October Days

     October in Kansas is so beautiful. Our days are sunny and clear with temps around 80 degrees. To extend our fall days outside, we bought a gas fire pit for our deck and have used it nearly every evening. The other night we said a family rosary around the fire and roasted marshmallows. It sounds idyllic, and that night was, but usually there is a lot of hollering and whooping around the yard. John would like you all to know that he roasted the perfect marshmallow. See first picture below.

    Two of the boys appeared out of nowhere to help me make cookies one day. I glanced down and realized that they both showed up wearing just one sock. Just an unplanned, funny coincidence. And our cookies were pretty cute! I don't make sugar cookies with royal icing very often, but it's a fun little hobby I enjoy. KC friends- let me know if you need any fun cookies!

    Fridays are usually our art project and science experiment days. The boys love these activities but I have a love/hate relationship with them. Lots of planning and lots of mess. Last week we worked together to make a pulley elevator for mini pumpkins. And then we painted monsters with watercolors and blowing through straws. The googly eyes were a fun addition.

    

    We are smack dab in the middle of Week 9, the last week of our first quarter. It's been such a great start, and I'm so proud of my hard-working boys. End of quarter means lots of tests and writing assignments that will be sent to Seton for grading. I'm a nervous wreck that I haven't done a good enough job preparing them for their tests, so I've spent hours preparing study guides and flashcards for the boys. Then, this weekend I'll need to sort out the papers and ship them off. It's a lot to keep straight. I've got binders sitting everywhere, saving the spot for the test a kid is currently taking. 

    Alrighty, I'm off to do some grading and planning. We'll start second quarter on Monday!