Summer Fun

As the summer started to fly past us, I realized I hadn't done much of anything that felt like "summer" with the boys. Everything was moving way too fast and I couldn't keep up.

We don't have a membership to a pool like we used to, so it's a little hard to make myself find something equally as fun. Last week I saw an advertisement for a summer fun card in our area. For $20 a person it will get you into 3 different area pools/water parks. I ordered each of us one immediately and I declared Fridays Family Fun Days!

Dan had the next 3 Fridays off, so we decided to pack them with tons of fun! Yesterday we headed an hour north to a small town to visit their pool. We've been once when Tristin was 2, so this was a new experience for them and they loved it. We stayed for 4 hours. Like a mini vacation :)

You'll have to excuse some of the pictures, the sun was so bright I couldn't tell on my screen what they looked like haha!




The water was very cold so these two were easing into it.



Exploring the pirate ship.



They spent a lot of time sliding down the slides and playing volleyball.



Taking a break.










After we got home, we headed out for a night at the drive in movie theater. We watched Turbo and Despicable Me 2. I fell asleep but the boys stayed up until 1 AM! Oh my.

Summer of the Birds

Sometimes I have a hard time with nature study. We don't live in a place with just a whole lot going on, but just like the old saying goes, if you "stop and smell the roses" you will find some interesting things.

God really does have a lot going on no matter where you're at.

One morning I went out to water my hanging fern and a little finch flew out and right over my head. So I gently lowered the plant down and sure enough, inside were the four sweetest little eggs. I called for the boys to come see, and from then on we watched that nest like a hawk. :)



At first we thought this was a sparrow, but after seeing the beautiful daddy with red markings drop by we researched and found that this was a House Finch couple.

I never got a picture of him, but he really was beautiful.



A week or so after the discovery we peeked in and there they were!



We thought there was only three. A few more days went by before we finally noticed the forth little one was in there.



We loved watching the fledglings as they were developing their wings...and fuzzy heads.



And just like that, they were ready to go.



Our boys have learned so much about birds this year. They are loving every bit of it, and so am I! We picked up Thornton Burgess' Bird Book and can't wait to read it!

Linking with Nature Study Mondays!

Show and Share Saturday

Nature Study: Birds part 1

We've been keeping an eye on this little beauty right outside of Tristin's window!



I don't think she appreciated me taking pictures of her..it was making her a bit nervous. She was literally getting her feathers ruffled haha ;)




We are going to keep a close eye on her as she so gracefully does what God created her to do. So far we've only seen one egg, and she sure doesn't leave that baby much at all.

We've read up on Doves, and found that the male and female take turns attending to the egg (male in the morning and afternoon, female evening and night). We are now keeping watch for 2 birds! We've learned that it takes about 2 weeks for the squab to hatch and they feed it crop milk for a few days before introducing seeds. After about 11-14 days they begin fledging.

Waiting for Spring, And a Texas Blizzard Y'all

I has been a very nice winter here in Texas. A lot of the days have been nice enough to go outside for a walk or just to play,  but I'm always freezing. Always.

I'm very ready for the smell of fresh cut lawns, big thunderstorms rolling in, and eating breakfast, lunch, or even dinner outside.

I was looking at pictures from last April, and man it sure got me excited!





Pots ready to be filled with gorgeous flowers!



That will all have to wait a bit longer though. Outside our window is sunshine, but it's melting the 15 or so inches of snow we just had. What a storm it was! The boys are sure enjoying it though.



They built forts in the front yard the first day, and got creative on the back deck steps yesterday. They stayed out for hours! I cleaned house and had nutella and peanut butter hot chocolate hot and waiting for them to tire.

11 Years

Jaiden turned 11 years old last week. We have had a very rough couple of months, but he knew it was his birthday, and he was as happy as a clam.

He has been doing really well this year in school. He is learning to read on his computer and has started doing more academics than life skills. He's really catching on!

We are so proud of him.

I pray everyday for ways to show him we love him, and ways to help him.

We have a pretty big change coming up that we hope will help him more than anything. I'll let you know when we know for sure.

He's such a wonderful young man!

Brothers lighting the donut cake:







Happy Birthday Jai. We love you!!

Leaf Jumping

Last weekend Dan cleaned up the yard. The boys begged him to save a pile of leaves for them to jump in. They would line up, and Dan would throw them in. So much fun!





This guy was more interested in having a cup of cocoa.



I love this boy. He is the biggest help and has such a wonderful heart.



Doing their own little thing. I sure love having them around!

