I have worked hard to "catch up" on the summer...and...well, it's time for just a mash up of pictures I like with quick stories to tell.
Hanging with our friend Ty.
Nathan and Bryson, learning to skate together.
I went to the FPEA homeschool conference for one day. It was my first time going. Really, I just wanted to hear this man right here, Andrew Pudewa from IEW. He was fantastic and gave me renewed vision for my homeschool.
The kids and I spent a weekend in Ocala, and I thought this was the sweetest picture of the girls with their grammy, walking into church.
I had a lot of fun participating in our Classical Conversations parent practicum this year. I was in the Foundations demo as a "bad" parent. One who was distracting and/or disengaged. At this point, I was being distracting by taking a selfie in the middle of class :)
We celebrated this sweet girl's 11th birthday. Ugh...how did this happen?
She wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant.
Look how grown up she is!
Something really fun about Nathan is that he really enjoys making his bed. First of all, he loves his stuffed animals. He loves them because they are really soft. But, he also loves to create stories for them. I don't remember them all, but it's plain to see that Panda Bear was enjoying his reading time with Mercy Watson.
So...I just thought this was cute :)
The kids had fun at Vacation Bible School. It had an arctic theme. This particular day, they had to dress up like something from the arctic. Nathan is a narwhal, Nicole is an iceburg, Hannah is an arctic hair. This is probably one of the pictures they are going to hate for me one day, haha.
Hannah started horse riding lessons this summer with a friend. It's been her dream, and she looks good doing it.
We went to a minor league baseball game...all because Tim Tebow was playing
The game before ours was a make up from the previous night that was rained out. So, we got to see him play left field.
He didn't play in the game we were at, until the last at bat. The coaches put him in just for the people in the stands.
Nathan waited around for quite a while, hoping to get an autograph. He didn't get one.
Hannah is growing so much in her academics. She decided to work on drawing the US. I think this one is an attempt at state by state.
Daddy needed an elf to help him with a project :)
The kids and I had fun finding fun presentations at the local libraries. They got to learn how to do speed stacking from a world champion high school student. It was pretty fun!
Of course, we participated in in Chick Fil A appreciate day again. It's a tradition.
More of the father/son duo. Nathan is learning to do something that terrifies me...lighting the grill.
Another attempt at drawing the country
It was just a beautiful day, and we needed a picture at the library.
Just a pretty sunrise
More bedtime stories
The lizards may be kissing.
Rabbit and orca are having a nice game of catch.
And, duck is doing a great job reading Hey Jack!
Nathan would have made a wonderful big brother...but he'll just have to settle for being a fantastic friend.
One thing I love about horse lessons is that she also has to work. So, she learning to shovel manure.
Hannah is really excited to be in Essentials with Nicole. They are both having a great year.
This kid is a gamer. He LOVES to play games! He has always been an early riser, and his first question is often "Hey mom! Want to play a game?" One day, I may surprise him and say yes. He watched a documentary on the National monopoly championship the other day...and has been trying to learn the game ever since.
We joined 4H this year. Our class is on government. We found out the night before that Nicole had to give a presentation on the Chamber of Commerce. We didn't know anything, but that didn't stop my girl. She is fearless and confident when it comes to these kinds of things. So, we defined our terms, went online to learn more, and then made a quick visit the Chamber. She interviewed the membership director and asked some very grown up questions.
Then, just a few hours later, she made a nice little presentation to her 4H club. I was really proud of her ability to pull something like this off so seamlessly.
We are learning all about the body, which of course, means we need to dissect a chicken wing.
This little clown makes our home happy and fun.
But, sometimes he doesn't feel too well...so he is still up for some snuggles.
On our way home, we got to stop and visit with some friends.
Naomi and Nicole
Esther and Hannah
Nathan and Ethan
Last story...and it's a good one! As we were shopping for hurricane supplies, Nathan got out of the car with a paper airplane in his hand. He said, "Mommy, I'm going to sell my airplane in the store and make a dollar." I just smiled and shrugged him off. A bit later, we were in the aisle, looking at beef jerky, when he walked up to two men and asked them if they would like to buy his paper airplane for a dollar. They chatted for a moment, but ultimately said no. It wasn't until he went up to a woman on the next aisle that I remembered his comment earlier. I started laughing and shared with her that his goal was to make a dollar on the trip. Quite sweetly, she reached in her purse and bought his paper airplane from him. So...there you have it...he ended up making money on our trip to the store.
