Our Fourth of July

Although 3 out of the 6 of us were feeling pretty lousy today, I tried to make the best of our day. It's been a really long time since I've felt this bad with a cold, but I didn't want our day to come and go without it being a little bit special.  This morning I made star shaped cinnamon rolls.  Well, kind of.  I took them out of the package, unrolled them, and shaped them into stars. ;) Topped them with the icing, and poured sprinkles on top.  They were a big hit.

Later in the morning the girls and I painted while we talked about why we celebrate the 4th of July.  I told them all about Great Britain and how they wanted the colonies to pay more

 taxes, and set more rules, and how the colonies wanted to separate, and about the Declaration of Independence.  Anna answered all of my questions, and added a bit more info to the

 conversation.  Trin on the other hand had a harder time grasping it.  She kept saying that

 the 4th of July was for celebrating fireworks.  After trying to explain that we

celebrate WITH fireworks about a dozen times, Anna finally just agreed,

 and told Trin that she was exactly right.



In the afternoon, we had a lot of play time with Mason on the floor.  We read a lot of books, played trucks, rode zebras, and played "peek a boo" for the camera!

After dad got home, we cooked out, and lit a few sparklers and smoke bombs.  The kids were disappointed that the whole state is still on fire, and that we are limited to what type of fireworks we could do. We had to have a talk about being ungrateful, and remember why living in America is so great, and to be thankful for those who have lost their lives fighting for our freedom.

  Not everyone is able to celebrate such a wonderful thing!

Next up is the firework show.  We normally watch from the front sidewalk, or our balcony.  It's pretty windy tonight, so I'm not sure if they will cancel or not.  You know... a part of me wishes that the city would only host a firework show every other year, or every two years, and put the money saved into the public school system. A thought to ponder... It would do a world of good!

God Bless America! I hope you had an awesome 4th!

Our First Box Day!

The girls and I are setting forth on a new adventure! We are homeschooling this next school year.   After many prayers, we have decided that it's what's best for them, and or family at this

 time.  I'm a little scared and nervous, but don't most of us feel that way

when we are making such important decisions that affect lives other than our own?  I have confidence though, and I think together we will find our groove, and excel in the challenge.

On Tuesday the FedEx man delivered us a nice, big heavy box.  The girls were dying to open it, and see all of their new school books. It was so much fun watching the girls pull out

 all of their books.  They were truly delighted, and cheered each other on.  It was fun watching them find each others books.  I heard a lot of "Anna, you're going to love this one.",

 and "Trin, look at this book...I wish it was mine."  I told the girls not to wish for each other's books, because we would all be doing the work together, so everyone would hear/read

the same books.  Anna is excited to help play the teacher role. I told her she could read

some of Trin's Read Aloud books, because that would really help me out.

I did decide to go with Sonlight Curriculum.  I did hours of research on a lot of available curriculums.  I love that this curriculum is not all worksheet and text book related.   I love how the History, Language, and Reading are interconnected and relate to each other.

 I love that the girls will be learning by reading a lot of small books, instead of one large boring textbook for each subject. I LOVE that their is an Instructors Guide that will help me along the way.

 I think the girls will continue to love to learn, only in a different way, and a different setting.  I ordered the P4/5 program for Trinity, and the multi-subject 5th grade for Anna,

which includes Core F.  Anna will be studying the Eastern Hemisphere, Health,

 Medicine, Human Anatomy, Math, and Bible. We may start a foreign language or another

 elective after we get started.  Maybe after Christmas.

The girls pulling out the first books.

Trin, ecstatic that she got a new "homework" book.

Anna couldn't contain herself with this book.  It was her favorite by far!

Bub got in on the action, and went through every book, giving his approval. ;)

The girls with most of their books.  Wednesday we got a smaller box with their Bible books inside!

I think for the most part, we are ready.  My plan is stay on the same school schedule as Bub, unless the girls bug me too much.  If so, we might start early!

Wish us Luck!

Today there was a lot of...

...snuggles and cries, and snuggles and cries.

Mason isn't feeling well.  He's running a high fever, but no other symptoms except for crankiness.  I'm sure it's viral, so we will see how the night goes before exposing ourselves to all the germs at the doctor's office tomorrow.

We had a lot of couch time today. I think between the girls and I, we had to have read Mister boy 100 books.  That is all he wanted to do. I enjoyed the extra lovin, but I am competely exhausted.  I didn't sleep well last night, and Mason decided to wake up extremely early this morning! I think it will be an early night!

It's been almost a month...

We've been enjoying Summer!

Mason has learned how to climb into the book bin.  He likes to relax there and drink his bottle.

We've been watching hot air balloons fly by our living room windows.

We've been watching Mason grow bigger every day.

We've been playing in kiddie pools that are way to small!

We've witnessed God's beautiful creations in our own backyard.

We've had Amanda and Miles visit us these last two weeks.

Miles and Mason have enjoyed spending time with each other.

We've played with bubbles.  Lots of bubbles.  Mason loves them!

We visited the Botanical Gardens.

Mason and Bub have had lots of bonding time.

Mason loves to sleep.

We've enjoyed floating at the pool.

They enjoyed looking cool by the pool.

We've been bowling, and bowling.  The kids are getting pretty good!

