Let's see...I can't remember where I left off....I guess I need to do this more frequently! Last week we went to lunch with my friend, Janette, and her boys. We went shopping and then to Doc Green's (yum), then back to her house for playing and snow cones, (and talking for the moms). It was great to see her again. I can't believe it had been almost 8 years since I last saw her! Andrew was quite cranky until we got over to Janette's. He apparently now hates Old Navy and I was trying to buy him clothes from there, thus being incredibly mean to him. Then, he wanted to go to Wendy's so he hated our choice in restaurants....all of the food there is terrible (according to Andrew) and it was a miserable time.
Of course, we have been swimming a lot. Not as much as we normally do during the summer because Alexa keeps burning. Her face burned so badly that she blistered on Monday.
The kids have been going to a "Dig It" class (it's about dirt) at a church in a nearby town every Wednesday. I guess I should clarify that and say the girls have been going. Andrew went once, and although he had fun, has chosen to not go back.
The kids are officially enrolled in a new online school. It is through K12 and is out of Lawrence. So far, we are excited and impressed. They are taking four core subjects - English, Math, Science, History - and one elective. They both chose Latin for their elective. I am excited about them choosing that. I think it will help them in English, in learning other foreign languages, in Bible study, and, in Alexa's case, in medicine (she wants to be a nurse or doctor).
Today we went to Tanganyika with Lynda, Tori, and my parents. It is so much fun. I think, for the kids, the best part was feeding and petting the lemurs. For me, the interaction with all of the animals was great but it was fun to see the kids having fun and hanging with the family.
I don't know if I will be able to upload any photos. The last several times I have tried to upload photos, it has crashed on me. I think most everyone who reads this is on facebook, so check out photos there!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Summer
In my never ending quest to keep the kids busy....which keeps them from fighting (theoretically)...and keeps them from sitting in front of the television...we have gone to the zoo twice, gone to the pool - I don't know how many times, are doing a reading program at the library (and soon Barnes and Noble) and recently started attending a science class at a church in a nearby town.
I worry about the kids losing some of what they have learned over the school year. So this year they are doing the science class, reading, and doing math facts. We will be taking a few field trips as well. I am trying to keep it interesting for them and not so school-like. They get "paid" to read, to do math facts, to exercise. This is in play money, which they record in a check register and then deposit it in the "bank". If they watch tv, they have to "pay" money. My thought is that they will learn the beginnings of how to balance a checkbook. The problem is, they haven't spent any of their money to watch television!
Last week was their first science class, it was taught by Hayley's mom (and my friend), Sandy. She had them build an edible dirt pile (showing the various dirt levels) and they painted with dirt. This was super cool and I need to take a picture of their paintings. She is a smart one, that Sandy. (side note: I ran into Mr. Craig, who was one of Amber's teachers and he said so many nice things about Amber and how special she was to him. He also said that he has some pictures of her that he pulled out of some of his other photos so they wouldn't get lost. He is going to give me those pictures. I will make copies of them and get them back to him. Amber was in his science club and participated in the science olympics and went on science field trips with him - he is an awesome, awesome teacher and man)
I had attempted to find a mystery online that the kids could solve using various math skills, etc. I couldn't find anything that I liked so I made up one. I printed a "newspaper" that had an article about a stolen crown from a museum. Also, there was a crossword puzzle that the thieves were using to communicate with each other. I had the kids interview witnesses...which were all played by me because the neighbors weren't home. They had a blast doing that and we were all laughing like crazy. The interviews led them to the suspects car where they located a purse that had been accidentally left behind. In the purse was a sheet of multiplication problems - a code. They continued looking in the car and found the decoder. They had to solve the multiplication problems and then use the decoder to figure out what the message said. That message led them to another message out in the pole barn. That message led them to look in the "newspaper" and figure out the crossword puzzle. That message led them out to the pond - the crown was hidden between the apple tree and the pond. They had so much fun they want me to write more mysteries for them to solve. It was all very 1950s. I had embraced my inner Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and went with something very simple and nonviolent. Andrew was disappointed that they didn't catch the criminals, but also remarked that it could be they will be attempting more heists. THE PRESSURE!!
