Let’s Get Softball Ready!

Mia is playing softball for the first time this year.  She is playing in a local league of girls that are 8 and under.  She is one of the youngest and smallest girls on the team but is excited to be learning the game. 


We missed her first game when Blayke was in the hospital but she was able to make the next game(mom had to miss it since she had a Girl Scout Leader Meeting). 
We are working on her batting skills but she still likes playing even when she strikes out. 

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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?

Blayke had been running a fever of over 103 degrees for a few days.  I took him to the doctor since I was unable to get his temp down below 102.  After they tested him for Mono, Strep and other stuff they strongly suggested I take him to the ER at Levine Children’s Hospital to get him tested for Meningitis.
 
So off we headed to the ER.  We called dad and let everyone know what was going on.  Once we got there they put us in a room pretty quickly since his doctor had already called in some orders.  The  gave him some meds to get his fever down then drugged him up to get his calm enough to do a spinal tap.  This drug they gave his made him so loopy he was telling me that he saw bunnies hopping on his arms.
His spinal fluid was clear so the tested him for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever since we had been camping a couple of weeks prior with Mia’s girl scout troop.  They suspected he was bitten by a tick.

After an evening in the hospital (he was admitted at 10:00 PM the previous night) and several doses of antibiotics he started to look like his normal self.
We had a little visitor stop by to cheer Blayke up since the doctors gave us the okay that he would be able to leave that day as long as his temp stayed down.

The kids got some paper and paint from the Life Specialists so they could paint some pictures while we waited for them to release Blayke.  We were able to take him home and discovered that he did have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever when the pediatrician got his results back from the state on Monday.

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This Is How We Tie Our Shoes

e took a break from our lessons one afternoon and went upstairs for a little rest time.  The kids were not on their best behavior but I did not want to have them take a nap so we sat on Blayke's bed and did a little talking.  After a while the kids started to ask to do something so I broke out some lacing shapes and we practiced tying our shoes.  They picked it up in less than an hour and surprised dad when he got home that night.  Dad and I are so happy we won't have to be bending down anymore to help tie shoes.

Here are the videos of the kids...They are so proud of themselves.

Mia Tying Her Shoes

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E as in Elephant & A as in Apple

This is the letter Blayke learned this week.  We likes sharing with cousins so he wants to record them all.

 

 

A as in Apple

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P.A.T.H. Back to School Picnic

We joined a network of home school families called P.A.T.H. Parents As Teachers @ Home.  It’s a great group with Ladies Night Out for Mom when she needs a break and fun filled field trips for the kids when they need to get out and have some fun with other kids.  They also have several Education Co-ops too.

We met at a local park for a picnic lunch and some fun and games.  After lunch we went to have some fun.

There was a very nice women there that was making balloon animals and doing face painting.  We were not able to get the kids faces painted because they had to go straight to swim class after the picnic.

We did the Hokey Pokey and played some parachute games with all the kids and parents (there were over 75 kids there) and then went and played on the playground.  We had a great time and can’t wait for our next meet up with them.

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Mia's First Tests

Mia had three tests this week.  The first test was Written Arithmetic she received an A (97%).  Her second one was Oral Arithmetic (recite answers from flash cards shown to her)-She received an A+ (100%).  She also had a phonics test that she received an A+ (100%).

She will have a bible test in a couple of weeks that she will need to recite:

John 3:14-19 (NKJV)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Guy is surprised she has memorized this much already (see the video) 2-1/2 weeks in.

John 3:14-19

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Genesis 1:1, John 1:3 Letter I and U

Blayke was so excited about the bible verses he memorized and the letters he has learned he asked me to record them.  Here they are:

Genesis 1:1 & John 1:3

I is for Indian

U is for Umbrella

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Girl Scout Camping Trip at Lake Myer RV Resort

Mia and her Girl Scout troop had a camping trip this weekend at the Lake Myer RV Park.  We had 8 girls attend along with 4 dads, 4 moms and a little brother (Blayke).

We arrived a little late since the kids at practice in the morning.  They went swimming for the first part of the day. Then the girls all made tie-dyed shirts with their troop number on them.

Then it was time to make our fire so we could make smores and have ashes left over for our legend of the ashes packs.  (We combine all the ashes from previous trips and save the new ashes after the camping trip is over to repeat the process over again.  This way the girls keep a little bit of every trip as a memento).  Blayke helped gather the stick to help se the fire.

Blayke took a little brake before dinner to rest and reflect on the day.

We gathered around the fire after dinner and made smores and told stories before calling it a night.  Unfortunately one of the girls had to go home since she tripped and hit her head.  She was sent home by our nurse with a concussion but she is doing just fine.

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Let’s Play Ball

The kids signed up for T-Ball and Softball this fall.  Practice started this week

Blayke is excited to be playing.  He missed the cut off for his league by two days but they let him in anyway.

The boys run the bases a couple of times right before practice is over.

Mia and dad (and a new friend Hannah) practiced catching and throwing across the field while Blayke practiced.  We will get pictures of Mia practicing on Saturday.

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First Delivery for Friendship Trays

We went and did our first delivery for friendship trays today.  Just a little reminder - Friendship Trays (http://www.friendshiptrays.org/) is a local Meal on Wheels. They deliver more than 600 meals daily to elderly, handicapped, and convalescing people who are unable or greatly restricted in their ability to prepare or secure meals.

