A Snowy Valentine's Day

After the wonderful cozy, warm, stay-at-home day on Thursday the kids were ready to get out and play with their friends.  Originally, we were suppose to have our next kick-off and Valentine's party today, but all we really wanted to do was PLAY in the Snow!!!......so that is what we did!!

Hello, it is Cailin. 

Yesterday (as in Valentine's Day) we went to the  Mattson's house with the Brame's to go sledding. It was awesome. We sledded for a little bit, but then someone (it was me) threw a snowball at Connor's head and the fight was on. At first there was an every-man-for-himself battle, then we decided to do it more organized with teams and snow forts. 

So we went down to the fire pit area where most of the snow was untouched to do this. The team captains were Beryl and Jared, but Connor pretty much took over Beryl's team captain-ship. On Beryl/Connor's team was Clarissa, Delaney, Beryl, Connor, and Liam. On Jared's team was Janet, Krystal, Jared, Amber, and me. The Beryl/Connor team was called the Yeti's and Jared's team was the Abominable Snowmen. Both teams had the idea to make one central fort at the back and two smaller snow forts off to the side. I did NOT steal Connor's idea, despite what Liam or Delaney or someone from that team might tell you. They just got started on their other forts first. 

Once our fortresses of ice and snow were ready, the Cold War began.

Snow was flying, people were getting hit in the face and in the stomach, forts were being taken--it was crazy awesome. 

After a long fight, the two armies called a truce and went back up to the house for lunch. 

The Cold War has paused, but not stopped... It is paused until the next snowfall, whenever that may be. 

Connor: Salvete (hello in Latin)! So we had a snow day, three actually. Wednesday was, at least for me, half school and half snow. Thursday, Cailin and I attempted to make a quick buck with snow shoveling, and succeeded too. We each made sixty dollars, so I'd have to say we made off like bandits. Friday came and we had exhausted all shoveling ventures so it was time to have fun before all the snow melted. We packed up and headed off to the Mattson's for sledding. I had also promised Liam a snowball fight which would be taken care of while we were there. After a bit of sledding, we moved up to an area to begin construction of a new track. While someone was working on this track, either I or Cailin dropped (by accident or with maliciousness, I do not recall) snow on the other. This was retaliated with pile of snow, which was replied with another, and another until actual snowballs were being hurled. People quickly were drawn into the conflict as the snow flew. People were slammed, alliances made, and backs stabbed. Finally, Jared turned to me and asked if I wanted to take the fight down to the bottom of the hill and begin a more organized fight. That was fine with me, I was without a single ally and therefore losing badly. So down we went, and that fight took place ultimately as Cailin depicted. We had to leave the fight (deemed the 'Cold War') as a draw. The team I was on was the more aggressive, leading several attacks into enemy territory, while they took advantage of our lesser numbers and assaulted our base while we were away.

 

Brianne also had fun.  By Friday afternoon, the temperature was quite warm for a snowy day (~45*) and so she played with the urns and took a round our two on the sled being pulled by Jen.

Team "Abominable Snowman"

Team "Yeti"  minus Delaney who had a boot problem and had to get it fixed.

Team Yeti and Team Abominable Snowman...ready for the next Cold War.

 

 As this day was also Valentine's Day they shared a few Valentine's and decorated cupcakes.

 To quote Delaney  "This was the best Valentine's Day ever!!"

Back home, for dinner, Barry and I shared our bottle of sparkling cider with the kids, using champagne classes and all, as we feasted on chili burgers.  This was one of our first meals while on a "date" when we both lived in the DC area before we were married....plus we had the ingredients on hand!  No need to purchase anything :)

"Snow is Falling All Around"

"Snow is falling all around,  On the housetops,  On the ground..... Snow is falling on my nose,   On my head, and hands and toes."

This is a favorite Primary song of Brianne's  and it's lyrics fit quite well for the day!
The weather forecast was predicting a big snow storm starting Wednesday with continued snow until Thursday evening.....and they got it right this time!    At 1:30 pm on Wednesday, I only remember because we were on our way home from a trip to the library (our homeschool family's way of buttoning down the hatches :)  and the hospital where Beulah is, when the snow came softly flowing down from the sky...and it stuck.....and the grass began to be covered and the streets became slippery....but all was well with us as we had our books and kerosene to keep us warm!  (Food too, but this is a food storage month for us, so we didn't need to hit the grocery store!)

