Has it really been SIX WEEKS ?!?!?!?

Well, I would have never guessed it had been this long since I had updated my blog. Time has really gotten away from me.

School has been clicking along really well. We are studying Europe and have covered Norway and France in depth. Monday we start 2 weeks on Germany and then we are DONE for this semester. I am looking forward to the L-O-N-G break I have allowed for. I decided early on that with the freedom to choose my own school dates, I would shorten our Summer and give us equal breaks in the Summer and Winter. We will be off SEVEN weeks .... from Thanksgiving to January 6th. WOO-HOO !! We are right on target as far as the goals I set in all their different subjects. I am amazed at how well this has been going. It really feels like the best decision we've ever made.

I am really looking forward to the Germany section of our studies as I lived there for several years as a child/pre-teen. My parents were both in the Air Force so we lived in a lot of places. Sadly, the age I was when we lived there was not conducive to really appreciating the culture and such, but I am looking forward to reflecting back on those times. I am hoping my Mom can find some pictures of us there for me to show the kids. I am pretty sure my parents DRUG us to everything there was to see in the entire country. hehe. I think it will make it that much more interesting to the kids to learn about a particular place if they can see a picture of 13 year old Mommy standing in front of said place with B-A-D 80s hair. haha

We went to the State Fair a couple of weeks ago and had a nice time. It was one of those great days here in Texas when it FINALLY isn't 100 degrees anymore. It was downright cool ... I think the high was something like 85 degrees that day. Our nephew "C" and Chad's brother went with us. "C" is such a doll. All 3 kids had fun and it was nice to have the freedom to go in the middle of the week when there was almost NOBODY there. Here are some pictures:

The standard BIG TEX picture:

They had this great exhibit called "Little Hands on the Farm" where the kids were able to put on aprons and go through stations where they "worked" the farm. They fed chickens, milked cows, planted seeds and at each station received the "fruits of their labor". In the chicken coop they got an egg, in the barn they got a milk carton, after planting their seeds they picked veggies ....etc. At the end, they went to the market and sold their goods. The market owner gave them money which they got to spend in the General Store. It was a really neat set-up. Bubby and "C" went through it. They wouldn't let Fancy in because she was too old. She wasn't too upset as I believe she was enjoying a lemonade with her Daddy at that point.

Feeding the Chickens:

Milking the Cow:

Planting Onion Seeds:

Being Silly Boys:

Well, there is plenty more to tell, but I better get my day started. I will try to update again soon.

Thanks for checking in !!

My Little Drummer Boy

Well, Bubby had his first drum lesson last week and LOVED it !!

He has been practicing almost nonstop since. Every morning I expect to see For Sale signs in our neighbors' yards. None yet. We are strict about times of day he can practice. The neighbors swear they have not been bothered. I hope they are being truthful. I have been outside when he is playing and it honestly sounds like a radio that is just a bit too loud .... not too bad. I am amazed at how muted it is because I swear, I am considering buying myself some earplugs. It is SO loud inside.

To show you his passion level .... here is a picture of his to do list (helping set priorities) from Church this weekend: I guess I should be grateful that atleast his #1 is right.

We hung that up on the wall by his drum set .... here he is being silly:

And here are some pictures of him practicing:

Have a great week !!

A Nature Walk

The other day, after finishing up school and getting ready for work, I realized it was a FABULOUS day outside. I was ready a bit early, so the kids and I decided to go to the park. We were finished with school work for the day, but I figured I could count this "school" too ..... science .... a nature walk. I didn't tell them that ..... let them think it isn't a learning experience. hehe

We took along the sketch book and colored pencils, and the digital camera. I let the kids take some nature pictures of their own and they each drew some things they saw. Bubby drew bugs and Fancy chose flowers .... fits, I guess.

It was SUCH a great end to a school day and beginning to a 12 hour night for me. It was about 80 degress (cool Fall weather to us Texans), dusk was almost here, the park was quiet and almost empty of anyone other than us, the dragonflies and the squirrels. That one hour in the park gave me peace after a long day of school and the energy to make it through a long night at work after no nap during that day. Being outside can be so rejuvenating .... espeically when the temperature is just right.

Here are some pictures Fancy took:

And here are Bubby's:

(I was impressed he got as close as he did to take that one .... that was a pretty big dragonfly)

I took a few myself:

As we completed our walk around the park and were headed to the car, the kids saw the splash park nearby. My plan was to lay back in the seat of my car and doze off for a bit. Bubby asked (begged really), if he could run through the water for a bit. The Husband was on his way from work to the park to pick them up so I could head to work. We had to wait there anyway. How could I say no? Bubby immediately stripped off his shirt and literally ran right out of his flip-flops and straight in to the splashing water.

You can see by the pics the sun was escaping and it was getting downright cold (to us Texans) .... it was probably around 75 degrees. Add to that some cold water and NO meat on your bones, and you are sure to be shivering real soon. His teeth were chattering within about 10 minutes, but it didn't stop the fun.

Always the comedian - Here he is being goofy and pretending he is in the shower:Sheer Joy: Where is Fancy in all this, you ask? Well she was just too cool (and I don't mean temperature) to play. "I'm too old" is what she told me. "Besides, I don't want to get my hair wet."

So there she sat, on the bench next to me as I sat, enjoying the quiet, the cool air and a good book.But, all of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning, she was off .... the temptation for fun was too much. I think she may have also taken into account that there was NO one else around.

