Frantic!

We have been blessed with many, many days of glorious sunshine. Now, the weather is turning, and we are starting to feel the cold settle into our bones when we're outside. So we crank up the wood stove and permanently settle there. Schoolwork happens accompanied by its cheerful fire, and so does every meal of the day. Lots of knitting happens there, too. Carving of pumpkins is lit up by its flames, and the making and eating of popcorn is warmed up by it.

Drying Gouda cheese, pumpkins, and Kai supervising the popcorn making

These past sunny weeks have been filled with frantic outside activities. We knew the rains would return, so we squeezed every ounce of fun from our outdoor time. We went to our secret place by the Skagit River, where dead salmon piled up and stank to high heaven. That didn't stop us, though, oh no. We are used to the aroma of fall by the river. The boys “fished” for salmon, which grossed me out because of their dead compadres right in front of our eyes (and noses), but the boys were engrossed in trying to catch them. I watched them while knitting socks and cuddling with Eva.

Steve and Lukas.  Shirtless at the end of October!

Mama knits, while Kai is fishing in the background

The sand on the beach is great for learning how to write. The other day, Eva and I hung out by the Nooksack River, and out of the blue, Eva wrote the letter “H” in the sand with a stick. She has never done this before, and I freaked out with enthusiastic praise. Eva kept writing dozens of H's in the sand, incredibly proud of her accomplishment. Kai and Lukas taught her how to write “i”, so now she knows how to write “Hi”.

Eva learns to write her first letter...

... and is really happy about it.  In the background: Mount Baker.

Another activity before the rains start involved lots of digging. We are finally adding on a small room to our house, which makes me very happy. It will serve as an office/extra bedroom/extra storage, just in time for Gramma and Grampa who will be visiting on Thanksgiving. The whole family helped to dig, and I am amazed how much Kai and Lukas can work nowadays. I mean, they are actually HELPING instead of just being in the way (like a certain little girl I know)!

The other day, the boys went outside after home schooling, and when I went out to check on them, they were digging, all by themselves.  They knew the ditch had to be deeper, so they went to work.  Great, huh?

I will leave you with an image of Eva and her best friend, snapped on a walk.  They are sitting on their throne.  May you be as happy as these little girls this week!