I can't believe how quickly this fall has sped away. I knew I felt like I was on a hamster wheel that I couldn't stop or get off, and I guess that made the time go very quickly.
We had a full schedule of dance, Parkour, co-op classes, field trips, volunteer projects, homeschool group gatherings and now that we have a full-fledged teenager... we've added in homeschool teen group activities too! Whew! Just reading that makes me tired!
In late September, Ellie and I went to KS Pioneer Girl Day at Ernie Miller Nature Sanctuary. She made a rag doll, played pioneer games, wrote with a quill pen and helped make butter. We listened to a story t
eller and she got to participate in some pioneer dances. It was really fun. 
September also brought The Nutcracker into our lives in a BIG way. Rylie's dance school has two performances of The Nutcracker - actually a tea party along with the performance. This year, Rylie will be a mouse and a "party girl". Rehearsals began in Sept and continue to be a major factor in our lives through December 7th - the date of the performances.
October brought a major project of Darren's - Christmas In October. He was the head of a team working on a house and had to see to all the details from touring applicant houses to choosing the house to working out a plan to attend to all that needed work. He did a fabulous job, even taking several weekends before with a "skilled team" of guys to do more in depth projects such as installing a new stove, changing out a door so it opened the other way, installing a hand held shower nozzle, etc. Josh went to help for all of these events and was a big help to his dad.
Besides that project, we had Boo at the Zoo with Youth Volunteer Corps. Josh and Rylie both participated in this event. They were zombie scarecrows positioned strategically near the zoo railroad tracks so they could be seen by the train passengers. Darren and I took Ellie through the Boo at the Zoo event and enjoyed the train ride and being "scared" by the zombies. It was hard not to say "That's my zombie!" when we spotted "our" zombies!
Rylie took a 6 week drama class at The Coterie - a theatre for young people at Crown Center in Kansas City. This was a really neat scene study class with an absolutely fabulous instructor - Nathan Norcross. He can connect with the kids and really bring out some great acting!
We ended October with a really fun, but really windy, hayride at Shawnee Mission Park. Our Unschooling group filled two wagons and enjoyed a blanket covered hour long ride followed by a campfire with s'more's and apple cider.
November continues with all our regular activities plus we saw "Seussical" at the Coterie Theatre. Rylie was excited to see some familiar faces as she got to see behind the stage during rehearsals while at her drama class. She also knew one of the kids in the play from a prior drama class at Coterie last spring.
We're hoping things settle down a little bit during the holidays. I want to be able to enjoy this season and not rush and rush to find it "here already?"
Today is Thanksgiving - we spent a wonderful afternoon with Nana and Papa Mohr, talked with Nana and Papa Beck on the phone and are planning on going to see the Plaza lights being turned on tonight!
We had a full schedule of dance, Parkour, co-op classes, field trips, volunteer projects, homeschool group gatherings and now that we have a full-fledged teenager... we've added in homeschool teen group activities too! Whew! Just reading that makes me tired!
In late September, Ellie and I went to KS Pioneer Girl Day at Ernie Miller Nature Sanctuary. She made a rag doll, played pioneer games, wrote with a quill pen and helped make butter. We listened to a story t
eller and she got to participate in some pioneer dances. It was really fun. 
September also brought The Nutcracker into our lives in a BIG way. Rylie's dance school has two performances of The Nutcracker - actually a tea party along with the performance. This year, Rylie will be a mouse and a "party girl". Rehearsals began in Sept and continue to be a major factor in our lives through December 7th - the date of the performances.
October brought a major project of Darren's - Christmas In October. He was the head of a team working on a house and had to see to all the details from touring applicant houses to choosing the house to working out a plan to attend to all that needed work. He did a fabulous job, even taking several weekends before with a "skilled team" of guys to do more in depth projects such as installing a new stove, changing out a door so it opened the other way, installing a hand held shower nozzle, etc. Josh went to help for all of these events and was a big help to his dad.
Besides that project, we had Boo at the Zoo with Youth Volunteer Corps. Josh and Rylie both participated in this event. They were zombie scarecrows positioned strategically near the zoo railroad tracks so they could be seen by the train passengers. Darren and I took Ellie through the Boo at the Zoo event and enjoyed the train ride and being "scared" by the zombies. It was hard not to say "That's my zombie!" when we spotted "our" zombies!
Rylie took a 6 week drama class at The Coterie - a theatre for young people at Crown Center in Kansas City. This was a really neat scene study class with an absolutely fabulous instructor - Nathan Norcross. He can connect with the kids and really bring out some great acting!
We ended October with a really fun, but really windy, hayride at Shawnee Mission Park. Our Unschooling group filled two wagons and enjoyed a blanket covered hour long ride followed by a campfire with s'more's and apple cider.
November continues with all our regular activities plus we saw "Seussical" at the Coterie Theatre. Rylie was excited to see some familiar faces as she got to see behind the stage during rehearsals while at her drama class. She also knew one of the kids in the play from a prior drama class at Coterie last spring.
We're hoping things settle down a little bit during the holidays. I want to be able to enjoy this season and not rush and rush to find it "here already?"
Today is Thanksgiving - we spent a wonderful afternoon with Nana and Papa Mohr, talked with Nana and Papa Beck on the phone and are planning on going to see the Plaza lights being turned on tonight!
