Maple Syrup Saturday

Last year our family was blessed to have a maple syrup evaporator on loan from a friend. We put in about 20 taps and were able to generate almost 3 gallons of syrup from the 100+ gallons of sap we collected. It was a lot of fun and we've been enjoying the syrup all year.

Josh was anxious and excited to make syrup again, especially now that we have 23 acres and more trees to tap. But we no longer had a syrup evaporator. We kept our eye on Craigslist but any evaporators that were listed were soon gone since it was so close to syrup season. This was really a minor hurdle for the Mathews men (Josh and his dad) because they would really prefer to make something themselves anyway. And that's just what they did!

Josh's dad is a machinist and had access to the supplies and equipment needed to construct this stainless steel evaporating pan (which is ginormous as you can see) and the stove to put the fire under it! They designed it out and got help from some coworkers and - voila- we are in the maple syrup business!

Josh built a woodshed in the fall and decided it was the perfect place to put the evaporator. It's got a roof overhead, wood close by to fuel the fire, and lawn chairs set up so they can sit by the fire and relax while the sap boils. So far, we have about 70 taps in and we hope this week will be prime for collecting sap. We've collected almost 100 gallons so far but we're hoping for much more!

In Maine, we have Maple Sugar Sunday, a day for sugar shacks to show off their stuff and provide goodies and fun activities for patrons. We had our own Maple Sugar "Saturday" this past weekend with Josh's parents, my own parent's coming by for a surprise visit!, Josh's sister's family, my good friend Kim and her fiance Jasen, and family friends Keith and Loretta stopping by. It's amazing to see the clear, tasteless sap drip out of a tree and then be transformed into a delicious, sweet mapley syrup just by boiling it.

Isn't this thing amazing? The amount of surface area in the pan helps the sap to evaporate much more quickly than it would in a large pot. As the volume lowers, Josh adds more sap, and we'll just keep on boiling it til what we have is ready to turn to syrup.

I finished boiling off some of the sap in the kitchen so we could all have a taste of fresh maple syrup and drizzle it over vanilla bean ice cream. Here the boys take their first lick...

consider it...

and give it a unanimous two-thumbs-up!

Kathryn also gives it a thumbs up. She was ready to devour the whole pan of syrup!

We're hoping to have a few more Maple Syrup Saturdays so our friends can come visit and get a taste of syrup. We'll do anything for visitors, you know!

And the icing on the cake this weekend (or should I say "the syrup on the pancake"?) was that we finally got living room furniture! It looks rather droll in this photo, but once we get the walls painted the room is going to look awesome! This isn't a matching set, but we purchased two of the green love seats and the leather sofa after rearranging the furniture in our local Marden's to see how the pieces looked together. If you don't have a Marden's, I am sad for you. It is one of the fun perks of living in Maine. They get lots of great surplus and salvage goodies at deeply discounted prices. It takes patience to wait for just the right thing to arrive, but it's well worth the money you save! I can't wait to choose the paint color, a piece of art to hang, and an area rug to pull it all together. Oh, and curtains too! Stay tuned for more!

Spilled Milk- Second Edition

Snow has been falling for most of the day and promises to continue into the night. It's so quiet and peaceful outside, the only disruptive noise from the snow plows that occassionally drag by.

Oh, and the screaming and shrieking coming from our house, of course.


It's been one of those exhausting days. On it's own, this day has been amply wearisome. Combined with previous days, it's overkill. It always seems to be the case, that the little things add up and once the climb begins... it simply must reach it's climax of frustration and a freak-out before it comes back down again. You know I'm serious.

The daily rigours of homeschool are enough to make a grown woman cry. We've had moments that made me proud this week, including Isabelle growling at me as I read a biography about Harriet Tubman. Truly, this was to be cherished! She was so angry over how young Harriet was treated, she was growling! An angry Isabelle is a force to be reckoned with. Which goes back to making a grown woman cry... Reasoning with a six-year-old who just doesn't feel like doing her math (or insert any other subject) is wearing me thin.