The land transformed into that beautiful, peaceful, snow covered heaven, that I love so much about snow storms.  Liam couldn't wait to join his friends, Seth and Landon to play.  As Connor had promised to take Liam and Delaney sledding at the school, but had become over tired from the work he and Cailin did from shoveling neighbors driveways and walks, I asked Ryan to take them....and he did!

 

Ryan's thoughts:   Taking the younger ones out to go sledding was not my idea of a fun day. However I tried to be happy and fired many snowballs at the kids. The snow was just right for that sort of thing then. I just grumbled under my breath not really wanting to be there at all. I trudged through the cold freezing snow to the school with the others and I  watched them feebly trying to sled down the hill with their little sleds. I ended up having a snow ball fight with Seth and Landon, who are the next door neighbors kids. Liam and Delaney kept on trying to make the sled path so that they could sled. I just more or less watched them while snow balling Seth and Landon. I kept a watch on the time and made the others come back home after a time. As we came back home the next door neighbor was on top of his roof knocking the snow off and he called for Seth and Landon to go home.

Delaney's thoughts:  Ryan took us to the school to sled.  When we got there we went sledding.  Ryan, Landon, and Seth started a snowball fight, but I didn't want to, I just wanted to sled! Liam and I pretended that Seth and Landon's sleds were animals that we rode on."

Liams thoughts:  'It was fun!   We also had a fun time sledding.....f-u-n, that spells fun mom!"

As for me, I enjoyed a cup or two of herbal tea, some reading, sewing with Delaney (she's been wanting to make a dress for her doll) and I made eight loaves for bread  It's a food storage month for us and I've come to realize that the best way to not feel "poor" is to be prepared with "convenience' food.  I plan to make cookie dough and freezer meals to pack the freezer with for those nights when dinner wasn't planned (PCHS play practices are beginning) or the munchies hit.

Brianne enjoyed playing with the crawling tubes, playing with her siblings, and watching some Barney, currently her favorite TV show.


Cailin here:   Connor and I went snow shoveling. I earned $60--a lot of people wanted their driveways and/or walks shoveled out. I was really tired by the end of the day, but I have money now and that makes it all worth it.
Connor here:  Thursday, Cailin and I attempted to make a quick buck with snow shoveling, and succeeded too. We each made sixty dollars, so I'd have to say we made off like bandits.

A Chinese New Year....and a Missionary Opportunity.

It's the Year of the Horse!  We celebrated the Chinese New year with friends and great food.

The dragon mask is from a few years ago, but it's so cute and fun that Christine has the kids parade around using it every year...and they certainly don't object!

We've been attending this for a year or two and love the warm friendly fun with our dear friends.

Apparently fireworks are a HUGE deal in many of the Chinese celebrations.  I heard many stories of those who have lived there, namely the Mattson's but others too, who say that most nights for months on end you can hear in the distance fireworks going off.  It's either in celebration of a current, past or up-coming holiday.....needless to say fireworks are a BIG deal.
Christine has the brilliant idea to let the kids stomp on a package of bubble wrap in simulate the sound of the fireworks...it worked wonderfully...nice and LOUD!

In Chinese traditions, Grandma Beryl gives all the children a red envelope filled with a "treasure" (money--a gold dollar coin this year).  They have to say ___________ and thank-you in chinese to get the treasure.

Connor's looking quite nice.....here's why.....

On this particular Saturday, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with Brandon Kessinger. Brandon's family had gone inactive several years ago and he has now decided to take the lessons with the missionaries. On this night I was able to join them. We had an excellent lesson. I know I felt the spirit, and I'm fairly certain everyone else did too. Why was I in a suit for this? The missionaries wear suits, so I needed to as well.

All the kids....giving their best silly faces!

