Activity Days - Daddy & Daughter Date

Last night,I hosted a Daddy & Daughter Date Night at church.

They had a cookout followed by games and s'mores.

Minute to Win It Games - Cheese Puff Head, Hair Braiding, and a Three Legged Race

I have a calling at church called Activity Days which means I manage activities twice a month for the girls 8-12 years old. 

My parents came to watch the three middle littles while Levi and I went with Clairana and Cecily.

Life.

I took this picture because I want them to remember our regular simple stay at home play with your siblings days...
I pray that they stay close and are the best of friends forever.
I am going to encourage that with all my being.
It is one of the main reasons I homeschool them.
Together. Strong Family Bonds. Memories. Together.
I remember when.......

We did it! Strawberries! Jam from the backyard coming up soon!

Cecily Edithe Evans you melt our hearts...always.

Our latest book club read aloud - SO FUN. The four kids were all about the same ages of ours so from the beginning I changed their names to our family. It made for some even better laughs. 

When you turn around and see this..... HILARIOUS BELLA.
She is always SO funny and anry.
She took the lenses out of her glasses and thought this was a great look.

PS. She doesn't look happy in this photo because riding in the carseat is still very uncomfortable for her because of her hips and she often is tensing up and readjusting but I promise she is happy. I will be SO happy when she can switch to a booster and spread her body out more. The 'hip happy' carseats are very hard to come by and very expensive. 

We went to a week long homeschooling practicum which is mandatory for Classical Conversations to tutor/teach. It was a great few days of learning and re-learning but my sweet friend Anne took this photo - it was our last day in our last hour and my crew was done.

Levi was an amazing help and brought us lunch each day and one day took Bella and Cecily home for the afternoon - all day long is a lot on this crew.

Coraline was beyond her limit in this photo after she was hit with a ball during recess time and Cecily was not having the nursery.

We made it. Next year will be easier. It is a good reminder that I can do hard things and I have amazing homeschooling mamas to love on me too.


Last night we had friends over and I said something that somewhat shocked myself and then made me feel confident.
I said I could debate the benefits of homeschooling and research all night but ... I know for sure that I am the best teacher for my children and I am Dam Good At It.

Each year my passion for this lifestyle grows and becomes even more important for me and my family. 

Aunt Woody & Marley Visit!

Aunt Woody came to visit with her granddaughter Marley who lives on the east coast so we don't get to see her very often. The kids were just smitten with her.

I tried to take a few photos but it was HOT and Muggy. Poor Bella's cheeks say it all. 

Aunt Woody with Cecily

Zip-line Time!

Beautiful Flowers

We are blessed to have beautiful landscaping by Levi's Aunt Woody who lived in our house before. 

It is amazing every year and although we attempt to keep up with it all we never can but I am so grateful every time we get to see such beautiful flowers pop up around our home!  

Maybe once all these little people turn into true gardeners we will be able to make it look as magical as she had it but until then.....

I tried to take some photos with my camera and do some practicing on a subject that doesn't move. 

Nephi's Half Birthday!

We ended up getting Nephi a kayak too for his birthday and seems his birthday is in December and we have a kayaking trip plans with friends this upcoming weekend we explained to him that this is his gift from us and he was just as excited and we sang to him too! 

Levi took them over to the grandparents pond while I stayed him with the littles while they napped.

He said he was overly impressed by how well both of them did. 

SO FUN. 

I can't wait for all the water memories!

Random from Levi

Dad Playing while Mom is Working (mowing in the background)
We all know that tending several children is harder than mowing.....

Painting with Clairana & Friends!

For Clairana's birthday, I took her and three of her girlfriends to Painting with a Twist. 

Their moms decided to come and hang out as well which was SO fun. 

We sat behind them and got to watch how different yet how much alike their drawings were. 

Clairana, Monica, Claire, & Brighten

They teach the girls techniques and step by step instructions.

This was in the bathroom and somehow I ended up with all of them in the bathroom so OF COURSE we had to take THE ART ANGEL Selfies!

They were a little short for the photos......

ICE CREAM Afterwards!