Happy Birthdays...

Nate and I got to celebrate our birthdays together at Benihana! We have not celebrated our birthdays together in person since we were kids.

 One of the VERY GREATEST things about being in Arizona is getting to know him again after all these years :-)

 He's a great guy!

He stopped over later to test his scuba gear in our pool...

... AND taught the girls and Jim!!!!

 WOW!!

 Very Exciting! But first he and I had this idea crazy idea! The pool was really warm, like 95 degrees warm, so we thought that putting some ice in it would maybe cool it off...

... we put 20 giant ice blocks in the pool! TeeHee!! LOL!!!
It didn't cool the pool off any, but it sure cooled the kids off! They stood on them, hugged them, swam around and licked them! HeeHee!! Very fun!

Christina's Cacklings

I have much on my brain today and thought I would type it instead of write it and create a post and organize my thoughts at the same time. :-)

Cactus in bloom.

My family is a very snacky family.

I aim to change that!

Mommy's Little Helper.
Organizing books by topic on the shelves.

This morning I woke up and decided to make some of the changes I have been thinking, talking, and dreaming about a reality.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

For starters, I made hard boiled eggs and celery/carrot sticks for the refridgerator, and washed some grapes for the counter. I know, you are thinking that this is encouraging snacking... TRUST me! We are already snacky and fast foody thanks to our recent Minnesota trip. My idea is to take the junk out of our snacking first and make our meals more nutritional and filling which in my mind will automatically reduce the snackiness of our lives.

Time will tell.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Then, I have this crazy idea that my family needs to love beans... must be something southern... or something. In Minnesota, we called them legumes. YUCK!! I do NOT want my family to love legumes! I want them to love beans. Beans are so nutritional and filling and just good for you.

I also have this idea in my head to make chili flavored pinto beans. I can find no recipe for them, so, I made it up. I'll let you know if it works out. Anyways, these yummy and filling beans can also be in the fridge for quick meals in tortillas, cheese topped, or whatever.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Today, I definitely need to get more school planning done. The trip back home was not very good timing for school planning type things. It was very good for other things, just not for school planning. Which reminds me, please be praying for my Dad, I do not want to explain it right now, but he is not in good health and has started chemotherapy last week.

I purchased a new curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. I like to make my own curriculum/schedule but this is such wonderful curriculum and so flexible and covers so many levels and... I think it will help me to not stress out about covering everything. Also, I LOVE that all of my children study the same thing, at their own level, and that their writing, reading, etc. is all based on history. Last year it seemed that history and science were the first to go if something else came up, which was often. This year, they are in a science co-op with some members of our AWESOME homeschool group and the rest of their studies center around history.

I love the exciting feeling of a fresh new year!

Oh, the potential!!

:-)

Anyway, I also purchased the teacher training cds for Tapestry of Grace. That is what I am trying to get through yesterday and today. Then, I will finish planning the first 3 weeks of school so we can go school shopping and get started on the 15th. It feels very rushed, probably because it is, and like not enough planning, but by only doing the first three weeks, I won't throw away any planning if I decide to change things up... learning curve :-)

Hiking and shooting while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Also, decluttering needs to happen this week. Closets and dressers are overflowing! This frustrates me and needs to be remedied. We usually do this kind of continually, but it has really backed up around here. It frustrates me because everything takes longer to accomplish if there is excess clutter. Laundry, room tidying, and there is not a home for everything. Even the games and books are crazy.

One thing that is harder for me is that my wonderful husband has asked us to not have garage sales and to just donate everything instead. He feels that with being new to homeschooling 3 kids, new to Arizona, and a new baby boy it makes more sense. I do agree with him, not that I have to, it is just hard for my brain to adjust to the idea.

Sweet little monkey boy
Camping June 24, 2011

Okay, I feel the need to DO something now, so, wish me luck! :-

 I think this is going to be a new heading for me to simply ramble about whatever... I am thinking that in this case, less boundaries will mean less stress.

{{HUGS}}

Christina :-)

Arizona State Fair - Post Created 11/7/10 (but not published)

I have some old drafts of posts in the computer, I am going to just review them and finish anything that needs to be finished and post them. This is the first of many to come:

We tried a new church today. It was really fun with upbeat music. We sat near the front where I like (forces me to pay better attention) and we ran into Jennifer, she's the nice lady that told us about this church. The sermon was on recovery and forgiveness and moving beyond past mistakes. It was good, emotional, and informative. I have some teaching, training, and explaining to do with the kids now that they have been exposed to some new things... hmmm. We literally wrote our sins on a sheet of paper and walked up front to shred them. A number of different ideas have floated through my brain on how to make the most of this very literal "teaching tool". I believe that every experience is worth while and something can be gained from it whether it is expected or not...

 Then, we went to the Arizona State Fair! It was sooo fun! Nate and Lloyd chaperoned us girls and Mini Chip. Those two are so great! They were very patient and helpful and just plain wonderful!

Piggy-back rides... 

 Monster trucks...

 Oh, what a day!!

 Lucky for the girls, Uncle Nate is much more brave than I am!

Fried zucchini , french fries, onion rings...

Mmmmm! Ketchup... on a fork! LOL!

 Passed out baby... my view!

 Him's is sooo cute!

 After a meal of ketchup on a fork, one must compliment the meal with cotton candy ala fingers!

 Finger lickin' good!

Yummmm-o!!

Do I look brave?

I'm scared out of my wits at the top of the ferris wheel! Grrr!

What an awesome day!