Lovin' Summertime!!

This week was pretty typical...Monday was a typical summer day...the kids swam in the pool in the morning and we did our grocery shopping in the evening.  We have a really lax summer schedule, the kids watch a show while eating breakfast(I'm hoping this isn't terrible to break them of in the fall, but they're loving it for now!) then we get dressed and ready and go for a walk/ride around the neighborhood, then we come back to a fun art or craft thing then we sing songs and read stories. Then it's lunchtime, during lunch I read a chapter from a chapter book to the kids(we just finished "When the White Dove Descended" really good book!) then Devin goes down for his nap and Elizabeth either does some learning time or educational play time, until it's time for her snack and t.v. time.  Then she's off to quiet time and Devin has snack and t.v. time, then it's his turn for educational play time. After rest times are done we go out to the backyard to play(usually in the pool, but also in the sandbox, on the swing set, on the tramp or just having fun with their imaginations). Then it's dinner more play and bed!  We don't usually get to follow it exactly as Devin often has therapy in the morning but it's nice to have anyway!  There is never the "what are we going to do?" And a lot less of "I'm bored".  There are times(like now for instance) when I let them just play while I do things.  Anyway back to the week...Tuesday was just another typical summer day, Elizabeth had dance/tumbling in the evening and that was it.  Wednesday morning Devin had play therapy, but that was the only change to our typical day. We had another BBQ dinner outside. Thursday morning Devin had behavior therapy, and both kids were 'off ' and in cranky moods most the day, so by the time Tony got home Elizabeth had been banished to her room, and Devin was melting down as well.  So Tony went to scout pack meeting and did what he needed to then came home and we had yet another super yummy BBQ dinner outside, then called it a day!  Friday morning I arranged a playdate with Elizabeth's dance friend Phenley(her mom and I talked homeschool stuff, as she homeschools Phenley) and Devin even did really well playing with all their toys and hopefully didn't teach little Ainsley(she's almost one)any bad habits! The girls played so well together!  Not a single argument or angry moment....we were so impressed!  They did make quite the mess out on their patio with the sand table, and Phenley's room was a mess....but they cleaned both up after being threatened with no more play dates. We ended up staying for nearly 4 hours!  Devin was melting by the time Elizabeth was done helping clean up and so ready to go home for a nap which he did.  Friday evening was another nice BBQ dinner.  Saturday morning we went to JC Penny and got family pictures done.  Devin didn't last real long luckily we knew he probably wouldn't so we did all the pictures we needed him in first(family pics, sibling pics and by the time we got to pics of just Devin he was good for two and no more!) So I took him our and calmed him down the best I could while Elizabeth got just her pics taken, then Tony and I got some of just us and called it! They turned out really good.  Can't wait to get them today! (I have still to scan in the kids Easter pics so hopefully they'll all be scanned in and posted soon!) After pictures we had lunch put Devin down for nap and Elizabeth went out and helped Tony in his motorhome(and all the cars) washing, while my mom and I went to the Utah Idaho(school supply)store where I picked up some things for the upcoming school year. You can spend hours in that store without even realizing it!  Saturday evening we had Eric and Jen join us for our BBQ dinner which was really nice!  Sunday morning bright and early we woke the kids got them all ready and went to Tony's cousin's mission homecoming, which was very good.  Then while Devin napped and Elizabeth played Tony and I went to work cleaning up the front room some more...and we got it to the point to where it's ready to paint then we can put up pictures do some finally organizing sweeps, and have it ready for school in the fall! YAY!  We also got the kids 'milestone' pictures put up in the hall, which looks so good!  Oh and we put up the Disneyland frame(which I still need to print pictures out to put in) and the kids silhouette Disneyland pictures on each side of it.  Dinner was of course a BBQ outside, and that was our fun week!

Great way to start the day!

Having SOOOOO much fun in the pool!

Art time!

More pool time :)

BBQ'n!

We are sure LOVIN' summertime!!

