She's pulling triple duty tonight....

On the way home from church, the Tooth Fairy was sent a summons from both Austin and Luke. Two teeth lost in 2 minutes flat. Within 30 minutes of arriving home, Vance requested a visit, as well. Three teeth...one day. She's going to be busy tonight! Not to mention BROKE!!! What are the chances of all three boys losing a tooth on the same day? Definitely a "bloggable" moment!

Boys Love Swimming!

My boys really love swimming. It's like they were born in the water! We enjoyed one last swim day at our friends, the Linahans' house yesterday, and the boys had a blast. School year, here we come!

Luke, My personal "Mr. Miyagi"

Let it be known today that my son, Luke can now be called "Mr. Miyagi" from here on out. He has the amazing ability to kill a fly with his bare hands, every time, and the first time. It truly is a sight to behold. He doesn't even need the chopsticks. I can chase the buggers around the house for hours on end, swatting them numerous times an hour and missing. I could have just asked Luke, whom, with a single smack of the bare hand, can disable a fly and mortally wound it. Then he just picks it up by the wing and throws it in the potty. No problem. With this being prime fly season around here, it seems there are always about 4-5 flying around. So Luke is a particularly helpful boy around here these days! I should pay him for each one he kills.

I just thought I would share this special talent of his, in case any of you mothers of girls need a good shrill, or any of you other boy moms a laugh and an "oh yes, I understand." Wax on...wax off...

Camping in Big Bear

If you read about our last camping trip, then you know that it didn't go so well. Let's just say this one was a complete 180 in the other direction! Everyone came home healthy and injury free! Vance still has all the teeth he left Santa Clarita with, and no chins have been cut open.

This was our first "real" camping trip with our new trailer. Without a doubt, having a bathroom with an actual door on it, a microwave, refrigerator/freezer, A/C, and walls that don't have to pop up and down far exceeds sleeping in a tent. For those of you out there saying "Come on, that's not REALLY camping," I would beg to differ. This is the way to go! More power to you who brave the whole tent thing. Good grief! Let's just say we are very thankful to have such a nice way to camp in the great outdoors without actually having to sleep in the great outdoors. I don't know, bears eating me while I sleep and bugs biting me to death doesn't sound inviting.

We went to Big Bear Lake for 5 days with two wonderful families, our dear friends the Tubbs and the Brooks. My sis, Karen came up with Emma and Drew for a couple of nights and stayed with us. It was so nice to be able to have a trailer big enough for all of us (well, Drew wanted to sleep in their new Jeep, so he did!)

We have known the Brooks family for many years, and the Tubbs for maybe 2 or 2 1/2 years. They both have wonderful families and are just such easy people to spend time with. They each have 7 children, whom my kids absolutely adore. So our group of three families was a cool 23 people.

We spent the weekend fishing, swimming, boating, eating, and jetskiing. The boys could fish just steps from our campsite, which was right on a cove of the lake at a private RV park with a marina. They really enjoyed that a lot, and Vance caught two fish, one of which made for some good eatin' one sunny afternoon. The other boys caught various small fish and a couple of crawfish. We rented pontoon boats one day, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed swimming and fishing off the boats. The weather was perfect, and the lake beautiful. Dave drove one boat, and Robert the other. The little kids all got the chance to drive the boat, which was a highlight. A relative of Todd's allowed them the use of their three seater jetski for the weekend, so we all had the opportunity to enjoy using that several times over the course of the weekend. The boys all had a blast riding the waves, as they have never been on anything like that before. We also visited the Moonridge Animal Park, which serves the community by rescuing wild animals, rehabilitating them, and caring for them. We saw a snow leopard, Grizzly Bears, Bald Eagles, foxes, raccoons, and many more "special" animals. One of the bald eagles had double cataracts, one bear three legs, etc. We all enjoyed the experience, and it was very educational for the kids. We're hoping it will prepare them for starting school next week...OK wishful thinking!

Evenings were spent cooking and eating, playing games around the campfire, and just chatting. Todd and Robert stayed up late one night watching the meteor shower (the one that never happened) and solving the world's problems. Us old people just went to bed exhausted! Oh, and we did play a mean Sequence tournament. Suffice it to say, the women won again. Those poor guys, cheaters never do prosper. Just kidding! We just so much enjoyed being in the outdoors and being with these wonderful Christian people God has sovereignly brought into our lives. We have so much to learn from them, and are so blessed to have them as friends. What a fantastic long weekend!

