King Tide Season & Seed Art

Patrick took the younger two kids for a beach afternoon. They don't tire of digging holes.

This boy loves this boy.

As part of Colleen's ice skating lessons, she can invite any friends to come to the public skate on her lesson day for super cheap. So Brynn, Logan, & Rylie came to skate with us one afternoon.

 

I had researched the king tide schedule for the year and new the lowest tides would be in Nov/Dec/Jan. So I put the invite out to our homeschool group to meet us at Devereaux beach for tide pooling. Since it was a Friday night, the beach was pretty packed with college students. But the sunset was magical and the tidepools were full of all kinds of creatures. We saw an octopus, shrimp, crabs, and so many sea stars, sea cucumbers and anemones.

  

Tate's first time putting his feet in the Pacific Ocean.

This guy snuggled into me for about a half hour. Bliss!

 

Every time we go tidepooling, I walk away with wonder at the glory of God's creation.

Kinsley ended up spending most of a Saturday with us, playing in the mud, and eating a picnic of soup. Tristan joined them for a little bit.

Since we have been studying work composting, I arranged a family field trip to a local vermicomposting farm. The kids were able to see within their worm bins and learn all about their process.

We hosted another climbing afternoon at the SB Rock Gym before it closed. Colleen was allowed to belay Ezekiel and she was SO proud of herself.

 

Dinner with friends, followed by creating seed art.

 

Gorgeous Hikes & a New Brace

Colleen and Kinsley have started spending their afternoons together making mudpies in the backyard.

Our thankful tree started strong this year.

Sunday afternoon hike together at Cold Springs Canyon

Amazing views of the ocean and Channel Islands on our trek out of the canyon.

 

Amelia finally received her new brace! It is so much more comfortable than her first one.

Making leaf skeletons

 

Patrick set aside a Friday evening to make gluten free, dairy free ravioli as an experiment. It was tasty!

 

Joni & Friends Field Trip

I had asked our homeschool group to submit ideas for field trips they wanted. One of our moms suggested the Joni & Friends International Disability Center which is only an hour from our home. I had read Joni Eareckson Tada's book many years ago, but I had no idea of the extent of her ministry.

Our visit to the center started with an exploration of how different disabilities affect daily functioning. 

 

Gorgeous fountain surrounding the chapel in the center of the building.

We learned about the lack of wheelchairs around the world, how the disabled are neglected, and how Joni & Friends works to get wheelchairs distributed.

Beautiful murals 

Then we were able to see art Joni had created herself.

Getting to sit in the chapel and sing a hymn together

And visit her radio recording room. Her radio broadcast has been continuously aired for over 40 years now.

Then we were in for a huge surprise. We were able to meet Joni herself. She spoke to our group on God's faithfulness and deep love. She invited questions, asked us to pray with her for her ministry, and welcomed a group photo. It was an amazing trip.