What are the boys doing now?

We've always had a rule that the boys must stay on the grass and not go down the VERY STEEP cliff...until now. Justin and Max have been working for HOURS to make a carving in the side of the cliff. I can't wait to see what it is. I sure hope no one loses their balance!!!

Wood Chopping

The BIG POOP Party

When Max was potty training a year ago, I was able to get him to go poop by telling him how much fun his poop would have going down the big toilet slide into a big pool where all the poop and pee had a big poop party. He LOVED that he was contributing to the party!

So here we are... ONE year later, on a field trip that delighted Max to no end...the Big poop party, or aka, the Boise Watershed.

The event opened with a big open house type display of a whole bunch of activities and features for the kids to explore...
Here, the boys have to keep the watershed running by altering water pressure, releasing tanks, etc...pretty intense, but Justin loved this!

The can Monster...Max's favorite!

Tree made out of pipes...very cool.
And a LOT more exhibits not pictured. (bad bad blogger me)

A Class about water and conservation...so fun and engaging for the kids.
Then the much a waited POOP PARTY TOUR....
Hard Hats and headphones for everyone.

Max's favorite part of the tour was the first tank of all the waste collected in a big container. Don't ask me why... it REALLY was STINKY!!!

The rest of the tour was bearable and even very interesting. The waste goes through many cleaning stations that have cat walks over them so you can see what is happening in each one.


And here is a picture on the watered down poop. (They add no water to this...it's all pee.)

A great day of learning.

60+ more quarts of Applesauce

Yes, more beloved applesauce. We love this stuff! Menlove's brought half the apples from a pick your own farm (and the apples were free from an overproduction) and we supplemented the other half from a tree out on a mountain where Geoff and farm friends collected them on horseback. Applesauce is great, but FREE apple sauce is AWESOME.

Canning was never meant to do alone! We have LOVED doing many of our canning projects with the Menlove's. A very tedious process made absolutely entertaining. Too much fun and OH SO Productive.
Justin and Max LOVE playing with their daughter Catherine (Cat). They could play for DAYS without a complaint.

Sweet Idaho Halloween

So, out here in Sweet ID there is really no effective place to trick or treat. So the community holds a Trunk N Treat at the school. This year Justin & Max wanted to be Half-bloods (from the Percy Jackson books) at Camp Half blood. They decorated their orange shirts, made swords, wore their watch/daggers...

So Geoff and the 2 boys went to the school, and a few hours later, came home with this --a TREAT I guess you would say-- in hand:

Yep!!! It's a pheasant. They decided about 10 minutes into Trunk N Treatin to go hunting instead, AND shot a pheasant. Max walked in the door carrying it just like above...and I laughed so hard. Welcome to SWEET HALLOWEEN!!!

Pumpkin Patch

As I drove to DeMordaunts house to pick up a campaign call list from Reed, Gayann invited the boys to go with them on their annual Pumpkin Patch trip. So I stayed (gratefully) and made calls, while the boys had a HAY DAY (literally!) at Lindon farms.

Thanks DeMordaunts. We LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE you guys!

MK Nature Center

Today our home school group gathered at the MK Nature Center for a morning filled with fun nature activities.

We began by making nature journals
to collect all of the days' nature art...

Fish prints...paint fish, cover with paper...wa la!

Make twig N grass paint brushes...

Gather & trace leaf patterns

Identify different types of fish

Observe different flowers and cones, seeds, and plants (It was a gorgeous day, and the Nature Center is right next to the OH SO Beautiful Boise Green Belt.)

... enjoy the Fall beauty and air!

and enjoyed the live Saxophone performance...LOVE IT!

Looking for Lomatium

This was the funnest morning ever. I wish every morning could start out this way. I have been taking an herbal class from Linda Bromgard (she's the BEST!).
A couple of us expressed a desire to scavenge our own herbs so we would be able to recognize, harvest and use herbs in the wild. So we began this morning looking for Lomatium.

We (Linda, Carrie Andelin and her 2 boys, and Tia Andelin--LOVE the Andelins!!!!) drove to the spot where normal vehicles go, and then all crammed in Linda's Italian mini truck to drive the off roads to the creek where the Lomatium grow. What a blast. I so want one of these little trucks!!!!
We could only go so far in little Italiano, and then we hiked the rest of the way. It was absolutely beautiful and smelled like freshly grated sage.

After a bit of hiking, we found our spot. This is what we found...

This is what it looks like when it flowers...
And here is a little about Lomatium
This is what the root (the part you use) looks like...
Justin digging it up like a pro!
And our return to base...