About Me

South Louisiana
I have been married for 20 years to a great husband and we have 8 children ranging in age from 1 to 18 years. I am a homeschooling mom, which can be very challenging. I love sewing, knitting, reading, gardening and have recently started oil painting. I love to create. I really want to have a blog to show off some of the stuff I create, but I also want to share about my life and family. email me at ctrich8@bellsouth.net

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Summertime


It is now unofficially summer, I love this time of year, for the most part anyway(I could do without the extreme heat in July and August). Because I homeschool, this is summer break for me as well as the children. 3 months to just be lazy and enjoy the long days. I have more time to enjoy my hobbies and to enjoy my family. We probably won't be able to afford our yearly vacation to the Alabama coast, gas and food prices are just too high, and going higher ::::sigh:::: Feeding my family costs a small fortune, and our 15 passenger van is far from fuel efficient. I am really thankful that we have a pool in our backyard, we can have our own summer fun, without any extra money : )

We were truly blessed with this pool. My dh did some work for a guy who just didn't feel like taking care of his pool anymore, so told Chad that if he helped him move the deck to his house, we could have the pool. It was alot of work for dh to take down and then reassemble the pool, but it was so worth it. We did have to buy a new pool liner and pump, but for around $500, we have a huge pool for the kids! Then, his uncle decided to take down his pool and told dh that he could have all of the wood from the deck. Dh had built this deck for him years before. So, God also blessed us with most of the wood to build a nice deck. My children and several neighborhood children enjoy it all summer long. Once the heat really starts kicking, it is the only way to enjoy being outside.

Here are some pictures from Memorial Day, my Mom and Dad came over and we barbecued and relaxed, while the kids swam. And of course, we had watermelon, you have to have watermelon for Memorial Day : )







My babies having fun.....



This is how my big girls play on the new swingset. They climb on top and sit there and read, here is Isabella doing just that. I can't imagine how much pain I would be in if I tried to do that LOL



I am not doing very well with the post a day in May LOL It is funny how when you start a challenge like this you are all gung ho, but when you get to the end you kind of run out of motivation. I really did enjoy pushing myself to post more often, however. I don't think I will be able to keep doing a post everyday, but I do hope to keep posting more often than I was. My goal is going to be at least 3 times a week, hopefully 4. I know I have enjoyed reading everyone else's more frequent posts : ) I hope y'all have enjoyed mine. I know years down the road, I will enjoy looking back on these posts, blogs are our modern day journals.

18 comments:

Jana Nielson said...

You have such a beautiful family. I admire you for Homeschooling. I have really wanted to do it, but have met with some opposition from my DH.
A blog a day is hard!

Trish said...

Having something fun (and cool) outside is great! By the time July/August hits, we try to get out early in the morning and late in the evening - midday is just too brutal. By that time last year, we were on a complete watering ban and couldn't even do a sprinkler.

Note to self: get watermelon.

Love the pics of your daughter reading atop the swing set! Is that a Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew she's reading??? I think I see dresses...

I've really enjoyed your mostly daily posts. Glad i found you at the cusp of the post-a-day.

Michelle said...

Looks like everyone had a great time, I love picture of your little one eating the watermelon! and your daughter, Isabella... GORGEOUS!! ( she has great taste in books too! :) )

Marie said...

Wow, I am impressed that Isabella can read on top of that swingset! I'd be hurting too if I tried that! Watermelon is definitely for summertime and I love that first picture of Ava! Cute! I blog to journal about my family too, I love looking back and laughing even if my posts are only significant to me!:)

muralimanohar said...

Summer..I am jealous. Lol

Yeah, I agree with you...Post a day is a bit much to keep up with. So hard to come up with relevant, non-boring posts, every single day. Plus, it came in the middle of a really unproductive time, lol.

Oh, and recognized Nancy Drew immediately. :p When I was a kid, I collected every single one of the original series...I was MAD for them, lol. I also used to read in odd places, too. :D

sharleen.2cupsofcoffee said...

I see where you get your good looks. Your mother is gorgeous.

Tine said...

It's good to see that everyone in the family puts the swingset to good use. LOL! It looks like you had a great time :-)
Foodprices are going up, and unfortunately, there are no signs of it getting better :-( Another reason for us to move away from the city, and out somewhere where I can grow some vedgetables for our family ;-)

mommyholly said...

Your kid are just so darn cute!!! What a nice Memorial Day to share with your family:) And I know how you feel about the pool- I don't know how we would get through summer without it! I already am havng a hard time getting my 4-year old OUT of the pool haha! :)

Heidi said...

Hi Tonya, There is no going back now my friend!!!! I know what you mean about thinking that posting once a day will be so easy, and then it gets a bit more difficult!...But there are some blogs that I really do visit each day & yours is one of those! I would miss seeing what you & your family is up to!....here at our house we are so looking forward to Summer!...& just like you we are foregoing an official vacation, just too expensive this year!!...However, our pool, barbeque-ing, berry picking & just having No schedules sounds great to me! Tonight & tomorrow I am trying to finish up a tree skirt I am making for a friend of mine,... I will definitely take a picture as soon as it's done & post it, along with Andrew's jammies & these darling baby items I'm making for my etsy shop! Having to decorate for a client these last couple of days & making all her drapery panels set me back a bit. Anyway, sorry for this crazy long note! You have a great weekend! Stay cool!.....Heidi :)

Jona Giammalva said...

My 11 year old just discovered Nancy Drew too. It's so cute to see her get excited every time she finishes a chapter.
I feel like the kids get a break from homeschooling but I'm already smack dab in the middle of figuring out next year. Sigh.

mommyholly said...

PS. I presented you with the Arte y Pico award- check out my blog for the details! xo!

Anonymous said...

Whats up very nice website!! Man .. Excellent .
. Superb .. I'll bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally? I am satisfied to find numerous useful information right here in the put up, we want work out extra strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Here is my website ; html.nhncorp.com

Anonymous said...

I got this site from my buddy who shared with me concerning this website and now
this time I am visiting this site and reading very informative articles or reviews here.
my web page > entrar correo hotmail espaƃ±ol

Anonymous said...

Good information. Lucky me I recently found your website by accident (stumbleupon).
I have bookmarked it for later!
Feel free to visit my website - aciphex medicine

Anonymous said...

I could not resist commenting. Well written!
Also visit my weblog : active adult mobile home communities

Anonymous said...

Hey! I know this is sort of off-topic however I needed
to ask. Does running a well-established website like yours
require a lot of work? I am completely new to running a blog however I do write in my journal on a daily basis.
I'd like to start a blog so I will be able to share my experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

my website abc network australia

Anonymous said...

Hi, i think that i saw you visited my site thus i got here to go back the
prefer?.I am trying to to find issues to improve my site!
I guess its ok to use some of your ideas!!



Feel free to surf to my homepage - click here for gay porn

Anonymous said...

Hi there, I read your blogs on a regular basis. Your story-telling style is awesome,
keep doing what you're doing!

Also visit my site; zcode system scam