Carson's 6th Birthday!

Carson turned 6 today! I just can't believe how big he is getting.

Instead of a party, he opted to spend a special day with just the 4 of us ♥ It was freezing cold, so we bundled up and went to do the first thing on his list. First, we went to Adventure Landing to drive the go-karts and play in the arcade. Then we came back home for quiet reading time. After that, we went to Rockfish Grill where Carson ordered the green salad and grilled salmon. He said it was the best meal he ever had! Then we continued the fun at home where we sang happy birthday and ate the Star Wars cake that I made for him. Reading all the Star Wars novels over and over again created the theme for this birthday. Carson could hardly contain his excitement when it was time to open his birthday gifts! He was thrilled with some Star Wars gifts and a Learning Resources cash register.

It was such a fine day and he was so happy to have it all work out the way he envisioned. I Love him so much! I am the luckiest Mom in the world ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Digestion

We've been studying about digestion. Today we did a disgusting experiment that illustrated the importance of the lining of the stomach and what happens to food in the stomach and the path it takes in the intestines. The balloon acts as the stomach and the oil acts as the mucus that lines the stomach. Thank you uncle Joe for the gross science gift.

Snow Day!!

We woke up to snow this morning. The boys and I took a walk while we enjoyed the snow. It is too warm to stay on the ground, but was fun while it lasted. Despite errands I should do today, we may just stay home and play. Right now we are listening to Christmas music, reading Christmas books and putting matchbox cars together for an 'auto show' the boys are planning for later.

Beach Vacation

We are getting ready to go on a 9 day/ 8 night beach vacation in the Florida Keys. I am so excited, but I have so much to do to get ready to go! Mark is supposed to be taking off the day tomorrow so I can concentrate on laundry and packing, but he has brought a ton of work home. Wish me luck!
Wooooo Hoooo!

Cameron's first haircut

I was trimming Carson's hair and Cameron really wanted me to do his. I said sure and so he has just spontaneously received his first haircut. What a big boy he is getting to be. He sat still and patiently waited for me to finish. Pictures later :)

Meals on Wheels

We started to deliver meals for the Meals on Wheals program. I felt like it was one of the best charity groups that I could do with the boys so young. I was a little worried about the little training that I received before delivering the meals, but it worked out great. By the third stop, Carson was running to the back to pack up the next meal. Our total time for deliveries was just under 2hours. If any of you are thinking about helping others, this is a great program! I know both my boys felt good by helping others and many of my clients really enjoyed seeing the boys.
After we delivered the meals, we stopped by a park to play. A huge turtle fell over the bank about 6 feet and landed upside down. The water was too shallow for him to flip back over, so after a lot of work and risking my life...I saved the turtle. I am my boys' hero (and the turtle's).
Alright, enough with saving the world today.....goodnight.

Do I still have to cook now?

Carson loves to cook and he decided to make homemade bisquits. Oh MY! They were so good! We had to drive to Fort Worth so my dentist could adjust my temporary crown and we took some to Abuelo and Abuela. Carson was so proud to share his creation.

Richardson Fountain Festival

Mark went out of town for the weekend to visit his parents and friends. We decided to go to the Richardson Fountain Festival. Traditionally it is held outdoors near the big fountain, but this year's downpour forced everyone indoors. I was in a lot of pain still from my dental surgery (can you see my mouth swollen in the pic?), but we still had fun. Carson really liked the Maharlika Dancers. He has read a few books about difference cultural dances so he was familiar with the dance. Fun to see up close. We ran into some friends there and enjoyed their company very much.

Frontiers of Flight Museum

I took the boys to the Frontiers of Flight Museum to meet up with some friends. It was a great day to go as we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves and got a lot of personal stories from the retired pilots that volunteer there. The older gentleman in the picture gave us a short talk on the early flights of the Wright brothers. As we were leaving, I learned that he is actually a rocket scientist and I think he has traveled into space.
Both of the boys had a great time and it was nice visiting with our friends. As soon as we got home, Carson was busy replicating the Wright brothers' first plane. Then he read every book on flight that we had. He was really inspired.

Junkyard Wars

Carson and Cameron LOVE the show Junkyard Wars and many times watch it on movie night. Carson had an idea to create our own Junkyard Wars and since we have binfuls of Legos handed down from Carson's 15yo cousin, Henry we decided to to go for it.
I created a challenge and gave each person 30minutes to build their creations and then we challenged them. One challenge was to build a vehicle that would penetrate a spear deepest into playdough and the other challenge was to build a amphibious vehicle that would run on the track on our outdoor water table. Carson did really well and thought through his design very carefully before building - even making a diagram. Cameron really liked it too, but needed quite a bit of assistance making his creation.

My parents had a labor day cookout at their home in Fort Worth. Carson was in the pool the entire time. He played with his first Cuban friend and they got along great. She is such a sweet little girl. He also has figured out how to swim - check out the video! He is really doing well!!

