Hi cow ... hi cow ...

That's what we heard yesterday over and over again. We attended a homeschool field trip to a dairy where they had lots of, you know, cows. So Zane thought he needed to try to greet nearly each one personally. And they had 600 cows.

This is a family-run dairy and it was so interesting to see the process, although I had secretly hoped we'd get to try our hand at milking. But alas, everything is done by machine now.

They have calves born daily. These are some of them, just a couple weeks old. If you held a hand out to them, they would suckle your fingers.

Can you tell Zane enjoyed his chocolate milk sample??

I admit it wasn't easy trooping through the dairy, with this huge belly. But it was very nice to be outside (if you didn't breathe through your nose!!) and have a new experience. I still want to find a place to try milking by hand, though!

field trips

We went on a couple field trips recently. And what a contrast in weather. We visited the Lookout Mountain Nature Center in early September and it was very chilly, and misted on us the whole time. It felt great to me! =)

We learned about Ponderosa Pines. This one is 300 years old!

The kids learned these pines smell like vanilla. It was funny to watch them running around, smelling trees.

I love this picture of Zane and his buddy, Jayden. You can't even tell which one is which.

Move forward 2 weeks and we visited the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Refuge and it was upper 80s and we all roasted in the sun. You never know here in Colorado!

The kids set up in front of what was called a prairie dog town. They recorded their observations -- anytime they saw a prairie dog act as a lookout, or run or eat, etc.

Here's a couple of the little fellas:

Baby update

Or maybe I should call it a non-update. I had my 37week appointment today and nothing has changed. Baby is still up pretty high and my cervix is doing. absolutely. nothing. It's not a surprise, since my track record is not one of early babies.

Conner - 1 week late
Chase - born 3 hours before due date
Brenna - born on her due date
Aiden - 5 days late
Zane - 6 days late

So even though technically the doctor says I have 3 weeks to go, in my head I think 4 or 5 is more realistic.

showered with love

My sweet friend Trish threw me a baby shower this past weekend. Food, games and friends -- it was a great time with some of my favorite people.

And baby got spoiled -- these are just a few of the cute outfits he received. He's going to be well-dressed. =)

This was Brenna and Anna's first time at a baby shower. They were excited.

Three pregos and one hopeful:

2 down, 14,232 to go

I got to go scrapbooking last night with a couple dear friends.

We had a great time and admidst all the talking and eating, I got 2 layouts done. Only two, but hey -- it's better than nothing right?

school update

Well, 2 weeks into our school year and so far, so good. They boys started FACE last Friday, and it's going well. Conner does have a lot of algebra to do each day. He and I are trying to work up a good schedule for him, so he manages to get done all that he needs to. Chase has a much lighter load but his Bible Geography class does require a bit of time.

Brenna and Aiden have attended one day at Options so far, and they both like it. I was a little worried about Aiden being there all day long, but he did great. Brenna especially enjoys her sign language class, she has learned a huge number of signs already.

As for here at home, we're slowly adding things in each day. I'm trying to be a good manager of my time too: not just schooling the kids, but planning meals, cleaning house, etc.

The funny thing is just as this schedule starts to gel, our new baby will arrive! And then we'll need to adjust it again.

first day of school

Woo! A very chilly start today. It was less than 50 degrees when I got up this morning. I actually loved it. Being 34 weeks pregnant any cool air is good air. =)

After sleeping in all summer, it was time to begin arising early again. I struggled a bit -- this was good sleeping weather after all! But I did manage to crawl out of bed in time to spend a few minutes with my hunny before he left for work. Then I got in some time with the Lord. I surely need it as we begin a busy season.

I also had time before the kiddoes awoke to look over my schedule for the day and the week and check emails. Not as much time as I'd have liked since Zane woke up pretty early this morning. He has a runny nose and cough, and just needed the snuggles.

It's been our tradition on the first day to go out to breakfast. Today we went to Krispy Kreme, yum!

Then we went to the park for a few pictures. It was a little cool but the park was nice and empty.

Conner -- 9th grade

Chase--6th grade

Brenna--4th grade

Aiden--Kindergarten

I'm lucky I got Zane to hold still for a couple shots before he spotted the ducks.


After they posed, I let the kids play for a few minutes before we headed home.

I pulled out our new books for the year and we got started. We only did a shortened version for today, and we'll add more as the week goes on.

All in all, a good start to the school year!