I titled this "High Five" since we have five kids! Honestly, I couldn't think of anything more creative..lol. I've never "blogged" before so I thought I'd take a stab at it! This is "our" story. Me, hubby, and our five children! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:31:00 -0500 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:31:00 -0500 Hi ladies! I have another blog that I've been posting to as well. It's so much easier for me to upload pictures on there, and also to just "blog" in one spot. Here is the link As for me and my house we Will serve the Lord. 

So, please look there for updates. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/552280/ Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:31:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/552280/ Here is a picture I got of my kids with two of their friends. I'm actually picking the two boys (brothers) up every morning, and their mom will pick up the kids in the afternoon. This will save us so much in gas! Anywho...from L-R, their friend Josiah, Eli, Veronica, Daniel, and Josiah's little brother Jeremiah. 
 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/551527/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:08:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/551527/ Thank you so much for your prayers regarding the homeschooling situation here in California. I totally feel Gods peace in whatever the outcome is. I know He's got in handled, and I just pray for His will to be done. I will keep you all posted when I find out! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/551225/ Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:23:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/551225/ If you get a moment, please keep the Homeschool case in California in prayer! On June 23rd, the decision will be made whether or not Californians will have to be certified to teach our OWN children. There are three judges involved in this case and they are each opposed to homeschooling even though our Governor and Superintendent are all for it! I can't imagine this happening (overall God is in control here), but I'm not surprised. So, please keep this situation in prayer, as we all know what God has called our families to do. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/549893/ Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/549893/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/549403/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:43:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/549403/ We got together with a few friends today at a park that we used to take the kids to a long time ago. It's not that it's far, but I normally take them to the closest park to our house. This park is huge though. It has a humongous lake in the middle, and you can actually walk around it for exercise. There's also a boat dock to rent those pedal boats, and two play areas for kids. We were set up by a little creek that was also close to one of the playgrounds. When our two older kids were little, we never allowed them to play in the creek (even though there would be other kids in it). I would think, "Ew...you're not going in there!" I didn't want them to get dirt all over themselves, etc..lol. Well, I didn't even think that they would want to go in there, but sure enough...on this hot day, of course they did! It ended up being fun for  them, and next time we go back, they'll be wearing the right attire for it! They played in there most of the time. I took some really good pictures of them and my friends kids. I literally took over 138 pictures, but I'll share a few that I think came out good. My favorite is of Veronica and this little boy Adam on the bridge).







This picture looks weird! Miranda is actually talking to him, but I caught them in a moment that looks like they're frozen!




 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/548654/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/548654/ Call me weird, but I love washing my car. I like not seeing the dust on the hood when I drive. My kids like to "help" too, but I think they get more wet than the vehicle..lol. It was a perfect afternoon to wash it today!! It was in the mid 80's!!!!


I told them to stand on the neighbors driveway to "dry off". I think Isaiah (far right) was trying to "flex", so it looks like he has "moobs." LOL!! 
 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/545725/ Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/545725/ I'm so excited, I can barely contain myself!! Our church is providing 2 day camps (the week of June 23rd and the other in July, and then VBS in August). Anywho..it is for kids K-5th grade, from 8:30-3:30, and it's only $50 for the entire week!!! That week in June, they will be learning about missions, but the days will also incorporate cooking, art, etc!!! Also, the junior high & high school kids will be helping out, which means my two older kids will be there helping all day too!!!! So, I will be kid free, and I am so thrilled I don't know what to do with myself! Of course, I'm signing them up again in July..lol, and to us it's totally worth it to spend that money. They will be blessed, and so will I!!! Our school year ends this Friday, but we will continue to review certain subjects twice a week. It will be very lax, and I won't feel that "pressure" of "having" to do it NOW! There are so many things coming up, it will be so nice to have official downtime without the guilt! Eli's birtday is coming up in a couple of weeks (the 28th). All my kids birthdays (except Veronica's) are literally back to back! After Eli's, it will be Isaiah's on July 11th, then Daniel's on July 22nd!! Oh, and if you want to count mine, it's August 2nd! Eli either wants to go to Cal Skate or Build-A-Bear and he already has his list of his five friends he wants to invite. I can't believe he's going to be 8 years old!! He's still as sweet as ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/545079/ Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/545079/ Miranda's party/sleepover was a success! When I say success, I mean, no over-the-top craziness, messes, and just good ole' fun!! All the girls got here on time (right before 6pm), and we headed out to Razzberry Lips first. These are all the girls. Miranda is the 2nd to the right.

