• Adventures

    Anniversary Getaway

    In celebration of our 25th anniversary, Lyle and I are enjoying  a few days away from our normal responsibilities. My mother kindly offered to come “keep the girls company” at home. We are staying at a lovely bed and breakfast out in the country on Bainbridge Island, just west of Seattle. We plan to ride the ferry into the city…

  • Homeschooling

    Fort Walla Walla field trip

    Yesterday we drove down to visit the Fort Walla Walla museum. My “neighbor” blogger, Katey @ Crazy Homeschool Mama, posted about their visit to the museum a few days. It looked so interesting, and since Walla Walla is only about 3 hours away we thought it would be a fun day trip for the family before Lyle and I take…

  • Adventures

    Manito Park

     It’s amazing to me that a person can live somewhere for years and still discover new places! Especially when it’s been 12 years (that we’ve lived in north Idaho) and the “new” place is a 90-acre park on Spokane’s South Hill that has been there for a hundred years! I just gotta wonder, how in the world did we not…

  • Adventures

    Last Camping Trip of the Season

      We’re die-hard campers. Not extreme campers, mind you, but we usually go later in the season than most people. The campgrounds are quieter this time of year, naturally, but we also enjoy the fall colors, the cool crisp air and the warmth of the campfire. This past weekend we had sunny skies and brisk temperatures. Lyle and I went…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge

    I love old-fashioned “girl” books. When I was growing up (and voraciously reading just about anything I could get my hands on… okay, who am I kidding? I still do that!) I loved series books. I also figured out quite early on that if I particularly enjoyed a book I should look for more books by the same author. And…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Books Read in September

    …for the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 78. A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman 79. A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin 80. Her Daughter’s Dream by Francine Rivers 81. The Black Madonna by Davis Bunn 82. Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah 83. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 84. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston 85.…

  • Adventures

    Camping on the St. Joe

    Turns out, as I’ve recently discovered, if you keep a man in town over the weekend, he’s gonna go in to work, at least a little while. So if the weather forecast is promising and the man says, “Wanna go camping?” I say, “Let’s go!” This past weekend we stayed at a Forest Service campground along the beautiful St. Joe…

  • Adventures

    Mr. Moose Goes to Town

    We only live about 2 miles from the print shop where Lyle works, so he usually comes home for lunch. Today as we were finishing lunch, his cell phone rang. That’s not unusual either, as his co-workers often have questions that need immediate answers. But he wasn’t on the phone long this time. He hung up and told us, “Loren…

  • Heritage

    Happy Birthday, Mother!

    Recently I came across this sweet picture of my mother and her older sister celebrating their first and second birthdays respectively. Aunt Donnie’s birthday is earlier in September and Mother’s is today, so they were just over a year apart in age. Mother says they always celebrated their birthdays together growing up. They went out to lunch to celebrate this…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Books Read in July and August

    I failed to get my reading list for July posted earlier… so continuing with the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, here is my reading list for July and August: 63. Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon 64. The Seeker by Ann H. Gabhart 65. Katy’s Debate by Kim Vogel Sawyer 66. Premiere by Melody Carlson 67. Amish Proverbs by Suzanne Woods…