A game and a puzzle for Christmas break

We are on Christmas break over here and everyone is home. Including April! We love when April is home because she likes to play games and do puzzles with us! (Okay, we like having her home for more than that, but it sure is a great bonus!) Anyway, we pulled out one of our favorites when we have a lot of time to play, Wingspan. I have already blogged about this game in my favorite family games abc series, but I just had to share about it again. 

These bird cards are just so pretty. The details are really good, and we get to learn a few facts about them while also learning their names.

This game has so many things to do on each turn that it gets confusing sometimes, but once you figure it all out (or remember as was the case last night), it's a lot of fun. There are eggs and food and types of nests and habitats. Lots of good stuff!

There's even a "bird feeder." This game is so well built. I hope it lasts a long time.

Puzzle time! I had started a puzzle before April got home on Christmas Eve. She jumped right in and did all the parts I was dreading, the trees, and the blue and black backgrounds. Yay! I was thrilled. Now we can start a new puzzle.

Thankful Thursday: kids edition

I'm thankful for my kids. Each one of them, but I want to go through each one individually. I'll start with this one. 

Alex, age 11, December 2022

I'm thankful for Alex. He's my adventure buddy. I love his kind heart and willingness to jump in and do his best.

Wordless Wednesday: Oh Christmas Tree!

 

My Weekly Notebook: Is it Christmas break yet?

 

Life this week...

Things are definitely winding down for Christmas break. It feels like all at once everything is done for now. No more music lessons for 2 weeks. No group gatherings except for the few Christmas parties left. I am looking forward to the more quiet days that we'll have during the break, but at the same time I look forward to getting back to life after. I miss seeing people and doing all the things sometimes.

Homeschool this week...

I feel like Christmas break already kinda started before it officially started. The 2 weeks before Christmas are hard to focus. So many fun activities that we want to do and things to see. We also had plenty of sickness going around our house this week, so that was part of our early start to break as well.

We did however notice that the potato "pet" that Aric is growing for one of his science projects is actually growing. We've had it sitting inside the house by our back patio window. I wasn't sure if it would grow at all. I wasn't sure if there would be enough light and good growing conditions. Note: we've never grown any potatoes before. This is awesome!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We went to see the Nutcracker ballet in Portland. They had a special kids showing that was just Act 1. Good thing because Alex barely made it through that. I made the mistake of not feeding him before it started. He was hungry 15 minutes in.

 

My favorite thing this week was...

Going on a little "date" with Alex to Red Robin and his friend's drum recital. The recital turned out to be pretty awesome. Almost like a concert. It was fun to hear/see all the different songs and instruments that the students played. Alex was stoked that we went to Red Robin. It was delicious. I love seeing my kiddos happy.

 

We even got dessert! A delicious stack of donuts with caramel and hot fudge, yes please!

 

My kids' favorite thing this week was...

I didn't ask him directly, but he was pretty stoked about getting his own mini waffle maker at youth night for the gift exchange. He made waffles the next morning. Loved it!

 

Things I'm working on...

I am always working on something LEGO. I discovered that I still need 2 of the minifigs from this series to have a complete set, then I will finally have a full set worth putting up on the wall. I am working on a frame too.

 

Random things the kids worked on...

Alex made this picture. That definitely counts as art!

 

Something I accomplished...

I got most of the presents that we have right now wrapped. And now I can finally walk by my bed again!

 

What we're reading...

We are reading Christmas Pig, but I'm not sure we're going to make it even halfway before Christmas. We just haven't sat down to read it enough.

Movies/TV we watched... 

Alex and I finished the whole series of The Santa Clauses. That was really fun to watch! I am so glad they kept Tim for Santa. He did a great job.

Outdoor time... 

We did go on our Monday hike this week. Unfortunately that is the only outdoor time we have due to sickness later in the week. It was a nice walk on Mt. Tabor though!

Games we played...

Christmas Yahtzee was found and played. As you can see mom lost.

 

I'm cooking/eating...

I made Zuppa Tuscana (Olive Garden copycat recipe) one night for dinner. It was so tasty! Along with some french (store bought) bread.

 

Something that worked out great or didn't work out for us this week... 

Without planning I managed to match the new winter shower curtain with our gray toilet seat. Nothing else matches in my house, but this made me smile!

Other thoughts from the week...

 The cat makes us laugh. He thinks that if anything is stacked up, it's for him.

 

I'm grateful for...

Getting my puzzle out and starting it over the weekend. It's a pretty snow globe picture.

"In the books" Monday: Britfield Book III

I received a free physical copy of the book Britfield & the Return of the Prince, in exchange for my review and promotion.

 

As you can see I have the 3rd book in the Britfield series now! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Book 1 and Book 2 and shared about those ones in previous reviews. The 3rd book, The Return of the Prince, by C.R. Stewart, continues the adventure of Tom and Sarah. These 2 are forced again to flee to save their lives and find safety. In the beginning of this book they are safe and hiding at a school, but the book quickly escalates as the school is attacked by the committee and they are forced out in the wilderness of Italy in hopes of reaching a safe house in Northern Italy. These books in are always a fun adventure and take you to a new place each book. I was excited to be visiting Italy and other surrounding countries this time.