Not Back to School Party

For the past 3 years, we have participated in a Not Back to School Party with our homeschool group. We decided to do it at Planet Pizza this year. Planet Pizza is an indoor play/amusement park. About 35 children came and it was pretty much a private party since the facility is so quiet during that time of the day.

Founder's Plaza

We stopped at the DFW Airport Founder's Plaza Observation. I thought it was great that they had a speaker so we could hear the control tower communicating with the pilots. The boys did not want to leave but after a couple of hours, we needed to get home to make lunch. The boys want to take their dad there so maybe we'll be making another trip soon.

Guitar Lessons

Carson finally began his guitar lessons. He has really been looking forward to this for quite a while. Unfortunately, he had to wait an extra month while the first instructor I hired had a couple of last minute schedule conflicts. However, it couldn't have worked out better - Mr. Chris is a great fit for Carson and is incredibly patient. Thanks Chris!

The Heard Museum

We went with a group of friends to The Heard Natual Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary. We spent a lot time inside digging in the sand for dinosaur fossils, learning about various minerals and looking at the various displays they currently have.
We went outside to enjoy a quick snack before a trail hike that led to the butterfly house. The weather was one of the first tolerable day since summer began. There was a lot of shade and a nice breeze on the trail. Cameron kept up with his brother and friends. I suppose I'll have to stop packing the baby carrier when we go to places like this because apparantly I don't have one anymore.

Cole turns 10

It has been 10 years my son Cole was born. I made cupcakes and we did a balloon launch. It is so hard to believe it has been so long. I love my life and my boys, but not having Cole a part of our daily life leaves a hole. Some days more subtle than others. Our love for him has always stayed strong and probably has grown as we see our boys grow and we see what could have been. We miss you big boy and you are loved every day. Happy Birthday, Cole!

I will post some pictures of Cole as soon as I get the pictures from my old computer.

Yeah, I'm cool!

Cameron at Tom Muehlenbeck indoor pool in Plano.

Till we meet again....

One of Carson's best friends from Australia is moving. Ellery and Carson hit it off from day one and he was so sad to see her go. They will eventually be moving back to Australia, but their dad has work on the east cost for now. Goodbye Tallis, Ellery, Lindsay, Ainsly and their fun-loving mum, Nicole. We'll miss you!

Sewing Project

Carson started his sewing project. He is sewing a leather bag together with velcro closure. So far, he has almost finished the velcro. He did well and enjoyed it, but was soon bored. I put it away for now and will get it back out in a few weeks. He was really happy that he did so well, but was ready to move on.

Old Fire Engine

There is an old fire engine in a parking lot in Plano for people to see. The other day we were passing by and the boys wanted to stop and see it. Since we weren't in a hurry, we stopped and stayed almost an hour checking out the vehicle and discussing the differences of today's fire engines. This is one of the reasons that I LOVE homeschooling. The ability to have a flexible schedule and be spontaneous!

WoW! Homeschooler Wednesday

The Frisco Library has a once a month program for homeschoolers K-3rd grade. We went for the first time and was really impressed how fun the program was. They even had one of the librarians play guitar. We met some friends there - brothers that are the same age as my boys. Cameron was happy to have a friend to play with too -or cause trouble with (whichever way you look at it)!

First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe that my little boy is Kindergarten age! Where does the time go?

Today's big plan was to go to the Dallas Arboretum. After I got the kids ready to go and while I got myself ready for the day, Carson did some math where he worked on place value and adding single and double digits. Then we went to the arboretum and had a fun time with friends, had a picnic, splashed in the frog fountain and came home.

While the baby slept, I worked with Carson on his cursive writing. He dictated a paragraph to me about his day at the arboretum and I wrote it down in cursive leaving out a few words. He wrote the missing words in cursive. We also discussed parts of speech. Then he got on the computer and did some geography using time4learning.com.

After nap, Carson read and read and read. I am trying to keep better records and I am trying to record what he reads. He read 18 books - 2 of them were chapter books. He really enjoys reading. We also finished maping our hurricane chart for Hurricane Bill. He spent most of his evening taking apart his remote control boat and investigating how it works. Then he broke a rudder and had to replace it.


He was really happy and excited to do his schoolwork. I think he is feeling more like a big kid and special that he gets to 'do school'.

Paper Mache

The boys did a project where they did paper mache on balloons. We ended up spray painting them metallic blue. Once the paint was dry, I set up an area in the back yard and the boys worked so hard to perfect their creations. They did well. Carson enjoyed it but was bored quickly. Cameron could have painted all day. He really is very artistic and enjoys creating.

I was thinking we may finish it to look like a hot air balloon with a little basket tied to the bottom and hang from their bedroom ceiling.

Mini Garden

I got this idea from a craft book. We spent some time in the yard collecting items to make a mini plate garden. Mini flowers, mini rocks, dirt, pieces of wood, etc. The boys created mini rock paths, firepits with tiny logs, bushes. Carson even made a clothing line for his with mini paper clothing taped to it. They were so cute. I was really surprised how much time they spent on this project.