Signs of spring

School outside

It was so warm today, we absolutely HAD to do some of our school work outside! We loved feeling the sun on our faces as we read Bible, History and Science.

We also discovered a family of moles digging their way through our yard. It was quite alarming — and distracting — to see the ground move as the rodents dug tunnels nearby. I did NOT get a photo! I think I was too busy screaming!

Ahhhh, spring!

The time changed on Sunday, and it is finally starting to feel like spring! We could not be happier! All of the kids have loved hanging out on the patio drawing with chalk, but especially this little one who is enjoying this artform for the first time!

Soup's on!

This is what I've been doing the past few weeks. I am the coordinator for the women's group at our church. Today, we had our second annual "Souper Saturday." This is a great evening where all of the women bring soup, salad, bread or dessert and we hear from a couple of speakers who talk about what God has done in their lives. 

It turns out to be a ton of work, but I truly enjoy it.

This year, we gave each of the women a journal to record her blessings throughout the year. Of course, this meant I needed to do lots of shopping to find cute journals that were affordable enough to purchase for 50 women: 

I made these little labels with our theme verse...

There was lots to do in terms of set-up and deocrating...

A friend helped me compile recipe cards of the different types of soup we served...

We made these jars of beans and pasta for each table...

These are the soup cans I made last year with the fake soup labels. I still had most of them, so I only had to make a few more...

We had a TON of soup!

And a great time hanging out with the ladies...

No. 1, the director

Finally, we're to Child No. 1.

This kid can't stop thinking about movies. Nearly every day, he tells me about the plot of a new movie he wants to make. He is constantly trying to recruit his siblings and neighbors to play roles in the movies in his mind. 

Often the movies don't make it to the production stage because we are just too busy to film them. But this week, he got out the video camera and recorded his movie. He also loves editing video in iMovie, and he has gotten really good at adding special effects and music.

I can't wait to see what this kid becomes when he gets older.

No. 2, the tycoon

So, back to the cast of characters around our humble abode...

Child No. 2 loves money. He loves earning money, counting money and spending money. We don't give the kids allowance and we haven't been paying them for their chores. Matthew asked me how he could earn $10, so I had to think of the one thing for which I would be willing to pay: LAUNDRY!

For the past few days, he has been folding and putting away laundry as fast as I can wash it. This arrangement is working out great for both of us!

Watching the race

I've mentioned here several times that I am teaching an Iditarod class at our home school co-op. Well, the race finally began! The boys are each following two mushers: a veteran and a rookie in the 1,150 mile dog-sled race across Alaska. 

They have tracking sheets to write down the stats of their mushers, and they check the computer throughout the day to see how the race is going. This has been an unusual sport to "watch." It's not televised, so we don't really ever see the actual race. It has been fun to see the kids gets excited about the race, even though they don't ever get to see any action.