What a Weekend!

I had a fabulous weekend attending the FPEA convention at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL. I went with three other homeschool moms from my church. It was so awesome to just have time to be together and talk and laugh and have fun. We just don't get the opportunity to do that very often! (Like once a year!)

One of the best speakers I heard was not even a homeschool guru. His name is Dave Weber, and he is a motivational speaker. His seminar, Sticks and Stones: The Power of Words Exposed, was the first one I attended and made the entire convention worthwhile.

I also attended one of Andrew Pudewa's seminars. I try to hear him speak every chance I get, and I was not disappointed this time. He spoke on Nurturing Competent Communicators (you can download an audio of his presentation here), and it is the first time I can remember leaving a workshop thinking, "Yes! I've done something right!" That's a good feeling.

On Monday, two of these families came to our house for a spur-of-the-moment Memorial Day get together. The 12 kids (!) had a fabulous time playing in the pool and in the playroom. The adults enjoyed the food and the conversation. I was too busy having fun to take pictures, but here is one of Rylee and Carys eating cookies (Joanna, I KNOW I'm not spelling Rylee's name correctly! Am I?) There is only 2 months' difference in their ages, and they had a fabulous time together! But it was hard getting them both to smile for a picture! :)

What's Happening?

I told you this blog would get quiet. There have been many things happening, but I have been too busy to take pictures or blog about them.

The kids had their last day of homeschool bowling Friday. Chase's team got 3rd place, and the boys' team got 2nd. They had trophies; I had no camera.

Chase's choir performed at two churches Sunday morning. Greg took her as I was "on" (playing the keyboards at our church) this weekend. He, of course, did not take a camera.

Today, Landon sat in on a physics class at a high school near us. The teacher is an awesome man from our church. His wife sings on the worship team with me, and they have 2 incredible little boys. Mr. Ayton taught a lesson on the nuclear bomb which included a lot about the history of its development. He graciously invited Landon to sit in. We are so blessed to have had some incredible men invest in Landon recently, and we thank God for each of them!

Wednesday we are heading to Orlando to the Scholastic Warehouse Sale then to Ocala for lessons and church.

Thursday I leave for the FPEA Convention. I am rooming with 3 great friends from my church. I am so excited to have some time away WITHOUT the kids, after 18 days on the road with them. And I am looking forward to spending time with these three incredible godly women, also.

Here are a few pictures the kids managed to take lately.

A new hairdo for Liberty from the hair DVD Chase got for her birthday.


Chase made these glasses, patterning them after some her teacher in Children's Church had. Carys thinks they're fabulous!


Not only does this jelly taste good, but the little jars are also nice for stacking up!


Finally, I have to incl0ude this hilarious video Chase made of herself to "prove" she put her plate in the dishwasher Friday night.

The Carys Chronicles

I'm stealing this title from my friend Lisa in Jacksonville who published pics of her little sweetie and calls them the Sophia Chronicles. The word "chronicles" just goes so well with Carys. Don't know what I'll do about the others, but for now I'll post this miscellaneous pics of Carys.

Gerren had the balloons out for a science experiment and Carys was thrilled! Hasn't anyone told them balloons are a choking hazard for toddlers? Where is this child's mother?


Chase has had a good time watching the DVD the boys gave her for her birthday and learning how to do Liberty's hair. However, she made the mistake of stepping away for a minute, and Carys quickly took over!


Chase was getting out her math book and thought of getting the refrigerator magnets out for Carys to play. They provided a little distraction for awhile anyway. Of course, I think Chase and Gerren were just as distracted as Carys!

Chase's Birthday Continued

We finally managed to pick up Chase's last birthday gift, this new quilt set. Her old one was falling apart and fading.


After Chase got her bed made, Carys wanted to try it out.


Chase took these pictures, and I also found this one of her animal friends. Look closely. Not only is there a parrot in the bird house, there are monkeys in the trees. LOL!


Here is Liberty playing her new guitar.

The Last Dissection: Frog

Landon was thrilled to finish the last dissection of the year! He really did NOT like the dissecting portion of Biology. I have a friend who teaches IB Biology who told me that they do almost no dissecting anymore. There just isn't time. Bummer!

The Apologia book didn't give specific directions for this dissection. It just told them to try to identify the parts. So, I found an online frog dissection and told Landon to follow along.







I think the large 3-part gray piece is the heart.


Nice facial expression, huh?


Yippee! No more dissecting! I'm sure Landon will like Chemistry much better.

Cookies

A few days ago, Chase asked me if she could make cookies. She wanted to do it all by herself. I agreed, and she set to work. The only involvement I had was when she asked questions like, "This all-purpose flour is what I use, right?" and "For 1 cup of butter, do I use the whole stick?" I think those were the only two questions. Anyway, I stayed out of the kitchen, and she did a fabulous job! We were so impressed!

She took this picture of the finished product, including the decaf coffee she had with her cookies. :)

Happy Birthday, Chase!

It is hard to believe that my "baby" is 10! Well, she was my baby for a long time--7-1/2 years--until Carys came along. She is turning into a beautiful young lady.

Chase's love language is gift giving (like her mom!), and she would rather have lots of small gifts than one or two big gifts. So, we tried to oblige.

Of course, money is always nice. This cash is from her Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kay.


Her brothers gave her a DVD on doing your doll's hair as well as a pick to use. They picked these up at the American Girl store in Dallas. I think they were the only males in the store! :)


Carys picked out this cute card for Chase. (Ok, mom picked it out!) She also gave her knee-high panty hose and a hair nut for a bun. (Yes, Chase actually asked for these things. I don't mind giving her lots of presents when they cost less than a dollar each!)


We are getting Chase a new quilt set for her bed but didn't have the chance to pick it up yet. Her other main gift from us was a guitar for Liberty (her Vision Forum/Gotz doll). Now, they can both play guitar.


We tried to get a picture of Carys playing the guitar. It is so funny! She puts her little hand under her arm and wiggles her fingers. However, she moves too fast for me and the camera.


For the personal family record (meaning you can skip this if you're not interested), we also gave her a pink ipod case, a compass, a flashlight, and a whistle/compass combination thingy. Grandma Epie and Papa JoJo gave her $500 for her college fund, as usual.

Chase's birthday is on May 5, which is Cinco de Mayo. So, we always choose a Mexican restaurant to eat out. Her favorite is El Ranchito, a locally-owned restaurant in our little town. We don't always get to eat there, depending on our schedule for the rest of the day. However, we did get there this year, even though it was a hurried supper between Chase's girl's choir rehearsal and Landon's Civil Air Patrol meeting.

Then, I always make a dessert of their choice for later at home. Gerren and Chase made it easy on me this year. He wanted ice cream sandwiches, and she wanted canolis. Now, I could probably make canolis, but I never have. Anyway, the ones Publix sells are so good that I'm happy just buying them!

Doesn't that look yummy?


Carys thought so, too.


Happy Birthday, Chase! You are so precious to us and to God. We love you!