Let the preparations begin...

One day until my Jake turns 13! I don't know how this happened...but I am excited to celebrate! Unfortunately Jake is sick. :(  But we will still have fun!  I picked up his favorite cookie cake from Sam's club that used to be a circle but sometime in the past year they switched to rectangular.  Who knew!

While I was there I saw this:

Seriously?...But then I saw Santa so I felt bad for being a Grinch...but I still don't understand it.  This year, more than ever, our focus is going to be on the true meaning of Christmas. 

Here are the last of the pictures I posted daily on Facebook leading up to Jake's birthday...and I am now taking a break from FB.  It is a time waster and quit frankly I rarely leave it feeling uplifted.  I have been unfriending people recently that continually post things that I don't want to see.  I am sick of the ALS ice bucket challenge-yes I know it is a good cause but every other post is getting old.  I am also sick of seeing people post about how the police are racist and use their powers for evil. Ridiculous.  The media is creating this perception and I am sick of it-so I am turning it off for a while and so far I have not missed it at all (well I have missed conversations with my cousin but I will email her)!  But any way back to my favorite face!

Tomorrow is the big day!

A week in review...

Our first day of HIS co-op was on Monday the 18th. Who is the young man that doesn't look like he is getting ready to turn 13 but 16!?!?!

Art class was a hit!

Everyone had fun busily creating a collage that would be the cover of their Art Portfolio and getting to know each other.

Science was awesome too.  We learned about molecules and atoms with a battery, wires, water, and baking soda.

The copper changed the water green-blue pretty quickly and it was so cool.

We put a completely new shinny penny in the water and a couple minutes later it looked like this:

Jake and the other kids with summer/August birthdays were celebrated.

And our co-op has GROWN!  Doubled in fact-which is a great thing!

And of course there was the playing in the gym to make the day complete.

This was after most of our friends were gone.  We are often the last ones to leave. :)

After co-op we headed to the library to practice our memory work (based on US History) with some of our friends. You are looking at a picture of "one room schooling" at it's finest.  Grades represented: 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th.

We are going to learn about the systems of our bodies so we will need paper bodies to use the whole year to add too.

Later in the week we decided an extended recess was need so we took advantage of Aunt Sheila's pool.

I love this picture.

Jake is serious about the suction of his goggles!  Nee was with us but I tend to focus my camera on my favorite face.  We had fun playing Marco Polo and Categories (one person says a category like ice cream.  The other people pick a flavor and the person who is it calls out flavors.  When you flavor is called you try to cross the pool with out getting tagged by the person who is it).  Nee learned you should never jump into the shallow (3 feet) end...ever!

Aaron and Jake restarted guitar lesson and Jake has been doing a great job practicing daily.

I am in continual planning mode.  I was searched the house for my three whole punch...do you see that is was in front of me the whole time?  It took me 10 minutes (at least) to realize that...

And on Friday nigh-it was my night to pick the movie for our traditional Friday night pizza and movie night.  I have watched so many super hero, intergalactic, boy movies that I thought it was time for a chick flick...Decisions, decisions...I choose Pride and Prejudice and after explaining what was going on through out the movie, they declared that it wasn't half bad. :) 

On Saturday Jake went to a lake day with the Youth from church and came back with a very red face.  Aaron and Jake watched Star Wars on Saturday night while I tried to organize more of the office/school room..This is what I got done...

 I almost bought paperclips and...

 ...Sharpies this week.  I am glad I didn't.  I need it in my face to remember we already have what we need.  This is a sneak peek of the amazingness that will be the office/school room!

It was a pretty good week. :)

17 years and a week ago...

...Aaron and I were doing this:

It was August 16, 1997 and we were just babies!  It was what I am sure was the hottest day in the history of the world.  We took maybe 3 or 4 pictures outside and called it good.  It was a pretty great  day.  To celebrate Jake spent the night at Nee and Papa's and we headed to Bronco's for our favorite Mexican food.  We rented a movie, Drive Along, and laughed at the jokes and cringed at some of the language and cruder jokes and then slept in on Saturday morning.  Then Aaron...

Went and got some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I tasted my first ever carrot cake doughnut....

...which was delicious.  Happy Anniversary to my best friend and me!  Here is to 17 more and then on to eternity!

You may be spoiled/lucky/blessed if...

1.)  You find the perfect table cloth that ties together all the random colors in your dining room and it was at Walmart.  Walmart = cheap. 

2.)  If you have been wanting a laminator (and you homeschool...why do I not have one already?) and an awesome one, that is usually $81, goes on sale (it may have even been a one day sale-that is how lucky I am) for $17.99 and you order it and get it within 48 hours because you have Amazon Prime.

3.)  If your Aunt moves to SC and asks you if you want an adorable cabinet that is perfect for your Vintage Kitchen in your adorable Vintage Home (not sure why I feel the need to capitalize that but it is my blog so I will) and will make the perfect base for your future island.

4.)  If your sister sends you a box of IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) DVD's, teacher manuals that go along with the educational DVD's and....

...books that you can use to educate your child.  One of the books that isn't showing is also a grammar book!  All of which would have cost you $200+ but were free because she loves you and doesn't need them and you do.

5.)  Your husband is in the Bishopric and is present when the Bishop says he is going to throw away this old huge dry erase board that is no longer needed at church any more and your husband says not to throw it way because his family can use it and the Bishop says okay...! And yes that is a run on sentence who's only punctuation is a period at the end...again: my blog and I don't care if you are judging me....but stop if you are.

So, the question is am I spoiled, lucky, or blessed?  The correct answer is all of the above.

Random Memories That Must Be Documented

I love my Shark floor mop thing.  It reminds me why I am a germaphob and went from never wearing shoes to always wearing flip flops.  That was the dirt from just one room-the kitchen.

Remember when I said I needed to do laundry?  This was the "hand towel" in our bathroom.  I kid you not.

 My car washer...

 My favorite goofy face...

Best snack ever.  One serving of microwave popcorn (there are individual bags for that) and sugar free strawberry milk.  Perfection....well if it was a huge bowl and had real sugar it may have been better but at least I didn't have to feel guilty about any of this...Oh.  I forgot to mention this is skim milk. :)

Yes gas is now under $3 a gallon in SC. 

When we had to fly out home quickly because Aaron lost his pinky, we had to pack only what we could take carry on.  When Aunt Sheila's truck got to SC last Monday I was excited to be reunited with my clothes.  My favorite Navy blue shirt is right on top and I have been wearing my 2 favorite pairs of comfy pants all week.

As of last Sunday our whole house was clean and picked up.  I won't go as far as to say it was organized...I am working on that...but our spare bedroom is going through a make over right now.  What once looked like this:

Will soon look like an office/homeschooling room.  Aaron is the one who wanted a spare bedroom.  We don't have a whole lot of over night guests but since he doesn't ask for much I gave in.  Now that he is, on occasion doing paperwork at home rather than driving to the office he is game for having a better space to do that in.  So now our house that was all tidy now looks like this:

The living room...yes that is the front door.

The hall way.

It is a work in progress and the house is a wreck...but it will be worth it!  The old spare bedroom will soon be revealed and look amazing!!!!  I can't wait!

 Also  random but very important:  I feel very domestic when while cooking taco meet for dinner I cook enough to freeze for two more meal and I also make enough Spaghetti sauce for 3 meals (one to eat and two to freeze).  That is called multitasking and most moms rock at it.  This mom does.

 One last random thought for the day: you know you really love your table cloth when you use place mats over it, when it is just your family, because you don't want to stain it.