EKjourney Backup

Saturday was a fun filled day!  In fact, Sawyer said it was the best day he ever had!  We went to a football scrimmage and potluck late morning.  In the evening, we went to Canyonview Camp for a homeschooling potluck.  We set up in a clearing next to the creek and the children ran and played until dark!  We so enjoyed fellowshipping with other people who share in our faith and convictions to homeschool.  We were encouraged to be in such a family focused atmosphere. I have been so blessed these past couple of months to meet other families and learn about opportunities to be a part of a homeschooling community.  I have been amazed at the work that the Lord is doing in our lives as we take on our homeschooling adventure with a Kindergartener this year (plus preschoolers and baby in tow!) And I forgot my camera!!!!!!!

I can't believe the summer has ended. Phil starts school tomorrow with inservice week and games start this Thursday and Friday. We are about to pitch forward right into the busiest season of the year. I am not ready!!! This is probably the least prepared I have been for the Fall and I have a pit in my stomach....Speaking of pits, that is a nice lead into these peach picking pictures. I love picking peaches. They are so easy to pick and in about 20 minutes, I can easily have over 50 pounds. Suncrest are my favorite because they dry beautifully! I don't have time for canning but loading up the food dryer takes only minutes and they make great quick easy snacks. Peaches are by far the favorite but at 50 cents a peach (that is about what 1 dollar a pound works out to be), they are not a cheap snack! Sawyer loved climbing trees in search of "beauties" aka big peaches Juicy neck! I think Jubilee was on her 4th peach by the time we loaded up to go.

I spent a 12 hour day, YES, a 12 hour day sorting through boxes and bags of children's clothing. We have kept most clothing items at every stage along the way. As our family size has grown, the way that we used to do things has changed. Children get bathed weekly instead of daily, clothing gets worn for more than one day in a row, when it is warm out children sleep in their summer clothes, and even the kinds of clothing that our children wear has changed... With the big garage clean and surveying our little storage area, my pack rat tendancies were blaring us in the face. I really needed to evaluate what we should keep. I will say, we have been thoroughly blessed with hand me down clothing. We don't often need to purchase anything except for an occasionally specialty item like a swimsuit. We have friends and family that send clothing our way enabling us to toss out those too small, stained, clothes with holes in them! When our children have outgrown that stage, we have enough c...

We haven't done a Little B post in awhile. Here is the youngest Kelly, 7 1/2 months old, sporting his teeth! Oh My!! He is just so cute!

In a minutes time, 3 children were all crying from various injuries and the dog was barking like a crazy. Being the good parents that we are, Phil ate a sandwich and I took pictures. Jubilee (the third injury) while surveying the crying siblings, stepped off the deck backwards. Sawyer (the first injury) got the short end of the stick during sword play and got a good wack to the finger courtesy of Jubilee Evi (the second injury) did a full out sprawl on the concrete, scraping up her knees, while following an injured Sawyer to the deck

My parents hosted the 2nd annual Matthew Price Concert at their house. It is such a nice atmosphere for a concert. People bring their own chairs, blankets, and picnic items and my mom makes a big dessert spread. Unfortunately, I waited till dusk to take pictures. Children running around and playing Phil eating his dessert with Little B Sunset through the trees

It has been somewhat of a rough August. The end of the summer has arrived and with it some disappointments that things didn't go exactly as we had planned. I am not at all prepared for school nor have I even made a dent in some of the cleaning projects that needed to be done. I am really struggling with the mental aspect of entering such a taxing time of the year without being prepared. Phil is back to full time (11-16 hours a day) week after next. On a lighter note... The Irwin girls came for the afternoon and one of the ducks "enjoyed" recess in the kitchen. He pooped about every 30 seconds. You can actually buy duck diapers so you can have a house duck. Phil really wants to get some. I wish this showed up a little better. We haven't done much with letters and sounds but Sawyer wanted to write some words down. I spelled it for him, told him the name of each letter, and the picture to look at on the alphabet wall chart and he did the rest. I was very impre...

Is finished! (Well, except for the upper storage area but that isn't as pressing as other projects) We need to get a longer extension cord so I can close the closet door! It feels so good to get this room organized. This is (besides the kitchen) my most favorite room in the house! I love having a room just for playing and school. I love the big closets and bookshelves for storage. I love the carpet and the high ceilings, and that this is the lightest and brightest room in the house. (Really, who designs a house with no overhead lighting??) If we did not have this room, I would probably turn one of the bedrooms into a school room. I am so thankful for this little room! There was a time when I was discontent with our home and yard. I wanted something more user friendly (this house WAS a bit odd and boring) and I wanted more property. I know that I complained about it and that I was ungrateful (shame on me). Phil has worked so hard turning this property into the home of ...

Never got around to planting these containers....or Fall veggies for that matter!

Cucumbers, peas, zucchini, beans Peas are a favorite snack We have weeds to harvest too Checking the progress of the grapes Our neighbors came over tonight for cookies and a yard tour. We got the nicest compliment as they left. They said our yard is like a little paradise and then you just walk out of the gate and back into the real world.

...Oh, the cleaning! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been working on a major house clean and purge. I have very little time throughout the year to stay on top of anything other than the basics of basics so once a year, I like to go through each room and clean the year's worth of messes and dirt! Last summer, it took me about week (working all day) to thoroughly clean and reorganize. This summer, Phil has been working and I have a demanding baby so I am getting only snatches of time here and there. This has been a challenge. Football season is looming, Phil is teaching summer school, and the house painting job that Phil undertook needs to be completed. I also will officially have a Kindergartener this Fall and we will be doing regular school which requires organization and planning! I wish I didn't need to sleep! I could sure use those night time hours of uninterrupted time to prepare for the Fall! Here are some before pictures of the playroom. Where am I goin...

Sawyer lost his first tooth yesterday! It was wiggly and we had been checking its progress! He and Jubilee were horsing around and he bit her pant leg and it ripped the tooth right out. I guess that is one way to do it! We really didn't get into the whole tooth fairy bit (no pun intended) but the next morning he wanted to check in Brighton's mouth to see if the tooth fairy had put his tooth there. So cute!!