Fall Things

I hate getting behind in blogging because then it becomes such a chore to catch up!  I will do that later though, now I want to touch on the big things that have been taking up our time....like homeschooling, the word of wisdom, and an update on the kids.  

Homeschooling.....yes, it has overtaken my life so far!  It is great, and hard, fulfilling, and stressful, and filled with lots of doubts along the way.  I am VERY glad that I thought long and hard about it and got an answer to the question of whether to home-school or not, because I didn't anticipate all the doubts that would come (I wonder if its because I am doing something so against the norm).  So having that confirmation that this is what I am suppose to be doing right now helps me when I feel washed away in self doubt.  All is well, we are learning and lot of things that we wouldn't be if they were in school right now!  I will need to post all the fun pictures we have been taking.  

Michael and I just finished up a 3 day cleanse!  I am so proud of us!!  For over a month now I have been studying the Word of Wisdom.  (It is counsel from Heavenly Father on what we should and should not put into our bodies.)  I have been completely fascinated by what it means for me and how I should feed my family. Its funny when I really start trying to understand a principle or a doctrine of the gospel how certain people, books, articles, etc. come my way to give me greater understanding of whatever topic I am thinking on.  (God is so good that way!)  We have been eating super healthy, things that I would never try before but now I find them absolutely delicious... I pray this kick will last.  I plan to do that cleanse every six months now....feels so good to clean out and reset your system.  

The kids....wow I have got AMAZING kids.  Cole, is writing stories.  He loves to write scary stories right now he is four pages into one.  He is such a thoughtful kid...not the quiet, I am going to be still type, but the kind that is constantly moving and going and trying new things type.  I do believe he is a lot like me...poor boy.  Polar bears, space, mine craft and legos interest him at the moment.  

Carson, loves to be outside jumping, scootering, jumping on the pogo stick, or playing with his brothers or sister.  He is an active kid as well.  He is the quiet thinker though...it is so cute to watch him think about a concept and come up with the most poignant questions to help him understand it further.  He is my kid that likes to go up and bear his testimony every fast Sunday.  He has a good testimony and he likes to share it! 

Morgan is off to school now in the afternoons for Kindergarten.  She enjoys it except on the days that she needs to go in the mornings.  She is such an easy going little girl.  Takes correction so well and is always wanting hugs and kisses.  I love her super girly side.  She is very much into the Frozen characters and loves to put lip gloss and perfume on. 

Tatum is such our little baby even at 2 and a half now.  He sleeps in our bed with us, and I swore I would never do that with a child, and I LOVE it.  He is the best little cuddler.  He is very behind with his speech but we have in a program that is helping us with that.   He is getting a few more words down.  He is also showing that he wants to start trying to model our speech.  He is such a smart, expressive, little, thing and we all know what he wants by his cute little body language that no wonder he hasn't pushed himself to start speaking more.   

My hubby is the man.,,that's all there is to say with that.  We have our ups and downs but we are growing and learning how to do this together.  He is my perfectly matched partner in this world, I needed him!  I love him. 

Puerto Rico

 Where to begin?!  Why not with the food.  It was very different especially for this picky eater. Once I tried a few things I was able to get into the different tastes. I especially enjoyed how they make the chicken over there...and of course the fish is AMAZING!

 The ocean is amazing to me.  It is so breathtaking.  There are lots of ocean pictures to come.  We ended every night on a different beach.

 I love this guy!

 This little corner place was across from where we stayed so we ate there a few times.  It was so fun to experience something completely out of my comfort zone. Keep in mind the farthest from home before this trip was Arizona for me.  

 Shame on me for trying to remember all the names 5 months after the fact!  This was a fort that was really fun to explore and walk around.  (If it wasn't so hard for me to make time and blog I would look up the proper name...being lazy on this entry.....sorry.)

 This was our first day of going exploring.  I attempted to do my hair and make up this day, no good.  After melting as we walked, I learned not to take time getting ready.

 Thank goodness for Walmart... it can be found anywhere I guess.

 It was so dense and green there. Really special to see.

 This cave was so huge.  We took a tour through it and it was neat to see where light touched, there was growth, where there was no light, no growth.  

 Michael loved this shot.

 This trip was one of a kind for us.  We had not been alone together like this since before kids!  It was really needed.

 On this island we went to we would see horses just grazing, and wandering where ever they wanted.  They were like stray dogs.  Loved it!

 This was probably one of my most favorite days.  We rented scooters and just scooted around on them for awhile.  I want to go back..... bad!

This is the place we stayed for a night on the island of Vequies. I want to go back and stay for a whole week just there.

I am going to DO IT!

Yes, I am still on my homeschooling kick and do you want to know why?  Because its a HUGE decision.... it affects the whole entire family in an enormous, gigantic, and massive way.  Its count down time.  School starts in two weeks.  My doubts are creeping in big time.  Everything negative that people have said about homeschooling keeps flooding my head in wave after wave.  

