Fair-ly Fun

 Other titles include: A Fair-y Good Time. Fair Weather Fans, and An Af-Fair to remember.

 The whole family loves the Western Idaho Fair. It's hot, it's expensive, it's a nonstop parade of people watching but we go all in for it anyhow. The kids invited friends to jump in on the day we went but they all had to stay with us for a majority of the time. All the friends were so great, truly. Other kids laugh at my jokes, even if it is out of awkwardness.

 We did a little of everything. The rides, the airbrushed clothing booths, the fried food, even the livestock! (click here if you want to hear about the 3-headed goat of 2014) A good time was had by all.

Get away

 After more than two years, Matt and I had a little weekend to ourselves. Hooray!

It worked out that two would be at camp for most of the time so the Grandmas would only have to wrestle two wildlings for a couple days each.

 We decided to stay in town, enjoying our own home and the best of Boise's eats. Once Matt was off work and the boys were settled in, we headed straight for Tin Roof Tacos. Our new favorite in town, the fried chicken taco is killer!

 We hiked up Table Rock and took some awkward photos to prove it.

 Matt finally got to try Bleubird in downtown Boise.

 And! We tried out a new place for both of us, Bacon.

 To cap it off, we all met up at Sockeye to celebrate Father's Day.

And then, because I was feeling particularly rested, I wrote this little tribute to my dad:

Cheers to dads who get ruffle-y socks to match puffy-sleeved dresses. Who take little girls to see Broadway shows and Clint Black concerts. The guys who teach their daughters the names of flowers while they complain about the weird smell of Home Depot. Who have a panic attack about the mention of a crush but want all the details. Cheers to the man that made me creative and fierce. Miss you, Dad.

home sweet home

   When we purchased our home 16 months ago, there was no back yard. And there is still no back yard. I know, anti-climactic. The idea was to get going on a brick patio this summer, fix the wonky fence, and throw down some grass seed. Instead, our upstairs bathroom leaked into our downstairs bathroom in June. We spent the summer repairing the downstairs bathroom. We decided to DIY it as much as possible and that is why we haven't finished the upstairs bathroom. DIY is exhausting and takes so much time. Not going to lie, it was a huge bummer. The house was remodeled before we bought it so we were not planning on any major overhauls, other than the back yard.

   I am trying to put on my gratitude glasses and shift perspective. I did hang twinkle lights. Everything looks better with twinkle lights. I did plant some pots and manged to grow flowers, herbs, and  eggplants.

   I did manage to sip tea outside on summer mornings when the hot air balloons were drifting overhead. I did manage to paint the front door a few times.

   (She told me she wanted to be red.)

   I did plant some lavender to trying to keep the neighborhood cats away. I did enjoy watching the boys mow and weed whack.

   I did savor many meals Matt grilled up. Or one of his many perfectly golden marshmallows in a s'more. I did enjoy hilariously told ghost stories around the fire and the sounds of Kaleb playing the guitar.

   I did go on stunningly beautiful walks through the nature reserve that is just blocks from our home.

   I did give our bedroom wall a moody makeover.

   I did hang up the #summerselfieseries I enjoyed with Koen this year. The laundry room has never made me happier.

   And lastly, I did relish every bouquet gathered from other people's gorgeous yards. Ours will come someday, along with a new upstairs bathroom. As the only female in this tribe, the days of two toilets can't come soon enough!

Life is beautiful

 Matt's insanely talented cousin took photos of Kaleb all around downtown Boise. I joined in for some fun, too. Kandi was so great about making Kaleb feel comfortable and captured some of his hilarious personality quirks. This ginger guy of mine is growing up. He and I have had a lot of frustration with each other lately but he keeps us all laughing as well.

 (this photo captures exactly how I feel about raising teens everyday)

Kandi posted some of these on her blog as well.  http://kandilamont.com/uncategorized/being-yourself-never-goes-out-of-style-boise-teen-photographer/ If you have a moment to show her some love, please comment or share and let's get her name out there! Thanks again, Kandi, I adore these moments you seized.

home school

   A little update on our homeschool, the main reason this blog gets no love. I am still moving forward with homeschooling all four boys this year. A lot of learning going on over here, me being pupil numero uno.

  Friends ask how it is going a lot and I hate that question, here's why; the kids don't like it. Try as I may, they just do not like it. A few weeks ago a kind friend informed me he was never into school as a boy. I totally had a lightbulb moment, remembering back to when they boys were in public school. They would rave about recess or lunch time but math? No. Creative Writing? Never. So why did I keep trying to reel them in? (Feeling like a failure when I could not and when people would ask about it.)

