MARBLES Children's Museum

The kids love to visit this museum whenever we are in Raleigh or passing through. It really is an amazing place with so much to do, original exhibits, and large spaces to play. Their favorite area is Moneypalooza. The kids can do all sorts of jobs to earn money (green balls). Then they take them to the bank to learn about finances. All while having lots of fun...

 

Julia loves the pet jobs, of course...

and her pets eat well! No dog food for them. They get to eat at the pizza parlor!

Balancing the budget...

They also have an IMAX theater at the museum. We went to see Born to Be Wild. It was absolutely amazing! I highly recommend it. It is a documentary of an orphan elephant rescue nursery and an orangutan center in southeast Asia. It was such a beautiful story and inspiring and wholesome, too.

Both kids love the workshop with real tools. Julia dove right in this time on her own.

In the end she had a pet house with bedding and curtains!

The sports area is a blast for everyone. Sock hockey is Carter's favorite. He's usually goalie...

Flexin' those muscles...

On the way home we stopped to see Emmy, Ally, and Grayson- the kids I used to nanny for in my single days. It's so hard to believe they are all in high school now!! How did that happen?! So proud of the young adults they have become- cannot imagine three more unique, loving, and amazing kids!

Swim Lessons

The kids had another great summer of Wesleyan swimming lessons.After just learning how to swim last year, Julia made great progress with her strokes and has very good form. She completed Level 2!

Carter is still a water nut- swimming, flipping, and diving any way he can. He completed Level 3 this year and moves up to learn butterfly next year...

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

We had a fabulous Fourth! This year we decided to go to the Kernersville parade and it did not disappoint. We will definitely make it a tradition.

I love watching the anticipation in the kids faces as they wait for the start...

This parade is led by the local World War II veterans. I cannot think of a better way to commemorate the day. They are some of America's finest heroes and citizens. Sadly the sun is setting on their generation. We are privileged to be able to share their legacy with our kids.

Julia was captivated by the bloodhounds. They had the cutest puppies with them, too!

There were lots of musicians, floats, dancers, and old tractors. Such a classic American parade.

Then we headed to the Children's Museum in Winston-Salem for the kids' parade, songs, obstacle course, and popsicle party.

Julia loved the vets office...

And everybody got in on the donut making! Come and get them the "HOT" sign is on!

Love the picture on the wall from Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. We had fun reading the book together later that week.

We had a great day together as a family having all sorts of fun. That night we topped it off with a cookout party with friends. Friends, family, and freedom. Proud to be in America!

2012-2013 Curriculum

I am in the process of adding a tab to this blog that lists the kids' homeschool curriculum, but for now I will share this school year. I love to see what other people are using and learn about new things that are out there. I share this not as an authority on the subject, just to show you what is working for us. We school year-round which allows us the flexibility in our schedule to spend time with family and friends, travel, and serve as the situation presents itself. In addition to the school we do at home, the kids are a part of a co-op group that meets for a full day once a week.

 

3RD GRADE (Carter):

BIBLE: Who Is God? by Apologia, We Choose Virtues, The Gospel Project

LANGUAGE ARTS: All About Spelling Lev 3 and 4, Easy Grammar 3, Just Write Book 2, Reading Eggspress, Cursive 3

MATH: Key to Decimals (1-4), Building Thinking Skills 2, Singapore Math Challenging Word Problems 4, Chalk Dust Math 4

GEO/HIST:  Little Passports: France, Egypt, Australia, Mexico (with corresponding units), BJU American History 3-4

SCIENCE: Apologia: Exploring Human Anatomy & Physiology with Junior Notebook, Abeka Exploring God's World

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Beginning Spanish

ART: Artistic Pursuits K-3

MUSIC: World's Greatest Composers unit, Musical- The Best Christmas Present Ever by Celeste Clydesdale

SPORTS: PE, flag football, baseball, soccer, swimming

1ST GRADE (Julia):

BIBLE: Who Is God? by Apologia, We Choose Virtues, The Gospel Project

LANGUAGE ARTS: All About Spelling Lev 2, Explode the Code 3&4, Writing With Ease Book 2, Beyond the Code 2 and 3, Reading Eggs

MATH: Singapore1A, Time and Money

GEO/HIST:  Little Passports: France, Egypt, Australia, Mexico(with corresponding units), American Heroes

SCIENCE: Apologia: Exploring Human Anatomy & Physiology with Junior Notebook

ART: Artistic Pursuits K-3, art class

MUSIC: World's Greatest Composers Unit, Musical- The Best Christmas Present Ever by Celeste Clydesdale

SPORTS: PE, worship dance, ballet, tap, swimming

Westover Night at the Hoppers

Our church had their summer baseball night the same week we were at VBS. Usually we are too exhausted to do much of anything and crawl into bad as early as possible. But who can pass up a night of baseball with friends and $1 refreshments?! Play ball!!

It was a beautiful night for baseball...

The kids loved having all their friends to play with and the grownups had some time to catch up.

The game was close, but the Hoppers were down but several runs in the the last inning. Just as we were thinking it was over, they rallied back!

The game was so good we couldn't leave. We were all on the edge of our seats- parents and kids.

Deliriously tired Evan kept us laughing...

At 11:00pm, in the 13th inning we finally had to all it a night and listen to the game on the radio. The Hoppers won!!

Happy Father's Day!

Billy spent Father's Day weekend in Charlotte helping care for his dad who's had many health issues lately. The kids surprised him when he came home with cards they had made and a new football game. It was an emotional day for all. So blessed for family and the gift of each day we spend together!

(Don't you love Julia's outfit? One of her favorite summertime outfits is a turtleneck, her black horse sweater, and black velour leggings. We have had one of the hottest summers on record and she can often be seen sporting this in the sandbox outside. Makes me sweat just looking at her!!)

Stolen Moments

For a child, summer is a time full of joys, freedoms, and adventure. The simplest things make the long, hot days and warm, hazy nights so memorable- friends, fireflies, pools, ice cream, riding bikes... Bur sadly, those are some of the many pleasures that childhood cancer steals. Our sweet friend Vinny continues to battle an incurable form of cancer. He has been in treatment for over 4 years- surgeries, weeks of radiation, and hundreds of doses of chemo. His little body has endured unimaginable suffering. His current regimen of 3 drug chemo is keeping his 3 tumors (lung, eye, and pelvis) from overtaking his body. It has bought him more time than we could have ever imagined, but the price has been very high.

These two have such a sweet friendship. They share a love for Star Wars, video games, and all things LEGO. Two peas in a pod...

 

And when they're not busy playing like little boys, they both share a passion for raising money to help all the cancer kids at our hospital. They both look forward to our foundation fundraiser nights and the chance to make a difference. Working hard behind the counter at The Loop. They took orders, bused tables, swept floors, and cleaned counters.

Vinny is admitted every third weekend for chemo treatments. One of his requests was to play with Carter.  One night several weeks ago, we spent our Friday night hanging out at Camp Brenner. And for just a moment you could almost forget we were in the oncology unit. There was Wii... 

giggly sisters...

new lego sets to master...

and smiles over jokes, treats, and sushi.

As the summer sun set outside our window, I couldn't help but thank God for so many blessings. For friendship, for the gift of life, and for sweet summer moments stolen back from cancer.

Today Vinny is back in the hospital for scans, sedation, exams, labs, and chemo. His body is paying the harsh price of the years of poisons and today they are looking at the status of his 3 tumors. His family and doctors are facing the difficult decisions of what the next steps will be. Please lift up Vinny and his family tonight. They are very dear to all of us. We pray for God's healing and would love to see another miracle for this amazing boy. We love you Vinny!