Water Balloon War

Yesterday as Connor and I were waiting on the return of the rest of our family, we decided to plan a surprise.  Cole has been asking to play with water balloons all summer and it was time.  So, Connor stretched them and I filled them.  We even made a trip to the store for some more since I popped half of the ones we had while filling them.  When they arrived home, the war was on.

The Ammunition

The Participants (with one sad Caleb who had already dropped several balloons accidentally)

First shots fired

 

And IT was on...

 

I'm not sure Caleb ever actually hit anyone with a balloon but he had fun

Connor would stand very close to Jason waiting to be hit

Jason got a little into it

 

And when we were down to the last balloon, everyone wanted to get wet

I think everyone won

 

And when I woke up this morning, my legs were sore and aching.  I thought "what in the world did I do."  Then, I remembered that I squatted for over an hour filling balloons and I'm about to turn 33.  That about sums it up.

Date Day with Connor

Yesterday Connor and I had an entire day to ourselves.  This rarely happens with any of the boys, but probably the least with Connor with him being the middle child (no, to my-middle-child-sister, he is not neglected or ignored ;0) ).  The funniest part of this whole thing was when we told Connor he was going to have an entire day with mommy.  Once he confirmed repeatedly it was only going to be him, he looked right at Cole and said "And YOU'RE not going."  He didn't care where we were going or even when, he was just so excited it was just going to be him and mommy. 

So, yesterday was the "date day", and Connor was the perfect gentleman.  He held the door for me, held my hand, and gave me lots of hugs and kisses.  We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, Chuck E. Cheese for games, and Target for mommy.   Sometimes Connor gets lumped in with Cole as one of the "big boys." Watching him so enamored with Chuck E. yesterday and wanting to ride in the shopping cart, reminded me that he is still my little boy.  Then, last night we met some friends for dinner and Connor had his first soccer practice.  It was a perfect day.  He is such a sweetie!  I told the boys this will be become a regular thing and Caleb's turn is next.  I'm scared that date might be a little wild.  Here are a few pictures of Connor on our date,

 

 

Our School Year Begins...

... and with a bang.  We kicked off our first day of school yesterday here at home.  It was a long, but good day.  As usual, I was too scheduled.  I need routines, not schedules, yet I constantly make schedules for myself for some reason. Fortunately, I recognize this in myself quickly these days and already adjusted.  Today was more laid back and we had fun getting into our new curriculum. If you stop by our house these days, there is a good chance you will see books piled high on the coffee table.

Since a few have asked what we are using this year for curriculum, here is a list below.  While I consider this our family's curriculum, these are basically for Cole. Our younger two are invited to participate as much as they want.  Our choices were made through prayer and lots of research, and they are primarily influenced by the wonderful curriculum guide at simplycharlottemason.com .

• Genesis Through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt: A Family Study Handbook


• Exploring Creation through Astronomy & Nature Study


• Math-U-See Alpha


• Various Literature Books: My Father's Dragon, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, and others that are not coming to mind right now


• Continuing to work on reading skills through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Pathway Readers


• Drawing with Children and Art with a Purpose

We are also doing Hymn/Worship Study, Poetry, Composer Study, Artist Study, Personal Development, Scripture Memory, and an introduction to Spanish, but I'm using various sources for these and not a set curriculum.

I am already excited about Jason getting involved. We are doing our Bible/History time before he heads to work in the morning. It is one of the beauties of homeschooling. Here's a little peek into this morning,

No Routines & Summer Adventures

If you have been reading my blog for any period of time, you know every summer I completely fall off the blogging wagon (if there is such a thing). I have learned something about myself that I probably already knew, but didn't want to own up to.  I need routines.  I crave routines.  My sanity wavers when there is no routine.  Moving causes the loss of all routine.  Summertime is notorious for having no routines. So, yes, I am a little crazy at the moment, but sanity is on the horizon.

There is much about summertime I do enjoy though.  While my routines might be turned upside-down, there is freedom with summer to do just about anything at anytime.  Plus, 3 of us (not me) have summertime birthdays, so Caleb, Cole, and Jason are a year older than probably the last time I posted.  Our summer has looked something like this,

Lots of Swimming * Seaworld * Disneyworld for Cole * DeeDee's House * Parties * New & Old Friends Visiting * Caleb's Birthday * Father's Day  * VBS * Lots of Nana & Papa * Western Days * ER Visit * 4th of July *  Houston * Youth Camp for me * Cole's Birthday * Farmer's Markets * Jason's Birthday * Date Night * Round Rock Express Games * Cousins *  Picking Watermelon at Mr. Alvin's *  Austin's Park & Pizza  * Bowling * Library * Movie Nights * Way too much Eating Out * Lots of Driving

And now I'm tired all over again. 

With the lack of my much needed routines comes the lack of picture-taking.  I seemed to only remember my camera about half the time during the summer fun.  Here are a few pictures of this crazy, fun, busy summer.