Obviously, I haven't had much time to stop and stare! I would have liked to blog steadily 12 months
solid, but these two have been exhausting (as always), and I barely took any
pictures! Here's some of what we've been
up to:
Ongoing
We've been making progress on our basement slowly but
surely. The electrical was finally finished
and inspected. The bathroom has been
insulated. Our friend is working on framing
and cabinets. The inspector is due back later
this week, a sheetrock team should be coming in the next two weeks, and we have a painter
lined up. Then our friend will finish up doors, trim, and such. We still need to pick carpeting and paint,
but we are for sure going with light blue on the walls. Our goal is to have the main room done by mid-January. The guest room, office, and bath will be completed
later.
When I haven't been preparing for our co-op's Christmas party,
it's often on my mind. The theme
"An Old-Fashioned Christmas" kept popping up in my head, so that's
what I went with! I'm planning a costume
contest in the hopes that some will come dressed from the past. There will be a scripture recitation, potluck,
slideshow, classic games, vintage-style crafts, and a yo-yo competition. 130 people are signed up. I'm looking forward to it, but I probably
won't plan something this elaborate annually - too stressful!
Last Month
Greg and I attended a meeting about homeschooling high
school.
Our co-op leader generously welcomed
those interested into her home and gave us a large dose of encouragement along
with lots of info.
I now feel better about
preparing Kylen for college!
We set aside some of our subjects the last week of October to
learn about voting, most of which centered on the special "Election Collection"
through
God's World News.
I have really
been impressed with their magazine.
They
cover a wide variety of topics from a Biblical perspective and do a good job of
keeping the articles engaging.
It's been
neat seeing their presentation of stories I saw in the news.
Reading a couple pages each day has definitely
been one of the highlights of our school.
The last day of co-op was the 29th. I thought I would get some down time, but
instead I've been working on my to-do list almost nonstop.
For Halloween, we dressed up and answered our door like
usual. Kylen and I were ninjas, and Greg
was a samurai. He got really into it and
made his own wooden shoes. He could buy
a costume, but he LOVES to make one. Kylen
and I had the sense to go store bought.
In fact, Kylen just used one of his past costumes even though we were
willing to purchase a new one!
Two Weeks Ago
We actually managed a couple evening field trips as a family.
One was to a
planetarium.
They start out showing a digital reproduction
of that night's sky and follow with a video.
It was pretty cool, and we decided to go again since there are four
different videos.
We also saw the
CYT Idaho performance of Beauty and the Beast.
I'm always amazed at the quality of those shows when they only spend two
months preparing.
Kylen would love to
join a group like that, but it would be impossible with the huge time
commitment and my inability to drive.
We
are hoping something else eventually opens up that will allow him to pursue his
interests in drama/acting.
Piano recital #4! Despite more mistakes than usual, we were very proud of our son!
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| Kylen and His Piano Teacher |
Last Week
Kylen started formal guitar lessons.
Co-op is on a two month break, and he wanted
to keep learning.
Plus, we're not sure
if the class will continue when it starts back up in January.
His instructor has a super personality,
laughs all the time, and is very expressive.
I think she's going to work out great!
I spent several days cleaning our art room which had been
neglected for eight months. We stored
some stuff in there "temporarily" while working on the basement. Well, the basement barely progressed for
about 6 months while that room steadily declined into chaos. I could barely walk through it, couldn't
access critical areas for putting things away, and couldn't even open or close
the closet doors without grief. It was a
huge job, and I am SO glad it's almost done!
Day Before Yesterday
My brother has been visiting regularly, happily increasing
our board game time.
We often pick long
epics such as Risk or Settlers of Catan, but Saturday we went with lighter fare:
Pit,
Labyrinth, and Clue.
An item on my to-do list was to find new sheepskin insoles
for my boots.
Because of my arthritis, I
have to wear the same kind of boots year round, and they must have sheepskin
insoles that do not have a rigid base (such as plastic).
I can't wear anything else: no sandals,
dress-shoes, or sneakers.
It's
annoying.
I bought three pairs at the
Custer Christmas Arts and Crafts show and now know
where to get them: Leather Works in nearby
Coeur d'Alene.
Yesterday
A month or two ago, the Lord blessed us with winning a cash
prize raffle that was for a good cause.
We decided to donate most of it back, but we kept some to purchase a fun
family gift - a
Wii
U. Sunday morning, the day the Wii U came out, Greg
drove over to Toys R Us before we were up and waited until he realized they
were already open and had already sold all the deluxe versions.
He then drove to Best Buy, which hadn't
opened, sat in the car a half hour, and waited at the door another half hour
with a few others.
One lady even handed
out doughnuts!
It was kinda like Black
Friday, only on a much smaller scale.
We scrambled to put away the fall theme, set up the Wii U,
and spent a lovely evening at our friend's house. We did manage to get in a half hour playing
New Super Mario Bro U before hitting the bed.
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| Kylen's latest thing is sitting on the kitchen counter. Not sure why. |
Today
We put up the Christmas theme, which is always exciting.
I realized last year that getting our
decorating done before Thanksgiving is the way to go.
My brother stopped by for a couple hours of video games with
Kylen.
I worked on this blog post.
:-)
Does that bring us up to date?
