Summer Fun: Drive-in

This past weekend we checked another fun thing off of our list.  We have a drive-in about an hour south of our home.  They were playing BRAVE.  The drive-in is becoming a favorite family tradition.  With 4 kids it is a whole lot cheaper to see new movies at the drive-in.  It is great for the boys.  They don't have to sit still! Here are a few pics of the evening! 

Yes - even Batman goes the movies!

Blowing bubbles while we wait

Eliana is holding up the screen

Candy & Popcorn

Putting the twins to work

This morning Josiah asked if he could rip the rest of the wall paper off the kitchen wall. This was a project I had planned to get done in June.  I hadn't even started.  There was a large piece that one of the twins had torn off a few months after we moved in.  I text Trev to see what he thought.  He gave Josiah the go ahead.  

This is how much the boys did.  The white is still what needs torn off.  They sure left a lot of work for mom!

Summer Fun: Visit the zoo

 Eliana's review of the zoo:

Dad, Eliana and Josiah saw a boy peacock spread  out his feathers  and when you get close to them  he will shake them.  We got to see bears.  We got to ride on the train.  My favorite part was going to see the lions.  We saw a whole family.  There was one boy lion, he was the dad.  There was 2 girls.  There was another boy lion, he was a little lion. .  When we got on the train, we saw a tiger.  We got to see 2 types of bears - black & grizzly.  We got to see all kinds of the monkeys that were adorable.  Some of the monkeys were not out.  The lemurs were making  a very loud noise.  I really want a  lemur because they are so cute.  I got to pet a sting ray at the zoo.  At first I was really scared, but when I felt it and then we had to leave I was sad.   The train ride was long and boring.  The boys thought it was fun.   We saw black mamba,  rattle snakes, and a king cobra.  I thought it was cool to see deadly snakes.  I also saw a python which creeped me out.  Josiah's favorite animal was the parrot.  Jeremiah's favorite animals were the snakes.  Asher got the most excited about the monkeys.

Playgroup Trip to the Fire Station

Every summer the playgroup I am a part of takes a field trip to the fire station in Charleston.  The firemen do an amazing job of interacting with the kids.  We get to take a tour of the station,  see fire trucks, and play with the fire hose.  Here are a few pictures of the trip:

Asher & his new best friend!

The whole gang!  This was one of the largest groups we have had!

Asher just hanging out

He was just as big as anyone else

Josiah

Jeremiah

Day Camp: Mom's View

This week Eliana is attending our local day camp for Girl Scouts.  We signed her up several months ago and she has been looking forward to it ever since.  We decided to try a day camp before we tried an over night camp.  Next year she will be old enough to attend church camp, and we thought this would be a good way to get her feet wet.   I  hesitate to tell you my side of the story, but the last two books I have read have been about being real so here is me being REAL.

Monday:

The camp is held at a state park just 5 minutes from our house.  This morning Eliana was nervous.  We knew the only 2 girls she knows in Girl Scouts were not attending camp.  Her being nervous made me nervous.  I had to hold it together to keep her calm.  I have to sign her in and out.  While signing her in I realized that most of the girls were several years older than her.  This was not something I expected.  When I was a girl scout, by 5th grade everyone had pretty much quit.  There were only 5 or 6 other 2nd graders on the list.   So she went and sat at the picnic table alone, said she was fine and I left her.  I made it all the way to Charleston before I lost it.  I called Trevor in tears.   I had just left my most precious gift with complete strangers - ALONE!   In his wisdom he reminded me she would be ok for one day.  If she had a terrible time she didn't have to go back.  Oh - how I love that man!

Guess what - she had the time of her life.  Her buddy for the day was a girl she took swim lessons with last summer.  She is also in her new Girl Scout troop.  Another friend (also a homeschooler)  showed up later.   The two things she kept talking about when she got home were how she doesn't know the Pledge of Allegiance.  (Yes- homeschool mom fail - I haven't taught her that) & what she had for lunch.




Tomorrow she gets to go the pool for the afternoon.  She is really excited about it.  I on the other hand have a whole new set of fears!

Summer Fun: Visit Laura Ingalls Wilder's Home

This past week we started our family vacation with a year end field trip.  This year for school we did a unit study, The Prairie Primer.  All of our lessons were based on the Little House series.   This was the first time Eliana had read the books.  To my delight, Eliana loves the books as much as I do.   Our good friends, the Robey's, also did the unit study.  We spent the year doing activities together and looking forward to this family trip at the end of the year. 


For weeks, Eliana has been talking about seeing Pa's fiddle.  It is on display in the museum.   Eliana loved seeing the name cards that Laura shared with her friends and students.   The museum is full of pictures, family history and items that the Wilders owned.    We toured both homes that are on the farm.  Almanzo and Laura purchased 40 acres in Mansfield, MO in 1894.  They spent the rest of their lives there.  All of the little house books were written on the farm.

If you are a Little House fan - it is worth the drive to go.  For more information about Rocky Ridge Farm check out www.lauraingallswilderhome.com

Eliana entering the original homestead.

This is the house Almanzo built. 

The twins at the house Rose built for her parents.

The "modern" house is in the background.  Rose built it for her parents.

This spot is at the top of a hill.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Laura also did a blog post about our trip - you can see it here

Book Review: The Messenger

This book is a fictional story based upon true stories from the American Revolution.  The character development is slow, as it took several chapters before I was interested in what occurred in the characters lives.   Hannah & Jeremiah are the two main characters.  They  are brought together from two very different lives in pursuit of the same thing, a familiar historical fiction love story.   The author did add some twists and turns that I was not expecting.  Hannah's inner struggles were very well expressed. You could feel how challenging her life was at times.   I did not identify with a lot of Jeremiah's struggles.  The book has two main plots, that of Hannah's life and that of Jeremiah's, and the story is told from both of their perspectives.  It is interesting to see how their different faith's play a role in the decisions they make.

Overall I enjoyed the book, although  it took several chapters before I felt that way.  This is  the first book I have read in awhile that I didn't want to finish, but  I am glad I did. The suspense during the climax made it impossible to put down.   The history geek in me is now interested in studying the true facts on which the book is based.

I received a free copy of this book from  Bethany House Publishing

Siblings Reunited

Brother and sister, who grew up together years ago,  have been reunited in the same assisted living facility.  Sounds wonderful, doesn't it......

Brother was the youngest of 10 children, the eight oldest all being sisters.  Don't you think he had lots of bosses when he was young?  Maybe that's why he doesn't like for big sister to tell him what to do now.  He's been basically on his own since the age of 14.  Did get married, have a family and a wife to boss him around.  Both of his children are gone, his wife is gone and he can  make his own decisions, doesn't need help.  

However, his big sister, eight years his senior, thinks she should be able to give him direction and guidance... didn't she used to do that when he was little?  

He moved into the assisted living facility at age 91, big sister has been there 6-7 years.  He thought it would be a comfort for her if he was there too.  What he didn't realize was that she would be a pest.  They finally had to get him a lock for his door to keep her from barging in at any time.  When he leaves the facility, he still has his driver's license, she expects him to tell her where he's going and when he'll be back.  He doesn't like reporting to her, even if she is "big sister." 

Aging seems to revert us back to "childish ways."  She can't see anything wrong with trying to boss him around.  Oh my goodness!

Written by Carol Stewart

Tumbling Exhibition

Eliana had her tumbling show today.  
Here are a few pictures:

Eliana & her team mates

Ending Pose