First Day of School #1

The Test Pilot started school yesterday.  He's a big 3rd grader now.  We are continuing homeschooling with him.  (Crash starts later.)

We are using the same Core curriculum as last year, but changed a few subjects to try a slightly different approach this year.  I am feeling more brave picking curriculum.  We added Spanish, which surprisingly he loves.

It went well yesterday.  I am sure our schedule will need a little more tweaking as the days and weeks go on, but so far so good.

I still can't believe he is a 3rd grader.  They grow so fast!

Soccer camp

The Test Pilot decided to try a soccer camp this summer.  It was a day or more like evening camp.  Due to the heat, they met late afternoon/early evening hours.  He really enjoyed himself.

It is run by this group out of the United Kingdom.  Over there, unlike the U.S., it's a big deal to be a coach.  They take classes and have internships.  These 3 young brits that ran our camp are part of this group.  This is part of their training to be a coach.

These guys were great.  They had tons of games and fun activities to teach soccer but keep the kids busy and entertained.  This is no small task with 4 year olds in the mix.  (I forgot to prepare my child that they may talk a little funny.)  He was a little puzzled at first.

Here's the Test Pilot with his coach and age group.  As usual, he 's the giant of the group.  They also gave them skills assessment which were very accurate.

His highlight was on the last day.  They had a specialty goalkeeper clinic.  He has never had any formal instruction in goalkeeping so he was excited, because he loves to play goalie.  He's pretty good at it, but in all honesty- his #1 reason that he likes to play goalie is that they don't have to run much.  He told his coach this.  Nice!  At least he is honest.

Oh well!  I do know a man who played goalie all through college and he said that is how he started.  He didn't want to run much.

Handling money God's way

The Captain and I took a money management class at our church when we were newly married.  It was offered by the Crown Financial Ministries and we were part of small discussion group at our church.

While neither one of us handled money poorly, we didn't have a game plan or even a theory about how to handle money.  That class was so informative.  I never knew that the Bible had so much to say about finances.

I remember when taking that class, the leaders mentioned that there was curriculum for children and teens.  I filed that information away.

Fast forward 9 years and this summer I have done a money management class with the boys.

It's called "The ABC's of Handling Money God's Way".  This series is geared for ages 3-7.

It's been great.  We do 1-2 lessons a week.  There's a Bible verse for each week, a short application story, and some activity sheets.  It has taught them to stay out of debt.  We have talked about saving and giving.

I plan on giving each boy 3 jars with "saving", "giving", and "spending" on them to reinforce the teaching.

They have enjoyed it and seemed to have learned a lot.  Hopefully, this will be the start of some good money habits now that will bless them in the years to come.

Boogey boarding

It's another beach post.  It was just so fun and this is my way of scrapbooking so here's some more pictures.

My favorite part of the beach trip is boogey boarding.  We had to buy additional boards this year, because the children actually wanted to try it.

It's something fun that the Captain and I like doing together.  Thank you Nana for watching our children on the beach so we can share in some fun together.

The Test Pilot was ready to go.  It was fun to do some big kid stuff with just him.  He had a good time being way out in the waves, until he will he got rocked by some big ones.  He decided he needed to stay closer to shore.

 Crash really got into it.  He stayed in the shallower surf, but did good.

Wingman never really got a good rhythm going but he was good at this "beached whale" imitation with his boogey board.

Boogey boards can also be used as water wagons and your parents can drag you around.  The kids liked it.  The parents got a workout.

Next year, the Captain wants to try kite surfing.  This not the best picture.  Several days, there was a man on what looks like a snowboard strapped to a kite to pull him around the ocean.  The Captain tells me we need to try this for the children's sake.  Ah hem.

So I might be trying kite surfing next year.

Sandcastles

I thought the sand castles needed their own post.  The building is a huge part of each trip.  I keep telling the Captain they should enter one of those competitions.  Maybe someday they will.  

They do build typical looking sand castles although this is really a rendition of the Redwall Abbey from the Redwall books that the Test Pilot has been reading.  

It is a family affair.  They all haul water, dig, and help with the shaping.  Mommy supervises.  That's my job.

Then when some naughty teenagers knock down your castle, you decide to build a baby humpback whale.  This was Wingman's idea.  He loves Go Diego Go!

And then they decided to build a pirate ship with a mast.  They have lots of fun and it's a great conversation starter with other beach goers.

Now on to boogey boarding...

Beach 2011

We just returned from our annual beach trip.  We had a lot of fun as usual.  We had great weather the whole trip and once again left just before a hurricane hit the area.  (Although this storm turned out to be rather insignificant.)

My parents came with us.  This was my dad's first year to accompany us.  He got around pretty well minus one little mishap.

We did a lot more playing in the ocean than in year's past.  Usually, there is at least one kid afraid of the ocean or too young to really play out there but not this year.  Wingman loved trying to jump over the waves.

And there was a lot of water gun playing.  I am not sure how this is honoring your elders, but Nana was quite the trooper.  Grandave even got her her own water gun so the battle was evenly matched by the end of the week.

We saw lots of wildlife on our beach.  We fed sea gulls, got to watch pelicans feed, and observe huge schools of fish swimming through the area.

The boys decided that driving their trucks in the surf was a good way to spend some time too.

As usual, we eat then go to the beach, eat again and go to the pool, eat again and then go back to the beach.  The boys loved it, but it definitely wore them out.  Wingman and Crash fell asleep each night during story time.

More pictures to come...

Bowling pin party

Crash finally had his much anticipated "bowling pin party."  That's what he has been calling it.  His bowling resembles the shot put, but he had lots of fun.

 He wanted a party just like his big brother had a few months ago.

Even Wingman had a good time.  He struggled with the concept of taking turns but he finally caught on.

He had all his buddies from church and school there.  It's pretty cool that he already knows about half of his kindergarten class and they were at his party.  It's been fun watching these kids grow up together.

Then we got a little funky.  They turned down the lights and used strobe lights and black lights.  They kids loved it!  The balls glowed and their clothes glowed in the dark.  They were dancing around!  We need to go bowling more often.

He had a great day and got lots of fun gifts.  Of course legos and star wars were involved in those gifts.

He just had his 6 year old well check up.  You are 49 inches tall and weight 47 pounds.  He is on the top of the growth chart, which my pediatrician says is typical for our family.  This explains a lot.

He has been a picky eater for the past 5 years or so and the last few months his appetite has increased.  He can eat 2 hot dogs, 2 belgian waffles, or lots of breakfast casserole.  He obviously had hit a growth spurt.  He also complains his legs hurting at night.  I had "growing pains" a lot when I was a kid.  I remember many nights of my dad rubbing my legs because they just ached.  So I get to do it to my boy.

Happy Birthday Crash!