Our first science lab

"Mom, do we have any maple syrup?  That's how we started our first science lab studying density. Thankfully we had all the ingredients (oil, water, syrup) and could do this today.  I love that Sarah had such a great time figuring it out. She's always loved science.  I'm hoping we will have as much fun doing more of these experiments :)

Density Lab Ingredients

Density Lab 1st Ingredient

Density Lab 2nd Ingredient

Density Lab 3rd Ingredient

Density Lab

Density Lab Conclusion

It's Official! Our First Day of School

Even though we aren't going to a regular brick and mortar (B&M) school I couldn't help but take our first day of school picture.  Sarah actually got herself up early so that she could get herself dressed and ready for our first full day :)  It went really well!  I was so excited that we were able to make it through all her classes and still had time at the end of the day.  We even made it to our orchestra class on time. 

Belated Birthday Celebration

We finally got our friends together for Sarah's birthday and End of Summer celebration.  Tracy made his famous hummus and handled all the grilling.  We took over my folks back yard, since they are camping, and really enjoyed having the pool for them to jump in to.  I didn't take pictures!  How crazy is that.  Oh well, I'm so thankful to have people we can count on to be there for our family celebrations!

We are a family of geeks!

My little computer geek :)  You would think that after a week of schooling mostly online, she'd be tired of the computer...but no!  It looks like I'm never going to get my laptop back.  I was smart enough to set limits on her "side" so I should hear a groan any minute telling me there is something wrong!

School went really well this week.  We have been able to do all the introductory stuff as well as break into a few lessons.  Wow, I feel like we are so behind.  They weren't kidding when they said Nevada was a year to a year and a half behind.  I have no idea how she is going to keep up but they guarantee me that our kids in Nevada are taking on the task and doing well.  I'm thankful to know I'm not alone!

OK, let's get started!

So we come back from vacation to a sleepover with Sarah's friends to celebrate her best friends birthday. They were planning a "fashion show" so she tried on a few clothing options for me....why does she have to look so darned grown up! 

Anyway, it sounds like they had a great time.  They stayed up all night, ate tons of junk, and suppposedly the host mom "ruined" it by not judging them.  She just gave them all a price for participating....sounds like the school system...make them all "feel" good.

This is the bench Sarah chose for her homeschool books.  I think we are ready to start our modified approach to school this week!  We are going to try to do 3 classes a day just to get used to the classes and the routine.  Here's praying it all goes well!

Sarah's birthday week was awesome, followed by a great gathering of good friends and family. I can't believe our friends and family actually drove to see us for such a short time! We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives.

I can't believe Sarah is 13 now....how did that happen? Wasn't she just a toddler just a minute ago!

Sarah knee boarding

Another awesome boat ride

...and finally we had to come home! It was a great trip. I'm so glad we were able to do it. Now we can look forward to opening all those boxes that have our new K12 materials in them! Let the adventure begin :)

Sarah on the drive home

And my love......

Vacation!!!!

Wow, it's been so long since we've had a real vacation I'm not sure how to describe how nice it is to just get away!  We have been blessed with Tracy's parents allowing us to come visit them for 9 days in wonderful, beautiful, cool Lake Arrowhead :)  Believe me when I say it's a lovely respit from our summer heat.

Sarah helping grandpa on the boat

Sarah's favorite spot on the boat

 

Tracy with his dad



Our Lake Vacation

We are having such a great time at Lake Arrowhead this trip. It's been a few years since we have been able to have a vacation and it's a blessing to have been able to make it here.  Sarah is gaining a lot of confidence in knee boarding and driving the boat!  More later, but I just wanted to come in and share what an awesome time it has been so far....more tomorrow at the water park :)