and that's what we've been doing...

No earth-shattering news from our home this week. Was pretty much same old, same old here...


The kids spent lots of time trading Pokemon cards...they just never seem to tire of this. But it's really nice that they have something that they all can enjoy together.






They also spent a lot of time in their little pool. Annie logged the most water time, as the boys tend to get cold much quicker.

















































Annie had her final two soccer games of the season. Her team finally got their first (and only) win! And Annie scored her first goal during that game!



Gray had his year-end soccer party. They received their trophies that night, but Gray was much more excited about the water balloon toss.

It probably goes without saying that Gray spent a good deal of time drawing. But he also spent a lot of time reading this week. It's so great to see him finally choosing to read without any prompting from us.




Annie, of course, read up a storm. I think she would perish if she had to go more than a few hours at a time without reading!

And Rich has joined in on the Harry Potter craze! He's still working on his summer science reading list, but he's also decided to tackle all the Harry Potter books this summer. He generally saves his fiction reading for the evening, but he's caught the fever now and read the third book and started the fourth in the past 2.5 days.

And yes, I'm still plugging along on all my reading challenges. But mostly my time is spent working on homeschool prep for the coming school year. And I've also spent a good deal of time moving my considerable supply of scrapbook materials from one room to another. Giving up my scraproom to Annie is harder than I thought it would be. Not that I begrudge her the room...I'm just having a tough time fitting everything into my new space. But I'll figure it all out eventually, I'm sure.

And that wraps up a quick recap of our uneventful lives for this past week. (Hey, this post would make a good sleep-aid, huh?)

past, present, future...

The past:

*We headed out Friday afternoon for our "field trip" to Saratoga. It was one of those "can anything else go wrong?!!" kind of days. Nothing major...just a million little minor things. Like having to make an unexpected trip to the vet's office before leaving to get Baker a different dosage of pills. Like Baker pooping on the floor when we were waiting to "check in" at the kennel. Like me accidentally going into the men's room (twice!) to get paper towels to wipe up the floor. Like not being able to find a hotel (though we eventually did). Just those piddly little nuisances making us wonder if this trip was a good idea.

*But Saturday turned out to be wonderful! We had a fabulous time at Saratoga National Historical Park. They have a great visitors center...the battlefield tour was fantastic...and of course, we enjoyed the hiking trail. (Though the boys were sort of dragging there at the end.) They were also having British Camp Days at the park...so we got to see some reenactment activity. The boys have been playing Redcoats and Patriots ever since.






*Mother's Day was somewhat uneventful. Too many errands and whatnot, I suppose. Picking up Baker from the kennel, grocery shopping, and the like. We did go out to dinner. And of course, I got presents. In fact, they totally surprised me with the cutest little iPod shuffle! I am so excited! Now I just have to figure out how to use it...which for me, will be quite a task!

The Present:

*Poor little Maxidoodle is sick and staying home from school today. He actually isn't complaining at all...he's always such a trooper when he's under the weather. But he is running a fever and has a nasty cough.

*Annie and I have a lot of catching up to do for school. We really got out of whack somehow last week, but I'm not really worried about it.

*I really need to sit down and work on a major "to do" list for the next couple weeks. Things have somehow fallen apart around here. And we're going to be getting some company over the next month...first my in-laws and then some old friends from Tennessee. I'm so excited! But I need to get this place whipped back into shape first!

*"Soccer season" starts tonight. The kids love playing, and I think it's really good for them. But...it really makes things hectic around here. Monday through Thursday nights are now booked through the end of July.

*The weather this time of the year is frustrating. I'm not complaining. Really. It's wonderful to be enjoying beautiful spring afternoons! Today, for example, we're supposed to have a high of 70 degrees. Shall be glorious! But of course, the nights are still rather cold. It just makes it hard to dress for the day when it's in the 30s in the morning, but then reaches 70 in the afternoon. I usually just don my shorts and shiver for a while. The kids usually choose to dress warmer and then change later in the day...just what I need...twice the laundry. But I can't really blame them.

The Future:

*Well, mostly that will be filled with trying to bring some order back to this house. Trying for finish up our school year over the next 6 weeks. Trying to come up with a plan for next year's schooling. Trying to make a dent in some of my challenges. And as always, trying to make our home a happy place to be.