June 2011

The first month of summer and always my favorite - it's never too hot but pleasant enough that our afternoons can be spent outside and it spells the beginning of a much needed vacation from work (love being a teacher :))

This month:

Books Read:

Lady of Light - another book in the Brides of Culdee Creek series. Such an easy, entertaining read. Just what I need in the summer.



Heaven is for Real: Such a good book - so encouraging and enthralling. Loved every minute of it and look forward to eternity.

Family Activity:

Trip to the cabin with my family - it was in the mid 70s the entire weekend and absolutely beautiful. My dad and Jeremy spent a lot of the weekend with chainsaw in hand attempting to cut up some of the wood from the trees that the power company had to cut down. The kids enjoyed climbing on those fallen trees, as well as taking walks, roasting marshmellows and playing games.

She found a frog in the outhouse (no longer in use) - and wanted to take him home. Sadly, she was unable to :(

Swimming Lessons

I put Addison in swimming lessons a few years back and she did great. However, she still has a real fear of the water and so I decided that this year she NEEDED swimming lesson, especially if we were going to go on vacation and our house was equipped with a pool. So - I enrolled her and Rhett in beginning swimming lessons and I'm SO glad that I did. They both did so well and Addison grew in leaps and bounds and even jumped off the diving board at the end of the two weeks (Rhett did as well but is that a surprise to anyone??). I will definately re-visit Summer Swimmers next year and both Addie and Rhett look forward to going back there. They had tons of fun!

VBS

Addison has forever loved VBS and this year was no different. We ventured all week in Pandamania and enjoyed Chatter's theatre, singing, crafts, games and a water day at the end of the week. I enjoyed my time as a crew leader and had fun with a great crew!

I regret not taking any pictures of VBS this year :( but this is a picture of Addison and her friend Brenna. They dressed up alike for twin day at VBS.

Nook Color

I want one!!! Not just for myself but also for my classroom. I can see how amazing it would be to have as a supplemental tool in my classroom. A few other fellow teacher friends feel the same and so - we are writing a grant. Yikes!! Even saying the words make me nervous. It's been a lot of work so far and we are not nearing it's completion anytime soon. We have until November and we've been told we are great candidates for the grant so we are crossing our fingers. I definately have a new found respect for anyone who has ever written a grant.


Garden

We have a garden again this year! It's pretty fun to see stuff grow because I've never really been good at making anything grow - except maybe my children. This year we planted raspberries, tomatoes, strawberries, onions, cilantro and all different kids of peppers. Our hope is to use the majority of our crop for salsa (raspberries are exempt from the process - and strawberries). It's been fun - with the exception of discovering a new found hatred for robins. So far we've been able to enjoy a few peppers as well as our strawberries - once we fended off the robins with bits of tinfoil.

This is our garden at the beginning of June.

summer reading program at the library

My kids and I enjoy participating in the summer reading program they have at our local library. My kids already enjoy reading so it's not a motivational tool for me but more of a fun outing and the kids get to earn fun prizes if they read for so many minutes and days. It's a great program!

Potty training

Something I loathe but was necessary to complete before day care arrived in August. So we made a potty chart complete with Toy Story stickers and if he completed a line he would get a candybar (his fav). That and that fact that we told him he was a big boy and we were not going to buy him anymore diapers. He cooperated and successfully goes pee in the toilet without hesitation. I was so proud that it only took a few days and he was trained. However, pooping in the toilet is another matter altogether and one that he is not so excited about!

Walking
5:30 am comes at a very dark and dreary time in the morning. Now I'm used to it - I began running at 5:30 every morning - It began a little rough but now I LOVE it. I feel like I lose a huge part of my day if I don't do it and I have time when I get home to do my devotions and shower before Jer and the kids wake up - amazing!!!

Playdates and Sleepovers
Summer would not be complete with a few of these!

puppy playdates - we watched my parents puppy for a weekend and Addison couldn't help dressing her up in build-a-bear clothes.

BFF sleepover - too precious!

Solomon

One of the reasons that Jeremy doesn't like pets is that they end up costing us a lot of money in the end - due to not only food and grooming but also in vet bills. Solomon has proved to be a keeper and therefore we fork out the big bucks when need be to make sure that he has some life left. He has never been a dog that chews on things - weird I know. However, he lack of general dog instincts has cost him his teeth. They have rotted and now are gone. He has a few stragglers left but the pickins are slim. So for $500 we received a dog with no teeth and better breath. Worth it?

MTI Class

I spent a week this summer studying math - sounds exciting huh? The State of Idaho has required all teachers to take this new Math Initiative class. I needed 3 college credits to recertify so I thought that this summer it would be necessary to take it. It was a pretty good class and I am greatful that I was able to take it with some friends - that made the days a bit less daunting. I'm glad I took it though and I feel more knowledgeable in the area of mathematics now - something I never thought I would say.

Softball

Jeremy joined our men's softball team from church for probably the 8th year in a row. I enjoy going to the games (yes - even with my children) and cheering the team on.

That's a quick (well. . . .) synopsis of June