Wordless Wednesday: Childhood Memories

 McBoo bucket, McDonald's 2022

My Weekly Notebook: Last week!

 

Life this week...

I received some bummer news about clogging this week. The building that we use for a studio is being sold, so the whole school is being temporarily closed until they can figure out a new plan. Possibly for months. So that means that come mid-November I will not be clogging for a while. It was a huge shock. I have to admit that it was also a little bit of a relief that I can take a short break. I am coming up on my year commitment and was trying to decide if I want to keep going. This kinda decided for me at least until they start back up, then I'll have to decide. At least this gives me a chance to take a break and re-evaluate. 

Homeschool this week...

Some math from the week. 

Aric's working through Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, and Lesson 31 is the worst score he has earned yet. So, I deleted the problems so we can go over them and he can fix them. He is a math minimalist (he wants to do as little as he can get by with), but I want him to understand what he's doing.

We played these math squares games for some fun math this week from Games4gains.com. We had fun playing these on those tough mornings where we are having a hard time.

 

Mom-school this week... 

I am on a 21 day streak in Duolingo (Spanish). 

I also started up my 52 lists book again. 

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

We went to the library for our homeschool group meeting. It was art day. Painting with different objects proved to be a fun activity for all ages.

 

Then we gathered downstairs to look for books and Alex got his fill of playing chess.

 

My favorite thing this week was...

Going on a donut hike

Things I'm working on...

Helping Alex with his human anatomy puzzle for school

 

Something I accomplished...

I got some more Halloween decorations up and tidied up the front porch/yard. There was a point when I thought I wouldn't put up any decorations outside because I just wasn't feeling like it, but Saturday was nice and I wanted to put them out.

 

What we're reading...

These are the stacks of books for the week. I got a little over zealous with my library holds this week! But, now we have a lot of great books to try out. Some are also books for school reading, so there's that too.

 

Outdoor time...

Our outdoor time has been lacking in the last few weeks. I haven't really been keeping track of hours because there just haven't really been any to track. So, I have decided that it's now time to make more of an effort to get outside now that it's getting cooler and winter is coming. It won't come as naturally now that summer is over. I am going to have to intentionally choose outdoor activities that will get us out there.

Games we played...

• Star Wars Guess who
• giant battleship (Alex, at church)

Other thoughts from the week...

It finally feels like fall! The leaves are starting to turn beautiful colors and fall off the tree. I want to enjoy these moments. To slow down. I am really trying to do that. I took a walk by myself on Saturday morning when I was feeling all the frustrations of life and feeling busy and overwhelmed. So glad I did. It really helped bring things into perspective. 

 

I'm grateful for...

A night outside by the fire.

Donut hike (1000 hours outside inspired)

I put the monthly outdoor adventure list of ideas (from 1000 hours outside) on my refrigerator each month hoping that we'll find some time to complete at least a few of them. One that I had been eying finally happened over the weekend. I was able to convince at least a few members of the family that it would be fun, and I think it was. We did the "warm donut hike" sans the warm part (that would have required more work). 

We decided to just take a short walk at a park in Keizer (Keizer Rapids Park). It was perfect for our energy level that day. It was also late afternoon so the sun was coming through the trees so beautifully and the river was peaceful.

 

My hiking buddies were Michele and Alex.

We saw some jack-o-lanterns on the trail.

Love a path lined with leaves!

We saw a snake slithering across the trail

I picked half a dozen donuts out for the 3 of us. 

We even brought milk and cups to have with our donuts. It was starting to get pretty chilly at this point, but it was nice just sitting there while Alex played on the playground for a bit after our hike.

And that's a wrap on that outdoor adventure! It was fun!

Thankful Thursday

 I am thankful for the 2 quiet afternoons I had at home this week.

Wordless Wednesday: LEGO Mindstorms is back!

 

My Weekly Notebook: can the weeks just slow down now?!

Life this week...

I started the week with a cat snuggling on my lap Monday morning. I loved having that as an excuse to not get going very quickly. This is the only time this cat is snuggly, in the mornings, so I'll take it! The rest of the week was good. Very busy, but all the usual busy, not much new.

 

Homeschool this week...

I feel like we still haven't gotten into our groove for homeschooling yet. We're about a month into school and it is turning out to be a slow process. Hoping to find a better flow to our school day in the coming weeks.

Mom-school this week...

I need to find a good groove for my own study during the week too. I started to listen to a book called Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute for a mom's meeting we are having. It was good, but I only got about 4 chapters in before the cd's were too scratched to continue. Now I have to just order the book to continue. It's good, so I think I will. It'll be great to have a hard copy to mark quotes anyway. 

Helpful homeschool tips and advice to share...

