Travels | Amy Scott's Thoughts

The Final Stretch May 21, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 1:20 pm

I thought about calling this blog post “The End is Near!” But that seemed a bit too dramatic! All I mean to say is that our school year is about to wrap up. We are about a week away from being finished! Woo hoo! Coming off of two weeks of travel, it’s been a bit of a mad dash to get back to school and then race to the finish line. It’s so close! I’m ready to tie a bow on the school year and call it done!

We started homeschool soccer again last week for the spring season. It’s a short season – only 4 weeks. Owen got his first goal the first week and Graham got his first goal yesterday. This season the teams are smaller so the boys are seeing a lot more action on the field. I’m so proud of them for running hard and engaging with their team. We’ve gone to McDonald’s each week to celebrate the goals with Happy Meals. Soccer makes for big, but exciting Tuesdays.

Last week, we had our final field trip with our homeschool co-op. We visited a local dairy farm to see the day-to-day operations of running a farm. The boys got to pet, feed, and milk the cows. They also got to climb all over a bunch of hay bales like they were a jungle gym. We ended our outing with a hay ride through the pasture. The funny thing about our hay ride was the cows following in a parade behind us trying to munch on the hay we were using as seating. It was quite the sight!

The boys and I were finished with our travels after our Redwoods trip, but Jeremy still had one more traveling adventure on his calendar. He attended a men’s conference with our church on the other side of the state. His brothers and father also come and they golf as much as they can while away. It’s a time that Jeremy looks forward to every year. I held the fort down at home while he was away. Thursday was a normal school day. Friday, the boys and I went to lunch at Panda Express and ran errands in town. I hosted book club Friday night and the boys got some extra video game time with friends who came over to play. Saturday, we had a Portland adventure day with my parents. We roamed IKEA, Barnes & Noble, Petsmart, Target, Powell’s Books, and the LEGO Store. We had a yummy lunch at Red Robin and ice cream at Salt & Straw for dessert. It was a fabulous day exploring our favorite stores and spending time with family.

I look forward to updating you again when we have officially finished the school year. There is definitely a since of accomplishment as we complete our current curriculum. It’s been a good year and I’m proud of the growth I’ve seen in the boys. They are such diligent students and it’s a joy to be their teacher. While we still do school in June and July, it’s a lighter schedule for summer. I enjoy the change of pace and it’s also interesting to start new curriculum. Here’s to wrapping up the final stretch soon and moving on to new adventures!

Celebrating Owen’s 1st goal with Happy Meals last week.

One of our favorite places! Gotta love bird books and Boxcar Children!

Stretch break on the way home to look at chicks. So cute!

Meet Leafy (also known as Leaf). Turbo is feeling under the weather so Leafy became Turbo’s replacement on the mantel. Here’s hoping Leafy can survive this spot.

Our indoor plants might not thrive, but we are trying! Turbo and his single leaf are now blending in with Jolt. Also, how cool is that nest? My dad’s co-worker passed it along so Owen could identify it. He is such a bird nerd!

Soccer was chilly and damp this week, but worth to watch Graham score his 1st goal!

Celebrating Graham’s 1st goal with Happy Meals yesterday.

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Spring Breaks: Part 2 May 12, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 3:17 pm

The last two weeks have been a break from the our usual routine. We’re coming off of back-to-back travels which led to an extra long “spring break” in our school calendar. I love that homeschooling gives us the flexibility to travel during the school year (yay for avoiding crowds). Our first adventure was a work trip for Jeremy and I while the boys stayed with Nana and Papa. The second trip was a family vacation which was packed with educational experiences. I can list it a field trip in our school records. I love experiential, hands-on learning. The great outdoors and the real world make a wonderful classroom! It’s also a nice break from learning at the dining room table.

The work trip was a conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Every spring we attend Network Conference with the Northwest Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God. Our church pastoral team and spouses come together to enjoy this conference together. It’s full of good conversations, many laughs, and lots of food. I love the time away with Jeremy. We talk a lot about ministry due to the nature of the conference, but we also talk a lot of life, parenting, goals, and dreams. It’s a great getaway for us. The boys always have a blast with Nana and Papa. It’s so nice to know they are good hands and having a great time.

