time with my guy

I got to spend some time with my little guy (who is not so little anymore). The month of September has flown by, busy with soccer mostly. We took a drive to Landon's away game and got to see all the beautiful colors of fall, which we realized so many other people were as well.  It was kinda crazy how many people come to our small corner of the world. But we had some nice time together in the car and got to just hang out with each other.  I am missing it more as everyone is growing up and getting busier and busier.

family time

I am trying to get back into the daily blogging about our current events but before I can do that I need to back up a bit. 

We spent two weeks in California during the beginning of August as a family. It was a lot of together time which we needed after William being away for the year and then all summer both boys work full time so everyone wanted to just have fun together. And that we did. We went to the beach and there was lots of surfing, we ate good food, went for bike rides, hikes, go-karting, mini-golfing, and lots of swimming at my brother house.

We were there for my nephews wedding so that was fun and seeing all my family was great,. The kids had a good time with their cousins and getting to know them all better. 

It was a pretty awesome trip and so glad we made the time to do it.

new bike

The end of summer proved to be pretty awesome when we received a phone call from one of the libraries we visit and they left a message saying Issabelle had won the grand prize in their reading program. A new bike. Which is what she needed. She is super excited.

september 3

 A quiet but successful day at home. Wood was stacked, more trees were cut, grocery shopping done.  Landon made an addition to our soccer net, Izzy made a volcano in the sandbox, while Harkin and I sat by the fire enjoying the dog show and knitting. Eric made us all an awesome dinner using his smoker that he loves so much.  We even had an afternoon hour of streaming Will's game live and watching him play his first soccer game at his new school. We miss him so much but am happy he is getting playing time and out doing his thing for the moment.

September 2

Pretty mellow day at home. Eric cut some trees, I did some gardening and the kids just had fun hanging out playing in their rooms and outside. We have a pretty relaxed weekend, which we need, as soon we will be in full swing of soccer season. Lots of games and running around in all different directions.

september 1

 It was a glorious day at the pool. It was pretty empty since most kids were in school. it was just fun to hang out and relax with one of their good friends.

learning about bees

We went to a class where we built bee boxes and learned how to trap them and then feed them some sweet water so that we can follow them to their beehive, if we ever wanted to find a natural beehive. It was pretty neat to learn about and when we got home they tried out the boxes, but haven't found a hive yet.

mothers day

 It was a busy day of kids activities. 3 soccer games and a dance show. But in the middle we were all able to have lunch together. That's all I need. Some time with my kiddoes. They are a good looking bunch and so very sweet.(most of the time ;). 

a creative week

 I ran a robot class at the library and it was such fun to see all the kids ideas and how they came out. Everyone was so very into it. 

Then we had our last class of the Red Clover Book Club that I have been leading all year. We made a mixed media collage of  the ten books that we read throughout the year. There was an element from all the books and in the center there was a big poop since the winner of the award went to the book, I Eat Poop. It was really fun to see the kids ideas.

another promotion

 

9 months of hard work and she is now a high yellow belt. Out of all of her activities this is her absolute favorite. We are taking the summer break, which she is not happy about, but we will be back in the fall.

ears pierced

 We finally completed the Christmas gift. Getting her ears pierced. It took us awhile to find just the right place. She was nervous as they just use a needle with no numbing. But it was super quick and she did great. Its been about two weeks now and all is healing well. 

history class

 We went to a really neat class last week about how in the olden days they had to use up what they had or make do without. Something we should still be striving for these days. 

They learned how to  play some old fashioned games, how to shuck and grind corn and then made corn muffins and corn husk dolls.

Afterwards we took a short nature walk before heading home.

color run

 This past weekend was perfect weather for the color run. It was a 1.5 mile run through our town and as you ran you got covered in powder. These two thought it was rather fun.  I had fun being with them but not so sure about the whole color powder thing. 

easter happenings

 

There was an egg hunt that lasted all of three minutes. And now we have a ton of plastic eggs. Yay!

Then there was a nice family brunch at the mountain. It was great having William home for a week. He just hung out and relaxed and played with his younger siblings. He'll be back in 4 weeks for the summer which will be a change once again for everyone, but good.

so proud

 So here is my big boy at college. It's kind of a long story that I never wrote about but he decided last August to go. He was able to play soccer which is why he really went and since it was so close we were able to see about half of his games which was awesome. 

Although he is busy with sports, he has managed to take his studies seriously and did an amazing job with his grades. We all were wondering how it would go since he had never attended a real class before.  But we did good. He was well-prepared and knew how to learn, so I can say the homeschooling his whole life thing worked.

Eric and I couldn't be more proud. We love you Will. Great Job!

into the magic

 

Harkin has entered the wizardly world of Harry Potter. He read all the books in less than 3 weeks and then attended a very cool celebration at one of our local libraries. He loved every minute of it and has had lots of fun talking to his big brothers about Harry Potter's world.

crafty lady

This little lady loves to create. Every day she is busy in the art cabinet pulling out something or other to make. Some days we do thing together, others she just comes up with ideas all on her own. I do love seeing how her creations will come out and love how she has the time to be able to do it. One of the perks of being home all day.