and the Half-Blood Prince starts today. It started at midnight, but we are going to the 9 pm show. That way hubby still got to work, and hopefully we can get home at a decent hour. It was a fantastic book and we all enjoyed it. I know that this movie will be a little darker than the previous ones, but I have two shoulders and so does hubby for the kids to bury their faces in.
There are a lot of churches and Christians that have said this is a bad series of books and promotes witch craft and disobedience. I disagree. It is fiction that is written about a boy that, through no fault of his own, has been given an enormous task in his life. Tonight's movie is more about the battle between good and evil and how our expectations are not always the reality.
We are all very excited about tonight. We are also, hopefully, going to see some of our friends there. We all have tickets for the same show, so it would be nice to have a chance to spend some time together, even if it's in a dark movie theater. If you've seen it, shhhh. We don't want to know. We'll see it tonight. If you haven't seen it or read the books, you don't know what you're missing.
Have a great day!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
I Know What I Forgot
It's part of the most exciting news of the week. I was chosen to be a reviewer for TeacherBookBag.net . I am so excited about it. They do ebooks and cover different topics and subjects and they are really good. I have downloaded several and am excited about the chance to review more. You can use them as your base curriculum, or use them to supplement. And I get paid in one of the best ways ever- free curriculum. I get to keep the ebooks that I review. I may also get a chance to review curriculum for Carson Dellossa. They have great workbooks and pocket books (like lapbooks) and we have actually used a couple of their products. The kids and I enjoyed them as well.
I have a couple of friends that review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It is a homeschooling magazine that is fantastic. One of the best things I ever did was sign up for a subscription. It is informative and funny, and I look forward to reading it when it comes in the mail. They had a great article on the history of Israel that had me pulling out a map and looking at the country. I learned alot about that country that helped me understand some of the problems in the Middle East. It is a faith based magazine as well, and it helps me reaffirm what my calling is- to spend time with my children teaching them to walk with Jesus all of their days.
I'm sure I'll think of something else that I forgot. Until then...
Have a great day!
I have a couple of friends that review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It is a homeschooling magazine that is fantastic. One of the best things I ever did was sign up for a subscription. It is informative and funny, and I look forward to reading it when it comes in the mail. They had a great article on the history of Israel that had me pulling out a map and looking at the country. I learned alot about that country that helped me understand some of the problems in the Middle East. It is a faith based magazine as well, and it helps me reaffirm what my calling is- to spend time with my children teaching them to walk with Jesus all of their days.
I'm sure I'll think of something else that I forgot. Until then...
Have a great day!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Hello Again
The last few times I have sat down to blog, I have gotten distracted. I feel like it's been forever. Because it has, but still.
The kids are in the boy's room, watching a movie. We don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so they are going to get to stay in there all night. They are so lucky. They love it, though. The boy has never liked sleeping by himself and will wander around the house until he finds a place in someone's room. We never really know where we are going to find him. He's funny that way.
We had a big day yesterday. We went and visited one of the home school families that we haven't seen in forever. We used to go to the park every Friday, but since recital, we have probably been twice. I know, big shocker. We are the only family in our Tuesday co-op that doesn't have a pool. We have been swimming with our co-op friends on Fridays. It is so much cooler than sitting at the park, sweating our bippies off. The kids are getting more practice and the baby is getting more comfortable in the water. Now we need to get her to swim instead of just wander around. One day, one day. We may put her in swimming lessons. We need to put all of them in swimming lessons. We want to learn how to surf when we go to Hawaii, but the kids aren't allowed until they can swim better. That has been quite the motivator. The big girl actually jumped into the pool several times Friday. I was so proud of her. I made sure she knew it, too. For someone who doesn't like to get her face wet, to jump in was huge for her.
Our float in the Fourth of July Parade won first place! Whoo hoo. There were only 13 of us this year. We had one driver, 6 runners with water, 2 dancing kids, 2 kids stuffing bags with water bottles and 2 adults. That was the smallest crowd that has run the float and we worked hard. But it was well worth the effort. Can you believe I didn't get any pictures of the finished float? I have pictures of it being built, but none finished. What was I thinking? There's no telling.