  It is a huge struggle for me in general. They are so good with just a worksheet or quiz, not really wanting to explore a subject or go deeper in anyway. I am trying to make it a life of learning and curiosity but they are just ready to memorize and regurgitate.

  I carry on though! This is a bit of what we have been up to.

 Fry tasting at the Boise Fry Company! Just kidding, although I do have them journal almost daily. I try to give them experiences to compare and contrast. Fries always get my creative juices flowing... right after a nap ;)

 My dear friend Laura (an English teacher before three kids) has been an amazing help to me the last few months. Weekly she walked the boys through a book. The would discuss main elements and then the boys put them into a comic strip. It was a genius way to do literary processing. She has even offered to walk them through a big boy research project after Spring Break. Laura, you are a gem.

 The boys were on a big art kick, meaning they would give me the least grief about that subject. I started incorporating things they had very little patience with, like poetry, into art. Now they mostly hate art but don't give me such a hard time about poetry. Go figure? I think it was the hybrid that was the worst for them.

 Sunny day at the park. Spring cannot come fast enough. There is a direct correlation between our harmony and the boys being able to get outside for a bit.

 Another art hybrid with Nature Study.

 This picture has almost nothing to do with school other than we do yoga together on these mats. I am trying to help the boys learn to take deep breaths when they are frustrated or presented with a boring task. There are some great kids yoga videos on YouTube.

 Collin and I have been working on an alphabet book. His illustrations are my favorite. This is more of a preschool or kindergarten activity (he is a first grader) but one that is helping him with letter sounds and recognition. Collin is probably like a lot of young boys, ahead in math and struggling with reading. Again, this would be easier to just give him worksheets but I like the interaction we have when we are talking about the letter of the week and creating our page.

 Sometimes homeschool is as simple as coming up with some meal ideas for this week. The boys do chores and help their siblings out with reading or throw a ball around outside.

My very well-traveled friend, Heidi had us over to teach the boys all about Holland! Such a fun day of treats and new ideas. The boys already are making plans to visit. We hope to do another country before school is out. Thanks, Heidi. This homebody really values your experiences!

 PE.

 Community service. The boys will rake leaves or shovel snow for others. They have the same darling relationship with our 90 year old neighbor that their dad did when he lived in this house. They are going to help Grandpa Ken with some trim paint this Spring as well.

( Sorry the links don't work.) We studied Da Vinci for many weeks. The boys made a mask about a Roman god and had to write a wedding tribute from that god's perspective. Apparently this was a theme for a lavish wedding Leonardo was hired for.

 Matt works with Collin almost daily on his reading. This book was recommended to us back in September. Collin enjoys the change from me and the special time with dad but Collin HATES reading. So strange for us after our other boys love of reading. There may be something going on here but we are still in the "give him time" stage. The thing is, Collin excels at memorization so he rocks at sight words but the sounding out and blending sounds seems like a waste of effort for him. Anyway, that is just a lil bit of where he is at.

 We watch super neat Kid President videos and he even retweeted us and liked our Instagram picture. That kid is just pure awesome.

   Geography is best learned via Ticket to Ride. That is the approach to most things these days. Just do what we are doing and ask a lot of questions. Like at Thanksgiving we learned the history, true and commercialized, about why we celebrate. Collin still asks to hear the Plymouth Rock story. At Disneyland, the boys took their money they had earned and saved. They kept track of how much they had as they shopped. The older three handled theirs 100% and were happier with the results than previous purchases that Matt and I managed.

  None of this is ground breaking, I have just been surprised at how many everyday life opportunities I was not capitalizing on. The main area of growth in this has been our faith. We memorize Scripture every week and read through the Bible, keeping a journal. This is like Family Devotion 101 but our family never really set that up so it is new for us. Then when Matt is home, he joins in the discussions and they are richer and more real to the boys.

Still working on the social part. They of course have each other, a lot of family, a few friends in the neighborhood, Parker and Kaleb go to a youth group, and the older 3 just started lacrosse. But hey, 6 months ago we didn't live here so that will take time.

No matter if they remain home schooled or not, a lot of this will remain part of our everyday. I am missing my alone time but I truly love having them around and figuring out how they learn best. I want them to thrive, we have been in survival mode for far longer than I realized.