Birthday trip 2012 continued- The big dinner

Even Cai seemed a bit smitten with the princesses.

Birthday trip 2012

This year for our birthday celebration, we centered it on Jael's birthday. The grand finale is a dinner at Cinderella's castle as Mom and Dad's present to all of the kiddos. Leading up to this dinner we spent a day at Hollywood Studios. The girls were pleased that they could go on the Star Wars ride first with Daddy then with Mommy- the lines were so short. Unfortunately two were not so thrilled to watch Indiana Jones stunts this time though; too much concern for the explosions and that big sister was freaking out.

The second day was at Epcot. Everyone did really well. Captain EO was not a hit for two (the two that were fine with Indiana Jones didn't like this one but the other two liked this one).

Day 3 is Magic Kingdom.

Park day

Now that enrichment classes are out, we have a little flexibility in what we can do in Fridays. I told the kids if they got all their work done by Thursday, we would see about going swimming.










Well, one particular one did not have all her work done (and much of it required my supervision), so I couldn't take them to the pool. However I wanted to get the other out in the fresh air.

So I packed a simple lunch, some extra water, and the school supplies we needed and we were off to the park. We got there early and had the whole place to ourselves for a little while.







Shortly after that, a group from a school, came later and the kiddos made friends with some of the nice students (I could rant about the adults "supervising" but I'll save that for another time). Shortly after they left all the school work was done and we found a nice shady spot for our picnic lunch.














After everyone's tummy was satisfied, I let them all run off to play for a little longer, before heading home for some quiet time.





They all slept well that night.

More Memory

Saoirse has been working hard on her Mother Goose Rhymes. This week, was a bit lengthy, but I think she got the idea behind the rhyme. Her Bible verse was a bit short, but she also wanted to share the prayer she has been working on, and the Pledge.

Tekla mastered the 9th commandment this week too

Spelling lessons

I love spelling. There I said it. ...and right about now my parents are wondering, "Who is this?" Yes, I who had a terrible time in grade school (and beyond) with spelling, I like it now. It makes sense now. (I still transpose letters from time to time, especially when I'm tired, but I understand how the words should be spelled and why.)

About a year ago I started a new spelling program with my oldest two. Now Jael is starting on level 4, Tekla is in level 2, and Saoirse is happily working in level 1 (I think she is a natural speller, she has been trying to spell words for well over a year).

All About Spelling is less about memorizing words, but instead you memorize rules... like use "tch" to make the /ch/ sound if the preceding sound is a short vowel. It also teaches the "rule breakers" and recognizes differences in pronunciation...if you pronounce "aunt" like "ant" teach it as a rule breaker, but if you pronounce it /awnt/ it follows the rules.


Anyway, I videoed a couple sections of the lessons done on the board (Saoirse 1, Saoirse 2, Tekla 1, Tekla 2). Daddy fixed this great metal piece on our room divider so our magnetic tiles slide nicely. After working on the board we practice writing the words on a dry erase board and then the "step" ends with 12 phrases or sentences before moving onto the next skill/rule.

And just a little more....

Ok, just a bit more to share. Here is the crate D made for the table, so it is protected when we move. He said crate and table weigh 560lbs. He also had some leftover wood so he made a bench for the kiddos to sit on at the table. As I type they are arguing on who gets to sit on it for dinner tonight.

Sewing table all set up

I got the table all set up! Drawers are filled, and work space is arranged. I even got to do a little sewing on it already.





I picked out the stool first and then he determined what height to make tabletop.

























In 3 drawers I have cans to wind and store all my notions, and 3 drawers hold all of my patterns (Boy/men's, women's, girl's). The drawer above the shelves holds all of my thread and bobbins.





















The Lazy Susan isn't quite done yet, but it works nicely. Since both my surger and sewing machine can use the same foot pedal/power cord, I can simply unplug one machine, spin it to the other side, and plug in the other machine. Sweet!




















The Susan will not be attached to the table, so if I need extra work space I can move it aside. I can also adjust where the pedal sits, so I can position the machines wherever I need to.