Great Wolf / Spartan weekend

This was our second visit to the Great Wolf Lodge, and I enjoyed myself more this time. Here is the post about last year's visit.

We left Friday the second. The drive is about an hour and a half.

Now just a warning to everyone, this place can get expensive, so to help save some money try to eat in-town and not at the places in the hotel, because they are very over priced. The first night for dinner we had domino's. They were about ten minutes down the road, and a lot cheaper than the pizza place in the hotel.

We stayed in the Kid cabin room again

The water park is great and has a lot to do in a small space. We let the older two go off together while Jeremy and I switched off on watching the younger two, so we both were able to go on the water slides.

We arrived at 2:30pm, and immediately went to the water park, and stayed there until about 6pm, that was when we were all feeling cold and hungry. After dinner we did an hour of Magic quest and we played in the arcade. Yes the kids love this place, and Zachary said that he would love to live there.

Saturday was the Spartan Race. We drove another hour and a half to get to Washougal, WA. Jeremy's race was at 8:30am and the boys' race wasn't until 12:05pm, but hanging out there all day wasn't that bad.

This is Jeremy's after picture. I regret not getting a before pictures because this outfit use to be completely white.

This is the boys' before picture.

The boys are waiting to start.

...during...

...

...

This is after. They actually don't look to bad until you notice the feet. :)

Even though I didn't race I still felt pretty dirty by the end of the day. It was really dusty there, and even my shoes looked awful and smelled unwearable. :P

When got back to the lodge around 3:30pm and once again went to the water park. That night we hang out in the arcade for quite a long time, and the next day we played magic quest for a few hours before leaving.

I meant to take more pictures, but I just forgot... oh well. :)

After years of being stubborn...

I finally got a smart phone. Okay I guess it seems silly, but I've always insisted on just sticking with my flip phone.

I had it on the t-mobile pay-as-you-go plan. I would pay $50 for 400 minutes and that would last me 3 months or more (yeah I'm not kidding). My husband (who already has an iPhone) had been trying for years to get me to conform, but I am just too fugal. Last week though, my husband's service provider sent him an ad saying he could add a line for just $10 more a month. Well if you put it that way, it would actually be cheaper to switch.

I really didn't want to though... and told him I really wanted to keep my number, so everyone could still reach me... but Jeremy got them to transfer the number too. So yeah here I am, against my will, being forced to use this...

Okay no it's not as bad as I make it sound, and I actually like it, but don't tell Jeremy. ;)

New working animals

We got chickens!

A few of my friends have gotten chickens over the past few months, and even though I don't like to be a copy cat, I do like saving money, and I have always liked the idea of having them, and I guess I finally live in a place (besides home on the the eastern shore of Maryland) that allows such animals.

Meet Yolkie, Omelet

Sunny, and Scrambles

(sorry the picture is pink?) (and yes we can tell them apart)

We got them from farmland pets in Silverdale. The staff was really helpful and set us up with everything we needed, and it was less expensive than buying a hamster. We ordered a chicken coop on Amazon (that was about $200), and now I am really excited. Soon I won't have to buy eggs ever again.

The kids love these little guys and can't get enough of them (I'm glad we have 4). We keep them in a box under a heat lamp, in Darien's room (away from the cats). They will stay there for about 8 weeks, and then they should be ready to go outside.

I'll keep you updated as they get older, and when the coop comes in, I'll post a picture.

11 years and counting

What do I say to the man who is my best friend?
To the man who I share all of my secrets with?
To the man who makes me feel beautiful and important?
What do I say to the man who gave me my 4 beautiful children?
To the man that makes my life complete?
To the man who brought me along on this incredible journey?
What do I say to the man who makes me feel unique?
To the man who shares my love for Star Trek and video games?
To the man who understands me like no other?


I guess the only thing I can say is that I love him with all of my heart, and that I am proud of him, and that I am thankful for every second that we have spent together. I can tell him that no one else could make me happier, and that if I had to I would marry him all over again.

I love you Jeremy!
Happy 11 year anniversary

Coming this summer...

The title may seem exciting, but don't get too excited okay...

This is just a post to update on everything, and to tell you what we are going to be doing this summer (if you are interested).

