Monterey

We heard on the news that there was going to be a heat wave this weekend. Temperatures reaching around 106! So we packed up the kids and grandparents and Aunt T and off we went to Monterey. What a fun long weekend we had. The kids loved the Aquarium, just in time for "World Oceans Day"... but I think they liked the mirror maze and lazer game on Cannery Row even better. They did it for 2 days in a row! We also made sure we honored national donut day while we were there. Memories were definitely made.

Today Mom Celebrates

These are pictures of when we first got our goats on March 27, 2013. They were a month old (born February 26th). We got them early so we could bottle feed them and bond with them. It worked! Now we let them out in the evenings to wander and eat weeds and they are always near us, never wandering too far. Today I celebrate. We fed them their last bottles this morning. Whew!! What a labor of love! Here are the pictures from today. We could have stopped bottle feeding them earlier but I wanted to finish off the bucket of goat formula. I am so happy we don't have to do this anymore!! Also happy they've bonded with us and love playing with the children. Their names are Brownie, Cupcake and Sugar Pie.

Homeschool

Bryson's last day of school was bittersweet for me. You see, I've made the decision to homeschool. Yes, I'm one of those crazy mother's who is actually excited about teaching her kids. God has been giving me gentle nudges in the homeschool direction for quite a while now. There are so many reasons I want to do this. One of them being I have a very urgent need to spend more time with my kids. I no longer want to waste my days (and the days of the 2 younger ones) shuttling around for drop offs and pick ups. I want to spend my days reading stories, doing crafts, creating science experiments, having play dates at the zoo when all the other public school kids are not there (I'm not a fan of crowds). Another reason I want to homeschool is I don't want to worry about what's happening to them while they are at school. I really fear for their safety, which I'm sure lot's of mothers would say, get over it, it'll never happen to us, you're overreacting, the chances of someone coming in and shooting up the entire kindergarten is slim. Yeah...I'm not taking any chances. Also, the school Bryson was at was VERY lax on security. They ask you to be finger printed if you plan on being a parent helper but they never check. They don't even care if you sign in at the office or not. It's a very open campus and any old Joe can come strolling in. Reason number three, I look forward to a more flexible schedule. Our family takes trips a lot. How nice to be able to pick up and leave whenever we want. We don't have to wait for school breaks, we can go when everyone else has to be in school. We don't have to worry about catching up on homework or getting behind in class. Reason four, we don't have to rush home in the evenings to get to bed because we don't have to be at school at 8 in the morning. My kids can get up at a reasonable hour. This doesn't mean they get to sleep till noon, they will still have a schedule and routine, but I like knowing it can be flexible. We can stay home on stormy days, learn in our pajamas if we feel like it, and not be rushed. I could go on and on...I won't. I know some people think I'm crazy, some people also wish they could do it. I hear both sides. Almost everyone worries about the social part. I have lot's of friends in homeschool and they laugh at this. They have more real life socialization than those kids in public school. They have play dates almost everyday and they interact with people of ALL ages. My only worry is if this is something I can handle. Can I make learning fun? Will this be something our family can do for the entire time? I really, truly hope it is. If not, we can always go back to public school. Either way, I'm looking forward to this next year of focusing on my little babes while they're still little and still like me :) Here's some photos of Bryson's last day of Junior Kindergarten and the party at the park afterwards with some of his classmates.