Back to School 2017

We had the best first week of school that we've ever had in the entire history of our homeschooling! We had such a great week in fact that I didn't even take a single picture until the second day of the second week.

I did something this year that I haven't done before, at least not successfully.  I planned out our entire year.  I know, I know, that's a recipe for disaster usually.  It's very un-"Teaching from Rest" and Sarah Mackenzie just might have my neck if she found out about my year-long plans.  I'm totally kidding!

What I've learned from years of homeschooling this crew is that I simply don't get the time to plan as we go.  In years past I have planned out two weeks at a time and have told myself that I'm going to use the "extra" week to keep a week ahead in planning.  The reality of it is that I have a husband who has crazy hours at work and just isn't available much to give me time to plan.  It's true that my older kids can help out and I could technically use them to get time to plan, but I use them for more pressing matters, like menu planning or bill paying.

One thing I've become very good at is being okay with it if we get "off" of my plans.  They're my plans to begin with so there's no need to freak out if a couple kids are on Week 1 Day 3, but others are on Week 2 Day 1.  Whenever one of my checklist-loving kids starts getting worked up over being "off" I just say, "Do the next thing."  All will be well, just do the next thing, and then the next after that, and the next after that.  In the end we'll be fine, learning will happen, the world won't come crashing down around us, and if we need to take time to deal with something (stay tuned.....) then we will.  No biggie.

Baby Ducks

Baby ducks!  Quite possibly my favorite "pet" ever!  They are just so sweet and fun to watch.  

We had ducks a couple of years ago and they were, unfortunately, plucked off one by one by a bobcat.  I'm not positive that these guys will have a much different ending, but for now they are super fun and we are getting a lot of free(ish) entertainment from them. 

Isabella absolutely loves the ducks.  She wakes up every morning, and goes to the sliding glass door that is the entrance to our 3-season-room (where the ducks are living currently) and says, "Cheese. Ducks."  Cheese happens to be one of the ducklings names.  We have Cheese, Quackers, Patito, and Napoleon, who is so named because she's little and a little feisty.  

Almond the cat is probably the only local resident who is not impressed with our newest additions.

We are officially on summer break, except for a certain high schooler who needs to finish his Music Theory class.  This morning we woke up and went for a nice long hike right away.  The laundry is out on the line, the girls are playing in water on the deck, Aidan is sitting in a lawn chair reading, and most of ours days are filled with a lot of free time (more on that later).

Almost Finished!

We are sooooo close to the end of our school year.  It's this time of year, every year, where I'm really tempted to say, "That's good enough" and call it quits.  Much to my children's dismay, that's not going to happen this year.  We are finishing strong, we are going to go to the bitter end, we are not going to fizzle out, not this year!!!  How is that for some motivational "speaking"?  If my "day job" doesn't work out.....

 I think the weather will cooperate this week.  It's supposed to be raining all week long.  Rainy days are perfect for convincing my little students to stay in, cozy up, and get their work done.

 We have had some beautiful, warm, no bugs (yet!) days that have not gone to waste!

 I'm already finished getting my list together for next school year so I can plug away at the actually planning all summer long.  I find it works best for us if I have a whole year planned out and we can be flexible when we need to be.

 We have some awesome plans for this summer break.  We, of course, have a couple of house projects, deck-staining and dining room expanding to be exact, a little travel, a lot of relaxing, even more mosquito-slapping and tick killing (can't pretend we don't spend an unhealthy amount of time in those activities), and hopefully some great family time.

I started getting grumpy this morning as Brett was getting ready to go to work.  When we get this close to the end I start getting a little antsy.  Luckily, I snapped out of my funkiness, gathered my troops and we got a good day in.  Here's to another week or so!

Snowball Fight

This winter wasn't all that impressive as far as snow (or cold for that matter) goes.  A couple weekends ago we went for a little walk at a nearby state park and the snow just happened to be perfect "snowball snow".

It was absolutely the most delightful sight watching Felicity and Aidan have a good old fashioned snowball fight!

Deck Party

It's not every day when we get to hang out on the deck in the middle of winter for any extended amount of time.

This isn't on our deck, but is just too cool not to include. Aidan has more artistic talent than I could ever hope to have.  A lion out of snow?  Seriously?  Who does that?

The tongue!  Killer.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly warm.  

It's good for teenagers to have their ridiculousness posted all over the interwebs, no?  Character building I tell ya.

Growing up way too fast!

Oh Marci!  

She was trying to avoid having her picture taken.

Gotcha!

Just Blog Already

I will admit to getting a tad bit offended whenever any of my favorite bloggers would be silent for some time and then come to her page and reflect that now her children are older she finds it harder to blog.  I would feel a little betrayed even.  I found so much encouragement on those pages and was hoping to gain more and more wisdom from these ladies who are a few steps ahead of me. 

I now have "older" kids.  I now get it.  Not that I'm a big name blog-all-the-time blogger to begin with, but I do struggle somewhat with what to share and how exactly to have an honest portrayal of our family without including all the lovely "big kid" moments (teenagers!!!!).  What I don't want to have happen though is to stop altogether.  I love coming here and documenting our days, even if I am the only one who comes back and reads it.  

Without further ado....may I present to you some family life snapshots!  

Large Family Livin'- Illness

I have a houseful of sick kids.  The end.  Well, not the real end, but gracious sakes alive am I happy that I will have a husband to help me this weekend because this is not fun.  

I was going to write down all of my reflections of having a lot of sick kids, but in the end I just don't have the energy.  I'm tired.  My baby has only slept for a couple of hours for two nights in a row.

The good news?  Gianna just informed me that she finished her book, ran the highest temperature she remembers ever having, and beat her highest score on the Perplexus Ball.  So, I guess not all is lost.  

The pictures below have nothing to do with the current situation in the house.  Your welcome.

Cute baby walking.

A crib is set up in our room for the first time in 15 years.  It remains vacant just as we suspected it would.  

Brett got a new tux so Aidan tried on his old one.  Makes him look way too grown up.  

I just love this girl!