Cute Girly Bedding

Liv loves her "Bubba". Well, she actually loves two guys whose names are "Bubba" in our house. She doesn't get them confused. :)

I enjoy my kids more when they get along. Am I alone in this?

Someone else also likes it when Olivia wants to hang out with him.

Liv's new bedding! I love it. So does she. Thanks, Papa and Nana.

Every night, those two owls have to sit in the top corners of her bed or else she just cannot sleep. :)

Her baby has to be there, too.

What? Amy Is Letting One Of Her Chicks Leave The Nest?

Yes. But it is much, much needed! I have a busy little girl who needs someone else to entertain her while I teach her brothers. So, once a week, Olivia will be attending "Busy Bees", a Mother's Day Out program. Busy Bees is held in our church and right across the hall from Jay. So maybe I didn't let her go too far from the nest after all! Today was her first day, so I had to take some pictures, of course.

Munching on some Cheerios before heading out the door.

I think that this is a Kae-Lynn or Kenedee outfit. Ring a bell, Dawn?

She is the only girl out of 8 kids in her class. So we had to make sure she looked like the princess.

She had a blast today and couldn't wait for her nap! haha

I made the morning just a fun time for the boys before we start school. First, we went to the park. Josiah learned how to swing himself! Yes!

After the park, we went to get a "blue drink" from Sonic. Then Isaac went to get a much needed hair cut.

Then to the pool!

I love 4 year olds. He could care less that he has on pink goggles.

He's getting a little braver and letting go of the side of the pool. He even puts his head under the water now.

He's so cold that his lips are blue! Just kidding...Sonic.

This kid would hang out in the pool all day, every day.

He started swimming under water on his own this year. I told him that Ms. Mo (his swim instructor in Dalhart) would be so proud of him. He was the kid in his class who sat on the side of the pool and shook his head "no" at Mo for two years.

His favorite thing is to go underwater and look through his goggles.

After the pool, we went to Chick-fil-a. Kids choice...I PROMISE!

Olivia's artwork. They did "blue dots" today? haha

ZOO!!

We had such a great day today at the Jacksonville Zoo. We've heard all about it and finally ventured out today with some of our friends. Not only were there lots of different animals to admire, the landscaping was beautiful all throughout the zoo. This morning was nice and cool, and we made it out right before the rain began.

Waiting to see the animals.

I can't remember what these are called (They were on the "Africa Loop"). They were so beautiful and almost didn't look real.

Olivia's favorite animal

She made the elephant noise the whole time she watched it.

the big kids

climbing a rock

The babies...

(I think they were discussing hair bows.)

my baby and a baby giraffe

This was my favorite animal. The zoo staff sold lettuce and people were feeding the giraffes out of their hands. It was so fun to watch. The giraffes were actually close to us, but this baby wandered off.

We kept sticking Olivia next to the animals so that we could have a reason to take a picture. :)

We had to try out the carousel. Jay was proud that he got a picture with everyone looking.

Olivia under the bamboo.

The boys checking out the Komodo Dragon. I think they were disappointed to not find a fire breathing creature...it was just a big lizard.

Olivia, enjoying being out of the stroller.

I just wanted one picture of all three under the bamboo. No one cared about what I wanted.

Then I asked them to jump, so "goofy" came right on out. I'm not sure about Olivia, though. I think she may have been ready for her nap.

Isaac pretended to be terrified of the alligator.

Josiah pretended to conquer the alligator.

Deer prints! It was fun at one exhibit (the "Florida Loop") because in front of each cage, prints of the animal were in the concrete.

Until next time, Jacksonville Zoo.

An Exciting Day

All of our home school curriculum showed up on our doorstep last night. It was so fun to dig through the boxes and see all of the new things we will be reading and learning this year. --And I say "we" because I seem to learn just as much as the kids. I crack up laughing (in my head) at how excited Isaac is after he cried with relief when we were finished this Spring.

Oh so excited

dancing and giggling--open the box!!

This is how far we got into the house with the box before we tore into it.

Books and more books...it's why I love this curriculum so much.

These are the books we will read this year while cuddled up on the couch or a bed. This is the part that makes me excited. The part that overwhelms me is that I have to actually teach stuff...not just read. 36 weeks...I can do it. :)

Nana supplies us with lots of fun things from her classroom that she no longer uses. She gave us lots of books on tape a couple of years ago and they've been in storage this past year. Isaac can actually follow along now, so this is where I find him quite often.

Oh, and King Saul showed up at our table last night.

"Do You Love Me?"

Both of our boys love it when their sister wants to play with them. But Josiah especially loves it when his sister notices him. If she sits in his lap, his heart melts and he is won over. But she rarely chooses to hang out with Josiah because he always has his hands on her and she is a "look but not touch" kind of girl.

This morning Josiah came into my room so happy with a great story to tell me. He was grinning from ear to ear and said that Olivia let him pick her up "and she didn't even cry!" Well, Josiah didn't get enough, so he followed her around asking if she wanted him to carry her or if she wanted to play with him. She finally walked off and allowed him (yes, she is very much a princess) the privilege of interaction. As Josiah followed her out of the room, I could hear him say, "I love you, Olivia." And then a second later, I heard, "Do you love me?" I think she loves him more than he knows.