We went to the Levine Senior Center to pick up the food then went on our route.  We delivered meals to 10 people.  It was a great experience for the kids. They loved helping out and putting a smile on peoples faces when they went up to their doors to deliver the food and drinks.  We met all sorts of people.  Some are elderly and can't leave their homes, one gentle man was injured at work and now has really bad back problems and is recovering from surgery.  One man has been living with aids for 15 years and also has cancer.  We said prayers for them as needed and are looking forward to seeing them again in two weeks.  This is a great lesson for myself and the kids in serving others and being good Samaritan's.  We are glad to be a part of this great service project.

We went a had free lunches at Bob Evans after our route was completed.

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Our First Week Of Home School

We started our homeschooling this week.  We are using the Abeka DVD program.  It will be easier for me and better for the kids.  Especially since I am not a teacher and this is my first time doing something like this. They watch their teacher on the DVD explain the lesson and then I am there to help with seat work and answer any questions.  Contrary to many opinions this system works and the kids are loving it.
The kids start off with the pledge of allegiance and Bible lesson everyday.


Mia is practicing her verse memorization with her teacher Mrs. Weiler.

Blayke is praying with his classmates and teacher Mrs. Wasser.  Each child in the class room can submit a prayer request prior to praying (along with Blayke) and we all pray together.

Blayke listening and following instructions for his seat work.


Mia is finishing up his her seatwork before she moves on to her next lesson (see the list on the TV).  Group reading is done twice a day.

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Jaars Museum of the Alphabet

The Alphabet Museum provides a graphic overview of something we tend to take for granted: the importance of alphabets. It also tells of the people who made them and reminds us that the process of making them is not yet complete. There are still many languages without a writing system. It is for this, who speak these languages, that Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics exist. To date, they have worked with speakers of over 1000 languages.
JAARS is a nonprofit organization committed to speeding Bible translation for all people. They provide technical support services and resources to Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International and related organizations around the world.
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The kids were able to make their names with Egyptian hieroglyphics.

We got to see replicas of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and different scrolls from the Old Testaments and how they were translated.  The Museum covers all languages and their developments and includes new languages they are trying to create alphabets for.  It is a a neat place to visit.

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Geocaching In A Historical Cemetery

We went geocaching after church and found out there was a geocache hidden in this area.

Some of these head stones were so old that you could not even make out the inscriptions.

   I loved what this one said.

This geocache was shaped like a coffin.  Kind of creepy but it fit in with the location.

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Peach Picking In South Carolina

We went to the Bush-N-Vine to pick some fresh peaches.  This farm is huge and has all sorts of fruits and veggies for just about every season to pick from.


We are looking forward to go back and pick some apples and other good veggies and fruit.  We made a really good peach cobbler with the peaches we picked.

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BEE CITY HONEYBEE FARM; PETTING ZOO, BEE CITY CAFE

Bee City is just a stone's throw from the beautiful Edisto River  between Summerville, SC and Walterboro, SC.

They focus on educating the public on the importance of honeybees. 
We spent most of our time at the Petting Zoo.

 

This little guy was able to get his own food
Monkey Feeding Himself
Don't Let the Monkey get your ring or watch!

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Whirling Waters Charleston, SC

After our Savannah stop we went to Charleston for a couple of days.  We found this great water park called Whirling Waters.  The county has three different water parks within their parks for you to cool down.  We went to the biggest one.  It had a Lazy River, Wave Pool, and tons of other stuff.  We enjoyed the day in the sun being cooled off by the water fun.

We ended the day with a carriage ride tour through down town and a nice family dinner before crashing back at the hotel for the night.

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Our Savannah GA Girl Scout Stop

We stopped in Savannah on our way home from Florida.  We found Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace right in the center of the historic district.  We went in to get a little tour and earn Mia a patch and pin.  We were not allowed to take any pictures while in the house since they had several break ins and thefts in the past. 

Here are some of the girls from Local troop waiting to get in to their tour.  There were several troops that day touring throughout the city.

We then headed off to do the Savannah Safari Walking tour. You can walk it on your own - or hire their trained Safari Guides!  We went on our own.
There are puzzles to solve on the way and unique objects to find.

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Road Side America Stops

Our friend Julie sent us a link to http://www.roadsideamerica.com/.  For those of you not familiar with it’s an “Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions”.  It has attractions by state but also has some pretty fun oddities.  We searched for some of these oddities on our way home.  Here are a few of them.

This is Kelly, the giant cow in front of Keller's Flea Market in Savannah, Ga. She changes outfits periodically and in this photo you can see her in transition. She has her straw hat on. Her bell says "I Heart Fleas" and she is wearing a wrist watch on one leg and has a diamond ring on her tail.

Got Mail!

On the side of Quacco Road there is a giant mailbox painted to look like a black and white cow. Eight feet wide and 16 feet long, it soars nearly 30 feet in the air.

Owned by the same people that own Keller's flea market in Savannah, GA where Kelly the Cow sits outside.

This is the Great Dane Statue that is in Savannah, GA. Located at the Great Dane Trailer Building at E. Lathrop and Bay Street, it is impressive.


A large "rotating" bovine is the mascot of the Coburg Dairy. It stands (turns) on Hwy 17 South, in the St. Andrews shopping center in Charleston, SC. This icon has endured all manner of attention by local citizenry over the years.  We tried this chocolate milk while we were in SC and it is the BEST we have ever had.

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