Photo Update

We have been crazy lately with summer activities, but I wanted to post some photos.

Our homeschooling group is really active and had a swing dancing lesson for the teens last week. The kids all loved it and Amanda and Alex were having a great time. Just in time for this summer's formal as well.

Alex is finally taller than Amanda now much to her irritation and his happiness. It always bugged him that she was so tall, but her growth has slowed down while his is still plugging along.

We also went camping with the teens homeschooling group this past weekend and had a blast. It was Alex's first real camping trip and he threw himself into the activities. We had 2 campsites, one for the kids and one for the motor home and us! We had a big tent for the girls and all of Amanda's friends, a tent for Alex and a friend, and G4's backpacking tent, which is supposed to fit two people but with G4's size is more like G4 and a shoe. Our campsite was the kid site with bonfires every night, food continuously, and smores. I feel like I did nothing but feed kids all weekend long! We are all exhausted now and I am buried under an avalanche of post-campout laundry but it is a good tired.

                                                  Making breakfast and goofing off!

                                                           Group Picture at Beach.

                                                  All the teens in one place - a miracle.

                                       The - haven't I posed for enough pictures look! - jeez!

                                                      G4 relaxing and playing games.

We all had so much fun, it was hard to leave, but back to some semblance of a normal life here - school work, house work, and such.

I Love Summer

We are having so much fun this summer already. It kicked off with a week of wonderful weather, clear blue skies and 70 degree temperatures. We went kayaking yesterday and swimming in Lake Sammamish. It was heavenly. Amanda and Alex immediately commandeered the kayaks and off they went.

We are also getting started with our summer schedule of classes and having a lot of rearrangement with them. I have finally had to put my foot down on some of the activities that we do. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to do all of the things we want to do and still be able to get some school work done. So I have decided that we would pull back and spend more time at home.

In a funny coincidence, my van needed to go into the shop for some repairs and we have been forced to have some down time at home. Since it fit in well with my new schedule, I have embraced the home time and really gotten a lot done. I have been able to read more to the kids, clean the house, and catch up on laundry.

And speaking of reading, I have reinstituted my nightly reading to the kids. I used to read to G4 and Amanda for hours every day up to when G4 went into college. It was such a part of our life that we all look fondly back on. I had done some reading here and there to Alex, but it was more along the lines of 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week. Well, no more. We are listening to an audiobook of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea every afternoon for about 30 minutes and then I am reading to the kids at night for about 1 hour. I was struggling to find a good book that would engage both Amanda and Alex and I finally hit upon it - The Three Investigators Series. I remember loving the stories when I was growing up and they have been a big hit. Even better - I found the ebooks free on the internet.

So, we are loving the warm, rain free days, enjoying the freer schedule, and generally lazing around!