November is my favorite month.
It’s my birthday month and Thanksgiving. Nothing beats it.
Sunday, I needed to get the littles outside, into the fresh air and away from screens. So I promised them a treasure hunt. Luckily, I have scripture clues saved on my computer, so I could set it up in less than 10 minutes, and I have beautiful daughters who are willing to run all over the yard and help look up and read scripture clues. Success!
Monday, we celebrated El Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead. I made Pan de los Muertos.
Abuelita and Abuelito came over with calavera suckers to decorate.
Abuelito shared stories about his mother and his grandfather. We loved hearing about great-grandma Gwendolyn Campbell growing up in Idaho, and great-great-grandpa Jose Sabino Lozano who rode with Pancho Villa (according to family lore.)
The truth is, I don’t really like Halloween all that much. But I love Dia de los Muertos. Making delicious food and telling stories about our departed family—it becomes more like Thanksgiving, and that is my favorite.
Dickerson Park Zoo
Friday, We finished up our 11th week of home school for 2020 and took a field trip to the zoo to celebrate with friends. My brother’s wife and children joined us as well as our home school co-op friends.
Apple Pie and Banana Cream Pie have been reading about African animals for science, so we visited the giraffes, lions, zebras, and monkeys. We had read there were new baby cheetas, but discovered when we got to the zoo that they were not out for the public to see. Apple Pie was very disappointed.
I bought zoo passes for the family in August when I discovered that the year passes only cost $3 dollars more than tickets for one day. That is a price I can make feel like a bargain by taking the kids frequently. Going to the zoo stresses me out because the Scooter Pies run away a lot and obey hardly at all. Apple Pie and Banana Cream Pie complain a lot. But I keep thinking that if I take them enough, they will start obeying, stop whining, and learn to love the zoo. This year is the scientific test of that theory. I’ll let you know how it went at the end of May.
Marvelous Pigs in Satin 