Thursday, May 27, 2010

Over Here!

After many weeks of planning & talking about it we are finally on our way! Our plan is to visit Dave's parents, my parents, my best friend Megan, my Nana and some other dear friends on the way. On our drive home we are going to stop in VA to do some fun stuff as a family. Yay!

Tonight we are in a hotel in Ohio. Tomorrow we drive to my in-laws. I'm disappointed b/c I can't get my photos to upload. My computer keeps telling me that my SD card is already being used by Windows and to close it and try again. I can't figure out what is wrong. I hope I can figure it out soon as I want to share with y'all! Wah!

So, if you don't hear from me for a bit it's because I will be without Internet access for part of our trip. I promise to be back as soon as I can and with pictures!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Quote

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. ~ Fred Rogers

Thursday, May 20, 2010

From Sulking to Success

We were working on Elvis' Wordly Wise. Here is how he started:

Happy & eager to start

Then the frustration............

........and the mini fits.
After I showed him how silly he sounded and looked he began to relax a bit. I told him if he kept up saying, "I can't! I can't!" then he was only making himself fail. If he told himself "I can!" then he would tap into his smart brain and begin to succeed. After some struggling he finally turned the corner. And guess who was waiting for him there? SUCCESS!


YES!
He finished the previously labeled impossible and did a fantastic job!




Wednesday, May 19, 2010

P-O-O-L!

Last week Dave set up the pool. Exciting does not even come close to describing the feeling in our house. I could have asked pretty much anything of the kids and they would have done it in order to have a chance at that pool. I know that will wear off as the summer goes by but in the meantime I'm using it! LOL! The kids whizzed through their chores even using teamwork! Wow-zah!


The boys worked as a team to get their chores completed. They celebrated with hugs and exclaims of, "You're the best brother ever!" Music to my ears!

Finally in!





Princess LOVED the water!

After swimming for awhile Sweet Pea took Princess inside. Bugs was done as well & ready to get warm. I asked Boo & Elvis to scrub the outside of the pool as it was pretty dirty from being stored all winter. They did a great job & were rewarded with another dip in the pool. This time I joined them. It was chilly but amazingly refreshing especially after working in the garden for an hour.


Princess was so tuckered she fell asleep before Sweet Pea could even get her out of her swimsuit.
The kids had a great time in the pool. Later that day I rewarded Sweet Pea with a free swim time alone in the pool since she had been such a great help with Princess.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The End

As many of you know Sweet Pea attended a tutorial/enrichment program this year. It was an all day, once a week program that ran from August through the end of April. She had classes in percussion, Spanish, writing/composition, history, health, living skills, theater & science. This program was a God-send for us. Sweet Pea not only learned a ton and had a blast doing so but made new friends and grew in the Lord. Every Monday when we picked her up she bubbled over telling us all the things they had done that day.
To close out the year they had a program. Each grade performed a play or a song. They were all very creative & entertaining. We were very proud of Sweet Pea.

Slide show ~ Our beautiful daughter

Her class

Princess waiting for the program to begin.

Setting up for their skit

The skit. The theme was very cute & funny.







What a terrific ending to an amazing year!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

MOM

My Mother's Day cake. So sweet!

Dolly

For Princess' birthday I wanted to buy her a baby doll. Not just any baby doll either mind you. It had to be soft all over, have a cutie face, and have the floppy arms & legs so she could be carried around easily. Kind of like a Raggedy Ann doll but without the stripes. Lol. I finally found this dolly at Toys R Us. This past month Princess has started to take a shine to her. I get tickled every time I see her give Dolly a hug or she carries aka drags her around. I'm hoping she becomes a favorite but we'll see. In the meantime I'll enjoy my moments.

Doesn't she look like a big girl here?

Dolly & Princess change the channels & crank up the volume.
She thinks this is pretty neat & the little imp goes for the buttons whenever she can. LOL!


Dolly gets a head rush.

Playing with brother & his cars.





Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary.......

.........How does your garden grow?
Quite well, thank you! =0)
All the seeds I planted a week ago have sprouted. It's such a thrill to see them growing so quickly. The hot weather has played a large part in this. Gotta love that sunshine!

Happy cucumbers!


I made a mini herb garden in this large pot.
It holds Rosemary, Oregano, Basil & Parsley.

My lettuce is in the background.
I planted zucchini, parsley, basil & pumpkins in the little pots. I plan to transplant the veggies when they are big enough.
I planted more in the big garden too. Peas, green beans, radishes & spinach. I have a few more things to plant and then it's onto Box #2!


Monday, May 10, 2010

Boogie Woogie Boogie!

One of the things Boo & Princess enjoy doing together is dancing. They are such fun to watch & those beautiful smiles are contagious.





Boogie Woogie Oggie, girls!


Nature Walk

Back in late April we went for a walk on the nature trails with some of our friends from homeschool co-op. It was a beautiful day and quite hot in the high 80's. We walked for several miles round trip. The kids enjoyed trying to spot birds, (though our group was quite noisy-LOL!), nests & other bits of nature.




While everyone went down to the creek Princess & I stayed put. It was a steep hill and I was too tired to try to push the stroller down and especially not back up.




She loves to clap & cheer! I think she's adorable!



The kids played down in the creek and had a blast.


They took a LONG time so I laid down on the bench & took some shots looking up.



Princess kept watching me trying to figure out what I was doing. LOL!