Teaching how to write is wearing me thin, too. And let me add spelling to that list, if I'm making one. Oh, and math, since I am making one. Reading is fine since Caleb is fully independent and Isabelle is very proud to be reading a "big girl" book (Sammy the Seal- go figure). I honestly despair that my children will ever form letters correctly, write a paragraph, or spell beyond basic word families.

Remember that the slow climb has been mounting, so take all this with a grain of salt.

Nothing I made for dinner this week was met with a "Yummy! I can't wait to eat this!" It was the complete opposite. Moans and groans, suspicion ("What's that squishy stuff?"), upturned noses. Yes, they probably should be a little suspicious since my primary goal when I make dinner is to insert as many vegetables as possible without them knowing. However, if anyone is discriminating about taste, it's me, and everything met with my approval. Except all the complaining. School is a battle, so is dinner time.

In my attempts to be the well-rounded homeschool family and to socialize, I have been taking my brood to the local library on Wednesdays. A play group meets there. My older two are the only older two but there are many toddlers for Kathryn to learn to share with. Let me confess this is a completely exhausting venture each week for many reasons. Getting the kids out of the house, period, is exhausting. Carrying in my 35 pound daughter and a bag of equal weight full of our library books is quite a workout. So is chasing my toddler around the adult section of the library while we check the new books out.

On our way into the library yesterday, Caleb and Isabelle offered to carry the bag of books. How wonderful! Each took a handle and used all their strength to lug it up the walkway and to the desk. But yesterday, it didn't make it that far. Our wonderful library bag burst at the seams and spewed our (their) books all over the wet-with-snow walkway. I scrambled to pick up the books with one hand while securing Kathryn by the waist with the other. The older two just stared in wonder. Kathryn just wanted to enter this wonderful playland where I chase her around every week. I gave each child as many books as they can stand to hold without dumping them on the ground again- which they did- and somehow manage to get them to return the books to the librarian- with apologies- while corralling Kathryn to the children's section. I had no idea what to do with the useless book bag since I couldn't find a trash can. It's yet another thing to try to carry.

I would have liked to collapse in a chair, but the only chairs in the children's section are about six inches tall. So I chase my children, of course, frequently forgetting I have three and that I'd better check on the other ones. It's a small play group that day which seems to make my older children wild (I have no other excuse). They do all the things one ought not do in a library at their age. Throw balls, chase each other, pretend to be in "stealth mode" and then pop out and surprise someone.

We're that family. The seriously unsocialized homeschoolers that don't know how to act in a library.

How we managed to get out of the library with another pile of thirty books, I have no idea. We were supplied with grocery bags by the kind librarian, but that's not quite what I mean. I sank into the driver's seat of the car and took a deep breath- the first I'd taken since that bag broke. I lecture my children regarding their behavior. I wanted to stop at the grocery store to grab a few quick items, but I felt that corralling my three children in and out of another place at that moment might be my undoing.

We actually had a lovely remainder of the day with a visit from my Dad and my best friend and her family. I greatly looked forward to today, knowing it would snow and that we could stay in our pjs all day if we wanted to. No one would stop by, we had lots of new books to read, and it would be an excellent day. By now you must realize that I was wrong, completely wrong about that. The arguing ensued from the moment everyone awoke. My emotional constitution was paper thin before school even began at 8 o'clock. It just seemed to be a terrible day. Resistance to school work, the girls fighting over toys, and major attitude. I wondered if they might be better off in public school, after all. And maybe I'd be a better mom if they were.

Thankfully, the voice of truth quickly exposed those thoughts as lies. I took some time to unload the dishwasher and pray. Lord, this is tough. This is truly the trenches. Those days when they will rise up and call me blessed are so far away and today seems like such a failure. But I am so thankful I get to be here with them. I know they'll learn to spell. I know we're all just a little crazy right now. I could so not do this without You.