Then I have to remember to breath...stop... and remember to think, do I feel that this is right and good for my kids?  YES!  Can I take back all that I have read and convinced me that homeschooling is for us?  NO!  Have I found the best curriculum ever?  I do believe so.  

It is called Latter Day Learning found here.  I think the most important learning is spiritual learning that I tie like a knot with character development. That is always been most important to me and that's the one thing that has been missing in education for a very long time!   I think when you combine the two you have a formula for the most successful life possible.  That is what Latter Day Learning is about in the six subjects it teaches.  

This process has been spiritual in a real sense.  And I think as I continue with this homeschooling journey its going to be a huge blessing to my family.  

Can I just say I am soooooo behind on picture because of this deal.  I am posting Puerto Rico pictures next!!  

To homeschool, or not to homeschool, that is the question

I have always felt that homeschooling, if you had a good family economy, could be so idyllic.  Being able to teach my kids what I truly want them to learn, keeping them close by and knowing they are safe, working side by side ....I would picture my children sitting by my side cuddled up into me while I have an open book and we are sharing ideas and they are asking questions.  I answer them with an oh-so-perfect answer that just flows, and while I am offering this knowledge, I see them actually understanding what I am sharing...the Spirit is present and we are all edified.  Sigh....what a thought, or should I say fantasy.

Then reality hits and I remember that most of the time I am butting heads with the kids, putting out little fires here and there with who is stealing this or that from the other, or riding them to do simple tasks that I have been asking them for hours to accomplish.  What am I thinking that I could homeschool...it would be pure torture all day for me, and probably them too!  When they are in school  I love the break, I love the quiet, I love only having a few at home instead of all of them...really the list could go on and on and on.  I even have on my twenty year goal sheet the year when they will all be in school and I will finally be "free"  of them!!

 This is the thought process I have wrestled with over the years when I have thought about homeschooling my kids. However, with as much as I LOVE my time away from the kids a few things have happened this past year that is shaking my thoughts on education to the core.

First,  this past year Cole's grades have dropped significantly and most days he came home with a black or blue (the charter the kids attend have a daily color code that represents behavior, green= good all the way down to black= naughty).  I went into the school and discovered that Cole was seeking attention by acting out.  Up to last year he has always gotten mostly As and a few B's.  A question I keep asking myself,  if he is so concerned with seeking attention from his peers how is he going to acquire a life long love of learning?  It seems that the social aspect of school is getting in the way of him getting an education.

The second issue that has bubbled up for me is the national standards, that all but a few of the States have adopted...known as Common Core.  I'm not going to share all my thoughts on that right now(that would be a lengthy post indeed), it suits me to say that I DO NOT LIKE it one bit!

So with these two major factors going on simultaneously I have been driven to really study up on homeschooling and have to admit that I have been blown away with what I have found!  For me, after a lot of reading,  I feel the only way my children can get the best education is to homeschool them.  And I can not fail to mention how I have felt "lead" in my research. There is still much to be typed about this subject but need to end now.  So in conclusion I will be homeschooling Cole and Carson this year.  Morgan will go to Kindergarten half day while I try and figure out my groove with this new duty.  The plan is for her to stay home too once I know more of what I am doing.

Wish me luck... I will need it!!

Thoughts on 5 acres

When Michael and I moved we set out to get one acre.  We thought that it would be a dream to have that kind of space.  We never imagined getting five!  It was a blessing and an amazing deal to get this place.  So now that we are 4 years into trying to beautify our little piece of heaven,  here are some thoughts.

I love the fact that we will not run out of "project" space for a very long time.  Being here has allowed us to experiment with horses, goats, bees, chickens, rabbits, pigs, and many stray cats.  Its been fun, but also a lot of work!  (Wow, I did not realize all the would go into keeping up property....and yes, we were warned.)

I have been able to have a HUGE garden, plant lots of trees and put in a good chunk of grass.  I can yell at my kids and not really worry if anyone can hear me.  I can go outside knowing that the neighbors can't pop their heads over at any time and talk when I am working. There are a lot of really amazing blessing that come with having space.  I am thankful for them and I don't think I can ever go back to subdivision living.

However, there is always a flip side to things.  As much as an opportunity this land is, it is also a constant source of overwhelm for me.  If you have a tinge of perfectionism in you, you too may be prone to this.  When the snow melts and you never really did a good fall clean up.....ugg, the worst feeling to see so many things that need to get taken care of!!  Weeds are a constant battle, trees need to get fertilized, along with the berries, fences need to get fixed, sprinklers need to be replaced from damage done, the grass outside of the yard needs to be mowed down, projects that were half way done need to get completed, garbage that gets blown in needs to get picked up....I could really go on and on and on.

I am so thankful that we are not doing pigs for 4-H this year, and that our 17 chickens are down to one (yes, I am sad that our neighbors dog picked them off one by one this winter but glad to have a little breather) but am going to take this year to just focus on clean up, fix up and chilling out.