Our family vacation was a trip to Redwoods National and State Parks surrounding Crescent City, California. We used Crescent City as our jumping off point to explore both Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. We also spent a decent amount of time at the California coast exploring tide pools and bird watching. We took a tour of Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City. We did Tour Thru Tree and Trees of Mystery in Klamath. Tour Thru Tree is a big tree you can drive through. It’s a quick stop, but a big hit for the kids. Trees of Mystery was a first time experience for us. The Canopy Trail, which was a series of high ropes suspension bridges, and the Sky Trail, a gondola ride, were the highlights of our visit and worth the admission cost. We definitely tested our comfort zones when it came to heights. Overall, our boys loved the majesty of the redwoods. They felt so much wonder as we wandered the forest. The redwoods are a beautiful example of creation declaring the glory of God. Jeremy did a wonderful job researching which trees to see. He made it feel like a scavenger hunt adventure!

The second half of our vacation was driving up Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast. We stopped at West Coast Game Park Safari for a truly unique experience. The park itself is small, but has a large selection of exotic animals. The big cats were a family favorite, but it was also neat to feed the free roaming goats, sheep, deer, donkey, and peacocks. The highlight of the trip was getting to pet Lyla the lynx. It’s not everyday you get to pet a lynx! We also stopped at the Sea Lion Caves before making it to our destination of Newport, Oregon for the night. On our final travel day, we visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area. We saw so many seals and even some pups with mamas. There was more birding and tide pool exploration. We’ve investigated this spot numerous times and it has yet to disappoint. We also made a stop at the Tillamook Creamery. Yes, we were there a month ago, but we couldn’t pass up cheese and ice cream for brunch! Our final adventure was a walk in Cannon Beach to look for puffins nesting on Haystack Rock. The puffins were sighted and we ended our vacation happily exhausted!

Now we’re home and back to the real world. We enjoyed celebrating Mother’s Day with family yesterday and we got back to school (around the dining room) today. We are in the final weeks of our school year. The end is in sight! Hooray! We also have a couple more homeschool co-op commitments this month and we are starting a month of homeschool soccer tomorrow. Lots of a good stuff going on. We are happy to be home!

We enjoy watching travel videos before we visit a new place. Jeremy and the boys thought it would be fun to make one of our adventure to Redwood National and State Parks. Hike along with us and explore some big trees with our family!

Enjoying time away with Jeremy in CDA. Love visiting this area each spring!

We spent so much time at the beach while visiting Crescent City.

Tree huggers! Howland Hill Road in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Searching for all the big trees! Here is Screaming Titan in Grove of Titans.

The Wonder of Creation. Boy Scout Trail in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Junior Rangers for yet another National Park!

Taking advantage of the city pool since our hotel pool was gross.

Sir Isaac Newton (the name of the tree) in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It’s hard to tell with the lighting, but the base of this tree fills up the end picture.

The Tillamook Creamery is always worth a stop.

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The Many Adventures of April April 23, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:29 pm

Between our homeschool co-op, family travels, and Easter celebrations, April has been one fun month! As we move toward the end of our homeschool year, April has it’s own unique vibe. We are counting down the last of our co-op commitments, we are wrapping up schoolbooks, and we are making plans for next year. Last week, I typed up most of the end-of-the-year paperwork I need for our school records. I created our summer school calendar for June and July. I also figured out our first day of school for the fall and counted out our 36 weeks for the next school year. I thrive on sorting details and making plans! YAY!

Our homeschool co-op adventures for April included a first-aid presentation and a field trip to the Ohop Indian Village in Eatonville, WA. The first aid class was both informative and hands-on. The teacher covered choking, cuts, and burns. My boys loved bandaging themselves and their friends. Our field trip to the Ohop Indian Village was also very hands-on. Our guide shared how our local Native American tribes prepared for each season. The kids were allowed to touch and play with all the items they learned about. It was a beautiful day to be outside in nature enjoying the history of our local area.

