"First" Day of School

It doesn't seem possible that this year could actually be when Branna starts kindergarten.  I think some of it may be that we've done "school" for the last couple of years.  More than anything, I think it's that I can't believe that she's 5 and can officially enter school.
Our family has decided to homeschool, so this year was also a big deal in that respect.  Like I mentioned earlier, we've unofficially had school for the last 2 years, but this is the year that we've been working towards and preparing for.
I'm excited about our curriculum choice (My Father's World) and the fact that we actually have a room devoted just for school.  The curriculum is very straightforward, which is great for me especially this year due to having a very active 2 year old and expecting a baby in a couple of months.  A good portion of our school time is being devoted to "calendar time" which is pretty much a hands of application of the date, the days of school, surveying the weather, & the Bible.  I really liked the setup from 1+1+1 and is where I got most of my printables.

I took a picture of our school room the night before school started to show what it looked like before the girls got to it and it turned it upside down.  Surprisingly, we've done very good at keeping it organized & tidy.... I can't say that much for the rest of the house.

On the first day of school, Daddy took Branna for a special breakfast at McDonald's.  Every morning following, they do some aspect of her school before Daddy goes to work.  Branna has enjoyed learning more about coins, exploring God's creation outside, and setting up an ant farm.

(Branna is showing what she drew in her Daily Daddy Notebook.  I think this was the day they talked about things close to the ground.)

It's been our tradition to get Branna a new book as first day of school gift.  This year, we got her Green Eggs and Ham.  It's been fun since we can read it together now.

This year, Atlie got join in the fun and got her own book.  She loves the How Do Dinosaurs... collection, so we got her How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms.

My biggest challenge so far has been trying to keep Atlie occupied while we're working.  So far, we've done pretty good.  I have special "toys" that are just for the school room so that she can look forward to using those each day for a few hours.  She enjoys drawing at her desk, sorting through letter puzzles,  looking through books and really loves finding anything that can made into a huge mess by scattering it across the floor.

And, finally, after a long morning, the girls enjoyed some relaxing "downtime".  (This pictures was taken between the moments right after they spent running around the living room Usain Bolt style and right before they used the bean bags as sleds off the couch.)

Where to begin???  I honestly can't believe that I've let so much time go between blog posts.  I think of a great topic to write about at least several times a week and before I know it, I've forgotten to do it... again.

We've had so much happen since my last post till now:
We've moved! (we're all very excited to be out of the small 3rd story apartment)
We've gotten a dog!

Both girls have accomplished so much:
Branna played an organized sport for the first time (soccer)...

...Is reading on her own very well

Atlie is putting 2 and 3 words together, started potty training on her own, and loves to sings

AND...
We're expecting a new little sister!

Maybe now that I've gotten somewhat caught up with the last 6 months, I won't feel so overwhelmed about our blog and will get back to it like I would like to!

School and Pinterest

I've known about Pinterest for a while now, but didn't really take much time to look into it... until my mom kept mentioning how neat it was and that I should really check into it.  Now, I feel like it's one of the best tools I've come across!  I love that I can organize my internet finds and best of all collect so many great ideas, especially for homeschool.

This week at school, we've used alot of Pinterest ideas.  On top of our regular curriculum we've built apple cars:

played parking lot sight words (using Dolch Sight word flash cards)

and sight word graphing. Inspired by a fellow pinner's idea, I made Branna a worksheet that utilizes multiple subject skills by recognizing sight words and then graphing the number of each of the words found.

I feel like my school motivation has been kicked up a notch with all these great ideas!  I can't wait to share more of what we're doing and accomplishing.

Atlie at 14-15 Months

These last couple months have been a whirlwind and I haven't been recording your accomplishments like I should have... and you have been doing so much, too!

You're independent streak has really kicked into high gear.  You want to be a big girl and get frustrated at your limitations.  It's fun to see you problem solve and accomplish the tasks before you.  One of your best tools is climbing.  Unlike your sister, if you can find a way to get on top of something you will.  One day, when I left you sitting in a chair at the table, I heard Branna say that you were on the table.  I walked in to see you running across it!
It can be hard to be so little, but want to do big girl things, especially when you see Branna being able to do so much!

You're saying so many words know and even putting two words together.  You also recognize letters of the alphabet and can identify a few specific letters and numbers.  One of my favorite things that you've started saying is your name.  You pronounce it: Aayy-eee

I know so many fun things are coming in the next few months and I can't wait to see all your new accomplishments!

