Daddy - Daughter Dance

I hold her hand ~ she holds my heart...

The girls had been dreaming, talking & praying about the Father Daughter Ball ever since our friend from church talked about taking his daughter.  We knew nothing about the dance, except that it was a free event hosted by Ken Wright Cellars in Carlton.  The girls were so excited to pick out their dress, nail polish color & hairstyle.  Tessa was sad when they left, knowing she had been left behind, but it was nothing a bowl of ice cream couldn't fix!  When the girls got home, they ran inside shouting "This was the best night of my life!"  After hearing about their magical evening, which included eating cupcakes, making crafts, dancing to "Shake It Off," drinking lots of punch, claiming raffle ticket prizes, and watching the horse-drawn carriage rides, Dadda also revealed the Ball wouldn't have been possible without all of the volunteers from OakGrove Community Church.  This year's Father Daughter Ball marks the fifth year this amazing church has been partnering with Ken Wright Cellars to provide precious memories and priceless bonding for families in Yamhill County.

Field Trips

One advantage to homeschooling are the mid-week, day trips which give the girls some hands-on experiences that enhance the curriculum.  Two weeks ago McKinley was introduced to the letter 'G'.  'G' for goats.  So we visited a goat farm.  Dori, who owns five acres with her husband in the Chehalem Valley foothills, raises Nigerian Dwarf Goats and uses their milk to make soap.  She graciously showed us around the farm and let the girls hold the baby kids who were born two days prior.  She also introduced us to Wink and her sister who reside in a pen because Wink is blind. The girls fed them peanuts.  Last week McKinley studied cows and how they remind us that God's Word helps us grow just as cows milk nourishes babies.  One of her activities was to write down a list of milk products and then have a 'dairy party' enjoying some of those milk products.  We decided to take our party to Tillamook where we visited Blue Heron French Cheese Co. & Tillamook Cheese Factory.   After living in Oregon for almost ten years, we have never been to Tillamook Cheese Factory during the middle of the week when you can see factory production in high gear.  The self-guided tour was amazing!   But the best part of the tour were the free samples.  The girls loved the cheese curds aka squeaky cheese.  For lunch we dined on fried cheese curds, grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream.  This week we're learning about horses.....who knows where that will take us?

GOAT HILL FARM; Newberg, OR

BLUE HERON FRENCH CHEESE CO.; Tillamook, OR

This Emu's name is Elmo.

After sampling their delicious smoked brie cheese, we bought some pellets to feed Elmo.

TILLAMOOK CHEESE FACTORY; Tillamook, OR

We got to see forty-pound blocks of cheese turn into packaged and sealed, two-pound Baby Loafs.

Yum! Fried cheese curds were the bomb!

But the ice cream was even better!

It's Been A While

 

During one of our breaks from the rain, we spent the afternoon at Champoeg Park.  Tessa rode her balance bike for 5 minutes and then had enough.  Good thing we brought the stroller.

Piper has mastered the bicycle without training wheels.

Valentine's Day after church.

Before me & Benji's hot Valentine's date to Babica Hen.

She was cracking us up while McKinley & I were doing school.