Home School

We officially started home schooling today. Public school started last Wednesday, but we decided to start today and spend the weekend camping instead. It’s been hard to make this decision but we’ve been thinking about doing it for a while because Brad doesn’t work on Friday’s and we seem to check the kids out of school almost every Friday anyway, especially during ski season. So we’re excited for the freedom, excited to teach them what we choose, and excited to try and challenge these smart little kids of ours a little bit more. 

Day one went better than expected. A friend of mine gave me great advice which was to just know that from 9 until 1 your focus will be on your kids so don’t get stressed when other things aren’t getting done. So I tried to let other things go and just focus on helping them. Ryder’s math lessons were pretty easy for him so he did four in a row! Language arts and reading definitely takes the most time. But hopefully as we get more comfortable with everything it won’t take so long. 

Sunday Messages from our Bishopric

Each Sunday since we’ve been unable to attend church, a member of our bishopric will send out a spiritual thought or message. It’s always fun when it’s Brad’s turn and I love what he shares. This week he shared a story about huckleberries.

We actually ended up venturing out to try and find some more huckleberries today. Staying at home all day long on Sunday is challenging so a nice Sunday drive and walk through the forest was nice. Huckleberry picking season seems to be over though, but we still had fun together.

A Happy Luke

We took things slow today. Brad made breakfast as he seems to do for us every weekend day we have. We are spoiled. The kids and I got out for a bike ride this afternoon. Ryder rode all the way around the big block! And he still loves it. Luke was extra cute this evening. It was fun to see him smile so much. I think the kids are finally catching up on some sleep!

Camping

We’ve been out of service for the past few days because we actually took the kids camping! Kade has been begging to go, but I have been putting it off. Camping is a lot of work and I wasn’t too excited about sleeping in a tent with two year old Luke but we finally decided to just do it. The kids helped me pack up on Thursday and were so helpful. We left around 3:30 when Brad got home from work and headed to Holland Lake. We were hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded since school has started, but it definitely was crowded! We pulled in around 6:30 and the campground was full but the hosts gave us a spot right on the lake that they call their overflow camping. It was the best spot in the campground! We didn’t have our own fire pit so the hosts let us use theirs. It worked out well. We had warm and delicious tin foil dinners and then s’mores for dessert, of course! The three oldest each had four s’mores! 

The kids and Keena slept really well and it was a dream to wake up with the beautiful lake view out our front door. Brad made warm and delicious breakfast sandwiches and then he took Kade and Tenley on a hike to the waterfall. Ryder, Luke and I got in the kayak and kayaked to the base of the waterfall. It was a long trip, but my boys did a great job and I loved being out on the lake. We played for a few more hours on the beach enjoying the beautiful view. It was definitely worth it and I’m so glad we went!

Salsa

We have over 20 tomatoes from our garden so Tenley helped me make some more salsa. We’re going to be eating a lot of tacos around here soon! 

Kade had his ninja class today and he’s been wanting to land a front flip for several weeks now. He’s been practicing a lot and a few days ago he told me with total conviction that he was going to land a front flip at his class this week. I was so anxious to hear how it went and when he got home he had the biggest smile in his face as he told me that he landed a front flip 5 times! I was so impressed and so proud! I love hard work and I love seeing my kids work hard!

Public school started today and it felt strange not to be a part of it all. We will start home school next week!

Fresh Vegetables

Our garden is so amazing to me. I love prepping for dinner and walking out to our garden to pick fresh vegetables to add to our meal. They are so delicious! I wasn’t too sure that our garden would be a success this year, but it definitely has been!

Sleep

The kids al slept in until after ten this morning! I’m glad they are all catching up on some sleep. We all need it. Hopefully a few more morning like that and we’ll be back to our more energetic selves! Haha

Birthday Celebrations

Birthdays tend to last a long time around here and since we had been gone all weekend we had to catch up on a few traditions when we got back home. We made Kade his favorite dinner, ham and mashed potatoes, had his favorite chocolate birthday cake, measure him, and made him crawl through the swat line. He’s a hood sport about it all and loved getting spoiled all weekend.

Silverwood Theme Park

Day 2 at Silverwood was another fun day. It wasn’t as hot today which made it nice and because of that we decided not to go to the water park and just spend all day on the rides. We did the big rides first again and then found some rides we hadn’t done at all yet like Tilt-a-whirl. Brad took the three oldest on that ride and they all loved it. They ended up going in it three times today! Tenley was a super brave girl and went on Aftershock! Kade and I went with her. She was super nervous while waiting in line but then just as the ride finished she screamed out, “I did it!!” She was proud of herself for conquering her fear, as she should be. I screamed way more than she did on that ride!

We ran into an old friend from BYU! Brad’s friend Eric that he took a lot of science classes with was there with his son. He ended up marrying one of my best friends from growing up, Jenn. It was good to see him! Brad thinks it may have been 14 years since he’s seen him.

We ended the night with way too much ice cream, but I will always say ice cream is worth it! We’ve had such a fun few days here! We’re exhausted and are happy to be able to sleep.