Krazy Kuehner Days: Week 2, 3, 4 & 5 - Ok....the whole month of June

So I am way behind on posts. It has been an extraordinarily busy summer so far. There are camps that the kids wanted to try. The extra outside chores, on top of the inside jobs I need to get done. I literally have no trouble going to sleep each night I am so exhausted. I am going to highlight what has been going on the last few weeks.

We started out the month with Lydia heading to Science Camp with our county 4H. She had so much fun, and she can't wait until next year. Caty almost has me convinced that she will be going too.

Lydia and Joe spent a Saturday doing an Archery Safety class. Lydia loves archery, and this was to go along with one of her 4H projects. She had a lot of fun, except for the mosquitos.

We had our annual assessment event at our house. A friend of ours generously spends the day at our house doing assessments for families. In Ohio, you have a choice between testing or having your work looked at by a certified teacher. We choose the Assessment route. We have lunch together and the kids play. It's a great time. This year Lydia was at camp during the assessment, so we had our assessment later in the week. I always tell myself that I will be more organized each year, but again...I didn't have my act together. The kids paperwork and books were sorted, but not really organized. I did manage to type up a script of everything each child accomplished and even a list of the places they visited this year on field trips. I also had a short list of their goals for next year. So I wasn't totally off.

We also saw the new Angry Birds movie. This was actually very funny and I even enjoyed it.

We spent one day visiting garage sales in a local community. The kids had to work on their money skills that day. We came home, had lunch and watched another Aerial America. We have almost made our way through the United States this year. Getting very close to finishing all 50 states. We are only a couple states shy, and that is because we took a couple weeks off. We'll have our 50 State study done in no time! And then it's time to start World Geography again.

Lydia and Caty both had a local riding competition they went to. Lydia was so excited. It was her first time doing showmanship. She did wonderful. Caty rode in Pleasure class. She decided to not trot, she has been thrown twice now. So trotting is not her thing at the moment.

We had a field trip to a local resource of the Civil War. The Lathrop House served as a spot on the Underground Railroad during slave times. The field trip was set up to go with our American Girl group, since we just finished reading Addy. But it worked out great because the kids will be starting this part of history in our Group History class at home. So I made sure to include the boys also. The heard the story of Henry's Freedom Box.

The kids got to see a box that is just like the one used by Henry and also sit in it. They also saw the cramped area where the slaves would hide during their stay at the Lathrop Home. This is such a wonderful hidden resource in our area!

The slaves were hidden behind a basement wall. They crawled through a tiny hole in the oven area and were hidden.

Churning butter

I didn't get many pictures, but we also got to tour the local Dairy Bar restaurant. Lydia has been studying about careers in the food industry and Caty has been trying to learn more about this also. So this was a great time for them. They got to see where the food is made, stand in front of the grill and see how they make some of the ice cream. Brayden was impressed when he saw the freezer that holds his favorite Mac and Cheese bites...lol.

Most of the kids have been working hard at reading. They have read and read. Joey, Caty and Lydia all finished and exceeded the required minutes for the summer reading program. Joey is burning through books. His favorite series right now is the Michael Vey books. We discovered them and he has almost finished the first 3 in the last 3 weeks. He'll definitely be ready for book 5 by fall.

We all took part as a family in the local Autism Society fundraiser. We stood outside of a local Walmart for a few hours collecting funds during their big weekend. We had a local fireman with us, and he brought boots for us to collect with. The kids had a lot of fun. Brayden loved being around all the people and handing them carts. He was very sweet to everyone.

She got a little bored, so she and Joey kept taking reading breaks.

Caty got to go to Nature Camp with a neighboring county's parks department. She hated getting up early everyday, but had a great time. They spent a lot of time exploring the woods and learning about the residents of that park. While she was at camp every morning, the kids and I hung out at the local coffee shop doing our schoolwork.

Competitive Cheer is well underway in June. The girls are working hard to learn their routine. They are both doing wonderful with it.

The girls both started back their online Art class with Blossoming Artists. They are having fun with it.

Brayden and Lydia started a Computer gaming class. This is taking what we learned this past winter and stepping it up a notch. So Mom is definitely being challenged now.

All 4 kids went to a local Special Needs camp. That was a weekend of busy. But Joe and I had a full night with no kids. We went and seen the new Independence Day movie. :) It was a long weekend though. Joey had a full meltdown and anxiety attack, so we got him early. Because he wouldn't stay, Brayden wouldn't spend the night. But he wanted to stay longer, so I had to make several trips back and forth that day. But he did go and that was a huge deal. I was grateful. They played games, went canoeing, fishing and had water balloon fights. They also did tie dye and crafts. They can't wait until next year!

While they were gone, I took advantage of clearing bookshelves and moving some stuff around. Joey got a new bed also. This was a HUGE amount of work and decluttering.

Lydia started back her second year of Horse camp with the stable we go to. She loves horses and loves spending time around them. This camp was great last year and she said it's even better this year.

The boys had their 4H presentations. They both did really well! The picture of Brayden has disappeared in the whole laptop conversion.

Joey's watershed model.

At one of our 4H meetings, we sewed pillowcases for Konkerr Cancer. Even Brayden got in on the fun.

We went to a local pool with our GS Troop.

Treat for the puppies...ice cream sundaes from the Dairy Bar

Lydia loves rollerblading now. She is working at it.

Storytime at the local library.

Caty has been wanting to cook a lot. We signed her up for Raddish Kids. She absolutely loves getting her monthly box. In June, it was a BBQ theme. She loved getting to cook on the grill.

She made a cake for dinner, and the sides. I helped her make hm baked beans. She had a full spread for the family.

We finished up the Gold Rush and Alamo this month is history class. The kids each built their own Gold Rush town in Minecraft then. We watched some great documentaries about these events. It was a nice restful afternoon with a movie and popcorn.

They were so excited about getting to do this.

Brayden was super excited to get the opportunity to make BBQ chicken with grandpa. He thought this was wonderful. A lot of steps to keep track of, but this meant so much to him.

Brayden is a chef in the making. It'll take lots of time and patience from both us and him.

We had a pretty busy month, and July will not be any different. I am hoping to chill out more in August before our family vacation. I think two busy months in a row are enough. But we still have a ton to do then. The girls are working hard for upcoming cheer competitions and also their State Equestrian riding show. Here's a couple more pics from this month....

Too many cartwheels equals an exhausted Caty at cheerleading practice.