This place is soooooo girly girl that my youngest dd Veronica would have gone crazy if she was there!! Anyway...the girls have to sit at this round table and pick which nail polish color they want. While they are waiting for their nails to dry, they start to get their hair done. This place has different themes to pick from, so Miranda picked  Rockstar Diva. The accessory that came w/ this theme was a headseat..LOL. It was really neat how they did their hair. It's actually really simple. They just mainly took their hair in sections and twisted it! They also had light make-up done and the finishing touch was glitter in their hair! They all turned out so beautiful! 






When they were done with the hair & make-up, they played a couple of games in the store. One of them was the Limbo!

But, I would say the "highlight" was when they had to stand outside of the store and do a dance routine with a couple of the girls who worked there. 

It was sooo cute & hilarious at the same time! I give them credit for doing it because I know if it was me, I'd be totally embarassed!! If you want to check it out...CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!!

When we were done there, we headed over to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Yum yum! 

After they ate, the waiters came with Miranda's birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to her. For some reason, the girls didn't want to eat the cake, so a couple of them thought it would be hilarious to stick their noses in them. Crazy girls!!




Done with dinner! Now off to my house for the "partay!"

The girls change into jammies and start to play Twister! Oh..fun!!!!


Opening gifts....


I also taped a little bit of us singing Happy Birthday. The adult person you hear talking is my sister in law..lol. 
CLICK HERE TO HEAR US SINGING HAPPY BDAY!!

The girls also played other games like Charades, and "Guess Who I Am." We also did a game called "Who Knows Miranda Best." It was a multiple choice question test that I made up. I thought of 5 questions and they had to choose what the right answers were. Her friend Sara (the littlest one) got all the answers right! I forgot to buy a prize for that game so I just gave her a dollar..LOL! Anywho, the girls had chips, candy, & soda to snack on for the rest of the night! The girls only got a couple hours of sleep! I went to bed at 3:30 and they were all still up! When I got up at 8:30, they were all up and ready to go..lol. There was a Children's Ministry appreciation breakfast that morning at 9:30 that my hubby and oldest son was going to, so he took Miranda & two of her friends with him since their parents were going to be there too. LOL, I heard they were like ZOMBIES at the breakfast!! Overall, they were all so well behaved, and very respectful!!! Oh...and FYI, my dh took the boys out to dinner and movies that night and didn't get home till 1am. Per my daughters instructions!!!!

Last picture in the morning. One of her friends is in the bathroom so I missed her!


 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/541660/ Mon, 2 Jun 2008 08:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/541660/ My oldest daughter Miranda turned 11 on Monday! Where did all the time go? I was looking at pictures of her when she was around 2 years old and it's so hard to remember her being so little!!! She's having her birthday party + sleepover with 3 (hopefully 4) of her girlfriends this Friday and I know she's excited! I still can't believe it's almost the end of the "school year" although we'll still do some light work during the week to keep them stimulated..lol. One of my friends (who also homeschools) asked if I was sick of school already, and I said, "YES!" I said, "Am I the only one?" Thank goodness the answer was no..lol. But in reality, I don't want to have that negative attitude toward school. Yes, I'm glad it will be done somewhat, but I want to have that excitement still. Does that make sense? Okay, I'm just rambling here!! Anywho..I took some cute pictures of my daughter last Friday and one yesterday. I can't help but share. Yes, I do have four other kids, but I just love taking pictures of her innocence...LOL!



 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/539499/ Wed, 28 May 2008 19:34:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/minyards7/539499/