Last week I had the kids come up with a menu and activity plan for this week. I gave them a budget and they went to the grocery store and wrote down the price of all the food they were wanting to fix. They still need to figure up if they stayed in their budget. They are going to do all the cooking (with supervison and assistance). We are going on a field trip to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and heading out to the lake. We are also, of course, going swimming, to the science class, doing daily reading and daily math games.
So far we are having a good summer. We have other activities planned....Tanganika with my sister-in-law; the Hutch zoo with Kim....and I'm sure we will come up with lots of other fun things to do!
I worry about the kids losing some of what they have learned over the school year. So this year they are doing the science class, reading, and doing math facts. We will be taking a few field trips as well. I am trying to keep it interesting for them and not so school-like. They get "paid" to read, to do math facts, to exercise. This is in play money, which they record in a check register and then deposit it in the "bank". If they watch tv, they have to "pay" money. My thought is that they will learn the beginnings of how to balance a checkbook. The problem is, they haven't spent any of their money to watch television!
Last week was their first science class, it was taught by Hayley's mom (and my friend), Sandy. She had them build an edible dirt pile (showing the various dirt levels) and they painted with dirt. This was super cool and I need to take a picture of their paintings. She is a smart one, that Sandy. (side note: I ran into Mr. Craig, who was one of Amber's teachers and he said so many nice things about Amber and how special she was to him. He also said that he has some pictures of her that he pulled out of some of his other photos so they wouldn't get lost. He is going to give me those pictures. I will make copies of them and get them back to him. Amber was in his science club and participated in the science olympics and went on science field trips with him - he is an awesome, awesome teacher and man)
I had attempted to find a mystery online that the kids could solve using various math skills, etc. I couldn't find anything that I liked so I made up one. I printed a "newspaper" that had an article about a stolen crown from a museum. Also, there was a crossword puzzle that the thieves were using to communicate with each other. I had the kids interview witnesses...which were all played by me because the neighbors weren't home. They had a blast doing that and we were all laughing like crazy. The interviews led them to the suspects car where they located a purse that had been accidentally left behind. In the purse was a sheet of multiplication problems - a code. They continued looking in the car and found the decoder. They had to solve the multiplication problems and then use the decoder to figure out what the message said. That message led them to another message out in the pole barn. That message led them to look in the "newspaper" and figure out the crossword puzzle. That message led them out to the pond - the crown was hidden between the apple tree and the pond. They had so much fun they want me to write more mysteries for them to solve. It was all very 1950s. I had embraced my inner Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and went with something very simple and nonviolent. Andrew was disappointed that they didn't catch the criminals, but also remarked that it could be they will be attempting more heists. THE PRESSURE!!
Last week I had the kids come up with a menu and activity plan for this week. I gave them a budget and they went to the grocery store and wrote down the price of all the food they were wanting to fix. They still need to figure up if they stayed in their budget. They are going to do all the cooking (with supervison and assistance). We are going on a field trip to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and heading out to the lake. We are also, of course, going swimming, to the science class, doing daily reading and daily math games.
So far we are having a good summer. We have other activities planned....Tanganika with my sister-in-law; the Hutch zoo with Kim....and I'm sure we will come up with lots of other fun things to do!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Still May
Unbelieveable...two posts in one month from me!
I just found out last night that I made it into the nursing program. Now I have to figure out how to pay for it and make enough money to cover my share of expenses. I didn't think I would make it in, as it is very competitive, so I haven't worried about it.
Also, we got Andrew and Alexa's end of year testing scores and they both scored high average on almost everything. Alexa math scores were end of 5th grade - she just finished 4th grade - so she's a year ahead on math. Her reading comprehension is average. We are going to be working on that more this summer. Andrew scored very high on everything....even math...which is his downfall.
Alexa needs to take more scuba classes in order to get her skills down and get her closed water certification. Poor thing. The equipment was too big for her and taking the facemask off really freaked her out. We are going to work on that so she can pass. The instructor has promised to take her on a trip to see a plane wreck that still has a skeleton in it when she passes! I am trying to weasel my way on the trip, too. lol....
