Last night we celebrated OCTOBER!
This is a Nielson tradition that we all love and look forward to.
As I have mentioned, everything has been different since moving to the ranch.
For one thing, we don't have the convenience of Provo and
buying our traditional Halloween Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
But we made it work, and the Little Nies were happy.
The day started early for all of us.
We jumped in the car to take Angus into town for surgery.
Good news! Dr. Merayo decided he wasn't going to operate. We were thrilled!!!
We all jumped in the car with Angus, and before we left, Jane offered
a thank you prayer, and we headed back to the ranch.
Back at the ranch, the boys, Mr. Nielson, and I worked the cows;
bringing them into the working corrals to give them their
last vitamin shot and worming medicine.
Then we sent them on their way to graze in the beautiful New Mexico range
with their mamas.
After cleaning up lunch and showering, we started school.
Lottie is learning to write her letters (today was the letter M!),
Nicholas can identify all the states on the map,
and we are working on countries.
We are also learning about different types of energy (among other subjects).
After we finished school, I asked Mr. Nielson to take the kids
into town to grab a few fresh ingredients for dinner.
This gave me almost two hours of
uninterrupted quiet time to clean up school, load the dishwasher,
sweep the kitchen, and decorate and set the table for dinner.
Sidenote: I love homeschooling; it's really rewarding for all involved.
However, I do miss a quiet house and my alone time. I feel behind a lot.
I plan to find a good balance between getting what I need and teaching school.
When it's bedtime, I am totally exhausted.
I made the usual vegetarian chili for our "Welcome October" dinner and
added quinoa, which tasted fantastic. We topped it with cilantro,
avocados, green onions, and crumbled cornbread.
After dinner, we went up to the loft with doughnuts (from Walmart...cheers!),
and apple cider in our hands.
We cuddled around our (new) TV and watched
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow cartoon-like we always do.
Angus was curled up next to us with his bright blue wrapped leg, and
Mr. Nielson and Oliver zonked out even before the opening credits started.
One by one, the other Little Nies fell asleep, and
when the cartoon ended, Lottie and I were the only ones awake.
Happy October from my (ranch) house to yours!
