Moms sick day

We have all heard it...or of course know from experience that Moms don't get a day off when they are sick.

Sunday night, I was just hanging out, when I started to feel that little "tickle" in my throat. I even said, out loud to Ben, "It is probably just allergies".

However, Monday morning that tickle was still there. But life must go on. In this case, life meant a field trip with a group of 5th graders.

After dropping my middle schoolers off, I went and got my official chaperone badge, so that we could go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

Even though I wasn't feeling well, I had an awesome time. The museum was so neat and while I can't speak for the kids, I learned a ton!

Did you know that Ronald Reagan kept a diary every single day? Except the night he was shot and in the hospital? Did you know that he didn't work out in a gym, but worked on his farm and ranch instead?

We saw a piece of and learned about the Berlin Wall. The kids all had a chance to shovel a tunnel through to get to the other side of the wall. Coming out on the other side to freedom.

We also saw the suit he was wearing when shot, with the bullet hole displayed.

While the kids were there, they did the "normal tour" and walked around and looked at the different memorbilia. However, they were all assigned a part, and were able to role play some of the different people involved with the Grenada conflict in the Discovery Center.

They were broken up into 3 different groups, the Oval Office, the Press Corp and the Military.

Connor was given the role of Vice President George Bush. He was very excited to be the Veep!

 It was so neat to see the kids sitting around the "oval office"discussing politics, and military movements. They really got involved and unfortunatley didn't always make the "right" decisions.

After a ride on "Air Force One" back into 2013, it was time to leave.

What an awesome field trip!

Being very young during his time in office, I really didn't know too much about the "Gipper". But from all that I learned...I am so very impressed.

 I can't wait to take the rest of my kids there...as long as I am not sick, of course.

If you are ever in Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley area, I would highly recommend you stop in. You can find more info about it here.

Spring Fever

One of the nice things about homeschooling is, when the weather is perfect outside, we don't have to spend our day inside!!

Now that state testing is over, spring fever has hit our family big time!! So instead of sitting at the kitchen table doing worksheets, we headed out to visit the Santa Barbara Mission. Fourth graders in CA, learn about their state history and make their own missions. It was the perfect chance to get out of the house.

It was a beautiful day and the mission was very pretty. Beautiful gardens, spanish architecture, fountains, statues, murals....

I loved that my kids were so quiet and reverent as we walked through. There was a woman praying in the chapel and so they made sure to be respectful of her. Thus there are no pictures from inside the chapel.

Later the kids sat in the grass and sketched a picture. They are now working on making their own!

Family time

The past two weeks have been so busy at our house. Life just never seems to slow down! Maybe it is because I have so many kids with so many different places to be....

That just might have something to do with it right?

On Friday, my kids and I (minus the youngest) headed out to a childrens museum.

This museum was pretty small, but still lots of fun. My daughter is at this, " I am too old for this kind of thing" stage which can be pretty annoying. Luckily one of her friends was there and so they were able to hang out. Although I did catch them "playing" in the doctors office.

I love seeing my kids interacting with each other and with the exhibits. I also love seeing how much my children know. My son surprised me with some facts about ocean life. This is one of the reasons why I love homeschooling.

We hit up the commissary where I like to go and use my high value coupons. We snagged Philadelphia Cooking Creme for .29 ea. Vlasic pickles for $1 each, Kraft Homestyle Mac and Cheese for .69 a bag.

We were tired and worn out, but my daughter still went out and hung out at a friends Spring party. I love that they made bags, played charades, knitted and did all sorts of fun crafty stuff. It was a long day but we had fun.