Jeremy my wonderful husband is going to be running a relay race this weekend. I'm sure some of you facebook friends have noticed that he has been running a lot lately (A LOT), he was getting ready. The race is the Ragnar Relay and it's over 180 miles long. Jeremy is going to be the first runner, and run 13.9 miles over all. He is really excited! I helped him pack last night, and yes it was totally last minute. He has duty today, and is leaving right after work tomorrow for the race, so we won't be seeing him again until saturday night. While we were out buying some last minute things for him to take, I saw this...

(we were at the navy exchange). I wanted to get a new purse for my birthday (which is next weekend), and I had been thinking about getting a Vera Bradley (suggested to me by Jessica Ober). It was at a great price, but I was still unsure, so I didn't buy it. On the ride home however, I had convinced myself that I should get it. This morning I went back, and I bought it. Along with the purse I got the matching wallet...

Olivia (my youngest, and only daughter) decided that she liked these purses too...

Yup she got one too.

I also got a new bathing suit for my birthday (I know I'm awful, I hate waiting for the actually date), because we are going to the Great Wolf Lodge again! My husband signed the kids and himself up for this Spartan Race that is going to be on the 3rd and 4th of next month. It's in southern Washington, and we figured since we would have to stay in a hotel anyways, it might as well be a fun one. The kids are super excited! Olivia really loves the water (she thinks she's a mermaid). I'll tell you all about it when we come back.

Oh and last weekend I got to Skype into my little sister's bridal shower...

 This is a picture of me (from the laptop) during the purse raid game. I'm so glad I was able to be there (you know in a way). I loved seeing everyone, and talking to everyone. The skype call lasted for 3 and a half hours, and I was super tired by the end of it. I'm just so happy for my little sister, and really excited for her too. :)

Well that is all for now. Thanks for reading.

July fireworks... Getting kicked by a three year old... and better curls

Okay so first off, YAY finally a new blog post. Things have been a little boring around here, so I'm having to combine a few things to make a post. Huuummmm out of the three I wonder which one you want to hear about most? Well I'm starting in order.


July fireworks

In most cases this would be called 4th of July fireworks, but since the people of Bremerton have been setting them off every night since the month started (I'm not kidding, I heard some last night), I'm going to stay with July fireworks. I'm really not sure what the policy is around here, about shouting off your own fireworks, but a lot of people were doing it.

Officially we went to see them on the 3rd in Poulsbo. We heard that they were letting people park at the movie theater for free to see the fireworks, and that the theater was a great place to view them, because the fireworks were being set off down by the bay. So we get there, and face our car toward the bay. We check online as to when they are going to start (really should have done that before leaving), and it's not until 10:15. WHAT?? Okay, but that make sense and here's why. Since we are in the northwest, we have longer days in the summer then the rest of the U.S., and shorter in the winter. Like Alaska haveing sunlight all day in the summer (all 24hr), and little to no light in the winter. Here it isn't that extreme, but the sun raises here around 5:30 and set at 9:30 (ish) (during the summer anyways). So yes I guess the waiting until 10:15 makes sense. We saw a lot of fireworks while waiting, because of random people setting them off.

10:15 comes around, and all of us get out of the car, and move to the grass, and we wait. They didn't end up starting until 10:30 (I guess it's a good thing I made Olivia take a nap earlier). So they finally set them off, and we can't see them very well, because instead of setting them off down by the water, they were setting them off a few buildings down for us, and those buildings were blocking the view. YUP!

We decided to head home early, because we weren't seeing much.

On the 4th we were happy to hear that they were going to set off the fireworks in downtown Bremerton. We were able to see them from our house. Yay, a lot better, and they set them off earlier. I guess if we would have known that in the first place, than we wouldn't have gone to Poulsbo.

That night was awful though. We went to bed around 10, and can't get to sleep until after 12, all because of those crazy people and their fireworks. There were also a lot of sirens. Great!

So yeah that was our 4th :P


Getting kicked by a three year old

So a few days ago (I think it was the 2nd), I was downstairs (in the basement) and I hear Nathaniel crying. Now this was not a normal I'm upset cry, this one was an "I think someone is trying to kill me" kind of cry. I rush upstairs and find Nathaniel, holding his month, and blood all over his hands, so my first reacting is "What in the world just happened?" and Nathaniel's response is "Olivia kicked me." I'm standing there thinking, okay there is no way that is true, she's three, and you're seven. So I ask Darien (mean while I'm getting Nathaniel to rinse out his month), and he saids he didn't see. WHAT THE CRAP... he was in the room, he is my only liable witness, and he doesn't know. So I get Nathaniel cleaned up, but from what I can tell (there was still a lot of blood), he only cut his lip. "Well how did that happen?" I asked "I was laying on the couch and she kicked me so hard that I rolled off and hit the coffee table." Okay that makes more sense, but I'm still not sure I believe it. "Did her kick make you fall, or were you trying to be dramatic?" His only response was... "What?"

