Crustaceans.

We absolutely love homeschooling. Today, we studied crustaceans and followed up our study with a trip to the local seafood store. We chose the store that had the live lobster tank. Peter bought two lobsters and several pounds of shrimp. We brought them home and cooked them up. The kids loved every step. Peter and the children shared the two lobsters and named the different parts as they "dissected" them. What a fun night we had! On a side note, yesterday was 16 years for Peter and I. The time continues to fly by. We have had head colds for several days, so I guess tonights dinner was part of our celebration. I love you Peter! I love you kids!

One day it will be humorous...
Peter is home today so we are preparing the house for MLS photos which will be taken Monday at 1pm. We were supposed to touch up paint, clean out the closet, shampoo the carpets, however, our well pump died. Peter spent the entire day outside pulling the pump and running to purchase a new one. He also dropped off 8 bags for Goodwill and 8 boxes for storage. In the meantime, I cleaned out our closet. Both sides. Big job. Took 3 hours. I even found a Christmas gift we forgot to give the kids. I called the kids, who were home, in to the closet to show them and we all enjoyed a yard long Twizzler. While Peter was gone I sanded and painted our patched walls. It was the perfect color. Then I turned around to see that the color was actually completely wrong. I spot painted the entire Dining Room the wrong color! Peter came home and decided to put the well pump in so that we would have water tonight. They sold him the wrong one. We have a two wire system and they, after Peter explained what he needed, sold him a three wire system. The Sabbath has begun and Peter has declared us Amish for the next 24 hours. We have been without water since 10am. It is time to relax, enjoy our family and focus on the goodness of our Lord. We celebrate a Saturday sundown Sabbath to Sunday sundown. Tomorrow night we will install a new well pump and paint the Dining Room. Never mind the carpets! We will have to figure out how to fit in a normal house cleaning as well. I am sure I will be surprised at how the Lord multiplies our time. Off to eat hot Taco Soup, which I threw in the crockpot before the well died. The dishes will not get done. I have an almost 13 year old who will be grateful for that. Sabbath Shalom!

Kid Quote

Quote of the night:

As Daniel is trying to shoot bear that are charging him 2 at a time, he throws the gun to Peter and yells, "Save me Daddy!!!" Daddy once again becomes a hero. What a stud.

Bounty.

We took the children for a 20 minute fishing trip last night. It turned into an hour and a half as we were with friends that we rarely see. Peter brought his new cast net and God brought a bounty of fish directly to him as He waited on the pier.
The children (and the adults) stood amazed.

The last week of summer vacation.

The kids and I have been tackling a big item every day this week. It feels so good to get things cleaned up, organized, dusted and painted.

Monday--Finished sanding and painting the old blue chairs. They are now a nice flat black and will look great on the porch. We also sanded the rest of the deck and will seal it when the rain stops falling. Peter and the boys worked on what Peter calls the workout room (I call it the laundry room :). Things are looking good on the shelves and off the floor. Lovin' it.

Tuesday--The playroom overhaul. We were able to get rid of three bags of toys for giveaway and one of trash. We also pulled up the old car play rug and took it right to the curb. No more old rubber backing dissolving on my floor! They worked hard and were generous with their giving. I rewarded them with pizza for lunch. We all sat in the newly cleaned/organized playroom, snuggled around the boys little table, ate our pizza, and enjoyed "bubble water."

Wednesday--We tackled the pantry. The kids got into sorting like things to put back on shelves, read dates to make sure they should even go back in there, and enjoyed many still-good surprise snacks that had somehow made their way to the far reaches.

Tomorrow we unload the boys dressers and break down their captains beds. I sure hope my vacuum is in perfect working order for all the dust that is gonna fly. Pete has been gone for a couple days but will be home to help with this big chore. I have a feeling a little fishing and swimming will be on the agenda for tomorrow after Daddy is home again.

Friday we buy the boys their new beds. We are headed to Ikea. Ya know, the place where you really need one of everything?

So, that is how we have been spending our "last real week of summer vacation." Of course we homeschool pretty much year round as that is what works for us and Peter's ever-changing schedule.

