3 girls and one boy

So need to update

2011-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

I really do plan to update this blog again. I even started today! Yahoo!!

I hope to have it all done this week. I even plan on including our new & improved school room & schedule.

Update:

2009-05-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I have been on my blog. So here it goes-

For the last 6 months my husband has been working away. He has been flight testing a helicopter and has been in CA and now in CO. So for the month of May I decide to go visit him. I loaded up the girls in the car and drove to CO. It took us 3 days to get here. I took my time and it was a great road trip. We have been enjoying seeing all the sites here. We even have had some great field trips to different sites.

The dinosaur museum was probably the girls favorite. But mine was Garden of the Gods. So beautiful.

Well now I am going to try to actually get on here and blog again. We will see how that works for us. :)

25 Random Things About Me

2009-02-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

This is a thing that has been going around Facebook and I thought I would post mine on here also.

Here are the rules. You are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. I won't tag anyone on here but if you want to play leave me a comment and I will come check yours out.

1. I am happy with each and every aspect of my life and would not change a thing. I feel very blessed and thank God everyday.

2. When I was a kid I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would actually grow up to marry the cutest boy ever that I had such a crush on. Now we have been married for almost 15 years.

3. My girls are my life and I will do what ever I can to help them have a wonderful life.

4. My 9th grade year in school was the first year I actually started school and finished at the same school.

5. In the summer before 10 grade we moved to WA. That year I met the people in life that are truly my very best friends. I still hold them close to my heart. We may be far away now but you guys are my still my besties.

6. My girls have very different personalities. J is kind, caring, and cares what others think of her. K is busy, looks for fun at every turn, and really cares less about what others think of her. How can this be when they are both from us?

7. When I was 2 my biological dad decided he did not want anything to do with me. So I have no memory of him.

8. My mom is the most amazing woman I know. She is a rock. She gives and gives to everyone.

9. As a kid my room was covered with posters of Kirk Cameron, Jonathan Knight, KNOTB, Scott Bayo, and who ever else I thought was cute at the time.

10. I have worked as a gymnastics coach for almost 10 years now. Wow!

11. I hate it that I can now say- When I was in my 20's. Or 25 years ago. Man that sucks!

12. My grandparents were the most influential people in my life. I so miss them and can't wait to see them again someday in Heaven. Brings tears to my eyes to think about how much I miss them.

13. I am really trying to be a healthy mom and wife. But so love chocolate covered peanuts. (Dan don't buy me any more.) teehee

14. I am the oldest. I have one sister that I grew up with. I also have a sister I have never met. Really don't ever care to either.

15. I have been in 4 car accidents in the last 12 months and none of which have been my fault.

16. I homeschool my girls. J has never been to a real school. We take it day by day. Week by week.

17. I hope to run a marathon some day soon. I just need to start training for it.

18. I have hair growing in places that I thought I never would. Can we say wax?

19. I read to my children but secretly hate to read myself. I love books on tape. That way I can listen and still get stuff done.

20. My husband may not know it but the best time of day for me is when we are sitting together on the couch and decide to eat a late night snack. It's our thing. It's what makes us us.

21. I have started a vacation savings account because I am tired of not having money to go on vacation. We have a savings account but what goes in there does not get touched. So now we have a vacation account.

22. My kids wanted a pet (dog) so we went and bought them 2 beta fish. They say it is just not the same. Well J is supposed to be in charge of feeding the fish and taking care of them. I have to remind her everyday. So I can just imagine what it would be like if we had a dog.

23. I want to one day travel to Paris, Italy, and Spain.

24. I love Starbucks. Love going there on the weekends for my coffee and bagels.

25. So glad I am at 25. That was a good year on my life. Thats when we decided to start our family.

Pictures of our flooding

2009-02-03T21:55:00.001-08:00

This is house under water. The weather was really bad and we had fog for about 2 weeks after all the flooding. There were so many houses that got damaged and lots of land and farms.
These cows normally have 30 acres to roam but their land was reduced to only about four feet. They were right up next to the fence. My girls felt really sorry for them especially the baby.
This horse trailer was not even supposed to be on this land. There was also a broken shed that was close to this.
There is a road under this, it curves right here. This is one way to our house.
This is the view coming out of our development. Where you see water it is actually all farm land and houses up the road. My husband said we now have water front property. It looks like we bought near a lake. It came all the way up to our road. Thankfully all the water is gone now.

Weather in WA!

2009-01-18T00:17:00.001-08:00

Well I have not been on here in quite a while. Yikes lots to fill in.

Lets start with Christmas. We had a great Christmas. Yes, we had a White Christmas. First ever since I have lived here in WA. I have been here since I was 15. So a while. teehee. I will post pictures when I can.

Now in the last 2 weeks we had record flooding in the town I live in. Our house was fine. We live high enough on a hill and we were ok. But a lot of people were not. I have lots of pictures to post of all the water. We had lake front property for a while. The whole valley flooded and our road to our house was under water for a while. We only have one way in and out of our development. So not to fun.

Things are good now and the road is clear. We are happy that all is well and we are safe.

Elfin Fun

2008-12-16T19:44:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

White Christmas

2008-12-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

So we have been so lucky to get some snow and now the news is saying we may even have a White Christmas! This would be so wonderful. I have lived in Washington since I was 15 years old and have never had a White Christmas here. We live just a bit north of Seattle so we don't get snow like they do in Eastern Washington. So this is just going to be great.

Here is our weather for the next 5 days and the plus 5.

Some of you may be thinking that I am nuts but I sure like this snow and really want to keep it around. It is so much nicer than rain. The kids are just having a blast playing in it and sleding.

So keep your fingers crossed for us. I sure want a White Christmas this year.

