Fun in the sun....

Last Saturday (8/8) we were invited to Lake Hendricks by Jason's boss Bob and his wife Jeanette to go skiing, tubing on the lake. What a good time we all had even if the day didn't start out very favorable. It was extremely foggy and a little on the cool side, even though the weather had called for sunny, hot and humid weather for the day! We were able to get on the lake around 10:30 or so and wow it was such a good time. Colby even attempted to try skiing, the first one to volunteer! We were so proud of him, even though he was never able to get up on the water, we were still proud that he was willing to give it a try! Briana also attempted to ski and for never have been on them she faired well also. She almost had it! I also attempted to get up on skiis. Haven't been on them since the summer before my senior year (1992), yes it has been a long time. It was fun trying even if I was never able to get up either. Then we swan in the lake for awhile and then the kids got to go tubing! They enjoyed that! The kids enjoyed themselves immensely! I can't believe how nice it was just to hang out and not do anything but have a nice relaxing time on the lake, away from home for a little while! I am posting pics from the day! Enjoy! We are almost done with week 2 and we are still surviving! Each day gets easier and easier and we are slowly working into a schedule! Still trying to work out curriculum kinks but that will come with time (I hope). Anyway....here are the pics from our adventure last weekend. Thank you so much for inviting us Bob and Jeanette, we had such a great time!

Cathi

Heading to the lake


Colby getting ready to ski (the water was a bit cold at first).


Getting used to the water.....brrrr......


Getting ready


Getting the skis on


Ready to go...smile for the camera buddy!


Showing Colby what he needs to do...(unfortunately Jason didn't get any pics of Colby trying to ski) :(


Me attempting to ski now...thankfully Jason didn't get any pics of me trying..would have been a site to see ;)


Briana's attempt at skiing...getting her ready


Almost had it......


Almost again.....


Swimming and horsing around in the water before tubing.....






Colby and Briana tubing together.....




Me and Keara tubing together.....(Keara's face is priceless) LOVE IT!!!!




Mikayla and Briana tubing together.....





What a blast the whole day was! The kids had so much fun, as you can tell by their facial expressions throughout the pics but not only that Jason and I had fun right along with them. I hope you enjoyed the pics!

First week down....

I can hardly believe that we have 1 week of school down already! Holy cow, it just FLEW by! We are SLOWLY settling into a routine, a strange one at that. But it is SO MUCH fun to work one on one with little ones and watch as they try to process something or not process it. I am watching Colby making big strides in reading (we have gone back to the basics and started over). That is his goal this year is to learn to read! Briana will be teaching Keara phonics, letter reconginition, shapes, colors and all that stuff that they learn in Kindergarten! Most days this week we have been done by 10 or so. Right now we are only learning Language Arts and Math. Starting pretty basic until September, then we will add in Science and History. Today we did do some Creation study! Got some nice books from the library on the story of Creation and we also read the first chapter in the book of Genesis. It was fun to talk about everything God created each day and what He did on the 7th day. Am hoping to teach like this throughout the year where I can take their history lessons back to the Bible. So for now it is working and I am working through my lesson plans. I have 2 kids' plans written for the next 6 weeks, just have to work on the little ones today and this weekend and be totally ready for a full blown week next week. For the most part, the kids have enjoyed it! Keara has gotten a little whiny here and there but nothing I can't handle. They have all started piano lessons again and we have implemented practice time in their school day, so by afternoon, if they are all done with their school work, they can play!!! YEAH!!! So we have enjoyed it, there have been days that the kids have tested me beyond belief, but I wouldn't trade this new role for ANYTHING!!!!! Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

Cathi

We survived!

First day of school down, 179 some left to go! Ha,ha! It is going to be an interesting school year. We have some major tweeking to do to the schedule but I know with a little patience and some perseverence we can do it! Need to find some happy mediums when it comes to working with each kids individually, but that will come the more we do it! This morning is park time, where we meet with other homeschoolers at the park and the kids play and the moms talk, so we will have a small school time this morning and then hit the books again this afternoon. I am trying to keep the kids' afternoons free for rest, reading and play....but if we don't get anything accomplished in the morning, the we will have to school in the afternoon. That may be the way I have to work it with Briana and Mikayla. Give them free time in the morning and I work with Colby and Keara in the morning. Oh I have no idea what I am doing, still learning this whole thing myself. Each day is something new. Briana made carrot cake last night for dessert, all by herself. It was AWESOME!!!! I took pics so I will post them with this entry. Very impressed that she took it all on herself. She called my cell and asked me to pick her up 2 jars of carrot baby food so I did. I had to run into the dentist and then get milk afterward so I was at Wal-Mart at just the right time for her. Glad she is stepping up and wanting to do stuff like that. Pretty proud of my teenager!!! She isn't like most teenagers today! She has her moments, but don't we all???? Well I better get those pics posted and get my kids up for another school day! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Cathi