We are going to start school the beginning of August. It's kind of early, but we haven't schooled all summer. We've read, but haven't sat down for lessons. I've got about eight weeks of lessons planned out so far, and that's as far as I want to go right now. I am starting to realize that some of the curriculum we have may actually take a good chunk of time during our day. I am going to have to reevaluate after we get started. We'll do a couple of weeks and find out what works and what doesn't. Overall, I am pretty pleased with most of it, though. The big girl is excited to start her language arts program. She has decided to start with "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and even read part of it while we were at church on Thursday. The babay is ready to start her workbooks as well. She has been champing at the bit to do them since they came in the mail a couple of months ago. I am tossing around the idea of schooling all year, but that would mean some longer breaks through out the year. Decisions, decisions.
We have been doing summer reading camp at the library. That has been a lot of fun. The kids have gotten to see some really cool presentations this summer. The last one is a magician that is fantastic. He is also one of our home school dads. He travels the state with his act and teaches kids how to be responsible and respectable and respectful. The kids don't know they've learned something until it's over and then it's too late. They've already learned. I'm not always pleased by the book selection of my kids, but we are working on that. We are "defining the parameters" of the books the big girl can read. She's not always the most agreeable, but sometimes it's my way or the highway.
I know there's more, but I'll be darned if I can think of it right now. I've started writing topics down for my other blog, and I may have to do it for this one, too. We are taking a much needed rest the next couple of weeks, before we start the rat race again. Things are going to start to wind up before we know it. For now, though, just some breathing room.
Have a great day!
The kids are in the boy's room, watching a movie. We don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so they are going to get to stay in there all night. They are so lucky. They love it, though. The boy has never liked sleeping by himself and will wander around the house until he finds a place in someone's room. We never really know where we are going to find him. He's funny that way.
We had a big day yesterday. We went and visited one of the home school families that we haven't seen in forever. We used to go to the park every Friday, but since recital, we have probably been twice. I know, big shocker. We are the only family in our Tuesday co-op that doesn't have a pool. We have been swimming with our co-op friends on Fridays. It is so much cooler than sitting at the park, sweating our bippies off. The kids are getting more practice and the baby is getting more comfortable in the water. Now we need to get her to swim instead of just wander around. One day, one day. We may put her in swimming lessons. We need to put all of them in swimming lessons. We want to learn how to surf when we go to Hawaii, but the kids aren't allowed until they can swim better. That has been quite the motivator. The big girl actually jumped into the pool several times Friday. I was so proud of her. I made sure she knew it, too. For someone who doesn't like to get her face wet, to jump in was huge for her.
Our float in the Fourth of July Parade won first place! Whoo hoo. There were only 13 of us this year. We had one driver, 6 runners with water, 2 dancing kids, 2 kids stuffing bags with water bottles and 2 adults. That was the smallest crowd that has run the float and we worked hard. But it was well worth the effort. Can you believe I didn't get any pictures of the finished float? I have pictures of it being built, but none finished. What was I thinking? There's no telling.
We are going to start school the beginning of August. It's kind of early, but we haven't schooled all summer. We've read, but haven't sat down for lessons. I've got about eight weeks of lessons planned out so far, and that's as far as I want to go right now. I am starting to realize that some of the curriculum we have may actually take a good chunk of time during our day. I am going to have to reevaluate after we get started. We'll do a couple of weeks and find out what works and what doesn't. Overall, I am pretty pleased with most of it, though. The big girl is excited to start her language arts program. She has decided to start with "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and even read part of it while we were at church on Thursday. The babay is ready to start her workbooks as well. She has been champing at the bit to do them since they came in the mail a couple of months ago. I am tossing around the idea of schooling all year, but that would mean some longer breaks through out the year. Decisions, decisions.
