New School Year and a Happy Birthday to American!

It seems like we just took these pictures...and we did just a couple of months ago...but we are at it again.  We had a pretty calm first week.  One nice thing about homeschool is you don't have to repeat so much training like you do when you start with a fresh batch of kids every year.  They know what to do and it's just a matter of practicing the expectation to know that mom means business.  

I think overall our week was successful.  We always start off slower which is nice.  We are also mixing it up a little by doing school in the afternoon.  It's so hot that they don't want to be outside.  School is constructive and keeps them out of trouble.  It's taking some getting used to for me, because the afternoon had always been my time to get caught up and prep dinner.  We will switch back to AM school when the weather cools off.

One of the highlights of the week was finally getting in to volunteer at a sack lunch program.  There is a community program that has been making sack lunches for people for decades.  They are very friendly to families, so I took the kids in to get trained and make a couple hundred sandwiches.  I enjoyed it and the time passed quickly.  The kids were loosing steam at the 1.5 mark, but they all pitched in to learned jobs.  Owen was the supervisor chilling in the carrier.  I am hoping to volunteer with the kids at least once a month.

We had a little cold go through the kids last week.  It was really a 24 hour runny nose, so it wasn't anything terrible.  Liam and Owen were both sick this weekend, so they stayed home with Tim for church.  

The kids were really excited for July 4th.  We purchased some fireworks for the kids and every day Owen would has about fireworks.  We got together with our ward for a little bike parade and breakfast.  We ended up staying until almost lunch.  Everyone ate too much so lunch wasn't needed away.  

I made ribs for dinner that turned out well.  It will be interesting one day to have a grill or smoker to experiment with.  I was most proud of my pie.  I made this pie recipe years ago and it was a soggy mess.  I think I redeemed myself this time.  It set up well and everyone liked it.  I'm not much of a pie baker, so it wasn't perfect, but I was pleased with the improvement from last time.

After dinner the kids finally got to shoot off fireworks.  Tim helped the older two light smoke bombs and other fireworks.  I guess it's a tradition now that we get roman candles.  We did it last year and it made an impression.  They asked again this year and they all were able to shoot off their own.  We accidentally branched out and got some smaller aerials, which were a hit.  They already have a mental list of the ones that we need to get next year. 

Tim braved the heat and took the older three to see the city firework show.  It was the first time they had seen the BIG fireworks.  They all stayed up way to late, but had a blast.  They also loved the fact there were inflatables there as well as shaved ice.

Saturday was a recovery day for us, so we didn't do much.  Today was a normal day, aside from sick kids.  This coming week will bring another round of swim lessons for the the older three and week 2 of school.  Until then!