Its snowing

2008-12-14T19:16:00.001-08:00

It has been so nice here. We have snow. The first this season for us. Our snow usually does not last that long either. But it snowed last night and we have a nice white covering this morning. We got about 2-3 inches.

The girls and I went out and played in it for about 3 hours today. What fun we had sleding down our hill. Then we came inside and ate lunch and played some more. Our whole neighborhood was out and sleding.

Then we went shopping and I finished all my Christmas shopping! So glad I am done with that. No more malls for a little while. So great to be done.

We are expected to get more snow later this week. I can't wait. I took some pictures so I will try to post them later this week.

Happy December everyone!

My mind and getting things done!

2008-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

So I don't know about the rest of you but I can not get my mind off our Christmas break. I am just counting the days down. We are getting our school work done, but I am just really wanting another break.

I have not wanted to post on my blog either. How sad is that! =)) We are having so much fun just making plans for the break. We are decorating the house and it looks so nice. I love decorating for the holidays.

This year we are making more glass bubbles for our tree. We made a bunch last year and the girls loved it. So this year we went to Michaels and bought some more. They are enjoying making them and hanging them on our tree. I will post some pictures of our finished bubbles later this week. We plan to have all our relatives here for Christmas. I am so excited to see everyone again.

Well I will so try to post more but with the holidays its so hard! So I guess I am not quite so among the living blog world! :)

Were back among the living!

2008-12-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed taking some time off. The girls and I took the whole week of Thanksgiving off. We baked, made crafts and just had a fabulous week.

I had decided to teach the girls to cook. This was probably the best thing we did. The girls had a blast. They love to cook. I always have to remind myself that it is ok for them to make a mess while I am teaching them. I tried not to plan anthing else. So we had all the time in the world to play and cook what we wanted. It was great. We made messes and then cleaned them up. I had no set time to make dinner or lunch. Even K got in on the action and was a part of it all.

We had a nice week of having fun and learning some new things. They had no idea it was actually learning. But now J can help cook and she knows a lot more. Now I just have to let her help. teehee

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

New Kids On The Block

2008-11-22T00:10:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! Excited, excited, excited.

My husband is taking me to see New Kids on the Block. Let me repeat that.

My husband is taking me to see New Kids on the Block. Yes, girls you heard that right.

I was one of those 16 year old girls that loved NKOTB. I had the posters on my walls, closet doors, and on my folders at school. I was a big fan. So my wonderful, loving, and gorgeous husband is taking me to see them. You know you have a gem of a man when he is willing to go to a New Kids concert with you.

Tonight ladies I am turning into a 16 year old girl again. The wrinkles are disappearing, I have shed 30 pounds instantly! (You see I am 16 again) :D I am silly and squiggly. And I get to scream to my hearts content and my voice is gone. For tonight I get to go see the boys I so graciously had plastered all over my walls. And yes, my dear husband knows what he is in for, a stadium full of screaming 30 to 40 year old women. But he is doing it for me!

I love you D! Thanks honey!

Weekly Report

2008-11-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

Week 13-Update: My first weekly report!

So I guess its about time I do some weekly reporting since we are in our 13th week of school and I have yet to do one.

Math: Well we have been doing so good in math. We are pushing right along with MUS and Abeka. We switched this year from Saxon-was not working for us. So a friend of mine gave me an Abeka math book and J loved it. So we used it and then added in MUS. J needed a little more hands on then what Abeka has. So our plan is working. We are on lesson 110 on Abeka and lesson 13 of MUS.

WWE: Oh how I love this program! J placed in WWE3 but I put her in 2 because it has a workbook and I am all about having it there for me and not having to do it myself. I love pick up and go. We finished lesson 12 this week. The best thing is J is really enjoying writing and thinks this program is wonderful also.

FLL3: I so love this program also. We did FLL 1-2 in 1st and 2nd. I thought this was not working for us then, but now I see the light. :)) We did all that memorizing and I thought for what! Now I see. She thinks it is so easy and love grammar. Which I really love. We finished lesson 34 this week.

Latin: We are using Prima Latina. We both like this program a lot. I just seem to never have the time to do it. I have to start planning on scheduling it in. We are about 2 weeks behind on this. We just finished lesson 2. We should be on lesson 5 this week. Oops! Oh well we will get it done.

History: Is going good. Sometimes I think J only listens for a minute then goes into a fairy realm and shuts off. She does not remember much when it comes to history. So I am looking at trying to come up with something to change this. We just finished Ch. 15 this week.

Science: Well we are finishing up Astronomy. We love it so much we are taking our time and enjoying it. Then we will start Chemistry. I am even buying J a telescope for Christmas. I really want the one at Costco right now for her. I just have to go buy it. Ugh! But she would love it.

I will try to post pictures later this weekend. Well that is our week! It is also our first weekly report! At least I am posting a weekly report now at 13 weeks and NOT doing my first one at the end of the year. =))

My reasons to stay away from the malls

2008-11-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Oh how I do not like going to the malls around this time of year. They seem to start getting so crowded about this time. Does everyone in the USA wait to do their shopping till November and December? With all the people in the malls it seem to make everyone so mean! I really mean mean! Is this what the holidays have come to? Ugh!

So what is my solution you say? Well I have a few thoughts.

Is to avoid the malls at all cost.
To shop online this holiday season. Which I have already done a bit of.
We plan to change how we celebrate this Christmas season. But we are keeping it low key this year. This really helps with stress on our parts.
We are doing gift cards this year! I so love this idea. It makes everyone happy. They can go get what they want and I do not have to worry about trying to figure what to get for them.
I am buying gift card from the fund raiser at the gym this year. It is through the scripts program and I can get any gift card of my choice, all in one place. The best thing is the gym gets the benefit of it.
We are making a lot of home made gifts. The girls are very excited about this. I am just trying to come up with some ideas to give as a home made gift.

