Week In Review!

Isabella on our hike at the State Hospital. The girls and I took a hike, while Brandon was there for his backpacking class.

A very pretty view on our hike.

We headed to the beach last night!

Ashley at Golf Lessons.

wow. What a week it has been! I can not believe how fast this month has gone. We have been incredibly busy this week, I had my psych and english class this week, Ashley had golf, and Brandon had backpacking and Ashley had sewing. Busy busy. luckily next week calms down a little. I finsh up my psych class, but have lots of work for my english class. Other than that, I don't think much else! Oh I have a kick off event for the Cherry Festival that starts next week. But no shuffling the kids around.

organic clothing

So, I am thinking ahead for fall, {Always like to be planning} and I am realizing that all three of the kids are going to need almost all new clothes. At least Isabella, and Ashley and Brandon need quite a bit. So, I am on the search for Organic clothing, but not blah clothing for them. And my search is leading me nowhere. There are Sooooo many companies catering to baby organic clothing, but nothing for kids {mine are 6,8 and 10} I really want to think this through and not make impulse purchases and buy "junky" clothes. You know polyester and such. And really I can not afford a lot or very expensive clothing. I guess, I am going to have to really take my time, and check labels. Any ideas on what companies, besides patagonia, cater to the kids and are eco friendly. I am more of a GAP person, really, but I just want to be more conscious of materials, and things. I will update on anything I find, but it is hard!!!!

Clothesline Challenge

I have taken the clothesline challenge! Gift of Green started a clothesline challenge for the months of May, June, and July. Basically it is just a challenge to get some to all of your clothes up on the clothesline and out of that dryer. With all the winter months, I can't really get them up all year round, but once the snow is gone and gone for a while (in Northern Michigan you never know when that is going to be.)I start to hang them up. I signed up for the advance, because I try to hang 95% or more of my laundry on the line when it is clothesline season. It normally goes well. I don't like the crunchy towels so I do dry some of those in the dryer. But that is about it. In fact it has been rainy for the last week, so I have just held off on laundry so I can line dry it. It is hanging up now, and hopefully will be dry in the morning, when I wake up because the forecast calls for rain at 7am.

Here are a couple of pics of my clothesline. The first being a week or two ago, when I started the challenge, and the second is from today.

First Day of Summer Vacation

So far it is going okay. We had to start the summer off with a doctors appointment for Ashley. Then since we were out we headed to the library to sign up for the summer reading club. This year it is about bugs, and they have lots of events to go with it.

What a Perfect day!

That is Bella, laying out on a PERFECT day! For me it was perfect, not incredibly hot, but the sun was out. And we had a slight breeze, which normally I don't care for, but it was nice. I was hanging laundry on the line, and she is on the blanket {still in her jammies} writing stories in her new composition book. It is now starting to rain. But I sat out all morning, finishing a book, and eating cinnamon&sugar toast for breakfast, with a cup of tea. I sat outside for lunch too, grilled cheese and pasta salad. For a little bit, I even laid on the blanket with Isabella and started {and finished} another book. Just a quick 250 or so page book of Ashley's called the Doll People. It was pretty good. I figured I would read through her books this summer, and try and encourage her to read through them too, since she won't.

Yesterday I tagged along on Brandons trip to the sand dunes. It was HOT. Almost 90 degrees, but I will not complain, since it is Northern Michigan and the weather changes quite drastically, quite quickly. Just like 2 weeks ago it was in the 50's. But I got sunburned :( It was weird, because when I put sunscreen on the kids {and not on me} I must have dribbled some on me, or wiped some on part of my arms, because I am really red, and have spots and streaks of white in weird places. Oh well. It was so much fun, and that is him {the little dot toward the middle of the screen}.

Ashley got back from her trip yesterday and even though she had fun, I don't think she would like to go back. Maybe, but I don't know. I am a horrible mom, who forgot to pack bugspray. {In my defense, I was worried about not having everything, so I just went down the list, and made sure I had everything that they said to bring, and bugspray as not on the list}. So, she came home COVERED in bug bites. And she is in sooooo much pain. She also somehow bruised her ankle, and it is swollen. So, we are trying to put her back together, and save a trip to the walk in clinic.

End of the School Year

It is soooo close to the end of the school year. The kids have two days left this week and three half days next week. It is quite busy still. But at least it is not busy lots of homework and last minute reports type of thing. Which makes me a wee bit stressed. Ashley, especially, has had an abundance of reports due in the last 2 months. You name it, she had it. Colonial America, Pioneer America, Maya, Design Your Own City, Monthly Book Reports, Michigan History, plus she had book club at school, which they did a play for, and four writing pieces...Expository, Descriptive, Narrative and one more. Just crazy busy, plus weekly homework. She realized the fruits of her labor today though, when she left on a THREE DAY field trip downstate to a camp with her class and the other two upper elementary classes. I unfortunately was unable to attend the field trip, Because my son has his field trip on Friday to the Sand Dunes, and I haven't been to as many classroom functions for him as I have for Ashley. Plus, a big deciding factor was the fact that I am going back to school this summer, and I had an exam today, that I couldn't take any other day.

A couple exciting things that have happened this week is that we had two graduation ceremonies. Isabella is transitioning from the primary to the lower elementary environment, and Brandon is transitioning from the lower elementary to the upper elementary environment.