February Fun

After a pretty glum January, we were glad February got off to a great start. I mean, when you finally get to chew food again, its a pretty good improvement! :) We made sure to have all of Makin's favorite foods the first day off the mush diet and then added in the rest of our favorite foods the days following. The stitches on the outside of his nose took their time healing and actually scabbed over, which didn't really bother him thankfully, just not fun to look at.

Lorelei decided early January that she wanted her hair cut to chin-length. We made sure she had plenty of time to think that over and she did not change her mind. She was over-the-moon excited for her new do!

February dates were extra fun. We girls got pedicures, which is one of Lorelei's FAVORITE things.

The boys went to Strikz, where they played laser tag, bowling, air hockey and skee ball.

We had some gorgeous weather so we fit in some friend park days.

Checking out the wake-boarders next to "The Acorn Park".
A path through the trees takes you here and it was warm enough there were a few people out enjoying the water.
They got to see some flips and tricks!

We use any excuse for a chance to get a bagel. National Bagel Day means fitting in a trip to Panera before school!

We enjoyed Brandon's birthday party complete with bounce house and water guns. I loved being able to let the kids just run around and play while I got to visit. Who can ask for better weather for a February birthday? It was around 85 degrees!

We tried a new recipe that is worth mentioning...Turtle Muffins! (Really any green name, Hulk was a really fun idea, but my kids decided on turtle since we aren't huge on super heros.)  I was so proud of the kids for trying them when they didn't know what made them green. When they found out it was spinach, they still ate more! Glad to have another muffin in the rotation!

Makin saved up his tokens (they earn for various things at Kid Connect/Sunday School) at church for lunch with Travis, our pastor. We have been trying to get this scheduled since November, and were glad to finally make it happen. Travis and I were both thrilled Makin chose Raising Canes! :) It was so fun being there to hear their conversation as Travis is great about asking the kids lots of questions. My most laughable was, "Would you want to live in Little House On The Prairie times?" "No, because they didn't have macaroni and cheese." Too many fun moments listening to our 6 year old boy chat with another adult besides mom and dad.

We have had some major yo-yoing in the weather this month! I actually love it that way, but it doesn't kill my allergies like some people. ;) After a week where we needed sweatshirts and coats, we had another gorgeous Saturday where we actually got to swim in the Armstrong's pool! The big pool was way too cold, although all of them did take a dip or two, finally staying in the hot tub (which was lukewarm, at best) for couple of hours. They enjoyed playing catch/keep away with the boys vs girls. We also enjoyed the Armstrong's grilling for supper.

Glow Night!!!

We had President's Day off so we had some friends over.

Greycelyn and Makin

(Sorry no pictures worked out!) Makin started soccer again after the 4 week recovery mark. This mama is not a fan of soccer in the winter, but we had to do the training to be on a spring team...and somehow spring soccer games now start in February? Not thrilled, but Makin was really excited to be back to playing. He is now on the 2010 team, whereas he was mixed with some 2011's last year. Hoping it is a good challenge for him! This also means starting in March he has practice twice a week.

Valentine's Day

These kiddos are so loved all year round, and are fully reminded the days leading to Valentine's Day, always getting a package from each set of grandparents, along with whatever Brad and I plan for our day at home. I know they can't really comprehend at their age just how BLESSED they are to be showered with all this love!!! Thank you to the Bohlmann's and the Stahl's for helping our kids feel so special!!!

I remembered to do the kid's hearts on their doors again this year. They insisted on keeping them up so long after last year that I felt like it really meant a lot to them.

This year I went a little crazy and volunteered to do cookies for Lorelei's party and cupcakes for Makin's. I blame my mom for my craziness in this regard. ;)

The kids enjoyed helping frost cookies!

They love that this is one morning where I bend the rules and let them have candy before breakfast...with these giant Reece's hearts it could only be a small piece! :)

They had a wonderful time celebrating at school. They were wired with sugar on the drive home and loved checking out their Valentine's from their classmates.

We had our homemade Red Lobster meal and finished off the day with our tradition of chocolate fondue.

School Update

I thought it was about time for a school update!

