States Visited

On our way back from Tennessee last week, Justine and I reflected on our journey and stressed the importance of family time.  We spend a lot of our travel time on the road visiting family and friends in various places.  I travel some for work.  Justine less for work.  Either way, it is great to see the beauty of the earth.  It's awesome to see little things that mean a lot to various local communities.  Wonderful reminders that what we see is not just a bunch of square corn, wheat, and soybean farms.  Pretty cool!  One-year-old Conrad has been to 8 states already!

MBB

Red: States Not Visited
Yellow: States Lived In or Visited

Conrad

Hazel and Eliza

Justine

Lenora

Michael

Orson

Happy Birthday Conrad!!!

Sweet Conrad turned one last week! I'm always blown away how babies go from this... 

.... to this is just one short year! 

Conrad, you have brought us so much joy in this past year! One of the amazing things about having my fifth baby is how much I've just been able to enjoy this year.  I feel like I know what I'm doing (for the most part). I've learned to function without much sleep, have mastered sleep schedules/training, etc. Things that worried me with Hazel are no big deal now. I've just been able to marvel in this sweet little guy and relish in every minute of him. He's also lucky because he's gotten to play and explore in ways I never let Hazel. For example, climbing up the slide at the park? I'll just stand here in case he falls off the edge. Eating dirt? Oh well, he's building an immune system. It sure makes for a happy baby!!

Conrad is a joy not just to us, but to everyone he meets. We often visit our dear friend Joanne in the memory care unit. This week we took cupcakes so she could help celebrate his birthday. He walked around the nursing home waving at all the residents and bringing smiles in abundance.

We celebrated his birthday with a few gifts, lots of hugs, and cake! Conrad loves to eat so it was no surprised he ate every bit of cake his little tummy could hold.

Conrad is such a busy little guy. He has been walking for six weeks already! He's now climbing and exploring everything. I'm worried I have another wild, fearless, accident attracting one on my hands. A few weeks ago he burned his hand when he stuck it under the steam mop while Eliza was doing her chore. Just yesterday he climbing back in to the car while we were unloading and then fell face first on to the concrete. He's going to keep us on our toes for sure. It seems appropriate that Orson just taught you to say uh-oh!

Always on the go! 

He might be wild and active, but Conrad has such a tender heart. His first sign was "I love you" and most of the words/signs he knows now are names. He signs and says "Mama" and "Dada". He also "says" the names of each of the kids. Other people may not understand him, but he has a word for each of their names and it is adorable. "Ha-zuh" "Zi-za" "En-uh-ah" and "O-sou" are his best friends. He wakes up each morning calling for his siblings to come get him out of bed to play. They all adore him!

This baby LOVES to eat! There isn't much he doesn't like or won't eat. I've never seen a baby eat as much as he does. Not that you would ever know since he's all of 18 1/2 pounds. He's still nursing but I'm not sure for how much longer. I'm going to miss nursing my babies!

Conrad, we are so glad to have you in our family. When I see pictures of myself with five kids around me I think, "wow, that's a lot of kids!" But I'm so thankful for each one of you. After all, if I didn't have five, I'd never have had you!

Labor Day: Work hard, play hard

Our Labor Day was full of lots of hard work, but lots of great rewards. The girls and I enjoyed a beautiful hike in the morning. We loved it so much we plan to repeat this hike every month and watch the seasons change. This month we saw so many amazing mushrooms!

 Meanwhile, the boys were at home working hard to get everything ready for a big bonfire! I love seeing how much Orson enjoys working with his Dad. They are quite the team.

We spent the afternoon doing various other chores, but were rewarded with a fun cook out and bonfire with friends that night. It was worth it!

Here's to Homeschool!

I mentioned it will be a big school year for our family, and that's because we've decided to homeschool the girls!

It was a hard decision, and I'm sure it won't be easy. But we really have felt this is the best option for us right now. In no particular order, here are some of the reasons we're taking the leap:

To preserve our kids love of learning:
Our kids love to learn! They are bookworms, they're always asking questions, and they are eager and excited about gaining more knowledge. They read a ton which only opens their minds to more questions. But, we were noticing that the mechanics of school was crushing some of this enthusiasm. A lot of it was they simply didn't have the time to explore things that interested them or to read as much as they would like. The schools also seem to stick with "fun" reads and lots of nonfiction, but we'd like to seem them explore more classics, books with powerful characters, and deeper plots.

To keep them challenged:
Eliza has asked several times for us to consider homeschooling her because she gets bored in school. Her teachers have been wonderful about doing all they can to keep her challenged, but when you read several grade levels above your peers, you still end up sitting through lots of instruction you already know. Hazel also reads above grade level and has a very inquisitive mind that can do more than simply meet set expectations.

TIME!!!
Between the bus ride and the school day, it felt like our sweet girls were gone all the time! We don't even do many evening activities, but there still never felt like enough hours in the day. Mornings were just always a quick wake up, get ready, and rushed family scripture time before the bus came at 7:10. By the time they were home in the afternoons it was nearly 4. We'd have about an hour of fun time before dinner prep, dinner, night time routines. We can't wait to have more time with our kids!

Too much testing:
This was a big part of our decision. Hazel hit third grade last year which is the first big, state testing year. We were shocked how much time and effort was spent teaching for the test! Hazel was told they didn't have time for more science (her favorite), to learn cursive, or to even consider a science fair, all because they had to prepare for their tests. They even had 4 "scrimmages" to practice before the actual test.

To customize what they're learning:
For years, the girls ASL skill level has lagged behind their English. And no wonder, because they've had no formal ASL instruction. To many it seems odd, but yes, even native speakers need formal instruction on grammar, syntax, etc. Michael will be teaching ASL as one of their subjects at home. The girls are also really excited to learn cursive, do a lot more science!

We started two weeks ago, and so far it's been wonderful! Lessons are going well, and I think the curriculums we've selected are a great fit for the girls. We're also loving the freedom! We've swam in the kiddie pool for recess, gathered wild flowers, played with chickens, gone on outings, etc. I hope it's a year full of mostly great days!

On the first day the kids requested I "dress like a teacher"!