Crystal Lake {Part 3}

I'm slowly getting the rest of the many pictures we have from our Crystal Lake trip on the blog...

Erin had so much fun!  Here she is, wondering if I'm going to chase her down for walking on the pier without a life jacket. 

Erin always stops to smell the flowers!

MG spent more time in the water than out of it.  Little fish!

Here's Seamus looking out through the screen

At least Grandma was smiling...

Crystal Lake {Part 2}

As I mentioned, it was so nice to see family we hadn't seen in a while.  We saw Uncle Al, which was so nice!  He had us all laughing, as usual.  It has been years since we've seen him and it was nice getting an update on my cousins, Eric and Brooke.  We also saw Aunt Karen and Uncle Dick.  It hasn't been nearly as long since I've seen them, but it's always so nice to catch up.  Please pray for Uncle Dick, who ended up in the hospital the very night we saw him.  Thankfully, it sounds like everything will be fine, after an infection in his leg heals. 
We were sorry we couldn't attend cousin Lisa's weddng yesterday, but the dates just didn't work out for our vacation to extend beyond Sept. 1st.  We wish her the best, of course!

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of our visits with my relatives!  I guess I was too busy catching up.

But.....I have loads of pictures of lake time with the kids.....

A nice neighbor, Ed, took the kids out on the lake.  They went water skiing, jet skiing and tubing.  They had a blast!  Here's Teresa, Moira and Eileen...



Aidan and Molly Grace, waiting for their turn...


Yes, she is picking her nose lol...

Erin preferred the sand...

Seamus preferred the beer bottles...

Sand castles were built...

Bridget took this picture of a frog (or is it a toad?) on the shed's roof...

The swans came, even though we didn't want them.  They make for a nice picture, but they are just not nice.  And they don't leave once they come, especially if you feed them :)  And of course if you feed them, they poop, which also is just not nice...

Swimming in the middle of the lake...

Grandma and Seamus

All that activity makes for some tired kids!

Getting Ready for School

I think I have been in denial that September would arrive :)  I did order my books in July and they have (almost) all arrived. I guess I am a Michigan girl at heart and cannot really start until after Labor Day (yes, it is a law in Michigan that public schools cannot start till then). But here it is upon us, like it or not, and I am racing to get things in order to start full-time school on Tuesday.

I spent some time yesterday organizing an accountability system for two of my students. I promised a MODG mom that I would post a few pictures on my blog to give a visual aid to how this works.

So, here is how I set this up:

I used library card holders with self adhesive backs and stuck them on the back of cabinet doors.  I used one for each subject.  Then I used one index card for each day/lesson of the week and slid them into the holders, in order.  So, for math, I have five cards labeled Monday thru Friday. Each school day, your child (and you) can see at a glance which lessons have been completed and which have not. (I did this system a few years ago and it seems to work better than a simple list on paper for some elementary students.  It is especially good for those students who need lots of reminders to stay on task). When the lesson is complete, the card is flipped over to reveal a cute little sticker.  I'm not sure why, but something about flipping a card when a lesson is complete brings greater satisfaction for some kids.  And we do not loose the list if we do not have one :)

Oh, and some of the cards have a little smiley sticker next to the day as you can see with Teresa's cards.  That means she can do that lesson independently.  Non-smiley lessons must be completed, at least partially, with me.  Again, with a quick glance, Teresa can see which lessons she can work on independently while she waits for me to work with her. It's a pretty simple system.  Let's hope it works! :)

 

Crystal Lake {Part 1}

 We took a little vacation to Crystal Lake to visit my parents at their lake cottage.  It was great!  We saw some family, had perfect weather and did lots of boating and swimming.  We also took over 200 photos :)  I'll post some pictures in bunches...it's much easier that way.

Aidan, kickin back, eating some lunch

The water trampline got a lot of use...

Teresa jumping over Aidan

Molly Grace and Aidan

She made it...

I'm not always behind the camera....

Moira

On Saturday, my Uncle Jeff, Cousin Mark and his lovely wife, Erin, and Cousin Kate and her kids, Mason and Casey came to visit.  We had such a fun day visiting with them. 

I love this picture of Erin and Seamus...

Mason

Kate and Mason

Kate and her kiddos, Mason and Casey

Casey

Bridget and Seamus

Erin lovin the sand...

Eileen and Molly Grace

Seamus's bright brown eyes

Molly Grace playing peekaboo with Casey

I love this picture of Moira and Seamus