Family Hike~ The Petroglyphs again.

 

The weather has been just amazing the last few days.  We couldn’t wait to get out and go back to the Petroglyphs.   Remember that trip?  All the mud.  This time was so much nicer. 

 

We got there and got our walking sticks.  We decided to take the easy trail this time.   It sounded easier and we hadn’t taken that trail yet. 

 

As we were hiking we noticed this rock that I thought was so neat.  We have been studying rocks a lot lately.  So this was a perfect hike to go along with that.   It’s hard to tell from this picture but it has many layers, and then the rock broke in the layers.  It was really very neat. 

 

 

This is one of the ledges we had to hike across.  Remember this is the easy trail!

Taking rest brakes.

 

We made it.  We made it to the Petroglyphs!

This was really neat.  The petroglyph was drawn before the rock broke away from the rock wall.  We were able to see the weathering that had happened since then.  SO neat!

Paul was the camera man most of the time and walked behind us all.  So there are many pictures of us from behind.  Too funny.  I will just share one of those with you.  LOL. 

Wait let me explain, I am NOT shoving my child’s face in the ground.  In fact it’s the opposite I am doing. 

Tyler squatted down to play in the purple sand and he lost his balance just as daddy was snapping a picture.  My reaction to pick him up was quick, so this is the outcome of that picture. 

Tyler got tired, so he got a piggy back back down the mountainside. 

Emily snapped this picture of us taking a rest.

 

Paul waited up the trail a little way and snapped this picture of us heading back down the mountain.   I didn’t realize how big the drop off actually was until I saw this picture while writing this.  YIKES! 

 

We had so much fun, and we didn’t even hike the whole trail. 

What Happens After Dinner?

 

 

The other night we had tacos for dinner.  We all had an enjoyable time discussing our day and more.  Then…..

As quick as it began, it was over, just like that.  I couldn’t help but feel “Wait, I wasn’t done”. 

 

Everybody had left the table and left me to clean up the mess.  Now this isn’t an everyday occurrence, but it happens enough that I wanted to address the situation with my family.   

Tommy and Emily left to go enjoy the weather when I went to snap this picture of my clean table!

The next night at dinner I presented my plan to my family. 

• Nobody leaves the table until we are done with our conversations
• Everyone has to clean up their dishes along with their jobs. – Clear off table – Load dishes – clean up kitchen (prep area) – Sweep under table area – Wipe off table – Help where needed
• You have to help with a happy heart and attitude, otherwise no one will want to be around you and you will have to do it all yourself.
• The discussions and fun CAN continue while cleaning up.

 

It really has been great for us, the family time and discussions last longer.  We are working as a team.  It doesn’t take 15 minutes for us all to do it together.  (When previously it could take an hour by myself.) 

 

And best of all I get to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening with the rest of them. 

 

The picture above is my table after!  YIPEE!

 

 

Also my children DO have household jobs and they help around the house often.  I am just loving this working together as a family.  I may incorporate this style of cleaning in more areas of our home. 

Andi’s Pony Trouble

Chapter books geared toward younger children are often hard to find.  We were lucky to receive Andi’s Pony Trouble written by Susan K. Marlow.  Andi’s Pony Trouble is the first chapter book in a series of  books geared toward ages 6-8, about a girl named Andi, her friend Riley and their life in the 1870’s, on a farm.  It is published by Kregel Publishing.

This is a very fun early chapter book.  It has a cute quick vocabulary lesson in the beginning of the book, with words like britches.  Katey loves having learned that new word.  In fact Katey loved having a new chapter book of her very own.  We can both often be caught talking about or referring to the story line. 

Andi is stuck with a old hand me down pony and she really wants a horse for her birthday and she tries to prove to everybody that she is big enough.   

Throughout this book she learns what she is capable of and what to do when your in over your head.  She also learns about true friendship.





These books have great FREE downloadable worksheets.  They have map work, mazes, coloring pages, vocabulary match,

and her absolute favorite was a sugar cookie recipe to go along with a sugar cookie scene from the book.  (Tyler loved that part too)

There is also online puzzles, you can play these online or print them out and cut them up.




I am famous in my family for turning many of our chapter books into book parties.  Where we do many book/ theme related activities.  This was so wonderful that it was all ready to just print off and go.




You can get the first four books of the series autographed for $15.96 plus shipping here.  You can also get each book individually for $4.99 plus shipping.

Susan K. Marlow has also written other wholesome children’s books.  Circle C Beginnings, is the set geared toward 6-8 year olds. Circle C Adventures is geared toward ages 9-14.    These seem like they are going to be great books to grow up reading.  We cannot wait to get started reading the next one.   She also offers a Reach For The Stars workbook for budding young authors.

Other crew members reviewed some of the Circle C Beginnings books as well, check out their reviews here.  

{I received this book free of charge in order to write this review as my being a part of TOS Crew.  All  opinions expressed here are my own.  Your experience may differ.}

AHHHHH! Live Writer updated.

 

In fact, after I ran Windows update, I couldn’t find it on my laptop.  I was terrified.  All that work, lost! 

 

 

Then I found it, hidden as just Windows Live.  I open it up, and I cannot see my drafts.  They were lost, but now are found.

 

 

Whew, it’s here, I’m here, now to check out the changes. 

 

Please excuse me while I figure this out! 

 

 

Oh yeah, and way to give me a heart attack Windows. 

 

Hopefully this is for the better. 

Yesterdays Classics

Can you imagine getting 225 books for under $100?    Are you thinking, “What an amazing deal, but I don’t have the bookshelf space in my house.”?   Well you are in luck.  Keep reading and you will see what I am talking about.  
 


