Where in the World...

Have I been? Not entirely hiding under a rock! We have been busy since all of our friends are out of school for the summer now!

The weekend of June 10-12, Austin's baseball team played a select tournament here in Houston instead of going to Mesquite to play a metro tournament. In the league that Austin plays, there are 4 levels of baseball teams. The lowest level is the metro level, which is good for players that are just starting out. The metro level is divided into two categories, regular metro teams and friendship teams. Austin was put on a regular metro team when he played in the fall. In order to keep his team together for the spring, they formed a friendship team. Next year if his team wants to stay together, we will have to move up to the next level. Not only is select baseball more expensive, it is also more competitive. They will play more games and their season is longer. It will not only be a more competitive atmosphere, but he will also be playing kid-pitch instead of coach-pitch. That in itself is a HUGE change! We are excited to see how he does though!!!

On our way to the tournament 

Notice those rosy red cheeks? That wasn't because he was blushing!! IT WAS SOOOOOO HOT!!! 

Firepower!!!

As usual we have made countless trips to the swimming pool already this summer. This is from our first trip, they brought along the turtle... 

Ready to swim!!!!

In our downtime, I've been trying to find fun, educational things for the kid-o's to do. I stumbled upon the kids section of the National Geographic website the other night. The kids have fallen in love with it!!! There are tons of games and videos about animals. They can also test their knowledge about certain animals by taking quizzes. It was a big hit for both of them.

coolness!

We met the Benders at Chuck E Cheese for some games and pizza. It's not the crazy, out of control atmosphere in the morning when they first open. So, we usually go around that time and let the kids play for the first couple of hours, and then eat lunch. This is one of their favorite outings! Abi and her best pal, Luke, are also snaggle tooth buddies right now! Don't they look so cute!!!

Abi and Luke

Our swimming pool is closed an extra day this summer and also opens and hour later and closes an hour earlier each day than last year. This is our HOA's attempt to keep costs down. I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but it is HOT outside here in Houston, Texas! Which means I will not be doing any exercise outside and we want to be able to swim A LOT! So, we finally decided it was time to renew our membership at the YMCA. I am determined to get my money's worth also, I have been to workout everyday since we signed up!! We were members back in the day, but I was also a full time mommy of two toddlers, I worked full time, and I was a full time student. Things have slowed down and I will actually get the opportunity to use my membership now. So, I took the kids to swim the other day. They have a winding slide that Austin just couldn't wait to get on. In order to slide on it, the kid has to pass a swim test each visit. A little silly, but those are the rules. They have to swim the length of the pool freestyle. Austin was SO excited when he passed!!!!

Waiting his turn to slide

This isn't meant to be a side note, but since the big celebration hasn't yet come...it kind of ends up that way. This year on June  9th, Mark and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We will be setting sail for the Caribbean in 9 days!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!

He brought me flowers and my favorite chocolate

This week the kids have been attending VBS at our church. They have been having a blast and anxiously await what the next day brings! Each day there is a new theme. I happened to catch Abi breaking in a new pair of my heels while still in her 80's garb!!! Apparently they went well with her outfit!!!

 LOVE the leg warmers!!!

Copperfield Church also had a family night, FX Live: Family Experience is like a game show that involve the kids' and parents' participation. Abi kept crawling on Mark's shoulders to try to get picked!! 

The highest point in the room above the rest of the crowd

We started out on one side of the room, but Abi insisted that we move to be by Luke!

Best buds!

Mommy has had some time off in between all this crazy fun!

Me, Lizzie, and Naomi

Naomi= best friend ever! Holding my hand again while I got another tattoo!!!

Christmas... in August???

I love the fall as I am sure many of you already know! I supposed my blog background doesn't give that away at all. My other confession...I LOVE the Christmas season too! I am sure most of you think I am crazy, but I can't help it...I love the fall/winter seasons, and I am not afraid to show it! Another nugget of fun is that I have managed to pass my love for these seasons to Abi. This morning when she got dressed, she put on her Mr. Man Show Christmas shirt! Of course we had to make a trip to Hobby Lobby for the perfect photo op!

Before summer does come to a screeching halt, we did manage to get out in the sunshine at least once! Last weekend we washed the cars- not our prettiest moments, but a lot of fun!

One day last week, Mark came home with a sore back. No worries though because Abi took care of the issue! She is a self-proclaimed professional masseuse!!!

What's New?

Today is June 2, 2010. Today is the last day that Austin and Abi will be in public school (at least until High School). I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am excited to be the one to teach my children, to actually be the one raising them instead of their teachers and school administration. I have been looking at curriculum, researching field trips, trying to think of science projects, gathering information of local co-ops, and deciding how to go about making sure they get proper exposure to physical activity and music. The process has turned out to be a lot of learning for me!

Austin will need to be challenged. He does not need a lot of repetition, and he enjoys trying to figure things out for himself; however, he will be lazy if I allow it. I have a feeling the hardest task for me will be staying one step ahead of him. I do not worry much about Austin, I know his desire to learn will overtake my inefficiencies!

Abi is a very hands-on/kinesthetic learner. In this last grading period at school she went from an on-level 'C' reader (end of Kindergarten) to an 'H' reader (end of first grade). At home we made her read everything from the menu at a restaurant to a set of books that I brought home from the library. The more she does it (especially when it benefits her), the better she understands it. She also recently started asking Mark to do math with her every night before she goes to bed. He writes several problems down for her and she goes through and answers them. Mark focused on bigger numbers, particularly on multiples of 10. She has done so well! I hope that she keeps the want to learn well into our school year. I do worry about Abi though, because she is a firecracker! If she is not interested in something, there is nothing I, or anyone, can do to make her interested in it. That will be my challenge for her.

Our homeschooling year will start officially on September 1, 2010.

Now that I have all of that off my chest, I can put down what's been going on in the Brewer house. For the most part, things are very calm. Mark and I have been working hard on making a budget and sticking to it. It is hardest for me since I am home all day and I am a shop-a-holic! There are a lot of things I want to do, so I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize! 

I have been sewing a lot lately. I made a costume for Becca's Roman day at school, a dress for Kelly's birthday, and I'm in the process of making Kelly a skirt and halter top combo. I have some other ideas in the works for a little boy dinosaur quilt, a little boy baseball outfit, and a couple of other things. I've also been making lots of hair bows lately. I've listed them on my etsy account, but haven't had any luck selling them yet. I haven't really pushed the whole etsy thing because I'm afraid I'll get burnt out of sewing. I really like doing it right now, and I just don't want to lose that 'umf'!

Anyway, I'm so happy to be starting the summer. When the seasons change it gives me new periods of time to look forward to. I look forward to hanging out with Naomi and the girls. I look forward to hearing about the kids' visit  with Grammy and Papa. I look forward to meeting my new niece. I look forward to lounging daily at the swimming pool. When I keep "the looking forward" attitude, I realize how blessed I am. Thank you God, for everything!!!