Games, Early Treats, and Happy Birthday Grandpa Roger!!!!

Both kids went back to school on Monday and Amy fought off the sore throat to end with a sinus infection:)  BUT, we are on the mend and still had fun in the evenings.  We hope everyone is doing their best to stay healthy and to be kind to themselves and to others.  AND, we can't forget to mention a BIG Happy 80th Birthday to Grandpa Roger!!!!  Happy Birthday and lots of love from A^4!!

Game night with the family!  Ayson did not want his picture taken but he did play too:)

The boys

Making Grandpa Roger's birthday card

Addie insisted on getting a picture of all sides of her card :) 

Snakes and ladders (with multiplication)!  We went high tech and use Addie's school computer to roll the dice

A flock of grackles stopped by for a snack before flying off

Ms Annie stopped by to give the kids a Halloween treat as this is the FIRST year that she will not be home for Halloween and our 2 make up half of her yearly Halloween visitors.

Flashlights and chocolate!!  Thank you, Ms Annie!!!

Shadow found another Barbie doll shirt to carry around.  Silly cat!

Taking it through the cat door and back again.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa Roger!  Grandpa holding the flowers that we sent him complete with a 1948 Ford truck :)

Adam was hunting over the weekend and had an early thanksgiving dinner with his family!  Hahaha, that is what we did last weekend :)

First Cold of the School Year - Check!

The kids and Adam are over their colds and Amy managed to fight the worst of the cold off!  Yay!  We did have lots of down time to play, read, and watch TV.  As parents, Adam and I are trying our best to teach the kids not to have a fixed/negative mindset and to instead have a growth/positive mindset.  Luckily for us, the kids don't watch too much TV as the negative political campaign advertisements from both of the major political parties are disappointing and embarrassing.  As scientists, we provide references to our statistics so that reader/listener can do the research themselves and verify our information (and support our credibility).  Credibility is something that is lacking in ALL negative political ads.  It blows the mind to know that over 5 BILLION dollars has been raised for each election since 2008.  This year, the fund raising from Jan 2019-Sep 2020 has been 16 BILLION dollars.  I am not certain about your counties, but our county has had to layoff employees due to no funding.   Our county is the entity that funds the public hospitals, police, and parks in addition to the Health Depart with all of the contract tracers (COVID was certainly not in anyone's budget for 2020).  THINK of all of the positive efforts that could have been possible in education, medicine, environment, with those billions of dollars.  At least we can use the negativity, repeated misstatements /lies, and disrespectful words as a teaching lesson for the kids.  Our wish is for all human beings (regardless of political party, religion, race, sexual orientation, physical ability) is respect, kindness, the opportunity for a good education, and an open mind.  We might have different beliefs but we are all human and each of us is no better than another human being.

Milkweed seeds in our yard ready to fly

Ayson working on sketches of his character, Eye :)

Gorgeous fall sky with a little blue peeking on the left

Never too old for crazy sand

Fall hike at Tracy Lake.  Amy took an overhead action shot

OK, now we pose (while Ayson ran away - hahaha)

Hard to tell from this picture that it was a windy day!

Pretty fall leaves

The kids (big and small) county up their change.  Adam had $180 in change!

A Low Key Week and Weekend

 A low key week and weekend for Amy and the kiddos while Adam was hunting.  We had fun Monday through Wednesday evening.  At 7:30 on Wednesday evening, Addie told Amy that she had a sore throat.  Addie forgot to mention the sore throat when she got home from school because she was too fascinated by the quick hail storm that rolled through just as the kids were getting home from school.  After a trip to the Drs office on Thursday (with no inflammation in the throat or ears) and a nasal swab COVID test for Addie, A^3 spent the weekend at home.  Ayson started getting a sore throat on Saturday and so did Adam :( Addie's negative test result came Sunday morning.  Amy is waiting for her turn to go down...wash your hands!!!!

Addie's globe pumpkin that she painted in class for Social Studies - complete with continent and ocean names:)

The kiddos testing out the Tesla Coil.  Turns out a person can shock another person just by touching the coil and then touching the other person - hahaha.

Pretty delicate flower hanging on it to fall

Pumpkin carving - Addie took the photos while Amy was picking raspberries

Addie and her baby pumpkin

Amy's loot

More basketball - 

Look UP!

at the pretty sky :)

Ayson taking his science test virtually since both kids were home due to Addie's cold and pending COVID test results.  He got a 98 percent on his ecosystem unit science test.  Great job, Ayson!

Amy spent the low key weekend getting to know Grandma Edna Roe's (Amy's Grandma) sewing machine - which was purchased in January 1970 (as noted by the receipt/warranty info in the sewing machine case).  Grandma Roe kept everything immaculate and it was neat to look though the sewing basket at everything that Grandma had collected over the years.

Gorgeous Saturday evening sky

Tada!  Ayson hand sewed most of the legs and then Amy helped sew the straps and shirt for Ayson's Boris costume (from Bendy and the Ink Machine)

A tin container that Grandma Roe used to store little safety pins.

Hello, Fall!

 A gorgeous week with plenty of playtime of basketball and frisbee after dinner.  Ayson's 5th grade class took a virtual field trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan and Ranger Dave told the kiddos about the lake and dune ecosystem and invasive species.  Addie has just started to get into multiplication and division in her math class and we have practicing at home at her request :)  

We hope that all of our family and friends are healthy and making time to get outside and enjoy the gorgeous fall.

Ayson was not happy with the dinner options on Tuesday so he made a 1/4 batch of pancakes - hahaha...fractions!

SO close to balancing!

Another game of PIG, anyone?
The blog put the pictures in reverse order and I refuse to fix them.  Both kiddos made plenty of baskets AND Amy caught one of Addie's basket as the ball was half way in!

Yay, Addie!

Full moon setting on Friday morning was incredible!

Pretty flowers from our gardens

Habanero peppers are ready!

Amy's Team's meeting companion

Gorgeous morning shot

And more basketball!  Of course the boys give each other a hard time when it is there time to shoot.

A story from Addie and she made us the "Roe" family :)

These two items have been missing for at least 4 years each.  The wooden spoon was found while cleaning the dryer vent that was blocked with lint (and a wooden spoon).  The plastic toy wrench was part of a toy tool set that Ayson had when he was a toddler.  The wrench was in the motor case in Amy's treadmill.  The wrench must have been jostled recently and moved to a new location that interfered with the incline motor as horrible noises only started last week.  

Gorgeous colors on October 2!

This little bee was on this flower on Saturday after sunset and then gone the next day.

Smile!

Purple coneflower

Gorgeous Saturday evening with insects floating/flying in the air

Amy found her "Young Authors" books that she wrote, illustrated, and made into actual books (with Grandma Pat's help, of course) in first grade through sixth grade: )

Addie reading "The Animals Escaped"

In "A New Classmate", the kids

read the story of a skunk that followed a little girl to school.

Sunday morning hike at Pratts Falls!  

The "pose" tree :)

Gorgeous day to be out on the trails

We played hide and seek while walking:  Amy and one child would stand and count and Adam and the other child would hide somewhere along the trail. 

Adam left Amy and Ayson a few clues: sunglasses on a tree and a backpack at the base of the tree:)

The boys had a hankering for apple pie but Ayson strongly dislikes peeling apples so Adam picked up a peeler along with apples at Deer Run.

TaDa!

Mixing the apple filling

Yum!