Winter is Here (?!) Plus a new sidebar

I have been in denial about the oncoming winter. Until Thursday when it suddenly dropped to the low 20's and SNOWED! I had the tomatoes covered but by morning when it hit 18 degrees, they all were FROZEN. ARGGHH! I bet I had at least a bushel of them out there (although they were still green, thanks to the short Ashton summer). So, I am lamenting the fact that if this winter is anything like last winter when we still had 2 feet of snow in the yard May 17th, we are now embarking on an 8 month winter!!! If this actually turns out to be true, we may be considering a move next year. (Ha! Not really). Steve (as usual) is being positive about it and looking forward to a long season of cross-country skiing. I haven't quite gotten there and like I told my sister Amy, I am taking the next few days to grumble about it.

Unrelated News:
Steve will be heading to Oregon this week to begin training for one of his 3 new side jobs: personal pilot for an investment banker out of Idaho Falls, using this guy's brand new out-of-the factory Cessna 400. He's pretty happy about it. But the kids and I are NOT happy he'll be gone.
Steve's new side job #2 is handling sales for his flight student Justin's roofing company. He'll be able to use Justin's plane(s) to get to the job sites across Idaho, Montana and Oregon.
The third new extra job is a new contract with Idaho Fish and Game, doing survey flights around the area locating radio-collared wildlife. (Bear, moose, wolves, you name it).
Other good news for Steve and the whole family: Fremont Growth Solutions is close to being able to renew his contract for his position as exec director! This is VERY good news. It has been extremely amazing that the flexibility in this job has allowed all the others to fit right in.
Also: Due to having to make lots of drives back and forth to Rexburg from here (to get to the airport, Idaho Falls and Rigby, Idaho), Steve made a Wheelin Dealin Deal this week and bought a $600 1994 Suzuki Swift. Just wait till you see the picture. I'll post it later. We all looked SO COOL in it as we drove to Pocatello for our nephew Grant's baptism today. It was kind of like driving around on a weed whacker.
The good part is that we get 41 miles per gallon!

So, this has been a great week, despite the snow. Life is GOOD.

By the way, I added a new sidebar link list of "stuff we use as resources in our homeschool" if anyone is interested in some of what we do to inspire learning at home. Check it out and feel free to make suggestions!