Zoo Trip!

As most of you know, J is NOT a zoo fan.  Our local zoo ruined the experience for him when he was 4.  Don't get me wrong, our little zoo is fantastic, lots of great animals, very shaded and has a train ride to enjoy.  However, they also have free-roaming peacocks...which F-R-E-A-K my kid out!  Those birds, in turn, have created a pure bird phobia in J.  

J loves penguins...yes he knows they are birds, but he also knows they can't fly :-)

So, when Bling and her kiddos said they were headed to the Tyler zoo (peacock-free), I was happily surprised that J wanted to go.  

E took all of the great animal pics for us!

This cheetah was hilarious.  Everytime the male walked over to her, she growled at him, then as soon as he turned away she was happy as could be.  Bling liked her, ha!

Granted it was 200 degrees outside, but we all had a blast...well, ok, not totally true.  After an hour, everyone was crazy hot and thirsty but we still enjoyed the animals!  Thanks for letting us go with you, Bling :-)

Hittin' the Beach!

Back in May, Grandma and Grandad set up a weekend trip for all of us kids and grandkids in Galveston so we could just hang out, play in the water and enjoy each other.  We had a great time.  J LOVES playing in the waves.  He would stay there a week or longer if he could!  

The beach in front of our condo had no "beach" because of high tide, which was still fun but the kids couldn't wait to find an beach that actually had some sand for castle building.  Thankfully down the road we found a few and they were more accessible for J :-) 

This was the first beach trip for his cousins Kam, KK and MP.  Kam and MP didn't care for the water so much, but KK became a beach girl very quickly . She even earned a boogie board while there from her parents :-)  SP pretty much fell asleep anytime he was around the sound of the waves and the warm air.  

This is as close as MP would get to the waves, unless he was asleep!

We celebrated Kam's birthday and just enjoyed being around everyone for a couple of relaxing days.

It was a perfect weekend for the beach.  Thanks Grandma and Grandad!!

Gone Fishin'

What's with the pink cast you might be asking? Well, it was the only color he hasn't had so he decided to go for it!

Back in May, J and T went to a scout campout at Ms. B's house, one of our favorite people around here :-)  They had a great time, as always.  They set up T's "mini-revival" tent and enjoyed food, friends and some fishin'!  I was told that J caught the most fish too!

Celebrating the Fourth

This year, due to fire bans across our great state, my pyro-lovin' hubby had to put aside his firework playtime in favor of the city show.  We actually headed to the neighboring town because we have always heard that trying to get a good spot to watch the ones in our town is difficult.  And since T works in this neighboring town, he had keys to his work's old parking lot so we had a prime view of the show!  

It was wonderful.  Having learned American History from 1492 forward with J this year during our first homeschool year, this 4th of July was more alive to me.  Remembering how our forefathers fought for our freedom, remembering when the Star Spangled Banner was written, remembering those like Rosa Parks who quietly fought for their rights to freedom, thinking back on how blessed we are as a country for having freedom...something we continue to fight for, thinking about the soldiers still out there and those who never make it home.  Granted, we as a people have made our historical mistakes (slavery, Trail of Tears, just to name a few),  it was still a more touching 4th than I can ever remember.  

And sharing it with my incredible family...just awesome. 

School is over!

Well, as of July 5th, our 5th grade school year is finally over.  Yes, I'm a mean mom b/c I made my kid do school during the summer, but I did cut back some...to history, science and math.  Math he will continue to do year-round because it's not his strong subject yet.  And history...well ok, truth be told, we crammed the last 3 lessons into one day because we were both tired and ready for a month off!  We (I say we because as the teacher, I learn just as much as J and I'm loving it!) have gone from Columbus to the Persian Gulf in American History, we have tried 3 different math programs and have finally found what we THINK will be the one to stick with, we have learned about our solar system (thanks to Aunt Sharon and the books she sent us last year...they were AWESOME) some biology and physical science (thanks to co-op science!) and the first 10 elements of the periodic table (thanks to our home chemistry program).  We have discovered the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Psalms, John and others together.  We have also read 32 books (not counting the Star Wars or Wimpy Kid related books for fun, lol!) and one giant history book.  We traveled to South Carolina, visited three Civil War battlegrounds, traveled to Florida and Disney (ok...not really school-related but AWESOME), made many small field trips around Texas, and we gained a fourth family member!  It has been one incredible school year!!

J's solar system...yes we included Pluto ;-)  It is considered a dwarf planet in our minds!!

Will I do it again next year?  ABSOLUTELY!  I can't imagine not doing it now.  I feel like a homeschool professional after surviving our first year.  Does J want to keep doing it?  YES!  Except for math, he loves it...and hopefully with our new math program that will slowly change too :-)  

In mid-August, we will be starting our new curriculum, we already have most everything we need thanks again to my wonderful, wonderful friend GFG.  T & I decided to not do the typical 6th grade world history curriculum (we will come back to it in 7th)...instead we will be studying Australia, Asia, Africa, India and the Middle East through Sonlight's Core F program.  We will be learning that it's not all about us, America...although we have an amazing history and we are very thankful and proud to be Americans...there are so many other incredible cultures out there and so many who still need Jesus.  We will be learning about areas that are sometimes skipped or skimmed over in school, areas that even I can't pinpoint on a map at my current age so I'm excited to learn with J again.  We will meet Ghengis Khan, Mother Teresa and many other historical figures as we travel these countries in the past and present.  It will be an amazing year...especially with a 6 month to one year old in the house...oh yes, this year will be different but we are so looking forward to it. 


So here's to a month off for summer fun and to another fun year of school to follow!

We got him!

June 23rd...a day we will remember in this household for a long time.  On a warm, Texas Thursday afternoon, our family of 4 and 3 of our grandparents walked from the lawyer's office to the courthouse in the center of town.  

There we met with the judge and there he declared SP (my new blog nickname for the baby...my sweet potato!) OURS...officially!!  It was quick, over in a matter of minutes, but the results will thankfully be a lifetime :-)  

Before he signed the papers he asked J what he thought of the sleeping little bundle next to him, J said "Yea, he's a good baby brother, I like him".  Judge declared then and there we were his forever family.

We had a great lunch with Nana, Pop and Grandma (Grandad was out of town but was really hoping to be there!).  It couldn't have been a better day.  

Introducing....The T family!!  All four of us :-)