ZooLights Point Defiance

Annual ZooLights pilgrimage. Had a great time. This is Erica's favorite tree! More when the kids post!

Merry Christmas!

*We'll be back as soon as life returns to normal and I'm not sick

Random Thought Tuesday

I think I have lost my mind or I am preparing to lose my mind and I'm not sure when I'll be coherent enough to think let alone write a complete sentence:

1. Pageant is this weekend. We love Pageant- they kids all get to participate and are totally cute and there is LOTS of photo opportunities (5 kids x 5 scenes x 3 nights= you do the math). However this year I opened my mouth and said I could run the kitchen, no problem. I hope the kids can dress themselves in appropriate layers and go potty before they go outside for a half an hour (did I mention its always cold and wet?) because I'm going to be in the kitchen.

2. Pageant is this weekend and I'm running the kitchen. That means I have to plan, shop, plan, shop, bake, shop, check lists, shop...

3. Tonight Ryan has a Troop Committee Meeting so the kids and I are going to the church to bake cookies. They are pre-made pellets but there are 480 of them to bake. Before we get to the church we need to deliver a wreath, pick up library books, pick up the cookies, and pick up a Santa suit...

4. Before we get to #3 Rush has a doctor's appointment this afternoon so he can have his Class A Physical form filled out for Personal Fitness and the High Adventure and his sport physical form filled out so he can play baseball at the high school. I'm glad we can get it all done at the same time.... When they get home from the appointment (appointments with the boys is now a Daddy Thing) we are going to pick up a new set of bunk beds for the boys room.

5. Did I really think it was a good idea to bring home new beds this week? Isaac's loft bed is moving to Tovah's room and Jonah's twin frame is going in the attic and they are getting the new beds but you can't rearrange cluttered rooms....

6. Remember that Santa suit we're picking up tonight? Ryan's playing Santa for a preschool Christmas program tomorrow night- Photo Opp! But first we have to go to Costco to shop for our normal groceries plus Pageant food and it may be our last school day for 2 weeks so it needs to count. Rush and Arin still have youth group tomorrow night so we'll be running across town too.

7. Thursday is our only shopping day to buy Christmas presents for the kids.

8. Friday, Saturday, Sunday- countless hours spent at church plus we still have Sunday School and Church on Sunday. I want to hand out as many Christmas cards because postage is outrageous!

9. Monday I plan on being comatose or catatonic, I don't really care which. I hope to be functioning enough to run Rush to the high school to watch his friend play basketball but Grandma might have to do it for me.

10. Tuesday is ZooLights with friends! I love ZooLights, I'll have plenty of pictures to share.

11. If I'm sewing Christmas jammies it will have to be Wednesday the 23rd, we'll see... Old Navy is having a good sale on jammies.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Walk & Knock

No Photo Available

The first Saturday morning of December is always Walk & Knock. We've participated since Rush was in 1st grade and a Tiger Scout. This year Rush, Arin, and Isaac went out with drivers and Jonah, Tovah, me, and my mom helped sort. It was cold but the sun was shining- so much nicer than the years when everything is wet or even snowy. Everyone was in a hurry because Adna's playing football at the Tacoma Dome this afternoon for the State Championship against Colfax. I had my camera but was too busy once the bags of food started arriving to even think about getting it out. Trudy, Wyatt, and Clara stopped by to drop off a bag of clothes for Tovah and got drafted into helping. We were home by 3- tired, sore, but feeling good about serving our community.

1st Annual Redwall Feast

This was the Great Redwall Feast at the V.R. Lee Building at Penny Playground in Chehalis on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. A group of families organized the feast because they love the Redwall books and invited all the other homeschoolers who love the books to come. Rush and I got to go with mom (she had to drive us there and attend even though she hasn't read all the books). My favorite part was the strawberry cordial and the games. I hope there's another feast next year!

I won a Redwall Graphic Novel for knowing the names of the most books. I got other prizes for my costume and for answering 2 riddles. Mom won a prize for her apple cake- Yum!

Grandma had to make Rush a new costume because he's outgrown all the costumes in the costume chest. I wore bits and pieces from our medieval co-op, Star Wars, and Hobbit costumes. Some of the older boys came in kilts and had daggers in their socks and sleeves. We wished that we had brought Nathan's swords because they would have looked cool with our costumes.

Everyone who attened the Feast. Everyone had a great time and hope to do it again next year.