What a Great Weekend

We started out the weekend Friday at the Inner Harbor. The kids and I went to the Science Museum (free thanks to the Christmas gift membership from Nana and Papa), Spanish classes (free thanks to Waterfront Partnership), and the Sondheim water fountain (free thanks to Baltimore City). Beautiful day out (thanks to God!) James came home early and cleaned the basement- now we have a nicely reorganized basement with tons more empty space for plasma cars, rainy days, beating the heat! Then Friday night we had homemade pizza, wok popped popcorn, and family movie night- we loved "The Perfect Game"- a little old for KG but everyone else loved it- great motivational movie based on a true story.

Then Saturday morning we went to Patapsco Valley State Park for Park Quest #2. We checked out a backpack with compasses, a tarp for shelter building, ropes for knot trying, and headed out on our hike. K was really into the being our pace man- he did a great job figuring out counting how many paces for each leg of our hike. I love seeing James teach the kids things- like using a compass, doing your pace count, and lots of other things along the beautiful hike. We built an emergency shelter, found some wild raspberries, and just had a great time. This gorgeous state park is only 30 minutes away so we got home in time for a nap.

PCIs 

here's our emergency shelter

found a turtle cruising down the path- we saw a baby deer too!

The boys and I went to the library (less than a mile away) before starting our Great American Backyard Campout.  We grilled hamburgers- so good- we made them last week and froze them so yesterday we just grilled them- yum! After dinner we set up the tent

played cornhole

cheered James on as built the fire

roasted marshmallows for s'mores

caught fireflies, sang songs, told stories, and
went to sleep with no screaming (trust me that's a big change since last year!) 

 In the morning, we enjoyed yummy Captain Crunch French Toast, scrambled eggs, Tang, and blueberries, played Uno, bathed our dirty kiddos and headed to church. We loved the Freedom Celebration at Trinity Assembly of God- what a great way to honor God, country, and those who serve. Beautiful music (including kids choir), meaningful videos and talks, fire trucks to see and ride, and even pies for veterans! What a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend!

Summer Travels

We just returned from the first of our summer travels- we drove almost a thousand miles each way to Meridian, MS to visit Grandmollie. We stopped at Grandma's house in North Carolina on the way down. We enjoyed seeing everyone, a break from our drive, and Papa Murphy's pizza- our KS favorite take out pizza. We left early Friday morning for Mississippi and were very thankful for a good drive.

James and the boys stayed at a hotel while KG and I stayed at Grandmollie's. We had tons of yummy food, good catching up, and got to enjoy several MS traditions. Snowcones- probably 50+ flavors. The Dentzel carousel. Counting carousel horses around town.

 Church at Grace Fellowship. So good to get to see Grandmollie! 

 We found out that our "scary turkey ducks" are actually muscovy ducks  and good at eating mosquitos and bugs.

Then we drove back up to NC to spend a few days with Grandma, Uncle Brian, and Pops Leon.

K was super surprised when we celebrated his birthday early with Aunt Velma. 

Yummy cookout and K's first gun. He spent a lot of time the next two days like this:

and the other kids spent a lot of time like this:

 watching Daddy teach big brother how to fire. He'd been counting down the days until he turns eight to learn to hunt.

 The next day we had the kids' graduation. C's still a little unsure about going from K-1 to 1st grade- he's sure he's ready for 2nd grade but we had a nice graduation. K read the star spangled banner. C sang Amazing Grace. T read about rats. KG said Psalm 23rd. Daddy passed out certificates.

 Uncle B hung out with T.

After graduation we went to SciWorks a Science Museum in Winston-Salem- we so appreciate Blue Star Museums.  instead of around $10 each, we got in for free- nice! A great day!

Oriole's

We'd wanted to go to a Orioles' game sometime while in Baltimore especially after hearing about the Dugout program.  We were just going to sign up the 2 big boys but they really make it affordable and friendly so we signed all four kids up. We went to the Mother's Day game and had a really good time. 

the kids all got Orioles hats and bags as part of the dugout program. (We did splurge and get KG a pink hat too which she liked much better.)

they also each got a book as the prize for that game- of course, K read most of the book before the game started.

we sat up high mostly to be in the shade.