We went to the zoo on May 22nd when the tiger exhibit opened. Too cool. Once again SCZ did an awesome job on an exhibit.
I will have to try to remember to post pictures after Andrew's birthday on Monday. I can't believe he is going to be 12! And is going to be in 7th grade next year. Where does the time go?
I just found out last night that I made it into the nursing program. Now I have to figure out how to pay for it and make enough money to cover my share of expenses. I didn't think I would make it in, as it is very competitive, so I haven't worried about it.
Also, we got Andrew and Alexa's end of year testing scores and they both scored high average on almost everything. Alexa math scores were end of 5th grade - she just finished 4th grade - so she's a year ahead on math. Her reading comprehension is average. We are going to be working on that more this summer. Andrew scored very high on everything....even math...which is his downfall.
Alexa needs to take more scuba classes in order to get her skills down and get her closed water certification. Poor thing. The equipment was too big for her and taking the facemask off really freaked her out. We are going to work on that so she can pass. The instructor has promised to take her on a trip to see a plane wreck that still has a skeleton in it when she passes! I am trying to weasel my way on the trip, too. lol....
We went to the zoo on May 22nd when the tiger exhibit opened. Too cool. Once again SCZ did an awesome job on an exhibit.
I will have to try to remember to post pictures after Andrew's birthday on Monday. I can't believe he is going to be 12! And is going to be in 7th grade next year. Where does the time go?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
May....
Well, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, I got in a bus wreck on May 4th. It was pretty scary. Fortunately I only had 10 kids on the bus at the time. And, contrary to news reports, I did come to a stop, I didn't run the stop sign. I stopped, looked both ways, twice, and never saw the SUV that I pulled out in front of. Fortunately, he saw me and swerved, I hit him and we skidded into a ditch about 15 feet away. That had to have been from his speed, because I was barely moving. Thank God, no one was seriously injured.
Thankfully, that weekend a storm hit Towanda and the focus went on that, instead of me! Again, we were very lucky that no one was hurt. We personally didn't have any damage. Which is frustrating because I have a huge red target painted on the roof. Apparently the storms don't see it! Maybe flourescent green would be better? We had to move some trees out of the road, so two neighbors used their manly chainsaws and went to work. I moved the cut limbs out of the road.
I finished microbiology and therapeutic nutrition on the 13th. I got an A in both of the classes. My GPA is now 3.78. After Developmental Psychology this summer, it will hopefully move up a little bit higher. I am still waiting to hear whether I got into the nursing program or not.
Andrew and Alexa finished school earlier this week. They will be entering 7th and 4th grade next year, respectively. We are seriously thinking about doing a different eschool program through Lawrence, called K12. It is so fabulous and we are really excited about it.
Alexa and I are taking scuba lessons this weekend. It was/is scary, to say the least. I never thought I would have anxiety about water. Breathing underwater is freaky. Alexa is having a rough time, but she is very young. The youngest age they will certify kids is 10 and she has only be 10 for 6 days.
Can you believe Alexa is in double digits? She is so excited about officially being a "big kid". I am really proud of her for trying scuba. Not many 10 year olds can say that they have scuba dived. Hopefully she can finish her certification. We went to Texas Roadhouse for her birthday and she got her picture taken on their saddle doing a big "yee-haw".
Yesterday we went to the zoo and saw the new tiger exhibit. SCZ rocked the exhibit. It is great. The two brothers were "fighting" and it was fabulous to watch. They are magnificent creatures. The animals were pretty active considering how hot it was outside.
I will try to get a picture of Alexa in her scuba gear - do NOT expect to see one of me. WOW!! They are seriously not made for people with ANY meat on their bones. Not an attractive sight.
Thankfully, that weekend a storm hit Towanda and the focus went on that, instead of me! Again, we were very lucky that no one was hurt. We personally didn't have any damage. Which is frustrating because I have a huge red target painted on the roof. Apparently the storms don't see it! Maybe flourescent green would be better? We had to move some trees out of the road, so two neighbors used their manly chainsaws and went to work. I moved the cut limbs out of the road.
