Homeschool retreat

We are a part of a great homeschool group. It's really a blessing to have this outlet where I feel like my kids (and myself) get that ever-important social interaction, and a place where someone else is teaching my kids; the burden is shared, and I don't feel like I'm solely responsible. It's a great relief. It's even better that I really enjoy the interactions I have with the moms. They are strong, smart women who are doing what they think is best for their children, and I feel like I have a lot to glean from watching them.
One of these moms lent us her family's cabin for a little retreat this past week; a sort of kick-off for the official school year. We braved taking ALL of our kids (17 in total) up without our husbands, and had a successful trip where my favorite part was watching my kids develop friendships with some great kids.


We went on a nature hike almost as soon as we got there. The kids had fun collecting all sorts of treasures in paper bags. We told them to find buddies (to help crowd control) and Gwen ran for Thomas. Remember that cute girl Ava that Miles has a crush on? Well Thomas is her little brother. Gwen has decided that because Miles has a crush on Ava, she will have a crush on Thomas. She was in heaven holding hands with her partner through most of the walk. I stopped them for a second and asked if I could take a picture of them. She let go of his hand and snuggled right into his shoulder. It was adorable. We found wild raspberries and picked the bush clean. We found a grasshopper that entertained the kids for at least 5 whole minutes, until someone squished it, and then lots of tears were shed. We found a beaver's dam, lots of moss and other such treasures, and then at the end of our walk, we played in the creek. I love watching them climb over rocks and tree trunks and getting dirty. It's so good for them and me. :) Miles stayed dry,Gwen gradually got soaked, but Lindy isn't the type to mess around. As soon as the creek was in sight, she waddled right on in and sat down. She was soaked from the beginning and loved it.



We decorated crowns and had a devotional about their divine worth. We played in the hot tub, played air hockey and fooz-ball, board games etc. The next day we went on a compass guided treasure hunt around the cabin, which was very exciting. On our way home, we stopped by the Camus fish hatchery and learned all about that process. Lindy wanted to jump right into those fish tanks too.


I'm grateful to be a part of the group and to learn right alongside the kids and moms. This year, we're focusing on history and using "The Story of the World" as our guide. The first SOTW book is all about the Ancients. Our first lesson will be on defining history, and archaeology, and nomads. It's at our house on Tuesday. Wish us luck!

August So Far

It seems like I can only get in bi-monthly posts these days! Thus, everything gets kind of smooshed together. Oh well!

We found a free week trial of a clogging class for Miles to attend the first week in August. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. The first day there, the only shoes they had available for him to borrow at first, were girl's shoes. He was absolutely mortified. It took a lot of convincing to get him to actually go into the class. Luckily, a few minutes in, they found some boy's shoes, and restored his dignity. Both he and I desperately wanted to sign him up for the year, but it is all the way up in SLC. Luckily, we found a dance company here in Riverton (same lady Richie's family took from) and we are signing up both Miles and Gwen this year, for a killer deal. I'm so excited!!! If it was up to me, we'd have our kids signed up in everything available. If it were up to Richie, our kids would never sign up for anything. Hopefully we've reached a good compromise. We also have Miles lined up to take piano lessons from our backyard fence neighbor, for the low, low price of window washing. :)


Richie's faculty has inservice things throughout the summer. This time, we all met at Classic Skating in Sandy with our kids, and let them run wild. It's a really fun place! Richie said they used to have "homeschoolers day" and they rented it out only to homeschooling kids for the day. That's where Richie practiced the fine arts of flirting, and other such awkward social interactions. It's also where he skated like a boss! This is the only picture I snapped! Miles,Gwen and Lindy aren't pro skaters yet, but they loved the bounce house section. I, of course, wanted to disinfect them all when we got home.


Mr. Ethan turned 5! Makenna threw him an awesome Curious George party. We had so much fun celebrating with him!