Vance's favorite camp activity: Jetskiing ($3/gallon)

Luke's favorite camp activity: Playing with Hunter, Cody, and Jimmy (the cost of some fishing poles and dirtbike toys)

Austin's favorite camp activity: Playing "The Name Game" around the campfire (paper, pencils, and some fire wood)

Dad and Mom's favorite camp activity: Sleeping in a real bed at the end of the day (priceless!)

Wrapping up the summer...A summary of Summer 2007!

All I have to say is, I can't believe summer is almost over already! We are taking our last camping trip this weekend to Big Bear, and then we return to start school in a couple of weeks. This summer has been very relaxing and enjoyable. The summer is truly a whole different animal for me. The school year is very demanding since we homeschool. I am up early, I am very diligent with meal planning, exercise, and the like. Summer is wake up when you feel like it, have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and whatever dinner makes its way to the table works for me! And exercise....HA! What's that??? I guess you can see the effects of that on my hips.

We started off the summer with our trip to NY, followed by our trip to Yosemite, which was wonderful. We have had a couple of beach days to Zuma, and also several trips to the Aquatic Center, as well. The boys really enjoy the water. We just spent the day at Magic Mountain recently, which was a highlight.

As for homeschooling, many people ask me what curriculum I use, how I can possibly homeschool not being a professional teacher, and why would I want to do that anyways? After all, most moms are very happy to "get rid" of their kids for the day, especially after a long summer of having them home all day every day.

Well, since I have been homeschooling my kids from the get-go, I really don't have any other school experience, except my own, to base an opinion on. I chose homeschooling for many reasons. The main factor being that I love my kids and can't possibly imagine sending them away all day, every day! Call me selfish. It is not easy by any means, and I am not saying the days aren't long and challenging. But I am being given the opportunity to shape my children's hearts and lives by tailoring their education and environment towards living productive and God-fearing lives. I can immediately deal with every harsh word and every bad attitude, and protect them from the world's evils which I care not for them to participate in. On top of that, we have the freedom to have lunch with Daddy, go on field trips, visit unique places, take unique trips, and be a part of unique life experiences that we would otherwise not be able to do.

So with that said, here are my curriculum choices for this year, in case any of you out in blogdom are interested. A big thanks to my dear friend Nancy (yes, you!) for her much appreciated wisdom and insight she shared with me recently on homeschooling. She let me "pick her brain", and for that I am very thankful!

Math, penmanship, phonics, language, and spelling: A Beka Book
Science: God's Design for Creation, Three book series on life
History: Story of the World, Volume 1
Bible: Bible Study Guide for all Ages, Book 1
Logic and Critical Thinking: Mind Benders book A1 and Building Thinking Skills, level 2

I am really looking forward to starting up our routine again soon, and to reunite with the homeschooling families in Lighthouse, our homeschool group. We have enjoyed a wonderful summer and are thankful for the opportunities we were able to participate in! But for now, Big Bear, here we come!

A day at Magic Mountain

During the school year, the boys all participated in the "Read to Succeed" program, where each child reads for a total of 6 hours and earns a free ticket to Magic Mountain. I even got a free "teacher ticket"! So this past Monday, we all redeemed our tickets. We only live about 10 minutes away, which makes this an ideal place to visit. The boys and I headed over when they opened, and Daddy met us there after work. We stayed until they closed at 10:00pm, and then got in line for some funnel cake-YUM!

The boys are at such a great age for this place! They are all tall enough to go on most every ride. The boys were so brave! They all went on Goliath, Superman, the ever infamous Colossus, and much more. Austin tried out Batman and loved it! We pretty much went on every ride in the park, and some twice, with the exception of about 3 coasters that Luke and Vance weren't tall enough for, and Austin wasn't interested in. We just had a great time enjoying the look on the boys faces during the rides, and just savoring their excitement throughout the day. They loved the big coasters as well as the silly little kid rides in Bugs Bunny World! There were a couple of rides that we literally paid them to go on. But they ended up loving it, of course! The park was not crowded at all like I had anticipated, and we literally walked right on to most of the rides. It was a very pleasant day and we enjoyed being together immensely. Vance and Dave bonded being "ride buddies". He always requested to sit with him on all the coasters. Very cute.

To describe their "coaster personalities", I would say this about each one:

Austin: Reserved Daredevil-will try anything once!

Luke: Total Chicken, but secretly loves the thrill!

Vance: Has to be convinced it's a good idea and loves it afterward!

My three boys are fantastic and I'm so thankful to spend this life with them. They are truly a blessing to my heart. Did I mention I must pray a lot???!!!