So what are you doing to try to stay sane during the holidays?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T09:49:00.001-08:00

Mt. Rainier

What Holiday Are You?

2008-11-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love.
It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is.
You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one.
You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff.

What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons.

At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party

On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

My friend Melanie took this test and I just had to do it also. This really is so right on the money for me. I love Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. When I was a child we would always go to my grandparents house. No matter where we lived we would always travel to see them. My grandmother was the kindest lady you would have ever meet. She would invite everyone to her home for Thanksgiving, even the homeless. If you knew where she lived and you wanted to come you were welcome. It was an open house to all. I loved that as a child. To me it is the best holiday. My family made it such a wonderful holiday. I am trying to do this for my kids. To me it is a time to give thanks and be happy for all.

Kids and stress

2008-11-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

I posted the other day on what I do when I need to have some mom alone time. But what do you do for your kids when they need time?

I am noticing that my girls are getting stressed with some things in everyday life. I am trying to come up with some ideas to help with their stress.

We are 12 weeks into our school year. We took a break at about week 7 only because we had some health issues to deal with. Now we have a break coming at Thanksgiving and we are taking the whole week off. I am so looking forward to that. So are the girls.

I have been trying to change things up a bit in our day to help with stress. We have changed math programs and this has helped so much. I have a changed child. She now likes math. No more stress there. We are also taking more breaks during the day and having quite time to think. This seems to help also.

We do a mom and tea about once a week. I started this last week and they loved it. They didn't really have tea, but we called it that. We also took a day this week and made homemade bread and apple butter. It was a blast. I let it be a stress free learning experience. We made a mess while we were doing it. We spilled things (not on purpose) and then cleaned them later. I wanted them to learn and not worry about mess. This is something I usually don't do. I always think I can do it faster and not have a mess so I tend to not let them help with dinners that much. This is something I am trying to change.

So what do you do when your kiddos seem to be getting stressed?

2008-11-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

The theme this week is to share what YOUR “Mom” help is. Some drink coffee, soda, or chia-tea. Others check email or read their favourite blogs. Some talk a walk…. what do you do when you need to clear your head and take a breather?

Well I really like coffee. So for me its a coffee in my hand and then I sit by myself and try to relax. Then email and off to doing mom things. Lately I have been catching up with friends on Facebook. But mainly its my coffee. I love relaxing at night with my husband and just talking to him. It really makes us connect.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Girls night out

2008-11-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

J turned 9 in August and it has taken me this long to do something for her. Teehee. She did not want a party so we did a GNO. She had 2 friends come and get pedicures and manicures at the local nail salon. Then we had some girls stay over night and party with us. They girls had a blast. K got to invite her little friend over also. They had a great girls night and so did I. What fun. Here are some pictures of the nails and toes.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

History in the making!

2008-11-04T21:30:00.001-08:00

First let me start this post by saying I am not a Democrat or a Republican. I have voted for different parties and that will probably not change in the future. Putting all politics aside, I am proud that my girls can see history in the making. I have included some verses that I found in the Bible about leadership.

Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety. Proverbs 11:14

Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly. Proverbs 29:14

Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation. Proverbs 16:12

A leader of good judgment gives stability. Proverbs 29:4

It's the men who walk straight who will settle this land, the women with integrity who will last here. Proverbs 2:21

When good people run things, everyone is glad.” Proverbs 29:2

1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 1 Timothy 2:1-3

Our visit to the farm

2008-11-04T09:19:00.001-08:00

There is a wonderful little farm just down the road from us and we were able to go there last week. The girls really enjoyed being there and seeing all the fun things. The girls got to fish. I did not get any pictures of them fishing, because they did not catch anything. We would have caught and released anyway. There is no way I will prepare a fish. Yuck, just can't do it. :))They also got to make necklaces and bracelets. Here they are doing that.

We went through the corn maze and then we did the hamster wheels. Well thats what I call it. They loved this and did it several times.

K thought this was so cool.

Waiting to do it again for the 100th time. Thats what it seemed like.

We carved our pumpkins later on that day. It was a very fun day. They loved sticking their hands in there and getting all the seeds and junk out. We did our toasted pumpkins seeds that night also.

Halloween Treats

2008-10-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

We always like having guest over at this time of year. So tonight we are having a full house. My mom, sister, and her two sons, and my brother and sister in law with their son. I love having everyone over and love to entertain. It is so fun for me.

So tonight I am trying something new. Here are some goodies I hope to make.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (These are already made)

Seeds

Olive Oil

Seasoning of your choice (We use Johnny's)

Bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes and enjoy. It is a favorite at our house every year.

Our new treat this year!

Candy Corn Pudding Parfaits

Ingredients

9 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Corn Flavored Candies
1 package (6-serving size) vanilla cook and serve pudding and pie filling mix
3 cups milk
1/2 cup frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
Additional whipped topping and candies for garnish(optional)

Remove wrappers from candies. Stir together pudding mix and milk in medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Set aside 1/2 cup pudding; place plastic wrap on surface and refrigerate. Evenly divide 1 cup pudding among 4 to 6 clear parfait glasses. Cover loosely, refrigerate while preparing next step. Add 9 candies to remaining pudding in pan. Stir until candies are melted and mixture is uniform orange color; cool slightly (about 10 minutes). Evenly layer orange pudding onto vanilla pudding in serving dishes. Stir 1/2 cup whipped topping into cooled vanilla pudding. Evenly layer onto orange layer in serving dishes. Cover; refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with additional whipped topping and candy piece, if desired. 4 to 6 servings.

Fall: My favorite time of year!

2008-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

I love the beauty of fall. All the colors and crisp air make me feel so good. It is my favorite time of year.

