Little cousin fun

We got to spend some time with cousin Katie this past week. She's about 4 months older than Karis. (Karis won't be able to catch up in the hair department!) These little girls had a lot of fun playing together. They were busy, busy, busy.

Eating their apples together.

Playing in the sand together.

Just playing.

They both enjoyed Grandma's little rocking chair. We had to tell them to take turns. One time when Katie was nowhere to be found, Karis sat down in the chair and informed everyone, "My turn."

Fun at the beach

We had some fun at the beach this past week. The sand is so white & smooth!

Karis had fun in the bucket

Caleb

Eliana & Aunt Sharon

Joanna digging the big hole.

Joanna, Eliana, Aunt Sharon & Karis

Karis loved the beach. No relaxing for us cause she would go straight for the "wa-wa."

Karis had fun chasing the seagulls. She did get a little frustrated at one point because the seagull wasn't going to let her catch him.

Eliana

Joanna

An Operetta

Grandma, Grandfather & Joanna went out to see Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan. They had a great time. They said it was really good and funny.

Double digit girl

Happy Birthday Joanna!

Joanna turned 10 today! We had a yummy chocolate chip cookie cake along with the traditional pumpkin and apple pie.

704 bags!

Our homeschool group went to the Food Bank for a tour and to put together bags of food for kids for the BackPack Program . These backpacks are filled with food that children can take home from school on the weekends. The kids all did a great job on the assembly line and ended up getting 704 bags ready to go!

Here's our assembly line - Look at those busy workers. The kids enjoyed switching places and putting different food in the bags.

Joanna ready with some animal crackers.

Caleb at the granola bar station.

Eliana getting ready to put in some fruit cups.

Eliana at the front of the line.

Caleb working hard at getting the food in the correct spot.

Karis being herself - wanting to explore and climb. Karis & I didn't contribute too much to the number of bags filled!

Top bunk!

Eliana is now sharing a room with Karis so Caleb can have his own room. Caleb is very happy to have a boy room and Eliana is very excited to be able to sleep on the top bunk!

Eliana's first night in the top bunk.

She loved sleeping up by the butterflies Grandma made when Karis was a baby.

Messy girl

Karis enjoyed an ice cream cone from McDonalds - in the car!

The car seat didn't get too dirty.

But it's time for a mid-day bath for her.

The Raptor Center

Today our home school group visited a "Raptor Center." It's a place where they take care of wounded birds -- mostly owls and eagles. We're getting ready to dissect some owl pellets and thought this would be a great trip. (Don't worry -- owl pellets are not owl poop.)

There were several different kinds of owls. The screech owls were the smallest. They were hiding in a box hanging on the wall. When the owner opened the box, they sat there and blinked at us with their owl eyes. Their eyes got so big when they got their mice. Then they waited for him to close the door before they started their meal.

This is a barn owl. These are also known as monkey-faced owls, heart-faced owls, and a farmer's best friend (because they eat thousands of mice per year).

Caleb got to pet the barn owl - very soft.

The great horned owl was named Templeton.

The owner - getting yet another dead mouse ready. Templeton definitely likes mice.

Bet ya can't eat a mouse faster than Templeton can!

This is an example of an eagle's nest. According to the owner, this would be a small one. Some real eagles nests can weigh several thousand pounds. Caleb is behind the nest with one of his friends.

Molly and Joanna

An African Eagle Owl. The center has only had this one for 2 months. He was the biggest owl there, and he had two very orange eyes. Owls can't move their eyeballs like we can -- they have to turn their heads.

Karis peeking through a slot in the eagle barn.

Here's a video of Wazoo the bald eagle eating a mouse - You may not want to watch this right before dinner!

All dressed up

Eliana - the princess

Joanna - Lucy Pevensie from Narnia

Caleb - Anakin from Star Wars

Karis trying to share Cousin Chloe's lollipop

Matching girls

Wearing their matching shirts.

Eisenhower hometown

We went to the hometown of Dwight Eisenhower this week. There were some neat things to see and do there. We visited the Eisenhower Presidential museum and his family home. The museum was large and had more than we could take in.

We went to the Museum of Independent Telephony, which showcased the development of the telephone.

The kids rode on a wooden carousel that was over 100 years old. At one time, there were over 5,000 wooden carousels in the US, but now there are just about 150.

We also went for a ride on the Smoky Valley Railroad. We enjoyed our picnic lunch in a 100-year-old coach/diner pulled by a 1945 diesel-electric locomotive. Some of the kids braved the cold in the open-air observation railcar during the return trip.

The Smoky Valley Railroad