First Day of Homeschool!

This week it was that time of year for school to start again, with a twist!  We decided to homeschool.  This is also the first year having 4 kids in school.  It may seem a little crazy, OK, maybe a lot crazy, but it's been good.  We have just felt a shift in our family and we needed a change.  We want more time with our kids, teaching them, loving them, & playing with them!  It kind of felt like our time together had turned into a chore list after school: get homework done, eat dinner, get ready for bed!  Then start the rush all over the next day.  Some days may be stressful, but I really enjoy my kids and want to have the best experience we can while they are at home with us.  I have more I could say, but that kind of sums up our "Why we are homeschooling" question.  

Talmage is a 5th grader, Grant is a 4th grader, Sandra is a 2nd grader, and Mhari is a Kindergartner!

Here are just a few pictures of our first day together.  

Sandra and Grant

Talmage

Mhari

I'm sure there will be lots more photos of our fun together!  Our co-op group starts next week so that will add some weekly fun to our activities!  

Got a Spare?

A few days ago I noticed the rear tire of our truck was looking really bad.  The tread was separating and the sidewall was cracking.  I decided not to drive it that night and took my car instead.  Low and behold, Sharla texted me while I was out that night and said the tire blew up.  Yep...it blew up.  The sidewall gave out.  Our neighbor's daughter was outside with her boyfriend at the time and nearly had a heart attack.  It supposedly sounded like a shotgun going off.

Here is a picture of the sidewall.

 The funny part was that my spare looked horrible and lost its tread previously.  So no spare tire.  I ended up having the truck towed to a tire place and replaced my back tires.  It turns out that the blown tire was 18 years old.  It was the original spare to replace my treadless wonder below.  18 years is a long time.  Maybe we should check the spare a little more frequently.  Oooops.

Out with the Old

The time has come to say good-bye to our family sedan, Lightning.  We have had him 8 1/2 years!  He has been a good reliable vehicle during all of our years of schooling and having a young family.  He has been a blessing to our family.  Now that Jeff's career involves showing a professional image, conversation turned to the type of car he drives.  Now, I'm sure it was more because the car has been getting old and more prone to being unreliable (it's not, but you never know), and such.  The decision was made... time for a new vehicle. 

The search was on and we went through several different options:  Ford truck, VW Passat, or the Ford Fusion....

Yes, the Fusion won

We think he looks sharp :).  It's been fun to have a nice car.  

The kids like the name, Whiskers, and it seems to be sticking ;) 

Welcome to the family ~ Whiskers ;).  Oh, and if anyone wants a still decent sedan ours is for sale ;). 

Thrill Seekers

OK, so the kids aren't really thrill seekers, but with the read to succeed program with the school they have earned 6 Flags tickets every summer for the past several years.  They love going and that means that I get to go too!  Here are some fun photos of the kids enjoying the fun night riding roller coasters :).

Grant, Talmage, Sandra, and Mhari. 

Mhari got to go this year because a friend wasn't using her tickets.  It was fun to have our little Punkin come and enjoy the big rides for the first time.

The sidewinder! 

The kids on the log ride... it's moving so it's blurry.

Just got off Aquaman Splashdown.  The kids loved getting wet ... so much that they were waiting on this bridge for the next splash down so they could get soaked, even more!

I waited at a safe distance...

Here comes the splash!

The bridge is completely covered!

Look at how wet they all are!

The last ride of the night.  A coaster.  The Topsy-turvy.

Girls ready to get on!

It was pretty awesome looking!

I was afraid the kids wouldn't like this one, but they all had a blast!  It is fun to get to share 6 Flags with my kids!  Oh, and great that Jeff gets to spend some quality time with the babies so we can go :)

A New Sport

Talmage took a summer tennis class.  He ended up being the only boy in the group.  He said he didn't mind.  I think he's had girls surround him since kindergarten so it's a good thing it doesn't bother him. They met in the gym and would practice ball control.   On the last day they went to a local park to really get some good tennis practice in.  

Here is the teacher showing them what a serve should look like.  They weren't up to that level yet, but fun to watch anyway :)

Talmage returning a serve

I think he's serving here (hard to tell)

The court.  

It was really hot.  Only 3 kids came out to the park.  They were able to serve the ball, but actually returning the serve was pretty tricky.  I don't think I ever saw them volley for more than one return. He liked it and learned about a new sport so that was good :)

Wii Love Summer!