Yeah I didn't get anything else out of anyone about it, so I just let it go. Two days later, the side of his face was really swollen, so I take another look, and wow... from what I could see it looked as if his gums were scraped up around his front teeth. So that's why there was so much blood. I ended up taking him to the doctor, and I am happy to report that he will heal, but it will take a few weeks. I still don't really know what happened. Maybe Olivia is strong enough to kick him off the couch.

This is Nathaniel on the 4th. As you can see, his face is swollen (on his right side, your left). He wasn't feeling to good that night, and he didn't want to eat his pizza. I ended up making him soup, and I'm glad he was able to eat that.

Better curls

I've always had wavy hair, but it mostly frustrated me, because it was so hard to get any of my waves or curls to show. In order to get them to show I had to use a lot of moisturizer, if I didn't and I just let it dry without it, my hair would get frizzy. This also got worse when I moved back to the west cost (because of climate change).

Back in January I went to Sally's and told the lady (who was working there at the time), all of the problems I was having. She recommended I try Brazilian Tech Keratin Kurl. She said that she had tried it, and that it really helped her with her moisture problems. Keratin Kurl formula is for curly/wavy hair, and they also have a formula for straight. At the time she mentioned that it was sulfate free, but I didn't really know what that meant.

It turns out that sulfates are a fuller, that most shampoos have in them, but they are known to cause dryness and skin irritation. Wow, so yeah... Why are they in my shampoo?

The bottle (the new shampoo) ended up costing me $8.99, and I have never in my life spent that much on a bottle of shampoo... so I was really hoping that it would work. I am happy to report that it did, and really well. From the first use I had curls showing up that I didn't even know I had. The bottle ended up lasting me about two months, so I'm fine with paying the price. This also had me looking at all of my products like soap, lotion, deodorant, ext... to see how many more of them had sulfate in them. Guess what... all of them did. So that's why my skin is always dry. I really feel like I need to switch all of them now.

Summer Vacation!

The tile of this post has very little to do with the post. It's just there for the obvious, that yes it is summer vacation time. This post is mostly just an update and some interesting put together information, although it may not be that interesting to some people. I don't really know. I feel like I haven't posted a real post in some time, and now it is time to post something (I guess).


Potty Training success!

Okay I know, it took me long enough, but I have finally potty trained Olivia. This happen about two weeks ago (I think...). I just finally got rid of all of the diapers, and only dressed her in big girl underwear, and if I was going to have to change her 14 times a day and do her laundry twice a day, than that was how it was going to be. The first two days it did go like that and it was very discouraging, but on the third day, she got the hang of it. It really came out of nowhere and she knew just what to do. The days following that, I just had to remind her every hour to go, because she wouldn't go all on her own. Now she does, she knows when to go, and I can take a sigh of relief.

I kept wishing that during the whole process I had kept a journal from how I taught the boys, because I just couldn't remember. I remember the boys not being easy to teach, but I don't remember what finally did it in the end. Nathaniel is four years older than Olivia so I guess that's why I don't remember (I also think it maybe due to the fact that I was pregnant with Olivia when I potty trained Nathaniel, and it's hard to remember things when you are pregnant).

Yay! it is over! No more diapers for us. I am so happy!


Sippy Cups are history

Along with the potty training I was able to get her to give up sippy cups as well. I know it's been a big week (or two weeks). She has been using a regular cup here and there for about a year (really only at dinner time), but for breakfast, lunch, and bed time she had to have the sippy cup (especially at bed time). I finally got tired of having to wash and track down these things, because she left them everywhere. Now we have fully switched and throwing those sippy cups away was awesome (FINALLY!). I'm sure a lot of you moms can relate.

Yay! I'm also glad this is over.


