School is here! Rosa started preschool this fall. All our kids loved preschool. Sounds backwards, homeschooling - but sending the preschoolers to school. Truth be told, those of us homeschooling enjoy the half-day break from some of the little ones!
Here's Rosa, on her first day of school:
So what about Anna? We keep her busy! She loves to do baking:
and dishes!
That way the home-schoolers can get about the serious business of schoolwork.
This fall was wet and brief, but we still managed a walk through Sibley State Park. We started with a favorite: a quick walk around the pond.
The sun seems to have disappeared on us, leaving us a bit chilly, even with our jackets on.
The trees seemed confused by the sudden coldness, unwilling to admit it was time to drop the leaves. It was eerily quiet; no crooking of frogs or buzzing of insects, just an occasional chirp of a bird.
Nora loved touching the cat-tails: so soft and silky!
Some wildflowers were still blooming. The Brown-eyed Susans were a neat contrast from the sea of dying grass.
Alex was the first to notice the bees. On just about every bunch of flowers a small group of bees clung motionlessly. The cold must have grounded them.
From the pond we hiked up to the look out on Mt. Tom (really just a hill). The view is always awesome.
Here were are, on the look-out.
I had to try to get a couple of kid shots in, too.
The girls wanted a "just us girls" shot, and I was happy to oblige.
We walked in the woods a bit, glad that the thousands of caterpillars of early summer were gone. Caleb enjoyed strolling along with Grandpa.
The boys love being "George of the Jungle", swinging on the large vines.
Our last stop was Lake Andrew. It was so dreary, if not for the trees on the opposite shore, the sky and water would have blended together.
The younger kids quickly got busy doing their favorite lakeside pastime: throwing rocks!
The older boys love walking up and down the shore, looking for treasures. Alex found some neat trees. They look like they could get up and walk around on their feet!
We were all getting cold, so we decided to go get some pizza. Corbin sums up our day:
A couple weeks later, we were finally rewarded with a nice warm fall day. The jackets were shed, the leaves were raked, and the gardens put to bed for the winter.
Anna enjoyed playing on our porch while the leaves were being raked.
Then it was time to jump in!
Rosa got out the tricycle for one last ride.
The boys were supposed to be helping rake, but got in some playing between filing bags of leaves.
Caleb decided playing ball with Alex could be dangerous!
The children have been asking for years to have a dog. I have been the sole one opposed. But this fall, I gave in. We adopted Lizzy. She is a "poodle mix" (I see a lot of Bichon Frise in her.) Her previous life might not have been the best, but here she is spoiled and pampered!
The kids adore her. Anna loves holding the leash:
Rosa has officially proclaimed it's HER dog:
And the boys love playing with her.
Even our cat, Luigi, seems to think the newcomer is okay.
In October we had our first real snow of the season. The kids were so excited! All ran out to play.
Nora made her usual: a snow cat.
Rosa surprised us all this year by deciding she actually likes the snow! Here she is with her snowball.
The snow didn't last long, though, except for Nora's snow cat. It managed to hang out on our lawn for a good week after all the other snow was gone!
We'll wrap up our fall happenings with one last trip to a local park. Nora just hung around...
while Corbin zipped from one place to another.
Rosa and Anna had their ups and downs...
We brought Lizzy along, too. She looked so cute in her new winter coat, I just had to take some pictures!
Whew! All that playing can wear one out!
Don't you just love sleeping baby pictures? She must be dreaming of winter. But that's another adventure!
