Halloween Party Fun . . .

Well, every year we try to use our imaginations and come up with costumes. Actually, I'm too cheap to purchase costumes at the store for a one-time use. In years past, I have made costumes for the kids. Actually, Cassie's first costume was made by her paternal grandmother at the young age of 7 months and then Mackenzie actually wore that same costume at the age of five months - Zack was too big for it on his first Halloween. Then over the years, I tried my domestic skills and made various costumes, but in the more recent years the kids have picked up the things they need at the thrift store for their costumes.

This year was no different, except we waited till the last minute so our pickins' were slim. Cassie had in her mind what she wanted to be and was able to find the things she needed. Zack wanted to be a hobo, so that was easy. Mackenzie wanted to be an angel, but we weren't able to find things, but we found a really nice dress and she decided she could be a rock star.




These awesome boots we found at the local Goodwill and they were only a $1. That is right, 100 cents, $1.00. They were not marked and they were with the Halloween things so the lady said they were "accessories" so they were only one dollar.



Jay found some of the things we had purchased and used for VBS a few years ago. So he decided to be Juan Valdez. He carried around a bag of coffee beans and passed them out saying, "Hi, my name is Juan Valdez. Have some coffee. Good Lutherans need good coffee."



Before the Halloween party got started, Jay - I'm sorry, I mean Juan, Cassie, and Mackenzie helped bag the homemade Carmel corn. YUM!!



After sharing his coffee, Juan decided it was time for a siesta.



Well, instead of bobbing for apples they bobbed for powder donuts. It was messy, but the kids seemed to enjoy trying to get a donut.



Another activity meant sticking your hand into the brains and finding the tumor to get a piece of candy. They also had a fishing game were the kids would get a snack bag full 0f little trinkets.



The kids participated in the cake walk and each one won a cake, but I made them put back two of them because we only need one at home and then someone else could win.



Of course, they had a craft station. Mackenzie and one of her friends did two of the crafts. They both like doing crafts!!

All in all it was a fun night, but I know my husband's wheels are turning so he can have other activities geared to the older kids, too. So, we can't wait to see what he comes up with for next year!!

Showing our team spirit . .

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

&

Go BUCKS!!

Making Cakes

Tonight we are going to a Halloween Party at First Lutheran Church. First Lutheran Church is the church in Bismarck where Jay serves as an Associate Youth Pastor. We figure since we're not too familiar with the area and we don't really know many people that we will bypass the Trick or Treating tomorrow night so to have fun we want to take the kids to the party, plus Jay needs to be there.

Evidently they were costumes, play games and have a cake walk. So I thought I would make a cake for the cake walk. Well, then the girls decided they wanted to make cakes too.

I have a whole lot of Halloween clippings from various magazines over the years, so I pulled them out and Mackenzie found a cute mummy head cake from Women's World issue 10/20/2008. So we baked off the cakes the day before and then yesterday we spent time decorating.

Here is Mackenzie working on her cake . . .




She is making the icing which is butter, marshmallow fluff and powder sugar. YUM!!



Then she used some of the cake icing tips to make the bandage strips on the mummy head.



After she added all the gummy worms and facial features, she was ready for a picture with her cake. She did a very nice job!!



Cassie picked out a cake from the Wilton 2006 Cake Decorating Yearbook - she took one cake class with me in Ohio so she wanted to do a more complicated cake.



She picked a cake that required her to use a star-tip, so she spent almost two hours just covering the spider's body.



Then I helped her crumb coat the head and attach it so she could finish star tip covering the head, too.





Unfortunately, while trying to get under the back side of the head, I apparently smudged some of the body's black stripe, but she fixed it.





This morning, before school started, she put together the legs and added the facial features.



Here she is with her final project. She did a very nice job!!

Mackenzie starts gymnastics

Last week I made a trip over to Bismarck Gymnastics Academy to sign Mackenzie up for gymnastics (obviously). Anyway, what interested me was the fact that they offered two separate homeschool sessions on Tuesday afternoons. Well, as it turned out one class had already been removed from the schedule and they explained they hadn't been able (in previous sessions) to fill the class with the required three students so the class would more than likely get cancelled. Well, as it turns out, BGA only offers the homeschool classes on the same day that homeschoolers go over to the Mandan Community Center for group phys-ed classes.