I love watching my girls cuddle up with their blankets in front of the fireplace. It is their favorite place to read. To keep our gas bill from being outrageous I am only letting them do it once a week. But it is so fun to do. The kids really love it too. They actually read a lot longer there. I guess that is a plus. :D

I love to have fall smells in my house. Or at least what I think are fall smells in the house. So burning candles is my way. My favorite smell is the Pumpkin Spiced candles. Wow does it smell so good.

What are some of your favorites at fall?

Also we try to do a little unit study about every season. So right now we are learning about fall and why the leaves turn the color they do. Here are some neat sites I found for us to check out.

Visit Mammoth

Why leaves change color

The Miracle of Fall

Hope you enjoy looking at the cool sites for fall.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Tagged

2008-10-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Carrie at Story of my World tagged ALL of her readers with this...

Here are the rules:

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
They have to be real places, names, things. nothing made up!
You can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name? Rhonda

2. A 4 Letter Word: Robe

3. A Boys Name: Ralph

4. A Girls Name: Rebecca

5. An Occupation: Radiologist

6. A Color: Red

7. Something you wear: Rain boats

8. A Beverage: Red Cream Soda

9. A Food: Rigatoni pasta

10. Something found in the bathroom: Round brush

11. A place: Rock City

12. A Reason for being late: Running a marathon

13. Something you shout: "Read it!" (Not really shouting it though)

Now I tag all of you.

Homeschool Memoirs #9: The "S" Family

2008-10-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have done this. I thought it was so cute. Feel free to join me. Here it is:

This week’s theme is about your family. Don’t worry. I’m not going to make you write a long essay about all the great things your family does. Just something little diddy that I know everyone will have fun with!

Watch the youtube video below and then take this song and add your own words, about your family. The end of the first three lines should rhyme. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

We have two little girls

With lots of lovely curls

Most of the time their pearls

The "S" Family

J is very sweet

Such a good athlete

She never skips a beat

The "S" Family

K's a real spitfire

Who never seems to tire

But she's always a sapphire

The "S" family

(screams)

(daydreams)

(sunbeams)

Daddy loves to fly

That we can't deny

He's quite a wonderful guy

The "S" family

Mommy taught us about the moon

And even the baboons

Tomorrow were going to Neptune

The "S" family

Most people think were crazy

At times were very zany

Our home is always brainy

The "S" family

Updated on gymnastics

2008-10-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well things are much better now. We did not have to move J to another class. Turns out that once I really let my voice be heard things changed.

The coach was moved to another class. This person has been in several meetings and things seem to be changing.

J may have this coach in the future and we have talked about this. If a coach can not come in there are times when others fill in. So there is no way to never have this coach. She said she is ok with that and we will deal with that when the time comes.

She really did not want to move classes and I am so glad it did not come to that. She is in a class with her two best buddies and wanted to stay with them.

Thanks for all your comments and support! I will keep everyone updated as to the future.

I lost my temper! Wouldn't you?

2008-10-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

J has been in gymnastics for quite a while now and she is doing so great. She is picking up new skills everyday. She already has all of her level 4 skills and she just went to level 4 in June. She will begin her new season of competition at the end of this month. I as so proud of her and all her accomplishments.

Well she has been having some issues with a new coach at the gym. This has been going on for several months now. Her main coach is wonderful. She really likes her. This other coach is demeaning and can be very critical and just down right mean to the girls. I have expressed my concerns about this coach and it has gone no where. Last night this coach pushed her down to the floor while supposedly trying to push her forward while she was doing a round off. He made her do it over and over and the on the 5th time he pushed her. I watched the whole thing and he actually pushed her on her side and made her fall sideways. It ended up hurting her side and she was crying very hard.

Then the mom in me kicked in. I went off on this person. Letting this person know I had seen the whole thing. I said my peace and then we went home.

Now the kicker is I work at this place and sometimes I have to work with this coach. So today I am going in and will be talking again with this person.

Also J expressed that she no longer wanted to be in this class. She wants me to move her to another class that this coach does not teach. I will be trying to do this today. She also told me that if she can not move she does not want to come back and wants to quit. I told her I would change her and if I can not get her in the new class I support her quitting. I have never believed in forcing my kids to do anything. So if and when she wants to quit I support her.

I feel so bad for her and having to make these decisions at such a young age. I want to take it all away from her.

As her mother I am going to protect her and not let anyone harm her.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

Bar-b-Que turkey pop ups or biscuits

2008-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

I made bbq biscuits last night. They were a huge hit at our house. The girls helped out with all of it. We had a blast. So here is the recipe, just incase anyone wants to make them. I found a recipe that called for beef but we don't do beef that much. So I used ground turkey and I also made my own bbq sauce.

Here they are as we were putting them in the oven.

Recipe for bbq sauce:

1 small can of tomato sauce (8oz)

same amount of A-1 steak sauce

3-4 splashes of soy sauce

4-8 splashes of Yoshida sauce

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of honey

dash of red pepper

Then heat to blend the spices.

So yummy! It has a sweet taste.

Ok so here is the biscuit recipe:

1 pound ground beef or turkey-we used turkey

Bisquick and make the biscuits on the back

1 cup of cheese

1-2 cups of bbq sauce

bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes

The girls making them!

Cooking the ground turkey

K really loved sitting on the counter and cooking

Team work-they worked well together!

Wordless Wednesday!

2008-09-24T10:08:00.001-07:00

Seahawks, drunks, and car crashes!

2008-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well I worked the Seahawks game yesterday! It was so busy and actually a lot of fun. I have never worked at a game before. We are doing it to raise money to help off set the cost of gymnastics fees.

