Winter Camp

 So Ms. A can't really have much of a birthday party 
and Shane decided it was a good idea 

to take her winter camping.

Luckily for him some friends didn't chicken out.

These two gabbed all night around the fire.

They had a mishap on the way home and blew a tire.

All kinds of exciting things for Ms. A 

to remember for her birthday.

Ava wins the prize!

Our local library had a story contest for Halloween.

Of course our resident writer had to try and enter.

The experience stressed her out a little as the 

deadline drew nearer.

But unexpected inspiration struck 

and she had an entry.

 She won a prize too!!

She was over the moon about it and felt 
so validated in all her writing.

Great job Ms. A!

The finished product!!

 Well we squeaked this project in just before the move and 
man I loved how she got herself into high gear to finish it up.  

The rain didn't help! 

But it is Amazing and she's gonna love 
having her own desk!

Ms. E was also super happy to help.  

What a good sister!

TADA!

A new project.

 We had a fortunate experience of a home being cleared 

out on our street and picked up a number of 

furniture pieces to refinish.  

 

 

I quickly claimed this one for Ms. A.  Her OWN desk.  

It's not the best constructed thing but I was determined 

to refinish it before we needed to move.  

 

 

 

I was also determined that she would put in 

a but load of work herself.  

Take ownership of this project and 

feel like it was really hers!

I was grateful for a couple of things with this project.

 

#1 shane taught Ms. A and Me how to use the air compressor.

so . . . . much . . . sawdust.

 

The other kids got excited about our projects too.

 

It took a ton of work to finish it up but we persevered.

The final reveal will be in August!!

Shane takes Ms. A for a Date

After a temple trip we stopped to get some dessert and found 

that kids eat free at the restaurant in March.  

Shane immediately thought he should take Ms. A for a date.  

She has been growing her babysitting skills and 

has been so willing and helpful.  

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

 

What a great time!

 

February Bonfire

One thing that Ms. A has really started loving 

is Burning school work.  

Especially math.  

Sounds very therapeutic doesn't it, literally 

burning what has been weighing you down.  

Shane loves to help her burn things, 

and there's something about a campfire 

that gets an 11 year old to open up.

December Market Place

Another December happening was Ms. A's class 

was holding a Market Place.  

She had an opportunity to create a product, 

design a shop and do all the work from start to finish.  

Kids earn School Dollars for performing certain 

class tasks well, or consistently.  

They get to spend them at market place held 

four times a year by different classes.  

I think it's a great way for them to learn about terms like,

profit, inflation, margins, and other math/economic 

terms that I wish I'd learned about in elementary school.

She was so determined to make it work.

We talked to her about Makers we know personally,

and the hard work they put in to their businesses.

Especially when we were up really late dipping 

over 100 large rice crispy squares in chocolate.

Our maker friends often have family or work 

commitments all day and make/create their 

small business late into the night.

It was a success.

Thankfully Ms. E was happy to help.

(Any excuse to stay up!)

June and July Road Trip Part 1

July 1st Road Tripping!!

These kids are so adventurous!!

6 hours cramped in a van was not 

awesome for everyone.

But we love our family enough to do it!

It was also the maiden voyage of Shane's trailer!

Right after school was out we headed south!

We started out in Raymond preparing for July 1st!

Shane decided to head out and get a ride in too!

 

This year we all did the road race.

It was new and fun! 

 Sunday was church with grandma.

Aaand right at nap time.

Monday Morning Parade!

Candy is always a big deal! 

Ms. V was soooo enamored with the princesses!

It was like a dream come true!

We went to find them after and had 

a fantastic time taking pictures! 

Post parade fun!

Shane was manning the grill for lunch.

Lots of candy and juice to go around.

Ms. A decided to decorate 

Ms. V's glasses for her!

 

Pretty sure Mr. T ate more chips than hot dog in the end.

 

This girl just devoured whatever we handed her!!

Ms. A lost a tooth.

(Not the one she was hoping would fall out.) 

But she could still eat ice cream!

And this girl started walking!!!

Yeay!

See what I mean about the chips.

But he paused for ice cream.

Later Ms. E had a thorn stuck in her ankle that 

required surgery, she was sure brave. 

After this we spent some time with Lindsey 

and the kids before heading to 

Grandma and Grandpa Websters house.