2014 Nebraska State Fair!!

I know going to fairs are not everyone's cup of tea. Since having children we have only gone twice. Once when the kids were really little...Easton was a baby...and then another 2 years ago. Fairs are expensive. The food, the rides, admission, everything that the vendors are trying to sell...it just all adds up. I am a cheapskate! BUT there are ways to enjoy the fair without breaking the wallet.

~~The summer prior check to see if your library is having a reading program--and they may possibly be giving away free tickets. I know of at least four cities in Nebraska that do this!

~~Check the schedule for special admission days! Our fair had a $2 Tuesday and a $5 Wednesday! They also allowed everyone in for FREE until noon on the opening day! We just happened to go when the fair first opened...and already had tickets in hand...so we had an unexpected extra day at the fair!!

~~Bring your own food if you can! Fair food is extremely expensive! We were lucky enough to get coupons as part of our summer reading program for free things like hot dogs, pop, and shaved ice! There is also a yummy Highlands Roberts booth that sells malts for $1...so you can't beat that! If you don't have any coupons, why not buy a footlong hot dog and split in in half like I did!

~~Check out the schedule in advance! We timed our visit so we could see several shows that interested the kids, like the penguin high divers, the wolf show, pig races, and a horse show. There were too many shows to go to!

~~If you don't want to break the bank on rides, warn your kids in advance. We had a coupon to go on one kiddie ride and that was all I was about to spend. The girls aren't of kiddie ride age anymore, so they were not happy. Oh well. It doesn't hurt my feelings. They started a change jar, so hopefully by the time the fair rolls around next year they will have enough change saved. I refuse to let them break into their savings or piggy banks for this. I know, I am a mean mom.

We are heading back on Saturday with a few of my cousins! Can't wait!

Here are a few pictures from our first two visits this year!

 

 

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Happy 9th Birthday Jocelyn Rene!!

Our Jocelyn is 9 today!! I love this girl to pieces! It seems like yesterday that she made me a mom and Sean a dad! She is my side kick! We have our crazy looks and crazy sayings...and we get each other. She is an extremely busy girl...her mind is always running and she is always coming up with fun things to do with the kids. She is extremly helpful and always wants to be at my side working with me. Can't wait to see who she becomes in the years to come!!

Love you Jocelyn Rene!

 

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The start of a new school year!!

We started school yesterday!! Yay! I am so excited! The kids were not at first, but as we started our day the excitement grew. I was only planning on doing 1/2 of our subjects, but the girls kept asking if we can do that and if we can do this...so we did almost a full typical day minus only one subject! So much for part timing it! We plan on taking a few days off here and there...but that is ok...because that is the beauty of homeschooling!

Jocelyn is in 4th grade now! She still loves all things artsy and craftsy!

Katelyn is in 2nd grade! She has worked hard throughout her few years of doing school and is all caught up to Jocelyn, so I just have one 4th grader lesson to teach. Yay for me!

See we don't even have to get dressed or brush our hair!

For all my curious homeschooling friends out there, we use:

***BJU for Spelling, Math, and Bible.

***Evan Moore for writing and Language Arts.

***Scholastic for states, capitals, and presidents.

***Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

***Great Source Daybook for Science.

***Creating a Masterpiece for Art.

I plan to throw in a little of my own American History this year, but that is still in the works!

Easton is in kindergarten. He is a boy and his attention span is really low. Totally fine. He is a good playmate for his brother.

He uses:

***Hooked on Phonics for reading and spelling.

***BJU for Bible and Math 1

***Great Source for Science

He does his work with his tongue out..helps him concentrate I guess!

Grumpy pants...we hit the 5 minute mark!

Weston is in preschool.

He is working on writing his letters and learning his sounds. He is a lefty so I have been having practice cutting things and glueing. His attention span is that of a 3 year. He usually lasts around 10 minutes and then off he goes.

Homeschooling isn't always peachy. I don't think it is intended to be. My kids annoy me at times. My free time now is dwindled down to...well not very much extra time now. My house is now messier than ever with school supplies, projects, and books. BUT this is what I signed up. This is what we feel we need to be doing right now and most likely for the long run. It isn't always easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Here are a few more pics from our first two days!

Expedition Earth! We are studying Thailand and the kids made floating markets!

 

We made it through day 1: Sonic happy hour to celebrate!!

 

 

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A pretty exciting day!

Today was a pretty exciting day! I want to cry...tears of joy...when I think about it. We joined our Omaha church family. It was good to be "home". It has been a while, but we learned realistically driving 4 1/2 hours every week on Sundays is just not pratical.

We had church at a friends lake and Katelyn Rose got baptized!!

You can read about why we get baptized: HERE. Jocelyn was baptized in January of 2013.

Such a great, great day!!

You can watch the video here. It is really short...but so sweet!

And here are a few pics!

 

 

 

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