Chickens

 

Asian Black  - Charcoal & Penguin

Rhode Island Red - Carmel & Butterscotch

Austria White - Lemonade

Amber Link - Nugget & Freckles

Delaware - Angel

Americana - Liquorish 

Olive Easter Egger - Midnight

Bantam Blue Silkie - Lucifer or Chooster - Is now DEAD!!!

This chicken ended up being a rooster and our good neighbor who has seen first hand what a mean chicken can do helped by breaking his neck and throwing him in the trash!

All the rest of our ladies are super gentle and good natured.

We love our fresh eggs and pretty ladies!!!

Exercise

 We now have a pull-up bar in our laundry room of all places. So we had a contest among the kids to see who could do an actual pull-up. We all are a little weak at the moment and intend to get better as the winter wares on so that we might be able to be stronger by spring. 

We also have a small trampoline and yoga ball that the kids like to use to get there wiggles out on. Sometimes the girls turn the trampoline into a stage for one of their many dance shows or musical performances. 

Evelyn also discovered her love for jumping rope and has been doing so all over the house. She did so much on Saturday that she was sore Sunday and into today. She does not like how her calves hurt, she says that it is hard to walk up and down the stairs. 

Tender Mercies - Horse adventures!!!

Stetson riding Beauty!

Hailey riding Beauty!

Bristol riding Beauty with Andy Pendly guiding!

Evelyn petting and getting familiar with beauty before riding!

Evelyn riding Beauty!

Stetson playing catch with Sunny!

Good dog Sunny!

The kids have been begging for a dog and they got to have ample time with a very fun one on the weekend named Sunny. They were also blessed to be able to ride a horse as you've seen. Our good family friends let us have the majority of their home to stay in as we attended the funeral of my Mother. We were grateful for the friendly connections we have kept in our life that allowed for such comfortable accommodations during such a trying time.  The kids didn't really know that it was a hard weekend as they got to eat out, ride a horse, play with cousins, stay in a really cool house, explore, and snuggle a dog. Life is always full of adventures. We take one day at a time and trust in God every step of the way!

 

ABC"s of God Creations

Apple's

Bumble Bee's

Cookies

Dew on a morning leaf

Emotions

Father

Grass

Honey

Ice

Jack Rabbit

Kitty's (Skittles and Tiger)

Love

Mountains

Newt 

Octopus

Penguins

Quail

Rocks 

Sand

Tree's

Utah

Voice

Wade's

FoX

YOU

Zebra's 

We love all of God's creations and had fun coming up with this ABC list of things that came to mind for us. We especially love this state that we live in and the opportunity that we had to explore so much of it this last year. We are excited for the adventures that await us this year!

Kids have been very creative with train track cities, playing house, tea parties, pretend birthday parties, bulldog tag, sardines, dolls, decorating, books and I'm sure many other things that I am not even currently aware of. 

School is off to a pretty good re-start with all math, grammar, flashcards and phonograms worked on for the week!

Our family had to quarantine for the last week and a half so we are grateful to once again roam freely. 

To Grandmothers house we go!!!

This is Evelyn climbing one of my favorite trees that I climbed when I was a little girl. Evelyn is 9, my parents moved to this home in Idaho when I was 10. This is a overgrown apricot tree and it is so beautiful when it is in bloom. My parents will soon be moving in with us and leaving this home of 27 years, change is bitter sweet.

Evelyn got to come with me to visit my parents, just her and I. We had a great time being just the two of us. She also really enjoyed her cousin Violet and a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are truly good friends and love the rare time they had to be together. Family is so important! 

We had waffles again for the first time in forever! Grandma gave us an old waffle iron of hers and the kids were so excited to make our paleo banana waffles. We enjoyed them with orange juice, eggs and bacon. All of the girls were very helpful.

School was minimalistic this week due to mom being gone, kids being with baby sitters and Dad. Non the less learning still occurred and we did our best to increase in knowledge. 

 

Play

Hailey, Bristol and Ezra were having a great time playing with their stuffed animals and trying to hide among them.     

The girls put on a play. They had practices and several dress rehearsals for days as they prepared to make Sunday the 6th a very special day. There was violin solos, dancing, singing and plenty of laughter. The whole family was so entertained by these three actresses. 

Sunday the 6th was Ezra's 2nd birthday. We made coconut cream pie and mixed berry pie to celebrate the occasion. Everyone was eager to help him with opening his present, a car that he could assemble himself with a drill. We sometimes joke that Ezra is going to be a construction company owner and call his company E Z Construction. This little guy brings so much joy to the whole family we are glad he is apart of our lives. 

School was participated in. Violin lessons were attended, math lessons were completed, science and safety was learned and grammar was worked on and improved.  As well as cooking, cleaning, sharing and disagreeing appropriately. 

 

Thanksgiving

Wade grandparents

Christmas tree hunting!

Family from Denver - Jerky drop!!!

Christmas trees and Christmas trains!

We accomplished all of our schooling to as well as baked and enjoyed holiday festivities. 

 

Applesauce

Several weeks ago a friend of mine offered her apple tree to us and we went as a fieldtrip and picked lots of apples. We acquired apples from a few other places and were able to make 73 quarts of applesauce this week. The hard thing was that the apples were very organic and there were a few friends in our apples. Evelyn and Stetson were amazing at learning to chop and help me with the preparing of the apples. Hailey and Bristol loved cranking the Victorian Strainer as we pushed the apples threw and placed the sauce in the jars. The Wade family team effort that was produced was beautiful for this mom to behold. 

