First Day of School 2023

We officially started school this week, although we have been doing a little bit over the summer (mostly reading and a little math) when we weren't busy with other things. Heidi and Natalie were both eager to start math a week early, so they started last week and are now ahead. Heidi usually hates math, but I guess having a new book got her excited and Natalie was just thrilled to be included in math lessons this year. We are using all the same curriculum as we used last year and things are pretty much the same as always except that we are now including Trevor in more subjects since he is in first grade and Natalie has math for the first time. We are studying Early Modern History this year (covering the years 1600-1850) so our literature and art center around that time period as well. We are covering chemistry for science and Brent is teaching Asher and Leif again this year (hallelujah!) Everyone is on their own level for math, spelling, writing, and grammar (though Asher and Leif are on the same level on the last two). The older three are all working on typing lessons as well and as always the older boys are constantly working on Lego creations, although they don't view it as school at all. They are also working with Austin to learn about woodworking. Its a full schedule, especially once you add in piano practice for the four older kids plus their various activities outside of school. As you can see from the "favorite subject" of each kid, Art is very popular, but its something I've never been consistent with. The kids have such a desire to create, so the plan is to do better this year! I purchased several books that teach about master artists and suggest projects to help mimic some of their most famous pieces. I also purchased a few online lessons that have videos showing how to do some more intricate projects mimicking master artists. We'll focus on the artists from the time period we're studying in history and I've already planned a project and lesson into each Friday afternoon.

Our first day of school was a bit stressful (mostly just for me) so Heidi was very sweet and while she had some free time, she created some drawings for me on the little chalkboards I use for their first day of school pictures each year.

 Heidi is doing ballet again this year and really likes it so far. She says that its more difficult this year since she advanced to level three, but she likes it. I'm also teaching her to sew (something that has been on-going for a couple years) and this year she is really excited to try sewing a fox stuffed animal.

Trevor is doing soccer for the first time, and is so excited that its finally his turn! He has practice twice a week, plus a game on Saturdays. He has loved both practices so far, he said because he just likes running around. He also is getting kiwi crates in the mail each month and has enjoyed doing the first one with his sisters so far.

Utah Trip

We had to take a quick trip to Utah for my grandma's celebration of life the weekend after she passed away. We stayed with my dad and the kids enjoyed lots of ice cream, park time, and going on a couple hikes.

Asher and Trevor wanted to go with me when I took Torben out on a morning walk up to the Bountiful temple.

There is a trailhead just across the street from the temple, so we took Torben over there to let him off-leash to run around for a bit too.

When we got back home, everyone went on a hike up Centerville Canyon. This is the dam that the boys have been building for the last couple years so Bella can go swimming and cool down (my dad takes her on this hike several times a week).

After the kids were all done getting wet, we went back to my dad's house so they could shower and get ready. We met my mom and step-dad, siblings and their families, and my cousin and her daughter for lunch at Spaghetti Factory where my grandma often took us for our birthdays when we were younger. We got to Trolley Square pretty early, so we looked in some of the shops including this cool store that sells a lot of old books and some new ones.

We were very excited to get to see the newest member of the family- she has changed a lot since we saw her last in April.

After lunch, we walked around Temple Square a bit before heading over to the Celebration of Life, but I was done taking pictures by then. We enjoyed seeing all the family members that we haven't seen in quite awhile and remembering Grandma Patty. We looked at many of her pictures and read some letters from her mother. Its amazing what you can still learn about someone after knowing them your whole life! My grandma was one of the most influential people in my life, and while I will miss her, I'm grateful for all the time I had with her and know she is happier where she is now.
 

Shooting

While my dad was visiting, we took all the kids to a shooting range less than an hour east of our house. Originally, just the boys were going to go, but the girls really wanted to go, so I went with them too.

Austin was very excited to shoot his AR15 for the first time. It took him years to get all the parts to build this gun and he couldn't take it to Canada, so he finally got a chance to shoot it! He made me shoot it once, and it was more fun than I thought it would be, but not fun enough to want to waste the ammo to shoot it any more.

The girls didn't really like shooting because it was so loud and not as fun as they thought it would be. They shot a few times, but mostly just sat with me eating snacks and petting Torben.

The boys loved shooting, mostly the rifles because they are more accurate and not as loud.

Afterward, we went to a little park in Ault for the kids to play and have a picnic.