We have our ups and downs with this model, that is for sure. I honestly talked with Lorelei about switching to public after a really tough home day. (Obviously this is not the only tough day we have had...) She wouldn't mind going to school 5 days a week, but wants to go to GCA all five...well that is not an option! While we feel UM schooling is what we really want for our family, we do know we need to analyze and evaluate this for each child. We are working towards more outings and more socializing in hopes it will make our home time less stressful. We are trying to make the adjustments needed to make this a good fit for our girl, and hope that she thanks us in the long run. Overall she still struggles with math, and I'm not thrilled with how fast the curriculum goes. She excels in English and is a good little writer. Her reading is hard to gage level-wise, but she does well and doesn't usually get upset while reading anymore.

Makin is trucking right along in Kindergarten. He is improving his reading quite a bit and I can't wait to see where he ends up by the summer. He really needs to be challenged more with math, and we do some, but still probably not as much as I should be. He played a computer game one of the days he was home after surgery and proudly announced that the game taught him how to tell time, so at least the computer game pushed him. :) He considers handwriting as his hardest subject and doesn't elaborate much in his journal, so that would be another area we will work on a little more, but he does take his time on his writing, which I'm happy with. I cannot say how much I love kids having these journals!

Random home school pics I have taken the last several months...

Loved Graphing

This girl can label her parts of speech in sentences like nobody's business.
Love Shurley English.

I love hearing her read her guided reading books. They are about each state and I recently told her she needs to get going returning and getting new ones because I want to hear all about all fifty!

Stuffed animals are often at school with us.

Fun Work Locations

Making Mama Proud
Not a peep from me, when he was asked to group them by twos,
he decided to match the colors and then put them in a pattern.

Some snowflake catching fun.

"Mom, I want to do my work in the snow."

Lorelei loved making her own recycled paper!

Makin was excited it was his chance to make a salt dough map. He remembered Lorelei doing this last year, and wanted to make the same map, the USA. After he brought it to school, he came home with new plans if he does it again in 1st grade. :) "I'm not making mine as flat!"

Adding some computer time on home days for math...
hoping it is a fun way to improve knowing her facts!

"What!?! I have to spell umbrella?!"
He has short spelling tests on home days and is proud to ace them,
though this one made him a little nervous. :)

Some moms are starting to meet Wednesdays in the library, so we took the opportunity to meet up with Sonya and her girls. Makin loved getting some school work done with Amelia. :) Lor and Alex are in different classes, but she still liked that we got out of the house. We may do other meet ups with some of her classmates coming up. Trying to combine lessons for her and classmates is a little overwhelming but we will see how it goes!

2nd Grade Group The Following Week

Mrs. McCorkle sent us a link to an eagle cam.
The kids have absolutely loved watching the eagle family and we have learned so much!

Makin's optional shape assignment was to make an animal out of shapes.
After a day where he was doing a LOT of writing, this was a great activity.
He decided he wanted his animal to be 3D and was very proud of his cat!
Mrs. Harris even hung it up in the classroom which made him feel extra proud!

Adding some art and journal entries along with this, although I feel like I could add a lot more, hope you can read them if you click on the picture!

Lorelei:

Makin:

Eldon

This week we said goodbye to a close family friend, Amanda's dad, Eldon. One of my first memories of him was when he had to drive me home in his old blue pickup (on multiple occasions) when I would get home-sick at our attempted sleep overs. Then he and Audry were brave enough to take four junior high girls to Dallas for a weekend. Soon after followed some unforgettable and amazing vacations mixed with me coming along to help with his DJ business throughout our high school years. He also had no problem hosting plenty of teenage gatherings at his place, often complete with karaoke and use of his equipment for good music, making everyone feel welcome.

He was a guy who could really enjoy fun and a new adventure, and I'm so thankful I was along for many of those adventures. I'm also so glad I still get to see many aspects of his personality shining through in Amanda and Sydney and I will cherish that in them.

Eldon and Audry with Makin, Sydney and Lorelei
April 2011

I'm thankful I will have the opportunity to visit Amanda when the timing is right and she needs some extra help. We talked and decided to wait until the crowds left so I could offer her support in the weeks to come, when life gets back to her new normal...along with the realities of dealing with the tasks that come after loosing a loved one. I'm grateful my parents were able to go and offer her condolences on behalf of our family for the funeral. It is not easy being in your 30s and loosing both of your parents. I'm proud to call this strong woman my friend.

Amanda and family, it was only about a year and a half ago I posted this verse for you, but I figured I better post it again.

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.