We have been doing summer reading camp at the library. That has been a lot of fun. The kids have gotten to see some really cool presentations this summer. The last one is a magician that is fantastic. He is also one of our home school dads. He travels the state with his act and teaches kids how to be responsible and respectable and respectful. The kids don't know they've learned something until it's over and then it's too late. They've already learned. I'm not always pleased by the book selection of my kids, but we are working on that. We are "defining the parameters" of the books the big girl can read. She's not always the most agreeable, but sometimes it's my way or the highway.
I know there's more, but I'll be darned if I can think of it right now. I've started writing topics down for my other blog, and I may have to do it for this one, too. We are taking a much needed rest the next couple of weeks, before we start the rat race again. Things are going to start to wind up before we know it. For now, though, just some breathing room.
Have a great day!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Crazy Days
What a crazy couple of days it's been. We are usually pretty busy, and this was no exception.
Today we worked the float for church. I rode with the kids. The big girl was going to pass out water, but she got a little over heated, so she threw candy with her brother and sister. I packed bags with water bottles and handed them off to our runners. Hubby was a runner. Every year the church hands out bottles of water to the over heated crowd. More importantly, the over heated judges. We are not above a little extra influence. We waved and handed out candy and had a really good time. We are so tired, we cannot see straight.
After the parade, we had to go to the laundramat and do some laundry. Our washer isn't working, and hasn't since last week. I so despise the laundramat. We only washed, and brought it all home to dry, so we were only there about 35 minutes. While we were there, we read "James and the Giant Peach". It saved me from having to do it after dinner, and the kids were entertained and not running around crazy. Not that it would have mattered since we were the only people there. That was fine with me, too.
After the lanudry was done, we had to go to the grocery store. We like to cook for our Hymn @ 10 service in the morning that we go to, and needed food to do that with. We ended up getting a rotisserie chicken and made rice and broccoli when we got home. Hubby also sliced a pineapple and I cut a mango. Nobody else cares for the mangoes, so they were all mine. It was 9 o'clock before we ate. It was 10:30 by the time the kids got a much needed shower and off to bed. I am not far behind them.
Last night we were at church building the float. It turned out to be bigger than I had planned on and some people brought out the power tools. I left. I went to our youth house on campus and helped look after the kids that were over there. Three of them were mine, so really. We also did hot dogs for every one that helped. We had the dogs, homemade mac and cheese, chips, and root beer floats and brownies for dessert. After we all ate and the float was put together, we watched an awesome movie.
The movie was Fighting the Giants and it was so very good. It was made by the same people that did Fireproof. It is a Christian movie that really made us stop and think about our relationship with Jesus and how much he loves us no matter what we do. It is about a football coach in Georgia who is about to lose his job. His house is falling apart, his car is horrible, and he and his wife are having trouble getting pregnant. It shows their journey through heartache and loss and finally to leaning on the Lord. It was so good, the boy quit playing games on the computer and watched the movie. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
Friday morning we went to our friends' house for lunch and swimming in the pool. The kids stayed in the pool almost the whole time. They got out to eat lunch and that was it. The big girl and the boy had left over burritos. I make pretty good ones if I do say so myself. The baby had a ham wrap. They were so hungry from swimming, they ate all the lunch, all their chips, and a ton of fruit. They were begging for a snack later and I brought out some apples for them to all munch on. There weren't many of them left when they were done. When we left there, we went to the church to work on the aforementioned float. We let the kids play their DSs on the way home to keep them awake. Everyone slept very late this morning. Hubby didn't get out of bed until 10, and I don't blame him.
The rest of the week was actually pretty peaceful. I had dance on Monday and Wednesday, and we had lunch with hubby Wednesday afternoon, which is always nice. We didn't go to the library for our weekly movie, but none of us wanted to see it. Hubby has been working like crazy and been on call for the last two weeks. The hours have been horrible, but some credit cards got paid off and I got new camera. Our old one was not working correctly and it was way past time. I had tried a Coolpix and didn't like it or the software that came with it. I ended up taking it back and getting another Kodak. I really like it and I got it on sale and 30% off so that was sweet.
We are looking forward to a slow week. The boy is going to Oma's for a couple of days for his chance to get spoiled. The rest of us are just going to lay around the house. After we fold the laundry, clean our bed rooms, the kitchen and the bathrooms, weed around and clean up the back porch... or not.
