This boy is ALL boy

To say Jake loves the outdoors is a complete understatement.  He begs to go outside and then throws a complete fit when we make him come in.  He regularly carries around rocks.  I know one day my dryer is in BIG trouble.  But anyway, on this particular day he was carrying around rocks and a stick.  But the thing that struck me was he dropped both for this....

A WORM!  And then he proceeded to pull the worm into two pieces.  Okay, he really is ALL boy!

Sewing

Angela is so good about driving up to visit us.  I appreciate her willingness to drive up here.  So on this visit I mentioned that Ella wanted to make a dress for her American Girl doll.  Well, that's all I had to mention.  Ang ran with it and boy did the girls have a blast.  Ella made a pillowcase dress shirt for herself and Olivia made a doll dress for her American Girl.  Angela left plenty of fabric for a matching doll dress for Ella's doll.  The girls learned a ton and had so much fun!  So sweet of Ang to invest in my girls this way.  

Patapsco Park

We decided to make a hike a family priority today.  The weather was gorgeous.  Even a little hot:) We hiked for over 2 hours - even Jake walked some on the rocky terrain.  The boys just love exploring and Ella is not to far behind.  

 Snack break after a hard long walk uphill.

Great Debate

In a classical education debate is a part of the curriculum.  In 7th grade, students start to learn about debate in their Logic class.  Isn't this appropriate since they are so into arguing about EVERYTHING at this age:) Zachary was paired up with another student, Alexia Amick for the first great debate.  The topic was should dogs be leashed or unleashed in public.  Zachary and Alexia won the debate!  They both worked very hard and did an excellent job.  

Brian turns 38

OLD!!!!

State Winner!!!

A few months ago Olivia decided (on her own) to enter a DAR writing contest through Granite Classical Tutorials.  The assignment was to write a story as if you were coming to America, aboard a boat from another country, entering at Ellis Island.  Olivia read multiple books and then set to work on writing.  Her original piece was over a 1,000 words long.  The assignment only allowed for 300-600 words.  Brian helped her cut it down to the 600 word max. 
Olivia's story won at the chapter level and then went on to the state level.  Guess what?  She won for her age group at the state level. She was recognized at a lovely luncheon that DAR invited us too. She received a medal as well as a check for $250 (which she had no idea was coming).  It was a joy and an honor to see her hard work being recognized and to see that smile on her face when she found out money was involved as well!  So proud of her!

In the top picture on the right is the lady in charge of the essay writing contest and on the left Mrs. Dolly Myers from DAR as well as Granite.

Sticky or sweet?

It's all in your perspective, right?  When I first opened the fridge and saw yet another mess to deal with I was annoyed and frustrated.  But then I realized this is NOT a big deal Heather.  Most of life is sticky but you can almost always find a sweet spot.