Continuing from where I left off last night brings us to...
JULY
July brought more Monsoon Storms where we had lots of wind and rain. These storms can be quite dangerous, they are fast moving and pretty wild, filling up normally dry washes in minutes turning them into raging rivers. Despite their violent nature, they provide some of the most dramatic skies for photographing.
I like the way the sun is shining on the mountains in this picture. You can also see that the wind is blowing by looking at the palm trees. The storm hadn't hit our house yet.
Daddy reading to J and S. S. has a new favorite book he likes to look at and have us read to him, Science, Year by Year.
The Girls and I made BIG chcolate chip cookies. Yum. A and R are wearing their Keepers aprons. :)
July is when our state Homeschool Convention happens. This year it coincided with my sweet A.'s 9th birthday. I attended the convention alone on Friday, while hubby and the kids had a hotel room right across the street. Even though we live in town, we rented the room so I had a place to go rest if I needed to during the day, which I ended up needing by the end! The kids love to go and swim in the pool and hang out in the hotel room. The rates are cheap here in the summer, add on the discount from the convention, and it was a pretty good deal.
Also, since A.'s birthday was the following day, we treated her to a special night spending the night in the hotel w/ just me. Daddy took the rest of the kids home after dinner and A. and I had the room all to ourselves. We laid down on the bed and giggled and talked for awhile. Then, I totally surprised her by whooping her on the head with a pillow. An all out pillow fight pillow fight ensued, which brought peals of laughter from my gal! She is such a sweetie. She knew I wasn't feeling very good that night, so she was content to just hang out in bed together.
The next morning I drove A. home, our babysitter came over and Hubby and I went back for the morning sessions of the convention. I felt bad leaving A. on her birthday but, she had a great day planned. Grandma and Grandpa watch my sisters kids so they can go to the convention. Since it was A.'s birthday, Grandma thought it would be fun to bring all the cousins over to spend the day together while we all were at the convention. It was perfect. We don't get to see them very often, so this was an extra special treat. We came home from the convention around 1:00, watched A open her presents and enjoyed cake and ice cream. My sister and bil came back from the convention around 6:00 and took the cousins home.
A. had so much fun w/ her cousins, I think she hopes the convention falls on her birthday every year. :)
E. made this special dalmatian dog for A. for her b-day
Opening presents
My sister has 9 kids. Four of them are old enough to attend the Teen Tract sessions of the convention. The five youngest were the ones who came over. We had 10 kids total ages 11 and younger over. No wonder she had so much fun! The ages here were 11 (my nephew), 10 (E), 9 (my niece), 9(A) (A and her cousin are 6 months apart), 7(R), 6 (my niece, she's 4 months younger than R), 5 (S), 3 (my niece), 2 (J) and 2 (my niece, who is 2 weeks younger than J). Busy, busy house. The kids all did really well and had fun.
The next pictures show more monsoon weather. This was a storm that caused a lot of damage on the east side of town. These clouds were huge, moving fast and full of lightening.
We always have beautiful sunsets during monsoon season.
J. being cute
S. asleep (how do they do this?)
This picture was taken about 10 minutes after I told S. it was quiet time. He insisted he didn't need a nap. I told him, just quietly look at books. 10 minutes later, this is how I found him! My kids have inherited my husbands ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.
We also started back to school the beginning of July. I already posted those first day back photos, even though I neglected to get a "First Day of School" picture this year. I thought maybe I could take one this week and years from now, we'll never know that it wasn't our first day but rather our 50th day (or something like that)!
That pretty much wraps up our July! I'll try to hit August highlights later tonight or tomorrow. I have been challenged to blog about something else this following week, which I'll explain in the next post, so we'll see when August gets added. LOL
Continuing from where I left off last night brings us to...
JULY
July brought more Monsoon Storms where we had lots of wind and rain. These storms can be quite dangerous, they are fast moving and pretty wild, filling up normally dry washes in minutes turning them into raging rivers. Despite their violent nature, they provide some of the most dramatic skies for photographing.
