Land Of The Free...

With Independence Day approaching, we have been reading a lot of books about America and the key people who founded this nation. The boys are loving it and can't get enough. I'm so glad the library had such a HUGE selection of patriotic books for both young and old. Jaxon and Kade are hosting their First Annual Let Freedom Ring Party this week, we'll post more about that later...they can hardly wait! If you haven't checked your local library for fun books about how our country came to be, check it out. Our library had a wall display that I pretty much wiped out (well kinda, sorta).

6 Month Purge - TJED Style

My family and close friends can tell you there are 5 things that will make me grumpy every time. The one I'm talking about today is clutter. I'm working my way around the house, getting side tracked left and right with my eye on the ball, letting nothing get in my way. Today I worked on the garage and my closet. I cannot believe how much space I found. It turns out I don't need to move Kimball's clothes to the guest room after all.
Oh, if only you'd have seen it before. Just imagine a stick of dynomite exploding in there.

By organizing and labeling my bins (which I had put off for 2 years!) I save loads of time. I also moved related items on the shelf next to them, which keeps me from zig zagging all over the closet and bedroom just to get dressed (brilliant I know). Notice the flip flops next to the swimming suit bin? The running shoes next to the workout bin? I also organized my hanging clothes by color, (which I thought was only for those with O.C.D.) but realized it saves tons of time when deciding what to wear and helps me know what I have. You'll either realize you can get rid of half the stuff or that you really don't need another black pencil skirt.

I didn't bother organizing by color for Kimball because he'd have it undone before I could even take the picture.
I also recommend using hanging shoe racks, they save so much space, unless you have $450 Jimmy Choo's which I don't nor ever will!!
Why am I telling you all this? Doing a purge of our unused & excess items every six months is taught in one of my favorite parenting/homeschooling books Leadership Education by Oliver & Rachel DeMille, also author of A Thomas Jefferson Education. I borrowed the book when I read it or I'd quote it more accurately, but they say purging and organizing helps us simplify, prioritize, and use our time wisely. A cluttered home is no place for learning. By sorting through our clothes, books, toys and misc. belongings every six months, we also model charity and sacrifice. If the kids haven't played with a toy for a while, either box it up (getting it out in a few months, to which they'll feel like it's new all over again), or give it to the Goodwill. This is also important with our books. They say something to the effect that one can have 1,000 popular reads on a shelf, or a shelf with 10 classics and the second is of much greater worth. We should keep only books that are of the highest quality that teach morals and build character and can be read a number of times, always learning something new. Classics aren't just novels, a book on finance, gardening or parenting can be a classic so long as it meets the standards mentioned.

A 6 month purge is like a diet for your brain, you instantly feel thinner!

Peach jam...it isn't rocket science

or is it? The other day I canned 6 quarts of peaches & made 18 jars of jam. It was the

l o n g e s t day ever!! It's delicious, and to quote Kade "It's love in a jar", so if you are one of the lucky people who gets a jar of jam and a loaf of hot bread this winter, know that you are loved. I need to get back in the kitchen and make some bread to go with it, but my feet still hurt. Note to self: Never commit to a full day in the kitchen when you have a 2 year old, Dennis the Menace on the loose. Never. Ever. Ever.

Now for the rocket science part...my sister Jackie was in town last week and gave the kids gift cards to Barnes & Noble. Kade bought an astronaut book that came with a rocket. He and Jax were so excited to launch it. They had a blast (no pun intended) and it ignited a spark for Kade, now he wants to learn all about astronomy, so today we went to the library and he checked out some more space books.

No Kade didn't just have his wisdom teeth out, it's food. This wouldn't be the first picture like it.

I'm not sure who had more fun with it...the boys or Kimball.

Confessions of a thirty something drama queen...

i miss my 'alone time'.

i hate commitment.

i'm indecisive and inconsistent.

i love a clean house.

i'm a push-over.

i'm a frustrated perfectionist.

i'm lovin' my summer.

did i mention i hate making decisions?

i'm basically a 'head case'.