Easter is a whole weekend of celebrating for our family, not just a day. We had multiple meals with family and multiple egg hunts. The boys enjoyed playing video games with Auntie April and running amuck with their cousins. There was lots of good food, special desserts, family time, and games. Easter Sunday is always a big one for our family with my hubby being a children’s pastor. The boys and I enjoyed a joyful worship time with our church congregation before joining the elementary students for children’s church. It’s such a blessing to spend this special weekend with our church and our family. All these activities are exciting, but they are meaningless without the hope we have in Jesus and his resurrection!

Our latest family adventure was a visit to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. We took a few new paths and Owen saw three new birds to add to his bird-spotting list. It was a lovely, sunny PNW day. It was perfect for being outside in the fresh air. I love that our homeschool schedule allows us to take so many field trips. Learning outside and in hand-on ways is truly a benefit to both my kiddos and myself. The fact that we can tailor these field trips to align with Jeremy’s days off makes the adventures that much sweeter. We get to experience them as a family! I’m positive these will be some of my favorite memories from the elementary school years.

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Spring Breaks: Part 1 April 7, 2025

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 1:54 pm

The bonus of being a homeschool family is we have lots of flexibility with our calendar. We don’t take a traditional week long “spring break” like most schools. Before you feel too sorry for my kiddos, we do take breaks throughout the spring season. It’s fun to add some extra adventures in alongside our normal schooling schedule.

The first mini-break we took was for Jeremy’s birthday. He took the day off of work so we could celebrate the day with him as a family. Our adventure day found us down south in Oregon. Our morning was spent at the Woodburn Premium Outlets shopping for a few clothing items. Shopping can be an educational experience if you make it so. We talked with the kids about what makes factory outlets cheaper than other shopping options. We also talked about the math involved with sales and discounts. I love highlighting these economic elements while our kiddos tagalong on errands. After a tasty lunch at Red Robin (where Graham ate his weight in bottomless fries), we took off for Bullwinkle’s Family Fun Center for a round of mini-golf (which the birthday boy was the winner). We took a drive to admire Willamette Falls, Multnomah Falls, and Horsetail Falls. The weather was in the 80’s and beautifully sunny. It felt like a summer day, not spring! We couldn’t have asked for a better day to celebrate Jeremy!

Our second spring break was with the whole Scott family. All 16 of us Scotts met up at the beach for a vacation together. The house was the perfect size for our large family. The boys loved the game room and the media room. The house was also right on the beach! The view was stunning and you can’t beat a minute walk to the ocean! Family games, beach adventures, and chilling around the house were all highlights of our time together. Again, the weather was beautiful for this adventure – dry and sunny! You couldn’t have asked for better beach weather at the beginning April! Our family came down through Tillamook so we could stop at our favorite place – the Tillamook Creamery! It was a great way to kick-off our vacation time. We also stopped at another favorite, Pig’N Pancake, on the way home. The boys are definitely going through cousin withdrawals now that we’re home. We are so blessed for the genuine friendships with our family. We packed this beach vacation with family memories that our kiddos will take into adulthood. I can’t what to hear what they remember of these wacky and wonderful times we spent together!

We have more spring “breaks” planned in the coming month! Yay! I look forward to sharing these adventures with you soon.

What happens when the parents go out for dinner… Papa and Nana said they could handle all the kids… that seems debatable!

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These February Days are Flying By… February 21, 2025

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 10:51 am

I’m truly shocked to see the end of February creeping up on us! After a quiet start to our month, our calendar picked up pace and now it seems like we’re flying through the month! How is it almost done? There is so much to share today so here we go!

Our homeschool co-op had a field trip to Kalama Sourdough Bakery last week. Best smelling (and tasting) field trip ever!!! We learned how a homeschool student started this company by selling loaves at a farmers market as a young teenager and now as and adult he has grown it into a full time business with 30 employees. It was neat to see how something so small grew into something quite large. The bakery tour was fun and informative. We all received a giant sourdough roll to sample at the end of the tour. So yummy!

