Surprise Date

 The sky was black and rain was falling all around. Lightning flashed. Thunder and wind boomed and howled. I had some scared kiddos.

They had just gone swimming at the Y so we were driving home in the storm. I decided to surprise them so their minds wouldn't be focused on the weather. (Tornadoes were expected that day.)

 I pulled into the Harris Teeter shopping center where they thought I was going coupon shopping. Instead I said, "RUN!" so they followed me into San Carlo. This was a SPECIAL treat. I was taking them to my favorite Italian restaurant for lunch. They were so excited, not one word was mentioned about the storm.

I love that in the middle of a storm, on a Friday, after swimming...we were able to go out to a 'fancy' lunch together. I'm thankful for homeschooling in moments like this.

Braden got to fill up on all the mussels and clams he wanted:). (and meatballs, lasagna, mushrooms, sausage and peppers, etc.:)

Gourmet Burger Night!

Gourmet burger night has become a favorite over here at the Barbour house:).  The kids did an AWESOME job on their school work (finishing hours before normal), they got along nicely, and they had the whole afternoon to play.

Brian and I wanted to let them know how proud we were of them and decided to do gourmet burger night (instead of the planned pasta:). They were THRILLED! I would love for everyday to go this well.

Burgers:
93/7 organic beef

Topping choices:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Pickles
mushrooms
caramelized onions
bacon
cheese
bbq sauce
ketchup/mustard

Last time Brian made onion rings as a topping and once we had ham as a choice.

**They also love baked potato bar night and salad bar night.

Les Mis

 My Christmas gift from Brian was tickets to go see the musical Les Mis. We finally got to go see it Friday night..and it was SO good. Brian always said he didn't like musicals but I think Frozen and Les Mis have opened him up to it more. I even catch him singing/humming songs from BOTH of those musicals:).

 We went to dinner before the show 

Our seats were AMAZING. The show was awesome...we both loved it!  Well...Brian liked it, but I loved it:).  We came home and ordered the movie off of Amazon and will be watching it with Cailey soon.

This was such a creative gift...he nailed it!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

breakfast for daddy...made by cailey and braden

 The kids and I did a photo shoot to give Brian pictures of us wearing his favorite team colors for his birthday. He loved it!

The day started off with SWEET cards made by all the kiddos AND an omelet made by Braden and Cailey. They made him a bacon and cheese omelet (and even cooked bacon for the first time..without help!)

We called and texted him all day to sing Happy birthday:)

Then Brian and I went out to dinner to celebrate HIM turning 39!! I asked him if he wanted to go bowling or do anything else but he said he just wanted to hang out together as a family. Works for me!

Happy Happy Birthday to you! I am so thankful for everything
you do for our family!

learning from the village

"Cross your heart
Hope to Fly
Stick a Cupcake in your eye"

Ephram was saying this, complete with hand motions and I thought it was much nicer than the version they said when I was a kid!  When I asked him where he learned it, he looked at Kinsey. She learned it from a neighborhood friend. It's amazing to see what things they pick up and learn from each other...and at times scary.

Cailey learned from a neighborhood friend this weekend that a 7th grader at her school was pregnant. I can't believe we are at the age of having to explain how/why these things happen...but am thankful she comes to me and still shares her thoughts. I'm thankful that we can talk about it openly and talk about how the choices we make always have consequences...whether good or bad.

Other people will always influence our kiddos...and they will 'learn' sayings, etc. from them. Homeschooling doesn't mean sheltering. They learn from church friends, neighborhood friends, co op friends, etc.

tape

 this is how it starts...small and innocent:)

 Ephram asked for "my very own tape" for Christmas. He got some scotch tape in his stocking and used it up halfway into January. He made his 'inventions', paper airplanes, and creations all over the homeschool room. He LOVES tape.

One of their Valentine's gifts was washi tape.  He got some with dogs all over it and I told him we could do fun crafts with it...so he should save it for special times. 

Ephram decided to use it to tape things on the walls, his bunkbed, and his creations. He pretty much lived on the landing for two days with his washi tape. He brought down blankets, his dogs, and pillows..lol.

and before long the wall was covered in tape...but daddy
made him take it down:)

Eli and Braden

Eli came over for a playdate after co op one day and these two just had a blast! 

Since Eli was going to the Lego movie and dinner with us we invited him to sleepover as well.

Daddy made waffles for breakfast:)

Braden loves playing with Eli because they never run out of fun things to do together. We are thankful for having co op as an opportunity to meet new friends!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Journey had a daddy/daughter dance so the girls got all 'dolled' up in dresses of their choice. 

My lovey girls

They were so excited for Daddy to come home and practiced dancing all day.

I loved helping them get ready and even let Cailey have a little lip stick

They chose Jason's Deli for dinner (not knowing they would have PDQ dinner there...oops) but poor Kinsey got a bad stomach ache and begged to come home!  She felt MISERABLE and came home to go straight to bed:(.

Brian headed back with Cailey where she had a date with just daddy. Out of all the daddy/daughter dances they've been to, this one was the most fun/organized. They taught the kids and dads all kinds of new dances!