I won't say my day got instantly better, but I gained some necessary perspective. I love these kids and they are worth the truly daily grind it takes to be home with them . Ralph Waldo Emerson said "The years teach much which the days never knew" and I'm not sure he wasn't talking about raising children. :)

In the afternoon, the kids watched the video rendition of the book Diary of a Worm that they had borrowed from the library. While I was making supper, they were creating their own diaries, unbeknownst to me. When Josh got home, Caleb showed him his diary entry for the day. He had used books to look up words he didn't know how to spell. He had written an entire paragraph very neatly, with most sentences complete, punctuation included, and the date written in numbers. I stood dumbfounded, a little teary eyed.

They're getting it! It's not as fruitless as it seems!

I'm happy to say I hit the climax of this bad spell without a freak-out. That moment I just described burst my grouchy bubble and gave this hard week a lot more meaning. And even the opportunity to laugh a little over it.

But it gets better.

I made them pizza for supper. And guess what? No complaining.

Art Lessons x2

If you've been around the blog for a while, you know that I love art. I'm personally not very good at it, but I love sharing it with my children. My own art education wasn't in depth. I could identify the most famous paintings and maybe a few sculptures. Together the kids and I are learning to appreciate art...and create some of our own "masterpieces" as well. I've been woefully negligent this year, however. It's unfortunate because art is the way to Isabelle's heart- she is always crafting and creating and asking to do art. And I've certainly given her freedom to do so, but there is great value in an actual art lesson.

Because it's been so long, I'll remind you that we use Artistic Pursuits Book 2- Artists and Their Work. It begins with the Gothic period... and that's as far as we have gone! It's an absolutely wonderful curriculum and I cannot recommend it highly enough. While one of my friends found it to a creativity killer, for my children I have found it very beneficial. It offers history and lessons about art, then a few prompts and guidelines to follow in creating art. For instance, yesterday's lesson was about the Limbourg brothers. They were painters for a wealthy duke and created a Book of Days for him, which included a calendar. They painted life around the duke's home, so our project was to make a calendar page using watercolors depicting life where we live. We did the month of March and discussed what sorts of things we do in March, what it looks like etc. So I reminded them that we wouldn't be painting a picture of the beach or aliens because that wasn't the assignment.

Yesterday we watched a bunch of blue jays flying back and forth between some of our trees. They are really lovely; such a bright contrast in their blue jackets against the rather blah colors of late winter. Isabelle painted a picture of the blue jay in his nest eating a worm.

Caleb created the scene he saw in the backyard as the blue jays flew about. (I love how large he made the blue jay. I look forward to seeing how their perspective changes over time.)

Because I am committed to truly embarrassing myself, here is my painting. Since we marked all our maple trees in the fall with orange ribbon and because we have tapped them for syrup season, I made a maple tree and a coniferous tree. The animal closest to the maple was supposed to be a deer... he turned out looking more like a dog. The other critter is Gilbert, our black cat who loves to hunt.


As the kids worked on their painting, I reminded them frequently that art is learning. Learning which brushes to use, how much water, which strokes to use, what colors to blend. Art is also a discipline. It's not sloppily throwing paint on paper or speedily moving from one color to another. It's taking the time to look at things, see the lines, the detail, pattern. It's an excellent practice in discipline and focus for my young ones. They have plenty of opportunity for free-for-alls with the art supplies, too, so creativity is not lost.

Earlier in the week, Isabelle asked to read the book Look! Look! Look!, which is a sweet picture book about looking at art. A mouse family borrows an art postcard the owners of their home receive and examine some of the simple elements of art I mentioned earlier- line, pattern, detail etc. At the end the author invites the children to make a postcard of themselves. Caleb used watercolor pencils... but did not wish to blend them with water.

Isabelle, who was wearing a blue floral dress that day, used watercolor crayons (my favorite!). I think she has a recorder in her mouth.