We finally got our “snow” day last week! Around 11:00am on Thursday, it started to snow and it was clear that it wasn’t going to let up. Jeremy came home for lunch and decided to stay home due to the condition of the roads. With Jeremy home, we were able to go sledding by pulling the boys behind the minivan on the driveway. Jeremy also passed on his skills for making a “snow bear” (instead of a snowman) to the boys. The kids even made snow angels in their swimsuits when they got into the hot tub that evening. Craziness! It was an afternoon for chilly snow play and warming up with hot cocoa. I got my “grass-fully-covered” snow accumulation that signifies a true snow day in my mind!

The snow day put our Valentine’s Day plans in jeopardy, but thankfully, we were able to keep them despite the winter weather. We try to make Valentine’s Day a little special, but it’s not a big deal in our household. This year we had dinner plans with friends that helped us to up our Valentine’s Day vibes. I decorated with paper hearts on the wall, tablecloths on the tables, flowers and chocolates on the tables, sparkling cider, and HeartBaker pizzas from Papa Murphy’s. Our friends brought all the fixings for chocolate fondue and we used our fondue pot for the first time in many years! It felt decadent and it was the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. It was fun to share this holiday with friends.

After Valentine’s Day, our long weekend of adventures continued! On Saturday, we joined my parents in a visit up north to see our sweet GG. We enjoyed chatting, eating Chipotle, and hanging out at GG’s house for a few hours. Sunday, our family ran errands down in Portland. We were on a mission to find a bookcase at IKEA and we grabbed the last one before they were officially out of stock. It felt like a miracle! Monday, we rearranged our living room after Jeremy built the new bookcase. I spent quite a bit of time moving things around on the shelves, trying to find the right arrangement of items. I love how it turned out! I’m not great at interior design, so I’ll let bookcases display books and games as a form of lifestyle décor. I’m all for displaying what we value. Monday wrapped up with a book shopping outing to Goodwill with a friend. It was good, good day!

I realize that February is a short month, but it always catches me by surprised! The days are flying by so quickly! I’ll see you back here at the end of the month for my monthly reading recap and we’ll see what adventures are right around the corner for our family as the calendar moves away from winter and toward spring.

Our rearranged living room! I love how the bookcases look beside the television.

We moved the bookcase that was on this wall into the living room. Now we get to reimagined this space… I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

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January Adventures January 25, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:04 pm

January in the PNW tends to be wet and I often find myself indoors wondering when I’ll be inspired to go outside again. January 2025 has been surprisingly dry and as a result, our family has been a little more adventurous. Outings are much more enjoyable when it’s dry… However, the trade off for dry is the cold… I guess I’ll take freezing sunshine over rain. At least for now. You know I appreciate a good rainy day as well.

This last weekend was filled with activity. I met with my monthly book club on Friday night. Book time with mom friends is a winning combination. Even though book club keeps me out past my bedtime, I look forward to it every month. We had dinner/game night fun with friends and family. We’ve enjoyed teaching Organ Attack to anyone interested. We even had a blast from the past moment this weekend when we took the boys to The Great Train Show in Puyallup. Owen went when he was tiny and Graham was too young, so we decided to go again with our older kiddos. The LEGO train layout was the highlight, but all the model train layouts were appreciated. We haven’t dabbled in model trains for years now, but they still hold a soft spot in our hearts. We also did a little more window shopping for potential living room furniture at the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse. It’s a quirky place and the boys were thrilled to have free popcorn while we looked around.

This week, our adventures included the start of chess club with our homeschool co-op. The boys learned chess at co-op a few years ago. It was fun to brush up on their chess skills and compete with friends again. After a couple rounds of chess, the boys and their friends switched to a game of Organ Attack (I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that). It’s been sunny the last few Tuesdays which means playground time after co-op to run out extra energy. The boys also worked on a project for church this week. Our lead pastor requested that kids make a recap video for the book of Genesis. Our boys selected the creation story. They worked together to create a picture depicting the seven days of creation and they explained the picture on camera Wednesday night. I’m looking forward to seeing how the video turns out in a week!