Cailey and Daddy had a GREAT time together...and thankfully Kinsey felt MUCH better the next morning.

yard work.

Ephram said he was going out to do some yard work. I wasn't sure what he meant but when he came back in to get scissors I couldn't wait to see what my little inventor was gonna do.

Low and behold he was cutting the grass. For Daddy. With scissors.

This kept him busy for a good hour before he decided he had done enough to help daddy. Love this funny boy:)

Everything is Awesome!

I took Braden and some of his buddies to see The Lego Movie on opening day. They were excited and loved it!  I thought it was pretty cute too:).

 Afterwards we met Brian at Chili's for dinner where these kiddos used their own money to order  dinner. They talked and laughed about the movie pretty much the whole time.

This was really fun to do with Braden and his buddies!

My 37th Birthday

I had a GREAT birthday this year! I had my favorite birthday cake for breakfast before we went to church. Afterwards we went to Golden Corral for brunch (I only like the breakfast there but everyone else likes the lunch). So basically my lunch was second breakfast:). With cotton candy for dessert. 

 We had to leave by 4:30 to be back at church so we wanted to get as much in as possible. I LOVE the movie Frozen and wanted Brian to see it while it was still in the theater so we went there next. As we were sitting there we both realized that it's the first time EVER we've all been to a movie together. Was kinda a neat moment.  They all loved the movie as much as I did and now sing along with me when I played the soundtrack on repeat:).  Brian doesn't sing with us but he did like the movie and doesn't mind the music...on repeat...day after day:)

We went roller skating after the movie!! I love roller skating (I'm not very good at it but I have fun:)  and haven't been in years ...but that's what I chose to do and the kids couldn't wait. It was Ephram's first time skating and he went around several times. He liked holding my hand and having me pull him...or having me hold him but that gets dangerous fast!



I'm thankful Brian was there because even though he won't skate...ever...he was able to take some pics:).  Usually I'm not in pictures when I do fun things with the kids but with Brian there I have it documented that indeed, mommy did roller skate!

We only had time to skate for a little over and hour then rushed back over to church for small group, Awana, and Elevate.

The day ended just as yummy as it started. With a piece of pistachio pound cake. I love my family and had such a FUN birthday. Having it on the weekend was great because usually we just do school and have activities to go to. Maybe we'll make this a tradition:). Mama loves traditions!

proof that my honey was with us...and the only picture we managed to get that day!

Day 2 Snow Fun

 I can't remember the last time in North Carolina when it snowed while there was snow already on the ground. Day 2 brought more rain, sleet, and a little bit of snow to cover up footprints from the day before. We couldn't wait to go out a build a snowman together. By the time I came out Daddy had already started on this guy:)

 Narnia again:)

 For some reason outside toys are much more fun when they are covered in snow:)

 I love this shot of Cailey. Happy eyes, smiling mouth, and snow all around

 There were LOTS of snow ball fights this day since the snow was wetter.

 Ephram became a pro at making snow balls but we still need to work out throwing them:)

 Braden and I decided we want to make a BIG snowman in the backyard. We rolled and rolled the snow until the ground could be seen underneath!  Getting his belly on literally had be sweating because it was so heavy to lift. Cailey and Kinsey made the head.

 I baked a lot this day but not without spending plenty of time enjoying the snow with my kiddos. Then when they came in they had something warm and yummy to fill their cold bellies.

Gracie came over in the afternoon so the three oldest kiddos headed to the big hill with her. Apparently there was a lot of slush at the bottom so they came home an hour later wet but full of funny stories:). Gracie and Cailey came in for a warm snack and hung out for a few more hours before dinner.

Ephram BEGGED Braden and Kinsey to go back out with him so they grabbed a dry outfit and went outside with him. The three of them lasted 15 minutes..lol. Thankful for fun days like this and that we still managed to get school done.

Second Snow!

 We had threats of snow for a few days and as usual my attitude was, "I'll believe it when I see it." 12:00 came and went with no snow. But then ...a while later we saw it!  SNOW!  It was coming down FAST too!  It reminded me of a Massachusetts snow, covering the grass, roofs, and trees within 30 minutes.

 This was 10 minutes after it started

 they were just a TEENY bit excited about more snow:)

 this was good WET snow too...yummy for eating and perfect for SNOWMEN and SNOWBALLS!

 Mama was just a bit excited too:)

 Later in the afternoon we went out to play some more

 the snow was great for sledding and the girls found a hill much closer to go down

 Once again I look at this girl and see the JOY that exudes from her face

 Cailey was so sweet to help the neighbor shovel his driveway

 this guy was warming up inside and INSISTED he wouldn't be coming out again because it was too cold. I responded with, "Buddy, once you warm up you'll want to go back out. You always do:)"

Sure enough after 20 minutes inside out came my buddy with NO coat on!  I told him he was going to freeze and he said, "But mommy, at least I have a hat and one glove on!" He sure keeps us laughing!

I love this picture because it reminds us all of the Chronicles of Narnia. It was taken in Susan and John's backyard after all the sledding fun.