Fall Has Arrived

Living in the middle of the Mojave, there are little to no trees making it close to impossible for it to look like "fall" around here.  The temperatures are dropping & the days are more enjoyable, but I doubt that it really is ever fall in the desert.  There are no pumpkin farms, no scarecrows in fields, & apple farms are a thing not to be found.  Despite it all, I transformed our house to be fall this weekend to at least get the feel of it. After all, it is my most favorite time of the year so I'm not going to ignore it.  I love the colors, the apples, the scents, the pumpkins, & everything that comes with fall.  So, I will make it fall here if that is what I have to do!  And once the Bath & Body Works "Leaves" is burning in my oil dispenser, there is no arguing that fall has arrived, not once you step into our home.  Now, if I could just get a trick-load of fall leaves to spread over my rocks, we would be complete!

Our front porch & entry

Still lovin' my monogrammed greeter

Mums -- a must & a favorite of mine

A little sign I love                              Our porch table

A Pool Rite of Passage

Upon moving to Fort Irwin, we put Deacon in swim lessons as we thought it would be something he could excel in & it was a sport offered year-round here.  In lessons, they were able to jump off of the diving board in the deep end & swim to the side or to the coach.  Well, D was super disappointed when we went to the pool over the summer & learned that he could not be in the deep end (or on the diving board) without passing a swim test.  At 3, he had a hard time understanding why he could do it in lessons but could not when we went just to swim for fun.  The swim test included him swimming the length of the pool alone & treading water for 20 seconds to earn a "deep end swim bracelet".  This has been something that D has worked on through the summer & this week he finally said he was ready to take the test -- I think he just got tired watching all of the diving board fun!  D did his lap & treading & earned his bracelet & he was SO STOKED!!  I did not realize that this meant I couldn't even be in the deep end with him (gasp! it's 10 ft folks!!) but he still took off fearless & ready for the rite of passage that sort of separates the little boys from the big dogs in the pool. 

The much-anticipated bracelet!!!

D so happy to be going solo in the deep end

And he's off!!                                   He can walk on water!!

 K laying out with Minnie -- this deep-end stuff is overrated!

Tiny Tumbler

Gymnastics started again this week for the fall & K couldn't be more excited.  The post recruited a new coach as the previous person moved away, but K cared less about the coach replacement & more about just seeing the equipment out in the gym.  It is fabulous way for her to burn off her energy & she loves going & running her laps around the various stations.   And following directions is something she is learning to do well all for the princess sticker at the end of class. Our tiny tumbler is back in business!

K on the platform

Doing her jumps off the platform

And the balance beam -- her personal favorite

Last Days of Summer

Even in the desert the summer comes to an end.  Shocking, I know, but it happens.  I can tell most when we visit our neighborhood pool.  We have been going almost every other day to get lots of pool time in before it is incredibly cold, but I think our outdoor pool has seen the last of us for this season.  The shivers coming from the crazies as they dry off sort of confirmed it for me today.  It has been fun & the crazies have become little fish, but adios until next year.  

Here are some pics of our last round at the pool.

K jumping in... so fearless.

K swimming to Dad

D taking the plunge

And D  making his way to Dad

K, our pet fish.

The ladybugs came out to join us -- we even had to take this one home.

 My water babies

What fun is drying off without some wrestling action?

A Good Mail Day... Finally!!

So today was the best mail day ever.  Ever.  EVER.  My Canon was waiting for me when I unlocked my mailbox & I am complete again!  While traveling back from vacation this summer, the screen cracked.  In 2 places.  It was a mere nightmare, but I quickly filed a repair claim with Canon & sent my camera to the hospital.  But, without it life on the blog has been a little boring.  So, today, it is back.  All intact & looking good & ready to be used again.

Also in the mail was our Disney Movie Club Starter box.  I read about the Disney Movie Club online & we decided to join as the rewards seemed pretty good.  With your initial registration you get 5 movies for $17 shipped as long as you agree to purchase 4 more movies over 24 months at $19.95.  We used to not be much of a movie family, but living in the desert & having little around, it has become our Friday night routine.  Plus, soldier man is working 2 out of 4 Friday nights because of the rotational schedule here & it makes my Friday night a little easier.  We make pizzas, pick out a special candy from the store, & pop in a movie around 6:30 which takes us straight to bedtime.  The kids have gotten used to it & we are all watching & loving movies we haven't seen.  Plus, with the surprise Disney trip fast approaching for the crazies, we figured this is a good way to get them familiar with all of the Disney characters.  

So, a camera & abunch of movies made my day.  It looks like blogging world is back to normal again.

The much-anticipated box!!

All of this for $17 shipped!!

The crazies on a Friday night movie night -- something exciting was going down on Dumbo!

B says "Buh"

So it was another week of learning around here with the crazies -- the letter was "B" with a theme centered around balls.  The crazies had fun with it!  We did our writing practice & D has his "B" down so I also introduced money, just the coins.  We played with balls, made ball patterns, did some math with balls, discussed ball textures, & even made ball cookies (I totally failed to bring out the camera with that one, uh!).  They are loving it & I'm enjoying making the most of D's last year at home.  Here are some of our ideas below.

Our letter for the week

Paper plate soccer balls

Football lacing & decorating

We painted with rubber bouncy balls

Our coin sheets... we found a cute money rhyme to use too!  I will try to find the link.

Money Rhyme for Coins

Seeings lots of A's Around Here

So, school has started off in the area & I still have the crazies with me, but that doesn't leave them excused from any kind of learning.  I took lots of time over the summer to get tons of stuff ready for a year of learning at home.  I wanted to come up with a theme for each week as well as activities & whatnot to go with that theme.  It also helps me to have it all printed off, cut out, & ready to go so that when we sit down each day, we are set!

I should say that every printable & every worksheet is FREE.  I have not paid a dime for any type of curriculum & there is TONS available on the internet.  I have a nice stash of craft supplies at home & of course have to restock that from time to time, but that is how kids learn best at this toddler age so it is worth it to me.  I did buy some flashcards (states, Presidents, etc.) but they were at most $3 a pack -- the kids LOVE these & look forward to doing them at the end of our sessions. 

So, we kicked off our first real week of "learning" with the letter A doing an apple/fruit theme making crockpot applesauce & doing lots of things with apples.  We have one cooking adventure around the theme each week as well as a craft for the other days that ties into the theme.  Below are some of our "A Adventures" as we dove into everything I had prepared to have at least a couple hours of structured learning around here.

Our A letter & verse

We colored an apple tree & glued pom-poms (apples) to it

We painted with apples

We did an apple mosaic with tissue paper (their favorite)

We laced an apple

Deacon doing some math

This is what K thinks about learning time

I even caught them later in the day doing "learning" with their animals