The final adventure I have to share is our family trip to the beach yesterday. We had errands to run and the weather was so nice, we thought why not run our errands out at the ocean! It was a beautiful day for a drive out to the coast. We had breakfast our favorite spot, Pig ‘N Pancake. We took a chilly walk on the beach at Cannon Beach and then explored a few spots in town (the toy store, candy store, and bakery). We hit Costco and Walmart before having “linner” at Mo’s (Yay! Clam chowder in a bread bowl!). We were home in time for sunset which was very important to Owen. With all these clear nights, Owen’s hobby of stargazing has picked up again. He is quite passionate about searching the skies in the evenings.

We’ve had a bit more activity this January then previous years, but it’s been balanced with time at home. Today as been an around-the-house day and it’s been a good balance of productivity and downtime. The sunshine coming through the window certainly inspires me to be more active. My family jokes that I’m solar powered. When the sun goes down, I’m ready for bed! I have take advantage of all this sunshine-inspired energy while I have it. On that note, I’m off for a walk!

Furniture shopping is more fun with free popcorn!

The hardest part of visiting the coast in the winter is keeping the kids out of the water! So cold!!!

When walking back with the wind in your face… these kids are creative problem solvers! Ha!

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Christmas 2024: All The Festive Fun December 27, 2024

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry,Family Time,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:19 pm

So much Christmas magic has happened since my last post! It’s almost too much to recap in words so you’ll notice a LOT of photo collages to share the last two weeks. We’ve had church Christmas gatherings, Christmas lights galore, Christmas baking, Christmas movie watching (we introduced the boys to Home Alone 1 & 2 and Journey to Bethlehem), Christmas family celebrations, Christmas shopping, and Christmas gift wrapping. So. Much. Christmas. This time of year is truly magical. The sights, the sounds, the flavors… They bring out child-like wonder in all of us. It’s a joy to celebrate together as a family. All the Christmas festivities are a chance to remember the true reason for Christmas – Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Emmanuel, God with us! I hope and pray that your Christmas season was filled with light, joy, and peace. Merry Christmas from our family to ours!

Jeremy turned our family into cartoons! The kids had a blast helping Jeremy make our Scott extended family into cartoons for Christmas as well.

A weekend filled with Christmas shopping and wrapping, our church float in the Lighted Tractor Parade, and Advent after multiple church Christmas parties.

Christmas Baking: I made molasses softies and sugar cookies. I used Starbucks holiday cups as my color inspiration this year.

Enchant Christmas Light Maze in Seattle, WA

Christmas Day: Stockings and gifts at GG’s house

Day After Christmas: Woke up to no power due to a wind storm, so LEGO building happened by lantern light. We still did our Day After Christmas shopping – books and Pokémon card were a highlight.

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November So Far… November 18, 2024

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:23 pm

November hasn’t turned out to be a hibernation month like I originally thought it would. I assumed we would slide into a quieter schedule after all the hubbub of birthday month in October. But… November had other plans. I’m thankful to say we’ve found a good groove now that we’re in the latter half of the month, but I’m still waiting for my hibernation feels. I doubt I’ll find it with the holidays right around the corner… Maybe January will have the quiet, chill vibes I’ve been longing for?

Our first weekend of the month was a restful one. It was nice to recover from Fall Fest with a puzzle, cider in the crockpot, breakfast out at a local favorite (Berry Field’s pumpkin pancakes – yum!), lots of fall baking, and some LEGO building. The first full week of the month was filled with a co-op field trip and an out of town conference leading into multiple family birthday celebrations. After that, I moved into friendship focused week. Lots of good stuff happening here!

Our family enjoyed our visit to a hands-on pioneer farm with our homeschool co-op. We learned about pioneer school rules and pioneer chores and housekeeping. I’m so grateful for modern conveniences. I’m not cut out for farm chores and pioneer housekeeping. The kids loved getting a wagon ride and testing out many of the farm chores for themselves. Owen really enjoyed his time at the blacksmith forge. Graham liked fiddling with the tools. The farm animals were super friendly and the boys made good friends with Bacon Bits, the pig.

