Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, 7th Grader ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 5 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
Traffic Feed
Visitors
More creek pics
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Rachael's love of playing in the creek is directly proportional to Nick & Alex's hatred of the swampy water. They both lasted about 30 seconds until they were finished. Alex dozed in the grass while Nick played in the van. No nature lovers there!
This afternoon, Darla, Diana, & I met at the creek near our church to let the kids play and hunt crawdads. Fortunately, I took the old van because by the time we left, Rachael was drenched!
Yesterday, Diana & I took the kids to the Chinese restaurant for lunch. With us having been on the run for the past few weeks, it seemed like we haven't had much time to talk. After lunch and a few errands, I invited Thomas, Ross, Gracie, Josh, & Julia over to the house. I hid out upstairs while I finished folding the laundry that has been sitting in our room for several weeks. After about an hour, I heard the fire alarm go off. As I ran to the stairs, Rachael yelled that it was just the oven, and that nothing was on fire. (Our oven is notorious for setting off the alarm.) When I came downstairs, she showed me what she had made. It seems the kids wanted to have a tea party, and wanted some dessert to go with their tea. I guess Rachael's hours of watching Food Network have paid off!
The last time we went bowling, Ross had baseball and couldn't join us. Since Diana had a quilting class to attend, I decided to take the kids back to Mr. Gatti's & bowling. Rachael won the 1st game, & miraculously, I won the 2nd!
We had a co-op field trip to the Children's Museum to see the King Tut exhibit this afternoon. It's the same exhibit that we saw a few years ago in Chicago, but it's amazing how much difference a few years makes. The last time, Nick was just a toddler, but it was the event that sparked his passion for all things Egyptian. This time, he asked questions, absorbing everything that he could. The last time Rachael meandered through the rooms, taking only a cursory look at each item. This time, she read every description, watched every animation, and studied all of the background information surrounding the items.
The kids loved that Jeff took off work to come with us. He misses out on a lot of our field trips, because most of them are scheduled during the workday. Another bonus for Rachael was that Claudia was able to join the group. We hadn't seen her for ages!
After the museum, Jeff & I took the kids back to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Always a good meal!
Rachael actually got a bit braver today, riding a few of the rides that she wouldn't have even considered yesterday. Then again, she is noticeably absent from the clown picture - yet another phobia that we'll have to work on!
We met Heather and her girls for a day at the fair. We bought all of the kids $20 wristbands which are good for 3 days of rides. Still expensive, but a much better deal than $1.50 per ride or an $18 one day band! Rachael, ever the chicken, didn't ride many of the rides, but she had fun nonetheless. Nick was a little upset because I didn't let him ride some of the larger rides (the ones that went upside down). I was afraid that, being so small, he might hurt himself. With the price of admission, rides, and food, we spent a small fortune, but it was nice being able to just hang out and have a fun day with friends.
After leaving the hotel, we took advantage of our Children's Museum membership by visiting for a little while. The kids & I have been there numerous times, but Jeff hasn't been there in years. Of course, we'll be heading back later this week for the King Tut tour, so I didn't want to get him too sick of it before next week!
The kids enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool the next day. As irritated as I get with my kids bickering, it's always nice to see how sweet they are to each other when they need to depend on one another. Rachael was incredibly patient with Nick while swimming. He is somewhat afraid of the water, and with his CP, his fear is often displayed as total muscle rigidity - his entire body becomes as stiff as a board - not an easy condition to try to work with in the water! It all worked out, though. She was able to coax him into relaxing, and they had a great time.
We went with a group of homeschool families to the local fireworks display, which happened to be on the 3rd of July (go figure!) On the afternoon of the 4th, we were trying to decide what to do that evening. Jeff asked me to look on Priceline to see if we could get a cheap room in Indy. We ended up staying at the Hyatt Regency in downtown for $45. We've stayed there before, and it's one of Rachael's favorites due to the waterfall elevator. Upon check-in, the gentleman asked us if we had a floor preference, so Jeff chose the highest available - the 19th. Most of these photos were taken from just outside our room looking down on the lobby below.
We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, and drove to a perfect spot to see the fireworks that were to be set off atop the Regions Bank building downtown. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the fireworks were cancelled...but not until half an hour AFTER they were supposed to have begun. Grrrrr...
I signed the kids (Thomas & Ross included) up for free bowling throughout the summer. We've only taken advantage of it once so far, but the kids enjoyed themselves. Rachael won, having scored two strikes in a row. Since Nick was there, they put the bumpers up in the lane. Of course, even with the bumpers, I still couldn't score over 100!
