Stuck in the Middle

I have dreams...and I'm the kind of person that takes risks, just does stuff. Makes it happen. However, my two dreams don't really work together. It's almost...sort of...one or the other.

I read blogs because I love to see and become inspired by women creating purposeful lives for themselves. Two blogs in particular make me super happy. Am I envious? Maybe a little. Do I let that get me down. Not one bit.

My two dreams have to do with HOME and ADVENTURE.

What I read for home inspiration - http://zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com/

A country home with land to run free, food grown and preserved, animals cared for, etc.

What I read for adventure inspiration - http://www.roaditup.com/blog/

A life of adventure, living outside, exploring.

I do not wish to live in an RV or van or tent. Not full time anyway. I love the feeling of home, of returning home, of a safe haven...on solid ground. A place where I will still be 50 years from now, where my kids will return, where memories are made. However, memories are also definitely made (I have made a million) on adventures. When I turn that corner and the Tetons pop into view again I will surely be taken back to that day...I want my kids to have those memories too...

I think I can make both of these things happen for us. We will not have an RV and probably our country house will resemble (ok it will be) a trailer. But those things do not matter when it comes to making memories. I can make a trailer a home and I am perfectly happy in a tent. No RV necessary. We will go on adventures as a family now and in the next few years. We will live happily in our current warm, comfortable, happy home. In a few years we will move to the country. I will settle more, take care of the land and animals, and my kids can adventure on their own.

Anyhoo,

Look at this girl! She is all mine! Her newest accomplishments are standing, waving, and dancing. She loves to dance!

 We went to watch the Texans game at Jamie's house and her neighbor had some wild rabbits in the backyard.

 I made pretzel sticks. However, I switched to breadsticks mid recipe. The recipe calls for you to sort of pre cook the pretzels in simmering water with baking soda. After one batch, they were sticking like crazy. I omitted the step and they turned out great.

 Move over Wale! We've got a new troublemaker in the house!

 When all of the kids were going back to school and posting photos online I decided to take our picture as well.

 What they do during their lunch break. Have fun with that!

 Making progress on our Native American folders. All of the kids have two tribes they are learning about. Once the folders are complete they will present their tribes to everyone in front of the "class."

 Learning about Alaska. I showed everyone a bunch of my old photos and they were really excited. However, there is a lot of "ugggh! You got to go everywhere and we don't get to go anywhere!" I always tell them that I did not even leave the state of Texas until I was 12 and that they have already been to five states (and all over Texas).

Babies sure do love Nerf bullets.

We found a mystery creature. It has all of the characteristics of a spider, but obviously only has six legs. However, it does not have wings or three body segments so it is not an insect. We think maybe it lost two legs in a battle of some sort.

The kids saw this one insect on the window and kept calling it a cricket. It did look like a cricket but I kept telling them that it couldn't be. It did not have the long ovipositor in the back. After some research, I discovered that it was a wasp! And it lays eggs in cockroach egg cases! So we likely have cockroach egg cases in our house! Yay!

Super simple science experiments. We learned about photosynthesis, chloroplast, and chlorophyll. I let them dig up a few of my caladiums from outside (I told the plants it was going to be okay) and place them in small pots. One is in the windowsill and one is in a dark closet.

Our science museum membership is about to expire so we took one last trip. With the kids back in school we had the place to ourselves. It was lovely. We walked around the exhibits for some time and then saw the Africa 3D IMAX show.

The Monarch picture is from across the street at the gardens. They were everywhere!

Since we are learning about Native Americans we spent a lot of time in the Ancient Americas exhibit.

We talked about how much time and effort they put into everything they did. How long must it have taken to make this one pair of moccasins? And most Americans just go to Wal Mart and pick up a pair made in China. It's sad. The loss of craftsmanship. Maybe when Shina shoots his first deer I will make him some.

I think that's it. See you next week!