Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Impressive Art

Boo drew this. She said she worked on it for quite some time. I am so impressed.

Nana
This is where she used oil pastels to color it in.

We definitely have an artist in the family.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

An Amazing Day at TKD

Steven's Family Tae Kwon Do is one of the best things that has come into our lives this past year. I can't say enough good things about Mr. Stevens. My kids have grown in confidence, in skill, in respect & in many other ways as well.
Today the oldest three tested for their next belts. One of the things they had to do in their testing was to break a board. All were nervous but Sweet Pea was really feeling the fear and doubt. I talked to her and told her unless she believed she could do it she would guarantee her failure. Mr. Stevens had told her basically the same thing. Needless to say they all made me extremely proud. Here are some pictures. I think after these you will see why.
I literally sprinted to get my camera when I saw they had started while I was chasing down Princess. This was right after Elvis kicked the board & split it in half. His face was priceless. It was a mix of "I can't believe I did that!" and "That was AWESOME!"

Bowing to respect & thank Mr. Stevens & the other black belt.
He did yell out after he broke the board, "I DID IT!" Everyone cracked up & started clapping and cheering.

Next was Sweet Pea.

Winding up for her kick........

.......and she broke the board!
I was sad I didn't get the actual break on camera but I did see it in person.

Last of our 3 was Boo Bear.
Here she is lining up her kick before she actually puts power behind it.

This time I got the shot!!!!!!
She broke it on her first kick and man did she hit it!

Mr. Stevens talking to everyone afterward.

All the kids that broke boards were allowed to keep them. This made my kids VERY happy & proud. Princess came over to give them hugs once they came off the floor.

After this Mr. Stevens, at the kid's request, signed & dated their boards. How cool is that? They are going to keep them in their rooms as a kind of trophy. I was bursting with pride for them. Their self confidence rose a thousand notches today.

Thank you, Mr. Stevens!

Our Day

It was a GOOD day today.

We started off with MOH. The kids colored their coloring page while I read Mystery of History aloud. We did a lot with the white board too.

Princess wanted me to take her picture. So I did.

Word problems at 2 years old?
This was part of our Zoology lesson.

I put up the new world map today. The kids were all over it.

She loves painting with her watercolor paints.

She's all smiles!

Time for a few chores!

Every day Sweet Pea has an hour with Princess. They do crafts, have a snack & play. They both look forward to it.

Elvis worked on his Zoology notebook journal. I think his favorite subject is science.

General Science, anyone?

Night School!

I started Elvis in his Basic Winston Grammar tonight. At first he wasn't too thrilled but a few minutes into the lesson & he was loving it! He even asked to do a second lesson. =0)

Princess kept herself entertained. And mama amused.

Peek-a-Boo

My little ham.

Handsome knight

Daddy & Princess had some snuggle time.

I wuv you, Daddy.

The girls had a quiz in Winston Grammar tonight.

I'm going to ace this, Mom!

I love days like this!


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Silly Kitty

Josie is my snuggle kitty. She loves to follow me around in the morning & at bedtime. She's a lovey. Yesterday she came to my bed for her afternoon nap. Usually she curls up but yesterday she slept in some comical positions.

She looks like she's had one tough day, eh?


Soon she stretched out & turned upside down. I don't know how she slept on her head this way but it had me laughing.

Sound asleep.


A little freaky.

Wholesome entertainment!



Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Introducing the Eee-haa Family

Princess recently discovered her brother's old Toy Story toys. I picked these up several years ago at a couple of yard sales. The boys still play with them from time to time but Princess has adopted them as her own. She calls them "Eee-haas". Her pronunciation of "Yee-haa". I'm guessing she picked this up from us playing with her and having the characters call this out when they rode Bullseye. It brings a smile to my face every time I hear her call for them. ("Eee-haa, wheh arh you?" )
We have been trying to teach her the names of the characters. So far she can say, Jesse - ('Esse) & Woody - (Oh-dee) but she ALWAYS follows that with "Eee-haa". Therefore in our home they have been dubbed, "The Eee-haa Family". Lol! Don't you just love the world of a 2 year old?


Princess reading to her "Eee-haas" at naptime.

Aren't they sweet together?

Sunday, August 21, 2011

First Day Traditions

We had our first day of the new school year about 2 weeks ago. I hope to get the pictures of our annual Back-to-School Treasure Hunt up soon. In the meantime here are photos of our traditional Walk-to-School we do every year on the first day. Daddy always leads them and it's something they look forward to. This was Princess' first year walking with a backpack on. Isn't she precious? I can't believe how quickly all our children are growing up.
Off they go!
Crossing the Street
It was a short walk this year as the heat index was 106.
Here they come!
Up the driveway & on their way to greet their teacher!
Soon after we had our special First-Day-of-School meal. This year it was a picnic lunch. Oh, so yummy! Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, beans, corn on the cob & Kool-aid. A fun way to start off our 11th year! =0)