One of my quests this year has been to have a more relaxed homeschool. I want the kids to have more freedom to explore areas of interest. As I said, Isabelle is very passionate about art and I feel we all benefit from it. With that said, I hope to more consistently share our creations with you!

Repurposing Our Rooms

There's a lot of "green" talk these days. It goes way beyond recycling, which was the term we used when I was growing up. Carbon footprints, upcycling, repurposing.





I'm about the furthest thing from being "green". I try, I really do. I compost but my compost bin is full now. I only recycle the plastic, glass, cardboard, and cans because the town makes us. I'm the busy mom of three- I don't like washing peanut butter out of jars. I like chucking them in the trash. I always forget my reusable shopping bags when I go to the store. Even if they make it to the car, I forget to bring them in the store.





I do succeed in a few "green" areas, however. One, of course, is saving valuables from the landfill by shopping at yard sales and thrift stores. Another is by keeping this little phrase in mind when I "need" something- Use what you have. I frequently find that I already have what I need for most organizational problems, entertaining, and even homeschool.





While my latest house project really isn't "green", I think the term repurposing suits it nicely. Homeschooling is a huge part of our lives and our home. I like the kids to have access to great books, arts and crafts supplies, and educational games and toys. But I don't like these things all over the house, mixed in with all the other books and toys. I've also found these fun extras don't get utilized if relegated to a closet.





I love the idea of having a school room, and we tried it at our old house, but while it's great to have a storage room, I've found it's impractical for us to close ourselves up in a room during school hours. I have so much more to do than teach! At our new house, we've used the kitchen most of the time. I can load the dishwasher, make toast, get drinks, and clean up messes easily while the kids sit at the counter. But even this has been frustrating.





My kitchen is the hub of the house and it's what I consider my Queen Bee Throne. This is where I rule and reign from. I'm a little territorial over it. I don't like it constantly cluttered with school stuff when I'm trying to make lunch or decompress by making a cake. I really like my big kitchen and I'm probably being rather selfish but it's... MINE!











Another drawback to the kids sitting at the counter is more scholastic. They simply cannot write properly at this height without their feet on the floor. With this problem in mind, I recently set up the old school table again, but this time in the living room. Once it was up, I began to consider how useful the living room might be as a school room. We barely use it since moving the television up to the family room. We don't have proper furniture in there yet, just a patio set and some bookcases. It's a huge room that could quite easily be repurposed, for now, into a school room...













It is a great place to hang our charts. We're currently making a chart of the kings of Israel and Judah, complete with sad or happy face depending on if they were a good or bad king. The Emancipation Proclamation poster (bought at the used curriculum sale- See, I'm green!) is very fitting for our current study of slavery. And of course a calendar as well as a chart I'm using for character building. Best of all, these aren't hanging on my lovely kitchen walls. So the Throne remains mine.

As I began setting up our new learning center, it grew on me. I brought over a comfy chair and our white board and map. The black television stand, with shelf and drawers, was only collecting dust, but would be useful for holding lots of our essentials. Bible, reference books, dictionary, math manipulatives, and our other curriculum.

A comfy chair for me means I actually get to sit a bit and Kathryn can snuggle up on my lap.

It's only our first week of using our newly repurposed living room. I admit that I'd love this room to be painted, furnished, and ready for lots of adult fellowship. I'd love it to look like a picture from Better Homes and Gardens. However, that's not where we live today. And I have the feeling that the sooner I release that lofty desire, the sooner we'll all be a lot happier.

Another repurposed room is the master bedroom. Though I dream of it being something like the accommodations at a spa retreat, the truth is that Josh hangs his hats (literally) on the bed post and we both leave our laundry on the floor. We have lots of closet space, including one for my scrapbooking supplies. I've been itching to get back to my favorite hobby, but it's difficult to do without a designated space. I can carry everything downstairs, but I'm inevitably running up and down for the right supplies. So the solution to the problem was to buy a folding table, set it up in the bedroom, and let it stay there, covered in paper, adhesives, and tools- until I get bored with it for a while and put it all back. So long to my spa retreat... but I've really been enjoying my scrapbooking time. And since it's in my bedroom, I can shut the door so little hands don't get into my stuff.

