The goal for this week is to get bedtime schedules under control. Homeschooling doesn't demand a super strict schedule so I find my little laid-back self being much too lax on the kids in ways.......especially bedtime. You may know how this goes, a beautiful harmonious tone comes over the household and everyone gets along and plays quietly as bedtime draws near........knowing that if they act up, it is off to bed! Then, of course, the routine itself is quite long. We must have a little snack, brush teeth, straighten up, read books in Annabelle's room, read with the boys alone in their room and finish off with prayers and any discussions that might arise. The reading takes a while because I enjoy it just as much as them and always end up reading 3 or 4 chapters in the Little House books each night. (By the way, the Ingalls' garden and entire wheat crop was destroyed by grasshoppers last night. It was devastating and nearly brought the 3 of us to tears. Can you imagine?) We really need to get the process started around 6:30 or 7:00 to be in bed and done before 9:00, but it is really hard to start thinking about bedtime that early for me. To make the situation just a little harder, I am worn down by that time and just somewhat tired of "mothering".

So there you have it; All of my excuses for why my kids aren't asleep and it just happens to be 10:00 pm!! Hopefully, by writing this all out and sharing it with you, I can create just a little more accountability on my part. I feel like sleep is VERY essential in life and everything goes more smoothly when we are well-rested. I want my kids to be in bed at a decent hour. I really need to "tighten up this ship!"

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing with our new neighbors. Lucie spent the week with Mimi and we got to have her a couple of afternoons. It was wonderful for Annabelle to have a playmate. The two of them adore one another and get along so very well!

We stayed outside lots!


















Annabelle loves Emily's Barbie jeep. I am sure she would ride around the cul-de-sac for hours is we would let her.






















The indoor garden is coming along this year. We have a lot more plants this time around and they are almost ready to be transferred outdoors. The boys are very excited and interested in it all, but I would have to say that Adam is more so than Caleb. We also made bat houses for the Zoology classes so I will have to get a picture up of them soon. Hopefully there will be very few mosquitoes at our house this summer!