Birthday Celebration

K turned 3 and it was such a fun day to see her say over and over "it's my birthday!" And she really milked it, for about 3 days it was her birthday. In our house when it is you birthday you get to pick everything you eat and do for the day. Our day started with "cakes," translation crepes with syrup made by daddy. Then we had a tea party with a Cinderella cake in PINK!!!!! After a nap we headed to Reno for some errands and dinner at "grilled cheese macaroni" translation Macaroni Grill.


Crepes and a side of bacon for breakfast. Why do children always think the table top is an extension of their plate?


K opening presents and wearing one of her many new dresses.


Our menu: Honey Tea Sandwiches, Pumpkin Sandwiches with Orange Cream Cheese
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Raspberry White Chocolate Scones
Fresh Veggie Plate
Fresh Fall Apples
Jigglers (I forgot to serve)
Table Treats: Pink Jelly Bellies & Circus Animal Cookies
Tea: Peppermint, Apricot & Bengal Spice


Tea Party with friends. We invited 2 families, we all have 4 children, so it was a crowd at the tea table. Many of the fellas had never been to a tea party before but I think they were all happy with the food.


Opening a present from a friend--it was a very fancy nightgown, her first one.


K wanted a Cinderella cake and I thought "I'm gonna have to find something to put on the top of a regular cake because I don't want to have to carve one." We had a candle from a previous Cinderella fest and that is all she wanted on her PINK! cake.


K eating her PINK! Cinderella cake.


And did I mention the GIANT piece of chocolate cake everyone gets on their birthday at Macaroni Grill, with real hot fudge.


Daddy and K at "grilled cheese macaroni." Yes, she ordered macaroni and cheese followed by "i-cream."

I think is was a Happy Birthday for the sweetness.

Taylor's Creek

Whenever we go to South Shore a visit to Taylor's Creek is on the agenda. Taylor's Creek is a wonderful wildlife area especially in the fall when the salmon are spawning. I think this is the first time that we hit it just right--all the salmon were alive and only a few had started to die off. On our trip we also say lots of ducks and identified a new one that I cannot locate a picture or the name of but it had a mohawk on its head.


Th spawning salmon in the creek.


Me attempting to get a picture by the creek with my oh so lovely children.


The ducks are very busy eating the salmon eggs.


K enjoying herself running with the big kids.


We were able to get them to stop long enough to take a picture.

Spice Playdough

Perfect for the season. Now I have heard many complaints from moms about playdough messes but our children love it,we always get at least an hour of play-time out of it. This dough was a combination of my favorite recipe and one I found earlier this week. The smell is fabulous and the texture soft. When we cleaned up, I put the dough in the fridge until next time. ENJOY!

1 c. water
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 c. salt
1 Tbs. cream of tartar

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan and heat until warm.
Take the pan off the stove and add:

1 c. flour
1/4 c. cinnamon
1 Tbs. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger

Mix all together and then dump out and kneed until smooth.


My children love to get out placemats and all the playdough tools and create away. A made a dinosaur, E and K used cookie cutters and made Christmas ornaments out of cookie cutters to give to friends.

Blog update.

Praise the Lord that, that hideous background is gone--yahoo! I have put up a new background and added both my most read blogs and educational sites. Both areas offer a lot to our lessons and planning, so have a look around. I feel like I have gotten a little bit of stress and business off of my plate so I hope to post more regularly. The purpose of our blog is to keep family and friends, far and near, updated on what our family is enjoying together as well as provide a peek into our world of home education. Join with us as we share what God gives us to enjoy and learn.

Angora Lakes

Angora Lakes is near Fallen Leaf Lake in South Shore. It is a bit out of the way down a steep, high, one lane road but worth every bump and dip. A friend introduced this hike to us a few years back and it was another beautiful day for the children to explore, see wild life and climb rocks. In the summer time Angora Lakes has a small store and snack shop that you can purchase lunch and lemonade to eat by the lake--oh and you can rent row boats. The lake and its surrounding cabins and natural beauty make me think of made for t.v. summer camp movies. I love to be outdoors and it was a beautiful day.


A holding himself up between 2 boulders.



E and A on top of a boulder with the "must have" dragging, poking, walking, drawing and marking stick.


J and 2/3s of the gaggle on another big boulder.


This is us at the main lake where you can get a summertime snack and rent the rowboats.


Had to take this shot just to show that B was actually with us.


E so happy to get this close to a chipmunk.


The chipmunk having a snack and stocking up for the winter on our scraps.

Paige Meadows

This was our second visit to Paige Meadows this fall. It was such a fun and doable hike for the children that we had to go again in hopes of catching some fall color. This summer and fall we have gotten to rekindle our enjoyment of hiking. Jay and I both strap a child to our backs and the other 2 are always eager to run and explore the trail.




E and A sitting in an Aspen grove on a fallen tree.



Mommy and the fellas.


Daddy and 3 of the gaggle.


When E and A sat down like this I said "hurry, get the camera, that would be a cute picture," Jay obliged.


Daddy and K's self portrait--amazing they are both smiling.


"OO, what is that?" E and the roots of a fallen tree--they live for this kind of stuff.