Chunky Notebooks

Traveling to Iowa was a pleasant experience overall. We listened to several stories on tape, read all our books - many several times over - the boys never tire of the Berenstain Bears, colored lots of pages, drew many pictures, watched lots of TV and ate, ate, ate. I was pleased that the boys really enjoyed their geography folders and hopefully learned some things along the way. It was neat to see Elijah pick out the individual states we were traveling through on his own.

The funny thing was that everyone's favorite activity didn't happen until the end of our first travel day on the way home. It started by Eli asking me to draw a picture for him in his chunky notebook, which I did, but then told him I'd write a secret note as well. Sneaking in some reading and writing time - he, he! There really was no rhyme or reason to the types of things I was writing, but challenging enough that Eli needed to think a bit. Here's a sampling of some of my favorite notes and (Eli's responses). "I do not know if I have a favorite color. Do you have a favorite color?" (blue) "I am thirty-one years old. How old are you?" (five and 5) "I have three or four favorite friends. Do you have a best friend?" (Luke Farwell). "I like to eat and drink lots of food. What things do you like best?" (milk and blue bares aka blueberries) "I miss our home. What do you miss most about our home?" (my bed). I mostly drew pictures for Luke and Isaac in their own chunky notebooks. The second morning of travel toward home, Elijah was practically begging me to sit in the back with them to write notes! I love chunky notebooks! I'm so thankful for fun and pleasant memories!

Isaac enjoys listening to kiddo music and The Berenstain Bears audio stories. He much preferred to hold the headphones rather than rest them on his head. Dirty Dog obviously enjoyed the stories, too!

Elijah working hard!

Luke searching for hidden objects in his Highlights Search and Find coloring book.