Day 294: It's finally fall!

Guess who this is!

Hm, I wonder who this is! (Answer below!)

Yes!  The temperature finally dropped to 50F!  But now I can't find my brown sweatshirt and I think all of Justin's jackets are at the storage barn.  Yikes!  He's borrowing my gray Colts sweatshirt that he thought was his.  I thought I sent him here in May with a jacket, but I don't remember if I did and which one it was.  Jared is very happy it's cooler and is loving being able to split wood and build a fire every night.  He's buying the wood from the clearance section of Home Depot.  Don't worry, he knows not to burn pressure treated wood.

I had an appointment with a neurologist this morning to follow up with my dizziness.  We agreed it probably was an ear infection or those calcium crystals in the wrong place.  We talked about other things, but I put any tests on hold until I talk with a holistic doctor.  I think I may have found one, so I left a message for them today.  It was actually weird to a doctor and tell her that no, I think I'll wait and I want to try these other things first.  This is what happens when it takes 6 weeks between the problem and a follow up appointment takes place.  I've had time to do more research.  That's about it on that.

A not so fun moment today was Keturah finding some scissors and cutting a bit of her hair.  Thankfully it's not noticeable.  This is what she does when she's bored or doesn't think she can do her homework on her own.  But a funny moment was when Abishai came running full steam down the hallway and didn't stop until my desk was smashed against his face and he fell down!  Seriously, kid, do you really need an immovable object as your brakes?  Oh my goodness.  And then there's Justin who heard the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song and came running.  I asked him if he has missed watching it, and he said yes!  He's 11 year old, mind you!  I'm glad he's still pretty innocent and naive.  I think he still believes in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.  I'm not going to be the one to pop that bubble, that's for sure.

Grrr, I found Keturah's hair under the school table.  She wants to get her hair cut soon, but she should have just asked.

Who runs with all their energy straight into a desk?  Abishai!

Ok, ok, not my own picture, but how cool is this t-shirt?!  I think it might make a great teacher gift for Benaiah's science teacher.  And to connect it to the blog, my dad LOVED puns like this.  He and I both tried/try to make jokes but we often fail/failed.  And, personally, I love chemistry, and enjoyed figuring out the equations in biochemistry.  Yes, I'm a nerd!

90 F degrees in Palm Springs today!  I guess the springs aren't there anymore.

There was a building on this site, but it's in transition to being something else.  ("I had to become something else, I had to becoming someone else." - Arrow; sorry, see, jokes aren't my thing).

Correction: The tour that J2 and B went on to the wind farm wouldn't let them out of the van, and the wind was actually pretty calm that day.

Who is this child?  Jared's clone!  He really reminds me of pictures of Jared from his high school years when he would wear sunglasses.  In fact, my very first picture of Jared was him wearing sunglasses.  I had to ask for a second picture!

Why yes, they are clones!  And that's Matt Hostetler and Aaron and then two little boys.

I think this was around 8th/9th grade?  Just for comparison.  And this was something like 23 years or so ago.

That's my baby! :( So grown up! (see pictures at top of post for comparison)

Another correction: no one hiked a mountain yesterday.  They went up in a cable car from the desert floor to the top of Mt. San Jacinto - 8,500 ft and 40 degrees cooler!

 Typing "desert" reminded me that the middles and I studied Operation Desert Storm in our history lessons today.  We have finally entered a time period that I know well!  I was in 4th grade in public school (my last year of public school before being homeschooled) and our class wrote letters to 1 or 2 servicemanmen in the war.  There were a few specifics I didn't know about, but for the most part I at least knew what the war was fought over and why.  Only a few more lessons to go and we will have finished the whole Mystery of History series!  And I can't wait to start all over again!  Seriously!  We go back and start with Creation and ancient history which I know much better than the 20th century ins and outs.  We started this series when we moved to PEI.  Because of the move, we weren't able to finish in the spring, and so we picked it back up this fall.  I may continue the lessons through the summer though because we have slowed down due to schedules and co op homework.  Anyway, I just thought I'd share!  My mom loved teaching us history because she had forgotten a lot of what she was taught in school and she simply was older and could appreciate it more, and I find I'm just like her!  I will never be able to memorize exact dates, names, and places (yes,I don't know exactly when WWI or WWII took place, but I do know the decades in which they took place), but I know the general order of history and why and how certain things happened.  This is one of the biggest advantages of homeschooling!  You get to learn right along with the kids!

Leaving on a jet plane...well, coming home on a jet plane.  I can't wait to see my boy!  And they also went through Ontario?! Huh?!  Oh, there's an Ontario in California!  I see!

Meanwhile, wasn't Benaiah just this size yesterday?  How does someone so small like this grow into such a big man?  Anyway, Abishai is obsessed with Justin, but constantly calls him Da-Da.  It's funny and weird.

Sunrise on some of our colorful trees nearby.  I have seen a ton of color this year, so I haven't missed PEI's or NH's colors as much.

This is Abishai's "feta cheese" face.  He kept eating it, but then he realized it was spicy.

Aren't we cute, Mom? - Justin (He literally said that).

The man splitting the wood for our fire.  I think this will never get old for him.  When we were looking for a home, he latched onto the fact that this place had a real fireplace.  It's just his "thing."

Jared said I missed some cool rainy clouds because I didn't come outside right away.

Daddy filled her bike tire with air, but it needs to be replaced already :(

That's MY sweatshirt!  Say what?!  He thought it was his.  It's from when the Colts won the Superbowl.  It's actually a sweatshirt I just wear at home.  It looks good on him though.

One word: Dimple

Abishai kept lapping around Grandma's car and even tried to say her name when I told him it was his.  We have her car so Jared can pick them up at the airport tonight.

This whole outfit belonged to Benaiah, including his shirt underneath which says something about the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, the year Benaiah was born.  Sigh.  Bummers, I couldn't find a picture of Benaiah in this shirt!  But I know I put it on him a ton!  I'm going to share a couple of other pictures though because some of you say that Abishai looks like Benaiah.

Justin walked in and said, "That's Abishai!"  Um, no, that's Benaiah!

P.S. Let me know if this is too many pictures for you. I don't like reading overly long posts myself, but sometimes I find that putting the pieces of our family's history together and writing it down for my children takes more space.  I enjoy being the family historian!  I get that from my grandfather Howell and my Dad (and now my Aunt Katie, his sister, as well).  Enjoy my ramblings!