S is for Summer!!

Just looking at the date, everyone knows well that Summer 2012 has arrived.  Our posts however, are delayed by weeks as we started summer a *bit* earlier than usual in our household--and we blame Mother Nature for that. She gave us major snow at Halloween, no snow at Christmas, and an unexpected heat wave in March! We therefore threw in the towel and began planning our summer schedule in advance--with the newest addition being our Summer 2012 Bucket List.

The Kingdom's royals put together a vision of many things they'd like to do during the summer months and you will note from this photo exactly how expansive their desire for adventure, travel and fun.

Believe it or not, we're going to complete this Bucket List--and make good on all our commitments.

In addition, our summer homeschool curriculum was instituted early as well, and we reviewed nutrition and how we get our food which nourishes our bodies, studying the process of plant growth and its results. Parlee Farms has again become key to our homeschool efforts--providing absolutely beautiful grounds filled with strawberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches and more--to hand pick ourselves.

Look Mama...I've got strawberries!! They are the biggest!

The kids love not only doing the picking and learning, but enjoying the fruits of their labors as we enjoy fresh fruit and veggies all summer long. Next year, the kids will plant their own garden in the raised bed we're designing now. Should be interesting...!

The Kingdom's royals are also working on their reading, decoding and comprehension, which we tied directly to some PT/physical exercise recently via a homemade Scavenger Hunt to coincide with a lengthy, multi-mile hike.  The kids enjoyed scouting for the items as they worked on their reading lessons, and also learned how to follow trail markers, tied to an overall science lesson about exercise and why we need to do it often as part of a healthy lifestyle. We tell them all the time that learning CAN be fun too! :)

Hey Mom! We're walking over a muddy river!!

Halfway thru the hike, the kids take a rest. "Whew, we're pooped!"

"Check this off the list, Mama. We've done a hike, a scavenger hunt and we're TIRED!"

Summer just wouldn't be summer without new adventures. Thanks to stellar new friends, the Thompsons, we welcomed the start of summer with a backyard firepit and S'MORES! Our kids had not yet had the pleasure of enjoying this sticky-sweet summertime favorite, but they quickly learned after an evening of play with their friends Emma and Callie, Mr. Scott and Miss Shelley.  We knew right then and there that the the T's were super special and that moments with them would be cherished for a lifetime. XOXO