 

As you can see this is a thick book with plenty of pages of suspense that had me sucked in, wondering what would happen next, and what the fate of young Tom, the true prince of the Britfields, will be.

If you enjoy books that tie into the real world with geography and facts intertwined into the story, this is the book/series to read. I have enjoyed each one, learning new things about each country, but also enjoying an intense mystery at the same time. You can find more information and the books at the Britfield website and here on Amazon. Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

Outdoor time

Shortly after school started this school year we decided to join some other homeschoolers for a once a week hiking group that meets on Monday afternoons to walk/hike somewhere. We have made some new friends and it gets us outside and moving. It has been a so good for us. Hiking through the fall most Mondays has just been spectacular. I am much more motivated to get outside when there are others going too.

Our hike on Monday this week ended up a bit wet at the beginning, but the sun did peek out a few times and we even got some spectacular rainbows.

(Picture taken by a friend)

Alex loves the Monday hikes because one of his best friends is there too. They keep each other going even when they are tired.

Picture taken by a friend

We get some really beautiful scenery even when we're walking somewhere close in to town. (The hike this week ended up being at Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro)

Picture taken by a friend

 

Just a few weeks ago I learned of another local group that has weekly meet-ups/hikes/walks outdoors called Wild + Free, so we are giving that a try to see if it's a good fit. They meet on Thursdays, which is enough time for us to recover from the Monday hike. This week was our 2nd time with this group. This is a bit younger of a crowd, but it's still nice to be with others. I love seeing the little ones discover outdoors again.

This week's hike was at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest. It was pretty. We played by a creek for a bit.

 

 I love seeing the new growth after having such a dry summer

There were some fun places to explore and play. I love that this group takes the time to stop and do this. Actually, both of our current hiking groups do this, it's lovely.

The kids had fun playing with a water pump.

Time for a selfie with my hiking buddy. He was tired. It was a hilly hike, and we finally had a chance to sit down.

 

We had a lovely time outdoors this week!

Thankful Thursday

 I am thankful for the short snowfall we had today, and the chill in the air that it brings.

Wordless Wednesday: Snickerdoodles

 

Thankful Thursday

 I am thankful that my birthday lands on Thanksgiving day once in a while.

Wordless Wednesday: nothing on the calendar today!

There is absolutely nothing on the calendar today for the first time in months. Perfect way to kick off Thanksgiving weekend!

My Weekly Notebook: The week before Thanksgiving

 

Life this week...

Another whirlwind of a week! It's the week before Thanksgiving and my birthday. I can hardly believe we are already at this holiday. I have one kid who's very excited about Thanksgiving and so he keeps asking me if I have a turkey and if I have stuffing and so on. I have to admit I have very little planned out for our Thanksgiving feast. I should probably get on that. I at least printed up a meal planner page!

Homeschool this week...

 Alex started a new funschooling journal, The Pirate's Pronunciation Handbook, for language arts.

 

This first page seems a bit easy for him, but this book is full of great language arts learning. At first I thought it was too young for him, but realized when I looked through it that it would be a great fit.

The challenge he had for this page was writing the alphabet creatively...

 

Mom-school this week...

I learned to knit! A friend brought some knitting things to teach me while our boys played/jumped at Defy. It was easier than I thought, but hard to get things to knit right. I kept getting too tight. Hoping to get better as I practice more!

 

Places we're going and people we're seeing... 

We went on a few hikes this week with different groups. 

We joined a new to us wild+free group for the first time. Part of our time with them was spent playing/exploring along the river beach. Alex took the time to stack some rocks despite it being very cold. He did awesome!

 

The other hike was with our Monday hike group. We went to Tryon Creek State Park and hiked the N. horse loop. We even saw a horse!

 

I also took the kids on a very short walk down in Springfield when we were visiting. Alex decided to find a geocache which helped him be less grumpy about walking/hiking, and he found a rubber duck in it that we have to take to a new geocache location (it's a travel bug).

Things I'm working on...

Taking apart my Harry Potter LEGO castle. That thing is a solid 6,020 pieces and taking way longer than I anticipated. I've got about half the castle done at this point.

 

Random things the kids worked on... 

Aric decided to do some snap circuits this week. A project that is completely optional for him. He is studying electronics right now so it fits with his science/stem studies. I was happy to see him choose this on his own.

Something I accomplished...

I finished this puzzle. Why? Because Alex decided he didn't like doing puzzles. So, I finished it. I'm excited to move onto something prettier than the human abdomen. I need to figure out how to get that kid to like puzzles.

 

 Movies/TV we watched... 

Michele and I watched the new Disney movie Disenchanted. It's the sequel to Enchanted. We both enjoyed it.

Outdoor time...

Despite our several hikes outside this week, we only have about 4 hours 15 minutes outside. It was very chilly all week, so we just didn't get out much.

Games we played...

Alex played chess several nights with his dad, and a few times with me. This kid loves chess!

 

Other thoughts from the week...

Alex heard about this chocolate from a friend, so he set out to find it at Walmart this week. He found it!

 

I'm grateful for...

Art. We took the opportunity to do some chalk art this week. I am so thankful we did.