My baby just graduated from Pre-K. I can't believe how big he is getting. He was so cute in his graduation cap.

Kaylee won 1st place in the Young Authors and Illustrators contest through a local PBS station. We drove to Peoria on our way to Michigan for a tour of the studio and to receive her prizes. Her story is online at www.wtvp.org/programming/kids/2011contest/winners.asp

Jordan received his green belt

Recent to trip to Michigan

Too busy to write....

The school year has been so busy. We are starting to slow down a bit now that the science fair and the geography are over with. Here are lots of photos....

Jordan and Kaylee's first concert. We went to see Mercy Me with Brandon Heath and Natalie Grant. On our way out, we passed by Brandon Heath signing autographs...that's him behind the kids.

Jordan's first Tae Kwon Do tournament

Carter at soccer...luckily he wasn't on the pink team again! He loves soccer!!! He's a crazy kid on the field

Jordan and Kaylee at the Geography fair. We studied Japan this year.

Jordan at the SIUE science fair.
 He won best in his category (biology) and won a Friends of Nature award too.



Jordan's birthday....can you believe he is 11?!



Ichthyology (study of fish) field trip...standing next to Mississippi river.

Jordan at his second belt test

Kaylee at the Macie Memorial Meet

Mammology field trip at the Nature Institute in Godfrey

Making the cutest Valentine's day cards

Grossology exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center

At the zoo.....again

Jordan's recent drawing

Can you tell that he is totally into Star Wars?

Not much has changed as far as school is concerned.  The kids are still doing great, and they are back in the swing of things after a much needed Christmas break.  The public schools have had several snow days recently, and the kids actually asked me why they didn't get snow days. I just laughed and told them that the snow doesn't stop them from walking into the next room to get their books. Of course, they still had plenty of time for sledding. Here are a few pics from the last month.

The boys after receiving their first belts

Hanging out in the hotel before
Kaylee's gym meet

Ice skating



Jordan's robot-
He made this out of a broken remote control car and several other pieces of who-knows-what.
It actually "walked" around with the remote control



Carter's bowling party for his 5th birthday

Kaylee's sleepover for her 8th birthday

How cute are these pictures???
The dog LOVES the kids and sleeps with them all the time

The Kids' Early Christmas Gift

Ryan and I finally caved in and decided to get the kids a dog. After a lot of research, we decided on a Boston Terrier. We found a breeder with new puppies that would be available a week after Christmas. Ryan and I had my mom watch the kids, so we could take the long drive to pick out our puppy. We were going to take a picture of the puppy and surprise the kids with the picture on Christmas.  However, when we arrived we found out that this cutie was available. We fell in love with her and bought her right then and there. The kids were totally surprised when we showed up at grandma's with a new puppy!

Jordan's 7 pointer

I'm such a lazy blogger.  We are so busy morning, noon, and night.  I hardly find the time to get on the computer. I guess it's a good thing that we are busy living life instead of staring at electronics.  The kids are doing great. Our school year has been very successful so far with many small victories along the way.  Kaylee is finally overcoming some of her reading difficulties, and her confidence is finally growing.  She has learned most of her multiplication facts too! Jordan has found a real love for history and geography. He still loves art, and he amazes me everyday with his drawings. We make sure he gets plenty of downtime to be creative. Carter is still crazy little Carter.  He is so much like Macie it's scary. He has the same ambitious drive she had, and he is starting to read a little and learning to tie his shoes.  He keeps us laughing everyday.

We have been really busy with our sports too.  We have completed a season of flag football. Jordan found a real love for the sport and hopes to play tackle next year. Both the boys are now in Tae Kwon Do. Jordan will have his first belt test in December. Kaylee has already competed in 3 gymnastics meets. She is improving so much, and she won 1st place all-around at her last meet.  She also just moved from a level 3 to a level 4 gymnast this week. She is so excited! I feel like we live at the YMCA, but I guess it's not so bad when I get the kiddos all to myself during the day.

I LOVE being home with them and watching them learn everyday. I'm am so fortunate that I don't have to rush them out the door every morning to spend 6+ hours in a school.  When my children were in public school, it felt like we never had any quality family time. The kids didn't get a lot of down time to just hangout with each other. Now they spend a lot of time together, and they get along really well and truly enjoy being together.  Homeschooling has given our family so much freedom, and we are loving it.



Our classroom



Mills Apple Farm field trip



Carter in his Tae Kwon Do outfit
Isn't he cute?!

Disney World

playing in the camper....we even slept outside last week

out on the bike trails

Kaylee's State Meet

Melvin Price Lock and Dam Field Trip

Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower field trip