June 30, 2016

I can't believe it's the last day of June already. Tomorrow it will be Hannah's birthday month. How did this happen!?! She's getting so big. Last night she ventured out from holding onto the couch and walked across the living room and into the dining room unassisted. If you saw how long our living room is, you would know what I feat that is for little legs. She was so proud of herself. She just hangs out standing around these days and tries to do whatever her brothers are doing. For the most part, they love it, unless she is destroying something they built. William has gotten good at picking up Hannah and moving her safely to a new location. Robert moves his stuff away when he sees her coming. General rule of thumb, if you don't want Hannah to touch it, play at the kitchen table. This will only work until she figures out how to climb up in the dining chairs!

Last weekend was amazing. Saturday morning we all went to the Homeschool Expo in College Station. I learned a lot about what the community has to offer homeschoolers and generally got a better grasp of what is going on in the homeschool world. It was good. The five of us then went up and had lunch by campus. This is something we would never do regularly, but since school is out for the summer, we thought we would try it and had a lot of fun. Then we went out to the local airport where they were having a plane show of WWII aircraft. That was by far the coolest thing we did. They allowed you to go inside the planes (they looked different on the inside than I expected), and the boys even got to sit in the cockpit of one. William spent about 15 minutes in the cockpit studing all the controls and asking someone (who was with the show and standing on the wing), how everything worked. Before we left, we got to see the planes take off. Hannah LOVED that as did the boys. Francis, in his love for aviation, bought the kids four small metal planes for them to remember their adventure. We then went to the mall. I only mention this because we were redeeming the kids' free cookie certificates for the summer reading club when out of no where a girl (college age I'm guessing) hand Robert $5 and walks away without a word. I looked at her and she just waved and smiled. Robert thought he his the jackpot. He sang all the way down the mall about his five dollars and put it in his piggy bank when he got home. At home that evening, Francis told the boys everything they wanted to know about their new airplane toys and even looked up interesting stories about the types of planes to tell at bedtime. Francis was beyond excited to share his love of aerospace with his kids and they received it with open arms. It was, in short, beautiful.

Sunday after church I was able to go to a storage unit of a retiring teacher and buy a bunch of her old (though some of it had never been opened because she had duplicates) stuff. I spent $15 but had my arms completely full. I figure I got about $100 worth of stuff and much of it had never been used or only used gently. I'm getting closer and closer to Phillips' Academy being ready, and I'm excited!

This week has gone by so fast. I've been packing and cleaning. We went to the grocery store Monday. Robert has been wearing Batman shirts with capes every day (except Sunday, but even that's a battle), and Monday all of his shirts with capes were in the laundry. The batman shirts without capes were no good. So, I dug out a cape from the play clothes and let him wear it with a non-cape batman shirt. He was finally happy and I was able to get to the grocery store. He got so many compliments and comments about how cute he was and how safe everyone felt with a super hero around. He enjoyed every minute of it. You only get to be 2 once. Might as well do it while wearing a cape!

We did Bible Study, the library, and the children's museum on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively. We leave tomorrow for our 4th of July adventure, cousin camp, and Hannah's first birthday party. Looking forward to some family time!!!!

Till next time.

June 23, 2016

I can't believe June is more than half way over! Next week it will be July and we'l be heading to Dallas for the 4th. Crazy!

Father's Day was this past weekend. We made Francis cookie letters in the shape of D-A-D. It was cute but not something I'll ever try again. We decorated making out own Father's day sign out of hand-prints and original artwork.The boys were so excited about it all that we celebrated all weekend. 

Saturday morning after breakfast we ran some quick errands and then Francis got to choose where we went for lunch. He chose BJs. Yum yum! After lumch we washed Francis's car (which doesn't sound as much fun as it was). William then insisted we go to Best Buy so he could "play a couple games" in the store. He cried so hard when we said no. I told him we were going somewhere better and to trust me but he wouldn't. We drove up to Chuck E Cheese and William's eyes grew wide. We had a gift card from the boys' birthdays last year that we used to play games all afternoon. It wasn't crowded and I'm not sure if the kids or Francis had more fun. Hannah especially enjoyed walking from one game to another as they were just close enough she could make it without falling. After we used our tickets to get prizes, we headed to chick-fil-a for dinner (also Francis's choice). the boys played even harder and they were tired when we left, but refused to fall asleep because they knew what was coming. When we got home, Francis bathed Hannah while the boys and I decorated for Father's day. They thought they were being so sneaky and laughed the whole time. Francis knew what we were doing and kindly let them have their fun. 

