Ahhh...Summer

Hello, all!

It seems like we've been moving/in transition/waiting for kids for the past several years of our lives (oh, wait - we have!) so it's been SOOO nice to stay put this summer and just enjoy life. Of course, life would be much MORE enjoyable if were Daniel here, but we are on the downhill slope now to his return. We're looking forward to including Daddy in all the fun things we've been doing. Shiloh would especially like him to come back so that she has someone who can actually hit the ball over the net for her in tennis.

Here's what's been going on in our lives lately:

We had our end-of-the-year celebration for our history program. It helped all of us to mark the end point of that period of study, and it was something they were looking forward to doing. Shiloh and Cora decorated the dining room with all kinds of projects they had done, and Adah and Abigail created the menu. The menu focused on foods that colonists would have enjoyed and they each chose two dishes. On one of the hottest days we've had so far, the girls chose clam chowder, peanut soup, hoppin' john, and blueberry flummery. :) Blueberry flummery is a jello-like dessert dish. I was skeptical about the peanut soup, but everyone liked it! Shiloh added some biscuits to the menu, and I added carrots because we were a little light on the veggies. :) We also had root beer and pretended it was beer like the colonists drank. Shiloh still has her colonial outfit, so she dressed up as well. Adah and Abigail gave us presentations about colonial cooking and manners, and they all recited a poem about George Washington for Daddy to hear.

This picture shows our lapbooks for the year. It helps them to sum up what they've learned and gives a visual for all the highlights. Inside each booklet is information and/or pictures about the event or person.

This was the blueberry flummery. Adah was very excited when it actually came out in one piece. "Good job, Mommy! Good job!" she kept exclaiming. Abigail REALLY liked the blueberry flummery. Shiloh declared it to be too sweet.

Here was an exciting event! Jackson lost both his bottom teeth in the same day! He let me pull them out, and may I just say, "Please come home, Daniel! I don't want to do that again!" :)

He was excited to show his friend Isaiah, who had just lost his first tooth the previous week. Jackson was pretty excited that one-upped him with two teeth.
AACK! Why can't I get these pictures to import correctly? They look correct in the digital photo album, but they won't come in correctly. They were too cute to pass up, though. The following pictures were taken on the last day of soccer. Jackson's team basically imploded throughout the season and there were only TWO players on the last day. So I asked both coaches if we could put Nathaniel in to help out, and both coaches agreed. Nathaniel scored a goal!! He also showed how tough he was playing without shin guards or cleats. He certainly got kicked a bit! Jackson scored two goals, and their team ended up winning. It was hilarious. I think Nathaniel will be playing next season. :) They both played the entire game, and it was HOT out. Way to go, boys!

Here are my cute girls. They had a great last game and Abigail scored a goal. I tried to avoid the annoying soccer mom voice. :)

Here are some updated pictures of our garden. Our cucumbers are taking over the yard. :) Here is our first cucumber! We actually ate it soon after this because it seemed like it was ready. All the kids watched me expectantly as I took the first bite. It was delicious! Shiloh doesn't even like cucumbers, and she enjoyed it.

Here's our lettuce. I'm not sure it's going to make it with these hot temperatures we've been having lately. I hope so; I want to taste it.

Our pepper plants are flowering. Cora has discovered that she likes yellow peppers so she's awaiting the harvest.

Here's a view of the tomato plants. They look a little disorderly. Shiloh tries to corral them onto the trellis, but they're not cooperating.

Here are some baby tomatoes! I can't remember if these are the Roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes. I guess we'll figure it out eventually.

Here are some pictures from our swim lessons. A homeschool mom who has been a swim teacher for a number of years gives lessons at her mother-in-law's pool every summer. The day I took these pictures the pool temperature was a little chilly. You can tell from the kids' expressions. :) Jackson and Nathaniel have their class first with these two cuties, and then Adah and Abigail come after; Shiloh and Cora follow them. All of a sudden things clicked with Jackson this summer, and he's ready to move up to Adah and Abigail's class next week. He can jump off the diving board and then swim to the shallow end!

Abigail loves her goggles!

Our plans are to spend as much time at the pool/lake and at the tennis courts as possible in the next two weeks. Shiloh, Cora, and I are finishing up sewing projects, the kids are sleeping in, and I'm organizing the school room to make shelf space for our new curriculum. Shiloh and I also ran a 5K today, and we'll do another one next Thursday. Shiloh placed first in her age group and won a $20 gift certificate to Ragged Mountain Running Store! She did a great job, and I was so proud of her attitude when we thought the finish line was right around the corner and it wasn't. :)

Have a healthy, happy summer everyone!

And to my dear friend, Corey - you know what to do...just keep swimming, girl. You know I'm praying for you.