A highlight of our weekly family calendar right now is watching our good friend, Megan, compete on the Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network. It’s such a neat experience to personally know someone on television. We watch Megan bake on the edge of seats each week! Our family is a whole cheer squad. It’s a big deal and we take watching Megan very seriously. Can’t wait for week three to air tonight!

While the calendar has been full these last few weeks, it’s been filled to the brim with the people we love. We’ve celebrated three family birthdays this month. We had pizza and cake with Nana, we went to a trampoline birthday party for my nephew, and we had a surprise party for Jeremy’s aunt. I’ve also been thankful for time with forever friends. I got a red cup and talked books with Christy last Monday, I had a phone date the next day with my out-of-state friend, Maggie, and then dinner with Christa on Wednesday. I’m extra thankful this month for the friends and family I get to do life with!

November is over halfway over, but there is still so much fun ahead this month. It’s crazy to think we are breezing through November and while it hasn’t been the quiet month I expected, it’s been a good month. As we focus on gratitude this month, I am thankful for the people who color our days with love, joy, support, and a bit of excitement! We certainly keep things interesting around here!

Snickerdoodles were giving me all the fall baking feels.

Visiting a pioneer farm with our homeschool co-op

Nana & Papa had the boys overnight so Jeremy & I could attend a conference. The kids had a great time!

Wishing Nana a very happy birthday with her favorite dessert, German chocolate cake!

Piano lessons with Nana just got better! Nana gifted us a hand-me-down piano so the boys have a bigger keyboard to practice with. They get to bond with Nana over a shared love of piano!

A beautiful sight! Peppermint hot chocolate, Christmas books, and time with a beloved friend.

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Concluding October November 1, 2024

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 10:20 am

October came and went with a flurry of activity! What a fun month! The final week of the month was just as exciting as the rest of the month. We wrapped up homeschool soccer on the 24th. The boys enjoyed getting a better handle on the sport and playing with friends. Their coach was patient and kind. The overall experience was perfect for our family. It was low-key and the once-a-week time commitment was just right for our calendar. I’m actually a little sad that the season is over, but I’m also thankful to have our Thursdays back to normal. Owen is already talking about spring soccer!

Last Friday, we visited the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA. Originally, we planned to go on Graham’s birthday, but the weather was wet. I love the zoo, but I don’t enjoy it in the rain. We postponed to a dry day and it was worth the wait. We saw animals that weren’t out when we visited last year for Graham’s 8th birthday. It was to nice to feel like we’ve seen all that zoo has to offer now. We loved the snow leopard cubs and getting to see the maned wolf. We found a free-roaming peacock and got to watch zookeepers take a parade of flamingos on a walk through the zoo. The brown bears came right up to the glass and the elk were out this time. I keep waiting for our family to outgrow the zoo, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. We love animals!

Saturday was a full day at home and it was delightful! It was the perfect balance of productive home projects and restful downtime. We went all out with a full turkey dinner. We even had a Costco pumpkin pie that we had picked up the day before. It was like Thanksgiving! Yum! We also carved pumpkins on Saturday. Graham made a monster that looked like his Boo Bucket from McDonalds. Owen made a Minecraft wolf which he named Pupkin. Jeremy surprised us all and made Bluey. We’ve used homegrown pumpkins for carving the past few years and I actually appreciate skipping the pumpkin patch. I love pumpkin patches, don’t get me wrong. October is such a full month that it’s okay with me to skip one of the traditional outings so we can make space for something else on the calendar.

A surprise highlight of the week was Jeremy shooting a buck in our backyard. I’ve shared that Jeremy does archery in past posts. He didn’t get an elk this September, but he had a deer tag that was good through October. This buck had been near our house the entire day and Jeremy took advantage of the opportunity! We got home from a playdate right was Jeremy found his downed deer. Owen helped Jeremy gut the deer and was very interested in the whole process. It was a fantastic science lesson – one that will end in pepperoni sticks!

