April...what a blur!

I don't know where April has gone but I see I've forgotten it here.  Rather than tell you all about the busyness, I just picked some fun photos to share.  Here you go...

This was our Easter egg hunt with 4 other families.  Lots of candy, laughs and sunny weather.  So good to have Spring here.

Spiderman & Boo worked tirelessly on this "indian home", inspired by the book, "Naya Nuki - the Shoshoni girl who ran."   The book was great but I love to see my kids try to live it out.  They wove branches together for walls & even put in flooring.  Everyone thought it was so cool that Jaybird and Goose began working on their own huts. 

Here are the kids playing on Grandpa's 4 wheeler.  We planted trees, played in the creek and did some fishing that day.  Family memories.

On top of all the family fun, I was so thankful to attend a Home School Conference in St. Louis earlier this month.  In my 5 years of home schooling, I had heard of these "strange opportunities" but never dared "dip my toe into that pool".  Wow, have I been missing out.  Not only were there some wonderful breakout sessions and great opportunities to look closely at curriculum choices, the encouragement from those who have done this for YEARS and then seeing SO MANY other families who have chosen to school their children at home - it was just what I needed.  I am ready and even excited to continue on this journey of learning with and from my children.  What a special gift!

A Great Birthday Gift

This is a great way to celebrate my birthday.  My baby, my Boo, followed the Lord in believer's baptism today.  She asked Jesus into her heart over a year ago and the past few months she has been begging and hounding us about getting baptised.  She has been SO excited to do this and was BOUNCING around all day about it.  I love this sweet moment with her Daddy on such a special day.  What a wonderful birthday gift for me.

Later that afternoon she had another big milestone (though not nearly as significant).  Boo finally lost her first tooth.  She's been dreaming about getting a visit from the tooth fairy after watching her older siblings getting many visits over the years.  Look at that little smile.  When I asked her the next morning if she saw the Tooth Fairy she told me, "I caught her and put her in a jar but somehow she escaped."  I know she realizes I'm the Tooth Fairy but I love the imagination she pours into the fun.                                                                         

9 year old Glamour Girl

My Goose has turned 9 and we've graduated from "theme" parties to a girlfriend sleepover.  How did it happen so fast?  Even the gifts have turned from toys to diaries, clothes, hair & nail accessories.  What's the rush?  :) 

Well when it came to the girls, they had a wonderful time.  Their highlight seemed to be the manicures and facials and I love this photo below.  Their giggles and conversations just cracked me up!  That is until I was reminding them to be quiet at 1:00 am.  Thankfully, birthdays are only once a year (per kid still adds up).

Here is the spunky girl today on her birthday in her favorite new outfit.  It is just as fun as she is.  I love you Goose!

Great scientific minds

Just a glimpse into the busy, little minds of my kids.  Being inspired by Tom Sawyer, my boys took it a step or two further by COMPLETELY covering their room in booby traps.  They worked together all day to create quite a maze and even inspired the girls to do the same.  When I couldn't make it into their room to tuck them in that night, I made the "unpopular" decision that it had to come down the next day.  I'm married to a fireman and that would be a hazard right?  :)

Here are some experiments that Jaybird found in a book.   You can guess why they wanted to make molecule models out of gumdrops and in the glass is a water, oil and salt experiment that was pretty entertaining as well.

On another note, inspired by my last post about the family congress, the kids were impressed with this contraption/invention.  Grandpa Michael (who the kids call their "close Grandpa" or their "99% Grandpa" as he isn't related) had the kids over to put the finishing touches on a light system.  Above you see the "guts" of the operation.  Below you can see the finished product which allows the representatives in our congress to know when they are allowed time to present their bills with the yellow light coming on as their time is running out.  Impressive huh?

The best part is that this stemmed from my comments about how I feel inadequate to teach too much science as I'm not scientific minded and no good with experiments.  God has provided another option to fill the gap where I need it.  Isn't He wonderful?  (You too Michael)

Look at the amazement on those faces!

Our State Capital

This week I made my first trip to the State Capital with the kids for a homeschool rally.  They were so excited to see the building as we crossed the river.  We met up with some friends from the ol' Bethany days and we enjoyed our tours, exploring and the rally itself.  According to the kids, they can't wait to go back someday.  As for me, I found it very inspiring and encouraging to hear from (and see) so many others committed to teaching their children at home.  I'm thankful that I live in a state and in a country where we can still benefit from such freedoms.

Hangin' with Thomas Jefferson - which is pretty cool as we just covered the Louisiana Purchase last week in history and THAT'S why his statue is here in the first place.  Also, in light of watching a bill being debated in the House, we had our own family Congress meet tonight to discuss the Bill's the Representatives (my kids) presented, vote on them and pass them on to the Senate (Mom & Dad) where they are in review.  Tomorrow we will see which ones become laws, they're loving it!

Here is Spiderman trying out the Civil War era for himself.  He's all about the guns!  Below is Jaybird high fiving the little old lady in the Secretary of State's Office after making the state seal on this contraption.  She was a real hoot.

We had travelled down the evening before and spent the night visiting with my Aunt & Uncle.  The kids had a great time and we felt very loved.  Thanks guys!

Social Studies Fair

We have been studying early American history this year and George Washington has been pretty prominent there.  He was an easy choice for us as we participated in the Homeschool Social Studies Fair in Feb.  It was fun to see the kids proudly show off their hard work, do a little public speaking and learn about the people that the other students chose.  If you're studying that photo above, Spiderman made a Lego replica of Fort Duchesne and we made George's favorite food, hoecakes.  For the record, no one really cared for these and our chickens got to eat most of them. :)

I was pretty impressed with the work the various families put into their subject matter and the highlight for my kids was The Salter's presentation of Harriet Tubman (also someone we're currently reading about), complete with giant cardboard Underground Railroad station and a "dramatic" speech from "Harriet" herself. :)  Great fun!    Below you can see that Goose was proud to dress up as Washington's granddaughter, Nellie.  There was just no convincing my boys to put on a powdered wig.....

Fun in God's Handiwork

I heard that 65% of America is covered in snow right now and more is on the way.   Growing up in Utah, I LOVE the snow!  Not everyone shares my tastes I know (and we aren't buried under 3 + feet of snow right now either).   We just couldn't resist taking a recent afternoon to travel to Grandma & Grandpa's farm for some "sledding with speed".

We filled the mini-van to the brim by including our dear friend Hope and even our dog Frisbee, who loves to run herself to exhaustion.   It was a fun-filled afternoon freezing our noses off.  The kids had a blast and were challenged to see who could stay on the sled the longest. 

Initially the boys were intentionally flinging themselves off the sled but when determined, Spiderman won the contest by far.  Boo had the princess seat for most of the afternoon but she did give it a try with dear ol' Mom.   What a beautiful day!