A Little Later in December

It was so cold the weekend we decided to get our Christmas tree, that Dan went by himself to our church's Christmas tree lot to get it.  It had been so cold that the tree was in excellent condition. 

Here comes the tree!

Anthony was excited!

We had to let the tree thaw for a day.

The Christmas tree in all its glory.  All the kids helped decorate it, so I was too busy at the time to take pictures!

That same weekend, Dan took the kids over to his sister and brother-in-law's reception hall (The Red Rooster Reception Hall, near Augusta), as they had it all decorated for a big Christmas party, held the night before.  I was sick, so I stayed home.  

The kids in front of the neat village scene.

This part of the festivities was not in the actual reception hall, but out in the barn.

Bridget showed the kids where all the guests got popcorn and hot chocolate.

The following weekend we decided to take a picture of the kids for a Christmas photo card.  

The picture we chose.

During the month of December, Dan continued to work on the greenhouse, when weather allowed.

The sheets of metal were leftover from when the shed was built.

Miscellaneous November

In early November, Dan started building a greenhouse between the big shed and the garden.

The boys watched Daddy dig the holes.

These posts used to be crossbars on telephone poles!

The kids practiced archery.

Dominic can shoot those arrows a long way!

Joseph agrees.

Also in early November, I took my oldest three and two of their cousins to the Young People's Concert at Century II.  We first listened to Vivaldi, then Peter and The Wolf, the story of which was acted out by a small dance troupe while the orchestra played.  The kids really liked it.  I did too!

They enjoyed the concert.

Dominic, Anne, Isabella, Catherine, and Seth.

One day I snapped a couple of pictures of Anne reading to Anthony:

I love it when the older kids read to the younger ones.

He had to get a closer look at the pictures.

Joseph with a cornucopia creation.

One day when it was really cold outside, we had painting time.

Art, art, art!

Visiting In November

In the middle of November, we travelled to visit my parents.  It was a nice weekend away, and we also got to see my brother, Eric, and his family as well as my sister, Beth, and her family.

Catherine got an early birthday present.

Joseph was excited to be there.

Outside time!

Checking out the little kid shack out by the barn.

Three boys!

The great swinging tree got put to use!

My brother and his family came over on Saturday, but I neglected to take any pictures while they were there.  We enjoyed their visit. On Sunday, after Mass, my sister and her family came over.

Aunt Beth plays Skipbo with the girls.  Anthony was watching, not playing.

Clara and Anthony went exploring together.

When you are three, playing in the dirt is a great time!

Looking for treasure.

"This way, Clara!"

Examining their "treasure."

More Exploration Place

We next went to the three story medieval castle, with all kinds of rooms and learning/playing activities.  The kids all had a great time here.

One end of the castle.

The other end.

We might need one of these at home!  :)

View from the top.

Fire the catapult!

Joseph and Evelyn in the medieval oven.

The knights are ready to ride.

Queen Anne.

After that it was time for lunch.  Note the swollen river in the background.

Girls' table:  Isabella, Catherine, Olivia, and Anne.

Boys' table: Anthony, Dominic, Aloysius, and Joseph.

Evelyn and Seth.

To Be Continued...

Field Trip to Exploration Place

We went on a field trip on the second day of school back in August.  When you homeschool, you can do things like that.  :)  The kids had earned free passes to a children's science museum during the summer reading program at our library, and we waited to go until all the other kids were back in school, heh, heh. We met up with cousins at the museum.

Greeted by a moving, roaring T-Rex outside the museum.

Yes, boys, you really need to learn about germs.

Catherine checked out the giant mouth.

We went through the travelling dinosaur exhibit.

Many of the dinosaurs moved and made noise.

They got to dig for bones.

A herd of dinosaurs.

The little ones were fascinated by fossilized poop.

The kids enjoyed the dinosaurs.

Then we got to the room with a lot of structures built only out of planks, with no nails or glue to hold them together.

Many of them were quite intricate.  I was afraid to let Anthony near, despite the barriers.

Time to build!

Girls hard at work.

Aloysius and Joseph concentrating hard.

Teamwork!

Below is a very short video of the tower collapsing:

To Be Continued...