APC last Sunday

These are a few pics from last Sunday. Every week, a basketball game gets started after lunch. I thought it was time to take some pics. The young'uns gave the older'uns a run for their money. Bruce showed off his sporty high-top shoes, but I don't think they helped his game. Sabrina and JR are too good! The girls all love Levi, but I think Bernice is his favorite.
~Rose

Adventures at Red Rocks...

Every Wednesday, Hope's 1st grade curriculum calls for Exploration day. On this day we don't do the usually pencil/paper work, but do more reading, science experiments and try to go on an outing to enjoy God's creation. So, last Wednesday we went to Red Rocks for lunch! It was a short 20 minute drive. We brought our food and ate on row 63. It was amazing (our first visit, except for Desi) and beautiful! We could see Denver pretty well and even DIA. The clouds were so pretty, like a watercolor painting. The kids loved climbing up and down the stairs. There were all sorts of people there, including some that were exercising-talk about a good work out! We met the cowboy in the black hat (in the shot from the stage looking up). He was kind enough to take the pic of me and the kids. He was a stage hand at an Eagles concert there in 1975! He went on and on about what a great venue Red Rocks is because the audience is so close to the musicians. I plan on going to a concert there as soon as possible! There is a fun museum with pics of past performers. Notice the pic of one of the first musical groups to perform in 1910-for some reason it's interesting to be in a place so old (which isn't really that old compared to some places). Notice the model of Red Rocks with Owen's head at the bottom...that will give those of you who haven't been a good idea of the set up. There is a 1.3 mile hike nearby that we'll do when the kids are older (some steep parts). I am sure we'll be back again soon!
~Rose
p.s. click on a picture to see it larger

Owen's Prayers

So, Owen likes to pray for sick people. Don't really know why, but every night I put him to bed (Desi and I switch off, girls room and boys room, songs and prayers before bed) I ask Owen, so who do you want to pray for tonight? And it never fails, he wants to pray for someone who is sick. So, tonight he prays for the Arby family that God would help them not get sick. Don't know who they are, but Owen prayed for them tonight! He's too cute! He got a sword at the dollar store last week and decided that tonight would be a good night to sleep with it shoved down his jammies. We'll see if it's still there in the morning. I personally don't think that would be very comfy, but that's just me!
~Rose

Can it be true? Such beauty in the midst of a city?!

This past Monday was a free day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. We went after Emma's nap so Desi could go with us. It's been maybe 9 months or so since we've been there and it seems no matter what time of year the gardens are glorious. We love the children's garden. Notice the "tent" tree that Hope is peeking out of. There are 2 butterfly chairs in there on a nice little wooden deck...how cool would that be to have in your backyard? The gardens are divided like many around the world, Japanese, rose garden, ect... The great thing about Denver's gardens are all the little "secret" side paths that the kids get to explore, while the parents and stroller can stay on the cement paths. I'd love to visit all the botanic gardens that I can in my lifetime. I've been to the Buchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada twice (thanks to my folks and Desi) and the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Virgina (thanks Dori!). God is such an amazing artist and I am blessed to see His handiwork!
Click on pictures to see them bigger!
~Rose

School Is Fun!

We're working on sorting and classifying this week with Hope and discovered that Owen and Emma wanted in on the action as well! Buttons can be really fun to play with :)

For science this week, we're learning about the seasons, what they are and why we have them. This is a picture Hope drew of the 4 seasons. It's nice that we really do get 4 distinct seasons here.

-Rose

Grandma And The Bear!

Well, after my mom heard about our church meeting at Lair O' The Bear, she wanted to go. We get together with my folks every other Saturday for lunch. Today after lunch at my parents house, we drove up past Morrison (Red Rocks) and Idledale back to Lair O' The Bear for a short hike. We did the Bruin Bluff Trail which was a little over a mile long. The kids were not as excited (their friends Abby, Luke and Ezra weren't there) but they did pretty well. Notice Levi's smile over my mom's shoulder! We also saw a couple of fly fishermen and watched for awhile. It was such a fun time! Colorado is so BEAUTIFUL...and to have all this within 30 minutes of our house...what a blessing! The leaves are starting to change color -you better get out here to visit us soon!
~Rose

My Little Kitchen Helper!

I keep Levi's bouncy seat (it's so old...but all four kids used it and loved it) on the kitchen counter. That way Levi can watch me cook and do dishes. He fell asleep the other day and I couldn't resist snapping a shot. Look at those thighs :)

~Rose

Do Ants Like Honey Soaked Bread?

Last week, Hope learned about "things close to the ground" for science. We read about all sorts of critters and got to choose an experiment to do. We covered a bit of bread with honey and put it on an ant hill at the corner of our street. This first picture is right after we put the bread down. It was late afternoon and the ants swarmed around it. The kids loved watching the ants pick pieces of the bread off and carry them down into the hill.

One fun part of homeschooling...they went swimming in the afternoon after finishing some writing :)

This was the bread the next morning...notice all the dirt that the ants dragged onto it...sticky feet! They moved much slower in the morning.

This is the drawing Hope did in her nature notebook. Notice the queen ant and all the forager ants collectong the bread! She's such a cutie!

-Rose