Lately

Branch led the kids in searching out "treasure" in supplies from a friend.

Mean Ol' Mama's grandpuppies...

We had a glorious day at the beach last Saturday.

 

See the little bird watching us at the top of the cabana?

The Girl (in the jacket, of course) and Branch joined a volleyball game.  First course of action?  Chase off the dog.

Run, doggie...

Go away, dog!

Okay, we give up!

 

Anders and ChubChub spent quite a long time fishing together.

 

Treasures from the beach

Do you see Ruby asleep on top of the picnic table?  She refused to be left at home.

Oh, there she is!

Josiah and Poppins playing catch

 

 

We're busy with schoolwork and daily doings; Branch is now in Boy Scouts; soccer starts this coming Saturday; boys are busy with potatoes at the U-Pick; The Girl has plans for a baking business; College work is steady; the cows are doing well; we're planting small gardens here and there; one-foot-in-front-of-the-other...

Happenings

This crazy shot shows how interested the kids are in Monday's American Art class.  They really want to check out the paintings.

The Girl works on pre-drafting

Branch works on English grammar

The Girl does logic puzzles

Branch finishes his Greek

A spelling quiz getting ready for Monday's Spelling Bee

Isn't this bouquet of flowers gorgeous?  Stennes bought it for Mean Ol' Mama as a "thank you" for all she does.  Wowza !!

The boys went fishing for catfish.

 

Staying busy as beavers down here.  The older three boys have a huge competition in north Georgia this weekend, so we'll let you know how that goes.  Josiah had two presentations at a public school nearby.  Stennes is busy working and preparing for competition.  He also just won First Place at a large archery competition !  Anders is busy memorizing his loooong speech and preparing to compete.  Branch is helping out up at Pop's and everywhere else he is needed.  He's busy with schoolwork, too.  The Girl is busy being sweet and keeping her many wheels turning.  Chub is busy with schoolwork.  Mean Ol' Mama is busy just sitting around eating bon bons.  (And if you believe THAT.......)

Family Photos and Frolics

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we have a new computer system that had a few kinks.  We were able to take a few family photos, and you'll see how much the kiddos have changed (not to mention the parents !!!) 

The kids enjoyed a Native art class during our Monday co-op.

 Spanish reading is always much more fun out on the trampoline.

 And Greek books are much more interesting outside, too.

 It's been a bit cold here, so the puppy and the cat decided to call a temporary truce.

 Branch has been working diligently on his Native American diorama.

We've been super busy, and we'll be posting more photos soon of the many crazy things going on in our world.

Gotta Sit Down to Read This Post

Branch and the other fellows enjoyed a snack of raw oysters with hot sauce.

We had a good time at Swine Time, and the kids (and Poppins) participated in lots of fun activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've had four performances these past two weeks, with two more to go.  Painting a Celtic warrior below...

And giving a poor Englishman rotten teeth and smudged face...

A Rennaisance Christmas

Our So Smart Math Teacher Friend Beth (whew!!) stopped by late at night to show these rascals how to really understand lateral surface area, thanks to Mean Ol' Mama's cut-up oatmeal cylinder.

Isn't this lovely? Taken at the property the other evening...

Poppins has purchased four calves, and the kids are now surrogate mothers.

Branch also wanted this little piglet, who came with a  bonus purchase of six chickens. Long story...

We are busy busy busy.  Mo'M is officially finished at the college for this semester; lots of performances; daily trips to the property to care for animals; plans for the holiday season; many outside activities going on; billions upon billions of phone calls and last-minute decisions; hopes for baking goodies; yummy things being delivered to community personnel and friends; secrets and surprises; go go go, Mean Ol' Mama

Long Time Coming

We've been very, very busy this past month.  After five performances within seven days, we were glad to catch our breath. One of the performances was at a church for their old fashioned day.

 

 

The kids have been enjoying soccer. Can you spot ChubChub kicking the ball in the middle of the photo below?

Josiah was "ref" for many games, as well.  He certainly got his exercise.

 

Anders and his team won the championship!

 

Our Monday class went out to the property for a change of scenery. The kids put together "hobo" meals that were cooked over the fire, thanks to Anders.

 

After a scavenger hunt in which the clues were in Latin, Greek, or Spanish, the kids took a break for "Sudden Death". They had two minutes to prepare either a story or a 5-paragraph essay using a random topic and two very random objects hidden within their plastic bags.

Mo'M is finishing up her semester at the college; we're trying to figure out a different groove for household management; Stennes is registered to start college in January; Josiah and Anders are attending a weekly class in Tallahassee that requires quite an amount of schoolwork; ChubChub still refuses to read in English, so keep praying about that; we have many Christmas performances coming up soon, with costumes to put together and speeches to memorize; Thanksgiving will entail two family reunions; breathe, breathe, breathe...