Gettin' Schooled

This post has been tumbling around in my head for a while, but I'm not sure where to start.  I'm not sure where the "start" even is.  But the fact of the matter is that I've decided to Homeschool Elise this year.  I've always been intrigued with the idea of homeschooling, but have always been incredibly intimidated by the idea as well.  Its one of those things where there's this thought in my head that says, "I could totally do that!", while at the same time thinking, "There's no way I could do that!"  

It started out with a difficult 5th grade year for our sweet Elise, who had her first taste of what it feels like when someone just dislikes you for no reason, or for a stupid reason.  She was strong and brave and she made it.  But it was tough.  As we struggled with how to help her get through the year, homeschool was something we tossed around.  But in the end, it just didn't feel like the right thing do to.  When the school year came to an end, I was still thinking that it might be something to try for the next year, but mostly, although I had tinkered with the idea, I didn't think Cory was 100% committed to it.  So I pretty much put the idea on a shelf.  And then, out of the blue, the thought came to me one Sunday that I should consider it again.  The idea struck me with enough force that I literally snapped to attention.  And I started thinking seriously about what it would mean for Elise and for our family.  But I hadn't really brought it up with Cory, assuming he was still of the mindset that it wasn't for us.  When out of the blue, he said he was totally on board if I was.  There were so  many pros and cons that we considered on both ends of the equation.  But when all was said and done, it just felt like the right thing to do.  And then I got truly terrified.

Its one thing to think about homeschooling in theory, and another to completely commit to it.  And once I did, I realized I had no idea what to do.  So I did the only logical thing I could do--I sent off panicked emails to three dear friends who have "been there, done that", hoping to get some sort of guidance and direction on what in the heck I was supposed to do now!  And they came through!  They invited me over to talk, walked me through curriculums and filing paperwork and mostly just giving me such hope and confidence that I could do it.

What I love about our decision, is that we're going into it for so many positive reasons.  I'm excited about Elise being able to just focus on school without a lot of truly unnecessary distractions.  I love that our relationship is good enough that we enjoy being together and can handle a little more togetherness.  I'm excited about learning along with Elise.  I'm excited about watching her learn and grow and blossom this year.  I'm excited about trying something really hard, but just doing it anyway, even if we're both a little scared.  

And so here we are.  Ready to tackle 6th grade.  Books are here, ducks are in a row and we're ready to start!  I still have some butterflies about the whole thing.  But mostly I'm excited about this unique time in our lives where we can do this.  So ready or not--homeschool here we come!

Reason #51...

....that Paige keeps us laughing.

Today I was eating a tomato sandwich and Paige walked into the kitchen.  She looked interested and slightly horrified as she asked, "What is that?"  I responded, "A tomato sandwich."  "Oh!", she replied.  "That scares the daylights out of me."

 

Who knew it could by so terrifying?! :)

Funnies

The day we got ice cream cones, Elise wanted hers in a cup.  I wasn't sure if they could/would dip the ice cream if it was in a cup, but I told her I'd ask.  I explained that I wanted to see if we could get a cup of ice cream, dipped like they do their cones, and they said they could do it.  Imagine our surprise when they handed us a chocolate dipped ice cream cone, turned upside down and placed in a cup!  Definitely lost in translation.

The other day Elise and I were walking in the neighborhood and we saw a cicada laying upside down on the ground, apparently dead.  Just as we stepped around/over it, it began buzzing and flopping on the ground and scared the daylights out of us.  Then we had a good laugh over it.  Its just a bug.  But kind of freaky. ;)

Ice Cream Memories

This afternoon I took the kids to McDonald's for ice cream cones.  I'll be honest, its been a really, really long time since I've had an ice cream cone.  I'm more of a pie and cake kind of girl, so ice cream is something I usually pass on.  But it was really hot today and I thought it just sounded good.  So we all got their chocolate dipped cones.

