March 27 - April 2: Easter and General Conference Prep

 Saturday we had a family cookout with some extended family. Lots of talking, family time, and laughs. Later that evening we began General Conference and Easter prep. Both events happen next weekend, and we spend the week leading up to them studying and preparing as a family. 

Sunday was another round of church on Zoom. For Conference prep today we focused on prayer and scripture study. For Easter prep we had an overview of the last week of Christ's life, Holy Week. We wanted a fun refresher for the kids. After some reading, we played a game where kids tried to answer questions about Holy Week. Then they chose a paper that instructed them some silly way to toss a beanbag at targets taped around the room. For example, one paper said, "Spin five times and then aim for target #2."

Monday's General Conference prep focus was on making a clean and happy home. Basically, we did some deep cleaning projects and worked on speaking kindly. Easter prep had us talking about Moses 1:39. We talked about work and glory in different professions (basketball player, baker, doctor), and then compared it to what God says is His work and glory. We reviewed the difference between immortality and eternal life, and why Easter relates to it all. 

Tuesday I had more x-rays on my foot. It's now two months after breaking my foot and the bone has healed some, but has a long way yet to go. My surgeon says I can try wearing walking shoes instead of the medical boot. More x-rays in three weeks. 

Wednesday Easter and Conference prep continue with focuses on asking questions and seeking answers, and the Last Supper and Gethsemane. Walking is very unbalanced and feels so strange, but is doable. 

Thursday our spring break weather vanished and we had snow flurries on and off all afternoon. Our Easter prep was scripture squares. Kids paired up and were given a few squares. Each had a single question and a scripture reference to find the answer. Then they came to find the matching picture for that question and share their answer with everyone. 

Good Friday started quietly. Mid-morning we had Resurrection Egg hunt. Inside the twelve numbered plastic eggs were items and papers that walked us through everything we had studied this week. Tomorrow General Conference begins! We are all excited to listen to living prophets and apostles speak.

March 9 - March 26: Making it to Spring Break

Last week was a quiet stroll through the usual routines. We had seminary early each morning, then homeschool after breakfast. We read, write, studied, and explored. Kids dove into new books, new art projects, or other projects. I really didn't keep any notes.

I had x-rays on my still broken foot on Wednesday. The healing is going slower than my surgeon would like, which means it may not finish healing on its own. We'll check back in 3 weeks (at the 8 week post break mark) and have to make some decisions on potentially moving to surgery. I have been cleared to do a small amount of walking. Very small - a few steps here and there, walking from one room to another to sit, etc. 95% of my time is still spent in this wheelchair. 

Saturday Joseph had an interesting experience. He was able to participate in the Teen Author Boot Camp that Makayla attended in Utah the summer after graduation, right from our own home. This year, due to COVID restrictions, the conference was entirely online. He sat through a host of classes and keynote speakers and took copious notes. 

Sunday was a peaceful day at home. We had church together and then made peanut butter pie for Pi Day. In the evening Daddy took the kids outside and corralled all 7 boys for haircuts. That is usually my job, but I'm not up to that much standing right now, so he took over. 

Monday kicked off with early morning seminary. Math lessons were the first of the homeschool classes today. Kids are reading lots of different books, and many a chapter was read lounging on the couch or around the house.

Tuesday morning dawned grey and dreary. We had a slow and steady start to the homeschool morning. Everyone got their work done, as usual. Three kids finished books today - Joseph and Emma finished reading Other Words for Home, and Daniel finished a reread of Wings of Fire book 5. It was a great reminder to update all the kids' reading lists in their portfolios. We don't keep track of every book they read, but we list at least one or two per month.

Dinner was Chicken Taco Tuesday. I have to put a plug in for an Instant Pot here. I pulled out 3lbs of frozen chicken breast and tossed them into the IP with 1 cup of water. Set it for 18 minutes on manual and they came out tender and easy to shred. Right after dinner Emma made a chocolate chip cookie cake. 

Wednesday felt like the longest day ever. Everyone had a case of the grumps. We got school done, and then it was just an entire afternoon and evening of refereeing squabbles. By bedtime I was worn out.

