Civil Air Museum

 Emily's Girl Scout troop got to go on a little tour of the Civil Air Museum in Rogers.

October 2020

 Emily's best friend Charley had her birthday party at the Girl Scout horse ranch.  Emily was in heaven!

Emily was reluctant to do this school art project in the style of Van Gogh, but once begun, she had a blast!

Beautiful autumn walk with Rocket

Emily dressed as Evie from Descendants for Halloween, and her friend Charley dressed as Mal from the movie.  We had a little Halloween party with Charley and her brother Reed.

Brendan carved this spooky Jack O'Lantern, while Emily carved a sweet one with hearts for eyes. We received some Jack O'Lantern teeth 3D printed by their Uncle Lee, so Emily carved one just for the teeth, too!

Rocketdog Crafts

After making so many face masks to donate to the schools, and in need of purchasing more supplies, I decided to list some on Etsy to sell in hopes of making a little money towards supplies.  I already had an Etsy shop from years ago, but the name left something to be desired.  Rocketdog Crafts was born and has the cutest spokesmodel you can imagine.  So far, I've only sold a few masks.  Hopefully, I'll be able to sell some more or come up with some other cute things to make and sell on there.  

Napkin, screen cloth pouch, masks & bows, pot holder

Roaring River State Park

 Yesterday we went to Roaring River State Park in Missouri with the Wittenberg family.  It was a much needed respite for Steve and the kids who have been stressed out with school and stuck at home or walking/riding the same trails over and over.  

The autumn colors were breathtaking, and the day could not have been more perfect for outdoor activities.  There was a crazy amount of people there - this pandemic has gotten everyone looking for outdoor activities.  We were able to keep pretty separated from other family groups and we tried not to touch things like railings, so hopefully is was not only a fun outing, but a safe one, too.

At the park, the first thing we chose to do was walk the Eagles Nest trail.  It was listed as a 2.4 mile hike, but Sara's tracking device showed us having walked 3.6 miles.  It was a very enjoyable hike with only a small amount of somewhat steep uphill trekking, along rocky bluffs and among the fall foliage.  The younger kids stopped and drew some leaves and snacked.  Brendan enjoyed taking pictures during the entire trip, and Rod and Steve wandered off to look for critters hiding in the rocks and branches.

When we finished the hike, we relaxed by the river, waded in the water, and ate lunch.  There were lots of people fishing along the banks just a short ways down from us.  

Once we'd eaten and rested, we decided to go see the fish hatchery.  Again, it was rather overrun with people, but we still managed to socially distance while enjoying watching and feeding the fish.  The kids enjoyed feeding the fish and watching the water look like it was boiling as numerous fish vied for each precious piece of food.  We also spotted a good sized midland water snake in the water, and enjoying watching it as it poked its head in every crevice it could find as it, too, searched for food.

Finally, we called it a day and headed for home, tired, but happy and full of good memories!

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

 Today Emily's Girl Scout troop met at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve for a beginner's mountain bike ride.  Our family had never been to the Preserve, so Brendan came along to check it out with us.  It is a really cool place!  Even the benches for resting by the trail are artistic.  Brendan struck out on his own and found a blue square rated trail to try.  He did great and said it was a fun trail.  Meanwhile, Emily and the other girls rode on some easy dirt trails, stopped for a break to swing on a big swing that is set up off the trail, and a few of them even tried a more difficult trail.  They really had a great time.  We will definitely need to come back soon!

8th Street Bike Trail

The new bike trail we've had our eyes on is finally complete and open for riders!  It's basically just a big, circular pump track, but for new riders it is a blast.  Brendan got bored with it pretty quickly, but he still wants to go around on it a couple times if we happen to be riding by on our way to or from Crystal Bridges.  Emily wants to stay and ride on it for an hour or two!  It's wonderful how many mountain bike trails the town has put in, and nice that many of them are perfect for beginners.

August 2020

• Trying out the new sewing machine
• Brendan wanted a black mask with a red lining; all the black cotton fabric is sold out.  He thought this black snakeskin was still pretty cool
• Masks we made for donation to the schools
• Brendan is really getting into mountain biking
• Curly hair
• First day of school photos.  The kids are virtual, but we went to the school to pick up her virtual school packet and take a few pictures
• Doing her virtual schoolwork
• Brendan's first day of virtual school photo
• More time at the lake!