Tea for Seven

Seven years ago, we began homeschooling.

Carrie was just five years old.

On that first day of school, I wanted to do something special. I decided to have a First Day of School Tea Party and invite Grandma to come over to join us. I remember certain parts of that day well. That summer, I had planted a flower garden. I had zinnias and cosmos--flowers that my mom always planted from seed. I remember dressing Carrie and then taking her to the garden to pick some flowers for the centerpiece of our tea table. Then I took her first day of school picture.

Kindergarten.



That year, 2001, there were four of us in attendance: Grandma, Carrie, William and me. We all drank tea from our favorite tea cups.



This year, we had our Eighth Annual First Day of School Tea Party. Paul's grandma now lives close by and has attended for several years. And now we have Joshua and Matthew--O.K., Matthew didn't really attend. He napped. But this was Joshua's first year to actually sit at the tea table instead of nap. Our drink of choice has also changed from tea to coffee and chocolate milk.

We also don't dress up as nicely as we did that first year.



Grandma and GG bring the kids bags of school supplies to begin our year. It's so much fun! I LOVE school supplies! And I am so thankful for all they do to support our school year and make it exciting for the kids. It means a lot to me.




And to the kids.





See that cookie loaded down with icing? Grandma brings them--they've become a much-anticipated tradition.




Like I said, Josh didn't nap this year.
But he wanted to!

Happy Third Birthday, Sweet Joshy-Boy

"I'm 3, and my clothes still fit me!"

That's what Joshua told his brother William on his birthday morning. Don't you just wonder what runs through a little one's head sometimes? How are they making sense of the world around them?

So sweet.

After many references to pirates in the past few months--we finally saw the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Josh has watched some Dora the Explorer and Backyardigans with a pirate theme--we decided on a pirate birthday party. It was lots of fun to plan!



Josh went over to Grandma's house to spend a few days this summer. He and Grandma made a pirate flag to hang at the birthday party. "Aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!"



Here are some of the party people getting ready for the Treasure Hunt. We usually have a Fourth of July treasure hunt at our house, but this year it was too wet. We decided to save it for Joshua's birthday--which worked out just right after deciding to do the pirate theme.
Party People from right to left: Uncle Brian (Paul's brother), Papa B and Grandma Gilda (my dad and his wife), and Grandpa Atkinson (Paul's dad).



Now the search begins...
Grandma (Judy) and I looked on as the kids followed the picture clues to the treasure.



Aaahhh! Treasure! GG (Paul's grandma) and Marilyn (Judy's cousin) look on as the kids divide out their booty! If you ask me, the chocolate coins and the little Hershey gold bars were the most valuable. I think Josh liked the paper money and the bubbles.



Then it's time for the presents!



And some money to spend all on his own...



And last, but not least, cake time. Josh was so tired by this time that he ate just a little ice cream but no cake.




Joshua got his first "big boy bike" this year. It's a Tonka construction bike that we found at Wal-Mart. He was so excited! He had a tough time learning to pedal--he's always ridden everything by walking his feet along.



Here he is sitting at the new school desk that Grandma and Grandpa gave him. He loves this desk--he sits at it all the time. He keeps all of his school supplies in it and does his "schoolwork" there.



I love birthdays! Not just because of all the excitement in planning and then the festivities the day of, but because it reminds me what a blessing that person is. Joshua wanted to hear stories of the day he was born. He was an emergency C-section because of a prolapsed cord. We talked about how quickly he was born and how many people helped to see that he was born safely. Paul and I gave Joshua the Bible verse Joshua 1:9 as he was being examined and cleaned up a little.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Wordless Wednesday....Aaaarrrrrggggghhh!

Dinosaurs, Unicorns and Blogging

Where has the time gone?
Where did July go?
I can hardly believe that we are already a week into August!

And, I'm wondering if my blogging hobby has become as extinct as the dinosaurs...or as nonexistent as the unicorn.

This month finds us preparing for Josh's third birthday on the 14th and for our first day of school on the 18th.

As you might guess, every time that I get on the computer lately, it hasn't been to blog or to read blogs. I've been researching and ordering curriculum and looking for good ideas for preschool themes to use with Josh. I think that I have only one more "have-to" curriculum that I need to buy, and "Dinosaurs" is going to be our first preschool theme.

Joshua asked me just the other day if we would see dinosaurs at the zoo. I guess I never really thought much about what a little guy might be thinking when he sees pictures of dinosaurs. Of course he might assume that they are as real as any other animal he might see at the zoo.

Another reason for my blogging absence has been because our computer has had a little time off this summer. Two weeks ago, it went to Cousin Kyle's for a spa weekend. Kyle cleaned it all out and checked for viruses, etc. It's so nice to have it back in good running order for the start of our school year.

THANK YOU, KYLE!

I have to get back to school stuff now, but I will leave you with one of Carrie's favorite past-times...

messing with Joshua's hair. She usually goes for the faux-hawk, but this time he allowed her to give him a twisty unicorn horn.