Swimming

The kids begin their swimming lessons next week. They're excited about getting back in the pool. Abby is constantly asking when she is going to go to her swimming 'yessons'. I'm hoping to be able to spend a lot of time in the pool this summer, like we did last summer.

Here's a little video of the kids swimming, last summer.

Pizza and Pins Party

We decided to have Grace and Jacob's birthday parties together at the bowling alley, last Saturday. Along with all the grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, they both got to invite a friend to come along. We had pizza, pop, cupcakes, and lots of bowling. I was surprised by how much work it was to keep things going and was worn out by the end of it. To think that I had come up with the idea to have it at the bowling alley, instead of our house, to make it easier on myself. Hmmm...my little plan backfired on me! Ha! But, as crazy and hectic as it was, we had a good time.

Paco and Grandma decided to bowl some, too. It had been many, many years since either one had bowled. Paco, having had his heart surgery back in December, did wonderfully rolling the ball down the lane. However, Grandma showed him up a little (well, all of us, actually) when on her first ball, she rolled a strike!

Geocaching with Nana and Pa

To end our busy St. Patrick's Day, we met Nana and Pa for some geocaching at the park.

Pa leads the way.

LOVE

Everybody jump!

Us.

A great end to a beautiful day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A little St. Patrick's Day fun for breakfast.

I made shamrock pancakes with little 'pots of gold (coins).' Yes, banana slices as gold coins are kind of lame, but I was trying to keep it fairly healthy!

Signs of Spring

Daffodils and crocus in full bloom

Little girl spring dresses hanging to dry

More time being spent playing at the park

Geocaching

With the beautiful weather that we've been having, we've been trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as we can. Waking up to a gorgeous day on Saturday, we decided to spend the day geocaching.

If you don't know what geocaching is you can read more about it here. In brief, it's basically a treasure hunt using GPS. People hide little 'caches' in all sorts of places, then they post on the internet the longitude and latitude coordinates of the hiding place. Then, we put the coordinates into our GPS and set out looking for the hidden cache. The cache usually has a log book and some little, inexpensive trinkets/toys, that the kids can swap out with one of their own little toys.

It's a wonderful way to get outside, enjoy nature, and get some exercise. It makes hiking even more exciting for the kids because they know that there is going to be a 'hidden treasure' to find.

Here are some photos from our adventures this past Saturday:

Family Night: Christmas Lights Drive

We had a rather easy Family Night this past Friday. Jeff is working a very hectic schedule right now, so I knew it would have to be something easy and kind of late, since he wouldn't get home until around 9 that night. When he got home, we were waiting in the van for him and we took off on a hunt for Christmas lights. We, actually, do this quite a bit during the season, as we go along our way to other places. However, the kids were very excited because the main goal for this drive WAS the Christmas lights. They would yell out to us when they could see a house all lit up, "Mom, turn that way!" Or, "There's one!"

We listened to Christmas music on the radio as we wound our way through different additions and we sang Christmas carols, too. Abby is at a wonderful stage where she sings so loudly and without abandon...even when she doesn't know the words. She had all of us giggling throughout the night.

As we drove along though, I did have a specific house that I wanted to see. So, we made our way to the other side of the city, in search for this house. It's one of those houses that is all lit up with lights that are choreographed to music. Not exactly my cup of tea, however, I knew that it would be something that the kids would enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn't know exactly how to get there, so I ended up having to call my Mom and have her give us directions. Which caused Grace to get a little nervous because she does not like to hear that Mommy and Daddy don't know where they are going. After a few wrong turns, we eventually made it to our destination.

The kids were squealing with excitement when they saw the house. They quickly unbuckled from their seats and clambered their way over to the windows facing the blinking lights. They watched and danced with the lights as they flashed along with the music

At one point, I could hear Abby climbing over coats and car seats as she made her way towards the front of the van. Without a word, she climbed up onto the console next to me, grabbed my face in her hands and gave me a big wet kiss on the cheek. Then, she turned to her Daddy and did the same thing with him before she climbed down and made her way back to her spot at the window.

So, without much planning and about a quarter tank of gas, we were able to have another memorable Family Night. So much so, that the kids ask almost nightly if we can go back and see the dancing house.

For more Family Night fun, visit Heather at Whittaker Woman.

Family Night: Dress Up Night

Wow...I'm really behind in posting. I meant to post this last week! :) And...now I see that the pictures are all messed up! I'll have to fix them later.

This past Friday was, once again, a Family Night for us. It also happened to be Halloween. Well, we don't celebrate Halloween but the kids really wanted to dress up for our Family Night, so we decided to go ahead and let them. We told them they could pick what they wanted to be, however, it had to be something that was, for the most part, homemade. I wasn't about to spend $15-$20 each on their costumes. What can I say? I'm cheap frugal. So, using what we already had and a few store bought items, I was able to come up with the costumes for all three of them for around $15 total.