I like the way the sun is shining on the mountains in this picture. You can also see that the wind is blowing by looking at the palm trees. The storm hadn't hit our house yet.
Daddy reading to J and S. S. has a new favorite book he likes to look at and have us read to him, Science, Year by Year.
The Girls and I made BIG chcolate chip cookies. Yum. A and R are wearing their Keepers aprons. :)
July is when our state Homeschool Convention happens. This year it coincided with my sweet A.'s 9th birthday. I attended the convention alone on Friday, while hubby and the kids had a hotel room right across the street. Even though we live in town, we rented the room so I had a place to go rest if I needed to during the day, which I ended up needing by the end! The kids love to go and swim in the pool and hang out in the hotel room. The rates are cheap here in the summer, add on the discount from the convention, and it was a pretty good deal.
Also, since A.'s birthday was the following day, we treated her to a special night spending the night in the hotel w/ just me. Daddy took the rest of the kids home after dinner and A. and I had the room all to ourselves. We laid down on the bed and giggled and talked for awhile. Then, I totally surprised her by whooping her on the head with a pillow. An all out pillow fight pillow fight ensued, which brought peals of laughter from my gal! She is such a sweetie. She knew I wasn't feeling very good that night, so she was content to just hang out in bed together.
The next morning I drove A. home, our babysitter came over and Hubby and I went back for the morning sessions of the convention. I felt bad leaving A. on her birthday but, she had a great day planned. Grandma and Grandpa watch my sisters kids so they can go to the convention. Since it was A.'s birthday, Grandma thought it would be fun to bring all the cousins over to spend the day together while we all were at the convention. It was perfect. We don't get to see them very often, so this was an extra special treat. We came home from the convention around 1:00, watched A open her presents and enjoyed cake and ice cream. My sister and bil came back from the convention around 6:00 and took the cousins home.
A. had so much fun w/ her cousins, I think she hopes the convention falls on her birthday every year. :)
E. made this special dalmatian dog for A. for her b-day
Opening presents
My sister has 9 kids. Four of them are old enough to attend the Teen Tract sessions of the convention. The five youngest were the ones who came over. We had 10 kids total ages 11 and younger over. No wonder she had so much fun! The ages here were 11 (my nephew), 10 (E), 9 (my niece), 9(A) (A and her cousin are 6 months apart), 7(R), 6 (my niece, she's 4 months younger than R), 5 (S), 3 (my niece), 2 (J) and 2 (my niece, who is 2 weeks younger than J). Busy, busy house. The kids all did really well and had fun.
The next pictures show more monsoon weather. This was a storm that caused a lot of damage on the east side of town. These clouds were huge, moving fast and full of lightening.
We always have beautiful sunsets during monsoon season.
J. being cute
S. asleep (how do they do this?)
This picture was taken about 10 minutes after I told S. it was quiet time. He insisted he didn't need a nap. I told him, just quietly look at books. 10 minutes later, this is how I found him! My kids have inherited my husbands ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.
We also started back to school the beginning of July. I already posted those first day back photos, even though I neglected to get a "First Day of School" picture this year. I thought maybe I could take one this week and years from now, we'll never know that it wasn't our first day but rather our 50th day (or something like that)!
That pretty much wraps up our July! I'll try to hit August highlights later tonight or tomorrow. I have been challenged to blog about something else this following week, which I'll explain in the next post, so we'll see when August gets added. LOL
Really enjoyed this post too! Great pictures! It was fun to hear about your summer months. I love your idea of the hotel and how you and A were able to spend the night alone together. What a special memory for her (and you)!