Pirates have our remote

This interesting story dates back to about two months ago, when our remote went missing. We bought a new tv in the fall, and it's a 3D, smart tv with aps, so a regular universal remote wasn't going to fix the missing remote problem. Our main suspect for the missing remote was Olivia (yeah of course), so we kept asking her "Do you know where the tv remote is?" and she would tell us "The pirates took it. They have a boat and monsters, and they also took the princess." I'm not kidding, she said that. She kept pointing to our fire place and saying that the pirates live in there. Now of course this made us think that maybe she put the remote in the fire place. The good new was we hadn't lit a fire in months, but the bad news was after looking all over and around the fire place, we still couldn't find it. We ended up turning the house upside down, and found nothing. We finally had to order another remote from the manufacture. Yup all of this just because some pirates took our remote. :)


Garden Success!

Remember this photo...

Well it's more like this now...

They have grown so much! I planted Sweet peas, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Bell peppers, and Broccoli. So far I have picked about 6 strawberries. I'm just so happy that everything is growing, and that it all looks so healthy. I'm sure I'll have more good news about this later. :)

School year is OVER!

Yeah I had to write about this one. We finished the work about a month ago, but since last week was the last day of co-op, I guess we can now call the school year officially over. Their poor lunch boxes were so dirty on the outside, last time I packed them. My thoughts were, thank goodness this is the last time. Their drink containers bit the dust a few weeks ago, so I had to save some old Gatorade bottles just to get us through the last few weeks. Yes next year I am starting over with new drinking bottles. Do you ever feel like that? Like "Thank goodness this is over, because I didn't think this curtain item would last much longer." It's like that curtain item was about to die, and you just needed it to last for one last week, or one last event, then it could fall part, and it wouldn't matter.

So I guess the big question is "Are we doing any school work over the summer?" Well... only a little. I know... Is that wrong of me? It's only about an hour a day of work on Monday - Thursday. I have some math for them to practise, and some small writing projects. The last thing I want is for us to start the next school year unprepared. 

I get to go to a curriculum sale tomorrow, and I am super excited. I love used books sales, and that could be any kind of used books. Jeremy has duty tomorrow, and so I have to take the kids :P... I guess I could put them to work to help me out, so it doesn't get too crazy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Okay well that is all I have to update on. Thank you for reading :)

Zachary is turning 9!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Has his favorites changed any?

Favorite toy : Legos
Favorite thing to play : Also Legos
Favorite thing to eat : Tacos
Favorite TV show : Phineas and Ferb
Favorite color : Blue
Favorite place to visit : Mommom's house
Favorite book : Captain Underpants
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Favorite Video game : Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Darien is turning 11??? What???

So my oldest son Darien is turning 11 today, and I really can't believe it. It really makes me feel old... Has it really been 11 years already?

Favorite toy : Legos
Favorite thing to play : Also legos
Favorite thing to eat : Pizza
Favorite TV show : Sponge Bob Square Pants
Favorite color : Green
Favorite place to visit : San Diego
Favorite book : Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 2
Favorite Video game : Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Homeschooling FAQ

I've put together questions about homeschooling, these are questions that I have been asked personally, and hopefully they will be helpful to anyone who is considering homeschooling.


- How do you get started with homeschooling?
This of course is one of the more important questions because it is the first step. Every state has different homeschooling laws so the first step is finding out those laws. I recommend a Google search like "Washington Homeschooling laws" or whatever state you live in. Some states are very loose with their laws, and some states are very tight. Some states require you to be supervised, and some just require a test at the end of every year to make sure that your children are meeting academic standards. Some states also offer more than one option. If you don't understand the laws or if still don't know how to get stated after seeing the laws, I recommend either finding a local homeschooling group (most of them are on yahoo groups, just search for a group in your area "Homeschooling groups in Anne Arundel County Maryland"), or you could e-mail the board of education in your school distract. They usually have someone on staff that deals with homeschooling, and should be able to answer your questions. If they are not helping you in any way what so ever, driving to the office itself really helps (I've totally done this before), the whole I'm not leaving until you help me act really does wonders. They will help you tenfold just to get you out of their hair. :)

- Do you have to be really organized to homeschool?
I just want to start by saying that I am not a very organized person. Homeschooling does take organization but not an extreme amount. The way I see it is if I can do it (a person who is not very organized), than I'm sure you can too. The more you plan the easier it will be. You don't want your school year falling apart in the middle. If you would like to know how I plan out my school year please read this post. It may take some time to plan everything out, but you will be happy you did. If you are not good at that, then I would recommend going with a curriculum that comes already planed out (they do exist) (I think Alpha Omega is one of them).

