Field trip to our state capital

What fun to have another opportunity to go on a field trip with our homeschool group. We had a great turn out, even with the weather being in the teens. The girls always look forward to seeing their friends and spending time learning new things with them. We headed off to the State Capital to learn about one of the most amazing architectural wonders around. Living only a few miles away and having the opportunity to pop in at any given time, you tend to forget what a special place it really is.

Built over ten years time, during the Great Depression, with a budget of $1 million dollars per year, you can't help but be in awe of every detail. Marble from around the world, real gold leaf stenciled ceilings, a dome 112 feet high that Davinci would be proud of, art deco styling everywhere you look, works of art depicting the history of this great state...and to top it all off, a 19 1/2 foot Sower on the very top that acts as a lightening rod to keep the entire building grounded. As an extra treat, we also got to see the 35 foot tall official Capital Christmas Tree with handmade ornaments sent in from around the state.

The kids learned not only about the building itself (clearly, my favorite topic;), but also about Nebraska's unique Unicameral legislative system and how it came about. They got to see where our state laws are made, sit in our State's Supreme Court, appreciate their heritage, and learn why they should be so proud to have the privilege of growing up in this great state. All in all, it was another wonderful learning adventure that they're still talking about :)

Catching up....

It's been awhile since I've downloaded the photos from my phone and I finally got it done this week.  Thought I'd just post some random pictures of what's been going on around here to catch you all up :)

 We pick up a couple of friends from their school each Wednesday.  Last week, while waiting for them, Hannah happened to find my Bible in the door pocket of the truck.  It's the one I used at school all thru Jr and High School.  She loved sitting there "reading" it and flipping thru the pages, looking at all my underlinings and notes.

 We've been enjoying the fall weather and trying to take a break from our school work to take Max for a walk each day.  Hannah is her mother's child and seems to always find a tree to scramble up.

 Tess is doing GREAT living on her own.  She loves having her own apartment and doing things her way.  She has surprised me by being much neater than she ever was living at home.  Lord help you if she sees you aren't using a coaster on her coffee table ;)  She was a bit lonely however, so decided she wanted a little company.  That is Smokey, a little stray she picked up.  He is a dream kitten and LOVES lots of attention.

 There are times we like to get away from touch screens, computer screens, or even paper.... it's at those times the girls like to pull out their slates and chalk to work on spelling and math.  One of the great things of homeschooling is that you aren't stuck in a box and only able to do things one way :)

 All the girls got their autumn hair cuts at the end of September.  Hannah cut off the most, with enough to send in her braid to Locks of Love.  She loves her short hair and it's so much easier for her to manage.  The sandman LOVED her long locks and seemed to spend extra time playing in it every night, so each morning it was an ordeal doing her hair.  I have to admit our mornings are much easier.

 This is Hannah's Trevor.... They swear they are getting married.  He calls her "Honey" and she giggles.  They are like two peas in a pod :)

 It's not often Gracie has a great diabetes day, but once in a blue moon it does happen when her numbers are in range most of the day.  We had a day like that recently so we needed to celebrate with a chocolate chip frappe :)

 Paying bills is never fun.... unless it's the first time you have to do it:)

 Little Ms. Ginger Snap is growing quickly.  She is pure joy for all of us.

 I was blessed to go to Women of Faith in Kansas City at the end of September and Craig took the girls home to the farm.  They love spending time with the horses in a friend's pasture and would camp out there with them 24/7 if they could.  

Hope you all are having a great Fall season full of blessings, family time, and Spiced Pumpkin Lattes :)

They call me Snaps

Snaps, Snaparoo, Snapadoo, Snappy... It just seems to suit this spunky little girl:)

Our family is growing again

Meet our little miss. The girls acquired her from a neighbor the next culdesac over, last night. She's still getting use to things around here but I think she's going to be just fine :). We haven't agreed on a name yet. The ones in the running are Snaps, Vera, Ruby, or Stella.

Golden Nuggets

We finished our first month and our first unit in our school year this week, so that meant it was time to celebrate. We are using The Prairie Primer for our unit study and thoroughly enjoying it. It's based on The Little House On The Prairie books and the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Of course, we still supplement some of our core subjects like math and spelling, but otherwise we are able to seamlessly integrate all our subjects into our daily lessons.

Since we learned a little about the gold rush, I thought it might be fun to "mine for gold" as we celebrated finishing our first unit. Each of the girls had their own claim in which they could mine for gold. Scattered in their claims were lots of golden treats (ie fool's gold) along with gold cards that represented pure gold. On the cards were things to review from what we'd learned over the past month. Spelling words, math problems, and Bible verses. The girls had to answer each card correctly in order to collect all their treats. They had a great time mining their claims and realizing just how much they'd learned. Oh yeah, since we are spending the year studying pioneer living, I made each of them their own pioneer outfit. They get to wear their outfits whenever we have fun activities like today :)