Hazy phone pictures are all I have to offer for the entire month of November.  My trusty red camera never made it out of it’s case.  Lots of coming and going this month, which means the convenience of my camera phone trumped having quality digital photos.

We started out the month with a quick trip to see my folks in Oregon.  We enjoyed seeing their new home in a small country town, spend our days and nights being with them and getting much needed Grammy and Grandpa time.

The fall leaves were stunning

We ate breakfast at the local restaurant/ice cream parlor 

Wandered the streets of their small town

Collected leavesAntique shopping down a picturesque main street.

There were bike rides at dusk, and sad goodbyes but we’re looking forward to more trips to Oregon!

We came home to a small second crop of pumpkins.

Art projects at the kitchen table

Stacks of library books and reading with daddy in the big bed

Our plan to take a family trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium abruptly changed when sickness descended on the house.

I took G and Miss E to the aquarium with Grandpa and Grandma W and the cousins…

…while Justin stayed home with this poor guy and Miss P.
The sewing room was a very busy place this month but not the usual kind of busy. It was covered with craft projects instead (maybe more on that later)

This is were the children end up when Daddy is watching Sunday night football on the tv… all piled on my bed watching Chip and Dale cartoons on a tiny screen.

We spent Thanksgiving at Dad and Mom W’s eating, putting together puzzles, shooting clay pigeons, eating some more, throwing the football around, dozing on the couch, and topping the day off with at trip to the cinema to watch The Peanuts Movie.

This month we read and loved these books-

Which you can purchase on Amazon

 

The Sign of the Beaver was recommended by a friend and the whole family loved this story!

My friends…it’s December!  I’m looking forward to cozy evenings, paper snowflakes, many rousing renditions of Jingle Bells, children checking off days on the calendar, advent stories read by an old friend, wreaths on the door, and foggy mornings.

What does December bring for you and your family?

 

Some afternoons call for a mandatory reading hour.  

Some days homeschooling means working harder to keep the toddler occupied 

Weekday mornings involve kitchen table learning with a bed-headed boy

Weekends are all about afternoon naps

We added two lovely little ladies to our family.  Meet Lucy and Ava

A certain someone is pretty pleased with the new editions

Mr. J finishing his Harriet Tubman report.  The same report that we spent the better part of an hour looking for, only to find it in the hands of the 2-year-old who was getting ready to decorate it with her crayons.

Colder days, darker evenings, and candles burning 

Rain on the pumpkins and puddles around the porch.  

Justin went to France for the week.  He brought back pictures and stories and little trinkets for us. Our family and friends kept us busy while he was away.

I sleep so poorly when he’s gone.  Staying up too late every night; not wanting to face the big empty bed.  Freshly brewed coffee became my saving grace each morning.

I flipped the calendar over to November and smiled.  November brings fall to our part of the world.  With it comes brightly colored leaves, a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Thanksgiving meals with family, a Turkey Trot down Butler Road, and fires burning in the little black stove.