Back to Normal

Things are getting back to normal (....whatever that is...) since being home from our little Utah adventure (post about the trip below).

I suppose "normal" includes more sickness.

Tyson and I have a little something which includes a lot of coughing and a lost voice.

The kids are good.

Their normal is...

Co-op (Molly and Paige's sensory class)

 

Co-op (Leila's cooking class doing chocolate bowls and ice cream sundaes)

Co-op (Molly and Paige's preschool class on colors).

(And yes, Paige is naked...after a mishap during the sensory class and I decided that her dress was worth less than the time it took to try and fix the problem.)

Co-op (the farming class, which my kids are not taking, brought chicks to preschool class)

Library story time

Rainstorms and major backyard mud puddle

And homeschool Parthonon building

....Then there's crazy the rest of the time.

Eden's back to school as well.

She loves it (with the exception of doing homework).

She often tell me what is going on and what they do.

I got a quarter report card and she seems to be doing good.

It has been a good experience for all of us.

...but there aren't nearly as many pictures of her as there are of everyone else.

Unexpected Spring Break Trip to Utah

I'm still not used to the public school way of life.

It wasn't until the last minute that I realized that spring break for most families means "trip".

So, we left Tyson alone to study while we headed off to Utah.

We were able to see Miriana's musical, Annie.

McKell's musical, Mulan.

Take a trip to the zoo.

Just mess around with family (and test out McKell's hover board).

Don't forget visiting Papy.

Shoot some ghosts playing virtual reality Ghostbusters.

Paint some fairy villages.

(Below...Eden doesn't have a broken arm, that was simply what my girls believe duct tape is used for, playing doctor.)

Have tent time story time.

Go on a crazy-cold and rainy hike to a little waterfall.

See a BYU play of the Snow Queen (which the kids gave only so-so reviews but still enjoyed).

And did many other activities that were undocumented...

Family BINGO

Seeing the Watson's new house

Kite flying with Liz and her daughters

And lots of cousin play time

Finally, we were on our way home.

...Plenty exhausted.

But not too exhausted to take a few stops along the way.

Overall, a wonderful trip to Utah.

Many Days and Little Posting

I don't even know where to begin.

I haven't been the best blogger.

Eden has been celebrating spirit week.

Retro, PJs, mismatch, Disney, KC sports, etc.

She loves it.

Leila and Molly have been spending a lot of time in their new contraption they came up with between the bunk beds. They swing, hang, climb, etc.

I've combined seminary efforts with my neighbor Kirsten. We started a month on gentleness. Kirsten made this craft showing how gentleness feels like a nice soft blanket.

For homeschool, we have moved from science and are on to geography/history.

Two weeks for each continent is the plan until the end of the year.

This month is Africa.

We did a week on Ancient Egypt and a week on Ancient West Africa.

Complete with pharaoh beards.

Mummy wrapping.

And folk tales (this being Ananzi and the Turtle).

Time has been passing crazy fast.

I can't keep up.

We've also feed missionaries, had friend late over parties, did some little bits of service here and there, and of course have been constantly battling sicknesses in between it all.

Another Session of Co-op Begins

Last night was a little scary with tornado sirens and major storms for a half hour or so. There was a tornado touch down about 30 minutes away from us.

It didn't stop the first day of co-op from happening!

...well, that is not entirely true.

The farming class had to cancel because the storm caused some serious damage.

But all the other classes continued on...and the farming class isn't a part of our schedule.

Lelia's schedule:

Artistic Legos

    - learning new ways to build with Legos

Fun with Foods

    - cooking class

Story time, Cupcakes, and Craft

    - read stories, decorate cupcakes, and do a craft with a similar theme

Kids Gameroom

    - a new kids game each week like marble run, Lincoln logs, magnetix, etc.

Molly and Paige's schedule:

(Free Hour - no class)

Sensory Play

    - a new sensory toy is brought in each week like playdoh, slime, etc.

Preschool Hour

    - stories, songs, activities, etc with a theme and basic number and letter activities

Preschool Gameroom

    - a new younger kids game each week like floor puzzles, puppets, music CDs, etc.

It was a busy and tiring day.

But the girls are super excited and had tons of fun.

Eden is still loving public school.

It works well for her.

She took some test in math and reading and they placed her barely above average on math and really high on her reading level.  She has a great time and tells me all about it everyday.  Spirit week is coming soon and she'll be doing some dressing up, following that will be spring break!

Zoo with Friends

Today we went to the zoo with our friends, the Stanleys.

We had so much fun that we couldn't end at just the zoo.

So we went out to eat with them after to Jose Peppers.

Now we are officially tired.

Animals Project

Leila completed her animal project we've been working on for a while.

Some were definitely better than others. But she really enjoyed it.  Molly often joined in and so did Eden during days she was home sick.

(This birds page is actually Molly's...)

I've really been working on improving school for Leila.

She is really smart but I probably should up her game a little.

There are a few challenges she faces.

She loves to read and do math...but she hates writing and spelling.

She actually pretty good at spelling if she puts her mind to it.

If she knows she is doing writing she stresses to make sure everything's PERFECT....

And she'll take forever to get the assignment done.

Write, erase, apologize, write, erase, apologize, write, erase, apologize...

No wonder she hates it.