Sea Dragon

This is such an intriguing creature.


We saw these when visiting an aquarium. They look leaf-like to blend into their surroundings.


-- Post From My iPhone

Unit Celebration - Medieval Feast

We finally finished our first unit in Tapestry of Grace Year 2! Because we had such a busy time during this unit (living in two places, etc.) we had thought that we would just skip the unit celebration. But then, at the last minute, we all decided that we felt like celebrating and sharing what we learned. So we quickly put together a medieval celebration (it was simple - we planned it and put it together in two days). Besides our immediate family, my sister and her family as well as my brother came to join in. We had a great time. Here are some pictures:

Playing 9 Men Morris - A Medieval Game

Playing GluckHaus - another Medieval game

The Kids' work for Unit 2
Leo showing his dad his hard work

The kids' cousin shows her work to Uncle W

Saber shows his work to Aunt A and Uncle Z

Knight Saber

Lady Rose

Cousins singing the night away!!

Although it was simple and quick, we had such a great time at our unit celebration. The "Medieval food" was great and the games were fun. We even listened to some Medieval style music. It was also great to see how much we all learned about this time period in history! Now it's off to the Renaissance and the Reformation!

More Boise Fun!

The last week we did some more exploring in and around Boise. Here's a little of what we did:

We had such a great time at the Discovery Center. I thought we'd enjoy an hour or two "discovering". We ended up exploring and playing there for almost 4 hours! We were so hungry by the time we left because it was well past lunch.

Baby birds in their nest at the Boise Zoo

Saber Turtle

Hubby joined in the fun too!

We accidentally discovered this black light golf place and just had to try it out.

Farmer's Market
Boysenberry face (the kids devoured the baskets of boysenberries that we bought at the farmer's market)

We took a train ride along the beautiful Payette River. The train left from a quaint little town called Horseshoe Bend. Hubby and I were taken with the town. Even talked about what it would be like to move there! Don't worry, we weren't that serious, but it really was a beautiful little valley.

In our current history studies, we are learning about The Middle Ages and one of the things we recently learned about is falconry. Well, it turns out the World Center for Birds of Prey is right in Boise, and they have the most comprehensive and amazing center and library dedicated solely to falconry! How convenient huh? This place was great! At the main center, there were many birds of prey to see (hawks, peregrine falcons, even a California Condor), and there were so many interesting interactive exhibits thoughout. Then we went to the falconry library and learned so much about falconry and it's history as well as the popularity of it in modern times. It was great way to solidify the learning.

I took this picture because I wish I had this map on my wall!!

Finally, a fun day at home. How many kids can fit in a princess castle? They put this in their "club closet". Yes, it's the members of the Crazy Lemon Comet Club all crammed into one little castle!

Our little apartment

Our little apartment is cramped, but cozy. It's quick to get messy, but it's also quick to clean up. It's a place where tight quarters can cause quick tempers, yet it's also a place where we must work together to make things work. In our little apartment, it's difficult to get away from each other or have a moment alone. However, in this little apartment, we can develop closer relationships as we spend more time with each other and as we find new ways to enjoy each member of our family.

(Family game time)

This is only the second week of our seven week trip to Idaho, but being in this small apartment, after being used to a large house, has been somewhat of an adjustment. The kids are all sleeping in one room together, and it has been interesting getting all of them to sleep at night as well as an adjustment when they all wake each other up in the morning.

(Hanging out on the balcony - one of their favorite things to do)

There is also no place for any of the kids to really spend much time alone, and so they all must play together more. They have always played well together, but now they play together ALL the time, all four of them. In fact, sometimes they are enjoying their play together so much I have a hard time getting them to do school!

(Can you see they are obsessed with the game "Sorry" right now?)

In addition, we don't have as much stuff here as we do at home. We brought some toys, a box of Lego's, a few games, some books, and a few stuffed animals for Rose. Nothing at all like the clutter of toys and games and books we have at home. But, you know what? They have consistently found fun things to do, without all that stuff, and without resorting to much electronics. We HAVE gone to the library to get books - that is one thing I love to have cluttering my house, but other than that they have made do with what we have and a little imagination.

(A picnic lunch on the balcony)

It really is a great lesson in how much excess we really have. There is a constant message out there that we need more stuff, and there is always some great new toy or game out there that is a "must have". In our family we are now usually good about not buying lots of new things or not getting the kids whatever they want, and we try to limit most gifts to birthdays and Christmas, (even keeping those within reason). Our kids understand this and are usually accepting of our "No's" to things. However, we still have a lot of stuff and really most of it is unnecessary.

(This is in the closet that they turned into a clubhouse.

The club name? "The Crazy Lemon Comet Club")

I know there are many families who live in smaller places or more bleak situations than this little two bedroom apartment. I know there are families that can't buy "stuff" even on birthdays and holidays. I realize that we are blessed to have what we have and be able to live in the house we live in. I have always known that; but living here in this apartment is giving me a clearer picture of that. I'm sure many families in these situations wish for more stuff, but I also think that there are many who are extremely happy and content with their lives, no matter how simple.

