Christmas with Dan's Family

This year we celebrated Christmas with Dan's family before Christmas instead of after. We also changed it up a little and went to a cabin in Hocking Hills. Our "deluxe" cabin was set on top of a hill. It was beautiful. There were 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms to accommodate us all. The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins. Aly and Elena, who are only 4 months apart, were inseparable as usual. There was an upstairs and downstairs, so while the kids were crazy downstairs playing pool and watching movies on the projection screen tv, the adults could be upstairs chatting. A couple of us went out to enjoy the stars, but I didn't stay out long. It was too cold for me. After presents, the kids got into the hot tub for a while. The girls had a good time. It is amazing how fast all these kids have grown up.

Skyeler and her cousin Zac. I remember when they were just little squirts playing together.

One of the highlights of the cabin...the hot tub. Aly loved this! She and Elena made plans to get up early and get in the next morning just by themselves.

Wordless Wednesday

Garage Science

Dan helps us out at our homeschool co-op once a month by teaching science lab. He really enjoys doing this and the kids love him. I love that I don't have to take a turn teaching science! This particular experiment came from the NASA website. It was making the nucleus of a comet with dry ice. Dan wasn't sure how this was going to work, so he did a trial run in the garage. Skyeler and Aly were eager to help him out. I hadn't planned on going out in the cold to participate, but pictures were needed (as always). I had never used or seen dry ice and was amazed at all the cool things that could be done with it. The kids at co-op loved it. Not only did they make the nucleus of a comet, they also did some other fun stuff with the dry ice, dish soap, and warm water. Dan also showed them, from a distance, an exploding water bottle. He borrowed a 10 gallon bucket from church, put the bucket over the water bottle, and ran. The bucket went about 10 feet in the air and had about a 9 inch crack in it afterwards, oops. The whole experiment was a huge hit.
Dan and Aly compressing the dry ice, dirt, water, and ammonia to form the nucleus of a comet.
The nucleus of a comet.
What it looks like when you pour warm water and dish soap in with the dry ice. It looks like something from a mad scientist's laboratory.
The bubble made with the dry ice, warm water, dish soap, and a paper towel. You had to be careful about pulling the paper towel slowly over the rim of the cup to get the bubble started. Then it just grew on its own. Below is what it looked like when it finally popped.

Good Intentions

Yes, I have had good intentions toward my blog. Good intentions that have been interrupted by Thanksgiving Break, Christmas shopping, choir practice & performance, and numerous Christmas parties. Oh, and the school we have been able to fit in throughout all this mess. If I wasn't so tired, I would be at the other computer uploading pictures to post. However, I'm exhausted. Aly came down with a fever last night. I think I got about 3-4 hours of sleep. So here I sit ... on the laptop ... posting without pictures ... barely awake ... watching HGTV because college football is over until the bowl games. Bummer! I am excited to post pictures of our science experiment, our Thanksgiving trip with Cheryl & Glen to my parents, and putting up the Christmas tree. Hopefully, I will get to that soon. So if you're checking in, say a little prayer for Aly to feel better and a little prayer for me to keep up.

Odds & Ends

It has been busy around here. The girls left for Granny & Papa's house yesterday. We had co-op this week, grocery shopping, packing and the last bit of school before Thanksgiving Break. It also was the end of our 2nd 6 week period of school. I need to grade Skyeler's Algebra test and print out report cards for my record book. I spent some time shopping yesterday for Christmas. I love shopping for Christmas! Monday I hope to finish most of the shopping. It would be nice to get the house straightened up before we leave for Mom and Dad's on Wednesday. Right now it's in disarray because we were out of the house most of the week. I always have a hard time keeping up with it when we are not in it. You would think that a house would not get messed up if you're not home, but that's not the way it is around here. When we get back, it will be time to begin decorating for Christmas. We are planning to get a real Christmas tree this year. Hopefully, the cat will not want to eat it. He eats the weirdest things. I have some new pictures to post. Dan was trying out his science experiment for co-op and had the girls helping out. I'll tell more about that when I post the pictures. Now it's time to enjoy some hot cider and watch some football. Ah, I love Saturday's in the fall!

Wordless Wednesday

The Monkey

Aly has been wanting me to share her newfound ability to do the monkey bars. These pictures are actually from last month. Dan took her and Skyeler to the park and she finally got the hang of crossing the monkey bars. She badgered me to take her again because I just HAD to see it. She's so proud of herself.