Christmas Cards

I can't believe it's this time of year already! I am pretty behind on getting things done as far as Christmas cards, gifts etc. So yesterday we set out to finish buying Christmas gifts, I took pictures of the boys, and I came home and made these cards. The hard part? Choosing which one I like better, ha! Have you gotten all your shopping done and cards finished? We still have a few things (like a scooter) to get for the boys, and my boys are just DYING to buy something for their daddy. Other than that, we are done!

Back to School Schedule & Party

We are in full swing here at our little academy. (need to come up with a name soon)!
We just started our 3rd week, and our routine is working really well, so I wanted to share what our day looks like.

*I wake up at 6:30 (working towards 6:00). I make my bed, read the Bible and get dressed.

*The boys wake at 7:00. They get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, and feed dogs. I assist one child with wiping the boys toilet...they take turns since this has to be done daily!!

*7:15 I make breakfast while they read their Bible; classical music is on in the background. Breakfast usually consists of some combination of waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, oatmeal, breakfast burritos...you get the idea. And, a great big cup of coffee for me.







*We eat, and I read the Bible to them. They "read" the Bible on their own to get used to the idea that they need to every day when they can read well on their own. I read to them so they hear the word and will know it.

*8:05 we take Jaiden to his private theraputic school and we get home around 8:35

*8:35 we do daily chores. Start washing machine, dishes, pick up.

*9:00 we start school
   -we do memory work (scriptures, days of week, months, poetry) and write in gratitude journals
   -I turn on hymns in background
   -I work on My Father's World with Brighton
   -while Tristin does Singapore math or Kahn Academy
   - I let Brighton look at ABC book or do a puzzle while Tristin and I do All About Spelling lesson

*10 or 10:15 we take a 15-30 minute break

*10:30 we read our living History literature or Apologia Swimming Creatures science



*11:00 we do Greek or Grammar

*11:20 we read our Ambleside online reading and poetry or Shakespeare

*12:00 we eat lunch (leftovers, baked potatoes, or chicken salad with fruit)

*12:30 play

*1:00  Trisitn reads aloud to me

*1:30  Everyone goes to their own room to play while I turn on a movie via Netflix and fold laundry

*2:30 boys come put away their own laundry and we go get a snack prepared

*3:00 Jaiden is home, has snack, potty, and they all can watch a movie for 1 hour or play. I clean..or read (grin)

*4:00 movie off. free play (outside) or we can work on a project or take a walk etc.



*5:00 everyone picks up any messes

*5:30 everyone helps with dinner and clean up (chopping salad, stirring, setting table, washing dishes, sweeping)

*7:15 baths, teeth, and devotional

*8:00 bed, where they can read or color...lights out 9:00 ish

That's our school day!

We have really been loving this schedule and enjoying school so much more this year so far.

The night before we started school, I decided to throw and impromptu  back to school dinner.
I love what nienie does with theirs, so I ran with that.

The boys and I made crowns, I made cupcakes and dinner (lime chicken tacos and rice).






It is so sweet how they treasure those crown and display them in their rooms.

Our theme this year is to "Dream Big". I want our boys to learn to do hard things. That's what it takes to reach your dreams. God has such dreams for us, so don't be shy to dream big!



I couldn't believe when I was going through my stash or clearance cupcake liners, that I came across these!!



We had a beautiful night. A perfect way to celebrate this life given to us.










Hope your year blesses your socks off!!

Fourth of July

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the 4th? It's one of my favorite holidays because it's in the summertime (yay), it's simple, and the fireworks.

I remember sitting out on the fence when I was a little girl and watching them from far away. I just loved watching the burst of color in the sky.

We always start the morning with a breakfast to go as we head out to the 4th of July Parade.

These boys were so excited for the big day!






Traditional pictures (and a very messy boy..so messy we had to go straight home after and wash these clothes ha)











With the statue we get pictures by every single year.








A new tradition perhaps? The jumping picture.





The cutest little camper...oh my.





Then we headed home to prepare for our 4th of July party. It was so much fun!


This is my mom and dad, and my aunt and uncle. These ladies are sisters and they are precious. My aunt got in a car wreck a few weeks ago. She rolled her car 8 times. By the grace of God she was okay and came away with some broken ribs. We are so blessed to have her in our lives!











My sweetest cousin and one of my best friends with her littlest.





The girl table...I'm not used to one of those! *grin*









And the boy table:









The flowers. I had a lot of fun decorating if you can imagine.








And at last we headed to the fireworks.








It was such a beautiful day.