Girls Weekend

Friday after lunch, Princess and I headed to Chicken Town. The boys went to work with Hubs and then got to have a great weekend of Star Wars, Wii, and swimming. But this isn't about that.

When Princess and I arrived we picked up AJ and headed to see TamTam at cheer practice. My mom is the high school cheer coach in Chicken Town. Has been for a crazy long time. And she is very good at it.

Our purpose for the weekend was two fold. 1. Assist AJ in purchasing a new couch for her new place, and 2. Attend the Chicken Town Cheer Clinic. Our sofa hunting was to begin Friday afternoon. When TamTam asked Princess if she wanted to stay with her rather than go shopping with us, Princess happily said 'Yes'. Then she gave me a quick kiss and joined the high school cheerleaders to practice. After cheer practice they went to McDonald's where Princess got not one, but two Happy Meals, and then they headed home for Princess to enjoy an hour long soak in a bubble bath.

So, after a whole afternoon and evening with TamTam all to herself, Princess went to bed a happy little girl.

We awoke Saturday morning bright and early. 'Cheer practice' as Princess called it started at 8am and we didn't want to be late. However, in my desire to get as much sleep as possible and decision to sleep till 7:15, I completely forgot to feed Princess any breakfast. We simply got up, got ready, and left. Oops. Here she is sitting with her group waiting for all the little girls to arrive.

Go Cowboys!!!

No, the Chicken Town mascot is not the cowboys. That wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. It's the Fighting Chicks. As in chickens. Duh.

After all the cheering, we ate lunch with Aunt Abby. Then Princess got to go get her toes and nails done. I wasn't invited, I just dropped by to take a pic. And to top things off, after all that, Aunt Abby took her to Walmart. She came home in a Barbie cheerleading costume. =)

It's great being a girl!

Bridget

Getting Ready to Start School

So we have spent this week preparing to start school next week. And we are all getting excited. This year we are starting a new curriculum that is a huge answer to my prayers. It is called The Weaver Curriculum and it is written specifically for homeschoolers. What I mean by that is, it is written with a multi-grade homeschooling family presentation. Our kindergartner, our third grader, and our fifth grader will all be studying the same topics at their particular level. I am extremely excited and expectant for how this is going to affect and change our family conversations this year.

Another wonderful thing about this curriculum is that it weaves all subjects (excluding math) together. We start with a Bible lesson for the day and our social studies/science (these alternate days) relates to it, then our Language Arts lesson relates to it, and our spelling and vocabulary words are taken from the subjects we are studying. It brings what is presented in the Word to life by applying it to the world around us. And all subjects relate to each other.

I happen to prefer Saxon Math. It's what I know and it works.

These are the math manipulatives that we use. These really make math understandable and fun for the younger ones. It's just like playing.

On Tuesday we went to the Library to stock up on books. Lots of books. And we actually forgot some. By the time this posts we will have rectified that.

One of the topics we are studying in our first unit is map reading/making and cities; the history, the founders, the natural resources, and primary sources of money. So we stopped by the Chamber of Commerce and they gladly gave us lots of freebies.

Our version of the schoolbox. Yes, poor princess. Her's isn't as full as her brothers. She won't even notice. Actually, I'm quite sure she will.

Notebooks and binders. Important stuff.

Our homeschooling closet. Nice and organized. This never seems to last.

And just to toot my own horn I had to show you the sacrifices required to homeschool. My beautiful decorative papers hung in my dining room before...

...the white board and huge map of the United States took over. Function must be chosen over form at this point in my life. Sniffle.

Expecting our best homeschooling year yet,

Bridget

Jesus has the...

On Monday afternoon we had lunch with some friends. They are homeschooling their two children this year so it was a fun mixture of adults and kids.

While sitting around the living room we were talking about the Body of Christ. How believers make up the body and Jesus is the head. I paused just long enough mid-sentence, trying to think of a more understandable way to say authority, when Bobo chimed in. It went something like this:

Me: Jesus is the head of His body and as such Jesus has the...

Bobo: hair.

Hehe. We got a good laugh out of that one. Hope you did too.

Bridget

2013 Mindset List

I found this through another blog and thought it very interesting.

"Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college."

This is the list for freshman entering college this year. Most of them were born in 1991.

You can see the full list here but I've listed some of my faves below.

11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
17. They have never had to "shake down" an oral thermometer.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
36. They have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
40. Madonna's perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.
63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
73. Nobody has ever responded to "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up."
75. There has always been blue jello.

It is crazy to think that the majority of the freshman entering college this year were born in 1991. My youngest sister was born in 88 and I thought most of her while reading this list.

Enjoy.

Bridget

Tumbling in Chicken Town

I don't know what he calls this move but I'm impressed.

Popeye getting some air.

Oh, that hair. She really prefers wearing it down and it goes everywhere.

This is my 26 year old sister, Andrea. My kids call her AJ. She is pretty amazing. As is my 20 (almost 21) year old sister. I love you, Kara!

So fast.

So big. His favorite thing right now is standing next to his grandmothers and showing everyone how close he is to being as tall as they are.

The whole gang very hot and sweaty. But also very happy.

Popeye told me in the car the other day that he plans on living next to AJ when he grows up. Of course, that just made AJ's day.

Bridget

Hair Cut!

We went grocery shopping this morning. I prefer going in the early morning when there are fewer people and less waiting. On our way out we stopped at the hair salon in the Walmarts and got Princess' hair cut. I'd been threatening to do it for a while. The nightly brushouts and crazy hair days were becoming too much. Princess was/is thrilled.

She is even acting older. Or maybe it's just me.

You can see the before hair here because this was totally spur of the moment and mama didn't have her camera.

Bridget

Tents

Sorry about the blurry photos. This is how the kids spent yesterday morning. My only rule was that the tents had to stay in the bedrooms.

Occasionally I will let them make their tents in the living room. But only occasionally and not when we are having guests over in the afternoon.

Bear was the one who started the tent making. Then everyone else wanted one too.

I think Bobo's was the biggest and the softest. =)

Bridget

Undeterred

It's raining today. But that hasn't stopped him. After he was done riding his bike he took the dog for a walk.

Bridget

26 Years

Twenty-six years ago today my Dad became my Dad. Not in a hospital room (I'm the big 3-0, remember?), but in a court room. These are the flowers he sent me today to remember.

Here's a reminder of how I feel about it.

I love you, Dad!

Booboo

Horseback Riding

We went horseback riding on Saturday. Some extended family was down visiting from Minnesota and we thought, "What better way for someone to experience Oklahoma than on horses." However, I'm not including any pictures of them bc I didn't ask if they minded. And us southerners are nothing if not polite like that.

Princess and Price. Best cousins. They are six months apart and so cute together. Waiting for their horses.

Popeye and Hubs. Waiting too. And, yes, he made that face on purpose. Silly guy.

Bear and Bobo waiting. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long.

I know this pic is kinda far away. Mom was taking it, and she isn't familiar with my camera. She did get some other ones closer up. This one was just the best one of all three of us. Me, Princess, and Blackjack. Our horse.

This one is better of Princess but you can't really see Blackjack.

Popeye and Hubs on Magic.

Bobo on Honey.

Bear on Sisco.

Not much horse drama thank goodness. Just a nice stroll down the trail. And then to complete the experience we went out for bar-b-que. I just love the south!

Love,

Bridget