Aquarium

While Grandma and Sabrina were here from Utah we took them to a couple of fun places.  We went to the money factory.  The government makes money for the United States in two places.  Washington D.C. and Fort Worth Texas.  Pictures are not allowed so I don't have any to show you.  It was interesting to see how they make a dollar bills and to get a look at the new 100.00 dollar bill.  The tour was about 45 minutes, Spencer got bored but remained calm and went with the flow and well Madeline fell asleep.  Anthony of course being the history buff that he is enjoyed it and I was relieved that we made it out without a scene.  The other place we went was to the Aquarium that is at a near by mall.  It is a small aquarium.  We don't go often because it is pricey and well how many times can you look at fish before getting bored.  We figured it has been awhile and since Grandma and Sabrina haven't seen it that it would be something.  Besides what else do you do when it is well over a 100 degrees outside.  It is miserable enough for us Texans who are use to the heat, but Grandma and Sabrina who our accustomed to Utah weather it was a whole knew planet.

Madeline's Birthday

At the end of June, Madeline turned 8 and she couldn't be more excited.  For us 8 is an important year for you are baptized.  Madeline has come a long way in her eight years and has overcome a lot.  Things are starting to slow down for Madeline health wise and the surgeries are getting further and further apart.  It is nice to say that the Children's Hospital is no longer our home.  We still have our doctor's appointments but they are the standard check ups and we can handle those.  It is nice to be able to see that Madeline is doing so well that she can start to enjoy life and be a carefree girl.  We had a lot of family in town for her birthday and a lot of cousin fun.  There was playing in the pool, playing build a bear imagination, monkey cupcake eating, and opening lots and lots of presents.  Of course the biggest thing that happened on her birthday was her baptism.  I think Madeline was sung too several times that day and each time she would have a big smile on her face.  I am certain Madeline felt loved and special on her very special day.

I will post about Madeline's baptism shortly as soon as I can put my feelings from the down on paper, it was one the spiritual highlights of my life.

Father's Day

Father's Day was fun this year, but when you have a daddy like Grant it is always fun.  Our original plan was to get Daddy a pocket knife since he lost his, but guess what showed up in the washer one day....a pocket knife.  Now Grant could always enjoy a knife, but when it comes to picking out a knife I am not an expert.  I am more of butter knife or plastic knife person.  I didn't think Grant would want to carry around a plastic knife so back to the drawing board.  I have seen at grocery stores candy bar arrangements, but the only problem I would have to shell out 50.00 dollars for one.  Now last time I checked candy bars were not that expensive so I am pretty sure they were making a good profit off of a simple thing that someone could make.  I decided that the kids were going to make Grant a candy bar arrangement.  Grant loves flavored dark chocolate so we splurged a little and we each picked out a different flavor candy bar.  I knew Grant needed another bucket for outside work that he does and that is a perfect container to place our yummy chocolates in.  Now the problem was I didn't have anything to attach the bars too or to put them in.  Now I didn't really want to pay money for sticks or shell out money for Styrofoam, so I came up with the next best thing.  Sticks and rocks from the backyard.  We begin putting together our flower arrangement and filled in the extra space with special notes for our Daddy.  Feeling satisfied with our work I started to take the present to our secret hiding place and discovered that the bucket was a lot on the heavy side.  I guess rocks do weigh a lot.  With Anthony's help we get the present (barely) to its hiding spot.  Now our next problem was getting out of the hiding spot on Father's Day.  I wasn't in the mood to try to carry the heavy bucket again.  Being the smart person that I am decided that we would give Daddy a treasure hunt through the house to his present and let him pick it up.  Anthony had fun writing simple clues and we all had a good laugh when Grant realized what is present was and how heavy it was.  Eventually the rocks and sticks returned to their natural habitat, the bucket is doing its job outside, and Grant has taken the chocolate out of the house where it is nice and safe for him to enjoy.  We are really blessed with the best Dad and Husband one could ask for and it is always nice to celebrate the reasons why we love him so!!

