Holiday weekend!
Time to...
Sit back and relax:)
Get outside and enjoy the blue skies and sunshine
Spend time with family and play a few games
Maybe even get a little wet!
And eat good food:)
That's us...what about you?!
What does your Memorial Day weekend look like?
Whatever you do, drive safely!!
And try to stay out of trouble!
So thankful for the freedom we have and those that sacrificed for us to enjoy it.
Cooking- This week, M. made homemade pizza, blueberry pancakes, chocolate cupcakes with caramel frosting, salad, and breakfast for dinner:)
American Girl Fashion Math- M.
Fractions and decimals- A.
Lots of practical learning with Daddy off work and home this week
High School Biology- A.'s choice:)
Herbs and herbal remedies
Big Book of Cupcakes- I saw M. reading this several times this week
The History of Medicine- A.'s choice of reading material, so very different than her sister's! Also, my favorite resource this week- I kept looking through it when A. wasn't reading it, and I saw my mom do the same!
Lots of reading and research on horses, chickens, and rabbits. I think they are trying to convince us to get them pet rabbits...or a pony;)
Birds and birdwatching
Health and Nutrition
Music- Bluegrass
Writing letters
Photography
Centrifugal force
Snakes!
A little road trip... state park and picnic
State park visitor center- tons of hands-on science there
Traffic jam (the game on my phone)
Episodes of Fetch
Spies/spy secrets
Cousins' book club! The girls spent an hour looking at books and finally settled on a humorous one for us to read. So, we started reading Matilda, by Roald Dahl today with all five cousins together. And we ate some yummy treats too...in honor of our very first meeting:) Linking up here. Want to join me?!
So thankful to live in this beautiful part of the country. I can't get enough of this view!
Blessed to enjoy life with my high school sweetheart and husband of 18 years. Wow-has it been that long?! We eloped Memorial Day weekend eighteen years ago. My husband is amazing, and I thank God for giving me this gift I do not deserve!
And grateful for opportunities to enjoy family time...at home and on the road- for exploring and learning together!
Taking the time today to remember and give thanks for the good things in my life. What are you thankful for today?
This week
Here at home
Looks like this, so far...
Card games...Aunt Dee is teaching A. a new game here, but our favorite this week is Scrabble Slam:) It can get a little competitive around here!
We got some local blueberries this week. M. made muffins one day and these awesome blueberry pancakes on another! Here's the recipe for the pancakes:
3/4 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. melted butter
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. fresh blueberries
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, except blueberries. When batter is mixed, gradually fold in blueberries. Place by heaping spoonful into a hot, buttered pan. Serve warm with real maple syrup. Sweet and tart...we love it!
M's finally branching out from just dessert to cooking other things...so happy about that:) Last night, it was potato salad. I hope to have her cooking dinner for us all really soon;)
A. found a high school biology text, and she's reading it...for fun. She keeps sharing things that she reads with all of us. I love it!
Lots of hard work...since Daddy's home from work this week, so we've been tackling some DIY projects around the house. It feels good to get some things crossed off our giant to-do list!
Look at the chicks! They practically grown already. M. took this pic! I'm thinking of creating a photography challenge for us girls. We've done photography scavenger hunts in the past, but I'm thinking of a daily or weekly challenge just for fun. It would help us sharpen our photography skills too, no doubt:) Anybody else interested? We could do it together!
M. just discovered a nest of baby birds:)
“I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for one’s self."
George Washington Carver
I read this interview at Freedom to Learn today. It's a real, honest, and encouraging look at interest led learning from the perspective of an adult who was unschooled as a child. Take a few minutes and check it out:)
Daddy was out-of-town all week last week which is hard on everyone, especially M:( He texted us pictures along the way, so she was able to trace his route on a map.
Now he's back...just in time too. M. made a blackberry cobbler for him (one of his favorites). Here he's showing the girls how to identify snakes. We found two in the yard- one this morning and one last night. Yikes!
