Norah's Birthday

Our dear daughter turned 4 in October. As we all know, Norah's spunky streak knows no end. She can make us us laugh and pull out our hair many times throughout each day. But most of all, (when we're not pleading with God for just a little more patience!), we thank God for the wonderful little girl He has given us... she is quite a gift to our whole family! Norah's birthday coincided with a field trip we had planned to the local pumpkin patch this year. It was a fun way to spend the day!

Daniel spent a lot of time racing through a corn maze with a few friends. His flushed cheeks are evidence of all the fun he had.

Calvin had fun in the corn "sand" box making corn angels.

Picking out some good pumpkins

I'm enjoying my little Calvinito on our hay ride.

Happy kids on the hay ride.

Listening to a little presentation on how pumpkins grow

Norah had fun opening gifts. Among many great things, she loves her new doggy apron (thanks to Grandma Pausma) and pet shops (thanks Auntie Chris!)

Blow out all the candles, Norah. (Meet the newest addition to Norah's puppy family -- Fluffy -- a "FurReal" pet that barks and wags it's tail.)

Her cake this year was my best attempt to replicate Frigget, her faithful friend.

Family photos... we just can't do pictures without at least one silly shot.

Nice smiles

Avila Beach

One of the projects I had wanted to do over our Christmas break was to catch up on our blog. So now it's the 11th hour... Saturday afternoon at the end of 2 weeks off, and I'm making a desperate attempt to catch up! Ahh! So anyway, here goes. This fall, our family enjoyed a long weekend at Avila Beach, one of our favorite places to go. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together; Scott and I noted several times how we especially enjoy the fact that all 3 kids are now old enough to participate in activities without the need for naps. Woohoo! We ate our dinners on this patio at our hotel. One of the reasons we LOVE going here (the San Louis Bay Inn) is that all the rooms have kitchens, so we can prepare meals and eat right here at the hotel, saving money and sanity by not having to go out to a restaurant.

Calvin's favorite part of the meal -- dessert (chocolate mint brownies are always a favorite).

Me with Norah (and her current favorite animals, Frigget and Goliath)

The patio where we eat; not a bad view!

One afternoon, we walked on the pier. Norah likes her birds' eye view.

We had fun watching the fishermen skin and fillet their catches.

Another afternoon we drove to Pismo Beach and got to experience the Dunes. It was quite the experience to drive right on the beach and even into the ocean! (Scott really had a job cleaning up his truck when we got home, though!)

I took Norah on a little bike ride while the boys were boogie-boarding. I just had to include this picture. The look on her face completely captures her attitude toward life in general, don't you think?

Frigget and Goliath got to go everywhere with Norah.

This was the first time the boys got to go boogie-boarding. Even thought the water was pretty cold, they had a lot of fun once they got the hang of it!

Swimming in the pool at the hotel was a little warmer.

On our way home on Monday, we stopped at a little orchard and picked apples.

The 3 munchkins!

Grandpa

It's hard to believe that Grandpa is gone... well gone from this earthly life, but living now in heaven. I have so many memories of my grandpa. He was such a big part of my whole life. I remember going to the farm countless times as a kid, enjoying all the Sundays for coffee and dinner and us kids falling asleep in the car on the way home from Grandma and Grandpa's house, biking the 20 miles from our house in Waupun to his in Randolph, getting Starbursts from Grandma as soon as we could scamper onto the counter and find the candy cupboard, walking with Grandma down the cow lane to call the cows in for milking. And then as we grew a little older, seeing Grandma and Grandpa move into town (gasp!) off the farm, driving in the motorhome with Grandma and Grandpa to Disneyworld (what a trip that was!), and having Grandma and Grandpa come to our birthdays, volleyball games, basketball games, and track meets. They were always there, a part of every big and little event of our lives. And then when Grandma passed away, I don't think Grandpa quite knew what to do with himself. He certainly made an effort -- he learned how to cook, how to do laundry, and how to clean. He even came down to Trinity Christian College to be there for Grandparents' Day -- by himself. The years passed by, the grandkids started getting married, and then the great-grandchildren started to arrive. Grandpa was always such an important part of our lives. We will all miss him... and look forward to seeing him again as we join him in worshipping our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, together for all eternity. A couple of months after Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer for the first time and had surgery, he made a trip out to Visalia to visit us. We had a great time showing him around and enjoying some of the sights. It was wonderful to have him here; and fun for him to get to see Daniel take some of his first steps!