I finished microbiology and therapeutic nutrition on the 13th. I got an A in both of the classes. My GPA is now 3.78. After Developmental Psychology this summer, it will hopefully move up a little bit higher. I am still waiting to hear whether I got into the nursing program or not.
Andrew and Alexa finished school earlier this week. They will be entering 7th and 4th grade next year, respectively. We are seriously thinking about doing a different eschool program through Lawrence, called K12. It is so fabulous and we are really excited about it.
Alexa and I are taking scuba lessons this weekend. It was/is scary, to say the least. I never thought I would have anxiety about water. Breathing underwater is freaky. Alexa is having a rough time, but she is very young. The youngest age they will certify kids is 10 and she has only be 10 for 6 days.
Can you believe Alexa is in double digits? She is so excited about officially being a "big kid". I am really proud of her for trying scuba. Not many 10 year olds can say that they have scuba dived. Hopefully she can finish her certification. We went to Texas Roadhouse for her birthday and she got her picture taken on their saddle doing a big "yee-haw".
Yesterday we went to the zoo and saw the new tiger exhibit. SCZ rocked the exhibit. It is great. The two brothers were "fighting" and it was fabulous to watch. They are magnificent creatures. The animals were pretty active considering how hot it was outside.
I will try to get a picture of Alexa in her scuba gear - do NOT expect to see one of me. WOW!! They are seriously not made for people with ANY meat on their bones. Not an attractive sight.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Water war pictures
I love this picture.
Andrew uses a frisbee as a shield.He commented that it wasn't very effective.
Mud
I hate mud. Truly hate it. If I had a chance for a $100 spa trip to soak in mud - I would refuse it. Don't care where it is, who it is with....count me out. So you can imagine how much I have disliked the weather of late. Seriously, someone needs to figure out how to produce better weather. Maybe a little bit of rain each week - enough to not have to water the garden - and that's it. The rest of the time, it could be in the mid 70's to 80's. Except in the summer where we could push 90. Enough to have it warm enough to swim. I don't think that is going to happen here in doo-dah.
So, my house smells like dead fish because Harley, unlike myself, loves the water and the mud. He has been swimming in the pond as well. He stinks. Bad. If I leave him outside, he runs to the pond (or worse, the neighbor's yard), so in he stays. He has learned how to get out of the fenced area that I had him in, so that no longer works. My hope is that he will start calming down soon. How long does the puppy stage last? He's two, so hopefully we are nearing the end?
(On the subject of Harley - Alexa is now down 3 pairs of underwear and at least 5 stuffed animals. There are also countless little toys and game pieces that are gone as well. I blame Alexa because she just can't seem to pick her stuff up.)
Back to water: the children had fun last week - prior to the torrential downpour - playing in the water. There was the day that it was near 90 degrees (in April? yikes!), so I told them that if they wanted they could play with the garden hose or their water guns. They chose the hose and made up their own game with it. I must've taken 100 pictures. (literally) One person had the hose and would spray the other person with it until the sprayee was able to get it from the sprayer. They had an absolute blast. I enjoyed watching them just have fun.
Last Friday we went with the 4th graders to a Rock and Mineral show. That was pretty fun, too, even though the place was p-a-c-k-e-d with children. We saw, and could even touch, some pretty cool rocks and fossils. They did a lab test to determine what 8 different rocks were. That was pretty cool. Then we went and played at the park and had a picnic. You just can't beat a picnic.
We are down to three weeks from today for school to be out. I, personally, have 3 classes left. So the countdown is on! (okay, it's been on...but now it's really close!) The month of May should scream by. We have a field trip to do - going to the movies and bowling; going to the zoo with their school; our schoolwork; lots of tests for me; I have a couple of CERT events - one this weekend and one the 16th; the kids will get their new pool (above ground) this month; I am taking scuba classes the weekend of the 22nd. It will be an insane month!
So, my house smells like dead fish because Harley, unlike myself, loves the water and the mud. He has been swimming in the pond as well. He stinks. Bad. If I leave him outside, he runs to the pond (or worse, the neighbor's yard), so in he stays. He has learned how to get out of the fenced area that I had him in, so that no longer works. My hope is that he will start calming down soon. How long does the puppy stage last? He's two, so hopefully we are nearing the end?