We carpooled to the game and got there safely. Well on the way home we were hit by a drunk driver. We were going down the freeway and she side swiped us. Then she took off. The driver of our vehicle is a retired police officer, so he went after her. About a mile or so later she finally took an exit and still tried to flee. As some of you know Seattle traffic is awful and she was soon stopped by a traffic jam.

Long story short she was very drunk. There is lots of damage to both vehicles. We are all alive and doing alright. I hit the window, so my face is very sore. We all have some sore bodies and necks. I am thankful we are all doing good.

I think Fall is coming

2008-09-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Well it is very cool here today and will be for the next week. I don't think it will be over 65 at all this next week. Today high was only 60 degrees. So yes fall is around the corner.

So here is my list of how I know fall is here

Pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. Yummy!
I had to wear pants today
The girls sat on the couch with blankets on them
The trees are turning colors and leaves are already falling off
My garden is looking sad and things are not growing good anymore
But my pumpkins are looking great!

Busy life

2008-09-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like life goes an million miles an minute? Well for me this is the case.

Our family is going all the time. J goes to gym 3 days a week and K goes 2 days a week, at different times. J and I do not get home till 9pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So the next morning is not fun in our house.

I have had to do so much lately for gymnastics. On top of working 3 nights a week I have to work some of the Seahawks football. I have to work this weekends game. But we get money that helps offset the cost of competition fees. So it is really worth it. But the time is a lot.

School has been taking more time it seems. But we are doing so good right now. J is cooking right along. She is doing wonderfully.

I guess I am just feeling stressed with all the running we are doing lately. But I know it will get better. Sigh! ;)

911 Never Forget

2008-09-11T13:17:00.001-07:00

Silly face wordless Wednesday!

2008-09-10T09:39:00.001-07:00

Co-op starts again!

2008-09-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

We started co-op again. K is in the playroom for two classes. While in playroom she will be getting little bits of science, math, crafts, and Bible time. Here she was putting linking blocks together. They were learning to add and making rows of blocks. She just likes to put them altogether to make a long line.

She likes posing for the camera!

J has two classes this year. They are drama and art. The one she likes the best is drama.

She is getting into character.

She looks a little bored here. She was listening to the other girl recite her monologue.

I guess it is getting better. They had to recite the parts with different actors in the class.

I did not get to take any pictures of them acting out there parts. Just during the beginning of class. But she absolutely loves drama. They get to audition next week for the instructor. Then they will be given parts and come April 2009 they will be performing at a local large theatre. I could not be more proud of her. She is loving acting and this is great for her self confidence. I will keep you all up to date as to her part and outcome.

Dizzy!

2008-09-07T21:47:00.001-07:00

Well since we have been home form our camping trip I have had several days where I feel dizzy. I started to get dizzy on Wednesday. Then I started to shake and sweat. Then I was ok on Thursday, then sick again on Friday. I just starting feeling good yesterday. I have no clue what it was. But after talking to some friends and neighbors I found out that there is a virus going around. So I guess thats what I had. I am feeling better now.

Camping over the holiday weekend

2008-09-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

We went on a 5 day camping trip to Eastern Washington. It was so relaxing and fun. Here is the truck all loaded up with J and K packed in also.

Have you ever seen the clouds coming up out of the trees? This is one of the views we saw coming up the highway. The clouds were actually coming up out of the trees. It was so amazing to see. The girls had a little science lesson in the car, given by dad, on the way.

We drove through Leavenworth, WA. It is a bavarian town. They have the coolest little shops. I love to go there.

Here are the girls on our first night camping. It was K's first time to go camping. She thought it was so cool to sleep in her princess bag. The air mattress was just an added bonus. They enjoyed it the whole time and wanted to stay here and not come home. They loved it.

But mom and dad really needed to come home. Four nights on an air mattress is not fun when you are over the age of 10.

We have never seen so many deer in our life. They were everywhere. We saw at least 10 to 20 each day. They were not even afraid of people.

We stayed at a state park. They sites were huge. It was so beautiful there. Here is a picture of our truck and the jet skies. I could not take a picture out on the water. I don't have a waterproof camera.

What's better than skiing all day? Playing in the sand on the beach. They girls loved being on the beach. They made sand castles and dug holes. We did a lot of relaxing at the beach.

14th Wedding Anniversary

2008-08-27T08:39:00.001-07:00

Today is my 14Th wedding anniversary. I have known my husband since I was 15. We met at a skating rink where he was the DJ. I shyly went over to him and asked if he could skate with people. The rest is history. We dated on and off while in high school and married our sophomore year in college.

At 5:30 this morning D woke me up and told me happy anniversary. He loved me and would do it all over again. What a wonderful husband I have. We have a beautiful marriage.

I love you D!

Happy Birthday J! Your 9 years old!

2008-08-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of you! Each and everyday you show us how wonderful a young lady you are becoming.

You were born at 10:06 a.m. and weighed 9lbs. 9oz. and 21 inches long. We were amazed at how prefect you were. I can remember just looking at you for hours. Our trip home from the hospital was the scariest ride we ever took. I have never worried so much in a car before. We were so worried that we would not know what to do with this new, little, precious gift. Well you made it very wonderful for us. You were a great baby. What a blessing to have you. We enjoy each and everyday that we have with you. I thank God for you everyday! I love you!

Making cake with Dad today was a blast. You and dad really like cooking and baking together.

K enjoys helping you also.

You are such a wonderful big sister to her. She loves you so much!

Happy birthday my wonderful 9 year old beauty. Thank you for being such a glorious young lady.

Wordless Wednesday!

2008-08-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

My little K

Friends are great!

Ski trip to Breckenridge, CO.

Happy WW /bye

Our weekend adventure-first ferry ride!

