It's Been Awhile.....

Time flies when you are having fun.  I never thought about what that meant when my Mom used to say that growing up.  I get it now as I look at my kids, growing like weeds, and how time just passes by when they are doing something they love.  Playing soccer.  Hiking in the woods, on trail or on adventure.  Sitting by a campfire.  Being read to aloud.  Coloring.  Cooking dinner.  Hanging with friends.  Time just flies.

So, it's been awhile since my last post.  We have all had birthdays, and the school year is well under way.  This year, we made a family decision to home school.  We have talked about it for years, you know, when I would go into the Parent Teacher Store and come out briefly enamored by the idea.  We decided after a thorough look at area school last winter (over 9 private/tutorial schools!) that if we were EVER going to home school, this would be the year to start.  We are 9 weeks in, and so far, so good!  Alex goes to a tutorial 2 days a week and loves it.  He is challenged by his work, and has learned so much about independence and time management.  Ben is also at a tutorial 2 days  a week (different days), and has loved making new friends and having the freedom to delve deeper into ideas.  Jack is home schooled all at home right now, which he thinks is the bomb because he can take soccer kicking breaks frequently!  Florie is also at a 2 day per week preschool very close to our home.  It has given her a new sense of leaving us and coming back home, and she LOVES her friends there.  She is one social gal!!  I am finally getting a grip on how things should flow and not pushing the kids too hard as I worry that they will not learn enough.  At the rate we went the first three weeks, I think they all would have been in calculus next semester!  It is fun to have them home more, and have more family time.  The house is a bit worse for wear, but hey....it can be clean later in life!

The kids are all playing soccer this fall...the older three do travel soccer, and Florie plays for the rec league with William as her coach.  We never go anywhere without a soccer ball now.  I think they fall out of my car when the doors open :)  The boys are also able to do home school swim which they have loved.  It is fun to watch how much they improve!  I have been running again (yay!) and will run in the Ragnar Relay coming up in a few weeks.  William has taken to trail hiking with our dog Izzy....they both love the freedom.

Other than that, we have been cooking dinners, folding laundry, running to practices, and just hanging. Funny, I have very little time in front of the computer nowadays.  There is so much more to do!

Anyway, a few of my favorite pics from recent events:

Celebrating my Grandfather's 95th Birthday!!

What a lucky gal to know her GREAT Grandad!

Spending the day competing with the rugby team on Dragon Boats

And we WON!

First Field Trip as Home School Kiddos!

Learning about the different stages of a trout's life

Yay IMAX!

Touching his favorite animal...remind me next time to put them in SLEEVELESS shirts!

They are like magnets for butterflies....

and a butterfly garden is in the works :)

Hmmmmm...

Yep, we like SILLY!

The aquarium never gets dull...

A perfect night.  Face painting AND ice cream, AND the princess chair??!!

Jack in the wild...he adventured for hours!

Ben collected the MOST AMAZING leaves!

Early morning cocoa

Two breakfast choices....oatmeal or oatmeal...

The only people on the camping trip who regularly visited the "potty"

Free time to sit, and just stare at the fire

I heart my peeps!

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.  ~e.e. cummings