We've been relaxing and watching Saturday morning cartoons.

She's been posing by all things fire fighter. :) She's going to be a fire girl, you know!

Mason has been having more food allergy reactions. :(

The boys have been having fun playing twins.

Mason has learned a new trick. ;)

We've been having snow cones.

Mason's first.  Our goal is to try every flavor by the end of summer.  With 5 of us ordering, I don't think that will be hard to do!

More pool time, and yes, that is a bottle still in his hands. It will be there for awhile.

We've been reading!

Mason has an amazing love for his lovey...Boo!

I've been wearing a braid.  EEK! I may be too old.

We've been reading in tents at the library.

We've been playing with glow sticks in the dark.

We've also been enjoying our evenings with the best dad in the world! Because of him, we are able to do these great things!!

What have you been doing this Summer?  I'd love to hear!

Today is Bub's Birthday! Can You Believe He's 15?

What does a not so average 15 year old decide to do for his birthday?  Spend it with the family, of course!  I love that Bub would rather be with us than with anyone else in the world.  Did I mention that we are loud, and whiny, and annoying most of the time?  We are, and the boy still loves us, and doesn't think that he is too cool for us! 

He decided that we should go up to the Jemez Mountains, and to Fenton Lake, so we delivered!  Overall, we had a spectacular day, and made a lot of memories.

The first two pictures in this collage were views we saw on the way up the mountain towards the lake.  The left, just a picture of the rocks that form the mountains, and to the left is Soda Dam.  The picture really doesn't do it justice!  The formation is beautiful.  The bottom left is a picture of the store that we stopped at to buy Bub a fishing license, and I had to include it, because my sis's name is Amanda.  :) The next picture is Bub holding his first fishing license.

At the lake, we started off with a picnic, where Neen announced that the sun was waaaay too bright. I knew the complaining would continue, so I lent her my sunglasses. ;) see, I told you we are whiny.

As I started to think about it, this was Trin's first time to really fish.  It sounds so bizarre, because Anna was already a pro at her age.  We used to live on a lake, and fishing was a weekly occurrence.

Mason was not a happy camper at the lake.  It was pretty much a battle of wills the entire time.  He wanted down.  He wanted to play in the sand/ pine cones, and rubble, and I just didn't think it was safe.  So, he was either held or pushed in his stroller.  He was not Happy!

Close to the end of the trip Neen was complaining because we hadn't caught any fish.  She thought that if she held her pole like a light saber that she would have better luck.  It didn't help, but it sure was cute! Every time she thought she had caught a fish, she would reel in her line, and say "oh man, it's only allergy"  We told her many times it was called algae, but she continued to call it allergy! 

 We left shortly after and went back down the mountain.  We stopped and let the kids explore the Jemez river.  This was by far the best part of the trip.  The kids were able to walk across the river, and play and have fun. Trin always treks off with Bub, and Anna hangs back with us.  Those two are two peas in the pod and really enjoy each other!

Casey and Anna caught several minnows with a frisbee!  Anna was entertained by that the entire time.  Casey took Mason in the river, and tried to put his feet in the water, but he wanted nothing to do with it.  It was a little too cold for his taste!

Trinity did end up falling in the cold water, but said that Bub's birthday was the best day ever!!

I LOVE these kids, and my family!  I am so thankful for everyone of them, but today I'm reminded just how much Bub means to me.  It's not every day that you almost die during child birth. With Bub I almost did, and I told him I would do it again in a minute!  He is truly special, and I can't wait to see where God leads him!

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY BUBBA!! WE ALL LOVE YOU!!

A New Tradition To Kick Off Summer!!

We decided to start a new tradition to kick off the beginning of summer break!  Yesterday morning, we headed to Durango.  We woke up early, and drove 3 hours to a beautiful place that we have been to once before.  Mason does so well in the car!! Neen however, not so much.  She has never liked car rides, and was the most challenging passenger in the car.  I can't tell you how many groans, and "my butt cheeks hurt" I heard yesterday. It went from me and Casey being frustrated, to almost dying laughing because it was so ridiculous! That girl likes to be comfortable, and obviously a 5 point harness is not her carseat style. ;)

When we first got there we stared off at our favorite park and river spot.  This was the Animas river, and the kids love to explore it. They found favorite rocks, tadpoles, and a snake. Ugh! They danced, flipped, and splashed the afternoon away.  We also visited the park that sits just up the hill from the river.  Mason loved walking around with Daddy, and swinging on the swings.

After the park we visited the fish hatchery which everyone but Anna enjoyed!  She thinks it's just well...boring.  There are fun little trails and bridges close by that we "explored"!  It is really so peaceful and pretty there! I miss green grass, and trees!  I miss seeing water flow! One thing I don't miss since moving from Tx is the extreme heat and humidty.  Everything else, pretty much!  Here in NM it's pretty much brown...just brown. :(

Lunch was a little crazy. We ate at a place called Zia.  They had taco bowls, and burritos.  The one thing they didn't have was high chairs, so that made things a little tricky. We did stop by Cold Stone before heading back to the park and river one last time, before heading home!  We had a great day!  We really need some bicycles though! They have awesome places to ride! And next year, well maybe we will go rafting. ;)

Wednesday was the last day of school...

Enough said!