 

Creations

 

Evelyn and Hailey created a very elaborate train station and village. We have a large box of trains and blocks that were utilized as well as castles and other household items. 

Math has been consistent. I love that it is mostly hand off for me.

Grammar is full of activities if we can get to all of the information.

The carpet was installed and all of the kids loved watching the carpet layers with their trade. The kids helped willingly with clean up and removal of excess carpet. The carpet layers returned again after trim was installed and finished up a few things. The kids treated them as if they were family and were so excited to see them again. 

Stetson has created a Lego computer and gaming station that he thought was very much like what he hoped to have in real life. I guess it is good to visualize!

We finished all of the needful things on our home and were excited to have couches delivered. The delivery guys gave the kids some large boxes and they built a little house. They and the cats really liked the activity. Evelyn was the head designer. 

Logan Canyon

We decided to go for a hike on the most frigid of mornings. Thankfully we were bundled up and required to work our muscles straight up the hill at the start. We really enjoy our outings with other homeschool families. We are so grateful for our bodies and this beautiful world that God has created. We harvested some rose hips an eat them as we hiked, saw a cave and enjoyed a little park near the river. We were grateful to return to the warmth of our car and the snacks in side. Everyone but Ezra did exceptionally well. Ezra had a bit of a cold and was not fond of the carrier. We hope to get a few more hikes in before the snow comes to stay. 

 

Brother Time and Remodeling

Stetson and Ezra bonding!

Ezra being silly and climbing into our play kitchen with the encouragement of his sisters. 

He is sitting were the sink usually is. 

Evelyn took this picture of the sunset!!!

We are going to town trying to finish our basement by the end of this month. We are in the painting stage which is so rewarding. We have painted all but one room and have painted doors, walls, fireplaces, kids rooms and cabinets. We still need to paint all of the trim and do many other smaller projects but we are super excited to be closer to our goal. The kids all really enjoyed painting their rooms. Stetsons room has an accent wall of navy blue and the girls have two turquois walls and a pink door.  Hopefully we can send finished pictures next month some time. 

School this week has moved along. Some are quick to do there assignments and others are not so excited. We try to keep Fridays open for making up assignments or fieldtrips but we haven't really gone on any official fieldtrips these last few weeks. I did however take all of the kids to Wal-Mart for art supplies, school supplies and window shopping. They all really enjoyed seeing all of the options that are there. Stetson especially thought that it was fun!

 

End of Fall Soccer

 

Stetson's team had his last game on Saturday and got a A in my opinion for effort but his team did not win a single game. Due to Covid19 the teams that he played ranged in ages from 11 to 15. Some of those kids that he played against were giants compared to him. I was really pleases to see the improvement that Stetson made personally. Stetson is on the front row all the way to the right.

Evelyn's team had there last game on Tuesday and had an undefeated season. I guess that last season the coach that taught the team helped the girls to win each game then too. Evelyn had a lot of fun, made some friends and improved her skills. Evelyn is on the back row second to the left.

Here is some of Hailey's team. She is the one all the way to the left. She loved all of the treats, having her family cheer her on and new friends that she made. I think that she played better with her brother and sister in our backyard then she did at her last two games but she learned a lot and had fun. I am excited for her and her siblings to play again in the spring and see how far there love for soccer will go. It was lots of fun to watch them!!!

CTC Math is a great tool for me. Sometimes I need to sit with the children to make sure that they are grasping the concepts that are being taught but for the most part the lessons are very informative and easy to follow. 

Literature is great! Stetson's cursive is amazing!  Hailey really likes her writing work book and can for the most part work through it all on her own. Evelyn is really coming along with her reading we are excited for her progress. 

With Co-op the children are enjoying there classes and projects. Evelyn is loving the American girl Addy series and loves to read together after her younger siblings have gone to bed. Stetson is learning lots about upholding our freedoms and resolving conflicts civilly. Hailey liked learning about Booker T. Washington and his love for learning and sharing that with all people. I am loving that our children are seeing that history repeats itself and it is important to learn from the past so that we can truly progress. My library is also increasing with great books so that children can truly learn.  

Evelyn has started violin and is doing really well. She is progressing in posture and holds so that she can play her best. Most of what has transpired so far is review so that she can progress as well as possible. 

Soccer Time

All the kids are really enjoying the soccer season. These are pictures of Hailey's Saturday soccer game which her team didn't win but as you can see hanging on the goal is just as fun as running around the field. One of the girls was even doing cartwheels in the middle of the game. Fun times!!! Stetson's team has really improved in unity although they are still not often the winning team. My kids are often now found outside practicing their soccer winning skills together. I like seeing them play together. 

The girls again went to the pumpkin patch. This time with their Dad, they acquired more yummy squashes for us to enjoy all winter long. Our front porch is also lined with beautiful squashes that we harvested from our garden. 

Co-op was fun this week. Evelyn is preparing for a puppet presentation, Stetson is witting papers about how to share what you believe with someone else in a courteous way and Hailey made cornbread and learned about Abraham Lincoln and his tall hat that he stored papers in. 

Math was a little too challenging for Hailey so we went to the kindergarten level for review and will work our way back up to 1st grade. I may need to pull Stetson back to 5th grade math and then accelerate back to 6th grade . Evelyn seems to be well placed and is enjoying the concepts that she is learning. 

Literature has been a journey and we found that we are missing a few books. I am working on purchasing those and we will continue to improve. 

We will be starting a learning section all about the state's and their capitals, soon!