The First Weekend of Summer Break

We had planned to go out of town with the kids for the weekend, but decided to find fun things to do around home. Carter had a game Friday night, which turned out to be a very exciting one. We won, and Carter got the game ball. It was one of those "feel good" nights!

Before the game, we had set up our tent so it would be up and ready for us to sleep in when we got home. Because we always have so many kids over, it had been a long time since we had spent the night in our tent with just the five of us. I love having company, but also love time with just "us". We roasted marshmallows by the fire and stayed up half the night playing board games and computer games. The humidity has kicked in here, so we slept with all of the "windows" open...it was like sleeping out on the open ground..so cool! I love love love the feeling of being zipped up in that tent with Jeff, the kids, and a stack of board games. There's something to be said for small spaces!

We got up the next morning and made eggs over the fire. It's funny how things always taste better cooked outside!

On Saturday, we took the kids out to eat then to a family entertainment center here in town. We played putt putt golf, climbed the rock climbing wall, played video games, hit balls in the batting cages, and raced on the go cart track. We enjoyed the go cart racing so much that we did it twice. We've all been to this place for birthday parties and church events, but have never gone..the five of us...just for the fun of it.

Afterwards, we went to see the Prince Caspian movieIt was good, but very long. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first Narnia movie.

After church on Sunday, we swam for a while, then asked a couple of friends over for the night. The kids wanted to have some friends over to sleep in the tent before we took it down. It ended up being a very long, but fun night. I was still tired from staying up late on Friday, but caught my second wind around midnight. We ended up staying up most of the night. By noon Monday, I was ready for a good nap!

We've had a great time bringing in summer break, but are ready for a little rest for the next few days. I enjoyed the time with Jeff and the kids so much. We had a great time without ever leaving town! I look forward to many more fun days of summer!!

Year Three...Finished!!!

We have officially made it to the end of our third year of homeschooling...wow!!! I can't believe that this school year is over already. We've been working extra hard the last few weeks to ensure that we would be finished with everything before the kids took their standardized tests with the homeschool group. We finished everything we had planned to finish and went for testing Mon.-Wed. Madison, Patrick, and Carter all seem to feel good about the tests. I can't wait to get the results in to see how they did. I know the test results aren't always a true reflection of what they have learned, but it's such a confirmation to me to see my children do well and know that I taught them what they needed. It also helps to see if there are areas where they were weaker, so I will know to do more. Some people never have their children tested until high school, but I just need it for my own peace of mind.

It was such a relief when we finished the last day of testing and walked out of the building....free to enjoy our summer break! We had a little "end of the school year" party today with a few friends. I had 8 kids here in all. They swam, played games, cooked in Madison's Easybake, played baseball, ate pizza, played tennis, etc. It was everything that we love about summertime! Jeff and I plan to do something as a family this weekend to celebrate. I know that soon I will have to start planning for next year, but, for a little while, I just want to enjoy some play time with the kids!!

Our Family's New Hobby

Jeff has been taking Madison and Carter to play tennis for a few weeks. Patrick hasn't really wanted to go, and I have been healing from a fractured rib(just a hint...don't attempt to try at home any of the karate moves that your children learn in karate class!). Finally, tonight, Patrick and I joined them. We both played and had a great time!

The last time Jeff and I played tennis on this court together, we were a dating couple in our senior year of college. He attempted to teach me the game, but I was a terrible tennis student. I had no patience for learning correct techniques. I just wanted to get out there and hit the ball back and forth, which I found was not so easy. Little did we know that over 15 years later he would be teaching me again on the same court, along with our three children...the same three children who have taught me the patience that I need to learn. I now love the game, and I love playing it with my family!