Wow! I shouldn't have blinked during August because it just disappeared.
We came back from the trip to the beach, picked up Mary in the mountains from camp and promptly became sick for nearly a week. The joys of a stomach bug running through a home of six. I think it took me extra days to just mentally recover from that experience. Thankfully everyone was well enough by the weekend so that we could make it to all the games.
This past weekend was Mary's first soccer tournament of the year, a home tournament. Her team has looked really good in practice so far, but came out to the games looking a little flat. It was a good warm-up to the season which starts after Labor Day.
Mary hurt her knee early on Saturday, so her play was limited Saturday afternoon and Sunday. She played goalie the first half of the first game and looked good. She volunteered to be part of the goalie rotation this year and is doing extra goalie training.
As far as her knee goes everyday it is getting better and we don't believe it is a severe injury. Her knee collided with another's knee. Her coach has limited her practice time this past week and on Tuesday told her that he wanted Mary to take the whole week off from training (Tuesday-Tuesday after Labor Day).
Katie also had a softball game on Saturday. The schedules worked perfectly so that we could see Katie's game in-between Mary's games. Katie's team is doing really well and having lots of fun.
As far as the two little ones go, we are getting used to our go..go..go lifestyle. The back of the van is filled with lots of trucks for moving piles of dirt around, because every field seems to have a playable pile of dirt right next to it. Of course there are trees to climb.
And facilities to explore.
Schoolwork amazingly is still moving along. After six years of homeschooling it appears the children have finally adapted to the ebbs and flows of life and can do schoolwork even with everything else that is going on.
I've finally scored on curriculum choices, as there have been no complaints so far this year about our schoolwork. The biggest hits have been the unit studies. I'm using a couple from Intelligo right now that are so easy to use. Literally click and go.
After Labor Day, Robbie will begin attending a play preschool three mornings a week. The first time one of my children has attended a 'school' outside our home since Mary was in preschool six years ago. It was an opportunity I didn't feel like I could turn down and something that will benefit all of us. I've just got to get used to getting the kids up and ready to leave the house in the morning again. Robbie is very excited and keeps talking about 'his' school.
Right now, we are watching the weather and waiting. We are supposed to head back to the beach for one last summertime visit with the family tomorrow. Hoping that Hurricane Earl speeds on up and moves out as quickly as possible. DH has taken off Friday-Tuesday and we are looking forward to a long, family weekend by the pool.
Have a great holiday!
Peace,
Amy
The pattern ended up running large, which is okay. I hope that Emily will be able to get a couple of winters out of her nightgowns.
Mary provided a little creative direction/suggestions to Katie's project. 
Mary's project today was to make a 3D representation of a Slave Ship from Story of the World Vol. 3 (Eventually we will finish vol 3 and move on to vol 4). 
We are all having a lot of fun with our unit studies. It has been a really good addition/change to our school. 
Katie really likes playing catcher! We'll see if she continues to like this position in a couple of seasons when she starts playing in the kid-pitch league. 
This coming weekend we have a rare weekend off from any activities. Still not sure what our plans are. Maybe do nothing but nothing for a change. 
Emily is doing a weather unit study from Intellego. The lesson for this day was to examine the sky and determine what type of clouds were in the sky. As you can probably tell from the picture, we had to postpone the activity due to the weather being too nice. Not a cloud in the sky to identify.
As you can see, on the days Robbie is home he is very involved in our school day. 
Emily has spent a lot of time lately 'creating'. She has been building with legos, doing recycling art, and lots of painting.
And, of course we have had soccer. Lots and lots of soccer. Mary practices three nights a week and we have had to travel for a few games so far. This past weekend we had a game in Wilmington.
Because, I have been driving to soccer games DH has been pulling softball game duties. It works out better because he can actually help with the base running/coaching duties. But, the camera goes with me. I don't have any recent pics, but Katie is having a lot of fun and has improved since she started last Spring. 
I'm hoping that I will feel much better during October than I did September. The girls and I are looking forward to taking our nature study out to the woods now that it has gotten cooler. Not to mention just how much needs to be done to get the house ready for the winter months. 
He loves going and every morning since then the first thing he asks is whether it is a school day.
Next week looks to be another busy week. The calendar is filled with activities & practices and Katie will be celebrating her 8th birthday. Wow! 
As far as the two little ones go, we are getting used to our go..go..go lifestyle. The back of the van is filled with lots of trucks for moving piles of dirt around, because every field seems to have a playable pile of dirt right next to it. Of course there are trees to climb.
And facilities to explore.
Schoolwork amazingly is still moving along. After six years of homeschooling it appears the children have finally adapted to the ebbs and flows of life and can do schoolwork even with everything else that is going on. 
Peace,