Winning, Losing,...and Racing?

The other day, Grace could be heard lamenting the possibility of losing a coloring contest that she had entered, when her little brother gave her some sage advice. In a very compassionate and supportive voice, Jacob looked at her and said, "Grace, there's more to winning than racing."

Yes, it appears he is getting his life lessons from the movie, Cars. And he sometimes gets the words mixed around, but...such a sweet and wise little brother!

It's Been a Squirrely Day!

We've been having a squirrely day, today!

A while back, the kids built a squirrel feeder for me, using some wood scraps and extra stain that we had in the barn. Yesterday, they helped their Dad set it up in the backyard. So, we have been on the lookout for squirrels all day. We spent the morning looking out the window, while reading books and searching the internet for more information on squirrels. Finally, this afternoon, as we were finishing up school, I walked by the window to find someone visiting our new feeder!

We were all so very excited!

Yay, kids! You did a great job!

Camping

Last weekend we went camping with Nana and Pa. It was perfect weather! Warm enough during the days that jeans and a sweatshirt were adequate, then cool enough at night that you really wanted to sit around a campfire to keep warm. We had a great time and were able to do so many different things.

On our first night, we carved pumpkins. They added a nice touch of fall to our campsite.


We went fishing, too. The first night we went to The Children's Pond. I think it might be called that because it seems as though there were no fish in it more than 4 inches long. The fish were small but they kept biting, so the kids had a good time catching them.

On our last day, we went to the lake to try some fishing. We were a bit skeptical to what we would be able to catch there, especially when Pa's first catch was this:
Here it is a bit closer, just in case you couldn't see it.

However, as time went on, the fish began to get bigger and bigger. This one was definitely the catch of the day!
Where we fished was rather rocky, so the kids enjoyed climbing and jumping all around on the rocks.
Miss Abby even made her way out on to her own little island.

She keeps me on my toes.

We were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery, too. The leaves were definitely far from 'peak,' however, they were still beautiful.

In the evenings, we enjoyed sitting around the campfire: making s'mores, gazing up at the stars, and singing songs. The kids can now sing harmony to the song 'Ring of Fire.' That's what happens when your Pa can do a pretty mean Johnny Cash impression.

We had such a great time! I wish we could go again soon, but that will probably have to be it for the year.

A Boy Is...

Scuffed up knees,

a freckled nose

with dimples here and there.

A daring, caring, sharing heart

a mass of tousled hair.

Boundless curiosity

the spirit to explore.

Two twinkling eyes,

a smiling face and energy galore!

A love of life,

a bit of sass

a source of untold joy.

A wonderment,

a dream fulfilled

God's miracle...

...a BOY!

(Author Unknown)

I love being the mother of a boy!

Since I come from a family dominated by girls, Jacob has given me the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a boy. I love to watch him get lost in play, letting his imagination take him to far off worlds. I'm amazed by the variety of sounds that can come from his mouth - cars, trucks, planes, laser guns, light sabers, sirens, bombs...the list goes on and on. I love the way his hair smells when he hugs me: a hint of baby mixed with dirt and sweat.

And I love the opportunity that he gives me to take a picture like this:

Theme Thursday - Sunshine

I'm participating in Theme Thursday at The Land of K.A. The theme this week is...sunshine! I've been majorly busy this week, so I haven't even picked up my camera. However, I do have some photos from a few weeks ago, that have plenty of sunshine in them.

I'm often annoyed by bright sunlight when I'm taking pictures, but sometimes it just adds a special touch to photos. None of these are excellent pictures but I do love the effect that the sun had on each of them.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a different photo from this series of swing photos. I just love the sun in her hair.

My handsome boy with the sun shining on his tousled hair. This photo got really washed out because of the sun, but I think it gives it a neat quality.

The sun was very direct and bright in this photo, but I love her face and hair in this photo.

I'm not crazy about the composition of this photo, but I just love the way the flower looks, as the sun shines through the petals.

Philadelphia Getaway

Last Tuesday, Jeff and I flew out to Philadelphia for a little getaway. Actually, he had business to do in Delaware on Wednesday and Thursday, so while he worked, I played! Well, actually, I didn't do a whole lot of anything on Wednesday. I hung out in our hotel room, listened to music, watched TV, surfed the net, painted my toenails, ordered room service...stuff like that.

It was wonderful!

On Thursday, I went to a little salon and spa across the street from our hotel so that I could...get my eyebrows waxed. My sister couldn't believe it when I told her that was what I did. She told me that I should have at least had a massage done, too. But, no. I chose torture over pampering.

What exactly was I thinking?

On Thursday night, the company that Jeff had been working with, wined and dined us. Well, actually, they 'peanut and Cracker Jack-ed' us. They took us to a Phillies playoff game against the Brewers.


It was a great time!

Friday, we woke up early and I met up with my friend, Libby, at the Reading Terminal Market. It was great to see her and to catch up with one another!

Then, Jeff and I made our way over to The Independence National Historical Park.


We saw the Liberty Bell.


We, also, took a tour of Independence Hall. It was very moving to stand there and think about all of the monumental moments that have occurred on those grounds.

But, I have to admit, I couldn't help but think about all of the scenes in National Treasure that were filmed there!

Yes, I'm deep like that.

As a matter of fact, the entire time we were in Philadelphia, I kept looking for places that were filmed in the movie. What can I say? It's our family's favorite movie! It has also been a great catalyst for some history and geography lessons with the kids.

Since we only had about half of a day left to explore all of Philadelphia, we decided to take one of those double-decker bus tours.


Here are our reflections in the second story window of some building. Look at us being all touristy!

It would have been nice to actually visit some of the sites, instead of just driving by them, but we just didn't have enough time to get it all done in one day. For example, I really wanted to stop at The Museum of Art so that I could videotape Jeff running the steps, Rocky Balboa style.


I know that he was absolutely heartbroken that he didn't get to run all of the steps. Weren't you, honey? Just heartbroken!

We had a great time! We missed the kids, but it was definitely nice to have some alone time. Once they are older, we'll probably take them to Philly, so they, too, can see the places where some of National Treasure was filmed our nation's most monumental events occurred.