Stop stressing! That is my message to myself this Sunday, the day before the new week. I need to just chill. 

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

It's amazing to me that it was still warm enough this week to even do this, but Monday found us walking and swimming at the Willamette River in Portland. It was even hot! Not just barely warm, but hot. I was dying and had to finally move into the shade while Alex swam. 

Also, this is like the coolest picture of the week...

 

My favorite thing this week was...

I really enjoyed this project. Alex has a LEGO bonsai tree that he bought with some birthday money for his last birthday. I thought it would be fun to make it spooky, and it turned out really cute. I had to order some special pieces and I wasn't sure how they would look, but I think it came together awesome. Alex even helped me put the branches together.

 

Things I'm working on...

I started a few LEGO projects this week and also did a lot of sorting and searching for pieces. 

 

Random things the kids worked on...

Alex really wants to have his RC car working again, so he worked on that both by himself and with his dad. He now has a working RC car again. He was so excited to drive it around on Sunday afternoon.

 

Something I accomplished...

I made this delicious chocolate peanut butter banana bread. 

 

Movies/TV we watched...

I am watching the Heartland series again, and I'm loving it just as much as the first time I watched it. This part of the story where Lou and Peter are asking Georgie if she wants them to be her foster parents is a real tear jerker.

   

Outdoor time...

We need more outdoor time!

Games we played...

We played this game, We the People fight tyranny, to go along with our US history studies this year. It was good! A lot of questions we didn't know the answer to, so it was a good history lesson.

 

I'm cooking/eating...

See above (Something I accomplished). I also made a delicious apple slaw to go with our pulled pork sandwiches for dinner on Sunday.

 

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

We heard there was a Halloween sticker drop at Dutch Bros. on Wednesday, so it worked out great for us to swing by and get a hot chocolate on the way to co-op and see if we could snag a sticker. We did it! 

 

Other thoughts from the week...

I am really looking forward to that "warm donut hike" on our outdoor adventure list this month. I'm trying to figure it out and see if I can make it work.

 

I'm grateful for...

LEGO. They bring me joy.

Wordless Wednesday: Just Ducky!

 

My Weekly Notebook: It's beginning to look a lot like fall

Pumpkin Hill at the Harvest Festival we went to on Saturday

 

Life this week...

It was a nice fall week. The weather is still really warm and sunny most everyday, and the leaves are really starting to change color all around. I love how beautiful the world is when the leaves change color, and the golden sunsets light up the end of the day. I longed to get outside and watch some sunsets, but it just wasn't working out this week. I'm hoping to make it happen more next week.

Homeschool this week...

I already have to make some switches and additions to the curriculum! This week I realized that book two in Aric's U.S. History Detective is a little later in history than I wanted, and he should start on book one. Thankfully I was able to get book 1 for free with Timberdoodle points! 

It feels like we are still settling into the school year. The boys are still getting used to the workload and I get pushback pretty much daily. Just in case you are thinking it's all sunshine and roses around here when it comes to schoolwork, it isn't. It was a rough week in this department.

Mom-school this week...

I wish I could say I did a lot. I didn't. I did however start Spanish on Duolingo and was able to get a 5-day streak this week.

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

We went a lot of places this week. In fact, it felt like a super busy week. Here is our list of outings:

• Hike at Pittock mansion (which also included a quick tour before the hike) on Monday
• Co-op on Wednesday
• We hosted a tween boy group activity at our house on Thursday
• Piano lessons on Friday
• Bauman Farm's Harvest Festival on Saturday
• Alex went to a friends house and hung out to celebrate his friend's birthday on Saturday
• Date night for mom and dad on Saturday

My favorite thing this week was...

Sharing a huge piece of ice cream pie with Michele for our date night

What we're reading...

I am reading this book aloud to Alex, The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daughtery, for his Key of Liberty co-op class. 

 

Movies/TV we watched... 

Alex and I watched Hocus Pocus 2 at a friends house. I'll probably rewatch it soon since I didn't really see the beginning.

Outdoor time...

I think we got about 48 hours outside for the month of September. We went on a few hikes and had a camping trip. Those camping trips really get a lot of hours because we tent camp so that means we are pretty much outside all day. 

I'm cooking/eating...

I made our traditional Sunday meal of homemade pizza. Some other things on our menu were: Teriyaki chicken and rice, chicken fajitas, sheet pan sausage/onion/peppers with rice, and baked potatoes.

 

Other thoughts from the week...

It was April's first week of University. She sent me this picture from her first day of helping with FIG classes. That was Monday. Then her first day of classes was Tuesday.

 

I'm grateful for...

Puzzles. I am grateful that I can bond with friends over puzzles, and that it gives me something do accomplish.