A Halloween Marathon

Five fall festivals/halloween events in two days is enough to wear even the kiddos out:) We've had one very fun and full weekend~from which I'm still recovering. (Is it a bad thing that the last time I remember being NOT tired is our 10th anniversary trip, 3-1/2 years ago?!).

Laura Ingalls and a race car driver

On Saturday our church small group hosted a fall festival for the families in it. It was really a blast! The kiddos wanted to wear something different than they had planned for halloween night, so I dug out an old costume of mine (believe it or not, my mom made that prairie girl outfit for me) for The Princess and Mr. B wore one of his (several) dress up outfits.

Everyone pitched in at the fall festival and created games for the kids. Vince made this Jonah & the whale game: you had to toss Jonah into the mouth of the whale. It was a big hit~turned out very cute!

There was also a pinata, a bounce around, crafts and more!

There was even a great story time for the kiddos using a pumpkin to tell about how Christ changes a person's life.

Vince and I dressed up as the Spartan cheerleaders. We already had the costumes and they were the only ones we had that matched:) Thank goodness we didn't have to do any actual cheers!

On Sunday afternoon a local church hosted a block party in our neighborhood, so we headed over for some more fun.

Cleopatra and Woody

Finally, after the kiddos thought they couldn't possibly wait any longer, the evening came and it was time for trick-or-treating! Vince dressed up as a ninja and off they went. I stayed in to hand out candy to the other kiddies.

After walking through our whole neighborhood (they started early...heehee), they decided to head over to our friends' church where we had been invited to *trunk or treat*.

I'm pretty sure we've got enough candy to last us until next Easter...or at least Valentine's Day!

My little Cleopatra and Woody sure did have a great weekend though, as if you can't tell by those big grins:)

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

Arkansas' Crimson Clover

One of my favorite things about Spring is the crimson clover that grows along the highways and interstates here in Arkansas. I say Arkansas because this is where I first grew to love it. We actually saw some in Mississippi on our way here and I saw it in our town in Alabama for the first time this year. But it spreads like that, each year it grows and looks even more beautiful. I'm not sure who decided to plant it in the medians of the interstates , but it was genius! It seeds itself and just comes back more lush the next year. I always want to take pictures, but of course it's almost always in the median of a very busy interstate~which is a little dangerous for photography. However, the other day I found the perfect patch of it on the side of a not-too-busy highway, so Vince obliged me and pulled over:) Isn't it beautiful? I just had to share it with you...

my blessed life

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