I remain on the Throne!

Seriously though... One day I was so frustrated with the kids for having toys all over the living room. And I felt the Lord say "It's their home too." And of course He was right. This house can look lovely, but be full of strife and frustration for all of us if I get too concerned with how it looks. The toys are what make it a home. As well as our school stuff in plain sight for all to see. And my scrapbooking stuff taking over the bedroom. And Josh's hats hanging on the bed post.

I'm trying to get used to that. But for now I'm happy to say our home is being better utilized to meet our family where it's at... today.

A Trip to Finland

(The Flag of Finland, the white representing snow and the blue representing the many lakes. The center lion in arms was added when Finland joined the European Union.)

Josh had the really exciting opportunity to travel to Finland this past week- his first trip overseas. This was really fun for the whole family, even though he is the only one who got on a plane.

Many people asked me why he went to Finland. Finland has several paper mills, including one owned by the same company Josh works for, and they also design and manufacture a good deal of the industry's machinery. As Josh's mill is preparing for a rebuild project on one of its machines, and as he has been doing some project work that relates to it, he was invited to go along with five others to share his work with the team from Finland.

As a unit-study loving mom, how can it get any better than this! Daddy is going away for a week to a foreign country-we'll go too- only through the pages of books and web pages! We only had about four week's notice (good thing Josh had a passport) so I ordered some books from my favorite used book site, Thriftbooks, and began my research of Finland. It's a country that is surprisingly similar to Canada and Maine geographically. We learned about their food (reindeer, rye bread, lots of fish), their passion for outdoor recreation and the sauna, the Sami people (or Laplanders from way up north), and the Moomins (more on that later). We read two wonderful picture books that were based on famous Finn poetry and folklore. Louhi ,Witch of North Farm was adapted from the Kalevala, Finland's famous epic. It was illustrated by one of our favorite Maine artists, Barbara Cooney (Ms. Rhumphius, Ox Cart Man). We also greatly enjoyed The Princess Mouse which can be read online here.



Caleb gets involved in some of his own winter recreation, as he tries snowboarding in our back yard.

Josh had nearly 24 hours of travel to get to Finland, flying from Boston to the Netherlands, then to Helsinki. The time flew by for both of us, as he was very busy visiting mills and eating delicious food, and we had lots of fun things that broke up the monotony for us at home. My mom sent a package to us which included this dress for Isabelle's American Girlish doll- a traditional outfit a Laplander girl might wear on days of celebration.

Just one picture of the yummy food Josh got to eat. He was really good about describing it all to me because he knows I just love to learn about food! Yes, he ate reindeer. Lots of fish too. And desserts garnished in lingonberries.

When my Dad was in the Navy and would be "out to sea" for months at a time, we were always thrilled to have him come home- and to see what he had brought us from foreign lands! Josh had zero opportunity to shop while in Finland- until about one hour before his flight left Helsinki! The airport store opened at 5:30 in the morning and he was able to get us some really neat souvenirs. For me, he got this wonderful cookbook (and I just love the name!) full of Scandinavian recipes (and thankfully written in English). The "Afternoon Cake" chapter is already my favorite. I just love all the information behind food and the culture of food in different parts of the world. My kitchen scale will be getting a workout since all the recipes are metric!

