Monday, September 30, 2013

September 30th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1683 by atvtnv
IMG_1683, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/30/13

Michael's latest purchase... now, he saves most of what he earns at his job (after tithing) for his mission, but with the rest, he does making some fun decisions. This was the most recent.

Seasons 1-7 complete on DVD, brand new. They arrived today.

September 29th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1682 by atvtnv
IMG_1682, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/29/13

Juliana looking fabulous in the Pumpkin necklace from Grandma Valencic!

She was running towards me, thus the moving necklace!

So exciting.

September 28th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1679 by atvtnv
IMG_1679, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/28/13

I drove out to Illinois to be with my mother in law and sisters in law (all but one) on Tom's side of the family. I left Saturday morning and came back Sunday evening.

Here are the next two cousins to be born! So exciting. 8 more weeks for Jen and Abram's baby... um... 18 more weeks for ours.

September 27th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1676 by atvtnv
IMG_1676, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/27/13

It never gets old.

I love to see the temple.

I love going to the temple.

I love having a temple so close that we can go whenever we want without a huge deal.

September 26th Picture-A-Day

julesfish by atvtnv
julesfish, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/26/13

Juliana is playing peekaboo with the fish... some of the Danios were hiding in the plastic plants so she was playing peek a boo with them.

September 25th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1674 by atvtnv
IMG_1674, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/25/13

Samuel got his Wolf and 3 arrow points at our pack meeting :)

September 24th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1659 by atvtnv
IMG_1659, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/24/13

Nathanael and our magnetism experiment for the day... levitating paper clips!

Monday, September 23, 2013

September 23rd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1656 by atvtnv
IMG_1656, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.

9/23/13

Really cool stick bug we found this morning.

September 22nd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1658 by atvtnv
IMG_1658, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/22/13

"Pregnant is the New Skinny".

I'd like to think so, anyway... lol. At least I think I look pregnant now instead of just, well, like I've had 10 kids.

September 21st Picture-A-day

IMG_1649 by atvtnv
IMG_1649, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/21/13

Jules is trapped! By some very hairy legs... hmmm.

September 20th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1644 by atvtnv
IMG_1644, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/20/13

Our view for the game Friday Night. It was a good game! And the Royals won, which made it even better.

September 19th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1634 by atvtnv
IMG_1634, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/19/13

Jules in a Bearded Dragon tank....

September 18th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1632 by atvtnv
IMG_1632, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/18/2013

Nathanael being photo shy. Or trying to be like Benjamin.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Baby 11 is a....

Here is baby's profile...


GIRL! Yes, that's 3 girls in a row. So, in about 13 years or so we'll have 3 teenage girls at once... ack!

Everything is measuring right on for a due date of February 6th, and baby is a miracle, complete and perfectly formed.  Even if anything was wrong :) that's the case.  Of course.  No, she didn't flip us off like Liberty or give us a thumbs up like Juliana, but she was there, and that's good enough.

Tom got to see her better than I could, because for some reason this ultrasound tech had the screen turned away from me (which has only happened when I was miscarrying, so I was NOT happy.)  However, I did get to see my baby for a little bit, and I get to feel her move all the time. 

20 more weeks til we hold this new little person.  I can wait.  I have way too much to do before she gets here!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

September 17th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1627 by atvtnv
IMG_1627, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/17/13

Juliana picked up a finished (we were done with it!) Spelling sheet and was so thrilled she danced around the room.

Sometimes we all looooove homeschooling.

September 16th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1625 by atvtnv
IMG_1625, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/16/13

Well, the goldfish died. Probably in the normal course of cycling the tank and then didn't like the vacation food we gave it.

We are trying something new... a heater. And got tropical fish... two otocinclus catfish and three cardinal tetras. So far so good, but one of the cardinals died... (probably already dying when we got it...) Wish us luck! As soon as these are settled we are going to add more cardinals... they are schooling fish and like company. The otos are also social fish but we're sticking with two. This is what is peeking out of our skull...

September 15th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1624 by atvtnv
IMG_1624, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/15/13

With everyone coming down with change-in-weather colds, we were looking at our Herbal Tea options... we have a lot. (no caffeine in this house lol)

I love anything with cinnamon, but also the Orange Spice. Tom took the last Blueberry. Need to get more.

September 14th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1621 by atvtnv
IMG_1621, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/14/13

Liberty with a bucket on her head... not sure why my kids do this...

But this time she was saying it was to be like Juliana, who was probably doing it to be like the Zombies in Plants vs. Zombies, her favorite thing in the world!