2008-08-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend my husband and I decided to do something we have never done before. We all went on our first ferry. We drove 1.5 hours to Anacortes and took a ferry to the San Juan Islands. The girls loved riding on a ferry. They really wanted to see whales. No whales, but we did see some neat birds, seals, and sea otters.

Once we docked at Friday Harbor we drove over to Roche Harbor and spent the day there. We swam and played all day with the girls. We met friends over there that have a boat and sailed there and were staying for the week. It was so much fun.

The island used to be a mining town and we were able to go and see the look out towers. We were even able to go into a mining shaft. Well not to far in but far enough for us. It was a grand day.

We did take pictures with my husband camera but now we can not get them to download off the camera. I don't like that. When he can get them to come off I will post some pictures. :))

Award!

2008-08-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Melanie at Monday through Sunday was kind enough to send this award to me. Well and others but I would like to think all me. Hehe-just joking! Now let me give you some history about Melanie and I. We met when I was 15. Both our dads were in the army. My family had moved to Washington state right before my sophomore year in school. Her family lived across the street. We met and were fast friends in school. Well we both went our separate ways from there and lost contact with each other. Through the wonder of the internet she found me. So as you can see the internet does bring people together. I am so glad she found me. Thanks Melanie.

Ok on to the award. I am so glad to get it and I just wanted to pass it on to my new found blog friends. Margarete at True Blessings Homeschool and Lauri at Trials of the Baas Family. Well Lauri and I have been friends for a long while. She was with us when K was born and kept J busy for a while. So ladies heres to all of you! I am proud to call you all my friends.

Wordless Wednesday!

2008-08-13T09:09:00.001-07:00

Off to work with dad.

2008-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

About a month ago J got to go to work with dad. They had her shred papers and file stuff for them. She today she got to go to work with dad again. She was so excited because he takes her to Starbucks for breakfast and they get coffee, hot chocolate, and begals. Then while she is at work she gets break time and has popcorn. The company my husband works for is still family owned and every Wednesday they buy lunch for everyone. So today she gets lunch and she eats with dad and all the guys. She loves going and spending time with dad and feels so grown up. This is her second time to go to dads work. She is having a great day.

Our updated school room

2008-08-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

So in my quest to make the school room function better for us, I come up with ideas and decided to change some things around. I had all week last week to change the room and clean up the room. I have also been going back to Brenda at The Family Revised to check on the newest keepin it real post. I love seeing how others have organized things.

I was so tired of my back hurting from leaning over to get to the computer, which sat on a small Strawberry Shortcake table. You can see the small table and pictures of the room before here. I complained to my husband about my back. He told me he did not like having the Mac on that little table either. You see he uses the Mac for his ipod and downloads music. Well my wonderful husband put a table that we have had in the closet in the room for me. I also moved the white bookcase into another room. I was able to put the most used items in the big storage unit we have.

This is my desk.

Now my printer and everything I need is on the desk. I have moved all of J's books to the desk with me. Its so nice to have a desk for me. I moved the girls desk farther over and put up some charts where the bookcase was. I even have room to put more if I want. I am so excited. The long desk is now J's work space.

K has the little Strawberry Shortcake table and chairs. She loves having her little area all to herself. As you can see in the picture her bears have done school with her this week.

I even took down the pictures and bought a metal sheet for her magnet play things. She loves the letters. The farm animal thing we have had since she was a baby. I moved somethings and

changed the direction of the tent. Now they have more room in their kitchen area.

We are all ready to go for a great first week of school!

What can you do with 4 inches of water?

2008-08-11T14:50:00.001-07:00

You can have the time of your life! Just add two girls and two cousins. Mix them all up and enjoy!

When you are young you don't care about only having a little tiny pool.

It has water in it and that is all you need.

Right wink, wink.

Say cheese.

Oh to be a boy!

The kids had a blast having the boys over. I love that my family is so closs to us.

Little funny things my kids do!

2008-08-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

We are so excited that the Olympics have started. The girls and I watched the opening serimonies together. I let them stay up late to watch-K feel asleep but J stayed awake. Well, as the United States walked in they showed President Bush and I said to J that that was the president and his wife. I told her George W. Bush.

She said, "What he's still alive."

I said, "Yes, honey he is."

She said, "Wow, he looks really good for being so old."

I said, "What do mean?"

She said, "Well for him to be the first president and to have lived this long, that's amazing."

I then explained that he was not George Washington, the first president, but George Bush the current president.

Fast forward to yesterday.

My husband has been out of town for a week on business. He got back on Saturday and we decided to go take the girls for a drive and get a treat. While we were in the car K explained to us how she was going to have a baby brother. (No, we are not pg.)

J said, "No we are not." She told us how she was going to grow up and have a baby brother herself. J said, "You can't, it will be your own baby." She said, "Yes I can I will marry daddy and have a baby brother." J told her she can not marry daddy because mommy is already married to daddy. K got really upset and yelled, "I can marry daddy if I want to and you can't stop me."

I love what my kids say sometimes!

So what funnies have your kiddos come up with?

Mini Office

2008-08-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to come up with an idea that will make it easier to teach the basic preschool things to K. My goal this year for her is to learn to the phonograms and write her ABC's and numbers 1-10. Thats pretty much it. She will be able to listen in on all other stuff that J and I do. She will listen in on the rest of our science. We need to finish earth science and space. We have about 10 weeks of that left. Then we start chemistry. She likes to play playdough while do the reading then she does experiments with us. She will also listen to our history lessons and any read alouds that we have. She also likes to color the history pages and do a map of her own. So she is getting a lot in that little head.

As I googled and searched blogs for ideas for something to help make my day easier I came across these mini offices. They are pretty amazing I think. I could make one for K and that way we could just pull out her mini office and learn away. I like the idea of having everything in one place.