Once May came around this year and our school year was winding up, I thought that we'd probably just keep going throughout the summer because no one was feeling burned out. Then about 2 weeks later, I felt burned out. So I thought we would just keep our reading up. I felt like Miles lost a lot of progress he could have made, if not for his eye issue. Also about half way through the year, Gwen just kind of jumped on the reading wagon, and I didn't want her to lose her progress either. So we started doing reading lessons a few times a week. But then the kids got burned out. So we stopped all together. Now that we are getting ready to start school next week, I can't believe how fast this summer went. Possibly the fastest summer of my life. And I'm not ready, physically, emotionally, or organizationally, for the school year to start. At some point over the summer I officially took down our map and postcards from around the country we had received. I also took down our human bodies that we had added to throughout the year. The kids were sad to see them both go, but hopefully we can ease the pain by putting up other fun things. (Hopefully. Wish us luck)


Check it out. Out first attempt at preparing and eating a rabbit we raised. Oh yes, we did. I had no idea Richie was ready to slaughter any rabbits. I came home one night from the gym, and the house smelled like bleach and he was a little white. I couldn't believe it! But he walked me through the entire process and showed me the frozen rabbit meat to prove it. I cooked it up the next day. Like everyone said, it tastes like chicken, just a little tougher. The kids went through quite the turn-around. They went from being abhorred at the idea of eating a rabbit to "I can't wait till we kill a rabbit and eat it's meat! I want to see it's heart!" Ahh! Well, first one down. Here's to many more.

The Rest of July

A few months ago a giant tow truck backed into us at the DI. I was so surprised that the damage was so small because the truck was so big. I was doubly surprised when such small damage cost SO much. But since the other guys insurance was covering it, we went along with it. Long story short, we got to rent this massive suv for the week while our van was being repaired. We looked it up, and this car cost about $65,000. So we took pictures to document, because when in our entire lives, are we ever going to drive a 65,000 car?? Ha. My favorite part was the heated and cooled seats. The kids favorite part was the screen that showed us what was behind us when we backed up.


Miles wrote this on our back patio the other day and I loved it. I worry so much that I'm teaching the right things and he's learning the right things, that when I get these glimpses of his success and his character, it makes me giddy. (In case you can't tell from the picture, he wrote "I love______" and wrote one for everyone in the family)


We had cousins over the other day to play. It's so nice having family close to by to play with!


The kids and Dad finished reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and it was one of our best parties yet and we got to share it with Jenn and Mike! The kids came obsessed with the book and both versions of the movies. I'm trying to talk them into being characters from the book for Halloween because I really want to dress Lindy like an Ooompa-Loompa. :) To top it off, we got some friends from our homeschool group and toured a candy factory up in SLC. It was so cool! I love free tours. Did you know it takes 7 days to make a jelly bean? For our party we had cabbage soup and bread (just like the Bucket family), we invented new "candy" with play-doh, we made oompa-loompa masks, and dipped stuff in chocolate. Yum.


Jenn and Mike came up just to help us remodel our bathroom! It's still not completely done, but it's one million times better. No more dinky blue tiles that pop out, no more chipped toilet, no more mismatched vanity and sink...it will probably end up being the nicest room in our house. I'll post more when it's all done. THANK YOU WALLACES!


Miles and Gwen have wanted to do a lemonade stand for quite some time. Luckily, another family in our ward wanted to do one too. Stuff like this is so much more fun with friends! They only lasted a few hours, but they we happy with the end result. Each kid earned $1.50. :)


We painted our rabbit hutch! This was one of those events that I wish I could have just let go and let the kids go wild. But I was too tightly wound and would only allow 2 colors, and no crazy designs. They still enjoyed it, and it looks better than it did. Maybe one of these days I won't be so controlling and I'll let them go crazy painting rainbows and flowers all over it. :)


We're in the process of trying to sell off Kit 2.0. With the first kit, I was turning people down left and right. With this kit, I'm barely getting any bites. ? It's still really fun to have them and it's so good for the kids. Aren't they cute? I love our little bit of a country life. I love it when my kids play peek-a-boo in the sheets on the clothes line. I love it when we pick blackberries and eat them all in one sitting. I don't like it when Lindy gets all wet from the hose the kids left on, and I have to re-dress her. But oh well.