Pride & Prejudice with Commentary by Grace

Last night was the opening night of Candlelight Tour, a first person event portraying the year 1855. I was unable to attend due to illness and spent the evening with Grace. Everyone else was re-enacting! Gracie and I watched Secondhand Lions and then decided a girly movie was the next best choice. After many options, she chose Pride & Prejudice (2005) the shorter version. She told me I had to sit in the chair with her, so as we were watching, her commentary kept running. The first ball scene came on and she was breathless! With a dreamy voice she side "I love dancing. It is so funner! I think it is more funner than playmobile! You get the guys and girls together and they dance together, it is so fun!" I was laughing quietly by now!

During the next dance scene where Darcy and Lizzy are talking during the dance she asked me: "Are people supposed to talk when they are dancing?" I told her that some people do and it is perfectly fine to talk while dancing. She said "I wouldn't do that, it would make me so nervous!" After this statement she had really big eyes! It was adorable!!

At the very end when Darcy is asking Elizabeth Bennet to marry him, Grace asked "Who do you think Mr. Darcy is voting for?" I was laughing out loud at this point and told her I wasn't sure. She didn't know either! I guess coming from a pretty political family, I shouldn't have been surprised by this question! Sweet memories!

Christian Heritage Picnic--Battle Ground, WA

Our family assisted the Bryan family in hosting a Christian Heritage picnic in the Vancouver area a couple weekends ago. About five other families attended and we played games, fellowshiped and had a great time meeting families from that area. We were very thankful our picnic shelter had a fireplace because the weather was quiet overcast and cold! Before everyone had their picnic dinners, Dad and Mr. Brannan from the Christian Homeschool Network (homeschool lobby group) both spoke. Mr. Brannan talked about his organization and the up-coming political session and how homeschoolers can be involved. Dad talked about Christian Heritage and its mission, plus encouragement for the new school season. Everyone seemed encouraged and excited for the new school year. Many of the families had already attended the April conference and we are hoping the others will attend this year. Here are some pics from the picnic.

Playing Bocce BallVisitingThese little guys were adorable! Eating dinner--they are adorable too!Miss HannahThe boys listening to Dad speak. When asked if people had attended the Mother Daughter Teas, the guys all raised their hands!No post is complete without a picture of Jonathan!Talking about Christian Heritage Mr. Brannan speaking about The Christian Homeschool NetworkPeek-A-Boo!James found the broom Matt made and helped with the clean up

Lots of little helpers!

Life in the Midst of Chaos

Those of you who have visited us before probably remember the pink bathroom. The pink is now all gone and here are some pictures from a week ago. It now has walls and primer paint and the project is coming together slowly. However, in the meantime eleven people are using one bathroom. It can be rather difficult at times or shall we say character building!!

Church Camp 2008

Labor Day weekend we enjoyed another annual church family camp! Everyone had much fun and it passed with few injuries. Each morning started with an early prayer time and then gathering time around the campfire to sing hymns, pray and listen to teaching on the family. The afternoons were filled with many activities: volleyball, kick ball, football, baseball, bike riding, scooter riding, boffing, frisbee, kyaking, beach walking etc! Our dinners were shared--the church supplied the main meal and each family contributed the sides and desserts. After dinner, we all gathered around the campfire for more singing and teaching. When it was dark, we would gather and play 4 on a couch, one up one down and other group games.


On Saturday night, we had a talent show where each family or individual is encouraged to share with everyone their talent. From our family, the kids sang John Cherokee which is a sea shanite we sang a few years ago and brought back because of high demand! Hannah and Grace sang the "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider" which was adorable! The show ended with a short skit led by Sam Young. It was a story about a man who is tempted into a box by a Mr. Hunter (the devil). Many people come to help him out of the box such as a hippie, goth, cult leader, "Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life" minister (me!!!) and another person in a box, but nothing works. A christian man comes (Jonathan) and shares the gospel with Jerry (the man in the box). Jerry realizes his sin and accepts Christ as his Saviour which releases him from the box. It took us much practicing all weekend to put it together....but it was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed it.


Sunday morning we had a semi-normal church service and a few other not camping families, joined us for the day. That evening, we had a cook-off--Esther entered carmel apples and Daniel entered skillet cookies and they both won! I decided to enter at the last minute and made a new recipe. It didn't turn out as it was supposed to but still tasted okay, so I still entered it. I received a few votes, but knew it wasn't a winner! : )


We packed up Monday morning and headed home, tired, happy and full of fun memories!

Dear Mr. Obama...

Bumper Sticker

This is so true....

Trip to the Zoo

I am trying to catch up on a little blogging. Here are some pictures from a recent trip to the zoo. Mom and I took Hannah, Grace and James and we all had a wonderful time! The rest of the family were touring the USS Stenis in Bremerton, so it was a perfect time to take the little ones to the zoo.
Watching the monkeys. They are such interesting creatures. James loved them!Since we forgot to pack a lunch, Mom bought lunch for them at the zoo. Their meal came in this monkey animal head. The girls loved it! Mothers usually take their children to the zoo to see interesting and exotic animals such as lions and tigers and they enjoy seeing them, but......

....not as much as chasing crows!

After lunch, we saw the penguins

The walrus is such a fun animal to watch. He swam so close to the window!

You could almost touch him!