Weekly Recap: With the apples and the vehicles

Well, it finally happened. Our van blew a head gasket. The same thing we replaced three years ago. This time the cost of the repair is more than the van is worth, so we've decided to say goodbye to it. That was hard, a lot of memories are associated with it. But it's just an object, and we still have all the memories.

We've been thinking about what vehicle would replace it for over two years now. We've gone to test drive the kind we want but none of the vehicles ever seemed right for us. Well, we finally felt comfortable with one. Nervous about a car payment again, but calm too. So we showed up late for Halloween this year, but in a fancy ride. So fancy that I have to refer to the owners manual nearly every day. Ha ha ha!

Wolf in sheep's clothing, Statue of Liberty, firefighter, leprechaun

Our washer started leaking too, but it was still under warranty. The repairman said that in the 18 years he's been repairing washers he's never seen this part break. Comforting!

Sunday Snacks - Dutch Apple Beignets.
My kids would like you to know this is one of those "the best of life" pictures because it doesn't show the powdered sugar and green paint on the counter or the giant squash waiting to be baked.

I finished working on the curricula project I've been working on, condensing literature lessons for Family School! These lessons are so good, and I can't wait for them to go through the final steps before they go live.

My kids have been playing the guitar and learning from some online lessons (review goes live next week!) and they were so excited to find 14 guitar picks in our new vehicle! What a random thing to leave behind, but pretty neat too.

J went on an overnight campout and had a good time but also got cold, despite taking two extra blankets for his sleeping bag.

Neighbors gave us their extra apples. A lot of apples. So we freeze dried them! These make the best snacks, and we made some little pouches for our 72 hour kits.

We were given a couch and wanted to put it in the school room to replace a broken one. Well because of the way the previous house owners finished the basement, it won't fit down the hall. It's one inch too long! We want to fix the hall and refinish it the correct way, but since we have a new vehicle that doesn't seem likely. So we rearranged the living room and school room and now we have two couches in the living room and a recliner in the school room.

School Updates:

M had the opportunity to visit with a graphic designer and learn a little bit about what she does for work. She also got to try using Adobe Illustrator.
N finished All About Reading Level 4! She's done with reading lessons! She also finished All About Spelling Level 2 the same week.

Literature: The younger girls started studying Little House in the Big Woods.
Geography: We started learning about the hydrosphere in Africa.
Art: We looked at and described some of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings.
History: We looked at Roosevelt's New Deal and the Church Welfare Program. We also learned about Germany after WWI.
Science: We finished up Kingdoms & Classification from The Good and the Beautiful. I like the curriculum, but it feels simple. I'm used to the in depth lessons that include a gospel principle from Family School.