Showing posts with label summer activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer activities. Show all posts

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Summer, Where Did You Go?

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by! My kids start back in school in just over a week and I'm sure I'm among the minority when I say, "I'm NOT ready!"

It doesn't really feel like we even had a break with all the different activities we had going on. I can't even remember June, it's such a blur. We camped a lot in July, took the kids to the water park to use our Pass of All Passes when we got the chance, went to several parades since my son is in marching band, and so on. And now, here we are, nearly fall and I'm thinking I must be getting old because time is just flying by way too fast!

I remember when I was a kid and everything took FOREVER, especially when my mom would say, "just a minute." Haha! Back then I thought Christmas took ages to come back around again, that it was taking way too long for me to become a grown up (still not sure I'm there mentally) and that day at school felt like it lasted a lifetime. 

And now, there's never enough time in the day! Christmas decorations are already out at Sam's Club (I noticed this yesterday. Really?!) and my babies aren't babies anymore! How did that happen? My oldest is turning fifteen in a month! My oldest girl is starting junior high, and that baby I brought home from the hospital is 2 and into everything! Yikes! Did I just age myself more? ;)

Anyway, the summer is coming to a close and I'm wishing we had more time to relax before jumping back to the daily grind of homework, games, parades, competitions, practices, etc. I think we tend to fill our days up with so much stuff, that it's nice to be able to wake up and say, "Hmmmm, I don't have to go anywhere today!" 

Most of my friends on facebook are counting down the days til their kids are back in school and it makes me wonder if I'm just not as good at juggling all this stuff as they are. What about you? How do you feel about the impending school year? Got any tips on how to make it less stressful?

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Summer's upon Us

Well, you can definitely tell that summer is coming. I admit, I've been yearning for it. I feel like I'm in school all over again with all the work that's been coming home with the kids. I thought I'd only have to do that once? Hah! But after tomorrow, I get a break. No more researching on the internet to help dust out those cob webs in my brain when the kids come home with something I just can't remember how to do. I'm pleased though, at how much I did retain from my school years. ;)

I suppose we're not getting much of a break just yet. We've been working like crazy it seems. Our garden is in. We're combating the weed issue we had last year (originating from the field behind us) with some plastic mulch. It's very thin plastic sheeting made especially for gardening purposes and it keeps the the weeds at bay. We bought the black kind so that none of those weeds could survive underneath the sheets. We'll have to cover it with grass clippings or some other barrier as the weather gets hotter though, so that we don't scorch the roots of our plants. Wish us luck!

We had our first serious injury of the season last night, or rather my son did, while doing fun summer-day activities. Poor Tyler fell while rollerblading and broke one of his front teeth. He also knocked it loose--go figure. So we paid an emergency visit to the dentist and he's in for some more dental visits in the future. He's a brave kid and did the first visit without being numbed. I'm not looking forward to seeing that bill, though (think after-hour rates). Yikes! :(

We also finally, for the first time this year, turned our central air unit on last night. We've been opening the windows and using the ceiling fans up til now. We decided, when some neighbors were having some guests over, to close the windows so we could get to bed a bit early after our exhausting day. We got a nasty surprise when the the unit ran continuously for an hour and a half and the temperature stayed the same.

After checking the obvious things, like the fuse box and the breaker on the unit outside, we got out our wallets and called to have it serviced. Unfortunately, $90 later, we found out we need an electrician. Things do get better, right? Haha. Sometimes I'm more optimistic about that than others.

We're still looking for ways to save money, and have managed to cut some of our expenses by selling two of our vehicles and replacing them with one. It's saving us on our insurance, but I have to admit that while we got a good price on it (make sure to do your homework and check out sites like Edmunds before buying anything), it hasn't been trouble free. We got it several thousands below blue book, but have had to put a lot of that back into it for it to get on the road (think tires, ball joints, muffler...). We knew some of the issues going into it, but did have a few unexpected things come up too. But, that's the gamble when you buy whole sale and as-is. Still, we're within the low-book value of it, so I'm trying not to take it too hard.

If you want to know how we paid less than half the blue book price for our truck, I wrote an article for it on HubPages here.

On the up-side, the baby is doing great and I'm having a pretty good pregnancy this time around. Something I'm VERY thankful for. Over-all, my family is healthy. I have great kids and a good, hardworking, loving husband. So I should count my blessings and brave the bad stuff! :)

I hope all is going well with all of you! Remember, you have to experience the bad stuff to really appreciate the good. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Great Outdoors!