One of the most fun Finnish things we learned about were the Moomins- a series of books and characters created by Finnish author Tove Jansson. They are to Finland what Winnie the Pooh is to England... and perhaps Mickey Mouse to the U.S. The characters include Moominpappa, Moominmama, Moomintroll (their son), the Snork Maiden, Snufkin, Sniff, Little My, and others. Jansson wrote nine original books about the Moomins and their adventures. They have been recreated in comic strips and television shows and Moomin products galore. We were able to find several Moomin shows on youtube in English- one seemed a much more authentic claymation type program, the other was a series of cartoons. Josh brought home two Moomin books and brought me an Arabia tea cup with Mymble (another Moomin character) on it for me. He wanted to find one with Moominmama, but couldn't. What a guy :)

Side note: Arabia is a famous Finnish pottery company. I thought it was cool that the mug was not only Moomin but Arabia , therefore it was not made in China :)

Isabelle had requested (and prayed for every night) keychains for her collection. I never know when she's going to start a new collection, but keychains seem to be a good thing to collect, especially when your Daddy is about to go on a trip. She was quite tickled to receive not one, but two, keychains! One is a handmade reindeer made of wool, the other is bejeweled (which is always desirable) and has a reindeer and says "Finland".

Caleb received a reindeer antler turned bottle opener that also had "Finland" carved into it- very cool for a young boy! Josh brought home two packages of licorice, which is apparently very popular in the country- and has made them very popular with other countries. The fruity licorice was much more popular in our home- the black licorice was described by Caleb as tasting like Play Dough. They both spit it out. It certainly had a taste that was distinct from the Twizzler black licorice variety.

Kathryn got a stuffed Moomintroll and has been kissing and snuggling him lots and lots. Along with her Daddy, who she really missed.

We all did. We're grateful he's back home with us and had such a great trip!

Spilled Milk- First Edition

If you listen to popular Christian radio, you've heard the song "This is the Stuff" by Francesca Batistelli. If you don't listen, it goes something like this:

I lost my keys in the great unknown,

And call me please

cause I can't find my phone.

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess,

I forget how big I'm blessed.

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I've got to trust you know exactly what You're doing

Might not be what I would choose,

but this is the stuff You use.

For over a month now I've been toying with a regular post on the blog about all the little things- all the stuff, the mess, that in the moment drives me absolutely crazy. The stuff that makes no sense. The stuff that, in the end, really isn't that big a deal. The Spilled Milk. The stuff I shouldn't cry over, but I sometimes do.





This mom's life is full of Spilled Milk. And I only think of writing about it once the mess is cleaned up and I can laugh about it. The other day I found a bottle of liquid children's Tylenol dumped out on the upstairs carpet. I curse the makers of Tylenol for putting dye in it and leaving my white Berber carpet with a purple stain on it. I also chastise myself for not putting the cover on more tightly, thus making it childproof. I chastise my adorable toddler for getting into mommy's bathroom cupboards and plunk her in a chair.



"I really need to start that blog post about Spilled Milk" I mumble to myself.


I go downstairs to get her a cup of milk. As I put the milk jug away, I knock over the cup I just poured. It spills down my cupboards and in between the stove and counter. I groan in frustration... then laugh at the irony of it all. Spilled Milk. Yes, I need to start that blog post!





The point of Spilled Milk is to laugh over it, instead of crying. It's not complaining, it's reality. Of the 24 x 7 hours in a week, I *might* not be in this house with these kids for five of them. Things are bound to get crazy, messy, and even hilarious (in hindsight).





So the carpet has a new lavender stain on it. I greatly dislike carpet.





Kathryn got hold of the markers and wrote all over the living room wall above the makeshift couch (it's really part of our patio set). No amount of Magic Eraser will take it off. We plan to paint it... eventually.





At our former home, we had a wood stove installed with a brick hearth. We had four fans that were supposed to go into the wall to circulate warm air, but we never installed them. That was five years ago. They came with us to the new house. I think I threw them in a yard sale box, but no amount of hunting for them has made them appear. You see, we want them now. To help circulate the warm air from the stove in our new house. It's been quite cold, you know.

I did however find my Christmas CDs! Not quite a month after Christmas. I'm so excited, I'm so happy. It's snowing and the perfect day to listen to some yuletide carols. Oh wait... my CD player is suddenly not working. No joy for me.

