Saturday, January 20, 2007

Gregory's Birthday

My little boy is not so little anymore. He turned 10 in December, the first of the double digits.

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Gregory, not usually an early riser, eagerly jumped out of bed that morning.

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Everyone gathered around the coffee table to see Gregory open birthday presents.

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He got a new Legos set from Grandma.

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And one of the new mini iPods from us.

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Gabrielle made Gregory some gfcf cookies.

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We finished the day with a gfcf chocolate birthday cake.

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I can't believe we've had ten years with Gregory already.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Harvest and Homeschool

As Fall turned to Winter, we harvested much of our garden.

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In addition to the pepper jelly I made during the summer, I managed to make and can homemade salsa, sauted peppers and onions and grill-roasted hot peppers.

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Thanks to my friend Dale, we had latext gloves to use with the hot peppers and so Gregory was able to help with the cutting and seeding.

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We also managed to freeze two gallon ziplock baggies full of snap beans which graced the table as green beans almondine at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also ate rutabegas from the garden both holidays. To date, we still have rutabegas, turnips, broccoli and spinach in the garden, which we are able to harvest at will. I love living in a gardening zone which allows for fresh veggies almost year round!

We've incorporated the snap beans into several meals and have plenty still in the freezer.

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Gabrielle and Gregory both processed the snap beans while I chopped and cooked hot peppers. They are a tremendous help!

In addition to gardening, we homeschool. Now that Michael is a toddler he wants to be just like his big brother and sister. Often he pesters them unmercifully while they do their school work. One day, Gregory decided if he let Michael do "school" of his own, then he and Gabrielle would be able to work.

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The idea worked wonderfully!

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Michael felt very grown up and important.

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He kept trying to eat the pencil and I'm not sure Gregory and Gabrielle were actually able to do much of their own work.

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Every once in awhile Kurt will play video games with the children. Micheal will not tolerate being left out.

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Michael mimics the behavior he sees amazingly well. You'd almost think he was really playing.

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He is actually a very bright little guy.

Personally I suspect Kurt is training his playmates early.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Homeschool Days

It has been quite awhile since I've posted anything. A couple of changes created my reluctance. First of all, we have switched to dial-up for our internet service and my own blog will now barely load on my computer. Additionally, Blogger switched their service around and will no longer allow me to upload my pictures as I once did. Both of these changes took place at the end of October. I thought it was about time I faced my disdain towards change and learned some new blogging techniques. Due to the dial-up slowness, I am going to break up the pictures I have from the last few months.

Last Fall, Camp Victory hosted a homeschool horse riding and care event. These were difficult Michael days so Kurt took a day off from work and drove the kids 2 hours east for the event.

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The children started the day learning to groom and saddle horses. Here Gregory and Gabrielle practice with saddles.

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I thought it quite creative when the children learned to saddle a modified saw horse.

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The also learned about brushing the horses.

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Gregory took the job quite seriously.

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Naturally the kids loved actually riding the horses.

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Gabrielle had never been horseback riding before, except for pony rides at parties and events.

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Gregory enjoyed his first real horseback riding as well.

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Gregory REALLY wants a horse of his own and so this was a glory day for him.

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After horseback riding, the children relaxed and enjoyed the rest of Camp Victory.

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Gabrielle loved looking for tiny clam shells on the river bank.

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And playing on the playground.

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Both children had fun on the miniature golf course.

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And Gregory learned to play tether ball.

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The kids had an unbelievable time and we are all looking forward to future events at Camp Victory!