Have a great day!
Today we worked the float for church. I rode with the kids. The big girl was going to pass out water, but she got a little over heated, so she threw candy with her brother and sister. I packed bags with water bottles and handed them off to our runners. Hubby was a runner. Every year the church hands out bottles of water to the over heated crowd. More importantly, the over heated judges. We are not above a little extra influence. We waved and handed out candy and had a really good time. We are so tired, we cannot see straight.
After the parade, we had to go to the laundramat and do some laundry. Our washer isn't working, and hasn't since last week. I so despise the laundramat. We only washed, and brought it all home to dry, so we were only there about 35 minutes. While we were there, we read "James and the Giant Peach". It saved me from having to do it after dinner, and the kids were entertained and not running around crazy. Not that it would have mattered since we were the only people there. That was fine with me, too.
After the lanudry was done, we had to go to the grocery store. We like to cook for our Hymn @ 10 service in the morning that we go to, and needed food to do that with. We ended up getting a rotisserie chicken and made rice and broccoli when we got home. Hubby also sliced a pineapple and I cut a mango. Nobody else cares for the mangoes, so they were all mine. It was 9 o'clock before we ate. It was 10:30 by the time the kids got a much needed shower and off to bed. I am not far behind them.
Last night we were at church building the float. It turned out to be bigger than I had planned on and some people brought out the power tools. I left. I went to our youth house on campus and helped look after the kids that were over there. Three of them were mine, so really. We also did hot dogs for every one that helped. We had the dogs, homemade mac and cheese, chips, and root beer floats and brownies for dessert. After we all ate and the float was put together, we watched an awesome movie.
The movie was Fighting the Giants and it was so very good. It was made by the same people that did Fireproof. It is a Christian movie that really made us stop and think about our relationship with Jesus and how much he loves us no matter what we do. It is about a football coach in Georgia who is about to lose his job. His house is falling apart, his car is horrible, and he and his wife are having trouble getting pregnant. It shows their journey through heartache and loss and finally to leaning on the Lord. It was so good, the boy quit playing games on the computer and watched the movie. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
Friday morning we went to our friends' house for lunch and swimming in the pool. The kids stayed in the pool almost the whole time. They got out to eat lunch and that was it. The big girl and the boy had left over burritos. I make pretty good ones if I do say so myself. The baby had a ham wrap. They were so hungry from swimming, they ate all the lunch, all their chips, and a ton of fruit. They were begging for a snack later and I brought out some apples for them to all munch on. There weren't many of them left when they were done. When we left there, we went to the church to work on the aforementioned float. We let the kids play their DSs on the way home to keep them awake. Everyone slept very late this morning. Hubby didn't get out of bed until 10, and I don't blame him.
The rest of the week was actually pretty peaceful. I had dance on Monday and Wednesday, and we had lunch with hubby Wednesday afternoon, which is always nice. We didn't go to the library for our weekly movie, but none of us wanted to see it. Hubby has been working like crazy and been on call for the last two weeks. The hours have been horrible, but some credit cards got paid off and I got new camera. Our old one was not working correctly and it was way past time. I had tried a Coolpix and didn't like it or the software that came with it. I ended up taking it back and getting another Kodak. I really like it and I got it on sale and 30% off so that was sweet.
We are looking forward to a slow week. The boy is going to Oma's for a couple of days for his chance to get spoiled. The rest of us are just going to lay around the house. After we fold the laundry, clean our bed rooms, the kitchen and the bathrooms, weed around and clean up the back porch... or not.
Have a great day!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
VBS Crazy
Whoo whee, am I ever glad that the week is over. It was crazy busy and I loved every second of it. I like to be busy and have a variety of things to do, and boy did I ever.
The kids did Vacation Bible School Monday thru Thursday at a friend's church. It started at 8 and ended at 12. The great thing about it is that they served the kids breakfast and lunch. All I had to do was get the kids up, dressed, and out the door. It was about 25 minutes away, but very worth it. The kids had the best time.
