It is kind of fun going so long without posting because I am always surprised by the pictures on my camera. Total randomness from our days.
A friend of ours has a cortland apple tree in her yard. We helped her pick them all and then she showed me how to do water bath for the apples. We brought all of the supplies home and Joseph helped me to peel and core the apples and then I made about 12 jars of apple pie filling. I have a really easy crockpot recipe for apple streudel, so an easy, quick dessert. (See the clear water bottle in the background, that was the homemade lava 'lamp' Jacob made with oil, water and food coloring)
An action shot of my boy. Football season is winding down. Only 1 week left! Jacob's team has won every game (except tied one game) and Joseph's team has lost every game (no ties there).
I sometimes wonder how many times this kid brings a smile to a passing stranger's face. Him and all his get-ups.
We are still attending the Friday night missional community group. Every Friday night. We really enjoy it, there are lots of kids there and good food. One recent night was Asian night so I made crab rangoons. I was so surprised at how easy and quick it was!
JR set up his wall tent recently. Seems that once or twice a year he puts it up for a week or two and gets his fill. The younger two spent one night with him and Benjamin and I opted to leave and sleep in a warm bed...although with the stove, it stays pretty warm in there.
He had it very close to the river.
My selfie loving son (whose voice is changing and I love hearing the different pitches, especially when he laughs!)
Benjamin has decided to take a break from Tae Kwon Do. I don't think he will pick it back up, but we shall see. Once football ends, our days drop off. Of course 4H has started and Benjamin will be doing air rifle/pistol, hopefully. I am also looking into some cooking classes for him. He has told me that he is really interested in culinary school. He was talking today about how he also wants to be a pilot and so maybe he could learn to cook and then just fly himself around to all these restaurants in big cities and cook! How fun would that be. We have found some really cool online videos that are teaching all the basics like knife skills, spices, veggies, cooking different meats, sauces, desserts, etc. I have learned a lot too. It is sponsored by Cuisinart, so Benjamin has a whole list of kitchen gadgets he wants!
Jacob has gotten lots of kudos lately from school. Shortly before school started there was a 4th grade boy who was accidentally shot and killed. Jacob did not know him very well, but one of Jacob's really good friends was really good friends with the deceased child. About 3 weeks ago Jacob's friend started having separation anxiety and had huge melt downs at school. Jacob patiently and lovingly came alongside him and sat with him, included him in activities, etc. So warms my heart to see the character of my children coming out. When I first heard about it, I took him out for ice cream. I told him I would always be proud of him and cheer loud when he scores touchdowns, but that I am most proud of the guy he is. Both the teacher and this friends' mother (who happens to be the behavioralist that Jacob made a goal not to get sent to her office this school year) have just been awed by Jacob.
Joseph has stopped his private speech therapy and has been picked back up by the school therapist. He is still doing well. He is not necessarily regressing but it is that all the other kids are progressing, so the gap is becoming more evident with his speech. They will work with him 2 times a week. The teacher says that it has not shut him down in the class though and that none of the students have really picked up on the difference, but it is obvious when you listen with a trained ear. One thing that he is loving about school, is writing. He will come home and write books. We talk about him being a writer or illustrator one day. One day recently in school he kept writing and writing and writing and even had to flip the paper over. The teacher was amazed.
JR is gearing up for winter. He has 5 new potential clients. Still waiting to hear if they will accept his services, but it looks good. This growth has allowed him to let go of some other work that was not a great fit. Always nice when you can start turning down work for something that suits you better. He has been out hunting and seen some animals, but never had a good shot. One night he spent at the camp. Then early the next morning he drove to his huge association around 6:30am and the parking lot was full of elk...however, his bow was not with him! We have finally figured out some game jerky recipes, so I am excited to get some more meat in the freezer.
I continue to enjoy the home assembly. Naturally I am getting faster and faster, so I have started doing more and more. I am trying hard to commit all of the money to savings, knowing that all of our vehicles are getting older and very likely all the boys will need more orthodontics. A pipe dream of mine is also to get the townhouse paid off early and then possibly look into rental/investment property. No idea if that would ever pan out but more like a 10 year plan than 2-3 years! Given the day and age we live in, it would be nice to know we don't owe anyone any money! I have also been trying to stay up with Benjamin's reading at school. He is blowing through 400 page books and I thought it would be fun to read them after him so we could talk about them. I just finished the first book, Divergent. Very interesting and thought provoking book!
That is the latest and greatest with us! Ready for football fever to be over and to get two of our afternoon/evenings back.