Thursday and Friday were better. We were able to be outside more, which always helps everyone's mood. Friday was also our last day of school before our two week spring break. Everyone loves the last day before break and is extra motivated to get their school work done early. 

Saturday was the first day of Spring. We did some projects in the yard and started putting away a few pair of pants and pulling out a few pair of shorts for each child. Ohio is in that lovely season where everything is covered in frost in the morning and the temperatures reach 70F by afternoon, so we need a little bit of everything out. 

Sunday I kept no notes, but the basic routine was followed: wake up, church online, family time, and cooking together. 

Tuesday The kids got creative making a human table.

Wednesday kids started branching out in their activities, depending on their personal interests. Joseph spent a lot of time practicing piano and writing, with a break to bake a couple of cookie cakes. Emma drew and drew and drew. Daniel, Oliver, and Caleb were especially into building with Legos. Mason, Samuel, Tobias, and Rebekah got out the Hot Wheels cars and played with those all over the downstairs. 

Thursday was the first day of Daddy's spring break vacation. We stayed around the house together. Kids traded out the games on the school shelf with games from the attic and played them. A giant colorful world for the Hot Wheels cars was crafted by Daniel with colored masking tape on the floor - complete with secret portals. Piano was practiced. Scriptures were studied. Pokemon card battles were played. The teens watched the original Jurassic Park movie - younger kids wandered in and out. Everyone played outside until it rained. Books were read.

Friday dawned cloudy, windy, and with a new (small) hole in the roof due to losing a slate overnight in the wind. I called insurance to start a claim. Fun times, right? My husband took the 7 oldest of the kids at home to the city for a visit to the Lego store. I stayed home peacefully with just two little kids, Tobias age 5 and Rebekah age 3. It was so strange just to have little kids!

Our afternoon and evening were full of Lego building and play. From small sets like a mystery minifigure, to large sets like the Medieval Blacksmith Shop, there were Legos everywhere. 

February 20th to March 8th

Saturday I made a list of projects to do. Of course, most of it I needed help from other people to do, which didn't thrill my family members very much. In the end, we skipped most of my project list. This is one of the hardest things about having a broken foot! When I'm motivated to do a project, I need help from others to do it, so the project has to wait. I did get done things I could do on my own, like preparing a seminary lesson for next week, meal planning, and school prep.

Sunday morning we got off to a slow start, participated in church via Zoom, and spent a slow afternoon together. I stood on one foot and baked scones for dinner because it really sounded yummy - and it was. I just had a chair right next to me and sat down in between steps, while other people did the walking around gathering and putting away items for me. In the evening we caught up with Makayla in a video chat, then I played Villainous: Positively Wretched with Daniel and Caleb. 

Monday morning started dark and early with seminary. Last week someone else taught for me, while I was sick, which was so helpful. We talked about the worth of a soul today. After breakfast our morning was all things homeschool. I taught a slew of new math lessons or reviewed past math concepts (including by video chat with my nephew). Kids read all sorts of books. The high schoolers did the next video in Chemistry 101. My middle and elementary school science group studied the periodic table in our chemistry lesson. 

After school, I played the board game Castle Panic with Caleb, Mason, and Samuel. Tobias, Samuel, Rebekah, and Daddy played Dinosaur Escape. Then it was lunch time, medical care, and afternoon quiet time. 

In the late afternoon we got things prepared around the house for Daddy to go back to work. That basically involved some food preparations to make breakfasts and lunches easier this week, making sure all clean laundry was sorted and put away, and toys chosen for the week for downstairs. 

Tuesday we were on our own while daddy worked. Seminary and homeschool happened. Lunch was snack plates - we fill up divided containers with meats, cheeses, crackers, veggies, and fruits, put them down the center of the table, and enjoy. Today's lunch had ham, turkey, pepperoni, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, crackers, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, egg-free ranch dressing, grapes, strawberries, and kiwi fruit. Yum!

In the afternoon I had x-rays and a check up with my surgeon. My foot is starting to heal! I have to stay off it completely for another 2 weeks, then we'll do more x-rays. If healing has continued well, I will get to start standing and walking for short periods of time each day, but still a lot of staying off the foot for weeks after that. 