It was an Arts and Sports Camp. I thought I had made the kids each pick an art and a sport, but somehow the boy ended up in soccer and basketball. The big girl wasn't happy about him being in basketball, because he was in her class. Sometimes, it's a challenge. She has gotten to the point that she doesn't want to share all of her activities with her brother and sister. We are definitely talking about that one. We don't always get to pick what we share and what we get to be stingy with. For the first couple of days we took our friend Am with us. She had also gone to the VBS the kids went to last week. It was nice to have the company. And she is such a sweet girl. She sat in the back and giggled with the big girl. One day they waved at all the cars behind us on our way home. They were so funny.
Two days last week I went to dance. This is the first time I've gotten to take summer classes and I love it. The kids are in VBS so I have time to do it. The class is very full and we have all levels. There is one lady that danced as a child, but hasn't danced in forty years. One of the ladies took ballet this past season, but has never taken tap. We are learning the recital routine the advanced class just did. It is harder than it looks. A couple of us had asked our teacher to make it a little harder and she is! It is wonderful. I am having the best time. This week coming up is the last two classes and then we break for the rest of the summer.
There is a new place that has opened not too far from us. It is a dance studio that teaches Polynesian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan dancing. I was thinking we may try that for a month of two and see how we like it. I need to call for more info. How cool would it be to know how to hula when we go to Hawaii? It would help the kids know about that part of their heritage. Me, too, for that matter.
Thursday was produce day. The house it's run out of happens to be right across the street from the VBS the kids were at. It was also my day to help bag groceries. I just dropped the kids off and went across the street. By the time I was done, there was about an hour until the kids were done. I had a couple of errands to run and got back with about 10 minutes to spare.
Thursday was also the kids last day at VBS at that church. I really think we're going to do that one next year. I like the idea of an arts and sports camp. The kids got to use their brains and their bodies. They got fed and they had a great time. It was a win-win all the way around.
Thursday was also movie day at the library. The kids wanted to go because they had not seen Madagascar 2 and that was the movie. We had to run home from VBS, drop off the produce, walk the dog, wash hands and faces, go to the bathroom, and back out the door to the movie. After the movie we stopped by a store for the big girl to try on shorts they had on clearance (I saved over $60 that trip and spent less than $20) and then to eat.
And all week we were doing VBS at our church. That ran from 6-9 and really late nights. That wouldn't have been so bad if we weren't getting up so early all week as well. Our theme this year was God's Big Backyard and what a bunch of fun that was. I helped with registration and sign in and then floated wherever I was needed. Hubby helped with games. He is after all, just a big kid. Hubby was working a lot of overtime and was on call, but he came as soon as he got off work. He got called out one night, but made it back in time for the slide show at the end and clean up.
The big girl got to be a helper this year because she is a sixth grader now. We had a couple of issues with one kid, but it got straightened out and she didn't have anymore problems. She had a great time. She had a little attitude problem at the beginning, but I told her she could be a part of the crew instead of the crew leader and she straightened up. The rest of the week she laughed and joked and was very happy. She also got to be in all the skits. She was really excited about it. She did a fantastic job. I am so proud of her for getting up in front of all those people.
We all had the best time. The entire week was focused on serving. We talked about how we could serve our families, our friends, and our community while serving Jesus at the same time. Attendance was low this year because there were two other VBSs running the same week and the same time. We still managed to have about 40 kids visit us. Attendance dropped a little towards the end of the week, but we expected that. We still managed to talk to the children, the youth helpers, and the adult volunteers, including myself. It was an honor to be there, serving others and serving Jesus. It was one of the best weeks of my life.
Saturday I had a girls night out. It was fantastic, but you have to go to my other blog to see the story. It's rather tame, but maybe a couple of highlights. We'll see. We have all been sort of lazing around, trying to recover from the week. Hubby worked Saturday as an overtime day, so he is really tired. He's about to snore now.
Have a great day!
The kids did Vacation Bible School Monday thru Thursday at a friend's church. It started at 8 and ended at 12. The great thing about it is that they served the kids breakfast and lunch. All I had to do was get the kids up, dressed, and out the door. It was about 25 minutes away, but very worth it. The kids had the best time.
