Strange Things in a Small Town

We have been living in this small town for 4 1/2 years now. After coming here from the big city, little things amaze me. Here are some examples of regular occurances in this small town:

1. The pictures above show some of the things that Morgan has recieved in the mail. The Wiggles guitar and 3 Wiggles DVD were all gifts... And, get this, they were delivered to our house with only a sticky note on them. The sticky note said something about the items should be given to Heather for Morgan from Alyssa. They were not packed in anything, and they had no address on them. However, they made it right to our doorstep!!

2. Every time we go shopping at the store in town we run in to at least one person we know. You never know who you will run into. When I used the cafe there for their internet connection on night, I saw 4 people I know, and everyone of them stopped to chat!

3. Everyone in the various stores remembers us, so it is not unusual for us to be greeted by name.

4. We always get a greeting when walking into our local stores (instead of like a big city where you just blend in with the crowd).

5. I don't get carded when I write a check because they know me, so they know it is my check.

6. Neighbors know who should be around the house, and we let us know if something is unusual.

Learning about Water~ Docks & Paddle Boats

Looking into the water from the dock

These look like fun, but I guess it is not the season for them because they were not in use.

Jaden's favorite part of the outing was on land

Still learning about water, we went to the other side of the pond. There were paddle boats shaped like ducks, but they were not open. There were even more ducks than what were on the other side of the pond, and there were docks to walk out on.

Jaden's favorite part was the park- They have slides and swings, so she kept wanting to get back to that... So, much for the study of water!

Learning about Water~ Ducks

The chapter focus right now if "water". Morgan has been completely bored with the discussion of "evaporation", "condensation", "persipitation" and the like. Jaden has had to take many breaks from the class work, so I decided to take them on a field trip. We went to a nearby pond to see some of the great animals and man-made things that are in a pond.

Morgan's Penpal receives his letter!!!

I just received this picture of Morgan's penpal Simbwa Henry receiving his letter from Morgan. Morgan drew him a picture & then dictacted to me what she wanted to say to him. It will be fun to receive his letter to Morgan! Jaden, of course, was disappointed that we don't have a picture of her penpal Nakaiza Vanesa with her letter yet... Only God and the post office understand why letters don't get where they are supposed to at the same time as other letters that were mailed together... Hopefully, we will see a picture with Nakaiza Vanesa and her letter soon.

Get Rid of the Stuff you don't need (books)~ Money Saving Tip #21

Do you have books lying around your house that you will never read again? After having our garage sale this weekend, I still have thousands of books left! Now, LeCount found this cool site that will buy books! I will be busy this week seeing which ones will sell, and I will keep you posted. These are the kinds of books they buy:

Religion
History
Psychology
Textbooks
Business
Educational
Computers
Travel
Medical
Economics
Marketing
Art
Self-Help
Sociology
Politics
Law
Gardening
Sports
Foreign Lang.
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Current Fiction
Biography



And here is the link to the web-site. Now go out and make some money!
CKY Books

The New Cool Thing to do @ Our House

The girls have just recently become fascinated with their dolls (the Barbie-like type dolls). Jaden got the house a few years ago, and Grandma Alice & Grandpa Bonnie bought her a lot of furniture to go with the house. However, she was only playing with it for a few minutes at a time here and there. Now, they are having a blast playing together!!! When I was younger, especially after my dad died when I was 9, I could play Barbies for HOURS!!! I love seeing them enjoy the same things that I enjoyed.

I don't do well with hopping insects

The homeschool question of the day: Do you know what kind of insect this is?

I am always afraid that the hopping insects will accidentally hop on me and get stuck... That is what freaks me out. But, this insect was so unbelieveably beautiful that I had to run inside to get my camera. I love how he looks like a leaf with legs! Isn't it amazing how many opportunities are all around us to learn something new? What a beautiful world we live in!

Lots and Lots of Books for Sale!

We have THOUSANDS of books for sale, so if you are looking for something... feel free to stop by and take a gander. This weekend, we will be putting some (not all... because that would be totally exhausting) of the books out. There are hardcover & paperback and all kinds of genres. Every single book is going for 5 cents a piece!! If you miss out on the sale this weekend, I am sure we will still have thousands of books left to look through!! If you have a few hours to sort through buckets of books looking for treasures, just let me know and we can get together on a time.

...My Two Front Teeth

Just in time for Halloween, Jaden now has the mouth of a Jack-O-Lantern! It is hilarious!! Her front two bottom teeth are the ones that are missing now. I can see one of the adult teeth coming through already, too!! She only just recently turned 5! Good grief!!

A Visit with the Cousins

James, Paige and Aunt Amy came for a short visit. Even though Morgan and James are very close in age, Morgan was drawn to Paige instead. She is facinated with her!!! As you can tell by the very last picture, as soon as they arrived, Jaden and Morgan had Paige surrounded!! They did play with James, but had to keep coming back to Paige to hand her toys.

The Tooth Fairy

Apparently, the tooth fairy brings more than money! Jaden laid her tooth out in an envelope for the tooth fairy, and when we awoke the next morning, there was a Bratz doll in its place! Hmmmmm... I wonder if I can get some of my teeth to come out... Maybe she could bring me something exciting like a working toilet!!

Free Wi-Fi at the Cafe~ Money Saving Tip #20!

We are having problems with our computer off and on. The desktop is completely out of service, and the laptop doesn't always have an internet connection. Well, computer life must go on because there are many important things to do online (banking, selling, connecting with friends and family, etc). We found a free wi-fi spot close to home, and the girls came with me to "the office". They did their school work while I was online for 30 minutes or so. I have found that there are many places you may not even think of that offer the service. So, if you are out and about, and need an internet connection, check out some of these sites to find a free connection near you!:

Wifi Free Spot

Open Wifi Spots

Google Wifi Spots

Necklace Making Factory

This box has the beads seperated by color~ 80% of the beads I hand made. Then, I gave them some time to cure... After a few days, they were ready for stringing

Morgan's little toes are so cute~ she has them positioned this way while she strings the beads.

I made most of these beads, and then, I bought a few packages of spacer beads and pendants to go with them. The let the girls put the necklaces together. They came up with some great combinations, and the necklaces are beautiful!!! We are having a garage sale/fundraiser, and we hope to sell a few of them there. We have about 30 completed necklaces to sell right now, so I hope they go well.

Oktoberfest

Isn't this precious?!

The INedible candy apple

German dancing

Dart throwing

Prize winning

Trying to ring the bell

And winning more prizes

I guess I didn't mention it was really HOT!! So, Morgan cooled down a little

I thought going to an Oktoberfest would be educational and fun for the girls. I know these pictures look exciting, but it wasn't that great. The main attraction was beer. That seemed to be what everyone had come for. Since we weren't interested in the beer, there wasn't too much left for us to do. So, we stayed for an hour, and then, we headed home.