This site tells you what a mini office is. How to make a mini office and printables for your mini office. This site gives you printables also. I am excited about this. I am having K help me make her mini office this weekend. We will make it an art project. I also find that if I am excited about something she is too. J will be making a mini office for herself also. When I told her about it she wanted one too.

Here are some more mini office sites. The last one is more for a classroom but I liked the months and numbers charts on this site.

Teachingheart

http://k2printables.com/mini-offices.htm

http://www.jmeacham.com/mini.offices.htm

Our chore chart

2008-07-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a friend to post our chore charts that my husband made for our girls. I showed him the PEG system that I had looked at online to buy the girls. They are expensive and when I showed him he said he could make them himself. They cost around $70 each. Well he made 3 of them for me and they cost us $30 for supplies at Home Depot. That was paper key tags and all.

They have there names at the top, but I have smudge them out. Here they are. The blue one is K's. She has pictures that my husband and I drew so she knows what to do each morning and night. I used paper key tags. They got to make key tags with stickers on them also. This is for when they do the chore they get to cover it up. K has a picture of a bed and when she makes her bed she can cover that key tag with one that has a sticker on it.

This is J's. It seems she has a lot of chores, but the lower half is weekly chores.

He also made me one for the school room. I have key tags on that one for hours and what has to be done and at what time. Example 8:00 key tag next to it is Bible/Memory Work.

Do you every worry so much about your babies?

2008-07-27T15:30:00.001-07:00

My sweet J is growing up so quickly, well both my girls are. But today is the first time that my J will spend the night with a friend. I know she will be totally safe and having a blast, but I worry. When my girls are not with me I worry. My girls have never spent the night with anyone other than my mother and that has only been about 4 times. J will be 9 in August and she has only been away from me for the night a total of 4 maybe 5 times. K maybe 2 times. I enjoy my kids and enjoy being with them. Now we do get a sitter and go out to dinner and a movie without the girls. But I am not one to go away without my girls.

Today we packed J an overnight bag and got her ready to go to her first sleep over with a family we know. She will have a wonderful time. But on our way to their house she asked me if I would come to get her if she wanted to come home. I told her I would come and get her anytime she needs me to. When we got there she was off and playing. I stayed a while and chatted with my friend and let her know J was a little worried herself. I told her to call me if she wanted to come home. She said no problem. When I finally left J was running around with her friend and had no worries about me leaving. K was upset that she could not sleep over also.

I guess its the mom in me that worries about my girls when they are not with me. So tell me am I the only one that worries so much?

Update: My very good friend Lauri at Trials of the Baas Family reminded me that J stayed with her when we had K. I told her I had no worries with my J being with her. Oops brain laps.

Keepin' it Real

2008-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is a keeping it real post! Brenda at the family revised needs storage ideas, so if you have any ideas head on over to her blog and give her your ideas. Well I am keeping it real and letting you take a look at our school room when we do not clean it up for a while. Actually these pictures were taken after only one hour of K being in the room and playing. J did play some roll in this also.

As for storage, the system that we have is from Pottery Barn and it has been the best thing we have bought. But I have to be honest-we did get it for almost half off. We have a relative that works there and got it at a good price. The desk is my mess.

Its not that bad you say! Well give it till the end of the day. If I do not clean throughout the day it will be a pit.

Our School Room

2008-07-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

This is our school room! It is upstairs which makes it nice to be away from food (for me that is). This is the view as you walk straight into the room. We bought the shelf system about a year and a half ago and it has been the best thing ever. Then we ordered the train/game table for the girls last christmas. Our 4yr old loves Thomas the Train, so the table gets used everyday. It has 2 bottom rolling storage carts. They house the train set, littlest pet shops, my little ponies, and our paints and brushes and smocks.

Here is a closer look at the train table. After a week of playing on the table we soon discovered that we needed a mat to go on top of the table. We found a nice girly mat. It has been a saver for the top of the table.

Each basket on top of the bookshelf houses different stuff. One has markers, crayons, coloring books, glue, and pencils. Another

has playdough. The two in the center are still somewhat empty. The last two has math stuff and misc. goodies. The shelf itself hold all our books. In each section I have tried to keep similar book together. One has all science books another states and presidents, you get the idea. Well this just does not happen with K moving books constantly. But the bottom is her area. She is always

looking at her books and playing with the wood clock and wood puzzles. The bottom right drawer is all her school stuff, which she always has spread out to see and pick which one to do. The white roller cart holds all our music cds and SOTW cds, plus toys. On top of it is the cd player.

This is the girls kitchen area. K really loves this area. She plays here a lot while we do school. She got the tinkerbell tent from for her birthday and we put a little table in there and her tea set. Yes, we do get in there with her. We love pretend tea parties, even my husband. He loves his girls and will even play tea party!

This is our school desk and our computer area. We have another bookshelf in the corner. It holds all of my homeschool books and whatnot here. I have to tell you about the desk and blue chairs. We got them at the GSA (Government Surplus). I got the table for $5 and the 2 blue chairs for $2 each. I love cheap stuff and search it out.

This is the other side of the room. We have maps and our cork board here. The baskets hold old magazines to cut up and scissors. We actually have a plastic play slide that is usually here, I just moved it to get a clear picture.

Blog Template

2008-07-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

I was not happy with the templates here in blogger, so I googled templates and after 3 days found this template at http://lenatoewsdesigns.blogspot.com/ . I am so happy with it. I love the color and it is so cheerful. Let me know what you think of the template.

Also if you are new to blogging or just want to learn a bit more, I came across some very helpful blogs. Here they are:

http://www.bloggingbasics101.com/

http://simplyfabtutorials.blogspot.com/

http://blogger-tricks.blogspot.com/

Time for Some Campaignin'

2008-07-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

I just found this and thought it was great!