When we wrapped up school a month ago, I was anxious to plan our next school year, but a few days later Jaxon came to me saying he'd put a lot of thought into it and he'd really like to try the new school down the street. He wants to go to school with all his church, and martial arts friends. He goes back and forth as to what he wants because he loves homeschooling but he also is a very social kid and loves being with his friends. I go back and forth with what I want to do next year too. The thought of having more freedom w/ my days, and not having the weight of their education on my shoulders sounds nice. I'm convinced I'm not cut out for homeschooling (long term anyway) so the decision looms over my head. Kade on the other hand, wants to homeschool until he's 32...seriously! He loves not having any homework. Surprisingly, Kimball's OK with them giving it a try.

If we decide to send them to the new charter school down the street, I will have to keep a special garbage can file for the ridiculous amount of papers sent home and promise to do my best to be a cooperative and supportive parent of our public school system. :)

One last confession...

i own a skinny mirror.

St. George, Utah

 My nephew Max got married in St. George, Utah this past weekend. We decided last minute to make the 7 1/2 hour trip, and we're so glad we did. It was a beautiful morning, Max and Kourtney were so excited and looked so happy together. It was great to see some of my family for a few hours. Our trip was short (one day and night) but sweet. The little boys were SO excited to play see their cousins, even if only for a few hours!

There is the coolest park next to the Mormon tabernacle. It's such a beautiful area. There's a splash pad, little foot bath river and some water falls. They had so much fun getting wet after waiting for us in the hot sun at the temple. This is Sophia with her cousin McKenna. Sophia followed McKenna around, copying everything she did.
When we made the move from Salt Lake City 9 years ago, we contemplated moving to St. George since it's also hot but ultimately we chose Phoenix for the job opportunities. I wish we'd chosen St. George, the red rock mountains are breathtaking and it's so much closer to family. I'm working on convincing Kimball of moving but I doubt it will ever happen. I miss my family SO much, it's worth a try.

some good things never last...

like sugar cookies,
long summer days,
and childhood innocence.
time flies.

Wide Open Spaces

A view from my morning run.

I love the scenic route

the wide, open spaces

where the corn is tall and green,

swaying in the warm, summer breeze.

What we're up to this week...

Mom School: Finishing The Little House On The Prairie, Scripture Stories - The Final Nephite Battle (Mormon 1-8), Latin Lessons - Prima Latina

Jaxon: Finished The Work & The Glory (vol. 4 ) and started (vol. 5), lots of Saxon math assignments, grammar, spelling, and history channel galore!

Kade: Is finishing up The Magic Tree House books & Young Reader's Bible Stories, Saxon math and finishing up his spelling book, getting a second opinion on his tongue rather than having an MRI just yet.

Sophia: Potty training, canon balls, mischief!

Jessica: Reading The 5,000 Year Leap, Peace Like A River, fulfilling my life long dream of being a lunch lady...(serving lunch in the temple cafeteria for an afternoon), daily 4 mile runs (or walks), reading Bible (book of Luke), Doctrine & Covenants, making jewelry and baking bread.

PE: Swimming, walks, playing at the park, lots of martial arts, and summer parties.

False Alarm?

Sophia has been showing signs that's she's ready to ditch the diaper scene. For the last month or so, she tells us when she needs to be changed. The other day she attempted to change her own poopy during her nap time. It wasn't pretty!! So I pulled out the potty and I guess this is what we'll be doing for the next little while. If anyone has any good potty training advice, let's here it. With my boys, I just waited until they were ready and it wasn't too bad. Sophia seems to think this is a toy, so I'll probably disassemble it and attach it to the real toilet, it's easier on me that way too. Wish us luck!

Survivor

We did it...we survived our first year of homeschool! I'm no longer the "Newbie". I can't believe how fast it went and how much I enjoyed it. Sure there were days (though not too many) when I thought "Gee, it would be nice to have the day to myself." But those thoughts were always replaced with warm hugs, new discoveries, and awesome memories. I am so grateful for this last year, it was a lot of work but so rewarding! The kids aren't the only ones being educated, I've learned so much this year, it's been an incredible journey.