Filled to the brim......

with anxiety! I can hardly believe that the day has arrived for us to venture down the road less traveled! While I am excited for this new adventure, I am TOTALLY SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!!!!!!!!! So many questions are running through my head and some many doubts! I know that it is Satan, doing a work on my mind. I will prevail, the Lord is leading us in the right direction and He will be there every step of the way. We are trying to get setup into a nightly routine again and tonight was the first step in that routine. At 8pm, we got on our knees in our babies room and said our family prayers (it has been months since we have done that), it felt so good to be in the presence of the Lord. WOW!!! Then it was time for the little ones to get pj's on, brush there teeth and still have time for a book of their choosing. Then it was off to bed for them. The older two headed to their rooms for reading or quiet time until their bed times. 9 and 10 respectively! M was in bed before 9. She was tired. It was a busy day of cleaning and hanging out! It was a very hot day outside and I didn't feel like sweating outside so I stayed in. C and K spent some time outside with the baby kittens this afternoon. We have 6 of them. 4 from one cat and 2 from another cat of ours. Lots of kittens to play with. The kids love them. I am trying to not be anxious for tomorrow because they are my own kids after all and I should be able to teach them, but it is still a very scary thought! So please be in prayer for me tomorrow that all goes well. It may be a very slack week as we try to get into a "routine" for school. Still waiting on one piece of curriculum from the school, social studies. That will come after the teachers are back in the building. I hope to post tomorrow how our day went. We will see.....for now, I am going to try and get some sleep so that I can wake early tomorrow morning and exercise and spend a little bit of time in the Word. Only with the Lord's help will I be able to do this! Have a blessed evening!

Cathi

Where I've been.....

Oh my gosh! I can't believe that I haven't blogged since Mikayla's birthday! This has been a crazy month and I can't believe that it is almost over with. Time is just slipping by faster and faster. Let's see what have we been up to.....well we finished up softball earlier this month (the 10th and 11th) with Briana's team taking 5th place in the tournaments! They did okay, we just wish they had placed better but it was not in the cards for them this year! We will see how next year plays out! My parents came for a visit the following week and left yesterday. The kids enjoyed having grandma and grandpa around and it gave me a break from them bugging me all day long! The kids were sad to see them go but I am sure they will be back again for a visit in the future! The 3 younger kids started swimming this week in Sioux Falls at Terrace Park, they have LOVED it! Especially Keara! She is my little fish! I think we need to get a gym membership so that she can keep swimming in the winter! They will finish swimming lessons next week! I am slowly getting things hammered away for schooling. CRAZY, how fast the summer goes. I will post some pics of our new "school" area! It just came to me the day that we were rearranging! We will see how it goes! The kids will "officially" start the school year on August 3rd! If we work it right, we are hoping to be done by April 30th. The kids know that they have to get all their work completed in order to be done by that date! If they don't, well we school until their curriculum is finished! I am looking forward to this adventure and I believe that the kids are also! Still a little concerned for Briana but since she will still be able to do volleyball and cheerleading, it will be worth it! She is also going to take voice lessons from a former homeschooler who has graduated from college! I hope that this will show Briana that homeschooling isn't all that bad! I think she likes the thought of working at her own pace. We will see how it goes! I just can't believe that it is here already! Oh my does time fly! So anyway....that is why I have been absent from blogging (besides the fact that I am addicted to Farmtown on Facebook). I hope to get back into the swing of things very soon! For now.....enjoy the pics!

Cathi

Our "book center" with our USA map


Cute little desks for the kids (gotta love a husband who is remodeling a school and likes to dig thru the trash)


Where our curriculum stays (1 spot for each kid)


Our world map (by the dart board in case they get want some excitement in their day)

Happy Birthday!

Happy 9th Birthday Mikayla!!! I can hardly believe that she is 9 years old today! Where has the time gone???? We had friends over for the 4th yesterday so it was a very late night! The kids didn't get to bed until after midnight so we are laying low this morning and enjoying each other's company. This afternoon we are heading to Dells to the movie Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur! It is going to be a great day! Then it will be Chicken Alfredo (Mikayla's favorite and her pick) for dinner, cake and ice cream and presents! It should be a very awesome day! I love you Mikayla to the ends of the earth and back! Keep smiling!

Love, mom

9 mos. old


3 1/2 years old


6 years old


Last night so almost 9 years old

Happy Birthday!

I can hardly believe that Briana is 14 today! Oh my, where has the time gone! Seems like just yesterday, her and I were coming home from the hospital to our humble little apartment in Watertown! From where we started to today has been amazing, wonderful sometimes hard ride!!! I wouldn't change it for nothing! Briana is starting to grow into a bright, mature, young lady! I am proud to call her my daughter!! I love you with all my heart girl! Keep it up and you will go far in life!

