Growing every day

I thought we were past due on an update, so here we go! First, this summer has been super hot in case you haven't gathered that from previous blogs or by walking outside (if you live in the midwest). So, by the end of July we were getting stir crazy, so we chose August first as our first day back to school. I know it was early but why wait until the weather is nice to start school? And I just have to say that it made all of our lives much happier! We are trying a few new things this year. The first is school checklists. I don't know if it is because I am their mother but they are working fabulously! First, it helps me to not forget things and second, they have a sense of accomplishment when they get to mark something off. Second, we start school with scripture packet. A great friend of mine recommended this program which is great! For some reason when you start school by studying the scriptures things go so much better! Who knew? :)

As usual we choose a lot of our topics based on the boys' interests. So, what have they been interested in? Michael has been pretty interested in WWII. We talked about President Uchtdorf in Family Home Evening and ever since he has wanted to learn about Germany and WWII. So, we have studied WWI and WWII, and let me just say that I have learned a ton. It is amazing/sad how history really does repeat itself.

Michael has also been reading books on different countries. He has been doing this for quite some time, but has now just decided to start at the beginning of the alphabet and go from there. He is writing down recipes he finds in these books, so it is time for me to start making them. It is really fun to see the boys get excited about things, dive in and learn about them and then get to use the things they are learning!

Joshua has been having great fun reading a book that we found at Borders called "Earth". So, while I am sad that Borders is closing I am loving their great sales! This book is super huge and I'm pretty sure that I will take a picture of it before I post this blog, so you can see it. He was studying volcanoes the other day, so I asked him to teach a lesson on it for school. He was so excited that he jumped up, found a pen and paper and started taking notes on what he wanted to share. Then, for art we got to paint different volcanoes which was super fun. And Joshua was just thrilled that he got to teach us. I have to remember to watch for moments like these because they are always amazing!

Joshua is also in love with playing the piano. I don't know what happened but something has clicked and he is now playing the piano all day long. It was actually funny this morning when it came to almost 11 AM and he noticed that he hadn't played the piano yet. He couldn't believe it. Super cute. I also believe that his enthusiasm is rubbing off on the other boys. Michael was stuck in a rut because he didn't know his notes, so we played an online game and then in just three days he was back on track and loving the piano again. It is amazing that when we find the real problem and fix it that everything works again. Trying to fix the symptoms never seems to help.

The boys have also been having a blast learning German. I will admit that I am not very good at learning German but James is great at it and the boys love it when he talks to them in German.

Jacob, who would never allow himself to be left out, has been really excited about math. He was still finishing up his kindergarten math books when we began but then decided he wanted to get into a new book, so we had some super math days and he worked really hard and is now in his 1st grade math books which he is quite proud of. He also had a lot of fun today looking at pictures of tanks and airplanes used in WWII. Yes, he is a true boy who loves blowing things up!

So, school has been awesome! James is now back in school as well which is always bitter sweet. It is always nice to get back into the routine but sad to have him gone all day. And sad that I have to make dinner again which really I don't mind, but the meals just aren't as fun. :)

Then, today we had a super treat. It is always difficult for me to adjust my schedule but it paid off this morning. The circus was in town for the day and invited the public to come and watch them set up the tent. The elephants were supposed to help which is really why I wanted to go but apparently animal activists have protested this, so we got to watch a bunch of men do what one elephant could have done. Very sad. But also we got to see them bring out all of the animals including a couple of camels, llamas, 3 elephants, goats and much more! The kids got to pet them and feed them grass. They also got to see a trainer play with an elephant (I didn't get a picture of this because Jacob was on my shoulders trying to see. :(

And then they got to see a man walk across a wire above the tent. That was one of my favorite parts. It was a great morning! (And we got all of our school work done by lunch which made me even happier!)

This evening we even went back and were able to take a ride on some of the animals. We let the boys choose and Michael and Joshua chose the elephant and Jacob the pony. So, yes we are having parties with pony rides at our house and now you are all jealous. ;) I have to tell you that I decided to ride with Michael and Joshua and well, I don't regret it. It was pretty awesome! Epic, if you will.

Michael was a little nervous at first and it took a bit to get him on which is why I look like I am squeezing his arm off. But in the end I think he was glad he did it.

So, that is what we are up to and we are having a blast doing it!

Summer Update

It has been too long since we have blogged, so I thought it was time to post an update! We have spent much of our time gardening, harvesting and have even done a little canning, but we look forward to lots more of each of those. There is just something amazing about eating food that you grew yourself!

James has worked on many projects this summer to make our home look nicer. He has found some great deals on Craigslist and even took some of those finds and made them even better. He found this buffet but after getting it home realized the bottom was rotted out. So, he put a new bottom and back on and painted it all pretty. It looks great in our dining room!

I have been having a great time teaching the Young Single Adults at church on Wednesday nights and decided to have an end of summer party with them. We had a super yummy dinner followed by a spiritual message. We then headed over the park to play soccer. They had a great time and even let the boys play with them. I was really impressed by how well they played with the boys.

It was really sweet when they let Jacob score a goal. They even had a small celebration for him. It was super cute!

After they were all dripping with sweat we headed back for cake and ice cream. Then, they showed the boys that even grown ups like playing with lincoln logs.

Michael even got a lesson on building roofs from someone who really builds houses. I thought that was pretty awesome!

Our most recent adventures happened today. We hired some friends to help us take out our pine trees in the backyard. When I mean help I mean they did the work and we made the food. :) Here is a great before picture.

This is after the biggest tree fell. That was one big tree!