Our favorite subject by far was history. The boys really loved learning about Egypt and Ancient Rome. I cannot wait to travel there someday. Our next favorite was read aloud time each morning. Reading great classics, all snuggled up on the couch...my heart melts just thinking about it. We mastered many poems by Robert Luis Stevenson and some scripture verses. It's amazing how easy memorization is for kids. They improved their reading and writing skills by leaps and bounds and both have a true love for writing stories and poems. We did some fun art projects and science experiments, and went on some great field trips. With math being our least favorite subject, we still have a few weeks before we finish up. I am determined to make math more fun next year, and focus more on service.

Jaxon and Kade have always been close, but this year they bonded even more. It's nice that Kade no longer has to say his favorite part of the school day is the 5 minutes when he sees Jaxon at lunch recess. The boys also had a lot more time to play with friends, and enjoy being kids.

I've heard the first year is always the hardest, so I'm glad to have it under my belt. With Sophia becoming more independent, it's sure to get easier. I'm very anxious to plan for next year, but for a few weeks I'm enjoying the down time, and the kids are having a blast doing canon balls in the pool.

Here are a few pictures from Havasupai Falls. Thankfully Kimball survived the 10 mile hike out of there and had a great time with the young men. We were very glad to have him home.

A flash flood came through not too long ago and wiped out part of the rock, make the waterfall shorter, but also creating a few new ones.

Lounge Lizards

This week was awesome, we lounged around lazily reading, playing, and whatever the heck we wanted. It felt like a good time to ease up for a few days, and sometimes you just need to go with that feeling.

Kade had fun at his new play group, he also had a doctor appointment for a strange lump on his tongue. The doctor wants an MRI of it, so we'll see how that goes. I read a great book called My Sister's Keeper, and started The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. I also went on peaceful, long walks each morning. I decided summer would be perfect for me to take a little more time out for myself. I love summer mornings in Arizona!

Friday night, Jaxon received his purple belt in mixed martial arts. He was very happy but learned a tough lesson. He had to perform at the graduation and had a really hard time remembering what came next. He was really wanting to impress his best friend who had come to watch. I felt so bad for him, his eyes were teary and he was so mad at himself for not practicing. I remember back in my cheerleading & drill team days, how awful it felt to be unprepared. Kimball and I are hoping next time he'll take our advice and practice. I was holding off on this post because I'm waiting for a guy to send me better pictures of the graduation. I'll just post what I have for now and add the good ones later.

This is Ryan, Jaxon's fellow class mate. He is much bigger than Jaxon and is also on the elite team, meaning he goes 4x a week rather than 2x. Jaxon is always matched up with him because he's the closest in size/ability. It's pretty cool that Jaxon manages to beat him once in a while...he may be small but he's super aggressive!

Sophia is "Little Miss Independent" and has to help in any way she can. It's SO cute. She seriously just goes around looking for ways to help. If you're tying your shoes, she's right their tightening the laces. If you're putting on your socks, she's tugging on them too. She insists on being the one to hold the sippy cup as we fill it with milk, and gets great satisfaction out of it. I just love watching her grow. Unfortunately yesterday, Sophia had some bad luck. She stepped on another bee and got stung, she ran into our patio furniture and got a black eye, and she hit her forehead on our lazy boy and got a purple goose egg. Poor girl. We made it all better by taking her swimming.

As for our summer schedule, we'll just be finishing up math books (for a few more weeks), doing lots of free reading, going on some fun field trips, knocking out scouting, playing with friends and cousins, and a whole bunch of swimming. We'll still be doing devotional each morning, a. because I think it's important to stay on a routine, and #2 because it helps keep the Spirit in our home. I will be attending the local home school conference, preparing for our next school year, I've always wanted to make lots of homemade bread, so I'll be perfecting my bread making skills and learning how to use my sewing machine.

BTW, I love getting all your emails with home school questions. It's great to see so many of you are going to take the plunge. It's worth it I promise!!