When I bit into that cone, it was like I was transported back to hot summer afternoons as a kid, when I would walk next door to Grandma's house and she would dip me a cone of her butter pecan ice cream.  For just a second I felt like I was six years old, on her back porch, eating an ice cream cone with her instead of 32, and driving my four kids home in my minivan.  Grandma always had ice cream for cones (it always had to be in a cone.  She wouldn't hear of putting it in a cup!!!), Klondike bars or chocolate pudding pops ready for a hot summer afternoon.  I know she loved a sweet treat, but I also know she had way more goodies than she'd need for just one person.  As much as she loved a "sweet bite", she loved sharing a sweet bite with those she loved even more.  Somewhere in the archives of my childhood photo albums, there's a picture of my brother, Ethan and I, eating pudding pops on the edge of her driveway, with as much chocolate on us as what we ate.  What sweet memories they are.

The summer before she passed away, I took the kids up for a visit.  She fixed them each an ice cream cone.

All the kids thought it was great, but for Paige, it was her first ice cream cone.

 And what a treat it was!

 Although she wasn't quite sure how to eat the cone. ;)

And then seemed very surprised (and puzzled) when the ice cream began dripping from the side of the cone.

She loves me.  She loves my kids.  And oh!  How we love her.  I can't bear to write it in the past tense.  Because even though she isn't physically with us, I feel her love as if she were.  And I know the love we feel for her is just as present.

And all the memories came flooding back this afternoon...all because of an ice cream cone.

Stealing

Elise was holding Paige and began telling her about a girl at school who shares her given name.  Elise said, "She stole my name!"  Paige, looking very serious, replied, "You should get it back!"

Boys

While cooking dinner, I heard a loud pop and a crash coming from the living room.

Me:  "What was that noise?"
Ian:  "Me."  pause  "Hitting that box."  pause  "With a wooden sword."

Of course that's what it was. ;)

Junk

We were cleaning out a closet today and Paige was "helping".  I had a little basket filled with random odds and ends.  Paige began pulling things out one by one, telling me she was going to "keep this special thing".  I firmly informed her that the stuff she had pulled out was junk and that she most certainly was not keeping it. She replied, just as firmly, "I love junk."  And really, what can you say to that?

Happy Birthday, America!

After some thought about how to celebrate Independence Day, we decided to celebrate a day early at the ball park.  

 It was hot and dry (if you count 95% humidity as "dry" ;)), so this game was a go!  We dressed in red, white and blue and got ready to watch some baseball!

 Paige fell asleep on the ride to the game and so she missed the first couple of innings.  (Trust me, a 98 degree human on your lap makes things much cooler.)

 Cute, cute kids!  They loved the ball game and they loved getting some great ball game food!

Paige woke up and had fun, too!

 It was pretty hot at first, but not as bad as I'd feared.  And it cooled off really nicely as the sun went down.  The game was great and the activities between innings kept us laughing and cheering.

We loved this game of catapulting rubber chickens onto the field for this guy to catch in his basket.

We ended the game with a win, which we loved and then settled in for an awesome fireworks display!

Oh Yeah!!!

I think we all agreed that it was the perfect 4th of July celebration.  I think we're all wanting to make this a yearly tradition!

Happy Birthday, America!

Staying Cool

When its a scorching 200 degrees and 130% humidity, there's not much you can do to stay cool.  But we're trying.  Playing in the water is about the only way to make it bearable if you want some time outdoors (and with four kids home for the summer, we definitely need some outdoors time!!!).

This little water gun doubles as a power washer for your teeth.  So you can play in the water and practice "good" hygiene at the same time.  (I wonder why they don't advertise this information?)

Merry Grace likes to get good and cold and then warm herself in the sun.  Which takes all of 5 seconds.

See?  Everyone loves this!!!

 Sweet sugar from a cute little girl doesn't actually help you stay cool, but it does make being outside a lot more bearable. :)

 Paige is a little ambivalent about the water.  On the one hand she likes it.  On the other hand she hates it.  So we just never know how its going to be.  Oh, the joys of a sassy frassy.

 Another fun way this little water gun can be used.

We're loving summer, despite the heat, and trying to maximize every ounce of fun we can squeeze out of it!

Party in the USA

Or at least at House Barnett.

