Our Summer of 2008 & Back to School

Our first day back to school was Monday. We were blessed with another beautiful day. The kids had fun on the treasure hunt, and Ellie decided to try and raid everyone else's backpack for goodies. It's hard to believe that this is our 8th year of homeschooling---the things I've learned in eight years!

Jack and Joe planned an "End of Summer Carnival". We all tried our hands at the different games they came up with!


Jenny showing off her bullseye!

My plan for the summer was to post more often about what we are doing and everyday funnies. Well, let's just say, we're going to Plan B which is a summary of the summer now! :) Here are some photos from throughout the summer---

Having fun in the bathtub---how many kids can fit in one tub?

Sharing a laugh with cousins.

Nate and Ellie as cowboys.

"The Pond" made a surprise appearance in July this year. We usually see this in the spring when all the snow melts, but we had a summer day with lots of rain over a short amount of time. The kids had such fun playing in the brown water---yikes!

This water comes out of the well---very chilly, even on a warm summer day! Didn't stop these three monkeys!
Here is a shot on our trip to Bay Beach. The rain started to fall very heavily right after I took the picture. Bill and the kids had to take the stairs down instead of the slide.

Our painting projects have been on hold due to a broken toe and too many other commitments. We're hoping to get some serious painting done some of the weekends in September.

We also had an experience in July that has showed us how sensitive Nate is to gluten. He accidentally got a piece of "real" pizza and his speech is still not back to where he was. We are seeing more and more come back but now realize how careful we need to be to keep him away from gluten. He has added "privacy" to his vocabulary---used when he needs privacy in the bathroom!

We've had a wonderful couple of months---lots of time with friends and family and hours spent outside enjoying the warm weather. The older four kids love to swim, and Ellie loves to wade.

We spent a week up north with Grandma, Papa, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Pete's families and had a wonderful time! The weather was fantastic and the kids had so much fun swimming, fishing, canoeing, eating, laughing and playing with their cousins. It was a week to remember!

A couple of things I've learned over this summer. Don't try to kick something out of the way with crocs on.

Make sure your 4 year old is doing something with his hands when you cut his hair---little hands can quickly knock off the end of the clippers and turn it into a buzzer.

Lists can't be followed too closely.

Never underestimate what a two year old can do.

Some Happenings

We're all in shock that June is dwindling---it seems like our summer is flying by! I've noticed a couple of things that I wanted to share.

The first thing is, if you give one of your children the chore of doing all the dishes, it is amazing how often the family ends up eating on paper plates. Also, how said child tries to make everyone use the same cup for the day and thinks it is OK to eat spaghetti on paper plates.

Likewise, if you give another child laundry duty, they will all of a sudden have a uniform that is worn every day, which by the end of the week could almost stand by itself.

Just a couple interesting observation!

In other news, Bill and I have a new "wild hair" (a term fondly adopted from Aunt Carla). We decided to try and clean up the east side of the house near the deck and put a coat of new paint on it. Thinking our house is white so we should get white paint, we quickly discovered how many different shades of white there are and how "unwhite" and in need of paint our house really is. So, instead of painting part of the barn over the 4th of July weekend, we will be painting more of the house.

Here's the during---

and the after. The painted sections look so clean and fresh! Now to get rid of the spot on the door that Chuckie has scratched. We'll have to add that to our list. Sometimes I think we're crazy, other times I know it!

Finally, just to share a phrase (YEAH!!) Nate said last week. He said, "Momma get stroller, and Nate get in stroller." WOW! You can't imagine what music this is to our ears. He is saying lots more "I" statements and continues to progress. Thank you Lord!

Here are a couple shots of Nate---celebrating his birthday at Grandma and Papa's. He's really into birthdays now!

Ellie is actually spying his presents and figuring out how to get over to them and open them all up before Nate gets a chance. Here's one she got to first---

Papa and Nate looked at Nate's cards many times. Papa was so patient, and Nate had such fun with him.

We went to the zoo and Joe, Nate and Jack Peter found a turtle to climb on.

And here is how Ellie has been spending the lazy days of summer.
Bill and the older three went strawberry picking early this morning. The berries are beautiful and delicious---red all the way through and SO sweet! We will freeze them to enjoy throughout the year. We will probably take at least two more trips. Our stash of frozen strawberries last year was gone by October---we had them in the freezer in the barn, and the kids had lots of sweet snacks while biking last summer.

Hope you're enjoying the terrific summer weather!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Nate is 4 years old today! We've had a fun day with a trip to the Children's Museum and a dash into the library. Nate had a fun day, sampling frosting and cupcakes! One of the cupcakes had quite a large hole in the middle when I found it!

There is nothing better than licking all the frosting off all the cupcakes on your 4th birthday!

We are so thankful for the progress Nate is making in his speech and communicating! This week he has said to me "Nate take a break" (after getting brain freeze from too much ice cream), and a number of I statements---I get out, I get off, I go potty. He is imitating all we say, and we are thrilled to see how far he's come in the last six months!

Nate is so full of life and loves to try and keep up with the older three. He and Ellie are pretty much inseparable when awake---they are true buddies! Nate loves to read, loves his Cars cars, loves anything to do with animals, and lately has a strong love for Chuckie. Chuckie tolerates him for a short time, unless of course food is involved. One of his favorite pastimes is wrestling with Dad---

He loves his cousins, especially Jack Peter. Watch out for these two boys as they get older---I have a feeling we might have some broken bones!

Nate is our "Hat Man". He will make a hat out of almost anything---we've seen him wearing face masks, deflated balls, and Ellie's doll's hats. Here is a sample of his "headwear":

You just never know when you might need to go from wearing a dust mask as a hat to an actual dust mask. Nate follows the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared.

Nothing wrong with wearing sister's hat---


A good ol' baseball cap---


And Nate's all time favorite, his black cowboy hat. This hat has been through it all, including a rain storm! You can tell it is well loved by its shape.

He's worn it to the park

speech therapy, shopping, the library and church.

Nathan means "God has given" , and we feel that the name fits him perfectly. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family and brings such joy to our home. Nate's laugh is infectious, and his smile melts your heart! God has truly given us a gift in Natey!

Happy Birthday Natey!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Joe-Joe Binks is 9! How can that be?!? I can't believe that it was nine years ago that we brought Joey home from the hospital---on a beautiful spring day with the apple blossoms filling the air with a wonderful scent.

Nine years of laughs, jokes, many doorframes climbed, some stitches, lots of daredevil moves.

I wonder how many different things you've created in nine years Joe? How many cool Lego creations? You definitely are our boy who likes to make things.

You, Jenny and Jack have so much fun together--our 3 Musketeers!

Or is that you, Cooper and Jack?!?

We're amazed at how many pictures you have drawn. You continue to surprise all of us with your ability to draw. We're still trying to figure out who you inherited that from.

You are such a great big brother to Nate and Ellie! If anyone can make them laugh, you definitely can. You have done a wonderful job working with Nate and helping him to talk more, and Ellie loves to goof off with you.

I just had to include this cute picture of our little "fisherman"! Look at how white your hair was!Happy 9th Birthday Joe! We love you very much and are so excited to see the many way God has gifted you! You are a very special part of our family!