Settling In...

We have been busy settling into our rhythms of the new school year ... and just like that, it's already November.

In August, we adopted a Border Collie/Kelpie puppy and we named him Bear.

In September, on the first day of school ...

Sienna is in 4th grade this year and Forest started kindergarten. I'm still teaching 2nd grade, where my heart seems to belong!

In October, we made our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin patch, Gordon Skagit Farms.

 

For All Hallows' Eve, we had two little pirates. We went trick-or-treating in our cozy, new neighborhood and the kids were pleased to learn that many of our neighbors gave out full-sized candy bars!

In October, we also found a new home for Bear with our school secretary, where he will live on lots of acres and be able to roam more freely. He was a sweet puppy and we loved him dearly. He was just not the right puppy for our home. He will be a sweet country dog.

And, lastly, in November ... we had our first snow! The kids were up very early to make a wee, little snowman.

We are looking forward to the many joys this Winter will bring us and to lots and lots of hygge in our new home! 

Dreaming of Autumn...

I must be dreaming of Autumn! This morning, I took Sienna and Forest thrifting for a bit. We are searching for a tall-ish pine bookshelf for all of our children's books. I'm looking for just the perfect one. No such luck! Instead we found lots of Autumn goodness...

(The lovely sunflower bouquet was from David's parents for my birthday. I love them.) 

a basket ... $2.99

brown leather boots for Mama ... $14.99

leather Keen shoes for Forest ... $3.99

a moose toggle sweater for Forest ... $3.99

a Little Golden Book for Sienna to read to Forest ... $0.99

We also canned our own homegrown veggies for the first time! We canned just a few jars of bread & butter pickles and dilly beans to get started. This weekend we're planning to put up some more food for the Autumn and Winter months.

Bread & Butter Pickles and Dilly Beans! 

What's New?

So, so much has happened since my last post! Just now, I looked through my photos, so I could share a little about our past month or so. Where do I begin?

David has been busily installing doors, which were an early Christmas present from Nana. A necessity for us ... to keep this little rascal out of closets and bedrooms! Yes, our house had no doors when we bought it.

 Forest also had his first haircut ever. This is a before of the front.

This was the back! I saved a few of those sweet, little curls.

 

There were dental check-ups.

There was the annual Veteran's Day parade.

We made our own veterans. Here's Forest attaching his eyes. Yes, they are both in their jammies still! 

We went on a weekend family drive to try and find some snow. Sunshine loves going with us!  

Then, Thanksgiving came and went.

Sienna studied about rain forests at school. This one was texted to me from her science teacher. She was writing about her frog's habitat.

We had a light dusting of snow at our house. Sunshine seemed surprised by it all.

Here's our cozy, little home with a bit of snow. 

Then, there was this ...  

... which leads us up to today. David painted our bathroom, tiled, put up beadboard, and baseboards. It was going to be ready for Christmas! And then, our other toilet leaked everywhere! All over our beautiful laminate floors, through the walls into this almost finished bathroom, and into our kitchen. We sure are thankful for our homeowner's insurance! 

Unfortunately, it's already disrupted our Christmas plans ... like going to go get a Christmas tree. Plus, the little ones and I are staying with my mom, while David stays at our house without a bathroom, so he can take care of our pets. 

We are hoping and praying that the contractor gets moving fast, since they've already ripped up all the wet flooring, baseboards, and beadboard. I am holding out hope that it will all be finished before Christmas. Our first Christmas in our own home. I'll keep you updated with the progress and hopefully, I will have some good news to share after I meet with the contractor tomorrow.

Farewell, October...

It's been awhile, friends. 

As October is nearing to an end, I decided it was about time to update my blog and upload the photos I had taken. We've been quite busy in our little home with lots of learning and being together doing our regular family rhythm, too. 

Sienna took this photo of the front of our little blue home on the way out one day. Of course, it looks a little different now. We have some pots of my lavender sitting in the flower bed in front waiting to be planted.

This was my attempt at a baguette to make garlic bread with spaghetti for dinner one night.   

Chai Guy just being ... Chai Guy. Oh, how we love him, so!

Halloween cookies ... the wee ones and I made together one day. 

Sienna in her kitty mask from a card Grandma Diane and Grandpa Paul sent in the mail. 

Kona jumped into the recycle bin a few times this month and sat in there. Not quite sure why? 

Sienna finished her first embroidery project! 

We studied about apples this month and finished the unit up with a field trip to Padilla Bay for apple cider pressing and to learn a little about apple orchards. Sienna got to use this apple press to help make cider. It was quite tasty!  

She also helped plant an apple tree. 

And, composted!

We carved our pumpkins together, roasted pumpkin seeds and saved some seeds for our own little pumpkin patch. 

We took Sunshine on some adventures. This is her pushing her head between us in the front seat.

We danced at Sienna's Halloween Party for her dance school! Sienna and Forest dressed up as hippies. This was the only photo I could get of them all night.

Our beasty friends napped a lot, too. I caught the next two photos of Kona and Sunshine during Forest's afternoon nap. 

It's been quite a lovely month together. Sienna just finished learning about Bats and will begin a smallish unit on Pumpkins and then, we will learn a bit about Scarecrows and perhaps make our own! I must remember to take more photos in November and update more often.