Wednesday we started seeing less snow on the ground and more grass. It's wonderful. And muddy. The day was a bit of a struggle, with some disappointments for a couple kids, but we made it through to bed time. Sometimes, that is all you can do, right? 

Thursday went a bit better. The kids worked diligently on their school work. We enjoyed leftover cinnamon rolls and fresh strawberries for lunch. The sun was shining on the remaining snow and mud. We saw so many birds at our bird feeder today! The kids also have been burning off energy with a new game their grandma in Utah sent to them. It is called Goodminton, and she sent us two sets. Basically, it has paddles similar to ping pong paddles, and birdies that have weighted rubber ends and feathers in two lengths. The long feathered birdies fly slower, making it easier for younger kids to learn, but working just as well for older kids. The short feathered birdies fly fast. The kids are hilarious, trying to play together in the house, sometimes in pairs, other times as singles, or with two single games going on side by side in the living room/piano room area. I also have kids working to see how many times they can hit a birdie solo without letting it fall to the ground. They also have tried doing this as a team, instead of trying to get the other person to miss the birdie, they work together to keep the birdie flying back and forth as long as possible. Here is a link to Goodminton on Amazon (aff), right now a set of paddles and birdies is on sale for $9.99. Worth every penny! My kids are working on eye hand coordination, cooperative play, and getting out some energy.

Here there is a gap in my notes. From what I remember of the next week (Feb. 27-Mar.7) I can record the following:

• The snow finally all melted. Hooray!
• We homeschooled every day as usual. 
• Everyone's COVID symptoms, including my pesky breathing and heart rate issues, finally disappeared. 
• Yeah, that's about it. I know we did more than this, but can't remember anything.

I have had a cough for several days now. It's not fun. The more I talk, the more I cough. And the more I cough, the more I visit the bathroom because that bladder has some issues after 14 pregnancies (10 of which were full term). If you know, you know. 

It is now Monday March 8th. The kids spent the afternoon outside with daddy enjoying the sunshine. I caught up with the college daughter on video chat. Dinner was beef stew in the crock pot (easy!). I am counting down to my next x-ray on Wednesday, hoping the surgeon gives me the green light to start using this foot some. 

February 12-19th Notes: In Which We Get Sick

Our simple Valentine's Table

Friday: We had a pretty normal school day. Kids finished math for the week, language arts, and so on. Everyone chose a topic to notebook about and made a page for their history notebooks. Emma was not feeling well, and a few other kids were starting to get some congestion. My husband has had some congestion this week, no other symptoms, so we figured it was just a cold. Then my husband called right before dinner because he's lost his sense of taste and smell. Yep. He tested positive for COVID. We're now all in quarantine while we watch this run its course. Several kids are a day or two behind daddy in symptoms, with the congestion and early stages already started. Apparently February is the month of crazy medical things for us. 

Saturday: Quarantine life is pretty quiet. We played games. Watched a movie. Rested. Played more games. You get the idea. I'm sure this week's blog will be fascination variations on this theme.

Sunday: Church today was wonderful via Zoom. We were able to hear from a young man who is leaving home to serve a mission for two years, sharing the gospel with others. After church we kept to our quiet routine. I had, thankfully, picked up a few things for Valentine's Day just before breaking my foot, so we decorated the table and spent time laughing and talking. 

Monday: Snow and cold outside left us inside staying warm. Well, actually, the weather looked more like this: snow, nothing, rain, hail, rain, snow, snow, snow. We took the day off school for President's Day - or just because we can. Several older kids and I played our first ever games of Pandemic. It was really fun, but definitely a game for older kids. The irony is not lost on me as we are dealing with the current pandemic. We have 6 sick right now, most of us mild symptoms. 

Other random things that kept people entertained today:

•  Battleship
• Coding our robot Cosmo
• Laser tag battles
• Piano practice and someone composing new music
• Cooking and chores, of course.
• Reading lots of books
• Lego building
• Scripture study
• Video chatting with our college daughter
• Writing a book review (me)

Tuesday: Jason and Emma, who were the first with symptoms, and the worst, finally started feeling a little tiny bit better today. A few of us are still getting worse, but this gives me hope that this illness won't last for weeks on end! Our day was basically a repeat of Monday, lots of games, lots of rest, lots of reading. We are taking this entire week off of school, but that doesn't keep the kids from learning. They all have their own favorite things to do and learn about in their free time. 

