Fall Update

Life in our house has been fun and exciting as usual, so I thought I should post an update.

Hyrum is growing like a weed but remaining thin and slender.  It is amazing how many people tell me how small he is even though he is plenty long.  For some reason he has decided that he likes to eat once in the night.  He always goes right back to sleep, but we are sure missing getting a good nights sleep.  He is now smiling and giggling which is just precious.  

Jacob is growing into a bigger boy which makes me happy but a little sad.  He started swimming lessons again and is having a blast.  This session the older boys are not doing swimming lessons, but still go to the YMCA to play during Jacob's lessons.  I have also allowed them to ride bikes to and from swimming with him.  It is really fun to give them a little more freedom and independence.  Jacob is having fun with school and participating more and more.  It is fun to see him develop and grow and want to learn more.

Joshua has been on a math binge.  That is a thing, right?  I think he just wants to get to tessellations which are later in his book which if he stays on track will be accomplished on Monday.  He and Michael are playing soccer again.  Fortunately, Jacob took the session off and they are on the same team, so we only have one practice and one game each week!  It is fabulous!  We let the boys ride their bikes to practice, as well, and since practice is on Friday night that makes it so they can go and we can still go on a date.  This newfound freedom is great for them and great for us!  All of the boys have really gotten into Legos over the past month since several of the other homeschool boys their age love Legos and started a legomania club.  They wanted to go and play, so they started making lego creations to share which sparked the new love.  We even hosted the last meeting which was an adventure to do with Hyrum.  It has been fun to watch them explore and try new things.

 Michael is growing up faster and faster everyday.  Schooling with him has transformed quite a bit in ways I couldn't have imagined.  He is taking on more projects, taking greater initiative and producing better and better work.  For example, we were working on Illinois History this week and I wanted them to prepare presentations for Friday including a handout and a poster.  Michael jumped right on it and started by making a timeline.  He found a long timeline online, copied it to a word document, and then went through it choosing the events he wanted to include.  It is really neat to watch him branch out and explore on his own.

He is also writing a book and having me edit it just like he sees Daddy doing for Aunt Michelle.  Kids really do watch everything we do and imitate it!  The other thing he observed was how much fun Joshua had being in the musical last spring.  So, when he heard that the local community theater group was doing a kids play he really wanted to audition.  But with James' musical it didn't seem like a good idea, so we decided not to audition this time.  He was sad but dealt with it pretty well.  Then, one of James' actors had to withdraw from the musical and Michael quickly volunteered to take his place.  James was hesitant to put another one of his children into his musical, but after working with him and seeing that he really was a good fit he cast him.  (He had wanted a child for the role but didn't realize it until it was too late to get children to come.)  Michael is ecstatic!  He works on his part almost every day and is just thrilled to be a part of the show and get lots of daddy time.







"Into the Woods" is the musical James is doing this fall and it has become a family project yet again.  Fortunately, James has more helpers this time.  He has a choreographer, set design person, costume person and even a director for the orchestra!  And he has a real budget!  Auditions went well and he has a great cast.  I'm pretty sure that doing the musical has become his favorite part of his job.  The show will be Nov 2, 3 if you are interested in coming!

I am doing well and having fun balancing baby, work, school and house work as usual.  We did decide after 6 1/2 years that I would no longer be teaching for AIU (one of my schools).  That means no more chats or office hours!!!  Woot woot!  I actually had my last chat Thursday night and no one came.  What a way to end?  But to fill my time I agreed to play the flute for James in "Into the Woods" since he couldn't find anyone else.  I am learning very quickly that I haven't played real flue music in a really LONG time!  Church music and orchestra music are just not the same.  It will be hard work but it should also be pretty fun.  So, we spend a lot of time on the musical, but it is always fun to be working on a project together as a family.  And even though Joshua and Jacob are not directly involved they love learning the music and practicing with both myself and Michael.

So, we are having fun, working hard and loving life!