What's On My Happy List?

END OF SUMMER wrap up! We had our annual outing to the Redwood Drive-in with the neighbors..We had quite the caravan with 7 cars and about 40 people joining in the fun. The only descent movie with the possibility of both kids and adults enjoying was The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  The title fit the movie perfectly. Talk about odd! We still enjoyed the evening though...

 Family Picnic in the canyons...with a rattlesnake scare included...

Emma had a little too much fun stuffing her face....

Summer Chores! 

I came across this idea for summer chores and meant to post it sooner.  This idea worked fairly well for us in the beginning of the summer... and then we lost steam, which we usually do. But I do think its a great idea if you can stick to it. We are just challenged in that area. :) I had cup of craft sticks with a chore written on each one. The girls would pick three. 

Sometimes I'd find they would pull the same stick as they did the day before, and if that happened they could re pick. What also worked well was picking a handful of sticks and then deciding from those what three they would rather do, or what I would rather have them do depending on need. Most often during the summer I would just assess what needed to be done and ask them to do it. Sometimes I found that to be the easiest way. IF anything with chores is ever easy?!

 

Another cute idea involving sticks was using them for summer reading. With each stick saying where or how to read. I was hoping this idea would work for us. Did it? No. Brie maybe used it a handful of times.
It's like pulling teeth to get Hannah and Brie to read. {It's the inherited Dyslexia. My dad is Dyslexic. It is something you are born with, you cannot cure it, you just find ways to manage around it}  

So.... basically reading is a chore to them.  And I have a hard time enforcing it.
The key is to find material that they are really interested in. The One Direction Biography and numerous 1D magazines Hannah was more than happy to read this summer. Yeah! And Brie quite likes Junie B. She has read five of her chapter books just lately... on her own, with this incentive from Grandma...Yes, another Lego set... but hey, whatever works! 

Speaking of books here are a few I have enjoyed reading as of late....
If you are a Downton Abby fan, Below Stairs is a must read!

Currently reading Turn Of Mine, probably my least favorite out of the ones I've listed but still good. I can't wait to finish and read Edenbrooke next. Emma took it from me and started reading it, staying up til 1 AM. The first thing she did the next morning was pick it back up and finished it. She couldn't put it down. 

She loved this book! 

 She says it is the best book she's ever read and she has read a lot!

She had to read Cold Sassy Tree for her summer Honors English assignment. There is a huge project due about the book so she is currently busy working on that...as school starts this week!
 

This is just a sample of one of her 26 pages that she has created so far....Seriously you should see this project she is working on..over the top!

Here's the kitchen table to prove it!

 Kyleigh's summer Honors English reading was the Crucible..

 

I've about had to put her on house arrest so she would just sit and read it! She has put it off and left it to the last minute. She is so programmed that way and works better under pressure, most of the time.. {Whatever works I say as long as she gets it done.} She is the type that will do just the minimum to get by and get the grade where as Emma puts in a ton more effort, like 110%. We had a good laugh about that tonight because they are so different in that way. ...

Had the girls clean out their personal binders and throw away school work from this past year to determine what they want to keep. This was just from Kyleigh's school bags that she ended up chucking...

 

Can't believe its time to start a new school year. Summer just always flies. Our summer has been pretty low key which was so nice. I really came to the conclusion this summer that I am not a summer person. at all. It is my least favorite season. I could give you a not-happy list of what I can't stand about it. lol 

I think the heat being at the very top. It's been a disgustingly hot summer! And I am not a fan of many of the activities that scream summer.....Lagoon, water parks, zoo, museums, hiking...etc. etc. 

{I can really be a boring person. I think you'd be surprised.}  

There are a few things I enjoy though...I love that my kids are home and we don't have the pressure from school and all that goes with that. {Although there are days that I miss the routine and structure}. I love the fruit that is in abundance this time of year, summer nights, the sound of crickets, and ice-cream runs....

Not quite sure if we are ready for it to end. Other than the heat! We will be back into things full swing very soon...Getting these kids to bed at a descent time is probably my main concern at this point for the school year...our house is always buzzing until late..very late! And mornings come way early. It's going to be interesting. So I'm wishing myself luck :)