It was an Arts and Sports Camp. I thought I had made the kids each pick an art and a sport, but somehow the boy ended up in soccer and basketball. The big girl wasn't happy about him being in basketball, because he was in her class. Sometimes, it's a challenge. She has gotten to the point that she doesn't want to share all of her activities with her brother and sister. We are definitely talking about that one. We don't always get to pick what we share and what we get to be stingy with. For the first couple of days we took our friend Am with us. She had also gone to the VBS the kids went to last week. It was nice to have the company. And she is such a sweet girl. She sat in the back and giggled with the big girl. One day they waved at all the cars behind us on our way home. They were so funny.
Two days last week I went to dance. This is the first time I've gotten to take summer classes and I love it. The kids are in VBS so I have time to do it. The class is very full and we have all levels. There is one lady that danced as a child, but hasn't danced in forty years. One of the ladies took ballet this past season, but has never taken tap. We are learning the recital routine the advanced class just did. It is harder than it looks. A couple of us had asked our teacher to make it a little harder and she is! It is wonderful. I am having the best time. This week coming up is the last two classes and then we break for the rest of the summer.
There is a new place that has opened not too far from us. It is a dance studio that teaches Polynesian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan dancing. I was thinking we may try that for a month of two and see how we like it. I need to call for more info. How cool would it be to know how to hula when we go to Hawaii? It would help the kids know about that part of their heritage. Me, too, for that matter.
Thursday was produce day. The house it's run out of happens to be right across the street from the VBS the kids were at. It was also my day to help bag groceries. I just dropped the kids off and went across the street. By the time I was done, there was about an hour until the kids were done. I had a couple of errands to run and got back with about 10 minutes to spare.
Thursday was also the kids last day at VBS at that church. I really think we're going to do that one next year. I like the idea of an arts and sports camp. The kids got to use their brains and their bodies. They got fed and they had a great time. It was a win-win all the way around.
Thursday was also movie day at the library. The kids wanted to go because they had not seen Madagascar 2 and that was the movie. We had to run home from VBS, drop off the produce, walk the dog, wash hands and faces, go to the bathroom, and back out the door to the movie. After the movie we stopped by a store for the big girl to try on shorts they had on clearance (I saved over $60 that trip and spent less than $20) and then to eat.
And all week we were doing VBS at our church. That ran from 6-9 and really late nights. That wouldn't have been so bad if we weren't getting up so early all week as well. Our theme this year was God's Big Backyard and what a bunch of fun that was. I helped with registration and sign in and then floated wherever I was needed. Hubby helped with games. He is after all, just a big kid. Hubby was working a lot of overtime and was on call, but he came as soon as he got off work. He got called out one night, but made it back in time for the slide show at the end and clean up.
The big girl got to be a helper this year because she is a sixth grader now. We had a couple of issues with one kid, but it got straightened out and she didn't have anymore problems. She had a great time. She had a little attitude problem at the beginning, but I told her she could be a part of the crew instead of the crew leader and she straightened up. The rest of the week she laughed and joked and was very happy. She also got to be in all the skits. She was really excited about it. She did a fantastic job. I am so proud of her for getting up in front of all those people.
We all had the best time. The entire week was focused on serving. We talked about how we could serve our families, our friends, and our community while serving Jesus at the same time. Attendance was low this year because there were two other VBSs running the same week and the same time. We still managed to have about 40 kids visit us. Attendance dropped a little towards the end of the week, but we expected that. We still managed to talk to the children, the youth helpers, and the adult volunteers, including myself. It was an honor to be there, serving others and serving Jesus. It was one of the best weeks of my life.
Saturday I had a girls night out. It was fantastic, but you have to go to my other blog to see the story. It's rather tame, but maybe a couple of highlights. We'll see. We have all been sort of lazing around, trying to recover from the week. Hubby worked Saturday as an overtime day, so he is really tired. He's about to snore now.
Have a great day!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday Update
It has been awhile. Things have just not slowed down this summer. This is what we've been up to.