Wednesday: We realized some of our pipes were frozen. It only happens in especially frigid weather, and such it is today. The pipes? The ones to our washer. We set up a heater to reach the area in the basement and a few hours later things were thawed out. Thankfully, we do laundry daily to keep up on things, because with this many people we have a load a day ready to wash pretty easily. 

Thursday: Some people are well on their way to recovery, others are not. It's the usual large family with illness, it drags out a bit between the entire family. Those of us who have lost their sense of taste/smell are not terribly interested in eating. As part of our Come Follow Me/family scripture study this week, today we watched A Day for the Eternities. This is a video you can watch at the Whitmer Farm church history site in New York.  

Friday: We are still in our quiet quarantine. People are starting to get along less. It feels like we are juggling kids in the house trying to get everyone a little space from everyone else. It would be nice if the weather was warmer and we could at least spend some time in the back yard. Daddy teamed up with Mason and they set up an obstacle course for Botley. Botley is a robot you can program (totally screen free, which is awesome!) to tackle different tasks. They worked through the obstacle course step by step, coding Botley. (Mason got Botley 2.0 for his birthday last month.) 

We got a few magazines in the mail today, which was a fun distraction for the kids. Our March issues of The Friend, For the Strength of Youth, and The Liahona came. These call all be read free online or on the Gospel Library app, but we also love getting print copies in the mail. 

Well, I'm going to go rest some more until dinner time. Have a lovely weekend friends!

Feb. 1-Feb. 11: Mama Out of Commission

 February has been eventful in a not so fun way. On February 2nd I broke my right foot. There is never a good time for a mom to be out of commission, is there? The break is pretty bad, the fifth metatarsal broke in a 'jones fracture'. This kind of break doesn't heal well, due to poor blood flow in the area. My doctor said I have to be completely non-weight bearing for at least 5 weeks, and possible up to 3 months. Even then, it may not heal. If it doesn't, I will need surgery to put a screw in. The placement of my break would put the screw in a place that would cause pain to walk for the rest of my life. Yuck! So I'm being super good at following the doctor's orders about staying off my foot, and we will check it by x-ray every 2 weeks. 

As you can imagine, this makes daily life complicated. Friends let us borrow a wheelchair they have, so I'm able to get around the main floor of our home somewhat. The kids have all had to pitch in and help with nearly everything. They are doing really well, and so grateful that chore have always been a regular part of their day. They are running the house pretty well. Our church families have been bringing us dinner each evening, which is a blessing! My husband is gone from 3:30am-6pm most work days, then heads to bed at 8pm so he can get up again for work. 

The hardest part is the afternoon medical care for Mason, which I still have to do because none of the kids can do it, and bedtime, when I'm crawling around upstairs between bedrooms getting the little two kids to sleep. They won't go to sleep for a sibling. Oh well, it's great to be wanted, right? We're doing it, and we're finding a routine that is working. 

The one constant has been homeschooling, and I'm so grateful for that part of our day feeling normal. I can sit at the table in the wheelchair and teach just fine. I think a few of the kids were a little bummed to realize that - ha! However, the routine is good for everyone.

Yesterday the kids decided we needed to do our art project early this week. We pulled out the salad spinner and did spin art with paint dripped onto construction paper hearts. Our table is now covered in pretty hearts. We are still doing Beginning Chemistry. This week we've been studying the clues to a chemical reaction, which was a perfect time to make elephant toothpaste. In history today we reached the Battle of the Alamo. The kids had never studied this before, so it was fascinating and sad to learn about. Next we'll move into stagecoaches and the Pony Express. 

I think that's enough of an update for now!

November 2020-January 2021: Catching Up On Life

It has been months since I blogged. I found this post sitting in my draft folder and decided to add a few more notes and post it. Enjoy!

Sunday, November 22 was home church and family time. Rest and preparing for a trip to pick up the college girl.

Monday and Tuesday we did a couple of art projects. There were nutcracker drawings, gingerbread houses drawn with glue/white paint, and paper mittens cut out and painted. We used burlap to do some yarn weaving (aka. embroidery). 

