O Christmas Tree!

We finally made it out for our Christmas tree on Saturday afternoon.  We didn't have to go far, because this place is just down the road from us.  We even had a little bit of snow in honor of the occasion...very little.

 Many trees were inspected...

But only one was chosen.

I wanted to cut it down, but they took the saw away from me right after this photo was taken...?

So, Rick did the cutting, and I think everyone got in on the carrying/dragging/riding on the tree to get it back to the car.

And one of these days, I'll convince my kids to wear their winter coats.  You'd think snow on the ground would be a visible reminder, but no.

Merry Christmas!

Cops and Robbers

Gus was tasked with writing his very own Bob Book for his co op language arts class,

           and he came up with this.

If you've read carefully, you'll have noticed that Matt is a bank robber, Bob might be Captain America, and "x-eyes mean you're dead".

This is what I found on the fridge last night.

We have a very negligent tooth fairy...

                            I wonder if she's related to our spelling teacher?

Life Perspectives from 6 & 7 Year Olds

As overheard on our way from Hist/Lit co op to Biology Lab from an assorted passenger list of my own children, other Biology students, and some others just along for the ride...

Assorted siblings and unrelated kids--  "Here Emily, here's a song for you and Colby"  (Can you feel the love tonight playing in the background from someone's ipod)  "You and Colby will be married someday...."  (sarcastic sighs from the back row)

Emily's older sibling-- "No Emily, you should marry Gus!"

Gus--"No Way!  I'm not marrying Anyone!"

Emily--"You're going to die an old and lonely man, Gus!"

Gus--  "Nope, I'm going to build a house, and live in Peace and Quiet!!"

                                        Hmmm.  Peace and Quiet...what fun would that be?

           

Exploding pans and Dinner out.

Dinner was an adventure last night. 

Rick was stepping in the door from work as I was pulling ham steaks out of the oven.  He was just in time to witness the glass baking dish explode in my hands.  It. Literally. Exploded.  Glass went everywhere, including into every other dish I had ready to serve for dinner.  

Since we didn't want a side of glass with our dinner, either shards or powdered, thank-you-very-much,  Rick took us all out to Gritty's (a favorite local pub and microbrewery) for dinner.  So, on the bright side, we got to go out for dinner

        (although I have to recommend NOT cooking AND cleaning AND dining out all for the same meal),

and with the mess extending into the oven, I also got my oven cleaned (which I'd been putting off for some time).  And while cleaning out the oven, the realization dawned on me that I had actually scrubbed the kitchen floor AND cleaned the oven in a single week...

Watch out Martha Stewart!

And now, I'm getting rid of all my CorningWare.  This is their second attempt on my life, and I'm afraid I might not get away unscathed next time.

Biking in Acadia

In the middle of a very busy fall, we stole a day to take the kids and head up into Acadia National Park for some bicycling and some fall colour.  We did a little less bicycling than anticipated-- due to coughing fits from a lingering cold, and saw less colour than anticipated--due to a very wet summer and hurricane Irene, but we did enjoy a day with the kids away from the to-do list.

Biking...

And not so much biking...

We found fall colour in splotches, here and there.

And we found the wind on top of Cadillac Mountain!

It was a good day!

What do you get when you put together some fascinating history reading, an old blanket and some rope?

Oh, and don't forget the crucial ingredient...Imagination...

Hours of fun!!

Sausage Making 101

If a friend in need is a friend indeed...What does that make a friend who raises a pig for you at their house, and does all the daily chores besides?  
A Very Good Friend Indeed!

After a local butcher shop did the really messy stuff, we got together one evening and started the great experiment.

We ground...

 We spiced

              and mixed

We sang...

And we stuffed!

The Tuscan, Country, and Chorizo Sausages turned out great!  The Chorizo is the best of all, and the friends?  Absolutely the best too!!

Illusions and Reality

Well, the illusion of summer is over, and the reality of another school year is setting in.  Actually, it set in a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to acknowledging it now.

And this year's school realities stretch from this--

First grade, to this--

Southern Maine Community College, where our senior high school student is taking classes this year.

This is our "hump year" in that we've added the last one to the mix and have all five kids officially being homeschooled, but since all of Zac's classes are elsewhere...I suddenly found myself over the hump, and nicely on the other side without even having realized it.  And that's a reality I can live with!

Squeezing in Summer

It's been a crazy summer, but what other kind is there really?  The idyllic days of summer that I remember from childhood were just that--childhood.  As a parent, I've come to realize that vacations are actually a lot of work when I'm the one packing suitcases, planning meals and finding some kind soul(s) to take care of feeding and watering all the assorted critters that we've accumulated along the way.

But-oh-so-suddenly, school is upon us, along with the mad scramble to freeze, can, jam, ferment or otherwise store everything that managed to survive in the garden despite my neglect of it in this crazy summer.

So, in a last desperate grab at some fun family time, we've managed to squeeze in as much summer as we could in the past week.

Perhaps it was the pressure of so few remaining days, or maybe it was the beautiful weather (or just being home?) that got us moving, but in any case, we finally managed to get to a local baseball game and then one of the summer concert series hosted by LLBean.  We got to see America last Saturday night.  So far as I can tell, they still haven't named that horse...


Then we got onto the boat for the first time this summer as well.   We sailed out of Freeport harbour into Casco Bay as far as Bustin's Island, peeking into Mere Point for a glimpse of Birch Island before racing back ahead of the thunder clouds.  And speaking of Birch Island, we just spent an afternoon there with some good friends a few days earlier and left Lydia and Moriah to spend the night with them on the Island camping out under the stars...with the mosquitoes...

Zac-up to his usual tricks

Gus, playing in tending the fire.

a rare sighting of Birch Island monkeys  

Rachel--making grass dolls for the little girls

the camp-out quartet

(Photo disclaimer:  since I discovered my camera battery was dead on the ride out to the island, I used last year's photos from Birch Island.  So, if everyone looks a bit younger, now you know why!)

So, now that our schedule has evened out and we're keeping closer to home by the necessity of being back into school , I'm looking forward to grabbing those remaining afternoons and weekends of great weather to squeeze some more summer fun into.

How did we miss this?

Only six miles from our house is this great swimming hole complete with rocks to jump or slide from, (although that's a bit hard on the swimsuit) and miles of meandering waterways for kayaking.

Add to that fishing and turtle hunting, and I really have to wonder how we never discovered this place earlier!!

Now that we have, however, I'm sure we'll be back many times!