9/6 - Saturday - I began teaching the fall session of ballet. Katie had soccer in the mornings at the Middle School. We usually went to the farmer's market for fresh produce and eggs. This day I took a ballet class myself. Whoa...my first class since I participated in the People to People Dance performance in the beg of June!
Here are two pictures of a few kids at the soccer fields when it was rainy and not everyone had rec'd the message that soccer had been cancelled. The kids ended up playing and having fun despite the weather. Jackson's grandmother (who was visiting) took this photo and his mom Whitney sent the photos to me. So nice! Kids in picture: Nick, Jackson, Katie and Charlotte.
9/7 - Sunday - We all drove to Perham's in West Paris, Maine to find out where to go mining for minerals and gems. Li really wanted a mining hammer, but the cheapest ones were forty bucks and we all agreed that we'd use the regular hammers from home which we bought. We met some interesting people there who explained alot about the different rocks and minerals we found. Some especially nice folks offerred the kids to help them search in the water and use their equiptment. We even had a surprise visit from Mr. and Mrs. Perham! Cool!
9/8 - Monday - Jim had off and we went to the General Henry Knox Museum for a homeschool tour.
9/9-9/12 - Went to MDI for a trip (see another blog entry for pictures and more info.)
9/13 - Li took karate (his first of two private classes before he joined in a class). This photo of Mr. Andrew and Li is from 10-28-08 after a regular class.
9/15 - Our Citizen's for a Green Camden did an Adult Ed Class at the high school. Had a small amount of people, but interested and active folks.
9/17 - The Common Ground Fair. We only went on Friday this year. Had a great time. Saw Matt, Rosie, Josiah, Leo, Ben and Rosie's mom Shirley there as well as many other folks we/I knew. The kids took turns acting like a musher and dog on the dogsleds. Katie especially enjoyed talking with the folks who offer dogsledding adventures in the winter. Jim and I especially enjoyed Alex's fabulous sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches! And we all took turns sliding on cardboard boxes down the big hill by the stage!
9/27 - Alpaca Day - Went to that same farm off Melvin Heights Road. The kids headed to the swingset after visiting the animals and having loads of cookies and cider.
10/1 - Was suppossed to go apple picking. But ended up going to midwife appt and then caught up with our homeschool group in the corn maze! Had fun in spite of inclement weather.
10/4-10/5 - Wolf set up his tent on Friday the third at the art show (his second show ever) at Camden Harbor Park in the Ampitheater section. He sold one picture during the weekend (the fourth and fifth). Maybe another venue would be better. But best to be grateful for the experience and the knowledge to not go in on expensive shows and to do the Lincolnville one again. Mabye try the summer one in Camden instead of the fall one. And maybe wait until the economy is better. Or maybe just try a totally different art show as this one has so much competition. No harm done, just a learning experience!! (Gotta look at the bright side!)
10/8 - 10/12 - Dee, Megan and Emily Clark came to stay with us. Dee came for a friend's wedding and to be part of her old singing group which was performing for the wedding. We really enjoyed seeing them all! Makana especially loved seeing Emily and even wrote her a letter shortly after she left.
10/10 - Went ice skating at the MRC for the first time this season. There were people there in shorts as the weather outside was still quite warm. I obviously didn't skate, so Makana couldn't either. (What did Makana do while the others were skating? Don't remember! She must have hung out with me there and had some snacks??)
10/17 - Homeschool trip to DEW Animal Kingdom - This was excellent! We all really enjoyed it. Jim didn't get to come. The two folks who run it were great! Heard that the fellow is well, different and might say things that shock people. I thought he was wonderful and so humorous! It was such a great experience! Awesome, friendly animals! We were allowed to touch a couple of them, and the owners were able to interact intimately with them all, even the more dangerous animals!
10/15 - Went to our first ATC (Artist Trading Card) gathering at the Camden Library. The kids and I had a blast making trading cards and then trading some too.
10/22 - Earth Science Day at the Maine State Museum. Saw interesting exhibits. Brought home HUGE pieces of mica, arrowhead replicas, and real shark teeth. Man from the Discovery Museum in Bangor traded the kids geodes for some of the mica. Li and Katie were both very talkative at one of the exhibits/presentations done by a man who spoke about groundwater transportation. I was so proud that they spoke up and answered and initiated questions. Cool!
10/23 - Got my new studded tires on! (Still have to get rid of the old ones!)
10/24 - Damariscotta River Association's Native American program. Kids enjoyed hands on activities and games while learning about the culture of the woman leading the program. Then a Halloween Party at Kirk, Susan, Zach, and Luke Folk's house. I had to keep going outside because I felt it was hard to breathe inside....stuffy with all the people I guess (and esp when I hear lots of noise and people are running around, I tend to get that tight, wheezy feeling). This is the same problem I often get when in a crowded "party" atmosphere. It could be partly how I feel as opposed to a physical problem. No matter what the cause is, I have to listen to my body because how I feel (even if it is all emotional) is just as important as if it were all physical....the symptoms are there none the less and I need to make sure I feel I am getting adequate oxygen, esp since I'm pregnant! I did listen to my body and felt okay afterward. Actually, once the kids went up into Zach and Luke's room and after some people left, it was cooler and I could hang out for a long while. I hope I didn't offend Kirk or Susan going outside so much. (I dressed up as Dorothy...a pregnant one...Katie enjoyed doing my makeup and helping me get ready. Katie got dressed up as a witch in the special outfit she bought. Li dressed up as a ghoul, although he didn't use the blood in the blood pumping mask...saving it for Halloween. Kana dressed as a witch too - Katie helped her dress up. Jim met us after work, not dressed up. Did park jeep half in ditch by accident and had to have huge repairs at Rockport Auto afterward!! Yikes! Or mabye his jeep needed the repairs anyway?)
10/30- Before the library gathering (see below), the kids and I went to Miller's pumpkin farm and then to Rosie and Matt's for carving our pumpkins. Makana had picked out a squash which ended up being too hard to carve, so she borrowed a pumpkin for the night (which was never used as we were all so busy and into other things, but it was so kind of the boys to lend her one! They even said she could have kept it, but she ended up not even thinking about it as the other things going on were so fun. And Jim met us at the library at 6pm. Always great to see Daddy!). Here's the kids posed for a picture at the pumpkin farm:
10/30 - Halloween party at the Camden Library. Inside fun and crafts and food. Then families brought all their carved pumpkins outside to the ampitheater to light up and photograph. They looked so cool in the dark! Oh, the kids dressed up for this event again.
10/31 - Halloween! Kana dressed up as a wizard just because the costume was warmer than the witch one she had been wearing. We went to the Ashwood Walk through the Woods before going trick or treating with the Speno's. Was alot of fun! Katie and Li met up with Keely, Okie and some other girls while we were on Sweetbrier. They went to a couple of houses together and then we caught back up with Jim, Makana and the Speno's. We had a wonderful time again! It was luckily warmer than in previous years. A good workout going around to all the houses too. After we completed our neighborhood, we visited a couple of houses on Gould Street and then went to Marsha and Harry's house on Harden! Excellent!
Here's a photo of Wolfie and Kana at the Walk Through the Woods at Merryspring (awwwww! So cute together):
And here is Wolfie and I (thanks to Katie's great picture taking!! Thanks, Katie!!)
Here's a photo of Katie and Li when we got back from trick-or-treating and one of Matt, Li, Leo, Josiah, Ben and Rosie after we got home.
Here's the kids chowing on the candy and checking their booty!
