I have been very bad at taking pictures and blogging..I’m horrible..here’s a quick look at some of the things we’ve done over the last 11 months:
We dissected cow eyes:
Cantered the Country:
Studied Physics:
started our new Baseball season:
Gone Geocaching:
played basketball:
went to Disney again
spent a crazy amount of time with friends:
Hiked:
Had a great Christmas:
we’ve enjoyed Xander a lot:
and lots more!! Oh and in August I stopped bartending so I’ve been a much happier ( and poorer) mom!
Every spring I get the itch…the get out and DO stuff itch. This year is no different… even though we barely got 24 inches of snow ( compared to over 100 inches last year). I have spent the week ( when not schooling,cleaning,working etc) sorting thru summer clothing and making our Summer Survival Kit.
What is this? Well it’s all the items we need to be able to just stop and smell the roses. We are big on coming upon a place and wanting to explore..so in order to be able to do this we must be prepared. I’ve been making these “kits” since Noah was almost 2..so 16 years now.
All you need is baggies and maybe a sterilte container or two. I am very lucky that our new van is Stow n Go so I have even more options..but Stow n Go is not a requirement at all.
So what exactly is a Summer Survival kit? Let me show you what ours consists of this year.
First we have a first aid type kit:
In there we have 8 gallon garbage bags, a full bandaid,cold pack,neosporin work up and of course sunscreen and hair ties. All in their own sandwich bag size baggies. This make’s it much easier to grab and toss what we need in our back pack if we find a nice hiking trail!
Next up we have a gallon size baggie for each of the younger kids. In that we have underwear,socks, a swim suit and a clean outfit.We do get dirty..and gross..and often still have to go in public..so fresh clothes are a must!
Next is a bag with a towel for each kiddo. These can be used to sit on, dry off with or whatever else hits their fancy..also in the bag is a pack of baby wipes..because we tend to get dirty..lol
Next up we have the food. Its very important we have portable food should we come across a hiking trail, a bike path or whatever. SO this is full of pre-packaged snacks like granola bars,Cliff bars,slim jims..and of other things like peanuts,trail mix etc in snack size baggies we can grab and toss in our back pack.Oh and candy..yep..candy in case we need a sugar boost.
I have 2 boxes of what my kids call “juice packages”
and a case of bottled water:
it all fits perfectly in one stow n go compartment , behind the drivers side in my case:
and this is what it looks like:
Right now I have the other captains seat folded down but once the REALLY nice weather hits that compartment will house extra shoes, hoodies, beach toys, and various outside toys like bats and wiffle balls,nets and science/nature journals.
More times than i can count having ourselves prepared has allowed us to take advantage of any fun spot we come across. It’s also allowed more than one friend to be “rescued” by the food,water and extra clothes I always carry.
I am trying to find my love for blogging again.. I swear it’s coming back.. I expect full force by Sept!
So i decided to go ahead to and do a catch up post.. warning.. 49 pictures coming up.. that’s not bad since it’s been like 3 months since I posted any!!
They are , unfortunetly not in any order..sigh..I am so sorry..bad bad bad me!
We have had a very busy, very full “summer”..
Here we went to the lake with friends:
we went hiking at the state forest near my house with friends:
Jadziah made her First Communion:
we saw the beauty of spring:
we hiked up a mountain a few times ( with a few different rent a kids):
I fulfilled a dream and got to see my very favorite singer LIVE.. Kasey Chambers is Australian and rarely comes to the US, and not near us.. well she was about an hour away and we got to see her. She’s 6 months pregnant but that did not stop her! She put on an amazing show and I lingered and lingered after and got to meet her!! yeah.. I’m still slightly euphoric.
Kasey is the brunette..the blonde is a young lady I think we will hear great things from in the future..amazing singer, writer and musician!
Declan started his first year playing baseball..he loved it!
he played a lot:
then the season ended.. he was 3rd for RBI’s.. not bad for a kid who never played and was on a team with kids who have been playing for 6 seasons!
We went to our city’s huge 4th of July parade with our best friends and their 7 kids.. Noah had to work..so it was just 10 kids..
Missy and Don.. Missy and I have known each other since we were 6..we were very close then and then in the last 5 years we really reconnected and over the last 18 months we’ve become best friends again.. I love how that works!
Oh we had our annual dance recital:
We took the kids to the ocean ( with our friends and their 7 kids..again Noah had to work so he wasn’t with us)
Oh here’s Noah.. his hair was pink for this picture ( it’s teal now) and this is Kate his girlfriend of 13 months!