Busy Week & Homeschool Conference

Monday started off with a surprise...you see usually I'm so good about checking my agenda for the next day and usually even the whole week, but Sunday night I did not....and so Monday morning just after 9 o'clock my doorbell rang and I had to open the door in my pj's to Devin's Developmental therapist.  I can't believe I forgot about therapy!  I was so embarrassed!! But she was super nice about it, and Devin had therapy in his pj's and I was glad my pj's were just my old paint clothes so messy but modest! Talk about a frazzling start!  The rest of the day went well though.  Tuesday I dropped Elizabeth off at Mary's house while I took Devin to feeding therapy.  He was very touchy so she ended up just having him play with pretend food....epic fail. I visited with Mary for a bit then headed home for lunch.  That evening Elizabeth had dance/tumbling, I'm so glad Bravo keeps doing classes through the summer...and so is Elizabeth!  Wednesday morning I had Devin's 6 month therapy review with one of the Davis Early Intervention directors, which was good.  Our main concern is changing from speech/reception to his OCD tendencies, which are really starting to impact his and our life.  The rest of the day was just a typical day.  Thursday I dropped Elizabeth off at Mary's again while I took Devin in for his OT(occupational therapy) evaluation at the Primary Children's Rehab Clinic in Bountiful(where he does feeding therapy).  The evaluation went really good, or really bad depending on how you look at it.  She noted that he did need a lot of work with his SPD(sensory processing disorder) but that he seems open to adjusting to a new sensory diet.  She was most alarmed with his OCD "issues" and said that it needs serious attention.  So she's putting in a referral for weekly OT...which once again is really good or bad depending on how you look at it.  It's really good cause he'll be getting more help that he obviously needs, but not so great cause it means he really does need more help, and I'll be driving to and from Bountiful twice a week. :/  But I do what I need to do for him, it's a small price to pay really.  Elizabeth was excited she got to play with my cousin Sarah's son Seth(who is 1 day younger than Elizabeth) while at Mary's and they played in a pool and hot tub!  Getting her to leave was not so easy!  But the lure of lunch eventually worked.  That evening was scouts...except none of our whopping three scouts showed up, so no meeting for us.  Tony took the kids to do a little grocery shopping and I visited with my mom for a bit until it was time to go to our book club.  This last month we read "The Elegance of the Hedgehog"...and no I would not recommend it.  The first couple hundred pages are over the top(and over most heads) philosophy, there is roughly a hundred pages of a great story, that leads to a terrible and tragic ending.  Leaving you wanting to throw the book off a cliff screaming!  There were only five of us, able to make it to book club, but the overall consensus was the same...not worth the torture it was to read this book!  We did have a great time visiting though!  I love having book club in my life!!  This month we are reading "The adoration of Jenna Fox" which my mom has read already and said it was pretty enjoyable...yay!   Friday my best cousin Mary came to our house about 3 to watch the kids overnight for us!  Seriously she is the BEST COUSIN EVER!! My kids absolutely adore her!  I gave her a rundown on everything, finished packing my and Tony's overnight bag, gave the kids hugs and kisses and went to pick Tony up from work.  Then we drove to Provo for the UHEA(Utah Home Education Association) homeschool conference, at Provo's new convention center.  Tony and I found the convention center, found where to park, then went and got dinner at Red Robin, then went and wandered Deseret Book, then went and checked into the hotel.  We enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub then went back to our room to veg in front of the tv...when we realized we hadn't brought any snacks!!  Snacks we wouldn't even have to eat in secret or share with our kiddos! So we decided to go to K Mart which was really close and pick some up.  While there we looked at their pools(as we've been looking for a good inexpensive snap set pool and slide for the kids this summer as they're accustomed to having access to a big pool but not longer are) and we found what we had been looking for!  They had an 8 foot pool(by a better brand) for less than the Walmart generic...score!  THEN we found the last Step 2 Slide that was on sale for about $40 less than even Amazon sold it!  And it's a big slide at least 4 feet tall!  By now the store was a few minutes from closing so we hurried and got some snacks and made our purchase.  And thank goodness we didn't have the kids cause to get the slide in we had put one of the seats down.  We then went back and enjoyed our money saving skills snacks and some HGTV.  