Summer Fun

Summer is off to a great start!  For the most part our days are simple and relax, and after a crazy school year it is nice to be able to relax.  Madeline still has feeding therapy and that takes up three days during the week, but when we are not at therapy we are chilling at home.  Instead of going on a big vacation we are going to fill our summer with lots of fun activities in the area.  Staying cool during the summer heat is fun in it self and so a lot of our activities involve pool time, indoor crafts and activities.  This year I made a summer fun board and put it up in the office.  Our board is filled with lots of activities that we want to accomplish this summer.  There is no schedule which makes things a lot more relaxing. Each weekend we pick three or four activities that we would like to do the following week, and sometimes the activity of choice is playing with Legos and other toys.  It really has been nice to relax at home, spending time together doing simple activities.

1.  Outdoor Movie Night
2.  Science Experiments
3.  Celebrate National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
4.  Washing the Car
5.  Harvesting our Corn
6.  Going Bonkers (Indoor Play park)
7.  Swim fun with Cousins
8.  Aquarium with Cousin Sabrina
9.  Roasting Hot Dogs in the Backyard

Museum Exploring

The First of June we were able to explore the CR Smith Museum for their kick off to summer family day.  The best was that the admissions was free, and everything is better when it is free.  This was the first time for Grant to be able to go to this museum, and the kids enjoyed showing it off to their dad.  They had a fun weather exhibit and the kids enjoyed learning about weather and making weather.  They also had the flight simulator going and the kids enjoyed flying the airplane.  This time the volunteer running the simulator let the kids fly like they wanted even if it meant they crash, nose dive, or go around in circles until they were dizzy.  Because it wasn't controlled the kids enjoyed it more than last time.  They also had science experiments and they were able to make their own air paper rockets.  After all the fun we enjoyed some cookies and juice that they had for the families.  The kids do like going to this museum and I like that it isn't well known so it isn't overly crowded.

Fourth Grade

Anthony loved fourth grade this year! Anthony enjoyed his teacher, and I know his teacher enjoyed him. On the last day of school the fourth graders had a talent show. Anthony decided to play the piano. Anthony played Fur Elise and he rocked the house, or school. While he was playing I looked over and saw that his teacher was crying. You could see the pride in her eyes for her student, now that is a good teacher. In fourth grade Anthony discovered history and a love affair has begun. Texas history and the Civil War were introduced and Anthony soaked up the information like a sponge. He would read every book he could get his hands on, as well as listen intently to everything his teacher said. Highlights for fourth grade were making The Battle of the Books Team and coming in first, spending the day in Austin, learning the recorder, participating in two talent shows, safety patrol, and library helper. Anthony loved every minute of school, and we are looking forward to fifth grade. Though Anthony enjoyed school, he was glad to have a break and enjoy his summer.

Second Grade

I know it is July and I am now writing about the end of the school year. I think this year I was more excited about school being over than the kids, well Madeline was probably excited too. This year was hard, but we did learn a lot. For Madeline we learned how Heavenly Father can help us have courage and do hard things. Going to school for Madeline was hard. Often times it was too overwhelming and she would feel lost. She struggled to understand what was being taught. However, we worked together and we got though the year. Madeline finished out the year with home bound services for half of the day. It helped Madeline to go to school knowing that she only had to go half the day, for her that didn't seem so overwhelming. I know Madeline liked her teacher and I feel that her teacher did a good job within the confides that she had. However, in the end second grade was not a year I want to repeat or live again. Learning became a stress for Madeline and was no longer a joy. I felt like my voice was being heard on deaf ears and that despite how loud I spoke my daughter's needs were not being met. With all of this in mind we as her parents have decided to homeschool Madeline. This decision did not come easy and came after lots of prayer and reassurance from my Heavenly Father that this is something I could do. Heavenly Father put the right people in my path to answer all my fears and to give me the confidence that I needed to proceed forth with homeschooling. Madeline and I are excited for the next adventure in our life. Homeschooling will give Madeline the stress free schooling that she needs. A place where she can learn at her own pace and in her own way, a place where she can thrive, a place where she can find joy in learning. Hopefully this year I won't be counting down the days until summer on the first day of school.