Time was spent with friends who live on the lake:
Eric and i got all dressed up:
we had some science fun:
we have spent so much time with friends it’s crazy!
We created a countdown to our vacation:
and got our Mickey Mouse mail!
and now I think we are caught up!
Spring has begun to spring around here so we’ve spent a lot of time outside in the yard,at the park or elsewhere outside. We’ve had lunch and dinner and more with friends. Karate, Daisy Scouts,dance and more have all continued..I will admit getting lessons in has been hard..the weather is so tempting to us..but we have made certain to get that learning in I swear!
Yesterday there was an article about the local Humane Society’s food pantry had a major shortage in cat food. The kids decided we would use our “expendable for fun income” for the week to buy and donate food instead of going to Chuck E Cheese Tuesday after Noah’s appointment at Shriners. We went and bought a bunch of bags of food and brought it in:
After that we took our stale bread to the lake and fed the ducks ( and geese and sea gulls)..the kids had a blast!
Science lately has been the kids learning about various animals. They watched baby tigers on TV then went and watched their Planet Earth DVD’s about penguins and tigers:
They’ve also begun watching Growing Up on animal planet ( thanks Robin) and recently Declan learned all about the Okinawa Aquarium. Lots of time outside has added to ther nature study as well.
For geography/social studies we’re still plugging along on the states ( we have 17 of 51 state postcards..still need a bunch more !!). Noah made Declan and outline map of the US and here’s Declan adding mountain ranges and rivers to it ( on his own on a Saturday night btw):
He’s also learning the location of each state in his daily work:
Taejan is loving his kumon cutting books and is doing most of the work fully on his own now:
Declan has been using Time 4 Learning almost daily , he loves it and I love having something educational for him to use when I am teaching the other 2!
Ziah and Taejan did some math using the phonics tiles the other day:
And my Magna Doodle girl has totally worn her old one out and got a new one..which she used for phonics and math:
I bought a new “Shape” game and Declan and Ziah have been using that:
Besides playing outside and at the park they’ve used the Wii for some PE time:
Declan wants to learn to play chess.. I wish i could wrap my brain around the game from reading a how to book..but sadly i can’t..so we’re hoping a friend can teach us both!
Here’s the middles doing their reading and phonics work the other day:
Oh and apparently Ziah has decided to be a dentist when she grows up..poor Taejan gets to be her test patient:
Hope everyone is having a fine Monday! Thus far we certainly are…it’s library day so Eric took all 3 wee ones there, to the Post office, the park and walmart.. and mommy got some much needed stuff done!
Since Noah is now back in public school I’ve been shifting the Academy around to reflect the fact we have all wee ones learning here now..fist step was creating these little caddy’s for the kids:
There is one for each with a variety of items depending on their age and likes. These are for them to use pretty much whenever they want and especailly to keep them happy while they may be done with their current lesson but I may be working with another kiddo. I plan to rotate out the items in here as needed and I also have a small envelope on the side where the kids can store the reward coupons they have received until they are ready to redeem them!
Here’s Taejan’s(3 years old): He has tractor dominoes, sticks for building, craft sticks, playdough, a small 6 compartment tray, a bagged craft and a pack of tattoo’s.
Ziah’s ( almost 5): she has 2 learning games,sequencing cards,crafts sticks, a bag of buttons,playdough,a small 6 compartment tray, a bagged craft and a pack of tattoo’s.
Declan’s(6.5): He has 2 learning games, a wood model to build and paint, craft sticks, tanagram’s, Modeling clay, a pad of his favorite dot game,a small 6 compartment tray, a bagged craft and a pack of tattoo’s.
Besides getting things rearranged ( yet again) we’ve been happily busy with life, We decorated pumpkins at Owen and Lila’s, and the kids got to see the lambs and hang out with the tractors, no good pictures as i didn’t bring my camera but I have one from my cell phone:
We also had Book Club.. the kids read “The Littles” and they had to build a bridge.. this is from Think!
Declan and Corey did an amazing job working together.. they got well $1.74 I believe on their bridge!
Ziah and Bella worked together and I believe they got $.94!
We had Apple day and of course Karate, dance, acrobatics,Nutcracker, dance pictures, normal pictures and life in general..oh and I am getting up VERY early and loving the gym..just wait a few weeks and I should be really looking and feeling better!!