Saturday we got up, got ready and had some muffins and yogurt from their "continental breakfast" then went to the conference.  The keynote speaker in the intro "meeting" was AMAZING!  I swear she was talking about Elizabeth and us!(and how to deal with her), both Tony and I were sucked into her every word and really enjoyed her speech.  Then we had to make the hard decision on which classes to go to(next year we're definitely going to both days or the conference) but the three classes we chose were all really informative and good and we were happy with our choices.  We grabbed a quick lunch out in the hour break between the first and second round of classes and had some time to wander the curriculum fair as well. Where we bought the keynote speaker's book(as it was less than the price on amazon and we couldn't find that it was sold anywhere else) along with an audio cd and a children's book she wrote called "Londyn LaRea Says Okay"(and I've already read it to Elizabeth three times...it's so helpful!!) We also got a free poster about her steps to helping your children become self governing.  At another booth I found some great cute children's books to help with history stories(like if you lived with the Hopi, and if you grew up with George Washington) then it was time for our second class, then our third.  We learned so much from each class, and felt more sure of the correctness of our homeschooling decision the further into the conference we got.  After our classes we went and wandered the curriculum fair some more where we picked up a thing here or there but nothing really stood out to us.  We did get Elizabeth signed up for a free computer learning program kind of like ABC Mouse but for older ages...so that was great!  We heard some spiels from different places but nothing we were particularly interested in.  Then we came across the Latter Day Learning booth.  Now I had looked them up on the internet before and liked what I saw but wasn't sure about it, but it had been highly recommended by a few of the homeschooling blogs I follow(it's really new, it's only been going for a year) it's a homeschooling concept called the family school, where you teach most subjects to all kids even if they're different ages, and they understand to their own level, you can of course go more in depth with any child that wants to.   Then math and language arts are done elsewhere separately according to their personal level(I'm using the book Learn at Home Grade 1, and What my Fist Grader Needs to know for those subjects) History, Literature, Geography, Science, Music and Arts are done Family School style. The more we heard, the more I felt a warm feeling telling me this is what Father in Heaven would have me use to educate my children.  Every subject and lesson is gospel based....so everyday their minds are growing their testimony in the restored gospel, our savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and His plan is growing as well!  Let me assure you I have not come to the decision to home school my children's lightly or frivolously.  I have pondered deeply, researched long and hard, prayed intently seeking the will of the Lord...for YEARS.  I know this is what is right for us, I know...now more than ever this is the will of the Lord in our lives. Homeschooling is more than educating it is a lifestyle, and it is not for everyone.  It is a very personal choice...it is not the typical choice but that doesn't make it a bad choice.  Homeschool is not what it used to be, we pull together all the time on forums and blogs and more to arrange group activities or so we can get group rates for tours and such, and for lots of other reason too.  Our kids can be a part of spelling bee's and science fairs, they are not outcasts.  I often get asked how long I'm going to homeschool my kids...honestly I don't know, my Father in Heaven hasn't filled me in on this part of his plan, so to them I say as long as the Lord would have me, and my children are agreeable to it...I will not force my children to learn at home but I will explain to them why I am making this choice and when they are old enough, encourage them to get the same counsel from the Lord. Ok end of spiel.  After hearing about The Family School and asking our questions we decided to wait and look at it some more and ponder it a bit more(at home online) before making a final decision to go with it(as it's not a cheap decision...in more ways than one!) After we were done at the conference we headed toward home to relieve Mary of our children who were happy to see us! And I was happy to hear that things went well for Mary.  We went to Smith's to pick up some stuff for dinner on Sunday, then called it a day!  Sunday afternoon we put up the pool and slide for the kids...which they absolutely LOVE!!  We had a BBQ dinner outside on the patio with my parents and that was our week!

We have had to raise up Devin's basketball hoop...

Playing in the new sprinkler toy and the water table that finally got put up!

And finally all the pool fun!