Christmas

Snow

Naomi



Luke is enjoying the snow balls! Looks like Daniel may want to eat them!



He nailed Daddy in the keester!

It snowed twice this month. The second time was today and the kids and Steve had a blast. I enjoyed staying warm in the house.

Luke is FOUR!

This was an extra special birthday for Luke. He got to have an "at home party" with cousins and a "gymnastics party" with his buddy Fisher and friends.

Home birthday cake

Koen, Luke, Naomi, Ava, Isaak & Daniel

Taking calls of well wishes from across the USA



Halloween Math

The Fairy + Batman + Dinosaur + Sacagawea = Fun day with cute kids!

Naomi's 8th Birthday

Climbing a giant fig tree

Hiking

Bird Girl leads the way!

All the natives made it to the destination

Happy Birthday Naomi!

Aunt Susan gets the cool gift award! Bird Girl has her own tee pee.

Naomi read two books on Sacagawea, aka Bird Girl. So she asked if she could have a Sacagawea Birthday Party. So we went on an adventure to Boulder Creek Falls. We saw bear scat, ate wild grapes, rock hopped across the creek, and scaled a downed tree. It was a unique party for an equally unique, caring, lovely young lady of eight.

Daniel's Second Birthday

Monkey!

Checking out the new trucks from Grandma Ardis

Toot, toot, he's two!

We are blessed to call this spunky sweet boy our son. What a delight he is! He enjoys driving hot wheels all over, using real tools to help, laying on kitties and keeping up with "Wook."



Hawes Farm

The crew

Luke & his buddy Ryan on the train ride

Miss Jessie and Daniel

Donkey!

I just love that Daniel thinks he can do anything!

Great day at the farm! Naomi, Ryan, Luke and Daniel.

The mom with a sweet photo bombers:Ava and her friend Melody.

 

 

 

Fishing at Carr Powerhouse

The brook trout were biting! Ava caught 1, Naomi 2 and Daddy 3. Fun!

Coleman Fish Hatchery

A few of the kids with a very LARGE Salmon

Miss Aleta (with the baseball cap) was our lovely guide

Naomi, Ava, & Conner touching the new salmon eggs

Hands-on science was a blast at Coleman Fish Hatchery!  A friend invited us and we were so blessed to see one of God's amazing creations in action: the salmon. Here's what I wrote to Grandma Ardis about the day:

Today we went to the Coleman national fish hatchery in Anderson (20 min south). The fall run of salmon has begun. Naomi was interested in their entire operation; she even took a video. Daniel insisted on keeping up with the big kids and would only go in the stroller when I forced him to. They all loved the fish jumping upstream. What an amazing sight of one of God's special creatures. Although I think Ava was more excited about being with her friend Corrin. :-) Naomi carried her own purse the entire time!

Kayaking on Whiskeytown Lake

Ava's first kayaking trip

The veteran kayaker

 

We were so fortunate to be able to kayak on the most lovely lake in Northern California! What a beautiful day to enjoy God's creation. We saw vultures drying themselves in the sun, a blue heron, frog eggs, explored Boulder Creek, spied an osprey nest and lots of little fish. Ah, I love where we live!

Our baby girl had a birthday last month!

A little Ava vinyette on the mantle



Nana helped Ava make her Strawberry Cake

Rachel, Marty Dog, Ava & Rylin

Grandpa and Papa sing along while the birthday girl listens.

Ava shares her birthday with cousin Olivia.

August 10 was a big day for Ava. She was FINALLY 6, the magic number for a slumber party. She started planning months ago! In May I finally had to tell her she was not allowed to talk about her party till July. Whew! When July came I gave her the option of a slumber party with three friends or a big pool party with lots of friends. She chose the slumber party. She wanted friends to bring bikes, swimsuits and babies, so they did. We made sleeping bags for their babies as a party favor and had lots of fun swimming in the dark at Grandpa and Grandma's house. The bonus was Nana and Papa were here so I didn't have to think about the cake. Yeah!

All in all, she enjoyed her first slumber party and was thoroughly worn out afterward!



Fresh Start: Bidwell Road School

Ava, Tricia, Daniel, Luke Naomi & Rascal. Boo stuck with his name and hid during pictures.

Naomi, Third Grade

Ava, First Grade

We officially started school today! On my whiteboard I wrote:
September 10, 2012
Naomi Rose - 3rd grade
Ava Leanne - 1st grade
Luke Wesley - Preschool
Daniel Cole - In training

So here's the breakdown for 2012-13:
Everyone: Family Learning Time based on Kendra's helpful little book and circle time concept. I'm using Coriell's A Child's Book of Character Building Book 1. Our character trait for today is being ATTENTIVE with our eyes, ears, and hearts. I also include prayer, singing, later will add Scripture memory.
Girls: Listening to history with Story of the World Volume 1, plus additional work based on age. They also participate in Gymnastics and Xpress Choir.
Naomi: The Phonics Road to Reading and Writing, Level 3, Teaching Textbooks Math 4, Math fact practice at XtraMath.
Ava: Half way through The Phonics Road to Reading and Writing, Level 1 and Saxon Math 2.
Luke: Kumon workbooks, lots of play, puzzles, etc.

May the Lord bless our efforts with knowledge and wisdom!