September 2010

September has been a very busy month.

We started school back in August, so this month, we really got in our groove with it. It's been wonderful. This year we're studying Astronomy, the Middle Ages, American History (in preparation for our field trips to Jamestown and Yorktown), and of course, literature, reading/phonics, math, and handwriting.

We've spent the past few days doing all our read aloud stuff out on the front porch because the weather is beautiful. The air has a nice chill. The leaves are turning. The breeze is blowing just right. The kids have enjoyed sitting around on the porch and listening. We put out fall flowers into all our front porch pots, and that seems to have transformed it into fall! It's so peaceful out there.

Halfway through September, we went to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and newest nephew, Baby Jackson. He's adorably cute and wonderful. Really, he's a very good baby. We had the best time.

I mentioned earlier that we were able to visit Jamestown and Yorktown. We toured both of the living history museums and learned more than we could have ever learned any other way. Seeing it up close...the recreations...letting the children ask questions and participate in activities...it was amazing!

There are moments I've wondered if my children are really listening and understanding what I'm trying to teach them. At Yorktown, Daniel answered questions about the Boston Tea Party, and I couldn't have been more excited! It felt like a little victory.

While we were in Virginia, Hannah fell head over heals for her Uncle Joe. At three years old, she wouldn't let him out of her sight... We went to a local county fair while we were visiting, and the guy running the ferris wheel was not very coordinated. They had to have been on it for 30 minutes! Then, they got to ride in the back of a monster truck, and Deron was surprised they didn't make you sign a waiver before getting on.


We started to ride the swings, but Hannah was too small. However, she did walk right up to the big ole dude running the swings and said, "I'm not scared. I'm a big girl. I can do it." Seriously. She did not do it. And then, when we took her to the kiddie dragon ride, she got in a yellow dragon and asked the guy, "Can I please ride in the purple dragon?" You should have seen his face, but he moved her to the purple one.

We had a blast. The best part about the fair was the food. Oh, they had all the typical fair food, but they also had local vendors. We got these amazing little fresh...not frozen or prefab in any way, shape, or form...crab cake sandwiches and sweet potato fries. Very good...very good. Another day, we went to Maggie Moo's Ice Cream shop, and I fell in love with cheesecake flavored ice cream and red velvet cake flavored ice cream.

We were able to babysit Jackson a few times for Jenn and Joe, and it made me miss having a little one around. Grace may be small, but she's not little! We'll get chance to be with Jackson again this weekend! Oh...and Jenn and Joe, too.

September has been great. And now that the weather feels like fall, I just can't ask for anything more!

I've had high hopes for staying consistent with our blog, so we'll see.