He's taking a week's vacation this week, but it's all work and no play for this Daddy as he works on the attic remodel.
The girls and I are doing our best to make sure that he doesn't work too hard though...
And we can be very persuasive:)
I'm so thankful for summer break. I'm pretty sure I used to take summer for granted. But after working part-time last summer and full-time the summer before that, I've got a new perspective! My "summer job" this year is to enjoy time with family and find some free (or inexpensive) fun for all of us to together. Now that's a job, I can handle! After a rough start to the year this year, I'm really grateful for the chance to relax and enjoy sweet, simple fun with the girls.
We make a summer fun list every year. Not because we have to, but just so we all have input into what kinds of things we do over the summer. I like that. And it also helps us to focus on the many blessings and opportunities we have as a family.
So here it is...our list for 2012. For the most part, it's easy, inexpensive fun we can have around the house (a lot of it is stuff we do anyway:) And we're open for suggestions if you think we've left something totally fun off the list!
Build a fort
Water Day
Legos
Make your own board game
Sidewalk chalk
Make a tiny book
Camping
Draw comics
Make collage self-portraits
Watch the Olympics
Work on art journals and magazines
Swimming
Silver Dollar City (probably our biggest expense- season passes for the family)
Explore a cave
Farmer's Market
Ice Cream Float Party
Library
Cookout
Sonic Happy Hour
Sleepover
Local bakeries
Bike rides
Get a hammock
Go get frozen yogurt
Learn more Spanish
Banana Split Party
Cousins Camp
Put on a play with friends
Movie Night
Horseback Riding
Candy Shop
Sponge Tag
Crafts
Lemonade Stand
Make homemade ice cream
Read-a-thon
Picnic
Roller skating
Visit local museums
Make a family photo slideshow
Sewing (maybe with Mimi:)
Basketball
Paint our nails (just us girls:)
Work on the treehouse
Explore new hairstyles (again...Daddy's not interested in this one:)
Berry picking
Go to the movies
Play with friends
Play in the creek
Make more cardboard creations
A. wrote out everyone's individual ideas onto posterboard, and we gave the summer fun list a place of honor in the living room.
This week, so far...
1.
A trip to my parent's house to help out. We got a lot done and still had time to enjoy several episodes of our favorite Food Network shows every night before bed...can't do that at home, not without cable:)
2.
A cooking show of their own- M. made cupcakes with frosting while A. filmed her. Can't wait to see it when they're finished editing!
3.
The girls and my mom threw me a surprise party for my birthday. My birthday was a month and a half ago...yep, I was pretty surprised!! My dad was still in the hospital back at the beginning of April, so we didn't really celebrate my birthday. My sweet girls just wanted to make it right. And my mom even got me a gift:)
Cupcakes by M, photo by A:)
4.
M. wants to learn cursive (a friend gave me this Handwriting Without Tears book a while back). She's working through it in her own way...on the trampoline. Love it!
6.
So, we were experimenting with art journaling which has now branched out into magazine making. The girls are publishing their own magazines. A's seems to be geared more towards fashion and style while M's is about home, food, and travel. I kind of want to make one too:)
7.
We're learning to play the recorder. M. and I can already play a duet of Mary Had A Little Lamb. We're working our way up to something a little more difficult. I'll keep you posted:)
Linking up here today-
So, here's my weekend:
Crafting with the girls
Time together, all four of us (pretty sure Daddy's having them estimate then count the amount of change we've collected in this pic:)
Dirt and compost for my garden (it's what I asked for this Mother's Day...really, it is!)
Happy helpers (well, until they got hot and tired!)
Look at those pitiful faces. And no, I did not let them quit until the job was done. I'm mean that way;)
Got new books from the bargain aisle at Barnes and Noble: Herbal Home Remedies, by Jessica Houdret and Homesteading, by Abigail Gehring:)
Church, time on the front porch swing, and homemade cherry pie with ice cream
Hmm...that's about it.
Not at all exciting, but just what I wanted!
What did you do for Mother's Day?!
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