Swinging

We tore down our old swingset a couple years ago…and the kiddos have been asking for a new one ever since.  Back in the spring dh and my in-laws spent the weekend putting up a new one.

Ds5 was so happy to have anytime access to a swing!

 

The other two kiddos love it too…

I tell ya, our new swingset is the most used piece of “equipment” around our house these days .

Happy 5th Birthday

Ds4 is now ds5…he celebrated his fifth birthday at the beach this year.  Four years ago we celebrated his first birthday while vacationing in Nags Head, NC.

We discovered pretty quickly how he felt about the sand…

He did not want his daddy to put him in that stuff.

He did not like sand on his little feet!

Four years later his tastes have changed .

Happy birthday little guy!

No More Training Wheels

It looks like he’s not a little guy anymore :(

Nope, he’s definitely a big guy now…he can ride his bike without training wheels!

And he is so proud of himself too :)

A Valentine’s Lunch/Party for His Siblings

Ds9 rushed into our room first thing this morning to wish me a “Happy Valentine’s Day!”.  And he could not wait to give me my Valentine’s Day gift this morning.  He has been in the mood to make the most of Valentine’s Day all day :)

This morning after he finished his school work he asked me if he could set up a Valentine’s party in the basement for his brother and sister.  I thought about it for a moment, and quickly decided that he could set up a special Valentine’s lunch/party.  I gave him some paper plates and napkins that I had put aside for today and let him get to work.

I gave him some extras to make lunch a bit more special…drink boxes, and little bags of pretzels.  He added a balloon and cut out some paper hearts…  

Ds9 is such a sweet big brother…it warmed my heart to see him make today special for his little sister and brother :)

My dd6 asked to use our “old” camera…

and this is what I found on the memory card when she was done…an American Girl fashion show of sorts :)

With a couple of Zhu Zhu pets and horses thrown in for good measure…

Girls’ Day

This past weekend dd6 and I had a Girls’ Day {actually, it was just an afternoon}…dd had been looking forward to it ever since big brother’s date with mom.  I owed my mom a birthday lunch {very belated}, so I called her up and asked her if she wanted to join us for lunch…

Dd6 and I began by stopping by Barnes & Noble for her free book…then we made a few more stops before meeting my mom at a nearby shopping area that had a ton of restaurants from which to choose.  Dd6 chose a new one {to us} ~ CiCi’s Pizza.  She loves white pizza, and she was hoping they would have some on their pizza buffet…not only did they have white pizza, they also had dessert pizza, cinnamon rolls, and brownies :)  Needless to say, she was very pleased with her restaurant choice.

After we had lunch, we stopped by a cute little courtyard in the shopping area for some pictures ~ dd6 absolutely LOVED the fountain…

I was also able to get some sweet pictures by an arbor…

And then I let her have a little fun on the bench by the arbor…while I snapped away :)

And finally some pics of the girls…

Note to self…plan more Girls’ Days :)

A Date with Mom

My ds8 and I had a date this past weekend…he had two completed summer reading club sheets to turn in for free books (thanks for the free books Barnes & Noble and Borders).  I thought it would be a great idea to add lunch out with me and call it a date :)

My ds8 and I do not get much one-on-one time together and I miss it (and I suspect he does too, even though he probably wouldn’t admit it).  He is growing up so quickly and he is really good company.

We headed out around mid-morning, hitting Barnes & Noble first.  He chose his free book, and on the way to the register, he found an awesome bargain book about baseball to add to his growing collection.

Then we drove across the street to Borders where he chose his second free book, and I found a bargain book that will be a great addition to both our geography studies and astronomy studies this year :)

Afterwards I snuck in a quick visit to Michaels {it was right next door…and I had a coupon and a list :)}.

Then we headed across the street to Chick-Fil-A…I cannot remember ever having visited Chick-Fil-A on a Saturday at 12:30pm ~ and now I know why :)  Since there were no seats, we took our meals to the van…I found a shady parking spot, turned up the A/C, and pushed my seat back.  Ds8 joined me in the front passenger seat.

We had a wonderful lunch together…he read to me from his new baseball book, I read to him from the Chick-Fil-A records cards (courtesy of our Kids’ Meals).  I apologized to him for the fact that we couldn’t eat inside…but he said eating in the van was much better…and I agree :)

Summertime ~ Swimming Lessons

A couple weeks ago I signed my two oldest kiddos up for swim lessons.  Dd6 was begging for them, ds8 was begging for an exemption :). I told him that if he wanted to be able to get in the water at the beach, or go to friends’ pools, swim lessons were a requirement…

Dd6 had a blast, her teacher commented that she had never seen a child so happy to be in the water…

Ds8 was a trooper, he did his best ~ and he was glad when the lessons came to an end…

While the older kiddos were busy with lessons, ds3 kept me company on the bleachers inside the pool area…we always brought a bag full of fun stuff to keep him busy :)

Their completion certificates are the first items in their homeschool binders for the next schoolyear…one PE activity down, yeah!