September 13th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1618 by atvtnv
IMG_1618, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/13/13

Juliana playing and singing... with Nathanael.

We love including music in our days!

September 12th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1614 by atvtnv
IMG_1614, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/12/13

Christopher IS Super.

This is ONE GREAT KID.

September 10th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1616 by atvtnv
IMG_1616, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/10/13

Michael and his new favorite shirt...

Though he is more familiar with Dr. Who than Back to the Future, he really wanted this shirt and bought it himself.

Nice to have a kid with a job :)

September 11th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1612 by atvtnv
IMG_1612, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/11/13

Benjamin doing indexing in his free time.

Yeah, it's getting harder to get him to smile for pictures. Sigh.

September 9th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1609 by atvtnv
IMG_1609, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/9/13

Samuel needs a haircut TOO but is choosing not to cut his hair until after Halloween...

Why?

He wants to be a Hobbit for Halloween.

September 8th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1608 by atvtnv
IMG_1608, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/8/13

My grandma's gravy pitcher... that's what she always used it for, so that's what's in there now :)

So many memories. So glad to share with with my family!

September 7th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1602 by atvtnv
IMG_1602, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/7/13

Just an everyday picture of Michael... with a haircut.

Yep, the curls are gone for now...

Friday, September 6, 2013

September 6th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1595 by atvtnv
IMG_1595, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/6/13

Just got blu-ray versions of our Harry Potter movies... one of our DVDs was not working anyway and the others were just great deals... (plus one was replacing a full screen copy we got from Tom's work... )

Year 7 we already had on Blu-ray. looking forward to trying these out!

September 5th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1589 by atvtnv
IMG_1589, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/5/13

We have always loved the homeschool shirts from http://www.shopgreatproducts.com but this is the first time we ever ordered any!

Dad and Mom got some too... and Michael also got a Graduate 2014 shirt.

Jules' shirt is quite big on her... but she'll manage.

September 4th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1598 by atvtnv
IMG_1598, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/4/13

Samuel made a bridge with magnets and paper clips...

Lots of magnetism experiments with the 4th and 5th graders this week.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

September 3rd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1570 by atvtnv
IMG_1570, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/3/13

Juliana loves babies. Almost as much as she loves zombies...

Good thing because she gets a real one (baby, not zombie.) in about 5 months :)

Learning is for everyone!

September 2nd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1567 by atvtnv
IMG_1567, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/2/13

Michael took Nathanael and Samuel to Worlds of Fun for the day. This was the first time he's used his free pass privileges (he works there and can get in free... plus got some free tickets for working a certain number of hours...).

He works at the caricature stand and was able to get this drawn for a souvenir of the day! They had a blast.

September 1st Picture-A-Day

IMG_1552 by atvtnv
IMG_1552, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
9/1/13

Michael is incredibly happy about something. Or nothing. Or everything.

And he is getting closer to needing a haircut...

August 31st Picture-A-Day

IMG_1540 by atvtnv
IMG_1540, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/31/13

Raingutter Regatta for Cub Scouts! This was a lot of fun for the whole family, especially those racing... Samuel did win one race, but Nathanael didn't win any. However, they were great sports and had a fun time.

August 30th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1537 by atvtnv
IMG_1537, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/30/13

It's been over 100 degrees lately around here. Someone is worn out.

At least he can rest when he needs to. Another thing I am thankful for about homeschooling.

August 29th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1536 by atvtnv
IMG_1536, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/29/13

At the temple again :) Yes, I love it. What better way to remind ourselves of where we are, what we're doing, and where we're going. And what's really important.

August 28th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1522 by atvtnv
IMG_1522, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/28/13

The aftermath of painting Raingutter Regatta boats... art is a great part of homeschooling, and I love that we don't have to do the same projects as everyone else! That always bothered me about school... when we did art, everyone's project was the same! I loved art classes later on where the was more room for creativity.

August 27th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1512 by atvtnv
IMG_1512, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/27/13

Liberty getting her face painted to be models at Worlds of Fun... so others know how to do cool designs. This was a fun experience! Learning doesn't have to be boring... and we actually got all our schoolwork tasks done before heading over here!

August 26th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1500 by atvtnv
IMG_1500, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/26/13

Juliana knows how to fold her arms for prayers. Sometimes she doesn't want to... but she likes imitating everyone else. That's how we learn, sometimes.

August 25th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1499 by atvtnv
IMG_1499, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/25/13

Juliana trying to play Dad's trumpet...

Music is important! But so is choice of instrument. Jules, what about the Viola? Mom is hurt...

