First Day of School

We are all still adjusting to the very early mornings of school starting. Mikayla's bus comes around 6:40 and Elyana's at 7:15. Of course, it's been a few weeks and we all have colds. Hello back to school!  I'm very proud of how they are both adjusting to new bigger schools. I still can't believe I have a middle schooler and a high schooler!  Elyana seems to like her teachers. She is in a 7th grade math class which seems to be going smoothly so far. She is also getting used to lugging around an instrument for orchestra.  Mikayla has Latin, Intermediate Algebra, World History, Art, Choir, English, and Honors Biomedical Science. She really likes all of her teachers, especially her science, math, latin, and history.

Ready for Middle School

Here is Elyana ready for her schedule pick up and school picture ID day.

Her locker!

Investigating the locker room with her best friend, Zoe

Refinishing the Front Porch

It was so much work but I cleaned, power washed, sanded, and waterproofed our front porch. It had a very dark stain that was half rubbed off. It really needed some TLC.  My mom helped me a bit. The girls helped a little. I went through 2 power sanders to complete it.

Before

I had a few pets observe my work.

Faith

Faith continues to be entertaining. She keeps life interesting around our home that's for sure!

She sleeps in a basket outside our door at night.

Waiting to attack me as I walk up the stairs

She randomly chews on things she shouldn't!

This is why she sleeps in a basket OUTSIDE our door.

She does give lots of kisses

She has a weird obsession with q-tips

She thinks she is invisible under an umbrella.

She loves it when the windows are open

She likes to trip you when you walk in the door.

She likes to hide under a blanket while she is stalking the birds outside.

She is the biggest beggar I've ever seen!

I often find her toys in her food and water dishes.

Summer Karate Classes

We made both girls take Karate this summer. We thought it would help build some self defense skills and confidence for them before starting new schools. Elyana was close to being able to test but Mikayla was the one to take the test to earn herself a yellow belt. The classes were nice and low key as they were in the backyard of a lady that attends our church.

Burning Math Books

The girls were really motivated to complete their summer math workbooks. They finished them weeks early and I promised we would have a bonfire and burn last years math books and this summer's.  What a fun excuse for a campfire before school starts again! I laughed at one point as I saw Elyana rip out a particular section and mumble, "Exponents" as she threw it into the fire.

Kitchen Scientist Badge

Elyana was working on a science kit she had gotten last summer for a birthday present. While helping her with it, I realized that it met most of the requirements for the Kitchen Scientist Badge so we tackled that badge also! We worked with making substitutions for baking soda, we experimented with what would a substitution for butter be (applesauce or coconut oil?). We tested different things for acidity levels. We did taste and smell tests.  She really enjoyed it!

Sewing Badge

This summer we worked on a sewing badge with the girls and my mom. We made pillowcases, dog and cat beds to donate to the humane society, and sundresses. I am not good at sewing so I was not eager to do any of it, but I'm pleased with how it all turned out and we each learned a lot. The best part was dropping off the beds and playing with kittens at the humane society!

Chloe become more fluffy somehow!

2 cat beds and 2 dog beds to donate

The Yard

I continue to enjoy planting flowers in our yard. Recently, a house near us was going to be bulldozed. I got permission from the owner to dig up as many perennials and stepping stones as I wanted. It was a hard laborious weekend but I put in about 40 plants into our yard. I'm excited to see what it looks like next spring.

My little fairy garden

Bouquet from around the yard!

Butterfly garden in the old sandbox