The seal on our freezer is somewhat inadequate. I have to be ever vigilant about making sure it's completely sealed. In the rush to get out of the house on Friday, I guess I didn't check it, because we came home to a Winter Wonderland inside our freezer! I'm hoping that since it was almost sealed that the electric bill won't be astronomical!
Of course, there is a silver lining to all of this. As any homeschool mom knows...if all else fails, turn it into a science project! What better way to study crystalline structure! ;-D
Alex usually sleeps with Rachael or Jeff & me. One of the perks of vacation for Nick is that he gets to sleep with Alex. Apparently, he did more cuddling than sleeping because he was out cold for the entire trip home!
On Saturday, we attended the Summers family reunion. It's always a good time, but this year was disgustingly HOT!!!! I did, however, get some genealogical information that I had been seeking, and also got a great lead on someone who has already done extensive research into the Summers family lineage.
The first three pictures above are of my father-in-law and some of his siblings (there are a couple missing). The last picture is my sister-in-law, Tiawannia, with Nick.
On Friday, we headed to the St. Louis airport to pick up my brother-in-law, Brian, and his wife Tiawannia. While crossing the bridge into Missouri, I noticed this building that I hadn't ever noticed before. A very cool addition to the STL skyline!
Last week was VBS at our church. Rachael was too old this year, so she helped with the crafts while I worked on the website. Nick enjoyed seeing all of his AWANA friends again!
On Saturday the 20th, we headed down south and had the 'grandparent party.' The kids had so much fun riding the rides and playing the games! My parents got Nick a Wii Fit, my grandma got him a drill/screwdriver playset, and Jeff's parents gave him some money. I'll post some game pictures in the next posting...
On the 19th, Nick's actual birthday, we bought a little cake and let him open the gifts from Jeff, Rachael, & me. Rachael got him a huge bouncy ball, and Jeff & I got him a plasma car. We had been loking for something for him to ride on, but with his CP, everything that required 'pedal power' was just too difficult. The plasma car is perfect because it requires only upper body strength/coordination.
On Thursday, June 18th, Thomas & Ross took Nick out for his birthday. We went to the movies, Mr. Gatti's, and then to the mall where they bought him a Build-a-Bear. He had been wanting one for awhile, so he was thrilled! While at the mall, we also stopped by the pet store where all the kids were able to play with the animals.
No pictures today, but I wanted to post before I forget...
I received a phone call today from ITT Technical Institute. The man gave his name and asked for "Summers." I responded saying that I was Amy Summers. He then proceeded to tell me that he received an internet request for more information on their online degree program. I told him that I really wasn't interested. He said, "Well, I have your e-mail address as: 'Ross.' Does that mean anything to you?" As soon as he mentioned that I immediately knew the culprit...NICK!!!!! Apparently, he had filled out a form on Yahoo. As soon as I asked him about it, he laughed maniacally and exclaimed, "AHA! My plan worked. They CALLED you!!!!" (What the heck?!?!?!)
In the past few months, he's been ordering different things off our Tivo. He was ecstatic when we received our Oracea information in the mail. He proudly told me that it was for our red itchy skin called rosacea. (Nevermind that no one in our family actually HAS rosacea!) Fortunately, he doesn't have access to our debit card!
Then, this evening, as we were eating dinner, Rachael was telling us about one of her male friends who was upset because his mom sold his favorite barbie doll. Without missing a beat, Nick says, "That is wrong on SO many levels..."
Well, at least I can honestly say that life is NEVER boring in our household!
Julia is at camp this week, but we went over to her house today to meet her cousin, eight year old Isaiah, the newest member of our co-op. He moved here from Pennsylvania and will be staying with the family and homeschooling. They live on several acres complete with ducks, chickens, a stocked pond, and a horse pasture next door. The co-op kids enjoyed digging for worms in the compost pile, fishing, catching ducks, and petting the chickens. What a great day!
While Thomas & Rachael were at camp, Nick & Ross hung out together nearly every day. We made a trip to the Children's Museum on one day & Mr. Gatti's on another. Diana also kept Nick overnight on Thursday so that Jeff & I could spend the night in Indianapolis for our 15 year anniversary. We had planned on heading down to my mom's house for a night, but she's still not feeling well after falling ill after we were down there the last time!
Rachael & Thomas went to camp together this year. This was Rachael's 3rd year and Thomas's 1st. They both had an amazing time! It was actually cold on a few days - very different from the hot, hot weather of past years. They're already planning next year's camp!
I'm finally getting around to downloading the pictures I had stored on my camera. These were taken at my father-in-law's 68th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ronnie!
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
SUBSCRIBE HERE
