Andrew's first bike race

Andrew learned to ride his bike without training wheels about a week after he turned four. Part of his motivation was to enter the annual bike race. He practiced riding around Grandpa and Grandma's track for months until he thought he was ready for the race. The long awaited day finally arrived. Grandma found him the way cool outfit. Grandpa cleaned and tuned up his bike. Mom sent off the registration forms and off to the race we went with his own personal family cheering section.

Part of racing is schmoozing with the competition. Notice the little brother action going on!

The action photo was taken just before he crashed into another competitor going the other way. Thankfully no one was permanently injured and he was smiling afterwards. They gave out lots of prizes for the little guys and Andrew was thrilled with his new Batman bike helmet and knee pads! Serious racing action for the under 8 set. Andrew can't wait until next year.

Going to the Fair!

Yes, that is a live alligator that my children are holding. Believe it or not, they were eager to pose for the photo. The guys at Brad's Reptile World told them the alligator was 15 years old. I'm just glad it wasn't any bigger.

Andrew and James are best buds! See any family resemblance??? James helped Andrew onto the rope bridge at the Boy Scout 100 Years of Scouting exhibit. Gotta love that camera smile!

Grandma Jeannie, Thomas and Andrew checking out the touch table in one of the ag buildings. There were interested in all the cotton seeds.

Morgan, Christin and Thomas waving from the top of the huge climbing structure. Thomas loved being allowed to run around and climb like crazy!

Whew.....School is in session!

Wow, the children are enrolled in K12 for school this year and it's been one crazy week. We have four computers set up in the house with one more on the way. This has to be the future of education as it is phenomenal! I'm amazed at the quality of the curriculum. Everyone seems to be getting the hang of all their classwork but they especially seem to enjoy the Powerspeak language classes. We attended a Park Day event last week and have a Teacher meeting this week. Some upcoming events include attending the local museum and the fair. Hopefully I'll have some photos to post from those events soon.

Hugs, Carla

First Day of School 2009

So summer has finally ended. It really does seem to have gone by quickly this year. We are back at school officially today although I think lots of our days provide learning experiences all year round. The children are enrolled in CAVA-California Virtual Academy and are doing most of their classwork online. It's been a great experience for us last year and we're looking forward to another interesting year. We traditionally make a first day of school photo-one with smiles and one with silly faces. I have these for every year that we've been in school. Of course, the little ones aren't in school yet but maybe next year.

Spaghetti Anyone?

The other evening I needed to get dinner in a hurry so we fell back on the old standby-SPAGHETTI! Andrew tried to use his fork but stated his preference of slurping down one noodle at a time. Thomas really enjoyed his spaghetti and was happy to share his exuberance with everyone.

The question is-did he eat it or wear it?

I love these messy faces!

Seven Day Challenge

So, why do I have a photo of canned pickles on my blog??? Well, I'm been trying to learn a little about food storage and one part of that is growing a garden and learning how to store it. With a lot of help from Dad, I planted a small garden this year and have been enjoying the fruits of our labor all summer. I actually learned how to make pickles and can them so that photo is of my first attempt. The pickles turned out great and we've been enjoying them this summer. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the garden so I won't have anything to post. Watch out next summer though! Dad and I are already making plans.

If you happen to be interested in learning about food storage, check out this website www.funwithfoodstorage.net These are some incredible women who are working very hard to make food storage fun and interesting. You would be amazed at some of the recipes I've tried this summer. Meanwhile, my food storage closet is steadily filling up, slowly but surely. This is really handy when you are trying to feed eight people every day and not run to the grocery several times a week!

Click on the 7 day challenge button on the side of my blog if you are interested in seeing how prepared you are for an emergency.

Eating Watermelon!

Grandpa Jim grew some watermelons this summer so we enjoyed the fruits of the harvest. This wasn't the first one of the season but it was delicious! Andrew with his supersized bite. . .
Thomas cleaning it up to the rind. . .

Christin eating without braces finally!

Even one of the kitties joined in on the action.