August 24th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1491 by atvtnv
IMG_1491, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/24/13

Juliana playing with Magic Jinn... and her black eye. Our eye injuries this week... sigh!

August 23rd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1490 by atvtnv
IMG_1490, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/23/13

This is Magic Jinn. I suppose he's supposed to be like a genie who knows everything.

On the other hand, he's more like a little electronic 20 Questions game with a theme... the kids have had a blast playing with him and trying to stump him. Juliana just likes pressing his nose and making his eyes light up and such.

We received him for free from BzzAgent to try out the product and then share our opinion with others.

It's a great game, though the voice is a little creepy it adds to the silliness.
It's actually led my kids to look up information about animals (the theme of this particular model of Magic Jinn) to try and get one that he can't guess.

So far, they have laughed a lot and stumped him once or twice, but for the most part, he gets it right. They talk about different kinds of animals as they play with him and learn new things each time they play.

If you are interested in getting one, they are available at Toys R Us, Target and Walmart and I have a $5 coupon off purchase.

August 22nd Picture-A-Day

IMG_1485 by atvtnv
IMG_1485, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/22/13

The temple! We haven't been able to as often this summer due to other commitments, but are still super thrilled to have one so close.

As far as homeschooling, this relates... I am so thankful to be able to incorporate Gospel truths into every day we learn at home.

August 21st Picture-A-Day

IMG_1484 by atvtnv
IMG_1484, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/21/13

First day of Homeschool!

I intended for this to be a homeschooling blog, and it has morphed into more of a family/pictures/anything blog... but after all, what is homeschooling but anything we're learning with family? So even though I still want to share a picture each day, I will try to make sure we also share our homeschooling adventure.

Today was our first day of school. It went well. We start slowly...

Michael is now a senior in high school. He will graduate in the spring, and plans on going on a mission in the fall when he turns 18. He plans on applying to BYU or BYU-I and deferring enrollment until after his mission.

Benjamin is now a 9th grader and started early morning seminary. He is taking his studies more seriously, is continuing in Latin and logic and is doing well in everything else as well.

Emilie is 7th/8th grade and is working on improving in areas she has fallen behind in... she does enjoy schoolwork and wants to try new things.

Nathanael is a 5th grader this year and is busy with Cub Scouts and learning new things. He wants to learn sign language and we are working to make that happen.

Samuel is our boy who likes to experiment with learning new languages. He's working on Chinese. He is now in 4th grade, which is ahead of his age but there has been no indication that this is not the right level for him.

Timothy is now in 1st grade and is both reading well and teaching Christopher and Liberty as well. He loves the Magic School Bus and math.

Christopher is now in Kindergarten and loves doing new workbooks. He's learning how to read better and write, also.

Liberty is a Preschooler, for at least this year and the next. She is picking up on things we do with everyone and I'm sure there will be no holding her back pretty soon...

Juliana is thrilled to be here. She will be 2 years old in April and welcoming a baby sister or brother in February. Everything is an adventure!

August 20th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1477 by atvtnv
IMG_1477, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/20/13

Timothy, Christopher, and Liberty were just excited to make some color groupings on blankets for us to take a picture of. Who needs lessons about this stuff? lol.

August 19th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1467 by atvtnv
IMG_1467, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/19/13

Hello, Nathanael!

August 18th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1463 by atvtnv
IMG_1463, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/18/13

Yes, we're upside down. We were having unhappy moments and I grabbed the camera and took a picture to show the princess... and yes, it was upside down. She likes it.

August 17th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1453 by atvtnv
IMG_1453, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/17/13

Samuel was taking pictures of anything BYU related in our home. Well, here are two. Tom and I both graduated from BYU over 14 years ago... Tom graduated in 1999 and I graduated in 1997. Still something that makes me happy.

August 16th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1454 by atvtnv
IMG_1454, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/16/13

Still unpacking from our trip. This is a bowl (and utensils) my grandmother wrote my name on many years ago, for me to have when she was gone. I remember at the time not thinking anything of it, but now that I have it the memories of using it and helping her prepare things to go in it (salads) bring me joy.

August 15th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1432 by atvtnv
IMG_1432, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.
8/15/13

Leaving Schlitterbahn. We spend the day there as extras for upcoming advertising. It was a COLD day! We had a blast, though, and the sun was shining for some of it!

August 14th Picture-A-Day

IMG_1455 by atvtnv
IMG_1455, a photo by atvtnv on Flickr.

8/14/13

My hat. I've known for a while that baseball caps give me headaches with my super thick hair. So... found a hat I can live with, for the many times we are outside and I really should have something!