We don't have any major outside projects this year so I want to clean this place up!  Fix some things we put up quickly just because we were pressured by time,and then come up with a schedule to routinely do things so I don't have freak outs because I let weeding get out of control.

I am not as overwhelmed as I was a month ago because little efforts done consistently have made a big difference around here.  I am in day 4 of painting our fence.....so almost done.  I can't wait to get that finished so I can go onto weeding again.  I want to hurry so I can  get to the fun stuff like planting a garden!

So to sum up this long post.... i love my 5 acres, it overwhelms the heck out of me at times!  But if I can keep reminding myself  that small things done daily will bring about great change....I will be okay.

Another Cub Scout/ AZ. Trip

 Say hello to my little Wolf!

I love the scouting program.  I like that it teaches and reinforces things that I  believe are important for my kids to learn.  He was so excited to get started. 

 There he goes....off to learn and have fun.  

 We went to Arizona for spring break.  Mike's mom has been a widow for over a year now and she has struggled a bit.  She is an amazing woman who has done so much good.  We wanted to get down there and spend some time with her...let her see her grand kids.  It was a fun trip.  We need to do it more often.

Tater fit perfect on this little roll carry on.  

 This little sweetie is such a great person.  I am so glad we got to spend time catching up.  Friends for 14 years now and she is definitely a keeper.  

 Here is Grandma Elaine.  She was so happy to see the kids and her baby boy (Mike).  Love her. 

 The weather was so beautiful there.  Loved getting outside and not being cold!

I LOVE this toddler age.  He was really good to travel with.  As long as he gets his naps...he is good to go. When he doesn't it...it gets tough, but so worth it.  

Random Phone Pictures

 I need to figure out how to take better pictures with my camera!
These two little girls were in heaven at this trampoline warehouse.  Awhile back we had Bella and Maddy come stay with us for a few days.  Its fun to have the cousins come and play.  We love them so much!

 I love that we have camera's on our phones so I am able to get random photos like this when we are just waiting around in the car.

 And this one.  How crazy that all those little kids are mine!

 This is what Cole has been into this year.  He does such a good job with them too. If I was to guess... I would say he easily has made 200 of these things. He was making them and selling them at school...that had to come to an end, it was becoming disruptive.

 For Valentines this year I whisked Mike off on a romantic over nighter.  It was fun...fast, but needed.  We went to Desert Star play house and watched a parody of The Phantom of the opera.  It was pretty funny. Thanks to my beautiful cousin Danielle we were able to stay over night.  LOVE, LOVE that girl!!

 It seems that its like a right of passage for all my kids to get into the powder at least once when they are little.  This time around (4th time) I was able to laugh and see that powder is actually very easy to clean up.  How I wish I could take back my earlier versions of powder messes.  I do think with time, I am very slowly chilling out and getting better at motherhood.  Still, I have much more to overcome and chill out with but I am progressing .....slowly.

 What a cool little pose for my two year old!  Stop growing Tatum...you are so cute and little right now.  See proud dad in the background?

 My little beautiful Morgan is so sweet.  I don't know if you notice her "shoes" she made.  I was very impressed with her creativity with those little things.

 Here is a closer up of her duck tape shoes she made.  How cute is that?!

Here is Carson at school getting awarded with Builder of the Month.  So proud of him. It was so fun to see his reaction to winning.  Here is what his teacher wrote about him on his reward:

"Carson is the perfect example of a builder that befriends others.  Any time Carson sees someone is upset he is the first one to give support. He points out everything positive in a situation.  He is very non judgemental when providing encouragement and has the same attitude toward every person.  For Carson, it doesn't matter if he has known the scholar all year or just met them, he hold out his hand with intefrity and companionship."

Very, very proud of him.  What a great description of what a fine young boy he is.

Day Trip to Antelope Island

I love this picture...,why...look at Morgan!

 Her expression I can relate to on this trip...that is kind of how I felt at times on this little day trip.  I think we really need to do this stuff more with the kids and maybe we can train them to behave better in the car!

 This is what most of my pictures look like of Mike.  This is him saying, "stop taking pictures of me, get the kids only."  And this is my reply to him, "We are going to want to look back and see us doing things as a family and if I leave you out you will regret it."

 The kids had a random day off awhile back and Mike decided to take the day off too so we could go and do some exploring of our area.  There are so many amazing things to see here in Utah. We will have to come visit this place more when its warmer and there are more buffalo to look at.  This is one of the 3 that we saw....not terribly exciting but we can say we came and saw.

 Tatum was not really feeling the white buffalo.

 However, Morgan loved all the little statues of them.

 It was really fun to watch her try and coax Tatum to go pet it.  He really was not sure of them.

 Carsonator doing his thing.

 Cole checking out some of the displays there.

Morgan finally got Tatum to touch the buffalo and she was very pleased.  She is such a cute mother hen.  She is going to make an incredible mamma one day.

This year we are really going to try and make a better effort of having fun together as a family.  I feel that saying is true that goes.."families that play together stay together."