Autumn

Happy fall 2013!

     I've been looking forward to this since winter last year. We already have our fire pit dugout for those crisp evenings in the back yard. If the weather is good we are going to camp out in the yard next weekend. Traditionally the 1st day that has a hi under 75 we strike up the fire pit and under 65 we make chili.
     Those of you that follow my Facebook page know that we will be changing curriculums starting today. I personally am very excited.
     Girl scouts, boy scouts, 4-H, and now a book club are all in full swing and taking a lot of time up, but I love seeing how much the kids are enjoying it all. They are all so eager to start a new adventure as soon as we finish one. We have also perused pen pals again.  Sara and Kayley have started writing the same pen pals as last year, but Sara would like a second pen pal (she is almost 8). If you have a child that maybe interested please contact me on our blog fan page on facebook.
      We have pumpkin patches, pioneer exhibits, lots of lapbooks, our traditional family apple day, mini golf, and hopefully a fall festival on the agenda for this fall. We can't wait to share it all with you. I hope to have the pictures up from our backwoods camping trip this week.

Backwoods learning- homeschool style

     Friday morning we left out to go off grid camping and it was just what the doctor ordered for our bogged down family!  The 1st night there the kids learned about building a camp fire and fire safety.  We had snake and beans! Michael killed it and showed the kids how to skib and gut it. They also learned how to pitch a tent made from their ponchos and liners.  The second day we went fish. The kids caught all our bait and collected freshwater clams for dinner. We washed the clothes in the lake, hung them to dry, did cemetery tombstone rubbings, went hiking,  had s'mores for dessert and took shifts keeping the fire going all night! It was so wonderful and we didn't hear any complaints til it was time to break up camp on the 3rd day. I wish we could have stayed longer.

     The second night when we stayed up to tend the fire I took the 1st shift from 8pm to 1am with Sara as my buddy. It was wonderful getting to stay up and spend time with just my oldest baby and have no distractions. We talked about God and the bible. She said sometimes she misses me because we are so busy but that she's glad we are homeschooling now because she gets to spend so much more time together as a family.  She also said she is excited that we are finally moving home to the farm next summer. It is amazing the things you hear when all the buzzing stops and you can just listen to the little ones around you. She reinforced my decision to homeschool them. I love them so deeply.

     I took over the cloverbuds program for the homeschooling groups 4-H club and our 1st meeting was tonight. I really enjoyed it and loved seeing my kids interact with other kids. The parents were pretty awesome too! There is some really neat kids in the group and I loved all the participation we had. I can't wait til our next meeting! 

    I finished and received my career diploma finally for auto mechanic. I am excited and happy to say I had a 4.0!

Nothing that comes easy is worthwhile

First off I am sorry for not keeping up with the blog the last two weeks. Everything has been so hectic that I've barely had a chance to breath.

Girl scouts and boy scouts are back in full swing! We have also hooked up with the homeschool co-op and 4H. I have taken on being the leader for the clover buds. I have my SATs on the 16th of October and our anniversary at the end of this month. 

School is great on most days but we sure are busy. I'm excited about this upcoming week in school.  We add a little more substance and some really cool projects. I think we may need to start getting up earlier though. I would like to keep it where we finish school by lunch time.

Today we went on a 4 mile walk at the Clarksville Greenway!  The kids actually did pretty wonderful.  Logan who is usually the one to start complaining first did not complain one bit and Sara ran most of the way. I sure hope with fall around the corner we can do more outside activities, but with my husband's injuries and doctor appointments we will have to see how it goes.

Speaking of fall, I am excited that it is getting close. I am ready to break out the hoodies and fire pit. Autumn is by far my favorite season and we have several "extra-curricular" activities I'm dying to do with the kids.

I have been so tired from all the running that I just melt into bed at night and think "why do I do this? Why do I run myself ragged every day til I ache and hurt and mentally exhausted"! Well because if it was easy it wouldn't be worth it and my babies are very much worth it.