Where have I been? Part III!

At the rate I am going...my whole summer will be full of "Where Have I Been" postings!:)  Anyway, on to part III!

This year the boys took the stage at our homeschool groups "Delight Night" (variety show)!  I was very excited about that.  Brody put this presentation together all by himself titled "Bunnies at Home".  He designed the poster, what to put on it, and did all the writing and drawing.  I was very proud of him.  He got to take Dusty to the show which helped him get over any nervous feelings he might have had.  He also recited a short poem.  Way to go Brody!

At "Delight Night" Connor did two things.  He played three pieces on the piano and did a great  job and also introduced all the families to Sport Stacking.  He had a lot of fun and even got one of his new high records during the demonstration which really excited him. 

Brody participated in a local race called the Awesome 3000.  He ran 1 mile and really enjoyed it.  There were a lot of kids there....see him in the group shot in the orange?  I was grateful for that as I fought to keep track of him in all the frenzy.  It was so funny at the start because he laid ALL the way back and let all the crazy kids run off when they shot the starting fire.  He literally took off DEAD last.  I guess I should of emphasized the word "race" more, but he really doesn't like crowds and I heard some kids got knocked down, so it seems he made a smart choice!  He did real well, moved way up, finished the race and said...."I'm not even tired"!

The day before Brody's big race, Connor participated in Teen Pact.  This was a one day leadership training class in the government.  He even had homework to do ahead of time which involved writing a bill.  We did a prayer walk for all the leaders, a scavenger hunt, and learned all about the legislative process.  As you can see, he had to dress for the event.  I could hardly stand how grown up he looked in that tie;)  It was a terrific experience and we both enjoyed it very much!

Where Have I been....Part II

 

When there was a dry day we tried to get out and get some work done. Here, the boys are loading up firewood....well....one is loading up anyway?:)  I just love this picture. 



We celebrated Easter.  Here are Connor's amazing eggs. He did a great job and even though decorating eggs is a lot of fun...it was clear that he knew we were celebrating something big!  We also went to a wonderful service on Good Friday.  Connor was happy to hear some of the same songs that we have been learning at home.  We also enjoyed a great story called "Amon's Adventure" written just for Lent.  It was a great way to keep us focused on the death, burial, and of course the Resurrection of Jesus!


Here are the eggs that Brody decorated.  We found a neat kit this year, with little rollers.  It made the eggs very sticky, but fun and very bright. 

This year Brody got a very special bible.  I looked and looked and decided on this NIV version.  He is always commenting on the small print in Connor's backpack bible in a negative way so I found a large print bible just for him.  He seemed very excited about it!

Brody celebrated his big 7 1/2 birthday!  Wow...is time flying.  They are both very excited to do the decorating all on their own.  I'm not sure what this was, but I have an idea.  See the grass at the bottom?

We visited a Buffalo Ranch with our FIGS group and it was a great field trip.   The best part was that earlier that morning, we picked up Aunt Lara from the airport!

 We decided to take Aunt Lara to the coast to see the ocean!  We ended up with a room in a little town called Seaside.  Along the way, we just had to stop at the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory!

 Did I mention they have ice cream?  YUM!!!  Aunt Lara and I enjoyed some real Marionberry ice cream....life is good!

We just had to show Aunt Lara Flamingo Jim's outside of Rockaway.  We always stop by when see the LeVesque's on their annual visit, what a fun place!

 Aunt Lara was VERY surprised to see people at the "beach" in sweatshirts!

 Connor and Brody had their first bumper car experience and boy was that a blast!  It was Aunt Lara and Brody against mommy and Connor.  I'm pretty sure it was a tie!

We stayed at the Shilo Inn and they enjoyed many hours in the pool swimming.  We also let them go into the sauna which reminded me so much of Grandma and Grandpa's condo in Florida!

We really enjoyed our visit.  After Aunt Lara left things kept up at that pace for a while....more to come in Part III!



Where Have I been? Part 1

I think this is by far my longest "dry spell" since starting my blog. Wow...April 16th...what have I been doing since then?

The first place I have been is using an online journal called Cozi. This is so handy, and I can upload pictures and quick stories to go with them in a matter of minutes. I have found it to be a huge shortcut of keeping people informed and it even sends out a monthly newsletter to people that want that much information on my family:) However, I do realize it only does a few pictures and a small part of "the story" so I really do want to get back to my blog. After all I am three years behind on my photo albums, and I don't want that to happen here!

April and May were quite the blur...I have decided to keep this short and full of pictures then try to back into the swing of things.

In April I jumped on the chance to go to California for a week of "spring break" for us. I had a business opportunity to work a vendor fair for two days and the boys and I really needed some sunshine, some time with family and friends, and a break from school. (not necessarily in that order) We had a great time!

Shorts, sunglasses and sunscreen are pretty unheard of in April in Oregon, so it was a real treat to enjoy some beautiful weather. There was actually snow the day before we arrived and it knocked some branches of some of the palms...made for great toys!

A lot of hours were spent with Grandma & Pa watching movies, playing outside, and Yahtzee!

Of course some good times were had with Zack....

and the Barker clan at the park! We got see one of best buds Caleb play baseball...sorry no picture of that...but I did get to play a lot of "bear" with one of my most favorite little people on the planet...Ms. Lillie!We were very excited to meet our friends pony....I mean dog...Macy! What a beautiful dog! We enjoyed some play time with Morgan, Ryanne, and the whole Loomis clan!

It ended with a passel of kids on the couch watching "Tangled".

Fun, fun times. I am so grateful to for trips "home".

Stay tuned for part II coming soon to a blog near you:)