Our summer (post 4)

Samuel and Stephanie came to visit us. Loved seeing them!

4th of July

Elaine gave us a new (to us) piano this summer! We love it!

Genevieve very much needed it to continue lessons. I managed to time this when I had lots of my brothers around to help move it. Muahaha!

Our summer (post 3)

FOOD!!

Frozen yogurt.

I grew basil in the garden and made pesto.

I grew this! For real! We're all pretty much sick to death of zucchini actually.

Cupcakes come with way too much frosting on them.

Not that everyone was complaining.

Our summer (post 2)

At the mall.

At the pool

Love the swim suit and hat. She hardly needs sunscreen in this get up.

Our summer (post 1)

We definitely enjoyed the park this summer. 

We did not, however, enjoy leaving the park.

Beginning school again

This will be our sixth year homeschooling. I never thought we'd homeschool this long when we started. I don't think I would have started if I'd thought about how long it would be. :) With Imogen starting her second year in public school, it'll be my second year of only schooling one. Of course, with a toddler underfoot, that's not as simple as it sounds. 

I bought cute little crates at Walmart for only $1 and used ribbon I had laying around to lace through the holes. They're cuter and stuff doesn't fall out of them as much.

I start the year all organized. I wish I could say I stayed this organized.

She's thrilled. Really. ;)

Recently I was looking back on Claudia's baby pictures from when she was first born and of course amazed at how much she'd grown and changed. Then I saw a picture of Genevieve. She's grown up SO much in the past couple years.

In January of 2014. (We didn't buy that hat.) ;)

Keeping busy

Claudia is in that insane toddler phase where she is into everything the moment I turn my back. I walk out of the room to grab her some clothes and she climbs on the table. I pause to help Genevieve with school and she dumps out a box of colored pencils all over the floor in the next room. I go to the bathroom and she scrambles behind the baby gate to push buttons on the printer. It definitely keeps me busy. 

 

And all this gives me an excuse to buy some toys in a desperate attempt to keep her occupied. These are wooded beads with laces. She happily laced some of the beads and then threw half of them all over the dining room floor, then willingly helped me pick them back up again.

 

 The holes are nice and big and the laces go through easily. The narrow beads are easiest for her to get the laces through.