first snow fall

We had the first snowfall of the season on November 30th. The snowflakes were huge and there was a lot of screaming from my children!!! They loved it. It reminded me that I had to go to the store to buy Andrew and Alyssa some snow boots. The snow lasted for a few hours and then changed to rain. But we enjoyed it for a little while!

MFA field trip

Andrew and I had a fabulous day today at the Museum of Fine Arts. He just finished a study on Assyria, Greece and Mesopotamia. There is an exhibit going on right now where they have stuff from Assyria. It was incredible!!! We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed going with my eldest child. It was nice to just be with him. Anyway, my parents took Alyssa and Zach to the Museum of Science while Andrew and I did the exhibit. Great fun!!! Andrew actually enjoyed it too. :)

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots to eat. My favorite is always my mother's stuffing. It is so yummy. It is a sausage stuffing. Yum!!! The kids aren't too keen on all the stuff, however, they will eat it. Zach loves stuffing, Alyssa loves potatoes and Andrew, well not quite sure what he likes. My sister was there with her boyfriend Matty. He is such a nice guy and we had a great time. My grandmother was there. It is easier for her to come now that she has an apartment in the area. It was very enjoyable. My folks are pretty good cooks. We always come away full! I made oreo cookie balls which were very, very tasty! And my mom made peanut butter pie, which, yes, is very fattening. But worth eating! We had a very nice day and had to roll ourselves out the door to the car to come home.

Awana regatta

Last Wednesday night, Alyssa and Zach participated in their Awana regatta. It was so much fun! They worked with Mike on making their boats and they came out so nice. Anyway, there were about 30 kids that participated and both kids did great. Alyssa did really well until her sail came unglued and started turning. That made it difficult to steer. They had to blow their ships down the water shaft. Well, she made it through many rounds and then was beat twice. Zachy however, kept going and going like the energizer bunny. He did so awesome! For a kid with asthma, he really blew that ship! He ended up finishing in third place!!! He got a trophy for that. He is so proud to have his own trophy that Andrew or Alyssa don't have anything remotely similar to that! We were so glad for him. It was so much fun to watch.

voting day

Well, I voted today. Hopefully my vote will be worth something. We will find out. I was a little ashamed of my town. I asked, because I wanted to know, why they didn't ask for my ID. The answer I got was harsh. "Because we put an X on your name and we know that you voted." "We trust that you are who you say you are." I replied that I could be someone else voting for Jennifer, and they responded, "We put an X so that means that you have voted. Geesh!" So now that my name has an X, I have been trusted so therefore, my vote is legal. Somehow, that doesn't sit well with me. Call me a pessimist, but I don't trust everyone in this world. I am very skeptical. Sad to say. But whoever wins, God is ultimately in control and He already knew the outcome before anyone of us. I will put my HOPE in Him.
I am ashamed of people in this country who treat people that don't believe the same way as them with unkind words and actions. This is still a free country and that is a right that no one should belittle. That is what gets my blood boiling! I have every right to believe the way that I do and so does Joe Smoe out on the street. That is the joy of living in this country. I teach my children that it is great to have your own views and so what if it is different from someone else's. Stand up for what you believe, but treat the other persons feelings and beliefs with respect. I am saddend by the lack of respect between people in this country.

But, I look forward to the future and hope that whoever wins, can fix this country and make us strong again.

Apple picking

Yesterday we went apple picking at Elwood Orchards in Londonderry. What a fabulous day! It was the perfect fall day, a little windy and then warm. They have this great corn maze that took us about 1+ hours to go through. Some of the kids we were with even got lost! So Mike and Matt Hudson had to go back in to find them. We went with some other homeschool families. We started by going on a hay ride, had lunch, went through the corn maze and ended our day by picking the largest apples! Alyssa said the best part was that she got to climb the trees. Andrew spent most of his time eating the apples and Zach spent most of his time trying to scream his way through coming down from the trees! That boy has a lot of fear!

It was a great day as Mike took the afternoon off to go with us and our friends the Hudson's went as well. It was a fabulous day! Oh yeah, one more thing, Mike took a spill in the corn maze!! What a site. He fell on top of about 6 or 7 corn stalks. He was okay, but I couldn't stop laughing. Poor guy!!

Sept 21st

This is Andrew my handsome 11yo!

Zach, my 5yo Indiana Jones!

My whole brood! What good looking kids if I do say!

My precious Alyssa who is now 7 1/2 yo. She is becoming a little mommy!