Wednesday - At 5:00am Emma and I climbed into the car and started driving to Virginia. We had a whirlwind day to go pick up Makayla at college and bring her home for the holidays. She will do online classes/exams for the last two weeks of this semester, and will not head back to Virginia until mid-January when next semester begins. It took us 14 hours to get to Makayla and back home, a long day of driving. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Our morning and afternoon were pretty laid back, just enjoying time as a family. In the evening my sister's family and my mom and her husband came over for dinner. We had a great, noisy time talking, eating, and laughing together. 

Friday Jason was back at work. The kids and I played more games today - Gubs, Farkle, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, and Harry Potter Headbanz. We ate leftovers, so there wasn't even a lot of cooking to do today. 

Saturday morning was just relaxed family time. In the early afternoon Grandma came over and we all headed to the zoo. We had a plan - see lots of animals and stay long enough to see the holiday lights show. It was a great trip. Favorite animals seen today according to the kids were the elephants, seals, red pandas, a silver variant of the red fox, and the rescued baby manatee. 

Sunday November 29th it felt like I was in the kitchen more than usual, though I really wasn't. Lunch was beef fajitas. Yum! Dinner was potato soup made in the instant pot. We also put up our Christmas tree today. 

Monday it rained and snowed all day. It didn't change over to only snow until evening. Today was our last day of Thanksgiving break. We played a lot, cleaned a fair amount, and finally moved the last of the kids' shorts out of their drawers and into the attic. Dinner tonight was pancakes, because we finished off the batch of pancakes in the freezer last week. We make up a giant batch, eat what we want, and then freeze the rest for easy breakfasts. 

We finally finished listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! We started the first Harry Potter book in March at the beginning of quarantine. We have now ready the first four books as a family. We won't read the rest of the books aloud, as they get a bit dark for our younger kids. Now we need to choose our next read aloud.

Tuesday morning we woke to a couple inches of snow. It was beautiful but cold. We did a morning of school work. The kids doing geology decided to add in an art project after learning about agates. Out came the watercolors and salt, and beautiful agates were painted. 

In the afternoon we voted on our next read aloud. We had 5 options:

• The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
• Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

We had each person rank the books in order from 1 (want to read next) to 5 (not interested in reading). Then we did some math with the votes and found out which book won. Actually - we had a tie for first place, with The Hobbit and The Reluctant Dragon each receiving 19 points. That meant looking at how many #1 votes each received, and The Reluctant Dragon slid into first place. As that book is only 53 minutes long, we will then quickly move into listening to The Hobbit after that. 

Wednesday was school work. Kids wrote, drew, read, computed, and explored topics they love and topics they are less enthusiastic about. In the evening we had a surprise delivery of snowman soup packets (hot cocoa with marshmallows and candy canes). 

Thursday we trudged through school as quickly as we could, before I took Emma to the orthodontist. She is getting ever closer to finishing her time in braces. In the late afternoon our new freezer arrived, replacing one that was 20 years old and falling apart. Lots of minor rearranging commenced, in an attempt to find a good place to put things. 

Missing weeks! Lots of them. I know we did school, had holidays, and so on

A few December notes:

Our month has had simple home-centered moments of fun. I'll just list a few:

• Roasting hot dogs and smores over a fire.
• A lot of board games and card games.
• The last birthday of the year - Emma turned 15. My kids officially will begin 2021 at the following ages: 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 19. Of course, not even two weeks into January we start the birthday rounds again. Ha!
• Baking days: muffins, banana bread, cookies, scones, cakes, peanut butter pie, cinnamon rolls, bread, rolls, and more. 
• Decorating the tree. And redecorating it daily as the younger kids remove all the ornaments they can reach, and put them back on. 
• Christmas was wonderful. Some family members send gifts for the kids from other states, so we were able to spread out gift opening a bit, which the kids find much less overwhelming. 

JANUARY NOTES

In January we sorted our games. We love playing games.
We now have more than 130 games, all of which we 
play at different times.

 Mason turned 9 years old. He had a fun birthday and got some neat gifts that give him lots to do, like this magnet lab and a book in a series he likes.