(On the subject of Harley - Alexa is now down 3 pairs of underwear and at least 5 stuffed animals. There are also countless little toys and game pieces that are gone as well. I blame Alexa because she just can't seem to pick her stuff up.)
Back to water: the children had fun last week - prior to the torrential downpour - playing in the water. There was the day that it was near 90 degrees (in April? yikes!), so I told them that if they wanted they could play with the garden hose or their water guns. They chose the hose and made up their own game with it. I must've taken 100 pictures. (literally) One person had the hose and would spray the other person with it until the sprayee was able to get it from the sprayer. They had an absolute blast. I enjoyed watching them just have fun.
Last Friday we went with the 4th graders to a Rock and Mineral show. That was pretty fun, too, even though the place was p-a-c-k-e-d with children. We saw, and could even touch, some pretty cool rocks and fossils. They did a lab test to determine what 8 different rocks were. That was pretty cool. Then we went and played at the park and had a picnic. You just can't beat a picnic.
We are down to three weeks from today for school to be out. I, personally, have 3 classes left. So the countdown is on! (okay, it's been on...but now it's really close!) The month of May should scream by. We have a field trip to do - going to the movies and bowling; going to the zoo with their school; our schoolwork; lots of tests for me; I have a couple of CERT events - one this weekend and one the 16th; the kids will get their new pool (above ground) this month; I am taking scuba classes the weekend of the 22nd. It will be an insane month!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Renaissance Faire
We had fun at the faire....not really my cup of tea, but it was nice to get out of the house and do a family thing. We almost didn't go, which would have been bad because Mike bought the tickets early (they're cheaper that way). Andrew woke up about 5:00 in the morning throwing up. I let him sleep in until he woke up on his own, so that he would hopefully feel better. He did. I think it must have been all the junk he ate at Geek day. Although I enjoyed the peace and quiet, I think since they were over at Joe's and there was no mom supervision, massive amounts of junk was consumed. Oh well.
The grounds were quite sloppy, but we had a good time. Of course, there was huge focus on food. I think one of the first questions was, "when are we going to eat turkey legs?" I will post pictures. Then it was all about shopping. Alexa bought a body tattoo thing (it's reuseable), got her face painted, bought a sash, and some other stuff. Andrew bought Thor's hammer and an archer on a horse to go with his castle figurines. Then it was on to watching the shows. They were very entertaining. Although, I must point out, the sword fighters had nothing on the sword fighting Mike and I used to do.
It was a great weekend. I had a great evening with Sandy. We are such creatures of habit. For her birthday we always go to Olive Garden, so that's where we went. I always get the Eggplant Parmigania. Then we go to Cold Stone Creamery. Massive amounts of calories in one night, but I'm sure we burned most of them off laughing and talking. Mike went to a retirement party. He had a good time as well. The kids went to grandpa and grandma's and had fun, of course.
Saturday I studied and, like I said earlier, they went to Geek day. Just a relaxing, enjoyable weekend.
The grounds were quite sloppy, but we had a good time. Of course, there was huge focus on food. I think one of the first questions was, "when are we going to eat turkey legs?" I will post pictures. Then it was all about shopping. Alexa bought a body tattoo thing (it's reuseable), got her face painted, bought a sash, and some other stuff. Andrew bought Thor's hammer and an archer on a horse to go with his castle figurines. Then it was on to watching the shows. They were very entertaining. Although, I must point out, the sword fighters had nothing on the sword fighting Mike and I used to do.
It was a great weekend. I had a great evening with Sandy. We are such creatures of habit. For her birthday we always go to Olive Garden, so that's where we went. I always get the Eggplant Parmigania. Then we go to Cold Stone Creamery. Massive amounts of calories in one night, but I'm sure we burned most of them off laughing and talking. Mike went to a retirement party. He had a good time as well. The kids went to grandpa and grandma's and had fun, of course.
Saturday I studied and, like I said earlier, they went to Geek day. Just a relaxing, enjoyable weekend.
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