Hale's Happening in January

After our wonderful trip back west....getting to know cousins....learning how big mountains can really be....how endless the prairies of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska are....riding motorcycles with Grandpa Stumm....climbing frozen waterfalls and mountains sides of Provo Canyon....eating enough pizza, (Pizza Hut seems to be the only restaurant around whenever we stopped for a night in a hotel)....that we are actually tired of it!

.....We are ready to get back into the swing of things and get to work expanding our brains....schools back in session!!

Ryan and Connor claim that logic is being learned and used while playing this game.

Ryan is back at New River Community College.  He'll be taking three online classes (Economics, Early American History, English 111) and one class at the Dublin site (Computers).  After one month things are going well.  He's proud of the fact that he's keeping on schedule with all the classwork....with out me "nagging" as he calls it, I call it "reminding".  Anyway, I'm proud of that fact too.

Just for fun - Ryan... On Saturday evenings I go to the McGrady's home to play games.  The game we play is called Pathfinder. It is a spin off of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition. Its become very popular among the role playing game crowd. You have many different races you can be as well as classes. You go around on adventures gaining loot and killing monsters. I like it and I've been able to help people make characters. Connor is going to end up trying this game next Saturday and I'm looking forwards to it. He's going to be a monkey man monk. Me, I play a Gnome Summoner. I have a huge dragon following me around and I love it.

Connor is fully engaged in his subjects.  He's working on credit for computer programming, chemistry, Latin, History (WWII studies to modern), creative writing, geometry, weight lifting and running for PE, and piano and violin lessons for a fine arts credit.  Organization is always difficult for him, but after putting a white board up in his room, where he lists the goals of the day and week, he's doing great with this too. Recently he submitted a short story to an online magazine for publication.

Just for fun - Connor... Fun? What is this thing you call fun? I haven't had fun since...I don't even remember the last time I had fun. Just kidding. I enjoy doing my own personal reading outside of school, as the above picture with me reading Einstein shows. I also enjoy computer programming, although Mom has made a class out of that.

Here's Cailin with Celia in the car on their way to CC on Thursdays.

Cailin-- Second semester has started with CC and she's on top of it all....although she has come to feel disdain, disgust, disagree and pretty much dislike science fair.  She loves science, but she hates the formality of having to submit a qualified science project for a competition science fair.  In March her group will participate in the Blue Ridge Highlands Regional Science Fair.  She may not be enjoying the work but I'm sure, (because I know my girl!), that she will be grateful that she did it....she'll never admit it, but she will! :)  Her science fair project is entitled  "Magnetic Attraction: A Study of Gauss Guns"
She did great on her end of semester Blue Book finals from December --just got the results.
For writing/literature they will be studying short stories this semester and will write one too.  She's decided to take a fairy tale and twist it around.  I can't wait to read that one.

Just for fun-Cailin...  Well, I went to the...was it Tri-stake? Yeah, Tri-stake Super Saturday. I don't remember what day that was. The Super Saturday was on a Saturday (obviously) and it lasted from about noon to 9 pm. At first there were these Sunday School kind of classes that we did, and then there was a concert from The Fading Point (who are AWESOME) and after that, a dance for 14 and up and activities for the people who were 12 or 13. That was really cool. I went to the one last year, too.
Then drama. You could technically count that as school, but it doesn't really feel like it to me because it's so much fun. I absolutely adore acting and love the play we're doing, (which is called The Suessification of Romeo and Juliet,) especially my part. I'm Narrator 1. There are two narrators and they're like Thing 1 and Thing 2. They act really crazy and strange, so I get to be really weird and no one thinks it's...well, weird, because it's my part. :)

This is Cailin's Gauss gun.

Delaney and I have started using the Sonlight program that I purchased this past summer more closely.  I wanted to use it for a while now but, I just couldn't ever figure out how to use it while following the schedule that we are using for our weekly history group with the Mattson's, Brame's and Walker's.  But, I finally did and now we are happier (especially me).  Delaney liked the grammar writing portion of it for about a week or two, but it's now becoming more difficult (and tedious of sorts), so she's not as happy, but I know if we push through she will be so thrilled with the growth she's going to make.  (Namely because she doesn't like to feel behind....behind of whom or what?....why,that imaginary "perfect person" that we all seem to worry about, and yes I'm helping work out those feelings too!)

