July 2016

It cannot be time for August already!  Seriously...  Where has this month gone?

For me, most of my time has quickly slipped away while playing teacher.  It's been fun, but incredibly tiring... almost like the beginning of a new school year at Madison Elementary used to feel like for me!  The nights have been late, the mornings have been rushed, the days have been busy - but it's been good!

For Charlie, so many of his days this month have been spent on airplanes or in rental cars, literally traveling from coast to coast working on various projects.  We've sure missed having him around, but business is good, so we won't complain and instead will just continue cheering him through the door when he returns.

nothing beats a sandy pool and daddy

For Bruce, the days continue to disappear whilst bent over Lego instruction booklets and buckets of bricks.  Oh, and Kindergarten!  More on that later, though!

Bruce's "Mixels" - what he spends most of his time building these days

And Abby?  Let's just say she's up to over 4000 minutes logged for the Summer Reading Program...

 

We've been fairly busy, so I guess it makes sense that time got away from us.  Again.

Other Highlights and Kidbits for the month:

We spent the long holiday weekend at the wheat farm in Kansas hoping to help wrap up the harvest season.  Unfortunately, it was too wet while we were there for the combines to be operating - but we had a good time nevertheless.  Charlie's parents sold their place in Perkins recently, so Charlie spent most of the weekend helping them clean out the old farmhouse so they can live there while they look for a new house.  The kids and I mostly tried to stay out of the way, and amused ourselves with "historical" things we found around the house - you know - phones with coiled cords attached to them and briefcases with pop-latches on them.  The soggy weather may have halted farming chores, but it definitely produced some mega-mud puddles that we enjoyed fully.

going to see what the new hound dog was barking at in the trees...

a mama raccoon with not one, not two, but THREE babies holding on for dear life!

helping Grandpa with some tractor work

Abbs wanted nothing to do with the tractor, so we visited the cows in the pasture instead

Bruce got to ride with Uncle Bruce while they took a sample cutting to see if the wheat was dry enough

Bruce and Bandit

When we got home from the farm, we hit up a few roadside fireworks stands a brought home a small cache of explosives.  The kids still aren't too thrilled with the loudness of the fireworks, so we mostly stuck to sparklers and a few pooping dogs.  What would the founding fathers think of those, I wonder...

Towards the middle of the month we took a quick trip to Texas to celebrate Rick's 70th birthday!  The kids have gotten so good with road trips lately, that we didn't feel the need to make our usual hour-long stop for lunch.  In fact, we just ate in the car and plowed right through!  It was fun getting to spend some time with the extended family, even if it was for such a short time.  We explored the gardens, had a birthday BBQ lunch, enjoyed the fancy pool/lakeside, and caught up with family.  One of these days the drive down won't feel so long, and hopefully we'll have weekends like that more often!

the macaws were out of their cages!

looking at lily pads

playing with cousin Courtney

opening presents

still the only way my kids know how to eat cake... at least he has a fork in his hand - progress.

The biggest excitement of the month for us though, was that we started regularly meeting with our home school co-op group and officially kicked off "Okie One Room School."  We've finished our first three weeks of school, and this coming week will be a rest week.  I'll write more next week about what we've been up to in my update that's just for school stuff because I know not everyone gets as excited about the details of library books and center time as me, but in a nutshell, I'd say it's been a whirlwind.  I think, like everything, there will be an adjustment period as everyone gets used to the new normal, but I think we're making progress towards learning procedures and getting the hang of what it means to do school like this.  There is definitely no Norman Rockwell painting of what has been transpiring in my living room this month, but it's been beautiful in its own right.  Relationships are being made, and foundations are being laid.  I am so thankful for the families who have supported this idea, jumped right into my crazy, and are making this possible.  

Bruce and his best new buddy

In addition to meeting twice a week at our house, we were able to go on a lot of fun field trips this month!  We visited a local screen-printing shop to have school t-shirts made, and actually got to help print them!  

We were given a guided tour of the pet store and were taught a lot about the different kinds of animals people choose to keep as pets.  And yes, we came home with a new beta - also named Goldy.

 

We were able to meet a local beekeeper and learn about the honey-making process.

Bruce asking his pressing question, "How do you get the honey without the bees stinging you?"  A:  They like us.

don't worry, they were allowed to poke their fingers in for a sample

we got home and made honey lemonade!

And we took a trip to the zoo!  