(Yes, we all are having lots of....)

I thank God for the blessings we do have, and I want to strive to always be content with what we have, no matter our situation.

The Deepest River Canyon in North America...

...is Hell's Canyon.

Did you know that? I would have thought that the Grand Canyon had that honor, but no, Hell's Canyon is actually deeper. Yesterday we spent the day doing lots of driving to go explore this canyon. The canyon borders Oregon and Idaho (in fact we had to drive in and out of each state numerous times) and we ended up driving almost 8 hours total for the day! What a long day!

The boys were a little worried about going to a place called Hell's Canyon. They said they would rather go to Heaven's Canyon! Although I wasn't crazy about the name, I told them it's just a name some person gave it; it's still God's creation!

We took lots of pictures (a few are shown below), but I really don't think the pictures do justice to the place. The cliffs where so high, so majestic, and quite ominous looking. It was such an incredible sight and we were awed by the majesty of these high cliffs. Here's a little picture synopsis of our day:

BUGS! MORE BUGS!

At one point during our drive, we noticed something moving on the street. Actually, there were many things moving. The road was crawling with huge bugs!! These bugs were everywhere covering the street; many were smashed, some were jumping, lots were walking across the street, all in the same direction. They were huge, and creepy, and it was so eerie to see so many all around us. We slowed to a stop and just watched and wondered. Later we found out they were Mormon Crickets, and they often move in swarms and at only certain times of the year. On the way back, when we saw them again, we tried to get pictures. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but these guys are big. Most were probably around 3 inches long and very wide.

We stopped at this rest stop on the way there and the way back when everyone was feeling sick from the windy roads (even me, who was driving!) It was along the Snake River, right before Brownlee Dam, which created this reservoir. We had lots of fun skipping rocks!

Hubby and I spent time showing the kids how to skip rocks and play fun rock throwing games (even Rose enjoyed throwing rocks).

Notice the amazing rock throwing form of hubby!

Rose and I finally decided we had enough of rocks and we went to hang out in the shade. She then proceeded to pose for me while I played with the settings on my camera. I got many cute shots of her. Below is one of them.

As we continued on our way through the canyon, the nice sloping hills started to become steeper and more rocky and cliff-like.

After navigating lots of curvy roads along the canyon walls and next to the Snake River, we approached Hell's Canyon Dam and even steeper cliffs; just past the dam was the end of the road, the farthest we could go into the canyon by car. It was rather ominous as we approached this area. The cliffs were so STEEP and very HIGH. There were random rocks scattered along the road, signs of previous rocks falling from the sheer cliffs. There were big black clouds in front of us, peeking between the canyon walls. There were no other cars anywhere to be seen in either direction (and hadn't been for quite a while), and there were posted signs that warned us that water levels could change at any time; sirens and flashing lights would go off when this happens.... What? I was wondering what I was supposed to do with that information? The kids were quiet and said this looked scary. We all observed with curiosity and awe. What an adventure!

We finally made it past the dam and to the small visitor's center at the end of the road. There were no other visitors there- they were all on boat expeditions that had left that morning. Just as we arrived, it began to rain (something that was quite rare this time of year) and we heard loud roars of thunder. Then it began to pour!! We hung out in the visitor center until the storm passed.

There was a small cave near the center that the boys explored.

These are views from the center. Again, the pictures don't really show how amazing these cliffs really were.

On our way back, we stopped at another small rest stop and played around for a while. This warning was all over the place...

Although we spent much more time driving than actually exploring, the spectacle was worth the drive. It's not very often you can see a place like that!

Little girl antics

Rose loves to sing. I find her at various times throughout the day singing, and it's always the same song. I have no idea what exactly she is singing, but it always sounds the same. She often lays on the floor, with her feet in the air as she sings. Here's a video of her song:

Here is another thing I found her doing today. Whenever she gets a hold of a pen and she's alone, she loves to draw on herself. It's much more fun than writing on paper. Today I realized she was being way too quiet; when I found her this is the art that I found she had created:

Well, at least sometimes she finds the right spot to draw:

School the last 4 weeks

We are in week four of school and things are coming along nicely. We are enjoying the curricum and learning lots. In History, we are currently learning about Medieval Europe. This week the focus is on Charlamagne.

The following is a little summary of the past few weeks of school and projects:

First Day of School

Salt Maps - After Step 1

Finished Salt Map - Leo

Finished Salt Map - Saber
Finished Salt Map - Jakson

After learning about the mosaic art in the Byzantine Empire, we made our own mosaics. Can you figure out what each of us made? Mine is on the far right.

Both Leo and Saber made cars that are used for various experiments in the their science curriculum. Each made his car almost completely by himself. They are studying forces with the cars.

Leo's motorized car

Saber's racer car
We are now taking our school on the road! I'll keep this updated as much as possible as we travel.