Daniel with his great-grandpa and Uncle Jason

Grandpa with our 3 kids, one year ago, on Thanksgiving

Field Trips, Field Trips, Field Trips

With the start of our school year, we also began our Explorers Co-op. Our 4 families from last year were joined by 2 new families and we've had a great time getting to know everyone better! Our first Wednesday morning was spent in the park doing a "share time" and then letting the kids just play. We've had some great Wednesday outings and activities so far this year. Here are a few of them: Here are all the kids in our Explorers Co-op. What great kids!

For one of our outings, we went again to J and K Farley Farms, a pick-your-own vineyard/orchard. Once again, it was hot and once again, we came home with a bountiful harvest of peaches and grapes

With the peaches we picked, I canned peaches and made peach salsa and a few different kids of peach jam. Now that it's November, we are really enjoying the fresh peach taste from the summer!

Another one of our field trips brought us to Win-Co, the warehouse-style grocery store that we usually shop at. The kids had to don these lovely hairnets for our tour.

Our tour guide is explaining some of the things we'd be doing and seeing on our tour.

Getting to see some of the fresh bread in the bakery.

Here we are in the back where some of the extra pallets of food/drink are stored.

For this next field trip, we enjoyed a drive up to the foothills just outside the gate to Sequoia National Park and went to Cat Haven. We were able to see many different types of wild cats -- it was pretty interesting!

For another Explorers outing, we drove up to Three Rivers, another town on the way to SNP (but near the south entrance) where one of our co-op families lives. Laurienne hosted a lovely lesson and craft time focused on monarch butterflies. After we completed our indoor activities, the rain cleared up and the kids ate their lunch outside and then meanered down to the river to check that out.

Norah is diligently coloring her booklet about monarchs.

And her she is making tissue paper monarch silouettes.

The kids had fun splashing and throwing rocks into the river. But about the time we decided it was time to pack up and head home, we noticed that the river suddenly seemed like it was rushing more loudly and rapidly.

We quickly moved all the "beach" toys and chairs farther (and farther) up the riverbank. Within about 15 minutes, the water level had risen 15-20 feet up the riverbank and had become a rushing torrent. It was one of the craziest things I've ever seen -- a great first-had lesson on the dangers of flash floods!

Take 2

Well, the end of summer for us marked the beginning of our 2nd year of homeschooling. This year, however, Calvin officially joined the school roster as he began kindergarten! Woohoo! Let the adventures begin!

As an end-of-summer last hurrah, we joined a wonderful family and a few other friends for an afternoon of boating on the river. This, too, was "take 2" of an outing we appreciated last summer -- we hope we can continue this fun tradition!

Brave little Calvin trying out the kids' skis

Great job, Calvin!

Here is another activity that was a "second act" for Daniel. Every year, Scott organizes a 5K fundraiser race for his cross-country team on Labor Day. For the 2nd year, Daniel ran the whole thing! I was so proud of this little guy! He is such a g0-getter; he definitely enjoys a physical challenge!

getting ready for the race

finishing the race

and getting a medal -- Daniel couldn't have been happier to receive a 3rd place medal for his age division (10 and under). Way to go, Daniel!

OK, and here is a final "take 2". For the 2nd year, we enjoyed a fall season of soccer. Calvin got to play this year in the pre-school/kindergarten age division. And Daniel moved up to the 1st/2nd grade division, which was a big jump in skill level -- one Daniel really enjoyed!

Although, he'd rather be running around on the field, Daniel also enjoyed an opportunity to play goalie once in a while.

At Calvin's first game, he was excited to learn that 2 boys he already knows are on his team. How fun!