Yesterday’s Classics  is a company that republishes and sales classic literature for children.  They specialize in books originally published from 1880-1920.  As you can imagine, most of these books are very hard to find.  If you did happen to find one in acceptable reading condition, I would imagine it would cost a pretty penny. 

Not only do they republish these books in paperback, they also publish them in Kindle format and E-Pub format (for other E-readers).

Many of these classic books are recommended by top curriculum companies. 


I received the E-Pub version.  It came in 13 zip files.  Which I downloaded very quickly (We have Fiber Optic DSL.)  I then unzipped them into a folder on my computer.  You can unzip them directly into iTunes or any E-Reader software  you have.  I then moved them into iTunes, in order to  put them on iBooks on my iPod. 

I downloaded a few books that I thought would interest my children onto each of my older children’s iPods.  I told them about it.  That day they began reading the books.  Emily told me how much she was loving the book.  She has a love for classics.  


If you are studying something specific, like Shakespeare, or Ancient Rome  you can go to the table of contents and find which books fit in that category.

If you are looking for a book for a specific age group there is an additional table of contents for that. 

Either way finding a book is simple. 
 
A little about me:

I am NOT a computer genius.  I have general basic computer knowledge.  I was very very nervous about these books.  I thought to myself, how am going to figure out this whole E-book thing?    I learned throughout this process how easy it is to put books on my iPod.  I would imagine that most E-readers would be just as easy.   

They give you a “Guide to Ereader Devices and Software”  You do not need an E-reader to use these books.  You can use your computer, laptop, netbook, iPod, Smartphone, Tablet, or any E-reader device.  You may need to download certain E-reader software in order to do this.  They explain how to do all of that.  

What if you have a Kindle and your kids have iPods? 

They are solving that problem too!  All you have to do is purchase one and email them, they will send you the other type of files. 


Do you want to see just how easy these are to download? 

They are giving you a free copy The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins in both Kindle and E-pub files.  Just go to this link to get those.  You have to scroll a little way down to get to the free sample book.  The link also gives you so much information about this package.


What I think: 
I think that these books are a great deal.  Less than 50 cents a book!   I love that they don’t take up any physical room in my house.  I love that my kids want to read them; 1- because they are in the digital age, and it’s just cool to read a book on your iTouch, and 2- because they are great classic books.  I am able to download a book onto Tommy’s iPod and Emily’s iPod and they can each read the same book at the same time.   

Emily’s favorite books so far have been; Mother Stories, The Nursery Book of Bible Stories.

Tommy’s favorite books so far have been, well Tommy doesn’t really love these, but he does enjoy reading them on his iPod.  I am going to download Ten Boys Who Lived on the Road From Long Ago to Now for him next time I plug his iTouch in.  I think he will enjoy this book.  (I may even start some type of family book club with some of these books.)

Katey’s favorite books so far have been; Reading Literature-The Primer, The Kindergarten Gems and For The Children’s Hour.

My favorite books so far have been; Just So Stories (I remember having this book when I was a child), Mother Stories and More Mother Stories.

We haven’t even used any of these books for History yet.  I have let them all just read these for fun.  As I plan our next years curriculum I will definitely be using these books to go along with that. 

         

You can buy each book individually in paperback.

You can get 225 books for $149.95 in either Kindle or E-Pub format. 

But wait, if you order between May 1, 2011 and May 31, 2011 they are on sale for $99.95. 

That’s 225 books for $99.95!!!  And they won’t take up any room in your house!

Others reviewed this as well check out this post to see what they had to say.

I am blessed to review many products for TOS Crew this product was one of those. 

{I received these books for free in order to write this review.  I have not or will not receive any compensation.  All opinions expressed herein are my own and your experience may differ.  I recommend when looking at purchasing any curriculum research and read multiple reviews.}

Little Kids Date Night

 

 

Tommy and Emily had plans with my mom to go to the Supercross show so Paul and I decided to take Katey and Tyler to the local fun center for a little kids date night.   We also brought my brother along, since we don’t get to see him very often, that’s who that strange guy in some of the pictures is. 

 

This was going to be Tyler’s first time going on any rides other than those quarter rides at the mall. So I wasn’t quite sure how he would take it. 

The first ride I took them on was the spinning hot air balloons.  Tyler was so chill.  Katey was screaming the whole time about how this was too much fun and she couldn’t handle this. 

Then we rode the “school bus” ride, that takes you up in the air and back down again around in a circle. 

Katey rode a roller coaster for her very first time.  She was barely tall enough, and boy was she excited. 

It was very hard to get pictures of her on it.

 

Then we played a round of miniature golf.  I think Katey took the game more seriously than the adults did.  

 

The merry go round was last on our list of things to do.

 

I sure felt like we partied all night, and we still beat Tommy and Emily back to Grandma’s house.  The kids all slept in the next day, that’s for sure. 

Tyler arm update May 2nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tyler is now getting used to his cast, and I think his arm is hurting much less.  He is using that arm to hold light things now, like a fork when he is eating, a book, and a shoe.  He is also now using the arm to balance in order to stand up. 

 

He is still afraid of the stairs.  He asks (yells) for help to go down.  He just wants his hand held.  Occasionally he will go down them by himself on his behind.  

 

Tyler had another doctors appointment today.  It was basically just more x-rays.  The break is healing well.  You can see right where is was on both bones, due to the bone being more dense and showing up whiter in the x-rays.  The bowing of the two bones is also healing itself very well.

 

He sat amazingly still through the x-rays, it was almost like he knew exactly what to do.  I guess that’s what happens when you have 3 in just over a week. 

 

The doctor said to come back in 2 more weeks and depending on the x-rays he may be able to get the cast off then. 

 

It is really amazing how quickly the human body heals itself.  Especially in young children.