Summertime!

I love summer! I love the more laid back days (lol). Is there ever a laid back day? But I still love summer. Here are pictures of things we have been up to. Russ planted a garden and the veggies have started coming in. Everything is turning out great except the bell peppers because the deer got to them first. I sure hope they enjoyed them. I will miss them this winter when we have no peppers in the freezer. We went camping on Father's Day weekend. We had a great time! We went to an island with some friends and saw a cemetary from the Revolutionary War. It was awesome!

Cade says the darndest things!

Two funny things Cade has said this week:

1)
Cade: (in the bathroom)"Mom! You have to come in here and see this!"
Me: "Ok!"
Cade: "Look in the toilet. I made a C with my poop! Isn't that cool?"
Me: "Yes, real cool!"

2)
We were at church and we were getting ready to leave when Cade said that he had to go to the bathroom. So I took him to the bathroom and I was standing outside with the door propped open so I could see Isaac. I could here him in there singing loudly.
Cade: (When he came out he said really loud and exasperated while using his hands) "That was not the singing bathroom!"
Me: "What?"
Cade "You took me to the wrong bathroom! That was not the singing bathroom! When I sang in there nothing happened!"
Me: (laughing) "I'm sorry, next time I will take you to the singing bathroom."
What he was talking about was that that was not the bathroom with the good acoustics. He could not hear his echo.

Life with children is never boring!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Today Isaac is 8. I can remember like it was yesterday the day he came into the world. Isaac is our very special boy. He has a big heart. He is very compassionate. He is smart, funny, and full of life. Isaac has lots of energy, he does not require a lot of sleep, and he is very athletic. He plays baseball, basketball, and he is going to try football this fall. Isaac is the perfect big brother for Cade. He loves him dearly and when Isaac's friends come over to play, he makes sure that his friends let Cade play also. I just cannot believe he is 8 already. We had a party for him today. 9 boys running around. Such fun! They all enjoyed hitting the pinata and swimming. Before we know it, Isaac will be 18 and there will be 9 teenagers running around. Aahhhhh! One thing is for sure, I really look forward to the next 10 years watching him continue to grow into a man.

This time of year, when everyone is getting out of school and talking about their summer plans, I like to look back over the past 12 months and see how much the kids have grown and learned. It amazes me just how much information they can take in in one year. Especially because we are unschoolers. We learn everyday from life. We are not winding down a school year. One year just continues to flow into the next and the learning never stops. Today we did science by the pool again. Isaac and Cade play games on the computer everyday as well as play with lego's everyday. Sometimes we play board games or card games. Sometimes I read to them. Today they read to me. That was a nice change. Isaac is finally getting it! The learning that takes place in everyday activities is amazing and constant.

We learn from the internet, games, books, people, discussions, field trips, nature, playing, imaginations, etc. The topics that we explored this year are as follows but not limited too: bible, money, time, calendar, seasons, addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, reading, creative writing, spelling, ancient China, ancient Egypt, Canada, Samari's, pirates, knights, kings and queens, Dark Ages, early American history, nature study, nature journal, observations, experiments, volcanoes, recycle, gardening, earthworms, digestion, insects, working for something, sports, basketball, baseball, swimming, riding bikes, scooters, skate boards, etc. I am sure their is much more but this is all I can remember.

Yesterday we went to Chau Ram with friends to find tadpoles. We caught about 8. This morning I saw 5 in Isaac's box but none in Cade's. Maybe they are hiding or maybe he killed them because he kept putting his hands in their yesterday. I have a feeling they are dead. I guess we will have to go back for more. Now it is time to go to the library and find some books on the life cycle of frogs. I'm off for now.
Adventure is out there!