Summer time

Catch up time!  

When I am not doing my regular "mom" things lately, I have been planning.  Planning our school schedule for the next school year.  I love it!   

Yes, having 7 kiddos is not easy and homeschooling them certainly doesn't make it easier...but when all is said and done, I love it!  

I am going to start nursing school (part-time...if that makes me sound any less crazy) next week!   I am so excited....nervous-excited!   I am also very motivated to get our school schedule hammered out a.s.a.p, so I have one less thing to worry about.   I am already realizing that to make this work, we will most likely be doing some studying on evenings and weekends...but that is where the flexibility of homeschooling becomes a great bonus!  

In the past, we have been studying History chronologically.  However, this year, we are going to pause along the timeline and really focus on American History.   I used an American History book as a jumping off point, but I also found SO much information online to supplement our studies.  I am really excited about studying this subject together.  

I found some really great videos at the History Channel called "The Story of Us".     Not all are available to watch online, but luckily the first two are and those are the ones I need!  I recommend these to anyone to watch--they were made for all ages.

Aside from school, the kids and I have been enjoying summer.  We have gone to parks and pools.  We have paricipated in the Library's reading program.  The kids have made a muddy mess while playing in water outside and have stayed up late to catch lightening bugs...so far so good, I think.

 My little princess fell two weeks ago and hit her little nose on our wood floor.  You can kind of see the bruising on her nose.  It was swollen and bruised for a good week.  Not sure if she actually broke it or not.  There is not much that can be done even if she did.  She was breathing through it just fine, so we just had to give it time. 

 I tried to get a pic. of everyone on Father's Day.  We made one of their Dad's favorite dinners and a chocolatey dessert for the occasion.  We also gave him a big ol' Batman mug so he would feel special!

 My last news for now is that I was able to go to a bike race in Kansas with my husband this past weekend.  It was hard to leave my kiddos, but they were in good hands with Big Sis.  We also had my husband's sis come stay with them as well.  I stocked them up on food and Redbox movies, as well as Wii games from the library. 
It was really nice to have a short get-away.  The weather was beautiful!  The big 'D' (my husband) is the racer in the middle with the red around the bottom of his shorts.  (Side note:  the guy in the yellow behind him?  15-year-old kid!   And he was amazing, beating many of the others including big 'D' :)) 

Big 'D' was in the lead group the whole time for both races.  He finished in the top 15 in the first race (out of sixty-something) and finished in about the middle for the second race.  It is a tough sport and amazing to see the strength and endurance exhibited by all!