The kids are in Vacation Bible School this week. I had planned for them to go to 6 different ones, but there are several that have been during the same weeks. Right now I have them registered for three. I'm still looking for a couple more for them to go to. Next week they will go to one in the morning and then our church in the evening. That will be a busy week. We are all looking forward to it this year. They love going to VBS and seeing friends they haven't seen in a while and some they see pretty often.
The big girl is officially a middle schooler. She is now in the 6th grade. How did it happen and where have I been? I know I've been awake for most of it, but I swear I don't remember any of it. I had told her in fourth grade that when she became a 6th grader she could start wearing lip gloss in public. When I brought up the fact that she had moved up a grade, that was her first recation. She is so happy she gets to wear make up of any kind. She is so beautiful, she doesn't need any of that junk. I never listened when I was a kid, and she isn't either. It's that some of her friends get to wear it. Some have worn it since 4th grade, which is how the conversation came up. Crazy if you ask me, but I'm not their parent.
This is her last year attending VBS. Some programs have extended to 6th grade, so maybe we'll get her in some things next summer. She will be a helper at our VBS this year. She is so excited about it. She is now part of the youth program and no longer the children's program. She also gets to be in all the skits at our VBS. She likes to be on stage and perform and this is right up her alley. I am so proud of my baby. I know, 6th grader, but she will always be my baby.
I've been taking summer dance classes. They have them for the first part of the summer and the kids being in VBS has allowed me to do this. I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch the kids or leave them in the back room. They are more than welcome to stay in the back room, but I don't like it. I don't want to have to worry about what the little munchkins are up to. And the last thing I want is to listen to fighting and fussing while I'm having a good time. It's definitely a buzz kill.
We finally finished the Harry Potter series. We listened to the last CD of "Deathly Hallows" last night. What a fantastic series of books. I will say that the last two were a little old for my two youngest. There were some things in there that raised some questions, but over all, what a good time. When my kids beg me to "listen to just one more, please Mama", I love it. I hope that I am opening a whole new world to them that reading allows. You can go anywhere, be anyone, do anything in and with a book. Now I am looking for another great series that we can listen to together. I was thinking "Lord of the Rings", but I think that may be a little old as well. They have seen the movies, but I have never read the books, so I don't know. If any of you have read the books, let me know if they are too old for 10 (almost 11), 8, and 5. I don't really expect the baby to get it right away, but she is very smart.
We are starting a new after dinner book. We took a little time off with recital and VBS and company, but we are back at it. We are starting "James and the Giant Peach" tonight. I was looking for something at the library yesterday and came across Roald Dahl's name (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and decided to see what was on the shelf. I was thinking Swiss Family Robinson, but maybe we'll do that one as a book on CD. Huh, there's an idea. When we went to Disney, the kids were fascinated by the tree house. I'll let you know how the new book goes.
We are doing summer reading camp at the library again this year. We went yesterday for a performance of Didgeridoo Down Under. It was really neat. For those of you who are local, you really should take advantage of the library this summer. For those of you who are not local, look into your library's summer programs. There are some really good ones out there. We're lucky enough to live an equal distance to three different libraries. We can mix and match and really have a good time. The program yesterday was about Australia and it's culture and nature and art and history and we really enjoyed it. He even had several didgeridoos that he played for us. It's not as easy as it looks. And we learned more about a different culture. How great is that?
And we are still saving for our vacation. We are so looking forward to our grand adventure and the baby is ready to go. She doesn't understand the concept of "two years" at this point. On the way to VBS this morning she said, "I'm ready to go to Hawaii." I am, too, baby girl. We just keep plugging away and our jar is almost full. We want to know how much money is in it, but we're going to let it be a surprise when we open our vacation account. I emailed my Dad to tell him to save his pennies. I hope he can go with us. The kids would love that. So would I, so there.
That's about all for now. We have a busy week next week. But hopefully it will be fruitful and blessings filled. I pray all of your days will be.
Have a great day!