We soaked up every moment of family time we could with Makayla. She bought a car. That led to a crazy trip to take her back to college with 2 vehicles (hers, plus ours so we could get home) with Daddy, Daniel, Makayla, and me. Each car had 2 people in it, one driver and one person to keep the driver awake on the drive. At every stop we rotated drivers or vehicles or both. It was a safe and uneventful trip to Virginia and back in one day. 

We started back up to school after our two week Christmas break. We've moved into a new unit in history (westward expansion) and are reading Redwood Pioneer aloud. The non-high school kids are doing Beginning Chemistry from The Good and the Beautiful, having finished up the Geology unit in December.

We also decided that for the winter we need Art Project Fridays. Basically, we will work on mom-led art projects on Fridays. There is a lot of art going on outside of that, but the kids like the Deep Space Sparkle art projects I have filed away.

This month we focused on learning about graffiti, studied different well known graffiti artists and their work, discussed legality of art on public property without invitation, and learned about typography.

This project took three Fridays to complete. On the first class we sponge painted the spray painted the background papers. Then the kids chose their word to draw in pencil.

On the next Friday they used paint pens to graffiti the backgrounds. 

The final Friday they used oil pastels to color their tag (big feature word), cut it out, and glued it to the graffiti background.  

Emma got her braces off. Three kids have now made it through the braces process, with more yet to go.

The other thing that has been happening a lot is Lego creating. I snapped this picture of a UFO beaming up a cow that Daniel made this month. 

I'll share some February updates soon. 

Catching Up: Four Weeks from October to November

Blocks never fail to entertain.

Monday, October 26th was the day Mason finally got his cast off. Nearly six weeks in a cast was a lot of work, and a lot of working around things. It also posed risks for Mason. While I would like to say the cast came off and he had no unfortunate effects, I can't. As I type this, it is Monday evening, and we are still waiting to see what all will happen. 

So far, his leg has swollen a lot, which was not unexpected. The tricky part of that is we won't know for a few days if that swelling is a normal body response or if it is in response to the leg bones being broken during cast removal. (Remember, Mason has osteoporosis, so that is a very real possibility.) 

He also has one area we are watching to see if it will be a pressure wound. There are a lot of layers of dead skin to slough off in the next few days, helped along by baths. We can't scrub his skin, because it is not sturdy enough to do that. Once the dead skin comes off, we will be able to see if the area underneath is okay or not. An open wound that could heal in a few days or weeks for a neurotypical person, can take months for Mason, because his paralysis means his nerves don't function right. He can't feel anything from pretty much the hips down. That means his body doesn't get all the messages it needs to know when it has healing/repair work to do. 

Tuesday was a normal homeschool day for us. Kids rotated through their subjects - math, language arts, science, and so on. There were a few bad attitudes to navigate, which is never my favorite, but we made it through the work of the day and into the afternoon hours where kids are free to explore their interests. Mason's swelling is present, but less, and the skin is not looking worse today, which is a hopeful sign. 

Favorite Games Currently: Bop It, Villainous: Disney, Castle Panic, Jumanjii

Wednesday's school morning felt peaceful. Each child cheerfully worked through their subjects. I always appreciate days like that. 

Thursday I could officially say it looks like Mason avoided any major pressure sores from his cast. While his skin is definitely worse for the wear, it is doing much better than it could be. It rained all day, but the kids are counting down to a few fun activities in the next bit, so they kept busy today cheerfully. (Coming activities include making buckeyes with Grandma, a fire pit dinner with smores, and a trip to the zoo). After dinner several kids painted peg dolls. 

Friday was the buckeye making with Grandma. It ended up being a bit of a comedy of errors, but chocolate and peanut butter taste good together regardless. We finished up the school week with a solid run of lessons. 

We can pet and feed stingrays at our zoo.

Saturday I did the usual errands, with unusual results. Our van, the only vehicle that fits our family, died while in line at the bank. We decided after a bit that it was most likely the alternator, and dropped it off in the lot at our favorite mechanic's shop, which was already closed. We knew they would call us Monday after they had a chance to look at it. That meant our planned Monday trip to the zoo had to be postponed to a later date.

We spent the evening outside roasting dinner and smores over a fire in the backyard. It was chilly and just the perfect weather for it!

