welcoming June a few days early...

The school year is wrapping up and vacation is literally around the corner. I can taste the beach and relaxation and cannot wait.

Miles isn't walking yet {most popular question these days} but takes a step or 3 here or there. He's much more comfortable crawling at this point. Taking after Ethan and Rachel, he is quite the talker. We can't understand what he's saying yet, but he says a lot. Kara was our early walker and 'late' talker. I'm still convinced they typically do one or the other early but not both.
He climbs everything, falls a lot and wants to put everything into his mouth. Jason and I laugh at how Ethan was so over watched and over protected - we would've totally criticized parents like we are now, 8 years ago. You live and learn.
The other day I looked outside and saw my shirtless 8 year old son, no shoes, climbing trees and running through bushes and then noticed both girls in totally mismatched outfits, hair undone, rolling down the grass hill in our backyard and I just smiled.
That's childhood. 
Those are the best parts of it. The uninhibited, no fear of judgement, totally free and exciting play time. Its so short lived too. Before you know it, we're needing to get jobs, study hard and plan for our future.

And then there was the kid at the park the other day who told Rachel, "your clothes don't match at all."
Rachel looked down at her body with a totally confused look on her face and said, "they don't need to match. They just cover my body. Clothes are fun and colorful and its fun to mix them up!"
I was so proud of her in that moment -- and thankful it appears I haven't turned her into a snobby walking ad for GAP or something ridiculous like that.

Our weekend was eventful. It was filled with family, friends, a lot of learning, plenty of moments to show humility & grace, forgive each other, lots of chores around the house, a day to celebrate the men and women who've fought so hard to keep us safe and free, and of course, a fun BBQ with our Community Group + a few more friends to wrap up the 3 day weekend.
Kara woke up and told me, "I needed more sleep from Memory weekend." - she still doesn't get the MemorIAL part right. But its cute, so I don't correct her.

My iPhone broke. That was probably the most eventful thing this week. I know, exciting life, right? 
Monday night it was laid face down in a wet spot on the coffee table. I picked it up, dried it off with my shirt and went on with my evening. I realized about 2 hours later that it was blinking funny and green lines were running down my screen. Oops. 
Put it in a bag of rice for a couple days and it didn't seem to improve so I took it to the Apple store and they said it was fried and actually rusting on the inside. Lame. 
$200+ bucks later, I have a new phone and Apple Care, just in case this ever happens again. 
That was yesterday, Wednesday, which was the day I felt most lost without my phone. 
It reminds me of everything. I've programmed my life into that thing. 
Forgot to return Library DVD's, forgot we were having our friends/family over for dinner that night, 
forgot an important birthday - all because my phone is what reminds me of those things. 

Then tonight I made a Safeway run to buy a couple things and fill the van with gas - came home and locked my keys, purse and phone IN the van. 
Yes... I'm glad today is over and tomorrow is a new day :) 

Seriously ladies, I feel like this blog is so lame. I don't have a lot to chat about these days that's terribly insightful or wisdom'ess (as Joey on Friends would say). Those of you who still read it deserve a prize. 
My life right now consists of very full days with lots of teaching, learning, experiencing, cooking, cleaning, socializing, appointments, errands, lists {i love to make lists}, and I guess when I sit down to blog, I'm often running on empty, or I just feel like there isn't much to share that will be of interest to anyone else. 
And lets face it, Instagram has totally robbed my blog of pictures. I do apologize and will work on that :-\

Someone recently asked me to blog about having a large family and I've been asked to blog about home schooling. I laughed at both. 
We don't have a large family. Not in my opinion at least. I was raised around far larger and I was IN a larger family. So no, I don't think any of my posts will be about that any time soon. Plus, just as I think I've got something to share, I go and realize there's a ton of new things to learn. I'll share with ya'll when I'm 88, mkay? ;-) 
Homeschooling would be a fun post... but there's again, SO much to share and as I figure something out, I'm learning a whole host of new things. 
I feel like the student far more than I feel like the teacher, because its a learn-as-you-go thing and definitely not something that's the same day-to-day. 

I can tell you that this year we joined a Classical Conversations School, which I'm super excited about! I'm going to tutor, which is exciting and scary all in one, but I'm looking forward to the challenging parts and the amazing parts. I know there will be both :)

Ethan and Rachel took their end-of-the-year tests for passing 1st and 2nd grade and both did amazingly well! They were so funny - they get really nervous when we do those tests, because I can't help them or correct their work and they are timed in some sections. They both act like they'll be sent back a grade or have to "miss college" as Rachel put it, all because they got one Math problem wrong ;-)  
They waited anxiously for their results to come in the mail and when they did, they were so happy to see they passed with flying colors. So 2nd and 3rd grade, here we come! 
Kara is learning to read and doing really well with it! She's mastering sight words like nobody's business. I tell people all the time, your young kids soak up so much information and learning just by watching the older kids. It amazes me all the time. 

My goal for June is to take more pictures with our nice, regular camera and to share more of them here. 
When we get back from vacation I'll be sure to upload pics here from that. 

Happy {almost} June! 

Comments

Emily said…
I still read it and love it because it keeps me up with your family. Love you!
Charlotte said…
Totally loved this. I feel the same way about my blog...if it wasn't for the product reviewing I do I would be talking about just the daily stuff.

But I will tell you that reading about your daily stuff is encouraging. You make it real and I really appreciate that.

And I TOTALLY GET the matching clothes thing. When I only had two I would have been horrified to leave the house without hair done, clothes matched, faces washed. Today? I don't even know what my kids are wearing, and I usually don't see it until we get somewhere and then it is too late to tell them that the stripes on their skirt don't match the flowers on their shirt.

I am so sorry about your phone. I am thinking about getting a smart phone next month, but I am a little scared of killing it. I can be rough with my phones....

Totally hear you about the large family thing. One of my best friends has 12 kids and I am so tempted to tell people about her when I get the big family comments.

CC is a great co-op to be in! I have a few friends that do it down here and one is becoming a director next year. Since I have already gotten stuck in what we are doing and it can be pricey we are passing on it for now.

And your blog is SO NOT LAME.

:-)
Stef said…
Thanks Emily & Charlotte. You girls are the bomb.
I love your blogs too - since I SO often read from my phone these days I can't leave comments (lame) but I AM still reading them and I feel the same way - encouraged but the realness of them.

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