Our whole family really got into bug collecting this month when "Bb" was the letter of the week.  Charlie had quite an extensive bug collection while growing up, so I think he really enjoyed sharing that hobby with us all.  We've gone on bug walks through the neighborhood and have taken special interest in the creepy crawlies whenever we're out and about.  But really, all it's taken is walking into our backyard to find some of the best ones.  Bugs sure love our garden and sunflowers!  Bruce and Abby have loved finding new, unique bugs for the collection and have quickly caught on how to scoop them up and stick them in the freezer to preserve them.  And I think Charlie and I have been equally giddy about our specimens...  We have amassed an amazing assortment of bugs over the past two weeks, but I'm kind of embarrassed to admit just how much time we've actually spent hunting them...

the beginnings of Bruce's collection

these butterflies are everywhere this summer!

I think this coming rest week will be much appreciated, but I'm also really excited about planning out our next month!

we found a field of clam shells by the lake - scouting out possible fossil dig sites for next month

I cannot believe how grown up Bruce is now.  I mean, he's practically five!  (and we find ourselves reminding him of that daily...) When I look at him, I just cannot get over how old he looks.  I can almost picture what he might look like as a teenager, which is crazy, because in my mind he could never grow up to be a teenager.  We're working hard on trying to convince him that part of being a big kid, is the big responsibilities that come with it.  But no one likes to hear that, am I right?  Every day is different, and there are some aspects of life that he wants to delve right into being responsible.  Then, there's the seemingly arduous process of putting shoes on by himself.  And I'm not even talking about trying to tie laces.  We're trying to be patient with him while he's hesitant in taking on new levels of independence, but it's hard!  One thing he's really great at though, is brushing his teeth.  He always reminds us before bed that he needs to brush his teeth, and he loves to proudly show off his pearly whites when he's done.  It's an added bonus for him I think that Charlie and I always act blinded by their brightness when we tuck him in at night.  We like to make a big deal about the things he does choose to be independent with - hoping the exaggerated applause and pride will propel him to do more... it hasn't quite worked yet though, but we keep hoping...  He also continues to blow us away with how diligently he'll work when he's trying to earn money to buy something from my "closet store."  Sometimes we find really good deals on toys we know Bruce will want, but can't afford at the time.  So we buy them in order to get the deal, but keep them in the closet until he can save enough money for them.  And now I don't even have to stand behind him while he's doing the chores, so it's actually helpful for me!  A lot of Lego themes are coming out with new sets next month, so older ones have been significantly reduced at Walmart.  We bought a couple Ninjago things for him, and he has been working his tail off in efforts of buying them!  So if anyone has some odd jobs, let us know and we'll send him your way!

Bruce showing off the cat toys he sewed all by himself

Bruce has always had such a thirst for information, just not necessarily in the traditional way of education.  Now that he's getting older though, we're trying to find a balance between having him learn to sit and engage in formal lessons, and letting him "pick up" the information he should be learning in a style more tailored his interests.  He feeds off of conversations.  One on one.  Back and forth.  Question and answer.  Needless to say, most of our independent school days have centered around learning with Legos.  And I have no problem with that.  

making Lego bugs for math

And I absolutely cannot believe how grown up Abby is now either!  I think she must have had a growth spurt or something over the summer because, man!  She seems so big now!  And heavy.  Her little personality is really coming out strong these days too and she's so funny!  She's finally moving past slapstick comedy and poop jokes, and she actually can be pretty witty with her humor - it catches me off guard sometimes and really makes me laugh at her.

She's totally opposite compared to Bruce when it comes to independence, and sometimes gets a little too big for her britches.  She's working on potty training herself, can operate the cd and dvd players herself, can hoist herself up on the bathroom counter to wash her own hands, and can order her own ice cream cone at Chick-fil-a all by herself.  And just when I was bragging to friends that she still loves to take a nap everyday, she decided to start fighting it.  She's always full of surprises.

I feel like I have definitely felt a shift this month with those kids.  They really, truly, are growing up.  There have been several days this month when they've both been content doing their own thing, not needing me.  It's been different, but nice, and I whole-heartedly welcome it.  Surprisingly, I still can't seem to get everything done that needs to get done...

maybe because when they want to do things on a whim, like make fortune cookies, I can't turn them down

Maybe an infinitely long to-do list is another reason why the count down to August is less than ten minutes away already?  Who knows, but I love August - so bring it on!

 

 

 

giant clam shells!