So, I got her signed up and she went to her first class the other night. I was a little worried how she would be because she had taken gymnastics at Fitness & Fun in Pickerington until they closed and then we tried Columbus Gymnastics Academy and she didn't enjoy it as much. The thing Mackenzie loved, well all of us loved, about Fitness & Fun was the equipment was welcoming and the teachers were there to have fun and teach the kids. Unfortunately, our experience at CGA, as others we met that had come from F&F, was not a positive one. The equipment seemed too big and the teachers weren't helpful. So, it's been over a year since Mackenzie has gotten any structured gymnastics teaching.

The BGA gym is big and I was worried that Mackenzie would feel intimidated by the large equipment. When you walk in - it just seems like a very big place with a lot of equipment. Above the gym floor is a bleacher seating area for parents to observe while instruction is going on.

When we arrived the other night, the gym was full of competitive gymnasts practicing. They were neat to watch but they had already been there for at least an hour before we got there and you could tell they were tired. So they were rotating on all the larger equipment. They have two additional areas with equipment for preschoolers and elementary age children.













Mackenzie had a GREAT time and she liked her teacher. She was very excited to tell her dad what she did in class and today she got out the gymnastics mat in the basement and worked on some of the things she learned.

By the way the competitive gymnasts were still there when we left and they just rotated areas, again!! Competitive level - NO thank you.

Over the hill from our sub-development

The other day it was nice outside, sunny and high 50's so we thought after lunch we would venture over the hill to the other side and go down by the river. This is all less than five miles from our house. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a way to get close to the water, but we will!!

School is a challenge right now . . .

Well, I have to say I miss my school space. What do I mean? The last two places we have resided we had designated areas for our school, granted the kids typically don't like working at a desk or in a classroom per say, but at least there was a place for all our books.

In the home we lived in when we began our homeschooling we had a spare bedroom that was the designated schoolroom. The kids (Cassie & Zack) had their own little desks and I had my own work area. When we moved in with my in-laws five years ago, we had a classroom in the basement. It was smaller than our first, but at least we had a room for our school things. Well, over time we moved the classroom upstairs so we didn't feel like we were in a dungeon, besides we were doing most of our work upstairs anyway. Upstairs we had a designated area with bookcases for all our books and storage for all our supplies.



In our new home, we have limited space upstairs. We are hoping to finish an area in the walkout basement to house all our school supplies and homeschool library. Right now I have my teacher books and curriculum guides in baskets on the edge of the table and I was able to get each of them a rolling storage ottoman to keep their books in. The major problem right now is our homeschool library is still in boxes in the basement corner. So when we are doing something and I want to pull a reference book or something to help illustrate what we're learning, my phrase to the kids is "Well, I'm not sure what box that's in." Not only do we not have the space for bookcases, but we don't have any to use. We left three bookcases behind in OH and we lost two bookcases in the move, so we have no where to put our books.



This day the Cassie & Mackenzie were working at the table (which is where Cassie typically works) and Zack was on my bed. They have sprawled out across the sectional in the great room, but it has limited space once they get their books/materials out.

Mackenzie & I started our insect studies . . . so I got out the wall posters and they are hanging from the light above the dining room table.



I would love to have an area where we can keep all our homeschool supplies (notebooks, pencils, rulers, crayons, markers, etc.), all our craft supplies, all our science experiment supplies, bookcases with our reference library and school books, and a work area for group work. I feel disorganized because I can't find things we need for our studies as they are still in boxes!! Hopefully, we'll be able to resolve this soon!!

Casper the friendly Albino Clawed Frog

Mackenzie's new pet. He is so small right now, but I'm sure he'll get bigger. It was funny when she got it because the lady that got him out of the tank wanted to make sure she knew these frogs will (can) get as big as an adult fist, can live up to 30 years, and they are mean to other fish in the tank. We'll see how long this one lasts.

Crocheting Stoles for Jay

The girls, well actually all of us except Jay, have just recently learned how to crochet. While driving out to ND in Sept., we stopped at my mom's in IA and she and my sister taught us how to crochet. The girls have really taken to it and have made so many different things. Mackenzie has made scarves for herself and then bookmarks and coasters for her penpals and friends back in OH. Cassie has made several scarves for herself and her friends, too. I have only made one scarf - I've been busy reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

Well, for his ordination, Jay's family got him three stoles and our home congregation got him one for the seasons of the church. They are nice, but the girls and I thought it would be nice if he had a variety of stoles - more than one blue, more than one green (which I believe is worn the most), and more than one red - so we decided to crochet a green and a blue. You know they're just BIG scarves.

So we bought some yarn from Hobby Lobby and the girls & I have been working hard on them. We hope to finish the blue one by Nov. 29th when Advent starts so he can wear it. Maybe we can learn a new stitch or something before we make the purple and red ones.