History Tales/Biography: Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark by James Daugherty -- Finished
Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness
Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Teddy Roosevelt by George Grant
Geography:
The Book of Marvels: The Occident and The Orient by Richard Halliburton
Natural History:
Handbook of Nature Study by Anne Botsford Comstock
Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton
Science:
Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5 by Worthington Hooker
The Fairy-land of Science by Arabella Buckley
Physics Lab in a Housewares Store by Robert Friedhoffer
Apologia Elementary Science Botany by Jeanne Fulbright
Science Biography:
Isaac Newton
Alexander Graham Bell --
Always Inventing by Tom L. Matthews
George Washington Carver
Poetry:
Rudyard Kipling
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
John Greenleaf Whittier and Paul Lawrence Dunbar
Literature:
Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch Chapters 15-28
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle -- Finished
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Shakespeare
Love's Labors Lost -- Finished
Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Plutarch
Poplicola -- Finished
Brutus
Dion
Free Reading
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune -- Currently Reading
The Treasure Seekers by Edith Nesbit -- Finished
The Wouldbegoods by Edith Nesbit -- Currently Reading
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery -- Finished
Little Town on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
Michael Faraday, Father of Electronics by Charles Ludwig
Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Riffles for Watie by Harold Keith
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Falcons of France by Charles Nordhoff, James Norman Hall
Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
Natural History
The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley
Science
It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence Richards
Apologia Elementary Science Botany by Jeanne Fulbright
Poetry
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Emily Dickinson
William Wordsworth
Literature
The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Paul Reveres' Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
Shakespeare
Love's Labors Lost -- Finished
Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Plutarch
Poplicola -- Finished
Brutus
Dion
Free Reading
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
A Book of Golden Deeds by Charlotte Yonge
Bambi by Felix Salten -- Finished
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Little Britches by Ralph Moody
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
The Sign of the Beaver
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery
Caddie Woodlawn
Justin Morgan had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Geography
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Natural History/Science
The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Pagoo by Holling C. Holling
Apologia Elementary Science Botany by Jeanne Fulbright
Poetry
Walter De La Mare
Eugene Field and James Whitcombe Riley
Christina Rossetti
Literature
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Nesbitt
Pilgrim's Progress Book 1 by John Bunyan
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Free Reading
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney -- Currently reading
Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
Abraham Lincoln by Ingri D'Aulaire
Pied Piper of Hamlin by Robert Browning
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Mr. Popper's Penquin by Richard Atwater
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney
Along Came a Dog by Meindert De Jong
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
Math
Math U See Alpha/Beta
Handwriting
Handwriting Without Tears
Spelling
Sequential Spelling
S's. List Kindergarten
FIAR Studies
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack -- Finished
Lentil by Robert McCloskey -- Finished
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans -- Rowing this week
A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen
How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear by Glady's Scheffrin-Falk
Phonics
Reading Made Easy By Valerie Bendt
Math
Math U See primer
Handwriting
Handwriting Without Tears
My Reading List
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Too Wise to Be Mistaken,Too Good to be Unkind by Cathy Steere
HomeSchooling at the Speed of Life by Marilyn Rockett
Kids in the Syndrome Mix by Martin L. Kutscher MD
The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald D. Davis
Love and Logic Solutions for Kids with Special Needs by David Funk
The Out of Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowitz
Do You Think I'm Beautiful?
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary E. DeMuth
Other Books We're Reading
Mother Daughter Bookclub
September The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene DuBois
October Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
November In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Lord
January Little Women
February Betsy & Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace and Lois Lenski
March Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
April Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
May All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
June The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
July Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Book Club Across The Miles a bookclub w/ fellow homeschoolers across the country
I like the way the sun is shining on the mountains in this picture. You can also see that the wind is blowing by looking at the palm trees. The storm hadn't hit our house yet.
The Girls and I made BIG chcolate chip cookies. Yum. A and R are wearing their 
E. made this special dalmatian dog for A. for her b-day
Opening presents
J. being cute
S. asleep (how do they do this?)
I thought maybe I could take one this week and years from now, we'll never know that it wasn't our first day but rather our 50th day (or something like that)! 
Posted by Anonymous 
Sep. 7, 2008 - Wow!
It was fun catching up on your summer...where did it go??