Hikes with the Watsons

This week we went one a couple nearby hikes with our good friends, the Watsons. I can't believe we've lived here for so long without exploring these hikes! We first went to Wildcat Creek Falls in the Clemson Experimental Forest. 

Then we explored Todd Creek Falls  down the road. Always thankful and refreshed from time with Darci and her family! 

Waterfalls

This past Thursday we met some friends at Twin Falls and it was a little crazy but fun! Crazy because we had 17 children and 3 adults! It was a so beautiful!

Go ahead and count!

 Beautiful!

After this hike the kids and I headed to Long Shoals since we were in the area and it was so fun! It's only 25 minutes away so we will definitely have to revisit this spot! So thankful to live so close to such beautiful places!

Spencer's expression here says it all!

Sky Top Orchard

Last Saturday we headed to Sky Top Orchard for our annual apple picking with our nephew Kaleb. This is always a highlight for our family and we were thankful for this time with Kaleb. 

We tried to get a family picture and it just wasn't happening so we ended up with this one of Carson looking like a monkey! (Thanks for trying Kaleb!)

On our way home we pulled over to see a couple waterfalls from our waterfall book. We saw Blythe Shoals (picture on left) and Wildcat Falls - Lower (picture on right). 

2015-2016 School Year

I'm pretty late posting this but hey, better late then never, right!? We are in full swing with our 2015-2016 school year! We continue to enjoy My Father's World Curriculum and this year we are studying Rome to the Reformation for history with a focus on the life of Jesus and the New Testament. For science we are studying astronomy and anatomy.  We continue to use Math-U-See for our math curriculum and they all seem to do well with that. We also enjoy using All About Spelling. We use other material here and there but aside from this we stick with the recommendations of My Father's World curriculum. I'm learning so much right alongside my kids! 

At the beginning of the school year I like for the kids to fill out a questionnaire just for fun. So following is each kid, their grade, and their answers to the questions.

Carson - 5th Grade

Some of my my best friends: Bryce & Will

My favorite thing to play: football

My favorite color: blue

My favorite book: Civil War Experience

My favorite TV show: Tom and Jerry

My favorite food: Steak

When I grow up, I want to: fly an airplane

Something I really like: hunting

Something I really don't like: school

My favorite thing about myself: I'm fast

Something I want to do this year: eat squirrel

Bryn - 3rd Grade

Some of my my best friends: Molly, Lydia, Reese, Mommy, Dad, Carson, Spencer

My favorite thing to play: softball

My favorite color: green

My favorite book: In Grandma's Attic

My favorite TV show: Clone Wars

My favorite food: Sushi

When I grow up, I want to: be a vet

Something I really like: my family

Something I really don't like: olives

My favorite thing about myself: my skin

Something I want to do this year: do gymnastics

Lydia - 1st Grade

Some of my my best friends: Willow & Anna

My favorite thing to play: baseball

My favorite color: red

My favorite book: Now We Are Six

My favorite TV show: Tom and Jerry

My favorite food: Sushi

When I grow up, I want to: be a mother or a doctor

Something I really like: I like to color

Something I really don't like: olives

My favorite thing about myself: my art

Something I want to do this year: stay home

Spencer - Preschool

Some of my my best friends: Nathan, Stu, Clark, Will

My favorite thing to play: legos

My favorite color: black and red

My favorite book: Star Wars books

My favorite TV show: Star Wars

My favorite food: cereal

When I grow up, I want to: be a Christian

Something I really like: a kindle

Something I really don't like: ninjago

My favorite thing about myself: I'm doing a math like "they" are

Something I want to do this year: go fishing with Bryce

Praying for a rich school year and above all the academic learning that the Lord would grow us closer to Himself and help us trust in Jesus more! 

First Friday & Game Day

We had a great weekend hosting our dear friends, Gray and Brandy Gainor and their 5 kiddos! They are a blessing to have in our home and we are so thankful for the way the Lord has sustained our friendships! 

We met up at the First Friday Parade!

We stayed up late talking that night and then headed out Saturday morning to tailgate and we all got to go to the game! So thankful to those who provided tickets for both our families to go! We had a great time!

Gray and Brandy shared about their life and what they do at our small group. I loved hearing them share! So thankful for them!

Yellow Branch Falls

Last week the kids and I met up with Jill and her kids to hike the Yellow Branch Falls Trail. It's a beautiful waterfall! 

So thankful for time outside with good friends!

Lately (& Jeremy's Birthday)

We are beginning to feel a little more routine in our life after a busy summer! I've really enjoyed our curriculum so far this year. We are studying Rome to the Reformation and I'm learning SO much! I can already see how it's helping my Bible literacy! We had to start writing things on this chalk board so we could keep track of who the people were….pretty wacky but fascinating to learn how the Roman Empire came to power!

And our homeschool co-op has started which helps provide good routine to our week. The kids love it and I'm so thankful for this time each week! This is a picture of some of the kids at PE.

Bryn and Lydia have been in to crafts lately. Lydia made this cut out of her playing on the monkey bars of our playground and I was pretty impressed. 

Papa, Nana, Amy, and Kaleb came over one evening to celebrate Jeremy's birthday a little early. Nana was such a blessing by bringing a delicious dinner and made Jeremy one of his favorite cakes! And she gave the girls a piano lesson! Very thankful!

For Jeremy's actual birthday we spent the day as a family driving in the mountains, eating out for lunch, and hiking. Then we came home to grill steaks.

We hiked at Oconee Bells Nature Trail and it was just our speed for this day!

I'm so thankful for you Jeremy! I love our life together!