Happy 11th Birthday...Corey!

Today, Corey is 11 years old!!!! We celebrated at the Rascal's Fun Zone last Friday and had a really fun evening with family and friends. His theme was "football" since he is going to play this year. Corey is an all-around good kid...He has a bright creative mind (a walking encyclopedia of interesting facts), is extremely thoughtful and polite, keeps his room very neat...(thanks, Corey!:)), continues to have a great interest in "creepy crawly" creatures and the wonderful outdoors, but most of all~He loves God with all of his heart! Thought that I would share some party pics! Hope that you have a special day, Corey! Love ya!

First day of School...

Ahhh! Fresh school supplies, fun new outfits, new teachers and a whole new school year to look forward to! We started homeschooling today (We are continuing to use the ABeka DVD program)and are looking forward to a GREAT year! It's back to structure and routine which has its benefits, I guess! Corey is in fifth grade, Cassie is in first grade and Cade is a preschooler! We have some fun fieldtrips planned and also plan to become involved with some local homeschooling groups this year(we are shopping around). The kids will continue music lessons and Corey is going to play football this year! We kept our back-to-school tradition of "going out" (on a family date) for ice cream this evening. Happy school year to all!!!

End of summer fun...

Is summer REALLY over? We have truly enjoyed every week and plan to bask in summer fun right up until Monday morning!(smile) We are excited about the new school year but have made some wonderful memories throughout the summer! Thought that I would share some of our "end of summer activities"...a sleepover, a campout, the State Fair, family visitors from the Northwest...Thank you God~for the beautiful changing seasons and for precious friends and family to share them with! You are so good!

summers end

A girl's day out...

My sweet husband took a day off work and offered me "a girl's day out"! How could I refuse that? :) I came back feeling refreshed and relaxed! I was able to take my dear Mom to a beautiful tea house nearby, to celebrate her belated birthday lunch. We had so much fun admiring the unique teapots, china and Victorian finery! Our menu included the following...strawberry-almond salad, creamy chicken-vegetable soup, chicken-pecan salad sandwhiches, scones(white chocolate-macadamia nut and cinnamon chip...yum!),chocolate iced cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and a variety of teas. The food was delicious and we made wonderful memories! I forgot my camera and had to buy a disposable one...hence the quality of pictures! Oh well! I then went and had a facial(an hour long, mind you...) and a hair conditioning treatment! Talk about feeling pampered! Thanks from my heart, Danny!

tea party

Our vacation in North Carolina...

We spent a few days with my parents, my brother and his family at a cabin in beautiful North Carolina. We had such an amazing time! We went hiking in the mountains (saw alot of pretty deer), enjoyed a campfire every evening (the weather was PERFECT...50-60's in the evenings AND we had our own guitarist to serenade us with his beautiful guitar playing...very cool! Thanks, Nate!),cooked and ate way too much yummy food, went antique shopping one afternoon, took in a Daniel Boone outside drama entitled "The Horn in the West"(very well done), read, played Scrabble, watched old movies, talked and laughed alot, and ended our days with family devotions...usually at about 12-1 am in the morning! A "chilling out" vacation was just perfect for our family. We bonded, relaxed and enjoyed God's beautiful Creation.(Corey wanted me to add that he found a snake skeleton and some other fun creepy crawly creatures! YIKES!)

Blue Ridge Mountains

Cassie turns "7"...

God sent us a wonderful, sweet blessing when "Cassie Diane" arrived in our lives seven years ago! We love having her for a daughter! She is sweet, thoughtful, creative and LOVES everything girlish! The theme of her party this year was "Fancy Nancy". We had a fun evening at our house celebrating with family and friends. I think that I am a little girl at heart...I enjoyed her "girly" gifts as much as she did! Thought that I would share a few pictures! Love ya, Cassie!

Cassie's birthday

Strawberry Festival and July 4th

It was a good time had by all as most of the England Clan met at Mom and Dad England's house to make strawberry jam. The guys picked the strawberries for us and then with a "system" in place...we proceeded to make strawberry jam! The kids played outside for most of the day...it's always refreshing to be out in the country. The little ones enjoyed tractor rides, the older boys played in the woods, and the girls did hair and all the things that girls do. Fun,fun!

July 4th was spent at the Jewetts' church shelter and fellowship room. The kids had great fun riding bikes, scooters, and 4 wheelers in the church parking lot. Everyone pitched in and brought some yummy food for our cookout. We ended the evening by watching downtown Indy's fabulous fireworks!

Great summer memories!

strawberry festival, july 4th