These moments (rare as they are) when she allows herself to be a kid, bring me great joy.

I plan to go to this park more often, especially as the weather gets nicer.

Have a great weekend !!!

Job loss, Six Flags, Canada, and a Wreck

No .... I am not going to try to come up with some cute way to relate these. I just had some posting to do on each.

For those who haven't already heard: I was laid off from my job last week after working there almost 2 years. Things have been really slow and I kind of felt it coming, but it was still unsettling and a bit of a kick to the ego. They did it strictly by seniority, but it still hurt a bit. Luckily, being a nurse, I didn't go long without a job ..... less than 12 hours in fact. I have been working full-time at my new job about 2 weeks now and things are going pretty well. It is in a SMALL hospital so it is taking some getting used to. I am trying to embrace the postive things about it though .... one important one being that it takes about 45 minutes off my commute (and that is ONE WAY). Pray it continues to be a good experience.

We had a great time at Six Flags over the weekend (Free tickets thanks to the hospital I now work for). I took my camera but had left the memory card at home ... so use your imaginations. The kids rode lots of rides while I kept things under control down where things were safe. hehe. We ate too much junk, got too little sleep and just plain enjoyed ourselves. We should really go there more often. Maybe next Spring we will get Season Passes.

We got a caricature drawn of the kids while there and the artist captured their "Love" for one another quite well. We got a good laugh out of it. I' m going to get a frame for it this week and decide where to hang it up.

We are finishing up our studies of Canada this week. The kids have not found it as exciting as Mexico and are ready to move onto Brazil next week. We will be going to the Library on Friday to exchange out our books after P.E. (which is a class they will be taking on Fridays at the Homeschool Co-op in our area). Bubby is really looking forward to it. Fancy .... not so much. But as I recall, I don't think in Middle School I liked P.E. either.

Here are just a couple of things they did on Canada .... a crossword and a flag.

Oh .... and someone rear-ended us in the Jetta a couple of weeks ago. I thought I'd cry. Have I told you I love my car? Anyway, the damage is minor but here is a picture of the rear bumper. It should be in the shop for replacement soon. We have been dealing with her insurance company for over a week now. They aren't fighting us on it, it is just A LOT of red tape. ugh.

Have a great week !!

Schlitterbahn Fun

Here is a quick picture of the kids enjoying some Dippin' Dots at Schlitterbahn.

They went last weekend with my parents.

Moving .......

Yep.... We are done with Mexico and are moving onto Canada. I am posting some pictures of the art projects the kids did these last 2 weeks. They made "mexican tissue paper flowers" and did some "yarn art". Bubby went by an example in the book but Fancy wanted to do her own thing (as usual) .... haha.

They also each colored a picture of the Flag of Mexico aka "La Bandera de Mexico" and we learned what each of the colors and the emblem in the center represents.

GREEN: HOPE: The Independence Movement

WHITE: PURITY: The Purity of the Catholic Faith

RED: UNION: The Spaniards that joined in the quest for Independence

The Emblem: Symbolizes the Aztec Heritage

Here are their flags --- and you can see some of the flowers they made also:

We went to the library today and exchanged our Mexico books for Canada ones. We ended up checking out 27 this time. It really is amazing how quickly they go through them and get bored with them. We will study Canada for two weeks .... I am hoping these books will last them. Some of the ones we got are books about Canada and some are stories that take place in Canada.

Here are some pics of our reading area. Bubby spread out the books to give you the full effect. The basket you see is a GREAT find I made that has a handle that pops out (like on luggage) and the basket is on wheels. It is probably going to prove to be the best homeschool expense I had. 27 library books can get pretty heavy. Besides, Bubby finds GREAT JOY in wheeling that thing around. In between library trips, it also proves a great place to store all the books so we don't lose track of any. You can see in the corner there is a pillow. The kids love to stretch out on the floor and read there ... they typically get QUITE comfy with pillows and sometimes blankets too !!

Oh .... and as I see the pics here now, I have some explaining to do. My redneck husband is wearing off on Bubby. As you leave the library, they have old magazines for sale for 10 cents each. Bubby made some exciting finds (in his world) ..... 10 issues of Whitetail Journal and American Hunter ... that is ALOT of entertainment for $1. Life is good. Fancy got a couple of Fashion magazines too but they have already made it upstairs to her room and have been chopped up into posters for her wall. Maybe I will photograph that another day. She says she is going to be a baby nurse (sound familiar?) and a fashion designer when she grows up. Sounds like an interesting combo to me. Bubby, if you are wondering, plans to build cars, build fences (sound familiar?), be an "insurance man" (not sure where that came from) and also be a hunter and fisherman. Whew .... I feel sorry for his wife, he will NEVER be home.

On the wall above the "Book Basket"/"Reading Area" we post the weekly Memory Verse. We are reading through the Book of Matthew this year. Because this curriculum focuses heavily on Geography, Matthew is a logical choice to read with it. The last part of Matthew is what is called "The Great Commisson". It is the last instruction of Christ to His disciples that they go and spread the good news of The Gospel to all the nations of the world. This week's verse is Matthew 4:19: "Come to me", Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

The Great Commission:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of The Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20

Be blessed.

Me .....

Ok, so for those of you that have wanted pics of the husband and I ... here is half of your request. I changed my hair (fairly drastically) this week, so I thought I'd post a pic of that.

As soon as the husband does something exciting and worthy of a pic, I will post it. hehe