Can I get any busier?

With summer in full swing it seems we've only gotten busier. The girls have done two VBS's so far, and there are two more that they want to do sometime this summer. Hannah and I have been working on her 4-H presentation for several weeks too. The big day for her is tomorrow. We have to get up pretty early and head out to Hyde County (wherever that is). Tomorrow also begins Rebecca's art lessons, so Jimmy's mom is coming to watch Rebecca and Leah and take Rebecca to her class. Along with my summer job cleaning cottages on the weekends, I've also picked up a part-time job during the week. I'm planning on using my money to pay for all the curriculum I want to order for the girls next school year. There are a couple of things I want to get that are a little pricey. I ended up having to work both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend so I missed out on spending time with either my dad or Jimmy. But all was well because my dad and mom went camping for the weekend and Jimmy took the girls to the beach. Jimmy decided Friday night that he wanted to take them somewhere, somewhere fun. After coming up with different ideas he finally decided on the beach. So Saturday morning he called to book their room for Sunday night. He went to spend the day with his dad on Saturday and then Sunday morning he and the girls left for the beach. They had a great time! He took them to Jockey's Ridge, they swam at the beach and the pool, they played putt-putt, he took them out to dinner and icecream, and they went souvenier shopping! They even bought me a pretty coffee cup! Yesterday morning they went out on the beach again for a while before they had to return home. He sent me the sweetest message on my cell phone. It was a picture he had taken of the girls on the beach and under it he wrote, "We miss you mommy!" I loved it! In a way I'm glad I wasn't able to go because it gave them some really good quality time together, something that they don't get too much of. It was a Father's Day that they will always remember. Well I'm off to get ready for work now. Hope you all are doing well!

Summer's Begun!

We've already enjoyed several days swimming in the pool, and yesterday I got some really cute shots of the girls and Jimmy. He throws them pretty high and they love it!

Hannah being thrown by daddy

Hannah was trying to pretend she was "having tea" while being thrown.

Now it's Rebecca's turn to fly.

Leah doesn't like being thrown, but she loves to jump off the side.

Daddy is giving Leah a ride on his back.

This one is the funniest to me. Hannah went sideways and she has an "Oh crap!" look!

Hannah's Campout

Saturday night was Hannah's campout. I couldn't decide when to have it because I was not sure when I would start working. Finally I just scheduled it for Saturday night because Jimmy was off and he was fine with handling things in case I got home a little late. I told everyone to be there around 5:30, and wouldn't you know I didn't get home until after 8:00! Jimmy didn't mind a bit. Him and a couple of his buddies got everything set up for the night and kids started arriving about 6:00. By the time I got there they had already eaten dinner and had the campfire going. So as soon as I got home I showered and we started the smores. Those kids ate until they couldn't eat anymore! Some of them ate so much they had tummy aches later. Around 10:30 Jimmy and one of his buddies set off fireworks. It was 12:30 when all the girls finally fell asleep, and of course they were up when the sun came up. When we all got stirring Jimmy cooked breakfast outside so it was like we were at a campground. I'm thankful to my friend Kim who was there most of the time and took pictures for me since I missed the first couple of hours. She hasn't sent me those pictures yet, so these are the very few that I did get.

I hate I didn't get a picture of the whole set-up. Jimmy had a big tent for everyone to sleep in, then he set a small one up for me (which I ended up sleeping with all the girls). He also set up our canopy tent right in front of the big tent with a picnic table under it. This is a picture of the campfire next to the tents. I took this Sunday morning.

The girls are roasting their marshmallows for the yummy smores.

This was also taken Sunday morning. Mr. Charles drove all the girls around on his golf cart. Jimmy told me that he came by Saturday night and drove all 12 girls on the golf cart at one time! I wish I had a picture of that!

Jimmy's Kittens

Jimmy, the one who doesn't care for cats, has now found a new love. Last week I told him that we ought to be having more kittens soon since the other cat was pregnant and looked like she would soon be having them. His response surprised me, and it surprised the girls too when I told them what he said. "Well good. I'm ready for some more kittens around here." I couldn't believe it. So I guess he got his wish when Saturday morning he woke up to three kittens and one more that came later. I started cleaning again this weekend, and when I left Saturday morning she came up to me meowing like crazy. I thought right away that she was going to have her kittens and I hated to leave. But later I forgot all about them while my friend and I chit chatted all the way to the beach. I called Jimmy when we got there and he told me all about the sweet things. As soon as he saw she had the kittens he started taking care of her. He moved her to our porch to keep the dogs away and started feeding her and giving her warm milk. Jimmy and the new mama cat have formed a bond! He makes sure he rubs her goodnight before turning in and checks on her first thing when he wakes up. She had four kittens, three orange and white and one black with a little gray and white. I think we have all agreed that if we keep one it will be the black one, so we have three more if anyone would like one! If so, let me know.

Look at this cute kitten all spread out! It looks like she just dove into her mama looking for milk.

From Caterpillar to Moth

Several weeks ago Hannah found a caterpillar in the yard, so we fixed up an old jar with leaves and twigs and put it in the jar. The very next day the caterpillar formed its cocoon! We kept an eye on the cocoon everyday wondering when and if it would turn into a butterfly or moth. Finally one day Leah came into the house telling us that she thought the caterpillar was now a moth, and she was right. Hannah was thrilled! The picture below is her holding the moth on a stick while it dried its wings. After a little while it flew away.

Grade Promotion Ceremony

Weekend before last our homeschool group had a grade promotion ceremony. It was the first time this group did a big thing at the end of the year like we did, but I'm sure it will be something we continue. There were lots of people who came since we all invited our family members and some of the people from the community that worked with us and helped us out during the year. Every family chose a different country and we cooked foods from that country. Since the girls and I studied Colonial America a bunch at the beginning of the year we chose the good ol' USA. Every family had a table set up to demonstrate some of the projects that we worked on throughout the year. First we all ate, then we watched a dvd that one of the mom's made for all of us. It was a collection of pictures that were taken during the year from all of our different fieldtrips, meetings, and so forth. That was awesome! Next some of the children performed for everyone. Some played the piano, one girl played the dulcimer, and Hannah chose to read a book. THAT was a big accomplishment! Reading is something Hannah despises. She loves for me to read to her, but hates to read herself. BUT, she did so incredibly well! I told her afterwards that I would love for her to read that great for me. I was very proud of her. Then at the end, all of the children received certificates for completing this school year. Even Leah got a certificate for being the biggest helper...lol!

This was a poster we made about the USA the week of the ceremony. Leah colored the Liberty Bell...can you tell?

This is Jimmy's mom and dad (Grandma Trudy and Grandpa Andy).