Weekly Wrap-up #2

No school this week but I have pictures to share. We spent Wednesday at a lake and just enjoyed the outdoors.

Blue Heron

Great Egret

We also saw some kind of sandpiper birds, but I couldn't get a good picture. 

My Little Man is Growing Up

November 6th was the day Joel turned 7. Can you believe it? Well, I can't. He has always been my baby and now look at him.

My Big Boy

I didn't make his cake because I was sick pretty much the entire week before his birthday, so I was a little low on energy.

Why are their birthdays always so bittersweet?

Dog Days

image courtesy of dibytes

I love the “dog days of summer”. I love to feel the warmth of the sun! My St. Bernard, on the other hand, is looking forward to winter. I used to love winter and still do but nowadays I can only handle so much of it. You see, I'm pretty much cold during the whole winter and can never get warm. That can get tiring after a while. If I had a fire place that would be a different story. I'd probably sit in front of it all winter long and be content. 

Here are all the things I love summer for: 
Sprinklers 
Sunshine 
Longer daylight 
Green everywhere (my favorite color) 
Thunderstorms 
Lightning Bugs or Fireflies (depends on what you want to call them) 
Starry skies at night
Listening to the frogs sing in the evening 
Listening to the birds sing in the morning 
Enjoying lots of play time with the kiddos 

I'm sure there is more I just can't think of any of it right now. 

Of course, most good things have their down side too. A few things I don't like about summer; mosquitoes (we have a lot around here), humidity, lawn mowing. 

I'm actually enjoying my summer though. We are doing a little summer school. We are reading a nature reader and a history reader, doing some math work etc. How is your summer?

Summer Bucket List 2011

I thought this was a great idea, especially since I wanted to accomplish a lot with the kids for the summer. We probably won't complete everything off this list, though.

Educational

• Watch episodes of Liberty's Kids on rainy days
• Collect wildflowers and identify them
• Identify several trees and collect the leaves
• Learn to identify local birds by appearance and song
• Continue to learn new hymns each month
• Keep caterpillars and watch them grow into butterflies   ✓

Pure Summer Fun

• Local Fishing Fair ✓
• St. Louis Zoo
• Picnic
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Regular trips to the park
• Farmer's Market
• Flea Market
• Go on the bike trail often
• Catch Lightning Bugs - A must ✓
• Make ice cream
• Road trip
• Read together ✓
• Watch fireworks ✓
• Go to a patio concert ✓
• Pirate Festival
• Make sun tea