I just loved this picture. It is amazing to watch such a large tree come crashing to the ground.

Two down and three to go. Now the first two were the biggest but it was the third that gave them the most trouble. After taking out a wedge to make getting it to fall forward easier the tree decided it was done standing and wanted to fall the other way. The boys describe the next stage as a great tug of war between the tree and well, everyone else! Our neighbors even jumped the fence to help. After tying the rope to one of the cars and pulling with another rope the tree lost and came the way we wanted. It was a close one but in the end we won and all of the trees fell without hitting the garden, fence or house. It was great!

And here is the end product. It is strange to be able to see the house behind us but it is nice not having dying trees dropping pine needles all over the backyard. Now we need to figure out what to do back there. All ideas are welcome. :)

The boys did a great job helping. I'm pretty sure that Jacob spent 80% of the day out back helping. We are grateful for wonderful friends who did a great job and let the boys help. They even played with them and let them feel helpful.

It has been a productive summer and a lot of fun. Hopefully we will still have plenty of fun adventures as we head into fall!

Watering the Lawn

So, for those of you who do not live in the midwest, we have not had rain for weeks now. Actually I do not remember it really raining since we have been home from our vacation. We have worked hard to water the garden and it seems to have paid off, but the lawn is simply dreadful. So, today we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Jacob has been home alone with mom and dad all week while his older brothers are off at basketball camp, and while we love him we all needed a break. So, we put out the sprinkler to water the lawn and plants by the house and sent him out.

Here he is headed out.

Then, bracing for impact. . . .

IMPACT . . .
Followed quickly by pure joy!

And the moment wouldn't be complete without a victory pose.

After such a successful afternoon we decided to send them all out later to water the backyard, but they had to start with a little trampoline time first.

But then we had to move it to water the pumpkins and other squashes. But it didn't seem to be too miserable of a change.

Overall it was a super fun watering day for the plants and grass as well as the boys. Hopefully we will get some rain . . . SOON!

Day Camp

This past week was Cub Scout Day Camp for Michael and in extension for the rest of us as well. Since we have the flexibility to do so we took a couple of days and joined him as a family. The first day we went we got to watch Michael make a leather notebook holder, learn about trees and plants, fish and shoot a BB Gun. Michael got to fish with his own rod which was very exciting for him.

I was impressed by the fun and educational activities that they have for the boys. I was also impressed by how well the boys did them.

We then returned on Friday for family day in which we got to choose what activities to do. Joshua was excited to do the archery and did really well-much better than I would have.

Michael wanted to shoot BBs again. He is getting quite good. I did learn that shooting a BB gun is much easier than archery. But who doesn't want feel a little like Robin Hood every once in awhile. :)

As I look at these pictures I realize how quickly they are growing up! It amazes me how time flies and how quickly they grow. After shooting they wanted to go in the dunk tank but Jacob was content to sit with his daddy. Jacob loves his daddy time!

After playing we got to join in for the fishing derby. We didn't catch anything but had fun doing it! Then, we enjoyed lunch, skits and awards. Then, to end the week at camp they have a huge water fight which the boys love. And it was a nice end on a super hot day. In the picture below I managed to get Michael and Joshua but it is kind of like 'Where's Waldo.' So, good luck finding them but while you do so note the huge vat of water that pumped water out for the boys to use to soak everyone and everything. There were two of those full of water. It was a lot of water and a lot of fun.

It was a great week and the boys are already looking forward to going back next year. Joshua, in particular, is excited as he gets to go as a scout next year. Hopefully they can wait that long!

Liz took the boys to the library the other day for some free fun. Joshua made the paper for it. I think it's because he jumps up and down so violently when he's having fun. :)

Helper Boy

Jacob said something the other day that just made me laugh and made me change the way I treat him. While the older boys were off riding their bikes I asked Jacob to help me with a few things while I cleaned up. It is pretty normal that while I clean I assign little jobs to whomever is around. In this case it was just Jacob and myself, so I asked for Jacob to help me with a few things I knew he could do. Instead of just doing it he stamped his foot and said, "I am not your helper boy." He then proceeded to tell me that Michael and Joshua are my helper boys and that he is not. So, today I declared Jacob my helper boy and have made sure that anytime I need help he is the one I go to. I don't think he likes his new title but I think it will do good things for him now and in the future. Now I have three helper boys, and life is good!

Rearranging Furniture

Anyone who knows us expects to find something different every time they come to visit. I don't know why but you just have to change things up every once in awhile. Well, this time it was the boys room. They have all three been in the same room for quite some time while we left a spare room for guests. Well, we just don't have guests that often and Michael had pretty much moved into the spare room anyway. We felt that it might be good to change the room to "Michael's room" instead of sending him to the "Spare room". It just felt right. :)

As we looked at the furniture and discussed the boys needs we decided to make some pretty fun changes. For the younger boys we decided to pull out both bottom bunks and give them each a loft with reading and playing space underneath. They also have a bigger dresser that fits most of their clothes!!! They love it!

Michael just wanted a bed, dresser, book shelf and desk and we were excited to be able to give him all three without getting any new furniture! He has already worked to decorate and make everything his own as you can see.

Our room is next on the list but it isn't quite finished, so you'll have to wait just a little longer to see how it turns out. Everyone is thrilled with the new arrangements, has plenty of room to call their own and they are all working hard to keep their own spaces clean which makes for a happy mommy and happy boys. It was a long afternoon of hard work which seems to have paid off! Hopefully this arrangement will last for some time with lots of happy boys!