Monday, October 19, 2009

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away! Well maybe not, but they sure taste good!

This fall we decided to can our own applesauce. It is so delicious and good for you! We canned 2 bushells of apples and filled 15 quart jars, 10 pints and also made apple butter! It was three days of hard work, but it sure is nice to see it sitting on our shelves!
Taylor mashing the apples through our sieve.

Some pictures of our finished jars! Applesauce is on top and apple butter is on bottom!


Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ryan, Are you sleeping back there?


We were riding in the van and the little boys and Olivia had all fallen asleep and Ryan was really quiet in the very back. We thought he had fallen asleep as well, when Taylor turned around and said, "Mom, Look!" So I checked the mirror, and low and behold, there was Ryan, READING a BOOK! He was so engrossed, he read the rest of the way home, a good 45 min! ;-)

Friday, October 9, 2009

Field Trip to the Jack Hanna Show in Rolla!

Today we went to the Jack Hanna Show at the Leach Theater in Rolla. The kids loved it and got to see some really interesting animals. The Theater was very nice and accommodating for us homeschoolers, they reserved the first 5 rows for us! I thought that was really nice of them!

On our way!

Ryan, Keegan, Alec, Jack and Miss Olivia waiting to get into the theater.
Waiting patiently.
This was a 2-toed sloth.

A leopard.

A Cheetah!

An enormous python!

A rare Macaw.

An Arctic fox.
 

"Jack"-o-lantern

We almost had a tooth emergency in our house while Taylor was gone in Nova Scotia. Jack had a loose tooth when she left, and since she is our official tooth puller, he was a little nervous that it might need to be pulled before she got back. He was in luck! Tay helped him pull it out a few days after she got back, what a big Sister!


Jack checking his tooth!

Showing us his toothless grin!
There's the tooth!
We decided that with Jack missing so many teeth right now, we wouldn't need a pumpkin for Halloween, we could sit him on the porch and he could be a real live one!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

We all go to work with dad! Part 2

Jack in a box!
Alec working with mom on English.

Jack at the band saw


Ryan helping his dad move channel.
Dad working the fork lift.

Ryan using the skid jack to move "Jack"! Ry-guy, waiting on dad for the next bundle move.


Dad and Ryan - great team work!


Ryan is such a blessing to his dad in the warehouse. Bobby is a great dad, always patient and thorough when teaching Ry how to do things safely. Taylor is also a big help in the office. She helps with the phones and filing. Olivia helps her Pawpaw pull orders and get them ready for pick -up's and shipping. Alec and Jack help with orders and cleaning. It is truly a "family" business!

We all go to work with dad!!!

One of the things we love about homeschooling is the flexibility! My husband works for my father in a small business. I am very blessed that my husband and dad have a wonderful relationship! (My mom loves him, too!) Sometimes if my dad is out of the office the kids and I go in to man the phones and pull orders, and Ryan helps his dad unload trucks. We take our school work with us and do it throughout the day. The kids have learned a lot about hard work and how to have a good work ethic from going to the office to help out. They also get to see their dad and pawpaw deal with others in a business fashon and they have learned about honesty and doing a good job always.
Olivia taking a break.

Alec and Jack do some math!

Alec and Olivia taking a break and eating snacks that their Pawpaw brought them.

Jack working hard.

Taylor and Jack goofing around!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

A day in the garden.

Today we woke to storms, which put our morning walk off. But we did get school done in record time and I treated the kids to McDonald's in St. Clair, where the play place is huge and they could run off a little steam. On the way back, we stopped at Grandma and Pampaw Davis' house to pick the garden. I love gardens, but I have never been successful at growing one. I am blessed to have a mother in law who will let me pick hers! We picked enough green beans for 10 quarts. LOTS of green bell peppers (I'm looking for any good stuffed pepper recipes? Got one?) and Alec's favorite, sweet banana peppers. And a nice lot of tomatoes. The kids love going over there. Ryan was a sport and herded the new cows out of our way, and part of the garden. I guess they haven't figured out that the "hot" wire is supposed to keep them out yet! It was muddy, which makes it all the more fun for my little boys who happen to be mud monkeys! We all had a chuckle as Ryan was trying to find a place to go to the bathroom, as the house was locked. As he was heading around the barn, Alec and Taylor yelled, "Remember to wipe with your left hand so you can eat with your right one!" (thanks to the Country study we did at our homeschool co-op where they learned this little tid bit about the people in India!) We all started to laugh, even though Ry did NOT think it was too funny! So we have canned the green beans and Alec has me looking up recipes to pickle and can the banana peppers tomorrow. Then we'll deal with the tomatoes, maybe we'll make salsa? Well, have a good night, I hear the timer going off for my last batch of beans in the pressure cooker!