Sunday, November 1st was family time, home church, and preparing for the school week. Restful.

Monday started with our typical homeschool work. Then we got the expected call from the mechanic - with unexpected drama. Sometime between late Saturday when we dropped off the van and early Monday, people snuck onto the mechanic's lot and cut parts off our van to the tune of several thousand dollars in parts. The police were called, and then it was lots of phone time with insurance companies to figure out what to do next. We are still working through that process, but in the end, our van will end up getting the repairs we put it in for, plus a lot of extra work. We are without our van for the week.

Lots of stingrays.

Tuesday and Wednesday were hard days in our not so little homeschool. Lots of grumpy kids, lots of complaining over school work, and lots of frustration. We got through it, and woke up Thursday to what felt like a whole new homeschool. Everyone was cheerful, worked willingly, and had fun together. Friday Tobias turned 5 years old, we had a normal school day, and we got word our van was ready to pick up the next day.

Saturday we picked up the van, picked up groceries, picked up library books, picked up monthly medications, baked a cake, baked monkey bread, made no-bake cookies, and then had our November family birthday party. This time the party was at my sister's house and we had 4 birthdays to celebrate: Tobias, Caleb, my niece Alyssa, and my sister, who all have November birthdays. 

Sunday, November 8th we rested, did home church, and had an online seminary activity with over 200 youth in the central Ohio area over Zoom. We also decided Monday would be the perfect day to make a trip to the zoo.

Mason's favorite animal - the red pandas.

It was a perfect zoo trip day. Warm weather and perfectly clear, sunny skies. We visited several areas of the zoo, fed and pet the stingrays, and saw a lot of animals. The zoo is doing a great job limiting the number of people coming in at a time, so we were able to stay distanced and mask free outside easily. Whenever we popped into a building we put on masks, per their requirements. 

One of the zoo highlights was that as we entered the new Zoo village a couple of keepers came out and asked if we wanted to see the three capybara brothers. They were moving them from their indoor to their outdoor habitat, and that involved walking them right through the public areas. They were the cutest big rodents!

Capybaras

The rest of this week has mysteriously disappeared, I forgot to take notes. 

Sunday, November 15th we had a quiet day with church at home. We played games, read books, and just had a rest day. 

Monday we dove into our last school week before Thanksgiving break. We had the usual lessons, a doctor's appointment, and a Zoom meeting with the college financial aid department for Makayla. 

Tuesday's highlight was baking muffins. We also reached the really exciting parts of our family read aloud, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We've been working through this book for weeks, just listening over lunch or dinner. The kids are fully invested. The older couple have read the book before, so they are excited to watch the middle kids discover it all. The younger kids don't really pay attention, they are too busy eating. That's okay. 

Wednesday was spent on the phone setting up future medical appointments. We have things scheduled into July of 2021 for various people at this point. I finally ordered a wall calendar for 2021 and put all those appointments in. A couple of the boys took the current games up to the attic and traded them in for different games. We've been playing a lot of games this week, including Clue, The Oregon Trail, Telestrations, Sequence, and Hi Ho Cherry O. 

This board game is more than 25 years old,
made by my grandfather. Now my kids get to play it too.

Thursday the kids started getting excited for Thanksgiving break. They decided they wanted to do a couple art projects that week, so we looked through our many files from the Deep Space Sparkle membership we had a few years ago. Between the 9 kids we'll be doing five different project (two per child):

• The Nutcracker - Drawing and coloring a nutcracker soldier.
• Gingerbread House - Draw a house, use glue mixed with white paint to draw the icing, then after it dries, color in the details with chalk pastels.
• Paper Mittens - Cut out large mittens, paint designs on them.
• Navajo Weavings - Sewing yarn through burlap, then using foam to cut shapes and dip in paint for printmaking on the burlap.
• Weaving with Yarn - Making cardboard looms and weaving yarn mats. 

Friday we started with a typical school morning. Right before history Grandma arrived for a surprise visit. We hung out for a bit, then she decided to join us for our history lesson. This lesson was the halfway mark in our history curriculum. 

Saturday Daddy started out with a work meeting. The kids played games. I ordered a new freezer, which will arrive in a couple of weeks. We spent the evening playing Telestrations as a family.