Abby insisted on being a pink cat. That was easy to come up with, even though it took the longest to make. I used two fuzzy boas to make her tail, ears, and other accessories. I was covered in pink fuzz for days!





At first, Jacob wanted to be a Jedi, but I kind of talked him into being a pirate. I couldn't think of a cheap and easy way to do a Jedi, but I knew what to do for a pirate. When I told him that I would make a beard on his face, that kind of sealed the deal. He ended up LOVING his costume.



Grace started out wanting to be a princess, but when she didn't like any of my ideas on how to make her costume...she decided that being a butterfly would be better. I even let her splurge and buy 'real' wings, instead of making her own out of foamboard. Hee!



We decided to take the kids to a Trunk-or-Treat event at one of the churches down the street. It was...interesting. I'm not sure that we'll ever do it again, but the kids definitely enjoyed getting all of the candy and prizes.

Then we went over to Nana's to play games, do crafts, and eat some goodies.



It was a fun night and we'll definitely do a costume party again. I'm just not sure we'll do it on the same night as Halloween, again.

It's Been a Squirrely Day!

We've been having a squirrely day, today!

A while back, the kids built a squirrel feeder for me, using some wood scraps and extra stain that we had in the barn. Yesterday, they helped their Dad set it up in the backyard. So, we have been on the lookout for squirrels all day. We spent the morning looking out the window, while reading books and searching the internet for more information on squirrels. Finally, this afternoon, as we were finishing up school, I walked by the window to find someone visiting our new feeder!

We were all so very excited!

Yay, kids! You did a great job!

Camping

Last weekend we went camping with Nana and Pa. It was perfect weather! Warm enough during the days that jeans and a sweatshirt were adequate, then cool enough at night that you really wanted to sit around a campfire to keep warm. We had a great time and were able to do so many different things.

On our first night, we carved pumpkins. They added a nice touch of fall to our campsite.


We went fishing, too. The first night we went to The Children's Pond. I think it might be called that because it seems as though there were no fish in it more than 4 inches long. The fish were small but they kept biting, so the kids had a good time catching them.

On our last day, we went to the lake to try some fishing. We were a bit skeptical to what we would be able to catch there, especially when Pa's first catch was this:
Here it is a bit closer, just in case you couldn't see it.

However, as time went on, the fish began to get bigger and bigger. This one was definitely the catch of the day!
Where we fished was rather rocky, so the kids enjoyed climbing and jumping all around on the rocks.
Miss Abby even made her way out on to her own little island.

She keeps me on my toes.

We were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery, too. The leaves were definitely far from 'peak,' however, they were still beautiful.

In the evenings, we enjoyed sitting around the campfire: making s'mores, gazing up at the stars, and singing songs. The kids can now sing harmony to the song 'Ring of Fire.' That's what happens when your Pa can do a pretty mean Johnny Cash impression.

We had such a great time! I wish we could go again soon, but that will probably have to be it for the year.

Family Night: Welcome fall!

We decided to welcome back fall for our Family Night this week. We eally didn't do much, because the Mommma...she was not having a good day. I think I was just a little overwhelmed by all the things that I need to get done in the next few days because Jeff and I are going to be out of town for the week.

As a matter of fact, I was so out of it, I didn't take any pictures. *gasp* Not that there was much to photograph.

I started a beef stew in the crockpot that morning, then Jacob and I made some yummy Pumpkin Drop Cookies. (Thanks, Wendy!) The girls were outside playing while we made the cookies, so it was nice to have that time alone with him in the kitchen. All too often, the girls are so eager to help with the cooking and baking, that Jacob doesn't get to do much.

So, when Jeff got home, we had our yummy beef stew. Then, we got our fall decorations out of storage and decorated the house. Then, we ate our pumpkin cookies. That was the extent of our 'fallness!' Pathetic. Hee!

Jacob even mentioned once or twice, "This sure doesn't feel like Family Night!" Ahh! Talk about feeling bad! I apologized to him but also talked to him about being thankful for the time that we did get to spend together as a family.

Jeff took all three kids to the video store to get a movie and I took a long, hot bath! When they got back, we all piled on the couches and watched Peter Pan together. Throughout the movie we laughed and chatted together as a family. And that's what Family Nights are really all about.

Family Night: Bye-Bye Summer!

With fall officially arriving in a few days, we decided to have a little farewell party for summer. It wasn't much but we had a good time.

The kids decorated a sign.


We had dinner out on the deck and I made some of our favorite summer items: grilled mesquite chicken, corn on the cob, brown rice, and watermelon.