- How do you pick a curriculum?
This also states with your state in some cases, because in curtain states there is a list of approved curriculums, but most states will let you do whatever so find out first. Then I would recommend talking to that homeschool group (the local one you need to join) and ask different people about their curriculum. Some curriculums a very laid out with test and quizzes included, some are just the books and leave the test and quizzes up to you (they give you full control), and some are all online. It really all depends on what kind of person you are, and how you want to do things. So ask questions, and find out.

- What curriculum do you use?
I get ask this a lot! Which is a good thing. I use Abeka, and it's a curriculum that comes with the test and quizzes already made up (because I really didn't want to have to do that myself), but it is also a really tough curriculum, and it's really challenging. You have to teach a lot and with math there is a lot of drilling. I feel like it keeps my kids and me on our toes (we really need that). With all curriculums there is good and bad, which is why asking questions is important.

- What happens if you need help teaching your kids curtain subjects?
This of course depends on what that subject is. If it is something extra curricular like art, music or sports ,you can sign them up for art classes (YMCA or town civic centre), or a local sports team for sports. If it is something more academic then look for local co-ops or if worse comes to worse you can get a tutor. I ended up getting one for my son Nathaniel when he had a really hard time learning to read. We had her come to our house twice a week and she really help me learn different ways of teaching him, and he learned a lot in just a few months. Note it was expensive, but totally worth it. If you don't want to spend your money on a tutor than ask some other homeschooling moms on their methods of teaching curtain subjects.

- What is a co-op?
A co-op is either a group of moms, church staff, or state provided teachers that teach curtain classes to homeschooled kids. Some co-ops are provided by the state, some are just a group of parents who got together and pooled all of their teaching methods (each teaching a different subject to a group of kids), and some are provided by different churches who just want to help homeschooled kids. Once again if this is something you are interested in, a Google search should help you find out if there is one near you ("Homeschool Co-op in Kitsap Country").

- How long should your school year last?
This is completely up to you. I like to do about 36 weeks (give or take), but the best way to do it (or the way that works best for me) is to print up a calender for the upcoming school year then plan your days off for thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break, ext... Then figure out when you want your school year to end and when you want it to start, from there you can pull out the books and figure out how much work you would have to do each week to finish on time (sounds like a lot of work, I know). Like I said 36 weeks seems to be that magic number of weeks for us. Everyone is different though, some like to have busy days, and some like to take it easy. Some like to have the luxury of taking time off more often, and some would rather not. This is why homeschooling is so cool, because it is up to you, and if you have the type of lifestyle where you travel a lot or have a lot of activities or if you just like to have a lot of free time, homeschooling is the answer.

- How do your children socialize with others in their age group if they are homeschooled?
People wonder and worry about this one a lot. I have had people tell me that I shouldn't homeschool because of the lack of socialization that happens when you homeschool. These people honestly don't understand that there are different ways to meet people, and school isn't the only place my children can go to make friends. They meet friends at co-op, church, homeschool groups, ext... True if you do stay at home and never do any of these things than yes they will not be socializing and that would be bad, but in most cases us homeschooling moms are very active and knowledgeable about what we are doing and how it will affect them. We research everything. We care deeply for our children which is why we want to homeschool them, and we don't do this lightly.

- Do you think homeschooling is for everyone?
No of course not. I think that in some cases some children do better in a school setting, and they may even need and enjoy that more, but I also think that public schooling is not for everyone (that's right I said it). It is very generic and with some children it just doesn't help them. Some children get lost in the class room setting, and advance only because their class does, and they don't end up learning curtain things. There are times when someone notices a child struggling, but then they just make excuses as to why their system is not working for this child, and they try to stick a label on them saying "oh well it's ADHD, and you need to put your child on medication." I just don't believe that the system works for everyone. One of my friends shared this video on facebook a few weeks ago, and it really does explain why our public schools don't work for everyone. True it does work for most, but what if your child isn't like most other children?




I really hope this helped anyone who was considering homeschooling. If you have any other questions or if you have any points that you feel should be added, please message me (e-mail, comment, Facebook, whatever) and I will add it to this post and credit you. Thank you to everyone who asked these questions. :)