Cat Bowl, a wedding, and pizza

I never take enough pictures during football season, so I made sure to bring my camera for the Chaffey/Ontario game.  We had a nice sized group there to watch the 25th Cat Bowl.  It was amazing to think about that we have been going to Chris' games for over 25 years, starting when he was a player himself.  Gracie is wearing her Chaffey hat that Denise Grow made for her, and is hanging out with Abby and Emi.

 The game was played at Montclair this year, so Dylan could hardly wait for the game to be over so that he could throw the football on the field with Matt.  Matt is a great sport to run around with all the kids after games. By the time we leave, Dylan has run all over the field, is sweaty, and happy.

 It was a great game to watch, with Chaffey coming back in the last seconds to score the winning touchdown.

 What a perfect family picture for the Brown xmas card, except for the fact that they were missing Madison! Chris got to hold this trophy for the first time as a player, and now 25 years later as the coach.

 After the game, Gracie could hardly wait to ride around Montclair High in the golf cart.  Perhaps this is the coolest part of him being athletic director.  Bill drove us to our car in the parking lot, and then went back to get Abby.  Sadly I didn't get a picture of Abby riding in the cart, but she was super excited.  She even wrote the sweetest thank you card to Bill for taking her on a ride.

 Another pretty picture of the three girls...this time before Laura and Travis' wedding at Edwards Mansion in Redlands.  It was fun to see a wedding take place at the same spot where Bill and I almost got married 15 years ago.  The spot was beautiful and perfect for the Woodsides.

 

We love when the Denistons come to visit!  Here are Betsy and Gracie wearing their napkins as hats. We were thankful that Caleb and Betsy were able to spend Saturday and Sunday nights with us.  We enjoyed getting to sit at the same table with Betsy, Caleb, John, Molly and Delaney.  After the wedding, we stopped for pizza at the Gourmet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands. 

Gracie is playing around with the camera here, but I thought she got some interesting angles.  Here is Emi...

 Molly...

 Delaney and John

While we were eating we talked a lot about babies.  At that point, we thought Sarah was about to have her baby, and we started planning Molly's "moustache and bows" party.  Can't wait to find out whether Molly is having a boy or girl on Saturday!  More to come about babies in the next couple of posts!

Little House on the Prairie Day!

This month we have been enjoying Little House on the Prairie for our home school group.  Gracie has also been working on a report on Sacajawea, so she was able to share the information she has learned with our group.  Dylan did research on the Osage Indians (the kind mentioned in the book) and he shared details on that subject.  Luke decided to talk a little about why wolves howl at the moon, after reading the chapter about wolves.  Last month, all three kids were a little nervous before they spoke, and this time around, they all were so much more relaxed.  I'm so thankful for these opportunities for them to build confidence in their public speaking abilities!

 After each child had their turn speaking to the group, Marilyn took us on a nature walk and we examined the differences between Cottonwood and Sycamore trees.  Marilyn lives in Norco and is surrounded by homes with horses! 

 Once again, my mom came to help me out with Caleb. Caleb always gets excited when she comes to our door, and always wants her to play a game with him.  He told me the other day, "Grammy is my friend!"

 The kids collected different types of branches from the various trees and compared them.

 Marilyn had Dylan show the different types of leaves that we discovered.

 I'm so thankful that Dylan is a good sport about being involved in everything. He's the oldest one of the group, and helps out with the little ones.

 Last week Abby came over and helped us dye macaroni for our patterned Indian necklaces.  I was impressed that even the boys enjoyed this activity.

 We also made Indian headbands.  We really enjoyed getting to spend time with the Medina family. Reuben and Isaac were such a fun addition to our group.

 Sweet Miss Laurie :)

 By the end of the day, Luke's necklace was in pieces and his headband was soaked in sweat. But, he had a great time!

 Winona

 Wade

 I know the Indians in our history books didn't play hockey but our Indians had a great time playing some field hockey!

 Laurie and Abby showed us how to make Indian fry bread.  Abby was very skilled with the rolling pin, and they came out wonderful.  They were so good, warm with honey!

 After lunch, the moms were happily surprised to see the kids organize their own activities.  They wanted to play musical chairs, but didn't have any music.  So, they took turns playing the guitar, beating the hockey stick on the trash can, and playing the drums on the bench.

When it got too warm to play outside, they came in on their own and organized a game of charades in the living room.  I love moments like this, when everyone is getting along, encouraging each other, and just having fun.

Hello Wilbur!

 Thanks to our friend Marilyn, we were able to go to the LA county fair for free again this year with our homeschool group.  The fair has been a tradition in Bill's family for his whole lifetime so it has special memories and meaning for him when we go each year.  This year it seemed like Caleb was noticing everything for the first time.  We enjoyed watching this mama pig with all her piglets.

 I would like to think that Bill is sharing something very educational here with the kiddos, but can't remember what we were even looking at!  I was thankful he could take a few hours off of work to come with us.  We were happy to see that the "Ten Pound Buns" stand was back, but I was very sad to see that my favorite gingerbread house had been torn down :(

 We met up with the McKenzies and the Shorts and enjoyed going through the Kids Educational  building and the dinosaur exhibit.

 Here you can see Luke with a map!  He loves them! Anytime we go to Sea World, he carries one around with him, and it was no different with the fair.  Here he is with Wade Short and Aiden McKenzie.

Here is most of our group except for Caleb, who seems to be at the stage of life in which he insists on never participating in group photos.