Cousins

If you can't tell I am having some serious issues keeping up here on the blog. I am trying with the beginning of the school year to get on track and stay caught up! I know I have an uncle in California who is probably suffering picture withdrawl and I am so sorry!!

Here are some pictures from our day in Chicago with our cousins. The kids had such a great time hanging out with Emma and Alec. They took us to a great park, Cantingy, which is the estate of Robert McCormick former Chicago Tribune owner. There is an entire military museum dedicated to the First Division. Little Alec was so excited to share this with Kyle. Little did he know that it would take Kyle over two hours to go through and look at everything. He was really patient waiting to show Kyle his favorite things but even I had to move ahead. Kyle and Bill look and read everything and apparently I have the attention of a six year old as well! So Alec and I hit the gardens while waiting on the others to finish the tour of the McCormick home. It was such a beautiful day and I got some great pictures of all the kids. Here are just a few. I know that Mimi will be pleased with the ones of all her grandchildren together!

The park has all kinds of tanks that kids can climb on and explore. Kyle was definitely a kid that afternoon!

The inside of the muesem was so cool. There were areas that looked just like the town in France that was bombed in WWI. There were also rooms that showed what it was like in the trenches, WWII, Battle of the Bulge, and Vietnam. Very realistic.

These girls are beautiful! What fun they have had together this summer. We are looking forward to a visit from Emma this fall.

We are looking forward to going back to Chicago, hopefully next summer!

American Girl Bliss

Oh my what a day. I have been wanting to take my little girls to the American Girl Store since they were born. So that would be almost nine years! Last Saturday was finally the day. After bringing our cousins Emma and Alec back to Chicago we stayed for the weekend and hit the store Saturday morning. Oh my!

First we headed to the hair salon to get our dolls dropped off for their make overs. The girls had been online studying the different styles and had already made their selections before they arrived at the store. With Chrissa, Samantha, Molly, and Rebecca safely dropped off we headed off to shop until our lunch reservation. Lindy had her heart set on a look alike doll and named her Bailey. Paige wanted the Girl of the Year, Lanie, and Erin wanted Molly's friend Emily. While we were shopping a sweet lady named Denise showed up with a huge bag and extra hands to help us. It was a mamma's dream come true! She led us back to the personal shopping lounge where she stored our goodies while we ate lunch and checked on us while we ate and shopped.

Lunch was such fun! We took our remaining dolls to eat and had a birthday lunch party celebrating Emma's 11th birthday and Lindy and Paige's 9th birthday. We had a great meal and finished with a birthday cake and ice cream before heading back to shop more.

Our shopping angel Denise, took our list of last items and gathered them up while we went and looked at all the Historical Dolls vignettes, clothes and furniture. So my AG store tip is, get one of these wonderful ladies to help you out. It made all the difference in my day!

Erin with her Julie.

Lindy and Paige ordered the American Girls Picnic Lunch. So cute, it had a mini hotdog, mini hamburger, mini bowl of macaroni with mini fruit kabobs. They loved it!

Julie and Felicity enjoy tea at the celebration.

Lindy and Felicity

Emma and Ella

Happy early birthday Lindy and Paige, and happy birthday Emma!

Paige was so proud of getting Chrissa's ears pierced.

The real life size rooms were a definite favorite for all the girls. There was a lot of squealing going on!

This was my favorite, Molly's 1944 kitchen.

Rebecca's 1914 Dining Room

Julie's memorabilia

Oh, which mini doll should we get?

Erin was doing a fashion show with the Rebecca clothes.

Paige and Lainey with her nature kit.

Lindy and her new look alike, Bailey.

Erin with her new Emily doll and her new mini Emily.

Taking the train into the city was a fun experience for the girls. Bill had to do last minute hair repair in route to downtown!

Emma and Lindy enjoyed some downtime before the ride home. I know they will always remember spending the day together and celebrating their birthdays. I know I will!

Payday!

Paige received her first pay check last week for $19.76. You would have thought she won the lottery! That is a lot of money when you are only 8. I thought she would want to cash it for her trip to the American Girl Store but she said no I'm saving it all. We'll see if she does not ask for a loan for $20 while in the midst of her shopping spree! I am pretty proud of her employment initiative. She has rolled and bagged all 121 newpapers each week without complaint. She doesn't mind having help delivering but enjoys having all the mailboxes to herself when it is just the two of us. Best of all she is going to learn so many important skills and money managment.
Good work Paigee! Daddy and I are very proud of you.

She's My Fish

All the kids have been excited for swim lessons but no one as much as Erin. Her lessons started at 9:40 and she was in my room waking me up at 7:30 dressed in her bathing suit ready to go, everyday for four weeks! She has no fear of anything and loves, loves to swim. She passed two levels and was sad the last day had arrived. Here are some of the things she learned....

Always the first one in the group to jump in the water no matter how cold it might be! When she moved up to the next level they hold class in the 3 foot section where she can't really touch. That didn't bother her a bit! When they had to practice getting diving rings it became a challenge for her to get her lightweight body down far enough to reach the bottom of the pool. Her teachers were so good to her and helped her out taking her around the pool to look for rings and then helping her get down to get them.

Elementary backstroke, chicken..

Eagle...

Snake...

She does a mean backstroke!

She dives

She slides

She jumps. All while holding her little nose! She is not about letting water get up her nose and ruin her fun! I am missing the mornings at the pool watching her have such a good time. She is having so much fun when we go to the pool since she can keep up with all of her sisters friends. What an awesome summer she has had!

Baking with Daddy

Time in the kitchen with Bill is a favorite activity with all the kids. So when Bill said he was baking cookies over the weekend he had many helpers! So cute and so fun!

Website Up and Running....

Finally! Our co-op website is up and running! I have had a crash course on computer "stuff" and know a little more than I thought. I am so excited to see this site really help our group stay organized and get connected. I also hope in the future that we are able to save time, something all homeschoolers need!
So for friends and family who keep asking what I have been up to here it is:

The Learning Tree Homeschool Website