Sunday we returned from our five day camping trip and I have to say we had a great time. We went with our good friends, the Masons, and stayed in the Uintas. We didn't stay in a designated campground (which saved money), but it was a great spot with a ready-to-use fire pit and even a perfect spot to do all our dutch oven cooking.

I do have to confess that we didn't go tent camping. We hauled our 37-year-old prowler trailer up there. The fresh water tank sprung a leak, unfortunately, and the second battery proved to be a dud, but we had plenty of other water we'd brought along (plus they have places for refilling your water up there) and several flashlights to light our way.

We went hiking and fishing, took a tour of the fish hatchery, cooked by fire and dutch oven, ate smores and had a blast! I have to say that it was good to get away. Tony's work at the school hasn't kept him as busy as we'd hoped. He's starting to get sent home again. It was great to get away and forget all that for a few days. It was a sanity-saver to think about something else for a while.

The views up there are just breath-taking. The peace you feel as you take in the scenery tends to remind a person of God's existence. I would definitely recommend the great outdoors as a prescription when you're feeling down and out. It's given me a boost and now I feel like I can continue trekking along, come what may!

Crash Course in Canning


My hubby came home with four ready-to-burst grocery bags of apricots from his dad. While I love apricots, and some would say we're a good-sized family, I have to say that there was no way we could eat all of those before they started rotting. I set them all on the counter while I contemplated on what to do.

We were leaving for a five day camping trip in four short days and had much preparation to do there, but I couldn't just ignore this bounty bestowed upon us, could I? I was tempted though--that is, until I woke up the next day, moved the bags out of the way so I could make breakfast and saw that they were already beginning to spoil. I got out all my books, gave my good friend and neighbor a call and made a decision. I was going to learn how to can, and I was going to learn FAST!

My friend and I did two double batches of canned jam, 4 batches of freezer jam and two batches of canned apricots in syrup and even some homemade fruit roll-ups. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, and thanks to my mother-in-law for giving me lots of jars years ago (in hopes that I would use them, I'm sure) and to my grandma Artheta who gave me her canning bath a few years ago (also in hopes of me learning this great skill) and also to my mom who gave me a dehydrator over a year ago (lots of people wanting me to preserve!) I didn't have much to buy (lids, seals and pectin--I already had tons of sugar in my food storage). Two days of canning later and I have a quite a bit to show for it :)

If you're interested in canning, check out this site to learn the benefits, acquire the know-how and get some recipes. I'll definitely be doing this again! It's a great way to build food storage and to save money!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

But Mom!

I've decided to do something this summer that I haven't really done before, or at least not planned out well enough to stick to. This year, though, I'm prepared and I'm determined. This year, much to my children's chagrin, I'm making it work. What am I talking about? Summer school!

I'm not talking about the school summer school programs, or those others out there that you have to pay for. I'm talking home schooling in the summer time. I have the workbooks (care of Sam's Club, Costco, Dollar General, Ross) and I have the internet to fill in any gaps. I also am making sure that I set aside the time and make it realistic. I mean, the kids have to have some fun this summer, right?

So the plan is that I get them at the kitchen table, with their worksheets already put together for them, three days a week for one to two hours. It's actually working out pretty well. My four year old loves it. Haha Now if only she can rub off on my 11 year old. At least he's cooperating :)

I got some great books I can work out of with them for dirt cheap. Most of them came from the dollar store, but I also found some of the big, all inclusive ones for a good deal at those other stores I mentioned above.

There are also some fantastic educational websites I've found with some great resources and where I can find and print out worksheets for free:

Sites for Teachers
Worksheets 4 Teachers
Math Fact Cafe
TLS Books

We've also been making weekly trips to the library. They've got a great summer reading program going on and the kids have already won prizes in their drawings.

The whole reason I'm doing this is that I found that the kids were having some areas they were struggling in on their end of level tests. I want to send them back more prepared and confident. I think it will make for a better school year.

And on that note, I'm going to be reviewing a Multiplication CD shortly. It was sent to me a while ago by a friend, and I'm using it to help my 9 year old with her times tables. I'll let you all know how it works and how you can get it in an upcoming post. I'm also thinking of doing a giveaway for it. But I'm getting ahead of myself now. LOL. More on that soon!

Enjoy your summer!