Boys and bugs

 They just go together, don't they?

Dishcloth set

DD16 has been very busy with her crochet work. Here for your viewing pleasure is her latest creation, a dishcloth/hot pad/kitchen towel set. Beautiful work. If you would like to own this set, you can buy it in our Etsy store by clicking here.

We've moved!

Wow, what a process! But one 26' U-haul truck, plus the biggest U-haul trailer and three earlier trips with our own trailer and we have everything moved.

Not everything UNpacked yet, ha! That will take a while.

We have been here a week now and we're loving every minute. DH is working from home and we have started back with school. We are *considering* putting the children into public school here, mainly because there aren't as many opportunities for social interaction as there were back in Colorado (homeschool groups, etc.) We're first going to finish up this school year and explore the area and see how we feel though. It may turn out that there is in fact enough to do to keep everyone happy.

We have been loving the sunsets here, they are stunningly beautiful. This is one of the pictures my 13 yo DD took:

We have also started back up with chickens. Couldn't resist the little chicks at the feed store. So we have 14 chicks, a mix of rainbow layers, RIR and Buff Orpingtons. These will be our layers. We brought our coop and run with us, so we're ready for them, we're planning on having these be as free range as we can manage. Aren't they cute!?

We can't wait 'til we can put in a garden and really get started here. So much to do and we're looking forward to all of it!

Levers, Fulcrums, Plants and Cars!

What a combination! This post really just has to do with some photos I want to share.

We're currently learning about levers in school and discussed how a seesaw (oddly not a playground item you find very much in the US!) is a lever. We spoke about the very primitive seesaw that the Ingalls girls played on in the Little House on the Prairie TV series we're currently watching. This afternoon when they went out to play, what did I come outside to find?

Hehe. Put together mostly by DD11. Fulcrum in the new word of the day!

A little peek at our seedlings in case you were wondering how they are faring.

And lastly, DS4 used some of his birthday money to buy this "Cool Fewawwi". He was very disappointed when he took it out of the packaging though.
Do you notice something wrong with the car? Like maybe they put the front wheels on the back instead of on the front? LOL! Those front tires are too big for the front so they won't turn at all.

We'll have to find him another "Cool Wed Fewawwi" because the body is pop riveted together and there's no way to change it.

I wonder if it has any "strange and unusual" collector's value? Nah...

Online Homeschool co-op: Gardening

Another gorgeous 70°F day today!

We decided to get started on the garden beds for the children's gardening project for March. They have to plan out a garden and start seeds. So we planned and built (free bricks, yay craigslist!) the garden bed for the eldest three today. They will each have a 4' x 4' area where they will be completely responsible for whatever they choose to grow in it.

Everyone helped, even the littlest people! I didn't though, this is their deal, so I just observed :)

They were quite pleased with their efforts, but I suspect DH is going to want to level the one wall that's doing a "wave"!

We still have to figure out a gardening area for the youngest two.

And of course.. once the work is done there is always time to play a little!

I cleared out one area that will be used as an herb garden this Summer. The ground under all the hay and straw was a beautiful black and smelled wonderful. I even found some very plump earthworms!

Need I say it again? I'm SO READY for Spring!!!!!

Quilts

My oldest two girls made quilted items in an online homeschool co-op for February. DD13 made a pillow and DD11 made a small quilt for a display antique Sindy doll I gave her. The end products are beautiful!

DD13 was really inspired by her success and made a lap quilt from my fabric scraps. It came out quite cute! She designed, cut and sewed the quilt all by herself.

I've never made a quilt before but I've started a denim rag quilt that (once finished!) will be big enough for our bed. So far so good!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! We're suburban homesteaders hoping to one day (soon!) make a move out into the country, but while we're living the suburban life we're trying to learn as many homesteading skills as we can to make the transition easier.We're a Christian family with five beautiful children who we homeschool. Life's a joy!We'll be blogging along as we learn and we hope you find each step we take almost as interesting as we find it :)