The kids are showing off their new t-shirst from Del Sol. I am sure that you all know what store that is, but for those who may not, they sell items that change color in the sun. This picture was taken when there wasn't much sun, so you can't see the total effect, but none the less, they love the t-shirts.

Discovery Center...

Some friends of ours associated with the Heidelberg Seminary in South Dakota came in yesterday on a cruise ship and we had so much fun showing them around town. We went to the Discovery Center and took them to Creek Street. We would have loved to shown them so many other places, but we didn't have enough room in our Suburban. The kids had a great time with all of the exhibits and walking around town. And of course we had to take them to Cape Fox for lunch, what a beautiful view up there! All in all it was a wonderful day with great weather, the Lord blessed us greatly.

Before school starts for so many of our friends, we had one more hurrah at Totem Bight with Laura, Karina and Hans Michael. We roasted marshmellows, Katie was very curious about the sticky marshmellow on her finger. The kids played on the trail to the clan house and Laura told them a story about one of the totems inside the clan house. It was very entertaining and they thought it was a true story...

Settler's Cove Hiking...

We went to Settler's Cove after church 2 Sundays ago. Katie was such a champion, climbing all those stairs and grunting with each step. She wouldn't give up though. The beach was a lot of fun too. On Tuesday of this week I took the kids back for a science experiment on water flow. We threw rocks, leaves, twigs, old man's beard, bark and leaves to see what would float and what would sink. The greatest part of the whole experience though, was watching the salmon run. And then we saw seals popping their heads up, we counted three of them. I have to say, I was really excited because this was my first time seeing them so close up in the wild. What a great place we live.

We found some great blocks for building at a good price at, you guessed it, Walmart! The kids had lots of fun building towers and ships and wanted me to take lots of pictures of their creations.

Another Great Day at the Park...

We had such great weather today! We all wanted to go to the park and when our friends the Axelsons called and said they were going, we were glad to join them. Justin made a huge leap today on the big climbing gym. He made lots of noise but had great courage and he did it! Robert and I also wanted to see if we could still play like kids and hang upside down too. I know these are slightly embarrassing pictures for us old folks to show, but they are fun too. Brendan finally got his own bike, a boy bike, and he is good at riding it too. Katie has gotten quite good at climbing her mountain as well. Rebecca got a piggy-back ride with her Daddy and she gave a great goofy face. If you click on the picture you can see it better. Well, tomorrow is Sunday, we are looking forward to going to church and praising the Lord! God bless you all and good night.

We have decided to homeschool again this year. We are all pretty excited about it around here. This last week was our first week. It was very laid back because I still don't have all of the materials that I need. But, we have been working on math, spelling, writing, history and art. The picture to the left is a picture of the saxon math manipulative kit that we got from christianbook.com. I have to say that it is really neat. All of the kids love it, including Katie! I love the fact that they think they are playing, but I know that they are really learning, so we all win. Anyway, this is my recommendation for all kids, whether they are homeschooling or not, it is a great tool. And you don't have to use the Saxon math curriculum, we are using MCP Math.

Painting at the Kitchen Table

We had a little art class today after swimming lessons and before seibukan class. The kids looked like they were having so much fun that I decided to join them this time and actually paint a picture too. No wonder they love painting. I really liked it and Rebecca liked what I did so much that she wanted to make one just like mine. I thought that was so sweet. Brendan likes to experiment and draw different things, his painting has a fire, a person, a dog, and some color mixing. Justin was painting a boy playing at the park, this seems to be his usual subject:)

Local Wild Life

Just a little of the local wild life here in our yard. Brendan and I went out this morning and decided to take pictures of all the flowers in the yard. We were soon captivated by other things, like squirrels, spiders and slugs. he he he....

Happy Faces...

Justin announced he had to go to the bathroom, so, here he is! What a great view he has to take care of his business!











Justin has a special, mischevious look on his face at the moment, but, he is only playing at the park.

Gorillas in the Mist?

No, not really, but I thought it was really neat to see the clouds touching the mountain. We went to Faun Mountain School to play at the park today with the Murdocks. In case you haven't tried this park yet, it is a great park. And behind the school is a track that the kids can ride their bikes on and the adults can walk. This mountain is behind the school and looks so close, my photo of it doesn't do it justice.

Berries

Robert took a picture of all the berries that we have here in our own yard. Salmonberries, watermelon berries, huckleberries and salal berries. There are a few others, but this is a nice representation of the wild berries. It has been a cold year, so there aren't many around and the blue berries are still green. I really miss the blueberries. What about you Julie, over there on POW? Are the berries good this year?

Happy Birthday Dear Justin....

Justin was a really good sport about blowing out the candles for his cake. I put re-lighting candles on his cake and he just kept on blowing them out until they stopped. He then asked if we could take the candles off the cake now. The cake was really good for being a store bought cake. We have always had good cakes from Safeway. They are our favorite with whipped cream frosting and custard in the middle. Mmm. Gotta love cake. Brian and Hans Michael did not want any cake after the pie eating contest. (by the way, it was really a whipped cream eating contest:)

Pie Eating Contest!

These are pictures of the pie eating contest that we had on Justin's
birthday party today. He will be 5 tomorrow. Yipee for him, he is
so excited and happy. They had so much fun laughing at each
getting whipped cream up their noses! These were some good
times.

Learning to ride a bike...

As you can see, Brendan is quite good at riding his sister Rebecca's bike. He looks so intent and serious. We went to the park on Sunday and brought the kids bikes and scooters. The weather was great, I don't think anyone knew it was going to be so nice because nobody was there. But we took advantage of it. Rebecca also learned to ride her bike. She looked so excited and scared at the same time!

Tourist Pictures in Ketchikan