Yesterday was the final day of this special month and what better way to celebrate than as Ender Dragons from Minecraft. The Ender Dragon appears at the end of the game which fit perfectly with the end of a very Minecraft-themed month. Fall Fest is a community event that our church hosts and Jeremy is responsible for each year. We went down to the church yesterday to bring Jeremy lunch and to help with the final preparations. We came back down fully in costume to enjoy the event with our community. Because it was a rainy Halloween, the event was a big. Gotta love being inside on a wet Halloween! Jeremy and the team added a maze this year that was a hit and the kids came home with a ton of candy which is fitting since dragons love to hoard treasure!

To recover from the big event last night, we have a puzzle on the table and spiced cider warming in the crockpot today. It’s nice to be snuggled warm inside while it’s dark and wet outside. I’m thankful it’s a quiet day to rest. I’m a little sad to see October in the rearview mirror, but… I’m also ready for November. In fact, I just might go put on some Christmas music to welcome the new month! : )

Minecraft Wolf Pupkin and Boo Bucket Monster

Dragons protecting the treasure in the castle maze

Sir Jeremy – the knight in blue jeans and sneakers! We had a medieval theme for Fall Fest this year.

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October is the Best! October 23, 2024

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:24 pm

Some people wait all year for the Christmas season. For me, I wait all year for October! Excuse my redundant exclamations, but you just can’t beat October. It’s the best! The flavors, the outings, the birthdays, the weather, the colors!!! It’s all my favorite! I’m truly my happiest self in October. This October has been no exception. It’s been a truly amazing month.

I’ll try to keep this post brief so that I don’t overwhelm you with all the October awesomeness, but I can’t keep it to myself! I hope you enjoy this recap of our autumn activities and celebrations. The major highlights since I last wrote were visiting GG, another birthday celebration for the boys with my side of the family, a family vacation to Sunriver, celebrating Graham’s actual birthday, and launching rockets with our homeschool co-op! Never a dull moment in October!

Sunriver Resort is one of our favorite places to visit. The Cove (the indoor/outdoor swimming complex) and the miles of paved bike paths make Sunriver endlessly fun. We never run out of things to do there! In fact, there is never enough time and we are always hopeful that we’ll visit again. Our big adventure day was visiting the John Day Fossil Beds and going on a fossil dig in Fossil, OR. Behind the high school in Fossil, you can dig for fossils and keep what you find. We found so many leaf fossils! Jeremy and Owen would have dug for fossils all day. I enjoyed the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway as we made our way down scenic backroads. Jeremy joked on his birthday in March that this was the year he’d find a fossil and we made that dream become reality! My favorite part of our vacation was our bike ride by the river with all the beautiful fall color. The boys will tell you that the Cove was their favorite part. They also enjoyed doing some shopping in Bend with their birthday money. It was such a great trip!

Graham’s birthday was Saturday. We had planned to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for his birthday, but the weather didn’t agree with us. Instead, we went to see The Wild Robot in theaters. Graham was allowed to pick two movie treats which made his day (we usually only allow one treat). After the movie, we had a pizza dinner with all the grandparents in attendance. Graham wanted everyone to have their own pint of ice cream as his special birthday dessert. It was a very fun day to celebrate our now nine year-old!

Jeremy and the boys have been working hard over the last week to create rockets for our homeschool co-op rocket launch day. We met yesterday with our group to launch rockets together. It was a wonderful afternoon! Jeremy was great at helping the boys assemble their rockets and he was also super helpful on launch day. I was nervous that the weather would cancel this outing, but it turned out to be the perfect October afternoon! It was warm enough you didn’t need a coat, blue sky, little wind – it was just right for launching rockets. It’s always a joy to share these experiences with other homeschool families. I am so thankful for our co-op community!

With a little over a week left in the month, we still have a lot more planned. Can you believe it? We cram a lot into October. I’m looking at my November calendar and it’s intentionally going to be quieter. It’s all a balance! I love getting in as many outdoor outings as possible in October. The fall color just can’t be beat and I know the rain will arrive and stay in November. The seasons changing reminds me of God’s faithfulness and the blessings that arrive with each anticipated change in the weather. I am equally happy with a cozy, gray, rainy day indoors as I am with a day of chilly blue sky and sunshine. Each has a purpose. Each season is meaningful.