PumpkinCano~

 

Some science fun with my preschool class...pumpkin volcano!

Everyone Loves Rainbows!!!

Autumn Camp Out and Bridging Ceremony

 So I seem to have fallen way behind in blogland, so I thought I would try and get caught up.  We had our official camp out and bridging ceremony on Sept 27th...and we had way too much fun!

 We set up tents first, then enjoyed our bridging ceremony!  We had a lot of girls bridging up as well as several new girls joining our troop, so all the girls were very excited.

 We enjoyed the river and rope swing, riding bikes, trampoline fun, and general sillyness!  And then of course it was time for dinner and a campfire...

 We enjoyed hot dogs, chips and cookies...and then it was time for s'mores.  The s'mores made quite a mess...

 just look at Oriana the s'more monster!

 Then as the evening got late and some girls went to bed...I say some, because most of them were still up...this gigantic racoon strolled into camp.  He had no fear of all the girls and their giggles, and wandered into camp to see what he could eat.  He happily ate some chips, so Bella named him chips.  For many of the girls it was their first time seeing a racoon up close (or in person), so he was a big hit with our campers.

 Here he is eating a giant marshmallow...he came back into camp 4 separate times throughout the evening, looking for food...what a little piggy!

 We enjoyed firing glow sticks out of the potato gun...which is a lot like fireworks in the dark...the girls scrambled around in the yard collecting all the glow sticks, and then Justin would shoot them off again.  Finally the last of the girls went to bed around 1:30...but us moms stayed up until almost 4am...what can i say...we were having a great time too!

 The girls woke up around 7, and were hungry from the get go...so 3 VERY TIRED moms started making breakfast...pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit.

 Oh...and did i mention hot cocoa...it was 45 degrees in the morning, so the hot cocoa was a welcome treat!

 Of course, there were some daredevils that decided to jump into the river regardless of the chilly morning, but as soon as they jumped in, they jumped right back out gasping for breath :)

It was a great night filled with lots of fun and laughter and we suffered only one casualty....a black eye via the light sabers...but Serenity was tough and played on!  We had big plans to work on our outdoor skills patch, but the girls were having so much fun getting to know each other and sharing adventures that we decided to save that for our next sleepover!  Thanks for all of your help Robin, Eva and Angie...without your help these moments wouldnt be possible! 

More Beautiful Autumn Colors...

A Lovely Fall Day With A Friend ~

Dinner Party ~

Mena, Gerry and LeAnn came over for a dinner party last night during the Harvest Super Moon.  We wanted to thank them for helping us with a huge project we did out in our yard a few weeks ago...so ribeyes and wine were the best we could think of!  :)  We ate and ate and ate....and had lots of wine too...but most of all we had lots of laughs! 

Thanks for all your help and thanks for all the fun guys...lets do this again real soon!

Raccoons Love Biscotti ~

 Guess who just tried to break into our place again tonight...he tried climbing through the cat door, and clearly got stuck...but since he was nice enough to pose for photos, we tossed him one of grandma Anita's biscottis...and he called it even! 

Nature in the classroom (and everywhere else)!

 Well, our first week of preschool is over and we had a great time!  The weather was gorgeous so we went on a nature hike gathering materials for our solar prints.  The kids had fun exploring the grounds and loved being scientists!

 Jordyns class went outside to enjoy the nice weather too!  They went on an "un-nature" hike and had to memorize things they saw that didnt belong in nature.  I had the pleasure of being the one that hid the items on the trail :)  The kids had fun and found almost all of the items...though there is still a purple rubber band missing, so be on the look out!  :)

 Our school theme this year is moose, so Sharon brought in a moose pelt from home.  The kids werent sure what to think of it, but they all enjoyed petting it!

 On our drive home yesterday, Jordyn and i spotted these moose...which turned out to be 4 of them lounging in the trees (i could only photograph 2 of them though).  And then about 1/4 of a mile from them was this beautiful buck.  Thanks for saying hi little guy, now hurry off before hunting season starts!

 The weather has been getting cooler quickly (which is one of the reasons we did things outside with our classroom this week), and signs of Fall are popping up all around us!

 Its my favorite time of year...and i hope it sticks around for a while!

Meanwhile, we've had another breakin at the house...this time a raccoon!  I heard a tin lid hit the floor while i was laying in bed last night around 5 am...so i headed into the kitchen, and sure enough...a huge raccoon was munching down on cat food!  Doh!  i had to shoe her out of the house with a quilt mat for cutting and ironing (what can i say, ive been sewing in the kitchen working on my mini quilt and it was the closest thing i could grab to use).  Once i chased her outside, i closed the window and walked away.  I could hear noises outside, and i went back in the bathroom to find her trying to pry open the window!  So i shut the second window, the little stinker!  I finally climbed back in bed, and heard the screen door rattling.  I went back into the kitchen to see her trying to go through the cat door in the screen (even though our big door was shut)!  I guess she really liked that cat food!  She finally gave up and left, though i think i better be on the look out tomorrow night!  And for my friends that are asking...no we are not running a soup kitchen for the wildlife over here :) 

My New Preschool Class ~

Looks like we're gonna have another fabulous bunch of kids :)