Monday, July 27, 2015

Summer

Summer is and has been in full swing for a good two months now. We are enjoying all of it. I have spent a large majority homeschool planning, but thankfully that is done. It has finally warmed up and the kids are enjoying afternoons of water balloons thanks to Grandma. The mosquitoes have come out in full force which has not always made our evenings pleasant like they were in May. That being said, we have loved nights of jumping on the trampoline.


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This picture of Eli and James is kind of sad. I am glad I captured it that night. James has been missing since right before July 4th. He was a sneaky cat and I worry he got in somewhere and could not get out. We tried to keep him inside for a long time. Unfortunately he had made the rounds to different places it sounded like for a couple of years. The kids miss him and so do I.


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Eli spent a week at summer day camp in June. He really loved it. He did not want to go at first. We told him he had to try it. Everyday I drove him to our church for the day. The most I could gather from his days and the pictures they posted was he spent a lot of time at the water activities. This does not surprise me. He had two great counselors. 

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I was able to go the last day and watch some of the songs they learned and enjoy a few minutes of his week. He did not want me taking pictures. The kids were all jumping around singing in front of us. Eli stood there still as a statue and did not want to have any part of it. He really does not enjoy performing in front of others. He did better when they broke into smaller groups.

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They all get a character award from their counselor. I was very proud of him for his award. It really shows who Eli is. He has such wonderful FAITH. 




We did sparklers on the 4th. The older two did fine. Ari pretty much just threw his on the ground. He did not enjoy it. 
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We have spent a lot of time doing nature study also. One particular morning we found this moth thinking it was a dried up leaf. It flew and  landed on my phone so we left it there to study.

It happens to be a yellow necked caterpillar moth.




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It gets dark so late the kids don't always get to enjoy the firefly show. The other night we let them stay up to watch. Then it turned into going out and catching them. I indulged. They loved it. Well I should say, Ari loved the freedom to run and jump. Lilliana liked the idea until one flew on her face so she screamed bloody murder and is now scared of them. Eli really enjoyed them and caught a bunch. He wanted to see if they would light up. I tried telling them they would probably die if he kept them inside over night. Unfortunately they did. He had fun though. 






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Needless to say we are enjoying everything summer. 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Celebrating Ari

July the month of saying yes and being knee deep in school lesson plans means=camera neglect. I decided I should probably get these photos edited and backed up in case something happens. So one thing lead to another and finally I did what I meant to do two weeks ago.



Ari had 3 requests for his birthday. One was "regular spaghetti," this means not baked and he wanted "caramel bread." We still have no idea what caramel bread is. He also wanted to go down to the school and "drive Eli's green tractor." He discovered this year he can drive it really well. This means he is on a mission. Unfortunately it has also meant many meltdowns if he has to come in early or has to share. He thinks only he should ride it.



So we spent the morning at the school riding bikes and the tractor.



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Anthony surprised Ari and came home early from work with balloons.

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He opened presents. 


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We had dinner and then cake. 


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He had a wonderful birthday. We went up North for the holiday weekend. When we came home his gift from his Great Grandma was waiting for him. He had specially requested this gift months before and had been counting down for his birthday in hopes of getting construction toys for his construction site. He loves construction.


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He couldn't wait to get outside the next day to play in the sandbox and build a construction site.
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This is the first year we have done the questions for him. I enjoyed his responses.

Birthday Interviews 


Three Years Old


1. What is your favorite color?  Green
2. What is your favorite toy? Construction Toys
3. What is your favorite fruit? Blueberries, Grapes, Cherries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Curious George
 
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? 
Peanut  butter and Jelly Tacos
6. What is your favorite outfit? 
Outside Clothes
7. What is your favorite game? Monopoly, Operation, Lazer Game
8. What is your favorite snack? 
Graham Crackers
9. What is your favorite animal? Elephants

10. What is your favorite song? 
Amazing Grace
11. What is your favorite book? Good Night Good Night Construction Site
12. Who is your best friend? Hayden (FYI He never sees her and is copying his brother! LOL)

13. What is your favorite cereal? 
Oatmeal
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the Sandbox making a construction site

15. What is your favorite drink? 
water
16. What is your favorite holiday? 
Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 
Dog that sings, lion, monster trucks
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? 
Blueberry Pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Regular Spaghetti
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Superhero-Ironman

Thursday, July 9, 2015

10 on 10 July 2015

July the month of "YES!!" Last year I took July off from my business and it was the best month of the whole year, because I told the kids YES everytime they wanted to do something related to the park or an adventure. I had so much fun. June was good, but overwhelming busy and we were not able to enjoy summer things like we usually do. So last weekend I decided July would be our month of YES! again. I don't tell them this, but in my mind I follow it. So far it has been wonderful. We have had some fun things together. My house is a bit of a wreck because of homeschool organizing and dropping work to say yes.


They asked to go to the park this morning. So, they hurried with chores and Eli did his piano with helpers of course. (Piles everywhere! We are in the process of adding a wall of shelves and moving everything school related there.)



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These two playing while I braid hair.

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The creation I almost stepped on as I was getting ready to vacuum.

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It rained so we postponed the park until the afternoon. An epic superhero battle began.

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There was a race to get the mail.

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Today's mail brought their much anticipated magazines. 


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After lunch it was time to check the garden. 


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After nap, we headed to the elementary school playground. I sat and worked on a quilt while they played. There was a nice breeze and it felt wonderful.

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It was a perfect day to say "YES!"


To see Shannon's 10 on 10 click on this http://shannondoherty8.blogspot.com/2015/07/july-10-on-10.html .