About a year ago, Jude found the Discovery Toys Marbleworks in one of my homeschool catalogs and begged for it. He would spend large amounts of time looking at the catalog and imagining the configurations he could build! He was obsessed. Even if I had chosen to spend $43 that way, we didn't have $43 to spend! So, we cut the picture out of the catalog and started saving cardboard tubes (paper towel, toilet paper, wrapping paper) to make our own.

Here's what we built:

The boys were completely happy with the duct tape, cardboard, styrofoam cup, paper plate version of the toy, even though it only lasted two days!

Well, in God's Providence, last week we stopped in to a thrift store that I had been wanting to check out. We looked around a little and the lady working there told us that they are closing in a week and everything in the store was half off. What could be better? A half-off sale at a THRIFT store!! Anyway, after digging through countless piles of stuff (it wasn't very organized), guess what I found?

And, it was on sale for $2.50! It is missing one small piece, but other than that it is intact. I washed all the pieces in soapy water and then put it away for a rainy day.

This morning, Jude was ecstatic to awaken to dreary, cold rain! "MOMMY! IT'S RAINING! WE CAN DO THE MARBLE THING!"

I didn't hear a peep for two hours -- they even forgot about their afternoon snack! They learned about gravity, structure, teamwork, sharing, coordination, how to pry stuck marbles out of small spaces... but the best part is that they first learned contentment and making due with what they had. Then, they learned about God's Providence and care for us in giving us even the extra, fun things that we don't need.  

Remember this Christmas present? There was a little funeral procession to the bathroom this morning, where Moses was laid in a watery grave. I can't believe he lasted three years and a move! 

Yikes, time is flying, every day is jam-packed and we are moving in two weeks!

Every time I suggest we pack another box, I hear groans of, "But I still want to play with that" and "Do we HAVE to pack more?" So, when the idea of packing the puzzles was met with horror, this was my solution: Each boy had to complete ALL of the puzzles for his age level before we put them in the box. It not only kept them busy for a good 25 minutes, but it also ensured that they were pretty puzzled out for a little while. Yay!

Then, just to prove our insanity, we decided to take a road trip three weeks before our move. Actually, Mike was scheduled to preach in Ashley, ND and then to act as the M.C. of a charity banquet and silent auction in Minot, ND. So, we packed up (just suitcases this time) and headed north.

Our dear hosts, James and Michelle (whom I did not get pics of -- I'm such a bad documenter -- if that's a word) were lovely and we had a great time of fellowship and play time with their adorable son. The boys were even treated to a plane ride for fun!

Then on to Minot, where we got to stay with some of our adopted Minot family and again I was remiss in the photography dept. However, I did get a pic of Peter's first night in a big bed. He was so proud and excited to sleep in the "big boy bed" in "Grandpa and Grandma Doc's" guest room:

From there we moved on to the home of our dear friends and other adopted family, Jim and Sandy, and Mike proceeded to his banquet where he sported his new look: a bow tie.

And, last but not least, the crowning achievement of the week: The boys beat the girls at cribbage. Two nights in a row. There will, of course, be a rematch and Sandy and I will rise again. But for now, we'll let the guys have their glory. Even though we did let them win.

This is the most beautiful, nice-weathered fall we have ever had in the Dakotas and we are trying to soak up every minute of it!

Raking the yard is hard work:

Look at our great big pile of leaves:

Ta da! It's really Peter!

Here's the next pile - this one's even bigger:

Tricked you again! It's Jude!

I can't remember the last time it was nice enough to hang laundry out in October!

Happy Fall, Everyone!

We have been talking about going to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha for the past three-and-a-half years, but it seemed there was always something more pressing, no time, no money, etc. So, when our friends, Ron and Gail, invited us to go with them, we were rather excited that it was a week where we had no other outside commitments and the flexibility to change Mike's day off. It was definitely worth the four-hour drive! We were there for seven hours and still did not see everything, but the children were almost as tired as the adults by that time, so we called it a day.   Here are some highlights:

The indoor rainforest was one of our favorite parts.

The butterfly house was beautiful:

The gorilla exhibit was pretty neat, and one of the gorillas "ran" across the enclosure and banged on the window with his fist. I think that was both boys' favorite part of the whole zoo!

Peter and Mrs. A

Mr. A did a lot of lifting!

Fun fact: the Emporer penguin is larger than Peter

This guy looked like he was trying to escape

The carousel:

The first hour of the ride home:

"Mile"stone

"Look, Mommy, I drew ONES!"