My rapidly fraying rope

Last month (before school started) we wanted to get one last hurrah day trip in for the kids. So, Michelle and I packed up all the munchkins in one car (that's 7 of them), grabbed a picnic lunch at Wal Mart and hit the road to Yuba Lake. After a half hour of driving and a lot of fighting in the back seat, we arrived at the lake to find the water level so high, that it had covered the beach area and it was so windy that the kids had sand in their eyes immediately. So, we packed back up and drove north again to try to find another water source for the kids to play in. There is a reservoir in Mona, that we could see from the freeway, but try as we might, we could not get to it because it was surrounded by farmland. By this point we were pretty desperate, hungry, annoyed at kids, and out of gas. We stopped at The Young Living Farm for a potty break and got some advice to go down the road to Burriston Ponds. So, that's what we did. Took us a while to find it, but we did! The kids spent the afternoon swinging into the water from a rope swing. It was very nice, until we took out the picnic and were swarmed by more flies than we had ever seen combined! We took half of them home with us in the car too. That was fun. Anyway. That was our adventure. We survived. Barely. And we didn't even run out of gas. Yay.

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT!

Michelle and I didn't want to throw our girls birthday parties this year, so we gave them 3 party packages that they could choose from. The one they chose went like this:
1) Get our hair done
2) Dress up fancy
3) Go out to a nice dinner (Tocanos!)
4) Go to a dance show at BYU
5) Out for ice cream
6) Come home and watch a chick flick

It was so much fun! Can't wait to do it again. Here are the picts!

My Celtic Warriors

On Monday we talked about the Celts in history class and how they liked to paint themselves blue and fight naked. So, that's what we did (except the naked part).

We hiked to the Grotto in Payson Canyon a few Sundays ago and took some family pictures. Such a nice evening! I love the cute waterfall at the top of the trail and the shallow pool surrounded by cliffs. So romantic.

Brian's latest book cover

Brian just sent me the latest version of his current book cover project. He is way excited about this one. Check it out!

Our Art Gallery

Brian finished up his summer art class in a big way! We threw an art gallery to showcase all the fantastic projects that the kids did during class. It was a lot of fun. We sent out invitations, we had everyone dress up and we served hors d'oeuvres and everything! We cleared all the furniture and pictures out of Michelle's living room and kitchen and put all the art work up on the walls just like a real gallery. Check it out!

Megan pondering a work of art.



Our amazing neighbors came and supported us! Thanks for being so awesome!


African Masks display.


Our renditions of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Our renditions of Picasso's Punchinello with a Guitar.

Our Jackson Pollock tribute. (This one was fun!)

Watch a video of the kids doing the Jackson Pollock painting and learn why he was nicknamed "Jack the Dripper"

My first attempt at making cake bites!

First Day of School!

Yesterday the Halley clan started our 2nd year of homeschool. I am so grateful for the children that I have been blessed with and the opportunity I have to teach them at home. It is amazing to watch them grow and develop before my eyes. I feel a lot more prepared this year. I'm starting to feel like I know what I'm doing (a little). I know I have a long way to go. This year we are studying the Middle Ages, Math, Earth Science and Astronomy, Writing, Grammar, Punctuation, Drawing, Cursive (Summer), Dance (Summer), Italian (Megan), Acting (Megan), and piano (Megan). We are reading a bunch of classics this year, which is a BIG step up from last year.
Some of the things I'm looking forward to are the field trip to the dinosaur museum, the volcano building contest, painting my children blue and spiking their hair to look like Celts and then making them fight a war, making our own books, building some of da Vinci's machines, and going to the Shakespeare festival next summer!
Over the weekend we had our 2nd Annual Family Feast. Our theme for school this year is from Alma 37:6..."by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." So when I chose this scripture, I thought of an acorn and how it starts out so small and then slowly becomes the mighty oak. I found each of my children an acorn and attached the theme to an oak-leaf-shaped tag. I gave these to them at the Family Feast and talked to them about how they are like acorns now, just beginning to realize the great things they can do, and how if they continue to grow, and learn, and develop their talents, that God will be able to work mighty things through them. We then enjoyed a nice autumn feast of beef stew, rolls, and caramel apple bars (mmmm). Afterwards we took family pictures and the children were each given a blessing from their father. I am so excited for this year and the wonderful experiences that await us!