KG and James showing their new hats- well, the pink one we bought for KG and they gave James a camou hat for his military service.

T taking a break from the game to go play "air ball"

KG's turn

C seeing how fast his fast ball was. He did get 3 into the strike zone.  I don't have pics from the playground. Or from the big bag of snacks that we brought in with us- so nice to be able to bring snacks instead of paying stadium prices. We did watch a little baseball too! Nice day!

Fun Trips

Another reason we love homeschooling is all the time we have to get out and see and do the neat things around us. Here's a few pics from recent outings:

KG at Big Truck Day

Backyard flowers

strawberry picking at Baughers

Feeding the scary goat

the kids love the new garage swing- James thought he got these for working out

KG with her birthday bike- pink of course

KG & T on our together time while K & C at kids' choir

that's T napping after free tennis day

K on police motorcycle at Big Truck Day

C at Big Truck Day

Nature Day

Last Saturday we got to have a fun nature day. we have lots of nature days but this was an organized one through local nature centers/ parks. In the morning we went to Cromwell Valley Park for Oriole Day. Earlier this year on one of our many walks, we thought we'd seen an Oriole but wanted to make sure we saw the real thing. We had a great morning there- we saw a rescued Great Horned Owl. 

Someone found this owl very young and fed him only hamburger; as a result the owl's body didn't develop properly and he can't fly. 

I don't have many pics from our bird walk but we saw some neat birds- Orchard Orioles, Baltimore Orioles, red wing black bird, golden winged warbler, barn swallow to name a few.

We also go to see a display on the Maryland insect- the Baltimore Checkerspot. so the kids were super excited to see a few in our backyard yesterday. The morning was extra fun because we went with friends. We got a good laugh when we were asked if we were a boy scout troop- 2 Moms, 6 boys, 2 girls- must be boy scouts.

In the afternoon we went to Soldiers Delight for a survival skills class. a quick overview of rope tying and then we hiked a mile or so to identify edible plants.
I think wood sorrel was the kid's favorite. Acorns sound like a lot of work. I'm not what plantain is. It was interesting but I think we'll definitely be packing food for our outdoor time.

The kids absolutely loved our PJ walk in the rain. One day the weather forecast was rain all day but it hadn't started raining after breakfast so we put on boots and headed out the door. The kids thought it was so cool! Fun times! Good memories

Inner Harbor

We are so happy that we signed up for the free Spanish classes in the Inner Harbor. The instructor is super nice. The classes are very basic- K and C definitely already know what the classes have covered so far (colors & numbers ) but they're enjoyed the classes and I'm loving learning that the Inner Harbor doesn't have to be hard or expensive. We've found free 2 hour parking across from the Science Center on Williams street. and lots to see and do around the area. We're just getting started with the classes and look forward to more trips even without classes. 

 the kids' favorite part of Spanish is running to the colored cones

 reading memorial stone at Pride of Baltimore

 it's just fun to sit by the Inner Harbor- see the aquarium & other buildings in the background along with pirate ships and others.

the kids have really enjoyed the Federal Hill playground- best view of the Inner Harbor- well, not this picture but the view from the park!

Last Friday besides the spots above, we also had a Rita's Italian Ice sample and checked out the Visitors Center. We also saw lots of ducks and crabs. Can you find the crab in this pic? This Friday if it's sunny we'll splash in the Sondheim Water Fountain; if it's rainy, our first visit to Science Center. We're excited to have a fun day planned.

Gratitude

I really want to keep one of the long lists of things I'm thankful for and list them here but somehow mine end up a few here, a few there. I really like the 1000 gifts app- it's great to snap a picture or jot down a thankful thought as we're out and about. I also like writing in my journal- love the new leather one James made me. occasionally I include some things I'm thankful for in this blog. I really want to be more intentional about my thankfulness. I found this great website today which lists lots of verses about thankfulness. I really love the verses from Colossians 3: "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."


As we choose peace over bitterness, be thankful. 
As we teach and worship, be thankful.
As we change diapers, discipline children, clean up messes for 10th time, put away clothes, ... 
as we do everything, give thanks. 


I am so thankful for God, for my husband, my children, our families, the spring, James' job, the beautiful garden right down the street, our clothes, our country, new life, and the list goes on and on!