Looks like were moving!

After being in our house for almost 6 years it is time to move on.  Over the past few years we have been kicking around the idea of adding on and expanding for some more square footage.  So after we stopped kicking and getting more serious we looked into adding on and realized that in an effort to keep a little money in our pocket it would be more economical for us to just sell what we have and find something else that has a little more space.

We decided to hire a realtor and throw the house on the market to "see" what would happen. Upon talking with our realtor we were informed, with the current economy and housing market, that we would probably not be able to sell at the price we needed AND walk away with any cash for a down payment on something else.  Well, God sure does have a way of communication and working when he sells your house after only being on the market for 4 weeks AND for the price that we were hoping to get.  Can you say AMEN to that!

So, as things look now, we will be out of our home before Thanksgiving (yes, the buyers are kicking us out so they can get in for the holidays  haha). Don't get me wrong, this is all a big blessing.  There is still, however, emotions that I am overcome by just thinking that I will not be in my home for at least one more holiday season.  So sad and exciting all at once.  I think this all just happened so fast and very unexpectantly.  

Where to go from here....we are not sure!  Yep, at this very moment only the Lord knows.  We "think" we are planning on staying close by but then we have also talked about seeing if this might be our time to get back to our home state of TX.  Who knows.  Moving out of state would definitely depend on the hubby's job.  Right now we are just taking things one day at a time.

Starting Adventures in Photography

Well, after many years of my hubby learning, studying and having fun with photography I have decided to start doing the same.  I picked up one of his photography books this week and began reading.  I quickly learned that I should have started with the "dummies" book.  I found myself skipping over more than half of the information as I was reading because I had no idea what certain acronyms and terminology meant.

There is so much to learn and know to really create some good photographs.  Someday, when I learn a little more and start shooting, I will share it here.

Oh yea,  I got my hubby's hand-me-down camera as he just got himself a new one.  We are Canon people so I will be starting and learning on the intro EOS Canon Camera (the Rebel XT...I think ?? ha).

Completed Week 10

Wow! I can not believe that we have already completed our 10th week of homeschooling...last week. We are having a such great time.

We have learned so much (yes, even me).

There are so many great things that we get to enjoy and benefit from because we homeschool. One of the best things is that we get to do Bible studies together. We would try to fit it in our days before, when the boys were attending public school, but there just never seemed to be enough time or I could not get them to focus and be interested. Now I plan it into our day as part of our schedule and lesson plans. It is great!

I have discovered that I can get the boys to do just about anything that I want them to do if I put it on their daily schedule. It is awesome. I can even put their chores on their schedule and they do it. How cool is that?

Our field trips are some of the best, too. Well, I have to say that we have not been on that many, however we have a couple planned that have not happened yet. We went to the American Heart Association's Halle Heart Center Museum and learned about the heart and being "Heart Healthy". It was neat and I learned so much too. In fact, it is the only American Heart Association museum in the US...and it is here. Pretty cool!

Two field trips that we have yet to take are to the Hoover Dam and in Feb '10 we will be attending the Rock and Gem show in Tucson. If I am not mistaken, I think that show in Tucson is the largest Rock show in the US. We have already completed our Hoover Dam studies and are currently studying about rocks, gems and minerals in preparation for the show in Feb.

Oh yea, and did I mention that I can't believe how much I am learning too. I am definitely finding out that you are never too old to learn new stuff.

4 weeks and still going

Well, we are now in our 4th week of learning at home. Tyler really wanted to be a part of a concert band so he is attending Band twice a week at the middle school. He loves it! He, basically, has the best of both worlds. He still gets to go to school, see some of his friends (that he has gone to school with for 5 years) then come home do his school work and be done for the day (with out having to worry with homework). Kyle does not attend any part of the public classes, however he will be a part of a home school Math Olympiad group (the math stuff that he can figure out and do in his head is absolutely amazing). We are also going to join a science class with the homeschool group from our church. The math and science groups don't start for another 2 weeks.

There are always advantages and draw backs to everything. With learning at home, I have to say that the boys do go a little crazy at times being in the house all day. That part is an adjustment. ...with out getting in the car and spending money. We tried to go for a bike ride the other day but it is still way too hot here in AZ. I am learning to be more creative with keeping the boys busy. It has been good for me to use my brain a little too. :)

The other day the hubby wiped all the dust off our old Monopoly game and the boys LOVED it. It actually made for a good lesson in economics. As we were playing we were teaching the boys about the value of money, buying, selling, investing, and even how to negotiate. I have to say, it was cool watching them learn and enjoy it. I feel like a kid again playing games with them.

I just learned of Geocaching. I can't wait until it cools down and we can go Geocaching around town. I have never done it before but it sounds like a lot of fun. Anyone ever done it before? I have a few other ideas to tryout to keep us busy and learning outside of the written work we do at home. If anyone has any fun inexpensive ideas I would love to hear about them.

Well, I guess that is all for now. Until next time....

2 weeks complete

Well, we have made it through our first two weeks of learning at home. It has been really great! We have learned SO much (yes, even me). It is amazing how much can be fit into so little time. The BEST part of the whole thing is the fact that we don't have our entire evenings taken up by homework. Now that we have found ourselves with extra time in the evening we have started playing more games and watching more movies together as a family. It has been so much fun...and relaxing.

Our main topic in "History" that we are studying is the Hoover Dam. It is very interesting! The boys are excited about studying it because we are planning a trip soon to go see it. (How's that for a cool field trip?)

Summer Hockey Finally Over

This summer both boys played in the summer hockey league at our local rink. Kyle played on a squirt team (ages 9-10) and Tyler played on a squirt and peewee team (ages 11-12).

Both boys played on the same squirt team, the Red Wings. They didn't have a very good season (according to the win/loss record). Although they did have a lot of fun.

Tyler is the goalie in middle and Kyle is behind him over his shoulder on the left.

Tyler's peewee team, the Bruins, had a better record overall and ended up almost winning 1st place in the final tournament. They ended up losing in the last 3 min of their final game. It was a big bummer, but they played hard and still ended up in 2nd place.

Tyler is the goalie in the middle on his knee.

Hockey is the best sport and so much fun to watch. We will take a little break before returning back to it in a couple months. (...sigh)

Kyle Turns 9 on the 9th in '09

This is a pretty cool year for Kyle's b-day. He turns 9 on the 9th in '09.

He had a great day spending it with a friend. We all went to Red Robin for lunch and then back home so he could enjoy his new "toys" and play with his friend.