12 October 2008

We love our fireplace. We've been lighting a fire every night before bedtime. It's so relaxing. Gibson especially gets very sleepy watching the flames. Abe likes to help Brandan get the fire ready. They favor a log cabin design of fire building. We've ordered some firewood to be delivered, but until it arrives, we've been burning scraps of hardwood Brandan keeps in the garage. Let's hope our firewood arrives soon so we don't have to burn the table and chairs next!


Sophie and Abe didn't have school on Friday so we tried to hike to the top of an extinct volcano on the edge of the valley. It was getting late and cold, so we turned back before we got to the top. Still, the kids said this was the coolest hike ever. Except for the rain. And the hail. And the big dog. And the mountain lion scare. And Gibson falling backwards down a 10 foot embankment. Other than that, it was the coolest hike ever. Next time, we'll take Brandan along.


To warm up after the hike, Sophie put about 1/4 cup of red pepper flakes on her fajita. We were impressed she could eat it without flinching. She did say her stomach felt like a lava lamp afterwards.

Abe and Helen warmed up in a gentler way, wedged between the fireplace and the stairs with Brandan, reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is our third time through the Narnia books as a family. One of the nice things about a big spread in our kids' ages is we can keep sharing old favorites.

Brandan took the kids to our local extension garden on Saturday to get ideas for our yard. The extension office researches which plants grow well in our area. Surprisingly, there was a pomegranate tree growing. We didn't know our climate was warm enough. In the photo, the kids are playing with ice from a bird feeder- it's not tropical here.