This summer the kids have had a blast playing our Wii.  We have had it for a couple of years now, but it seems the kids have finally really gotten good at it.  We had even bought new games for Christmas and the kids really only play two of the different games (ones we already had).  One day in July the girls wanted to try our Wii Just Dance again.  It turned into a fun family dance party!  Sandra is really good at it, but it was surprising who else started showing off their stuff!

I got a turn with Sandra.  It was fun to beat her.  She had been beating everyone she danced against so it was good for her to realize that she isn't the best dancer (for now).  

Sandra is really fun to watch.  Mhari is really getting good too, but everyone always beats her so she gets discouraged.  

So after I danced with Sandra Jeff had to take a turn.  He was hysterical to watch!  I was laughing so hard :).  Jeff was having so much fun with it, but dancing really well!  He beat Sandra too.

So cute ;) 

Here is one of the boys (Talmage I think) getting in on the fun ;)

More Hunny and Chica

Now, just because all of the photos were of the dancing doesn't mean that's all the wii games the kids played.  The game most of the kids LOVED was Mario cart!  Sandra started getting good enough to finish at the top and the boys have unlocked tons of things.  Talmage even unlocked his wii character!  That was a fun surprise.  Now when he plays he choses to be himself ;).  

 

We are now in the age of the video games.

Williams Family Dancers!

Our kids love to dance when we play music on the stereo.  It is fun to see the girls twirling and prancing around the family room.  Well, let's just say that Clark likes to hang out with his big sisters... and even dress the part.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he brings me a skirt and asks to wear it when it's time to dance, seeing as how that's what his sisters are doing!  I need some manly dress-up clothes for my boys to dance in ;).  Until then, here are our Williams Family Dancers:

Clark - he is quite beautiful to watch :)

Mhari.  She has gotten pretty good too :)

 

I love our little dancers!

Sneaky and Cuties!

This is our little sneaky girl!  She has figured it all out now at the ripe old age of 15 months.  Just to prove my point the other day I see Lorna walking around with a whole nectarine... that she got and started to eat.  Instead of make a big deal about it I put her in her chair to enjoy her spoils.  Man that little Bug!  I guess she really does have it all figured out ;)

So happy 

Jeff fell asleep the other Saturday and he was just too cute that I had to take a picture.  Love him!!

More cuties... snuggling on Daddy!

Just too cute!

 Oh, let's not forget Grant who was at the top of the cuddle pile.  Lorna even joined in the cuddling for a bit, but wouldn't sit still for a photo.

Lorna and Clark on the circle chair.  They just love each other!

Lorna likes her photo taken.  I was getting her pj's and Jeff had some fun trying to get a photo while Lorna attacked the camera.

Such a cutie!  

Lorna really enjoys watching dinner cooking :)

Oh and yes, Lorna is still sneaky ... finding her on top of the table is now a common occurrence ;)

Yup, I see you sneaky girl!

I love all of my sneaky cuties!

Good Readers!

Our local library did a summer reading program and for the final prize we got tickets to the local water park ;).  It was our second time as a family to Hawaiian Falls and the kids had a blast!  The older ones spent most of their time riding slides while I hung out with the younger kids in the kiddie pool area.  This was a new area for us this time and the little ones sure enjoyed it!  The older ones even had fun doing the little rope bridge!  Here are some pics of the kids.  They were fun to watch :)

Talmage

Clark enjoying a snack :)

Lorna too.  Her favorite part were the little slides for the babies.  She was really good at climbing the stairs and then going down the slide all by herself (with me right there in case she slipped and didn't land right).  I am sad that I didn't end up with any photos of her on the slides!  She was seriously fearless!

Handsome Clark enjoying the water!

Sandra

Sandra and Talmage on one of the little kid slides.  This is one of the slides Lorna was going down.  The big slides are behind them in the photo ;)

Grant's turn!  He was really good at it too!  Seriously fast!

Love this photo :)

Mhari took several tries and kept falling off.  By the time we were done for the day she had crossed the bridge 3 times!  She was so proud of herself!  What a determined little girl!

Clark was so worn out!

It was a fun day, but being sure I keep track of all of my kids is a bit stressful!  I hope next year is a little more fun and a little less stress so we will go more ;).  The kids really really love Hawaiian Falls!