Chloe Bear's favorite place

Chloe seems to be adjusting quite well to her new surroundings. She does seem to bark a lot more being there are more strangers (to her) stopping by the house. She is like a whole new dog - very energized. She loves the cool breeze and just being outside.

She has gotten into the habit of wanting (whining) to go out and lay on the deck. She has a pretty good routine, except for those days it is wet from a dusting of snow or rain (as it is today). She will eat and then she stands by the table facing the back sliding glass door waiting for someone to open it so she can make her way to her favorite spot.



Once outside on the deck, she will lay out there for hours. She perks up when there is s breeze - she loves the wind blowing in her face. The best part about it is the fact she will NOT go down steps. We have never been able to get her to go down the basement steps and she won't go down the steps from the deck to the back yard.

The unfortunate side to that is, days like today when it is raining she doesn't understand she can't lounge around on the deck. So all she does is whine!!

She loves to hang around with the kids too, so if they are in the basement all she does is lay at the top of the stairs and whines. So, to get her to the basement, she has to go out the front door and run to the backyard and come in through the walkout basement through the sliding glass doors.

Cassie's passion

For those of you who aren't on Facebook, I would like to share with you some of the pictures Cassie has taken. Cassie loves taking pictures, and she is loving the landscape and the sunsets here.

Rest In Peace . . . Speckles, Apr. 2009 - Oct. 3, 2009

We are very sad to say we have lost a dear pet member of the family. He made the long journey from Ohio to North Dakota in his aquatic environment on the floor board beside Cassie's feet. He made the transition from the oversized jar back to his bowl without any complications. Mackenzie had found the perfect spot on her dresser for him.

Unfortunately, a two weeks ago, Speckles, Mackenzie's African Clawed Frog passed away. She had a mothering relationship with him as she had nurtured him from a tadpole to juvenile to adult frog. She misses him dearly, but has already made plans to replace him with an aquatic Albino Clawed Frog from Wal-Mart.

Cassie would like to say a few words . . .
May the heavens greet you with endless
possibilities.

Zack would also like to add . .
I wish we would have had tiny enough
instruments to have dissected you for
science.

Mackenzie to Zack . . . "HOW RUDE!!"

Mackenzie's last words to her dear beloved frog friend . . .
Have fun living your new life in the
heavens up above. Meet you there when I
die.

Lessons via the Cell Phone

Many years ago, well only 7.5 years ago, we lived in Parker, Colorado. Cassie was only 7 years old. Prior to moving to Colorado, Cassie would go over to her grandparents' house and tinker around on the piano. For that Christmas of 2001, Cassie received a keyboard as a gift from her paternal grandparents and her uncle. Well, I am not musically inclined, at all and I can't even read music. My mother-in-law is the music teacher!! Evidently she had a plan. She would teach Cassie how to play the piano. What? How? We lived in Colorado and she lived in Ohio.

So, it began . . . I had kept my Ohio cell phone number at the time because my in-laws didn't have cell phones and it wasn't long distance to place an Ohio call to an Ohio call. Anyway, the lessons started via cell phone. She took lessons for five months over the cell phone and then we went back to Ohio and she played in her first recital. She continued taking lessons via the cell phone for another seven months before we moved back to Ohio. So, for one whole year she took piano lessons via the cell phone.

Over the last several years all the kids have been taking lessons from Grandma, which has been a tremendous help since they all play the piano and do other instruments. Cassie plays the piano, the flute, and tinkers around with the guitar. Mackenzie is learning to play the piano and the violin and Zack is learning the piano and the drums. So, now that we have left Ohio, we have to find a piano instructor, along with teachers for the flute and violin. Zack can hopefully gain more knowledge about playing the drums from his dad since that's what he use to play.

It's been a while since the kids had any lessons, but they had their first lesson the other night . . . via the cell phone . . .

Cassie went first. She placed the phone on top of the piano.

When it was Zack's turn, he was having trouble understanding what Grandma was reviewing with him. So after a few frustrating moments, Cassie went over and started interpreting and guiding Zack . . .

Well, Mackenzie didn't even want to try because she has a hard time understanding people on the phone period. She doesn't like to talk on the phone because she says she can't understand or sometimes hear what people are saying. Plus, she hadn't been practicing her songs. So she snuck down stairs and practiced her songs on the keyboard. Then, with Cassie at her side, she took her first lesson via the cell phone.

I don't think we will continue forever doing lessons via the cell phone. It would be nice to find someone here, but with the cost of all their lessons, we may have to utilize the cell phone for a while.