The kids are in Vacation Bible School this week. I had planned for them to go to 6 different ones, but there are several that have been during the same weeks. Right now I have them registered for three. I'm still looking for a couple more for them to go to. Next week they will go to one in the morning and then our church in the evening. That will be a busy week. We are all looking forward to it this year. They love going to VBS and seeing friends they haven't seen in a while and some they see pretty often.
The big girl is officially a middle schooler. She is now in the 6th grade. How did it happen and where have I been? I know I've been awake for most of it, but I swear I don't remember any of it. I had told her in fourth grade that when she became a 6th grader she could start wearing lip gloss in public. When I brought up the fact that she had moved up a grade, that was her first recation. She is so happy she gets to wear make up of any kind. She is so beautiful, she doesn't need any of that junk. I never listened when I was a kid, and she isn't either. It's that some of her friends get to wear it. Some have worn it since 4th grade, which is how the conversation came up. Crazy if you ask me, but I'm not their parent.
This is her last year attending VBS. Some programs have extended to 6th grade, so maybe we'll get her in some things next summer. She will be a helper at our VBS this year. She is so excited about it. She is now part of the youth program and no longer the children's program. She also gets to be in all the skits at our VBS. She likes to be on stage and perform and this is right up her alley. I am so proud of my baby. I know, 6th grader, but she will always be my baby.
I've been taking summer dance classes. They have them for the first part of the summer and the kids being in VBS has allowed me to do this. I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch the kids or leave them in the back room. They are more than welcome to stay in the back room, but I don't like it. I don't want to have to worry about what the little munchkins are up to. And the last thing I want is to listen to fighting and fussing while I'm having a good time. It's definitely a buzz kill.
We finally finished the Harry Potter series. We listened to the last CD of "Deathly Hallows" last night. What a fantastic series of books. I will say that the last two were a little old for my two youngest. There were some things in there that raised some questions, but over all, what a good time. When my kids beg me to "listen to just one more, please Mama", I love it. I hope that I am opening a whole new world to them that reading allows. You can go anywhere, be anyone, do anything in and with a book. Now I am looking for another great series that we can listen to together. I was thinking "Lord of the Rings", but I think that may be a little old as well. They have seen the movies, but I have never read the books, so I don't know. If any of you have read the books, let me know if they are too old for 10 (almost 11), 8, and 5. I don't really expect the baby to get it right away, but she is very smart.
We are starting a new after dinner book. We took a little time off with recital and VBS and company, but we are back at it. We are starting "James and the Giant Peach" tonight. I was looking for something at the library yesterday and came across Roald Dahl's name (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and decided to see what was on the shelf. I was thinking Swiss Family Robinson, but maybe we'll do that one as a book on CD. Huh, there's an idea. When we went to Disney, the kids were fascinated by the tree house. I'll let you know how the new book goes.
We are doing summer reading camp at the library again this year. We went yesterday for a performance of Didgeridoo Down Under. It was really neat. For those of you who are local, you really should take advantage of the library this summer. For those of you who are not local, look into your library's summer programs. There are some really good ones out there. We're lucky enough to live an equal distance to three different libraries. We can mix and match and really have a good time. The program yesterday was about Australia and it's culture and nature and art and history and we really enjoyed it. He even had several didgeridoos that he played for us. It's not as easy as it looks. And we learned more about a different culture. How great is that?
And we are still saving for our vacation. We are so looking forward to our grand adventure and the baby is ready to go. She doesn't understand the concept of "two years" at this point. On the way to VBS this morning she said, "I'm ready to go to Hawaii." I am, too, baby girl. We just keep plugging away and our jar is almost full. We want to know how much money is in it, but we're going to let it be a surprise when we open our vacation account. I emailed my Dad to tell him to save his pennies. I hope he can go with us. The kids would love that. So would I, so there.
That's about all for now. We have a busy week next week. But hopefully it will be fruitful and blessings filled. I pray all of your days will be.
Have a great day!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Recital Pics
I couldn't get the videos to download here for some reason, so here are the pics we got. We didn't get any action photos, because we were recording video, that we can't post here. Eerrrr. I'll try Facebook for video. Here are the babies.
Have a great day!
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