I'm impressed with these kids of mine. They're working hard in school even when it's not fun. I am loving learning with them.  

The new school year has brought a new adventure to our family. We're doing a homeschooling/public schooling blend. Nate and I put a lot of thought and prayer into it and decided that we wanted more than anything to take the guesswork out of school this year. I didn't feel like I could handle the stress of remote public schooling for all the kids again. And homeschooling allows us to keep things as consistent for our family as possible. We won't have to worry about the runaround of the schools shutting down and then reopening, which honestly may or may not happen multiple times over the course of the year. Addison, oboe in tow, is our only public schooler this year. He's in his first year of junior high. He gets up early, masks up, and goes to school twice a week, and learns remotely the other three days. I like it, because that means he gets to do the homeschool thing with us, at least somewhat, on those days. We get him sometimes for science and history, depending on h...

I've gotta say, I have been delighted with social media lately. The outpouring of creativity and hilarity are just good for the soul. From an old lady locked in her closet hiding from her husband who wants to watch all the Planet of the Apes movies, to the many Disney song parodies, to John Krasinski's SGN broadcasts, I just love people. It's been pretty cool to watch the world unite as we've all been hiding out in our own houses for the past several weeks. Anyhow, here's a look into our household for the past several weeks. Wingspan. Our current favorite game. Our cat, Mike, has disappeared. We miss him! (Even Nate . . . sort of.)    Angel Moroni lost his trumpet in the earthquake a couple weeks ago!  Secret hideout above the garage. Emmie's first pigtails!  Our washing machine broke. We got a lot of mileage out of the box for the new one. Sleeping in! We're all relishing it! Having Grandma her...