The next morning I got up early and picked up donuts for breakfast. We then "surprised" Francis with his decorations and presents. He got the new Star Wars movie on Bluray as well as a daddy and Hannah book (a board book of Francis and Hannah together that he can read with her) to complete his collection. the book made him tear up a bit as he read it. I then showed him a video I had made of the kids talking about what they loved about their daddy. It was stinkin adorable and also made Francis tear up again. We went to church after breakfast and afterwards, Francis chose Dickey's for lunch. We capped off the day with a dance party at home (Francis got to play some video games while the kids "napped") and then a family movie night with Wing-stop for dinner. After the kids went to bed we watched Star Wars just the two of us. Some years I have not done so hot with Father's Day, but this year, I think I did pretty good!

Hannah's walking around more and more. She's also getting into everything. I don't remember the boys being quite this determined to explore every nook of every cabinet. She waits for the perfect moment and darts in. Gotta keep my eye on her! Robert has become much more articulate, so I now have two kids who can tell me what she's up to when my back is momentarily turned. Robert is becoming a very good singer. He knows the words to a ton of songs and asks what they are when he doesn't know. He is also growing a bunch these past couple weeks. He is wearing a mix of 2T and 3T but the 2t is beginning to be too small. Big boy!  William has been asking really good questions lately such as "Why do years count down and then back up (refering to AD and BC)", and "Can you tell me the continents so I can learn them?" He has aslo asked about clocks and time, denominations of money, planets in out solar system, slavery, and so much more. I am loving this age to be sure! 

Other than the regular activities (Grocery store, bible Study and the library), I went to a preschool/kinder/elementary homeschool meet up group for moms who have young children and are planning to homsechool. I got a lot of good information. I am going to the local homeschool Expo either tomorrow or Saturday. I'm starting to feel less alone. I'm still praying for that friend and/or mentor to come along, but if not, I will trust His leading. These are exciting times!

Till next time!

June 16, 2016

Well, last week we were in Dallas, ergo I was unable to post.

Saturday before last, Francis, the kids and I went to Houston for Asher's first birthday party. It was fun to see Angel, Austin and their families, as well as Cyndy and Chris. The kids loved seeing Ranger and Asher, but Robert has taken a special shine to his cousin Abby. He waited and waited for her and when she arrived he couldn't help but hug her. She held out her hand and the walked around holding hands more than once at the party. He now pray so Abby every night at dinner. It's adorable. The party was a success and fun was had by all. All in all a wonderful use of a Saturday!

Sunday after church, the kids and I headed to Dallas for the week. Francis had a "retreat" with his research group near El Paso, and I didn't want to be by myself all week. Francis's parents met me along the way and helped me get into town. It was a HUGE help as Hannah is still not fond of the car. It was such a fun week!

The kids had swim lessons on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. My parents hired a private tutor to work with the kids including Christian's twins. So William had a private lesson and then Robert (or some days vice versa) and then the babies all had mommy and me class together. Robert was not a fan of the lessons, but he did learn to ask before going in the pool. Hannah learned to hold her breath underwater for 5 seconds and to kick and reach in the water. William flourished. He went from having to use a float or sinking to knowing how to swim across the pool with no float and no help. He has learned to kick effectively, hold his breath, breathe when surfacing and even how to jump off the side of the pool and swim to the wall safely. He worked so hard and saw his hard work pay off. We went swimming this week and he was zipping around the pool like it was second nature. It's amazing the difference a week of lessons can make!

Tuesday before last Kristi and the girls came over to my mom's house to hang out. We all swam and had such a delightful time that we lost track of time and got poor Kristi stuck in traffic on her way home. I'm so sorry Kristi! It was fun having them though and I wouldn't have traded that time. Tuesday night my in-laws watched the kids so may parents, Danielle and I could go watch the new Captain America movie. The movie was good, but someone brought in a little girl and let her run wild which was less than ideal. Oh well.

Wednesday was super fun. After swim lessons, my dad took the boys to lunch and my mom, Danielle, Christian Dani's friend Nikki and I  (along with Hannah and the twins) went wedding dress shopping for Danielle. I cried more than once just picturing what a beautiful bride Danielle will be. I'm happy to say she did indeed find the dress and I got to see her say yes. As one of my main love languages is quality time, this did my heart a world of good and my cup overfloweth. Love you sister!

Thursday was our off day, so my mom, Danielle, the kids and I went to the Heard Museum where we saw and learned about all sort of wild animals. I like the butterfly garden, Hannah liked being able to touch many of the exhibits and the boys like looking at the snakes. Fun was had by all! My mom even bought the kids souvenirs. "It's like my birthday!" William exclaimed.  Ashley came over that night so I got to catch up with her. It made a fun day even better!

We got to swim almost every night that week. The boys slept hard and the kids actually napped most days. Saturday we went to a splash pad, had lunch, and then drove home. Audrey brough over dinner and helped me put the kids to bed. Then we got to watch Dr. Thorne on Amazon Prime. So good! Audrey, I don't tell you enough just how awesome you are. Thanks for the help!

