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!

We are still into science experiments. It is so much fun to do science and art by the pool. I love this time of year. We started doing math mondays around here. We got the idea from a blog I love, "Child's Play". Thanks Child's Play! Last monday we did baseball math. The day was very busy and we were on our way to a baseball game so I made up word problems about baseball scores. Isaac did very well thinking about the answers and really enjoyed doing it. We will definitely be using that again.


We had a great time with our friends Rob and Kristie and thier boys on saturday night. We had a fish fry (and some grilled). We hope to get together again soon!

Went to Greenwood sunday. My neice turned 21 and graduated from Piedmont Tech. Congratulations Erica! My sister and brother in law and my parents are building a house on the lake. It looks great! Things are really coming along. Well, off for some more adventures!

Happy Birthday Russ!

My husband turned 46 on the 21st. We had a great time celebrating his birthday. I made him a white chocolate cheesecake with strawberry glaze on top. He really enjoyed it as we all did. We have been married for 23 years. Half of his life. It is amazing how fast time flies. I know I say that all the time but it truly does. Russ and I have had many ups and downs throughout the years but with the help of God we have always managed to get through it together. I thank God for giving me a wonderful man to share all these years with. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next 40 years! Adventure is out there!

Life is a Whirlwind!

It is amazing how time flies. You know that time is going at a break neck pace when your 7 year old thinks that something you did months ago was just last week. We have been having lots of adventures lately. Michelle got a new kitten. It is adorable.

Sunday the 2nd, Russ sang at Bethel Baptist Church for the 2 morning services. Then baseball practice. Then out for ice cream at Sweet Treats!
Monday it rained all day so baseball was cancelled. We had a great time staying home playing and doing science experiments.
Tuesday we went with friends to Issaqueena Falls and Stumphouse Tunnel to look for letterboxes but I left the clues at home so we just played around the falls and in the river instead. Then Cade had a ballgame that evening.
Wednesday Noah came over and played with the boys. Then ball practice and church.
Thursday was park day and errands and a ballgame for Isaac.
Friday was roller skating with homeschoolers in Anderson, shopping at Walmart and Toys R Us, then another ballgame for Isaac.
Saturday was 2 ballgames, time with Brandon, and a Hee Haw show that Russ and Michelle were in to raise money for the churches mission trip.
Sunday was Mothers Day. We went to my sisters house and my parents came up and my mother in law and Aunt Evelyn were there. We had a great day.

And here it is Monday again and we are starting it all over with all kinds of things on the agenda. Today we finished our science experiment we started last monday and spent a lot of time talking about and using fractions. We took the pool cover off the pool and the boys have asked all day if they could swim. We told them just a few more days.

But it is all good. The kids are happy and tired. I am happy and tired. And life goes on.