Elise planned another fun party for us this Summer.  We planned some yummy food and got some patriotic decorations and celebrated America a few weeks early.

 Ian had a cub scout requirement about cooking outdoors, so he helped Cory grilled dinner.  They grilled all kinds of wonderful things, including corn on the cob which was divine.

We all had cute Patriotic accessories to wear to dinner, and some fun patriotic themed dishes and delish dinner grilled by the boys.  Its so fun having a little party planner in the house.  It makes lots of great memories for all of us. :)

Rained Out

Merry Grace's cute little t-ball team decided to celebrate their season by going to a "real" baseball game.  They were going to run onto the field with the players and then watch the game.  Plus they were having fireworks after the game!  We were really excited.

 Merry Grace got all fixed up and fancy and ready for the game.

 Only Mother Nature had other plans that night.  Namely lots of rain.

So we spent 2 hours eating yummy ballpark food, getting wet, and waiting...

 To watch this.

That's right.  The game didn't even start.  Eventually after two hours, they finally called the game.  But we had a great time anyway and we couldn't be prouder of our cute little t-baller who scored a HOME RUN this season and played wonderfully!  We loved cheering her on and supporting her this season!

To top the evening off, after sharing food and drinks all night at the ballpark, we came home and at 11:30, Merry Grace came down with the dreaded stomach bug from camp.  A full week after the last person had had it.  Bless her heart.  (Have I mentioned we were ready to say GOOD RIDDANCE to that sucker?!)

Camp Edition 2012

Camp has come and gone again this year!  And as usual, we had lots of fun and made lots of memories.  (Although this year some of us brought home a stomach bug along with the memories, which we could have done without!)  

Aunt Amanda brought tattoos and mustaches and hair paint for her craft, so the kids went wild.

We got a big laugh out of these two mustaches, which look tailor made for them!

Merry Grace sported a cute mustache and pink hair paint.

Ian's mustache was also hilarious.  Ever wonder what he'd look like at 50?  This is a sneak peek. :)

A little reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin, no?  But seriously cute. :)

The girls all put these lip tattoos on their cheeks.  

Ah yes.  Our little old men.  I cannot stop laughing at these pictures. :)  

These two girls are cute and they know it. :)

The whole group showing off all their cuteness.  And there is certainly lots to show off. (*cough* Charles Allen *cough*)

Parker and Paige with their hair fixin's.  I love these two sweeties.

One thing we all enjoy is a little down time.  A chance to relax, catch up, visit, and have a little independence.

The kids love having their Daddy around for a whole week and maximize the fun with him!

The kids like the chance to get dirty and play with their cousins.  For them its nothing short of a week long play date.

Parker and Paige played "house" in the cabin and set up a little tent for their little monsters.

We also love being in the sunshine, swimming in the water and relaxing by the lake.

Just sitting one the dock is ideal.

We took some time to canoe this year, which all the kids' enjoyed.

We also brought back a favorite activity from past years--the balancing game.

The water in the lake was down this year, so the kids took advantage of that to search for treasure, play on their "tropical island" and search for snakes.

And what would camp be without some great snacks?!

One of the best parts of all--Friends!

Dallen entertained the younger boys for DAYS by dunking them over and over and over.  Seriously, they were tireless.  And so was Dallen.  Mostly. :)

And there's always jumping off the dock.  So. Much. Fun.

Of course the week isn't complete without a trip to the water park.

Ian and Elise are both great bumper car drivers (unlike their Mother!!!) and were great chauffeurs for the other kids.

Love these boys!!!

I love that the kids have so many friends to play with at camp.  They love their cousins! :)

                                           Some nice cold ice cream makes the day complete.  

When you're covered in it from head to toe, you know its good! (Charles Allen was not thrilled that my camera was ready to capture every great moment of the day!)

Several of the kids were brave enough to try the slide again this year.  Others of us will forever remember our first experience on the slide and will keep our feet safely planted on solid ground! :)

Once again, we had a great year, made great memories and are anxiously looking forward to next year.  Although next year I'm requesting a pass on the stomach bug! :)