Christmas 2011

So I'm only a month late getting this posted!Between the holidays, travelling Branyon's graduation/vacation, and moving, it's been busy and I haven't had much opportunity to be on the computer, but I still wanted to do it to have it to look back on.

Branna sporting her Rudolph Nose at the Annual Christmas Party

Making candy houses

Christmas Eve Morning

  

A new pair of red boots (and they light up!)

Atlie- Lover of Berries

Within the last few weeks, Atlie has discovered what has been missing from her life: berries.  She can't get enough of them.  Here is the video to prove it.  (She's signing and saying "berry".)

Family Vacation December 2011

It's been a while since we've taken a family vacation and since we had to drive to Alabama for Branyon's graduation, we decided we'd make a few detours and have a graduation celebration.

Our first stop was Murfreesboro, AR.  We chose this area because we wanted to visit Crater of Diamonds State Park.  Instead of staying in a hotel, we found Diamond K Lodge, a guest house that is located on a working ranch complete with horses, cattle, pigs, and chickens.  (We thought this would be an additional adventure to the diamond mine.)

During our first full day, we went diamond hunting.  The mine's setup is a 37 acre digging field.  We found out that only a few days before our visit, someone found a 6 carat diamond!  That got Branyon and Branna quite excited and geared up to find there own.

We spent the morning digging, but didn't find anything.  After lunch, Branyon and Branna headed back with big ambitions of finding something...

However, all they came home with was "Arkansas Diamonds" also known as quartz.  While we didn't find anything of much value, Branna had a great time just digging in the dirt and running free!

Branyon also found out that the person who found the 6 carat diamond was somewhat of a permanent resident... He had been at the crater everyday for the last 2 years!  After finding that out, we didn't feel quite so bad leaving empty handed.

We spent the next morning at the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village.  The Ka-Do-Ha Indians were mound dwellers and this particular village is the only one that the public can see into the mounds.

Similar, to the diamond mine the village had an area to dig for artifacts.  It was a drizzly and overcast day, so we didn't get to dig as much as Branna would have liked...

but we were successful in our hunt this time and found a small arrowhead.

Later that day, we went back to the Lodge.  After a rest, the owners gave us a tour of their ranch.  When looking over the Lodge online while making the reservations, I saw they mentioned raising chickens.  Much to our surprise, the owners RAISED chickens... 12,000 of them (plus 1,000 roosters)!  The chickens and roosters were housed in a structure that was the length of two football fields.  The owner harvested eggs for Foster Farms and averaged 6,000 per day.

When we checked into the Lodge, the owner told Branna that she could help him out one day that we were there.  She was so excited and couldn't stop asking when it was going to happen...  But, as you can see when we finally were able to see the chickens, Branna couldn't get out of there fast enough.  I guess I should have prepared her better for the smell!

We were so appreciative to the owners for giving us a first hand tour of the farms.  They even fresh eggs and homemade sausage which we ate for breakfast each morning.  

Our last stop was Tuscaloosa, Alabama for Branyon's graduation.  He officially graduated on December 17 with his PhD in Astrophysics

On our way in to town, we drove by the house we lived in while we were in school.  The neighborhood was in the path of the deadly tornado that struck on April 27, 2011.  It was a surreal sight to see so much destruction in a place that was our second home

The house in the photo is ours taken from a side street.  When we lived there, there was a house between the camera and our house.  That house was completely destroyed by the tornado, as were so many other surrounding houses.

On a lighter note, the day of graduation was a long one, but very exciting.  It's been a hard journey for Branyon and we were all so excited for it to finally come to an end.  Atlie was good and content just long enough let me watch Branyon get his hood and walk across the stage.  I was very thankful that the PhD students went before the undergraduates!

Branyon walking in with the other PhD students and their advisors

Branyon and his advisor after graduation

Like I mentioned, it was a long day and I think Branna's face describes how everyone felt...

Atlie at 13 Months

I did not mean for this post to be so late, but these last few weeks have been so busy!  I guess it's just that time of year.

This month, I feel like you are moving farther and farther away from "babyhood".  You are discovering so many things and having strong opinions about what you want (or don't want).  You really want to be doing big girl things, meaning anything Branna is doing.

Your imagination has really started blossoming this month, too.  I think alot of it comes from watching Branna since she is a master "imagineer".

I've seen you make stuffed animals give kisses to each other and dance.  I also discovered a chicken you put in your snack bowl... I guess you thought he was hungry.

You have also realized how much you L-O-V-E books!  At first you enjoyed just flipping through the pages, but now you love to choose book after book for me or Daddy to read to you.