Summer Chemistry 2008

2008-07-16T11:56:00.001-07:00

Here is our summer chemistry schedule. My friend and I have put together an outline for the summer. We have been meeting on Mondays for about 2 hours. It will be about a 9 week course-give or take a week. We have an hour for reading and disscussion and an hour for experiments. We have 3 other families that have been joining us. The kids are loving it. It so fun for them and they love the experiments. So here is the schedule, hope it may help someone. I am not sure what is up with my fonts, but I did it in word then cut and paste it here. For our summer chemistry course we are using Real Science for Kids.

In the next week or so I will post a schedule for chemistry that we will be using for 3rd grade. I will be using Adventures with Atoms and Molecules I & II.

Outline of Course Schedule Summer Chemistry 2008

WEEK 1: Matter and Molecules (ATOMS)
- introduction of matter as atoms
- atomic structure as a building block of all matter
- rules govern atomic structure and interactions
- structure of atom determines reactivity and function
- relationship of energy to a state of matter

WEEK 2: Molecules and Rules (MOLECULES)
- all molecules made up of the same atoms – concept of building blocks
- combination of atoms and their bonds determines what the molecule is and does
- molecular bonding also follows rules
- types of bonds between atoms (energy dependent)
o temporary (unshared electron bond / ionic)
o permanent (shared electron bond / covalent)
- ideas for sharing electrons and space together
- atomic structure and bonds determine shape and hence function
- difference between chemical and physical reaction

WEEK 3: Principals of Molecular Characterization (CHARACTERISTICS)
- making observations about molecules
- safety of laboratory principles
- principals governing properties of molecules
o density (mass and volume)
o solubility (water, oil/organics)
o color, smell, texture
o boiling and melting points
o acidity/base
o magnetism

LAB: OBSERVING AND MEASURING CHARACTERISTICS OF MATTER
(OBSERVATION, MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY, POSSIBLY BOILING/MELTING POINT, EXP REGARDING CONCEPT 3)

WEEK 4: Molecular interaction (CHEMICAL REACTIONS MAKE NEW SUBSTANCES)
- four types of chemical reactions
o combinations
o decomposition
o displacement
o exchange reaction
- true chemical reaction either liberates or requires energy
o first law of thermodynamics – can’t make something out of nothing
o second law of thermodynamics – it takes energy to keep things ordered

LAB: IDENTIFYING CHEMICAL REACTIONS (VOLCANO); EVAPORATION OF LIQUID TO PROVE CONSERVATION OF MATTER; MIXING OF COLORED SOLUTION TO SHOW ENTROPY (SIMPLE CHEMISTRY CONCEPT 4)

WEEK 5-9:
- very critical as it effects most of reactions that occur in water, and hence us
- definition of what an acid or base is: importance of the hydrogen molecule
- interaction of acids and bases with water
- pH scale and what it means
- pH indicators
- measuring pH
- interaction between acid and base to make a neutral solution

LAB: ACID-BASE TITRATION (PLOTTING)
- review the difference between chemical and physical reaction
- idea that like dissolves like

LAB: MIXTURES (PRECIPITATES, OIL/WATER/SOAP, DISSOLVING)
- physical and chemical separation: states of solid, liquid, gas
- filtration (dry) – works on size
- filtration (wet) – works on density
- evaporation / solubility – works on basic characteristic of molecule
- titration of acid/base – changes principles of solubility
- magnetism

LAB: SEPARATION OF VARIOUS MIXTURES BY SOLUBILITY (SEPARATION VIA WATER/ORGANIC; BOILING OFF WATER OFF OIL; PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY; SEPARATION BY DENSITY PRINCIPAL)

- Carbohydrates, starches
- Proteins
- Fats / lipids

LAB: POLYMER MAGIC, SOLUBILIZATION OF LIPIDS, DNA STRUCTURES, PERIODIC TABLE GAME

Growing up and changing!

2008-07-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our oldest daughter told me that she was growing up and wanted a big girl room and a new hair cut. So we went and got a hair cut and changed her room into a big girl room. Check it out!

I can't believe she is getting ready to turn 9 in about a month!

She is growing up fast! Here are our sweet girls.

Here is the new big girl room. We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got a duvet cover and all the accessories. She used to have a cover with little pink flowers and pink and white curtains. Then she started liking surfer girl things, so we started buying little surfer girl stuff and have finally found a duvet cover and bedding that she likes.

Here is a before picture of the bed.

This is as good as I can do for a full view of the room.

This is the bed with some of her surfer stuff on the wall.

View of just the bed.

She is so happy with her room and her new look. I am loving that she is turning into such a wonderful young lady! She is a pleasure. I am so lucky to be the mother of these two wonderful girls.

Welcome to our blog!

2008-07-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to our school and our family life. In my first post I want to tell you a little bit about 3 girls and one boy. We are a family of 4. My dear husband and I have two beautiful girls. They are our world! My husband says he is the boy with three beautiful girls.

We are just completing our third year of homeschooling. We are finishing second grade with our oldest daughter, while having fun with our youngest and getting ready to start K-4 with her.

I like to plan, pre-plan, and over plan for the year. Then I realize that I have over planned and feel overwhelmed. So I am hoping that by starting a blog I can change all this and also be accountable for getting it done. Or maybe blow off some frustration when needed.

We love gymnastics also. My girls have been in gymnastics for a few years now. J is in the gym 3 nights a week. K is in the gym 2 nights a week. This is our PE. J placed 3rd in state in the level 3 state competition. She is a wonderful gymnast. Her team placed 1st in state. K is just starting out and already on her way to greatness. I have coached gymnastics for 8 years. I love watching the kids grow into such great gymnasts.

Here are pictures of the girls that were taken last year. I just like these pictures and had to show off my girls.