For history presentation this month she gave a book report on Snow Treasure and then told what she had learned about the country of Norway.

For the month of January we've read:  A Long Way From Chicago, (we have fallen in love with Grandma Dowdle and can't wait to read more from Richard Peck) Snow Treasure, Number the Stars, and we're currently working through The Great Turkey Walk.   She has read:  Ramona the Pest,  Ivy and Bean, Ivy and Bean take care of the Babysitter.  She has almost completed The Family Under the Bridge. 

For science we have started Sonlight Science C program which begins with a study of dinosaurs.
In December, after weeks of not getting any science done, I pulled out our physics and chemistry apologia book for kids and we dragged through a lesson.  All of us, Liam, Delaney and I, just couldn't get into this book.   I asked them what they wanted to learn about:  Liam--more science experiments and birds.  Delaney-- Dinosaurs and birds.  Me--something more fun, I've never liked physics and chemistry, and to use something that I don't have to make any plans, I  just do what the suggestions say.
I was looking through all our supplies and found the Sonlight program...first subject--dinosaurs which is followed by birds. Oh Yah!!... this is a winner for us all and we are having  fun.

Here we are 'excavating a dinosaur "ice dig"  I froze different colored water and plastic dinosaurs in layers.  The kids used there tools to dig them out.  They found that they really liked NaCl (salt),as it helped make the excavation easier.

Delaney's For Fun...  She's been into listening to the Harry Potter stories on CD.  Dance, Dance, Dance...she's often dancing to what ever music in playing (here I combine school with fun as she dances often to the timeline music and memory history sentences!)  She also loves the play time with friends on Thursday afternoon.  Like Cailin, she too, is in the play  The Suessification of Romeo and Juliet.

Liam-- He loves, loves, loves his time at "Skittle's School"  (it was called Little's school before the little's revolted and said they did not like being called 'little',  "We are not little!!")
At Skittles school they have fun with Jared M. doing science experiments and learning about the Letter of the Week.  I find it funny that I can go over and over a certain letter and Liam just won't get it until the letter is presented in 'school time' with Sister Mattson....then he remembers!
 He tells me this is because it's much for fun to learn with his friends than at home.

At home, we work on his penmanship, retention of letters, science (he's also doing the dinosaurs unit) and we do some FIAR.  He loved Jessie Bear, What Will You Wear? from last year so much that he wanted to do this one again....so we did!
For presentations group this month he shared what he learned about "Who Stole the Mona Lisa?" in the early 1900's.....oops forgot, that was in December.  In January he learned about the life cycle of a frog!

 For fun.... Recently he was given a big bucket of cowboys and indians play figures.  He's loved playing with them. "I like to play with my friends."  After skittles school on Thursdays the kids have play time in the afternoon.  Liam says this is his favorite day of the week.

Playing dress-up is a favorite!!  Liam, Amber, Marshall and Brianne, with Grace in the back.

 Brianne--  I've been working on shapes and colors with Brianne.  We have been using the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and I've been so impressed with what she's done.  She's recognizing many of the colors and often picks the one I'm asking her to identify.  Plus, she's matching or sorting the animals correctly....fish with fish, dog with dog....etc.  Soooo excited.
To work on her core muscle strength I've borrowed some indoor climbing tubes from the Morgan's and crash pads, bouncing balls and scooters from the Brame's.  It's loud when they are out....but they're having fun!

This a picture of the "circle bears" they made one day.

For fun--  Brianne LOVES Barney!  She adores that purple dinosaur and when she's melting down, we love him too.  She still enjoys Signing Time too.

For her school time and play time are somewhat the same thing.  I put together a bean sensory bucket.  She has fun sifting through the bean, pouring them from cup to cup, the same way she does with water in the bath tub.  From time to time I add something for them to find....like plastic dinosaurs!

Outside is still another favorite place to be. Trampoline, swings and slides!

A few weeks ago during dinner she was asking for more potatoes, but nobody was listening...she she took it upon herself to get the pan on her own....viola' ...she has potatoes!

Aren't these the cutest cupcakes....Clarissa made them for presentations group this month!  Actually it was quite interesting to learn the history of high heeled shoes.