Well, we finished 3 weeks worth of school. The overall picture is that it went really well. Zach does about 2 hours of school a day (on a good day) and the other two school from 830 till around 1 or 2. I think we are all enjoying it more this year. Andrew has to stretch his mind a little bit more now that he is in 6th grade, and Alyssa is doing more workbook schooling so she is enjoying that. She loves to write. So she has her own journal that she is writing in now. She also loves to draw so I am trying to find something to help her with her creativity. Andrew is still doing karate and well on his way to black belt. Both Alyssa and Zach started soccer last week and both are enjoying it tremendously. Alyssa scored her first goal last week and was very excited. Zach is more into learning how to play soccer. He is too big for his britches. He is now an "expert" on soccer. It is really cute to watch. Mike has finished the deck and let me just say that it is beautiful and we love to just sit out there. In fact, last night, our friends the Boisverts came for dinner and we spent almost the entire evening out there. It was so nice! Now, Mike has moved on to getting the lawn prepared for winter. Never a dull moment. He also is on fire for the next few months with the election. He has his opinions and I am encouraging him to find a way to express them. Don't be surprised if you see a blog from him!

August 17th

Wow!! It has been too long. We have had a crazy summer. We got back from our vacation to Williamsburg a week ago and already I have too much to do! I am in the process of getting school items together and getting our schedule together for the year. It is a lot of work this year! Andrew is going to be in 6th grade, Alyssa in 2nd and Zachy in Kinder. I will be hsing all 3 of them this year! I know, crazy. But I love it! I like learning with them and they have made some great friends by hsing.

Andrew turned 11 a week come Monday. I can't believe it. He is growing too fast. That is another reason why I love having them home. These are the times I just can't get back. We share so much together.

Well, I just got home from work. Here is our latest photo!

construction zone

It has been a while. So much going on! Andrew finished up baseball camp today. He worked on hitting and fielding there. He learned how to change his batting and now he crushes the ball! It was awesome to watch! Zach turns 5 on Monday and he starts baseball camp that day as well. That will be fun to watch! He finally gets to do something by himself. He is really excited! Anyway, more house saga. Our air conditioner leaked in our living room and now the carpet is soaked! So we had to rip it up and now we need to start the flooring and repairing sooner than planned. So I am in the process of doing this right now. I have to tear the wall border down and then clean the wall. We have a fireplace in there and so the walls are all black. It is disgusting! But it will be worth it when it is done. Mike started the deck last week and it looks great! He has been working on it every night. Andrew and Zach have been helping him. It is going to be great. I will post a picture when it gets further along. It is very exciting all this construction now. However, I won't be having people here till it is all cleaned up! What a mess. Now God is testing my patience and is going to teach me how to be more organized! If that will ever happen, I will be amazed. Anyway, lots going on and lots to do. More later.

Father's Day

We had a wonderful Father's Day. We went to my in-laws for dinner and then spent time by ourselves. We were going to see my Dad, but he was a little under the weather. We are just about finished with school, just finishing up math and grammar. The kids are really enjoying the nice weather. They are outside every day. Baseball is finished. Unfortunately, they lost the playoff game so they were eliminated. But it was a really exciting year! We had such great fun. Now, we move on to the next stuff, camps. I am sure I will have a lot of exciting things to write about during those times. Stay tuned!

Water Park

Zach with his toys in the Pirate ship area
Andrew and Henry

We spent yesterday at a water park. What a blast. We went with our homeschool group and there were 92 or so people that went in our group! It is a great time to go, before the schools are out and before it gets mobbed. Andrew is able to go on his own with some friends and I am able to relax! They have an area where Zachary loves to go and can just swim and hang out with his friend Maverick. Alyssa hung out with me for the day. We went on some rides together and just had a great time!

Busy week

Same the turtle's gravestone
Zachy helping daddy fix the treehouse (2 stories high)
Andrew and Alyssa and our buddy Remy (1 1/2)
Remy!!
My own INDIANA JONES!!

No autographs right now please! See me later!

We have had such a busy last few days. It started last Saturday when our town baseball had their annual Fishercats game. Andrew went on the field with some of his team mates and Zach walked with him. Then we stayed for the whole game (they lost) and watched some fireworks afterwards We have been home but busy! I am the coordinator for our church's vacation bible school, so I have been working on that lately and it takes a lot of time! We also are trying to finish up a few subjects for the year. I need to keep Alyssa and Andrew on track for that. Also this week, we lost Sam the turtle. Andrew found Sam on a bike trip he took with his Sunday school class. Sam looked like he had just been born. Well, we had him about 3 weeks and then he died. So we had a burial for him. I am just going to let these pictures tell about the rest of our week! Tomorrow I will share our Water Country Day!

June 5th, 2008

It was Mike's birthday yesterday. We went to the movies to see Indiana Jones and we had a blast! Here are some cute candids from the evening. We had to go to the church because Mike is on the security team. So the kids and I waited in the car.
Another Indiana Jones movie! ?
Andrew had the back all to himself!
Hi Mommy!

This is what our spring has consisted of! Baseball, baseball and more baseball! But it is extremely exciting! Andrew's favorite positions are pitcher and second base. It has been an exciting season.

Here is the rainbow we saw during the game Saturday night. Beautiful!