Wow! Where has August gone??!!

So, I'm sitting here making out my schedule for homeschooling, sports and just plain housekeeping...and I cannot believe that August is almost over already!!! Where has it gone? Soon, the leaves will be changing colors and the temps will be cooler, and we'll be apple picking and pie baking! Oooh, how I LOVE Autumn!!! I thoroughly enjoy the crisp cool air, the crunchy leaves underfoot, and the fact that I can finally bake without the house heating up and "baking" us!! Grand Junction has tons of fruit stands and "pick your own" orchards. We will be taking advantage of the fact that the kids are HOME, by going to one and filling up on apples. We've been blessed at second-run peaches (all free!). I tried my hand at peach freezer jam. Kinda runny, but oh so yummy! My kids raved! Then a good friend of mine that I work with gave me some "beet jelly"....oh my gosh! It was sooooo delicious. Sounds gross, but I told her I'd BUY from her, if she ever made enough to sell!! Even Jaron loved it! (Gotta get that recipe!) I think this year, I'll invest in some canning equipment. I already have some jars that I just bought for jelly....they're way too big for it. But would be awesome for jarring up apple sauce. Yum!!! I just cannot wait!

Things here are busy as usual. Been trying to get my curriculum down (as in, decided on!!) and bought. Who knew that curriculum could cost so much! OUCH! I did NOT look at the prices before deciding to HS. But I'm so happy the kids will be home with me. I miss them when they are at school. I cannot wait to enjoy every minute with them...and watch them grow. :0)

So far soccer has been awesome! We haven't actually played a game yet, but both the kids are really doing well in their practices. Jaron's boss even sponsored our team!! They are paying for new uniforms for all the players!!! What a blessing!!! Trevor is doing extremely well, considering he has NEVER played before. He catches on so quickly....it even surprised Coach! Megan is really hustling this year. We may get her to "2 1/2 gear" this season!!! hahaha. Even the team Mom was impressed by how well she's doing. She's way more aggressive (in a good way).

Well, that's about all that's happening in the Schu' household. Busy with sports, school and work...as usual. Will keep you all posted on any new news!

Hugs and Blessings to all!

Love,
Elysia

Busy Busy!

So, as you know....Megan is working towards her Girl Scout Bronze Award...the highest award a Jr can earn. She has a total of 15 service hours she must complete in her project. Of which there are strict guidelines she must follow...one example is she can't work with animals and then go work at the homeless shelter and count both activities towards her project. Her hours must all be related to "animals". So, yesterday, Megan and I spent the morning volunteering at our local no-kill shelter
( http://roicehursthumanesociety.org ). We walked several dogs and played with TONS of kitties (of all ages). It was a lot of fun. She is now almost done with her service hours!! She MUST get all done by Sept. 5th...because she is bridging up to Cadettes! So far, Megan has 12 hours done! Yay! We plan to go over next week and finish up her hours. :0) So we are very excited to almost be done with that. I cannot tell you just how proud I am of her and her Jr. accomplishments! She has far exceeded what I did as a Jr. And I partially credit that to her best friend, Keely. Keely is an awesome young lady who is very driven and pushes herself. I see her influencing my Megan to do far more then she would have on her own. I believe she's teaching Megan to set goals and achieve them! We're very blessed to have her in our lives. :0) They both are going to be bridging to Cadettes, but will be "Juliettes"....meaning they will not be affiliated with any one troop. This is a new chapter for us, but feel it's the best thing for us at this time. We will be having our hands full with work, homeschool, sports, and scouts. So, being a Juliette will free up some nights a week. I'll post pics/video of Megan bridging on here once we get there. Be sure to check back often for those!

Here is a project Megan did at a council event called "Some'er Sewing".


Here's Megan with her leader, Terri...receiving her badges she'd earned thru the year.

Wow!

Okay, so I just happened to see a gal I "know"'s blog spot and thought this would be an awesome place for family to see what we've been up to. And the fact that I'm super geeky came into play! lol. What can I say. I love technology. lol.

Life here in the Schumacher house is beginning to get crazy busy. I've decided to bring all three kids home to homeschool this year. Daunting??? OH YES!!! But I have an awesome Resource Consultant that is helping me every inch of the way. I've only met with her once so far, but I'm super impressed with what I've seen. I meet again with her on Monday.

On top of that, we have soccer starting and instead of just Megan, I have now added Trevor into the mix. Should be super fun!! They're both on the same Semi-Competitive team...which makes it super easy. Although Trevor has never played before. But he's like his daddy...very athletic, and catches on easily.

We're still doing Girl Scouts this year. But instead of Jr's....my Megan is bridging up to Cadettes. I'm excited for her, yet nervous...it's sooo much more work. She's currently working on her Bronze Award. She had to do several badges and about 15 service hours. She chose to focus on animals. She's already done about 10 of her hours....going and helping at our local no-kill shelter. She plays with the dogs, walks them, brushes them, and sometimes bathes them. It's fun. And she's learning alot about what it takes to be a responsible pet owner. It's awesome to see her grow.

Trevor, these days is all sports. He's so like his daddy. He totally is enjoying summer, playing with friends, going to the skate park, swimming, etc. He and Josh have awesome tans...the envy of most that just burn. lol.

Josh is still my little 'gamer'. Loving his PS2. I have to actually "ground" him from it, or he'd live on it. lol. He's enjoying the summer also with swimming and playing with neighborhood friends.

Jaron just ended his summer softball league, but will be back in a few weeks playing on the fall league. We sure love going and watching him play. He's still working hard at CAPCO...but isn't working at La Quinta anymore. They messed up his hours when we didn't have a vehicle and didn't put it back the way it was. Which is a bummer. He'd been there 5 yrs just at this property...and 7 all together. He and I are currently working on debt-reduction so we can go on family vacations and the like. We are so looking forward to being debt-free by next year!

Well, this is where I end. I believe I've blogged your ears off. lol. Hope all is well out there.

Hugs and I'll blog again!
~E~