This same day I was woken in the night, two hours apart, by my oldest children who were sick. With evidence to support it. Honestly, this is the first time this has happened to me! I've never had two children sick (with evidence) at once. So I got very little sleep and as the sun came up over the horizon, shedding light into my living room, I discovered the children weren't the only ones who were sick. A cat was too. All over my makeshift chair (which is really a patio set) in the living room.

And perhaps the froth on the Spilled Milk, for this edition anyway, is the brand new (not even a week old new) comforter set I just bought that now has several snags in it thanks to two kitties with claws that like to make my bed THEIR bed. This is the comforter set I admired for five months before finally deciding it was exactly what I wanted. And I admit I didn't want to cry over this particular batch of Spilled Milk, I wanted to send the kitties packing. Instead, I have locked them out of my room- forever! And while I have not laughed about this, I have forgiven them.

Reminder: I'm not complaining.

I like order. I like things to stay new and fresh looking. I like peaceful nights of sleep.

I like the cats. And I use the term *like* loosely in their case.

I love my kids. I love my husband. I love our home.

It's a mess, but I'm blessed.

Playing Hookey?

I am still learning to love and appreciate and fully grasp how very cool it is to have such a flexible schedule as a home educating family! We don't have to do things the way any other public, private, or home school does things and we get to do things when we want to and when it works for us.

This past Tuesday, Josh wanted to take a trip north to make reservations for his annual hiking trip- reservations that can only be made in person. Every day of vacation is precious and he felt bad taking a whole day just to do this- until he suggested turning it into a day of ice-fishing with the whole family. We recently got some snowfall and colder temperatures to use the snowmobiles and thicken the ice. So we did, indeed, take Tuesday and make a day of it.

Now Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day. Public school was out, our school was in. I read a biography of this remarkable man to them and we watched his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in it's entirety on youtube. Isabelle wanted to color a picture of him so I printed off a coloring sheet for her. Later, when I was folding laundry, finally having a chance to sit down, I told the kids they could put something on the TV- but something mama likes too! They chose The Cosby Show and we just happened to be on an episode that included the Huxtables talking about the famous march on Washington and what they "remembered"about it. I just love when this kind of stuff happens in our home school!



We woke the kids up at 5:30 Tuesday morning to load up and head north. Isabelle lost her first tooth before we left! I got to sneak my first tooth out from under a pillow and replace it with a dollar! (Caleb just puts his in a ziploc sandwich bag and we hand him a dollar. This is just not Isabelle's style.)


It's always a treat to go out to breakfast, even if it is just McDonald's! Josh and I both have fond memories of going here for breakfast as kids- it's so much rarer than going for lunch or dinner. Kathryn gobbled up her hotcakes and mixed in some eggs for protein.

Kathryn had never been out on the ice before, but she loved it! We always bring along a potty seat for Iz, but Kathryn was quite thrilled to have it around for lounging. She is too adorable.

Caleb is such a handsome fellow...

And such a good big brother, pulling his sister around on the ice.

We keep the food simple when ice-fishing- hot dogs roasted over the fire, hot cocoa, and marshmallows of course! It's pretty cool having a fire on the ice.

We were able to set four traps for the fish. We never saw a flag go up, but Caleb saw one of the traps wiggling around in the hole. He and Josh went over to check on it and there was this huge 17 inch brook trout on the line! Isabelle got to pull it up. He was a beautiful pink color!

Kathryn really liked him too, though she was sad when he flapped his tail at her.

She was easily cheered up with marshmallows. She did amazing out there for nearly 5 hours!

I made smores using the "Thank You" Girl Scout cookies- shortbread with one side dipped in fudge. I cooked the marshmallow, sandwiched it between two cookies, then set them on a stick to warm over the hot coals to fully melt! Wow, it doesn't get much better than that when you are ice fishing!

So were we playing hookey? After all, it was a Tuesday. All the other kids were in school. Mine got to spend the day making memories with their family. A pretty cool perk of having such a flexible schedule.