For dessert I made a banana wafer pudding; I put it in a sand pail with a shovel to give it a more 'summery' feel. I probably could have done something like popsicles to fit more with the summer theme, but I didn't have any. So, I went with what I had. The kids loved getting to eat 'sand.'


In order to give summer a proper farewell, we just had to put on our swimsuits and play in the water! Or, at least the kids did. They were excited about getting to play on the slip 'n slide one more time before we packed it away for the winter.

It wasn't cold out, but it wasn't exactly hot, either. We got a few strange looks from the neighbors.

Oh well!

Bye, summer! We'll miss you!

As always, thanks to Heather at Whittaker Woman for inspiring our Family Nights!

Family Night: Chef Night

It's been a long week!

Jeff spent the beginning of this week doing things for school, then the last part of the week he was in Chicago for business. So, he was exhausted when he got home this evening. I, too, was rather worn out because, well...Jeff's been gone all week!

So, we made Family Night short and sweet.

Earlier in the week, when I asked the kids what they wanted to eat for dinner on Friday night, they said they wanted to make homemade pizzas. So, I decided that since we were going to be making our own pizzas, that we would all be 'chefs' for the night.

We made chef hats using poster board and tissue. Then, we each made our own personal pizza.

For dessert, we made sugar cookies and the kids got to decorate their own cookie. Then, we all watched Ratatouille together.

Short and sweet. Simple and easy. Well, we'll just say it was as easy as it could have been...baking with three kids!


Thanks to Heather at Whittaker Woman for inspiring Family Nights!

A Field Trip

On Wednesday, we had our bookwork finished by noon, so we met my sister and her kids at the zoo.

Spur of the moment activities are just one more thing that I love about homeschooling! With the last few days of nice weather here, we don't have to spend them cooped up inside; we can go out and enjoy the day, whenever we want. Also, there was hardly anyone at the zoo! With most kids in school, we didn't have to wait in any lines or fight the crowds. Bonus!

Grace and Jacob riding the train.

Abby and Jacob watching an ostrich.

Abby trying to get a better look at the animals.

This giraffe would not leave this gazelle alone! The gazelle didn't seem to mind though.

Watching the elephants.

Over the past couple of years, I've learned some things about taking photos at the zoo: One, it's almost impossible to get a front view of the kids. Most of the pictures are from behind, as they look on at the animals. Two, the animals are just like the kids, you can't get them to stand still long enough to get a decent shot!

Unlike children and zoo animals, flowers stand still! So I started taking pictures of flowers for a bit.

I love how this flower looks with the sun shining from behind it! It almost looks like it was painted there with watercolors. What an awesome Creator we have!

More pictures of the kids'...backs! They love the jellyfish!

More jellyfish watching, but from a SIDE view! Yay!

I always feel like a bad mom when we visit this exhibit. "Hey, kids! Let's put our hands in the shark tank and see if we can pet them!" It just doesn't seem right.

The kids in the dolphin dome. Can you see the dolphin?

A dolphin swimming over our heads!

We had a great time at the zoo!

The Treasure Chest of Memories

One hot day this summer, Jeff and the kids were scouring the storage barn for a needed summertime item. I don't know what item exactly, but it was probably something like a swim mask, water sprinkler, baseball, or something of that sort. Anyhow, as they searched the shelves of the barn, Grace peered upon a large black trunk that we have stored away in there. She begged her dad for a look at the 'treasure' inside. However, since our barn is - for the majority of the summer - a plywood oven, he told her that they would have to wait until it cooled down to 72 degrees.

Yes, once the balmy temperature outside made its way down to 72 degrees, he would go through the trunk-o-treasure with them. Why 72 degrees? I don't know. That's just how Jeff works. And, apparently, he works best at digging through treasure chests when it is 72 degrees outside.

So for the next few weeks, almost daily, the kids would run to the outdoor thermometer to see if the number showing was 72 degrees. Oh, the moaning and groaning that went on when the little thermometer would register a number above the coveted 72!

That was until last Saturday.

Last Saturday, with Dad home from work, the checking of the temperature ensued. Oh, the squeals of excitement, when it was realized that the number registered was BELOW 72!

So off they all went to the not-hot-as-an-oven-anymore barn, to open the trunk wondrous treasure chest.

And when they opened it up, here is what they found:

It still fits!

The cheeks. Umm. They look a little smooshed.

Adorable!

Even the bumps in the hair are the same!

"Look, kids! That's your old man!"

Grace appears frightened as she looks through one of our old yearbooks. We tried to explain to her that that was just the way people looked...back in the 1900's.

Ah! The glorious prom glassware. I'm almost cheap enough to use these as everyday glassware.

I'm not sure that the 'treasure' hidden in the trunk was everything that the kids thought it would be. But for their daddy and momma, it was a treasure chest full of memories.