Weekly Wrap-up ~ The Busy Days of Summer

The sun finally came out this week and it actually got hot enough to turn on the air conditioner. Although I am not a huge fan of the heat, my garden and flowers sure appreciated it! However, last night we had a storm come through and the temperatures dropped. We slept with the windows open and it was fabulous!

The Past Week in our Regular Life

This was a much busier week. Last weekend was filled with celebrations for Rick's birthday and Father's Day. Brynne had a hot softball game on Monday night. And we worked at the softball dinner and silent auction on Thursday night. We were also much busier during the day, as well, with library classes and other activities.

Then this past weekend Rick spent the majority of the weekend painting the exterior trim of our house while I helped Kyndal and Collin get ready for their housewarming party that was yesterday. The house is looking so fantastic! We are painting all of the burgundy/purplish trim gold and green. It takes a lot of work, and Rick only has the weekends to work on it, so it will be several weeks before it is done. But I love it so much! It reminds me of the house in Portland, Oregon, where my brother lives. It just brightens my day to look at it!

You can see a little of the burgandy trim in the top of the picture. I have hated that trim since the day we first looked at the house. It made it look like a summer camp cabin. But the new colors have such pop and are lots of fun!

I have been stashing stuff in my basement for a garage sale, and putting it off, forever and ever. I decided on Tuesday night that I would throw together a sale on Friday. With my mom's help I pulled it off and made enough to get me another full tank of gas for all of the driving back and forth to Brynne's basketball camp and softball games I have to do this week.

The Schooling Basics

Bible

The kids completed four more lessons in their Veritas Press Bible curriculum. All I can say is that it's just good stuff.

Math

Both kids moved onto 5th grade division with CTC. They completed four lessons, scoring very well. They got their first taste of short division with fractional remainders that tripped Eli up a bit. We'll be working on it again this week to make sure we've got it down before we move on.

Reading

We are reading every day for about an hour. This includes personal reading, our literature study, and the book the kids are reading for their book club. Summer is just a great time to read!

The Schooling Fun Stuff

I had high hopes for the library class this past week on Plant Science. But, it was a little dull. In fact, it was a lot dull. It was on composting and greenhouses, but they certainly didn't make it geared toward kids and it certainly didn't involve any science. At the end of the class they each made a glove greenhouse. We'll see if we can get something to grow. The kids weren't too impressed. It was a waste of time. But, it did get us out riding our bikes to and from the library, so that's something.

But the kids continue to enjoy their book club reading Capture the Flag by Kate Messner. They have one more week with this book and then will be starting another one soon. Their teacher is very enthusiastic and they are really having fun.

The Kitchen

I also had high hopes for a recipe for cauliflower tortillas. They looked so good. And they turned out so bad. They were impossible to flip over unless you made them really small, and then I can't imagine how you would get a taco out of it. Mine just fell apart. A whole head of cauliflower only made about 6 tortillas and they were a lot of work. I guess I'll just stick with my too-high carb flour tortillas for my black bean tacos.

The Days Ahead

What a crazy, busy week we are getting ready to have! This morning Kyndal and I were in a nearby college town with Brynne while she attended a basketball camp. I will be taking her there tomorrow and Wednesday morning, too. She has softball practice tomorrow night and then softball games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. She ought to be a total bawl-bag by about Wednesday afternoon.

Dawson is babysitting the kids Taylar regular babysits for each morning this week while she attends volleyball camp. We are going to meet ourselves coming and going this week.

The Books We are Reading

Mom:  Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman (finished), The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.

Brynne: Frozen: The Junior Novelization (finished), A Surprise for Lily by Mary Ann Kinsolver and Suzanne Woods Fisher

Eli: Big Nate: Goes for Broke by Lincoln Peirce (finished).

Read Aloud:  Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, Capture the Flag by Kate Messner.

The People and the Places

Our city pool finally opened last Monday so the kids and I went for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, on Friday after my garage sale, and then again on Saturday evening for a couple of hours with daddy. And I didn't take one picture. I was too busy reading my book. I can do that now. The kids are old enough that they can swim with lifeguards without me having to watch their every move. It is nice!

Brynne went to the little 3-hour Vacation Bible School at our church on Saturday and had a lot of fun. Eli opted out this year.

Yesterday Kyndal and Collin had a housewarming party at their new house. It was such a great day spent with family and friends! The food was awesome! (Shout out to my dad for smoking the pork and Pam, Collin's mom, for all the delicious sides and desserts!) I made my usual party potatoes which were gobbled up, as usual.

The Savings Jar(s)

I added $8.38 to the savings change jar. I noticed when I got home from Kyndal's party, and after Rick had left to go back to Oklahoma for the week, that he had left me a pile of change on my dresser. I think he's gunning for a super cool Christmas gift!!

The Bible in a Year

I got all caught up on my Bible reading and have now read through Ezekiel 27.

The Favorite Things

My boys being together. They might be almost 18 years old, but they will always be goofy 11 year olds to me. It's always so nice when the best friend comes for a visit. We miss Tonio!

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