I got the kids to church by myself on Sunday and we survived until Francis got home near bedtime. We had really missed him and I am SO SO glad he's home. I love him!

This Tuesday we started summer Bible study at church. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store, but I did find out they finally bumped up Hannah from the baby room. It's only a matter of time before they do it on Sunday too. My big girl! She is walking all over doing two and three steps at a time. She is able to stand herself up from sitting without pulling up on anything and like walking to her brothers especially. It's only a matter of time before she is running all over! Tuesday afternoon we were invited to go swimming with Tracy and her kids. After a week of swim lessons I feel much better about all of my kids being in the pool. It was a delightful time I hope we can repeat soon!

Today has been rough. I'm not feeling well and Francis has had to come home to take care of the kids (Lord bless him!). I am going to lay down now, but I couldn't let any more time go by before I updates. Till next time!

June 3, 2016

Whew, it's SUMMER!

Francis finished his test last Friday and after lunch, we packed up the car and headed to San Antonio. We had a celebratory dinner at Cracker Barrel for surviving the week. It had been a crazy week. The boys liked Cracker Barrel and rocked in the chairs and played checkers after we ate. We got to the hotel with plenty of time to get situated and go to bed on time. Too bad the boys wanted to stay up in their bed for what seemed like forever! We finally got all the kids down and I got to enjoy a little Disney Channel (something I've been missing since cutting cable) and just relax.

We got up Saturday morning and had lunch with  my in-laws, Cyndy, Chris and Abby, who had all arrived during the night. The kids were so happy to see everyone! We ate, changed into swim suits and headed to Sea World. Turns out with a season pass you can get into Aquatica 30 minutes early, so we basically had the park to ourselves for the first 45 minutes or so. Francis and I took Robert on a ride (stingray Falls) which he did not much enjoy until the end when he actually got to see the stingrays. William was likewise hesitant, but later on in the day grandad and I got him to ride on a tube ride. We got William to ride Stingray Falls the following morning and he then wanted to ride it like a zillion times. I'm glad he finally tried it! Hannah loved the water in the baby area and even loved the wave pool where Francis would lift her over the waves. Good times. After lunch and an afternoon in Aquatica (where I was able to ride almost all the rides while we took turns watching the kids), we all headed over to the main part of the park. We had dinner, saw a show and the kids rode some rides before the weather started to look questionable on the radar. We went back to the hotel where the weather took a turn for the worst overnight. The thunder and lightening were overpowering and the rain was a wall of water. I was so glad to be safe and dry.

By the morning the storm had cleared an we had another crack at Aquatica. We had lunch over in the main part of Sea World, followed by the Shamu show and the dolphin/beluga Whale show (Azul). the boys and Abby then wanted to go to Discovery pointe (the new area), so we walked over there and saw the dolphins, fish and sharks. The adults were tired so we called it, heading back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. we ate at Johnny Carino's in honor of Cyndy's birthday and then ate frozen custard at Freddy's/ Happy Birthday Cyndy! It was a good Sunday, but the boy asked why we didn't go to church that morning (great question!) so we had church in our hotel room before bed. That made it a great Sunday.

Monday morning we hung out at the hotel. Cyndy opened the gift we got her, but then we all had to say goodbye. The boys were teary-eyed having to say goodbye to Nana, Grandad and Abby, but we promised we'd see them again in less than a week. That made it not so hard. On the way out of town, a bit of whimsy caught me. "Let's do something spontaneous!" I said. Francis looked at me strangely. "Like what?" he asked. "I don't know. We are already here. Let's go to the Alamo!" And you know what? We did. We parked and walked to the Alamo. The line to get into the small part was 3 hours long, but the compound was open so we went into the museum, saw all the cannons and swords, watched a movie and generally learned the history of the Alamo. As it was Memorial Day it was a perfect lead in to talk about what Memorial Day is. The boys enjoyed it. William left saying, "mommy that was so much information, but it was fun!" We had lunch on the riverwalk before heading home. Yay for being spontaneous.

Tuesday through today I have been unpacking, cleaning and repacking for our trip to Dallas this week. It will be fun, but I'm not looking forward to the drive. Praying for God's provision. Wednesday we went to the library and stumbled upon Summer reading sign up. All the kids are now signed up for the reading program. It just asks you to read once every day, something we already do, except now the kids will get a prize at the end. Win-win. Today we went to Play group at a nearby park. I know Summer is here because by the end, I was burning up and it wasn't even noon. All the copious amounts of rain aren't helping because it is warm and muggy. Yuck. We will press on though and enjoy what the summer brings.

Till next time!