June-July 2010 Summer so-far Whirlwind

June and July have had us traveling quite a bit. It seems we get home, Peter leaves for work, kids and I regroup, do laundry, etc and then we either meet Peter at the airport for another trip or have the trailer ready to go as soon as he is home. It has been this way since the beginning of June. We are blessed to be able to travel during the days in between his working, though I must say we are all wearing a bit thin. Peter and I laugh at ourselves as we just keep on going! However, tomorrow, we nap.

Ashley rescues chipmunk from Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol's pool.
Brave girl!
Then it bites her. This is how the trip began!

Who didn't shut the frig door before we drove away? Nothing like milk all over the floor and having to deal with those stinky clean up towels for the remainder of the drive! ;)

Can you smell the chocolate yet?!
Hershey Park
Need I say more?

"Come on kids! Come one! This is Mommy's favorite ride from when she was little!"

Yep, almost 30 years later and I still dream about swimming in the chocolate vat.
Ummm--Yum!

Some fantastic camp site somewhere between Hershey Park, PA and The Creation Museum. We stopped here for the night as we were so tired. It turned out to be a great park. The children were fascinated with the abundance of skunks!

A Zorse and a Zonkey

What did you read today? This skeleton read John 3:16.

We were going, going and Daniel was gone! We had been running at full speed and he just couldn't wake up for fishing. I was able to make him stir just enough to get some yogurt down and pjs on, then right back to bed. He slept through the night 5:30pm-morning. Fyi, he is 5!

Next day fishing before heading back to the Creation Museum.

Show us your scared face.

On our way towards Western Maryland we decided Bob's Big Boy would hit the spot. We had never taken the children to one, yet we had both been there as children. We arrived only to discover this place is called Frisch's Big Boy--with the same picture out front and same motif inside. The servers had never even heard of Bob's Big Boy. We thought that was pretty weird. I mean weren't Bob and Frisch at least brothers--cousins--estranged 5th cousins?

Ahhh, Western Maryland and a sweet visit with cousins. We went hiking.

The fabulous cousins.

Isn't God so creative?
In our culture we tend to praise the creation over the Creator.
Look at what He made for us to enjoy.
If we do not praise Him, the rocks will cry out. (Luke 19:40)

Fishing with the cousins at the spring fed lake on their neighbors organic co-op.
Coooollllddd.

These two are almost exactly a year apart.
Daniel loves his big cousin.

Peter cleaned 30+ fish and to our dismay we did not get a picture of cousin Kim pan frying the whole lot of them. She is an excellent cook and we enjoyed every bite.

The next week the cousins came our way and we all enjoyed playing together at my parents pool. We never get enough time together when they are out our way. I guess another trip to Western Maryland is in order!
End June

We do not have enough pictures of the end of June and beginning of July. We took at trip to CA to visit more family and cousins whom we had not seen in three years. It was a wonderful trip and as usual we can't get enough of being with them.

Then it was off to San Antonio, Texas for the Baby Conference. We met up with several friends and made even more. The conference dealt a lot with adoption (which you may have noticed we have a connection with!:). We enjoyed hearing the latest on how adoptions are proceeding in Haiti as well as personal experiences from a panel of adoptive parents. It was a blessing to be with so many people who see children as a true blessing from the Lord. The average family size was 7 children. When the conference was over we hit The Alamo!

The Alamo!

The Nashville airport is so cool.
Seriously, where else has five drinking fountains of differing heights?
All perfectly sized for my kids!
We actually got stuck here on our way home this week as the storms had grounded the planes. Besides having fantastic drinking fountains, they also have a kids play area for the under 42 inch crowd. We were not the only family letting our kids run around in the play area at midnight.

We arrived home on Tuesday morning at 5am and finally went to bed. We are still getting back on schedule. I have been a bit tired this week, so please forgive any typos. I would usually re-re-re-re-read to make sure they were not there as I do not want to give homeschooling Mom's a bad name.
Ya know: "See, look at her grammar! And she thinks she can teach her kids!"