, called The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter.) The goal is for each of us to try to use the word correctly at least once a day. Last week our family word was GUSTO which the kids had fun with. And today I posted and explained the word SUPERFLUOUS.

A few minutes ago Liam was in the bathroom and Ethan wandered in. I hear Liam yell, "Ethan, that is a superfluous amount of toilet paper!"

Love it!

fall is here!

We took our annual trip to Stoney Ridge Farm yesterday. It was a beautiful, warm day and we had a great time.

such a treat!

There are so many kids from our neighborhood going to Awana this year that our pastor has offered to drive the church bus each week. To say that the kids were excited would be a huge understatement!

(Ethan was able to hop on while they loaded up.)


And - tonight was crazy sock night. Yes - those are socks in her hair.


We love Awana!

friends

Such a gift from above!

field trip

We took our first field trip of the year this week to Pioneer Park. Many of the first buildings in Whatcom County have been relocated to this park and they offer tours. We went with our good friends and had a great time.



As soon as Audrey found out where we were going, she wanted to know if she could borrow a "Mary and Laura" dress from her friend, Lauren. Lauren and her Mom graciously agreed and Audrey loved it.

The old mail boxes were a huge hit.

But the favorite stop was at the one-room school house!

Can you see Ethan back there doing exactly what the big kids are doing?

Audrey has requested a slate and some chalk for our own school house. How can I say no to that?

we've been busy!

If it's been awhile since I've blogged, you can just assume we've been busy! After completing our first two weeks of school, we took a vacation. (Ahhh, the beauty of homeschooling...) We spent a great week in Chelan. We were blessed by my parents who are always so gracious in welcoming us into their home (and it can be very chaotic at times!). We were blessed by grandma and grandpa who took the kids school clothes shopping and bought them tons of great things. We were blessed with one last trip to the waterslides and a few last dips in the pool. It was great.


Back home, Patrick and I celebrated our 17th anniversary. We took some cheezy self-portraits before we headed out on a wonderful date.

And he made me a very sweet card for the occasion. (I LOVE that he makes all my cards.)

The kids both started their soccer season. Liam scored a goal on his very first game! Woo-hoo!

Then today Audrey and I headed to Seattle to hang out with Courtney, Kelly, Jonah and Papa for the day. We had a great time taking in some of the tourist hot-spots. Kelly is moving soon to Virginia (WAY too far away!) so this was our last visit with her before she leaves. Oh - I'm going to miss her!


I love my silly family! I told them to 'act natural' for this one.

love, love, love these kiddos!