Back to School!

We had our first day of school today! We had a great morning even though it didn't go quite as we had planned. The plan was for us to work on Bible, Math, and Language in the morning and then our neighbors were going to come over around 10:30 to do History and Science with us. We are doing a really cool world history program called "Hideaways in History". Each week we build a "hideaway" ( a cardboard box) that goes along with whatever time period we are learning about. Well, our neighbors are sick =( and it doesn't look like they will be better for a while so we decided to wait until we get back from our trip to start history and science. The kids were disappointed but we went ahead and started on the rest of our lessons. Here are some pics from our day.

I got them each a little back to school gift. Michaela thought she was pretty cool with her new pencil and stickers.

Here they are hard at work. Actually, Julio is doing his math and the girls are just coloring. I couldn't believe how much he remembered after taking 2 months off. I thought for sure I would have to do a ton of review.

Michaela just giving her sister some love.

And her brother too.




Awww, aren't they sweet?!

Enjoying their back to school celebration cake that our neighbors made. We were supposed to have a pizza party for lunch but we had to celebrate without them.

All in all we had a nice first day. I love my kids and I feel blessed to be able to stay home and share in all of these little moments with them.

Have a great day!

Love ya,

Mar

Knitting and Baking!

Here is my first completed knitting project. Not very fancy, but it was my first try. I'm working on a scarf for Boo and some gloves and a hat for myself. I know it's 110 degrees over here, but I'm just getting ready for when the frigid 60 degree temps come in ;) I have to say knitting is addictive.

And I decided to get my haircut short last night. What do you think? Boo says I look like ZiZi Nikki. I love it.

Not much new going on around here. My neighbor and I have been on a quest to find a good whole wheat bread recipe. I hate going to the store and searching through every brand of bread to find a whole wheat loaf without High Fructose Corn Syrup. So I decided I can make it myself. Let's just say I've been doing a lot of kneading and baking. I think I found a good one today. I have 2 beautiful loaves sitting on my counter right now. If my kids like it I think I'm going to quit buying bread at the store.
I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Love ya,
Mar

Our Day at the Beach

Last week we decided to take a last minute trip to the beach. So Julio and I tried to load up the van while the kids weren't looking. We wanted to surprise them so when we were done loading up we told them to stop playing and get in the van. They were dying to know where we were going! Julio can't stand surprises and he kept saying " I just have to know where we are going, I can't stand it!" It was so funny.

There is a beautiful Lake about 45 minutes from us that has a nice sandy beach area. Not easy to find in Arizona! And as we started to get closer the kids began to recognize it and started chanting "We're going to the beach! We're going to the beach!"

We had a really nice relaxing afternoon and the scenery was just beautiful!

Here are some pictures of our day. Enjoy!

There were little gold specs in the water, so Julio was trying to pan for gold. No luck...

Boo Boo was trying so hard to catch the little fish that were swimming around.

His dad tried to help him.

Daddy showing Julio how to be really still and cup his hands.

The girls loved practicing their swimming in the lake.

Marina looks so big in this picture =(

Michaela saying "Cheese"

Marina was having so much fun playing with the sand.

Until Michaela showed up. Look at that face!

Good thing we had 2 buckets and I got Michaela set up with her own.







Michaela taking a cheerios break from all of the playing

Julio took this of mommy and daddy just relaxing.

These are my knees and that is pretty much where I stayed for the whole afternoon.

It was so great to take a break from the everyday busyness. I loved it!

We will definately be going back!

Love you all,

Mar

Summer fun!

Hello Everyone!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I would give you all an update on what we've been doing for the past few weeks.

The girls have both graduated from their swimming lessons. Yeah!!! Marina finished a couple of weeks ago and Michaela just finished today.

This is Marina with her instructor. He was great with them and the girls loved him.

Marina with her medal and diploma.

Michaela with her medal and diploma.

Today she got thrown in with all of her clothes on including socks and tennis shoes!



Yep, that's Michaela going in upside down in the deep end!
A little scary for mommy but she got out just fine.

Last night was Daddy's Bday.

The kids making a cake for Daddy.

I found an impromptu tea party in the kitchen the other day. They were so cute with their hats and little purses.

We had a thunderstorm last week. When I went to check on the kids before going to bed I found Marina in Julio's bed. She must have been scared of the thunder and climbed in with him. It was so sweet.

The 4th of July at our neighbors house.

We had a great time in their pool!

Julio made a crazy 4th of July hat in his art class.

Strawberries were on sale for a great price so we made strawberry rhubarb jam. Yum!

We had a movie night and sleepover with our friend Rachel. The kids love to pull out the air mattress and put it in the family room to watch a movie.


Of course, we played with the face paint some more. This time I let the kids paint my legs. It was actually very relaxing. I felt like I was at the spa, sort of...

The finished masterpiece.

Then they wanted me to paint them so I did these flip flops on them. Pretty cute, huh?

I have been teaching myself to knit and little Julio really wanted to learn so I taught him how to finger knit.

He's totally addicted! I found these chains around the house for days.

And here's Michaela before we headed off to ballet class. She had to wear a tutu like her sister.

Well I hope you all enjoyed the pictures! We have been having a great summer. Lord willing we will be able to enjoy the last few weeks of summer in Michigan!!!

Love you!

Mar

Retreat!

Hey Everyone,

I had an awesome time in Cornville, Arizona! ( I can't help saying that without a little southern drawl...) I learned a lot and I made some great new friends. We laughed, we cried, and then we laughed so hard that we cried again! I kept my roomates entertained with stories about my dad and our crazy family, all of you back home know what I'm talking about. The grounds of the retreat center were really beautiful! So lush and green, with lots of willow trees a pond and even a little creek. I felt like I was back home in Michigan, I loved it!

The ladies who ran the retreat did a great job. The speakers were truly genuine and they had such a burden to reach people with the word of God and to teach everyone how to study the word for themselves. I was really convicted! I have been saved for over 13 years and haven't even cracked what the Lord has waiting for me in His holy word! I came home with a hunger to dig in and study my bible and to teach my kids how to study. If you have never been to a precept bible study, I encourage you to find a group near you or start one yourself. You can go to http://www.precept.org/ for information and resources.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my weekend. I love you all!

Miss you,

Mar

It was so great to see a willow tree! I used to play under and in them all of the time as a kid. I really miss them.

That's me, my new friend Heidi and my neighbor Kim.

Heidi and me laying under a big tree, ahhh heaven!!

Me and Janna Arndt who is the author of the "Discover 4 Yourself" series for children. She was one of the main speakers. She is so great and sweet and is from one of my favorite states, Tennessee.