Mom

Here are a few highlights from her birthday gathering last night. Only 2 out of the 4 she invited could make it but that is okay they had fun anyway and they didn't even keep us up last night!! Enjoy!

Our summer.....

This month hasn't felt much like summer around here. It has been cold and rainy lately and it is getting very old. This week we are starting to see a turn around. Sunday was a beautiful day, sunny and gorgeous! Monday was cloudy and rainy! Yesterday morning turned out to be much of the same. By the afternoon, that great South Dakota humidity crept in and it is like that today! It is semi over cast today but still humid as all get up! The kids will be taking a dip in our pool this afternoon so they are pretty excited to finlly get into that and start catching some rays. We will probably have some crazy stormy weather tonight, which is typical here in SD over the summer. Not a big fan of storms, never have been and probably never will be. Still trying to work out everyday but can't seem to get up early in the morning to do it! I just love my sleep for some reason! I am going to be in for a rude awakening when we start homeschooling in August! I will have to start getting up early just to have a little time for me before the crazy day begins. I have been contacting schools in our area about rules regarding homeschoolers participating in sports. I got some very positive responses back in our favor so I thought I would just email our school district and find out. Really what did I have to lose? Nothing, but am glad that I did. Just got an email back from our superintendent and basically Briana is eligible to participate in sports at Garretson. We are very excited! He will be sending me information in the mail and forms and such! This is a huge leap for homeschoolers in our area! Many schools still don't allow them to participate! I am glad that our school and a couple of other schools in the area allow them to participate! We will have to see if she would have to take a few courses. We are okay with that, it would keep her involved in choir (she loves to sing you know) and hopefully other courses that I don't want to have to teach her, the electives stuff! She was pretty happy that she could still do volleyball and cheerleading. We will see how it goes! Hopefully she won't receive a back lashing from teammates or the coach because she doesn't attend there full time anymore. It should be an interesting start to our school year! Pretty happy with how things are going for us. I left it in the Lord's hands! I told Him that if it was meant to be he would put it all into place for us. So far He has done all that and then some. Have a wonderful week! I will keep you posted as our summer goes on! Until next time......enjoy the Sun!!!

Cathi

My week technology free....

WOW! What can I say, that was one of the best weeks ever. I learned so much about myself and how to better channel who I am as a person. Without my computer, I was able to do more things and better manage my time. I have found since I have had my computer back a full 24 hours now, that it can really suck up a lot of my time. Jason went out to mow last night and the kids were in bed so I thought I would get on the internet do some things and then get off and work on my piano business stuff. Well guess what I didn't get to my piano business because I got caught up in the internet. SAD!!! I heard the mower close to the house and then I heard it shut off so I got off my computer and went upstairs so that I could spend a little bit of time with my hubby before bed. As it turned out, he got called into work @ 10:15 and didn't get home time after midnight. I started jounaling again, something I haven't done faithfully since I was in high school. I read more on homeschooling and figured out the last of the curriculum that I want to use for my kids. I worked on my Proverbs 31 bible study that I started myself. I weeded my garden, spent time reading on my new deck and just enjoyed my kids a little more, not to mention a little time to myself without being in front of this thing all the time. I certainly know there is more to life than the computer! I got my letters to the area superintendents sent off today, so we will see if Briana will be able to do volleyball and cheerleading for the a public school this fall. I will keep you posted. It has been one of the best experiences of my life! My goal is to spend a little less time on this thing and a little more time with my kids and of course with my Lord. I have started exercising this week also. I figured if I have time to spend sitting in front of this thing, I should have time to exercise. So it has been 3 days in a row for me, hopefully it will last! My body sure does hurt but I know that the benefits will certainly outway the pain right now. Have plenty of weight to get rid of that's for sure! Anyway...have a great day! Make the most of the time you have! You never know when it may be your last!

Cathi

Challenge!

The teenager and I were talking on the drive home this evening from dropping Colby off at his baseball game (Keara is home sick). And she challenged me to give up my internet for 1 week. I am going to accept the challenge and see if I can survive. So for the next week starting tomorrow morning (Tuesday) at 6am until Tuesday June 9 at 6am. In this day in age when everything is on the world wide web, I don't know if I can go without it. But.......I am going to try. If it works, and I learn of new things to occupy my time other than this old thing, I will have to continue with minimal time spent on it. So for now......my blog will go quiet for the next week, emails will not be answered for the next week, and I will not be facebooking for the next week either, nor will I be checking out my favorite blogs. So if you need to get a hold of me, either call me or text me!!! As I am going to be homeschooling my kids, now will be a good time to start checking out reading material, developing a schedule and start creating charts/lists/menus, also I will have more time to exercise and work on my garden! Wish me luck, hopefully I will have some great pics to post on my first official post after sabbatical!!! LOL!! Have a great week!

Cathi