Our Fall Life

Here is a quick update about what we have been doing the past two months.

We went to the Dinosaur Park. The boys had been anticipating
this trip all year. We went on a school day so we were one of the
only family there. It was sunny in the low 70's with a slight breeze. It
was quiet except for the sounds of the ducks and dinosaur sound
recordings they have going. 

Digging for dinosaur fossils.

Our "home school" year started with the public school schedule.
Here is the erupting volcano the boys made. You can following
our homeschool journey here or you can click on the link on the
top left side of the blog. 

Dad working hard from home. 

The following are self pictures of Alexander. He cracks me up!

We love the story of Peter Pan at our house. One day we played
pirates. I made a treasure map and the boys had to find clues
that ultimately led to a treasure box that had chocolate gold
coins in it. 

The boys discovered a HUGE bug. Can you see
it in this jar?

It is actually a water bug that was a couple inches long. I
didn't know Utah had bugs this big! This bug is called a
toe biter,  Lethocerus griseus. This is Gordon's toe which
gives you better idea of the size of this creature!

Just being so fun and cute.

We have taken walks and hikes. This is from our annual fall, leaf
collecting hike. I love the mountains!

We've also went to the mini zoo at Willow Park.

Did you know that porcupines sleep in trees?!

Found this string of pictures on the camera after a shopping day.
Too funny.

We've done arts and crafts. One of the favorite has been
the paint covered acorn drop in a box. 

My boys love art projects. Looks like Lincoln is an artist too.

We attended the community Observe the Moon Night on a
Friday night as a family. Here they are learning how craters are
formed.

Creating the phases of the moon with oreo cookies.

Lincoln climbing on the play ground. Brave kid for a 1
year old.

Gordon harvest the honey from one of the top bar hives. I can't
believe how fast, easy, cheap and clean it was to harvest the honey
from the top bar versus from a traditional box hive. Look at the
beautiful honey comb! 

This is the piece we kept out to eat. The honey is so sweet
this year that it doesn't take much to make my belly ache.

What it looked like after mashing it was the potato smasher.

We ended up with over a gallon of honey. The honey looks extra
dark in the picture because I took it with the lights out.

We have done a bunch of canning this fall as well. Tomatoes, corn and froze diced bell peppers. Canned chili, apple sauce, apple butter and sauerkraut.  We made a ton of broth.

We had so much fun at the dinosaur park that we went again
with cousins. Matthew, Jonathan, and Max. Another beautiful day

Got the van in running condition. The title got lost so we
are trying to get a replacement so we can get the van
registered. The kids are just as excited about having space
as I am!

Computer time. I can hardly get my William to keep
his cloths on. He changes outfits about 4 times a day when
he does wear cloths. Are your kids like this too?

Another string of pictures of William which he took.
Apparently he took these pictures the day he burned his
tongue on hot chocolate because the rest of the day
we walked around with his tongue hanging out. 

My mother flew out a couple weeks ago for a birthday party
she put together for her dad, my Grandpa Johnson. The kids
had fun playing with second cousins.

William and Alexander with darling Jency who belongs
to my awesome cousin Tonya. Isn't she a doll? I wish we lived
closer so we could have her over to play often.

My adventurous, fun, inspiring Grandpa Johnson and
the family. We love you Grandpa!

A trip to the big zoo in Salt Lake City. 

Good Grandma time.

We read a lot of books in our home. The boys
enjoyed Grandma reading stories to them.

My attempt to style my hair by adding bangs. I am
liking the change.


UPDATE ON RITA THE GOAT:  So her lump grew back and larger than before so Gordon and our friends helped to lance it. What came out was a liquid form which gave me great hope that what Rita has is NOT CL. We took the sample into the vet about 2 weeks ago. We called on Friday to see what the results were and they said there was too much bacteria...that they needed a blood sample instead. Thanks a lot vets for not calling us back sooner to let us know. The community is anxiously awaiting the results!