The One With the Bobcat

Noah has been asking for a bigger trail for his dirt bike. Yesterday was Noah's "Gotcha Day", Mark used this as an excuse to rent a Bobcat to spice up our trails. Noah and Mark worked together all morning. They widened the trails we have, made a few new trails, then made a few new jumps. Noah is thrilled with his new playground!

The One Where They Go Bowling

Tonight we had a bowling night courtesy of Mark's parents. Wes and Bev are always up for any kind of game. They came over at 2:00 and played a few board games with the kids and I. When Mark got home they took us to Zimmerman Lanes. Wes & Bev are good bowlers. Mark is a good bowler. The kids and I have some room for improvement.

While the 3 "good bowlers" racked up their scores and tried to best each other, I sat and belted out the 80's tunes that were playing in the bowling alley. My turns pretty much consisted of hitting a few pins on round 1, and missing the rest on round 2. Maybe it was because I was trying to moonwalk when "Billie Jean" came on.

After our scores were tallied and our rented shoes turned in, we decided to venture over to the adjoining restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed burgers and fries over the din of patrons buzzing about the upcoming BINGO game. We were glad that our meal was nearly complete when the caller began calling out the numbers. There just wasn't much audio space left for normal conversation. You know you live in a small town when the only restaurant that isn't fast food also serves BINGO cards!

In spite of our unusual surrounding, we still had a great dinner. We made some fun memories today. My boys are so blessed to have wonderful grandparents!

The One Where It's Box Day

I love getting ready to start a new year of school. Yesterday our box of new books came from Sonlight Curriculum. The people I know who use Sonlight affectionately refer to the day our books arrive as "Box Day". Some families celebrate Box Day with great fanfare. The kids delve into the box and eagerly look at each book with anticipation of what adventures it holds.

My boys look at the box and groan. They only see work and loss of summer fun. So, I have my own Box Day party without them. New books make me happy. I love to open them and smell each book. "New book" smell is even better than "new car" smell. I love putting color coded stickers on each book to identify the curriculum package it covers. I love putting together my Instructor's Guide and carefully placing each week's assignment into tabbed binders.

To start my Box Day party I carefully unpacked the contents of the box. It excites me to see the sheer volume of books that we will cover this year. The new books I order each year are always for Austin. Sonlight is a literature rich curriculum. We rarely use consumable workbooks, so I can always re-use Austin's books with Noah.

After I get the color coded stickers on the binding I am ready to put them on their shelf. I love looking at our shelf and seeing our whole school year lined up for us at a glance. I am tempted to open one of the books and begin reading it. I don't. I love to share the new adventure of each book right alongside the boys.

I love standing back and looking at all of the books I've gathered over our 9 years of homeschooling. The giant bookshelf in our room is big enough to hold books 2 layers deep. There are actually double the amount of books on the shelf than what you can see in the picture!

I spent the week before Box Day tidying up our much neglected school room. During the summer months it becomes the catch-all for homeless items. Getting the room organized and in order is such a peaceful feeling. I love having all of our books for the upcoming week lined up on the table with the Instructor's Guide nearby. It makes me feel ready.

I love our school room. I love the art projects the boys have done. I love the ceiling tiles they have painted. I especially love the NASA posters. My Aunt Connie stood in line for her entire lunch hour one day at a NASA convention to get them for us. Austin is especially interested in all things sky related. We were thrilled to add these awesome posters to our walls.

Monday starts a new era for us. I will be homeschooling a high schooler this year. Austin will be in 9th grade. The sheer impact of what that means can be terrifying. This is when it really counts. Noah will be in 5th grade. It is such an awesome feeling to know that I get to be there to share their educational journey. I am grateful!

The One where Noah and Riley go to Waconia

My mom & dad invited Noah and his best friend, Riley to their house in Waconia for a few days. They had 4 days of non-stop fun. My mom sure knows how to show kids a good time!

They started their fun with a trip to Target. Seriously. Target. If you know my family, you know that Target is the place where all fun starts for us. After she purchased matching t-shirts for the boys, they decided to head to the Carver County Fair. They did all of the typical fair things in the sweltering heat. They rode rides, ate good food, and visited attractions. Their favorite was the 2-headed reptile show.

They ended their day with a Motocross show in the grandstand. Riley and Noah both live and breathe all things motors. If it goes fast and jumps, it is perfect. They arrived early to watch the riders warm up. It was good they were there early, because about 45 minutes after the start of the show it was canceled due to stormy weather. The boys had a blast while it lasted.

Their visit was also sprinkled with many trips to the lake. The water temperature is perfect right now, and during the week they pretty much had the beach to themselves.

They also had fun visiting Mark's Uncle Dave. Dave and Linda live in Waconia too. Their home is a boy's paradise. They had fun riding horses, skid loaders and checking out all of their antiques.

In addition to patiently entertaining the boys, Mom also took many pictures of the weekend. Thanks, Mom for taking time to bless a couple of awesome kids!

The One Where They Play in the Rain

On Tuesday we went to Ann Lake with our friend James. Shortly after we returned home, the sky opened up and let loose torrential rains. The boys were already in their swimming trunks, so they decided to run through the rain. It rained HARD. The splashed in the driveway for a while, then found a huge puddle in our ditch.

If you'll notice: I had to venture out into the rain to get the photos. It's a good thing I was already wet from swimming too!

Our venture into the rain was short-lived. It started lightning pretty close to our house. We decided it would be wise to take cover!

The One in Dubuque

We just returned from a long weekend in the Dubuque, IA area. I love Dubuque. I have such fond memories of visiting my Grandma Potras in this city. It is a city filled with hills, bluffs, and history.

We packed the weekend with as much action as we could. When we rolled into town we visited the house my mom grew up in. We were sad to see the neighborhood in a run down state. We were even sadder to see my Grandma's stately old home in shambles. It was a reminder to me that treasures are best stored in Heaven.

A few blocks from Grandma's house is the Fenlon Place Elevator. As a child, I always heard my family refer to it as the 4th Street Elevator. It is the worlds steepest shortest most scenic incline elevator. It was built in the 1800s by a businessman who wanted to shorten his walk into the downtown area from the bluffs. At the top of the elevator we were treated to spectacular views of the city.

It was fun hearing my mom reminisce about her life in this city. As we passed through the town, she often named people who lived in houses while entertaining us with stories of the antics of the 7 Potras brothers & sisters.

We ended our first day with a visit with our special friend, Jean. She lives in a lovely craftsman style house in the charming town of Bellevue, IA. Her front porch faces the Mississippi River with its rolling hills and bluffs. It was such fun visiting with her while gazing at the gorgeous scenery. Jean also treated us to a meal at Potter's Mill. If you ever visit Bellevue this restaurant is a must!

On Saturday, we ventured across the Mississippi to my Uncle Mike's house in Galena, IL for a family reunion. My uncle is famous for hosting fun family events. He and my Aunt, Linda lovingly open their home and yard to our rambunctious family. They planned games with prizes and even had a fishing pond for the little ones. My Uncle Bob became the designated photographer. I've included just a few of the many great shots he captured.

We had about 50 people at the reunion. My Grandma Potras would have been so happy to see her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren enjoying each others company.