Education Links

I posted a link list of Education Websites we use (see sidebar) but I am looking for others. If you have a website you love that's not listed, please leave a comment with the link and I will add it to my list. Thanks!

Summer Fun

I came across this post today while reading a blog. I liked it so much I am putting it on my blog so I can have easy reference to it. What are your plans for this summer?

Free Summer Fun

SA Public Library Summer Events

Farm Livin' Is the Life For Me!??

**I took some pictures with my cell phone, only to get home and find out I don't have a USB cable for it so I can't download the pics. So, sorry I don't have pictures to show you.

Cara was invited to a birthday party at Fiesta Farm. We went after the big rain Friday night and so needless to say, it was quite muddy-I mean really muddy.



I wasn't sure if Cara would like all of the critters running around, but she really enjoyed herself. She really enjoyed riding the horses and feeding the goats. Her favorite thing had to have been catching the baby frogs that were everywhere. Who would have thunk it that my girlie girl would love catching frogs? There were bunnies and piglets, llamas, peacocks, dogs, oh, and mud.



Much to my chagrin, I let her just run around and get thouroughly dirty. I am glad she had fun and it reminded me of my childhood running around at my grandparent's farm in east TX.



After getting my van stuck in the mud, we finally drove out of there dirty and tired, but I think it was all worth it to see the smile on Cara's face.

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

In February, we took the kids to their very first Rodeo! We had so much fun and can't wait till next year! We actually didn't see any of the "rodeo" part this time, but enjoyed the festivities nonetheless. There were a lot of neat exhibits but the HEB area with the Petting zoo, bounce houses, and the Wells Fargo horses was a fav. We also stopped by the carnival and enjoyed the usual carnie favs like corn dogs and funnel cake.

Theme Night!

I love to play board games. The girls and I love to break out different games and play together. It is so nice that Cara is old enough to play now. We are working on getting a nice collection of board games. We also love to have movie night. I ran across a post from Deal Seeking Mom the other day and I thought she had some fabulous suggestions for combining the two. We have had game nights, but never made a THEME out of it. I see this becoming a monthly event! Read the post and let me know what you think. I'm curious, what games do you like to play with your family? Any ideas on how to incorporate a theme (game/food/movie) like the ones listed? Be sure to click on the Family Game Night Link for more info on snacks, movies, and game suggestions.

~

" Walmart and Hasbro have partnered to help families make memories and enjoy each other at home. This week, stores across the country have Family Game Night aisles dedicated to helping you put together your own Family Game Night for under $40.
Choose a theme like Sweet Tooth Sunday — with Candyland and the sugary sweet movie Pollyanna along with soda and makings for a homemade ice cream sundaes — or Special Mission Night — all about solving puzzles and using your smarts to uncover a mystery and play Pictureka along with secret recipes of creative snacks to enjoy while you watch National Treasure. Or pick from your all-time favorites at affordable prices." Deal Seeking Mom

Advent/Jesse Tree

We started doing Advent this year and the girls really enjoyed it. Because we started late and it is so new to them (and us), I have been thinking of ways to improve for next year. I want to compile some of my ideas on my blog, mostly for reference for next year. I also found some great info on doing a Jesse Tree. For those unfamiliar with Jesse Tree, it is based on Isaiah 11:1, and the prophecy that Christ would come from "the stump of Jesse". These are daily readings all December long that starts with Creation and ends with the birth of Christ. Every story points to the purpose of Christ (which is what the entire Old Testament is about anyway). Here are some links that I found here, here, and here that I plan on using. I plan on doing our Jesse Tree this year leading up to Easter and I will just add a few things showing the crucifixion and resurrection. I am hoping it will be something we do both Christmas and Easter. I think the BEST bible for this is the Jesus Storybook Bible. Not only is it a beautifully illustrated children's bible, but each story "whispers his name". I have teared up a time or two after reading this to my kids! I would love to hear about any of your traditions teaching your children about Christ during the holidays. Looking forward to next year!~ashley

Trick-or-Treat!

Our family enjoyed the nice weather and getting to meet neighbors when we went Trick-Or-Treating. To start things off, I recorded several Halloween episodes of the girls favorite shows and they watched those after school. Then, I made a yummy supper and a friend, Olivia and her son Owen, joined us. After our candy haul, we came back and had brownies-in-a-mug w/ice cream (crockpot recipe HERE) and watched the Great Pumpkin. We had lots of fun and got lots of good candy (some of which I am enjoying right now as I write this blog entry :)

Meet "Josh"

Today we carved our pumpkin that we got from the pumpkin patch. Cate named him, Josh. Although we do not celebrate "scary" things, we do carve a Jack-O-Latern (always with a big smile). I found a great book, The Pumpkin Patch Parable, and we read that every year. The main gist of it is about how the Farmer takes away the yucky stuff (pulp and seeds) and creates a pumpkin full of light (get the parallel?). We also read, Let Jesus' Light Shine on Halloween. My kids really enjoy the time we spend as a family. To them, Halloween is not about scary things, but having fun together. I enjoy teaching my children about God's light and love for us on a night that typically is about evil. I have several activities planned for us tomorrow afternoon. I will blog about those later.

Fall Fun

We went to the "pumpkin patch" last night, (South Texas Maize in Hondo). We had so much fun and plan on making it an annual event. It was a little pricey, but to do it just once a year is well worth it. We did not get to do the maize b/c it got dark and late, but next year we are going to do it for sure. Here is the link if you would like more info on it http://www.southtexasmaize.com/. We rode a hayride and picked a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, rode a barrel train, jumped on the biggest trampoline/bounce house that I have ever seen, ate yummy Kettle Corn (and I do mean good), played on the playground, and much more! Can't wait to go again next year! Oh, and Cate's friend, Hannah, went with us.

If KATE can do it SO CAN I!

UPDATE 7/18/09: I know they broke up, and I am quite sad about it, but I still love the idea of fingerpainting with pudding. My kids still talk about this activity.

We are big fans of Jon and Kate+8. I share many of Kate's traits, one of them being that I do not like messes. On this weeks episode, they finger painted with pudding. The kids thought that would be sooooooo fun, so I told them we would do it before school started. Now, if you watched, you noticed they did this outside, in their swimsuits. Now, I can handle doing this outside with the plastic pool filled to let them clean themselves off. Well, it has rained almost everyday this week, so I finally gave in on Saturday and sucked it up and let them "paint" in the kitchen-EEK! They really had fun and I even let Claire get in on the action (boy, I must have been feeling very brave!). Just a note: If you make pudding with SOY milk, please note that it will be runny. I had to adjust the recipe since Claire can not have dairy. She did not seem to care much...Oh, and the new HEB laundry detergent worked really well and got all the stains out-whew! I think Kate would be happy about that!