Caterpillars!

    What a fun week, the weeks fly by so fast lately and I can't believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here. Homeschool is chugging along, some days are better than others but we usually finish all our work for each day sometime between 10am and 8pm. We had a very exciting delivery on Wednesday which was also Veterans Day. Hazel was helping me make patriotic rice krispies for our veteran friends and neighbors when we heard the doorbell ring. It was kind of a crazy minute, I had marshmallows blowing up the microwave and hazel stirring something but I ran to the door and it was our baby caterpillars! Live delivery! We finished making the treats and then unpacked the critters, we had a great time setting up their habitat and seeing them crawl around. We eventually moved their house to our homeschool table so that they could have more light and so this past week we did homeschool on the couch in the living room. It was different but kind of nice too. 

The kids are so funny with their little toys, sometimes their friends like to come to homeschool. I guess that is a perk of homeschool! 

    Other fun things this week included a fall themed art class with Grandmalita over FaceTime. The kids love to help me cook and stir and cut things, Hazel is my biggest helper lately and loves to grab a knife to help cut whatever she can get her hands on. Zara made her famous "Zara Soup" Veggie soup with noodles. The kids have also been enjoying taking baths in our big bathtub downstairs and I think Eli gets the award for best at relaxing and finding his inner zen. 

    Leo is getting closer to walking everyday. Lately he likes to kick is feet up on the ottoman to get up to the couch. He is a very smart kid. The playroom is always a mess, to me at least, but the kids all seem to know were everything is and they always amaze me with their creativity and the games they make for themselves. The toy of the week or the last two weeks was that huge box.

    Friday is our park day with Grace, Drew and Cam. We have been going to the park with them for years every week since Drew and Zara were about 3? But, I would say that we have become even more consistent since the pandemic started in March, well actually when it first started all the parks were closed so we didn't see each other for a while but sometime in the summer they reopened the parks and we basically go every Friday. The kids love seeing each other  and I love sitting and talking to Grace. The weather is getting really nice now which makes it even better.

    This week we tried a new park which turned out to be a major flop! So we packed the kids in the car and went down the road to a tried and true park. Leo loves swinging and Hazel keeps up with the big kids. In the car we listen to Laurie Berkner CD's that Barbie gave us at the beginning of the pandemic. When she first gave them to us I thought, awesome. Great. Thanks Barbie. Loads of annoying kid music. But actually they have turned out to be the best gift she's ever given me. We listen to them every time we are in the car and we have all the songs memorized and when I hear the kids singing them around the house or out in the yard it makes me so happy. 

    Friday morning at the park is fun but what the kids really live for is friday movie night. This week Dusty leveled up and set up the tent in the playroom, we added some Christmas lights and viola! A magic sleepover! We watched the new Secret Garden which wasn't quite as magical as I was hoping, should have gone with the 90's version I grew up with. 

    Saturday morning is pancake time! It's amazing to me how traditions have kind of just evolved, especially since covid happened we look forward to them more than ever and the kids remember them every week too! Hazel is Dusty's helper every time he makes pancakes, it's really fun to see. The missionaries came and helped us weed our front yard which was very kind and helpful of them, we covered a lot of ground! Zara came out and helped too, with the weeding and the chatting. After that everyone was kind of hot so all the kids grabbed their swimsuits and jumped in the pool!! I couldn't believe it! 

Last swim day of 2020:November 14th

The kids jumped in over and over, even Hazel! Leo and I were on the sidelines but eventually even Leo was itching to get in so he went in with Dusty up to his diaper or so and was happy as a clam. 

    Then we headed to Barbies house for an impromptu slip in slide. It was the perfect day, the kids did the slip and slide and the swing while the adults sat around eating snacks and sipping drinks. It was fun to catch up with Francesca since we don't see each other very often. The weather was beautiful. 

    Finally, some random odds and ends: I love when Hazel yells at Alexa through the tv remote, we've been watching The Crown and Alone, Spanish lessons are tough but fun, sometimes I give Leo chocolate in his highchair so I can cook dinner(he loves it obviously) and I'm reading a book about "The Secrets Of Happy Families".