True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.- Albert Einstein



People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. -Eleanor Roosevelt



How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.- George Washington Carver



Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. -John Lennon

To Test or Not to Test

Quite frequently I get asked "do you test your son?"
First let me say that I will do whatever the law requires and am not afraid of doing so, but as far as what we do at home, NO I don't give tests. As a child/student, I've taken many test and made mostly A's, some B's, but I learned very little and I believe its because tests have little to do with learning. Because of the large classes/single teacher ratio, the teacher couldn't monitor each student's progress, and so ta-da the test was invented.
Being able to work with my son one on one, I know how he is doing. What would a test prove? Maybe it would make me feel better- maybe it would even give me some bragging rights or maybe it would make me feel bad if he failed. Either way, it has very little to do with what he has learned.

So, for what it's worth from this education rebel . . . leave the testing to those who don't know, and instead enjoy your position of knowing.

Happy Homeschooling!!

Best Friends

Check out River and his side-kick, Jenna. Jenna's daddy was Maximus's football (Fall '08) and the two of them have been "friends" since...
River talks about "Jenn-Jenn" all day long and looks forward to seeing her at church each week.

One of the sweetest things you'll ever see! River loves to drive Jenna around in Gravedigger.

I have to admit, he has good taste :)!!

There's something about nature... boys LOVE! Maximus has a huge heart for nature, and loves to explore! Easter weekend, he found a turtle and named him Kevin. Kevin went everywhere with us, even the soccer game. I thought seriously about going to the pet store and getting all the necessities so that Maximus could keep Kevin (alive). But I thought I'd better teach him about turtles natural habitats because I don't think Kevin will be the last reptile he'll find and want to keep. We talked and talked and talked and talked... and talked about letting Kevin go and finally I was able to coax him in to it, with the explanation that keeping him is cruelty to nature.
Don't know if you can see "Kevin", but here he is (probably on his knees under that shell) as we said goodbye

River saw Kevin's head pop-out!

Maximus disguising himself up in the trees trying to catch Kevin "getting away".

Wonder what's next???

Maximus... Maximus... Maximus...

I hate to brag... ok, not really... so I have to tell ya', my baby boy is a champ!!
This is his 2nd season playing Upwards Soccer and at his Saturday game, he did sooo good. He blocked 2 goals and made 2 goals, turning one ball around from the end of the field and running it all the way back to our goal... Go Maximus!! Go Gators!!

Easter 2009

Something about being a homeschool mom, you can't just celebrate the holiday/occasion... you MUST know WHY you are celebrating!! So for the past month, we've sort of used a unit study approach to learn the real meaning of Easter. Funny thing is, I was learning to.
We used Amanda Bennett's Easter unity study to learn the history of Easter and where it took place. We read the story Matthew 26-28 from the bible, the NIV (which leaves out the and thou), then watched The Greatest Adventures of the Bible: The Easter Story. It was neat to see all the things that we had read, putting pictures with our visuals. We read The First Easter from several different authors and did a study on The Legend of the Easter Egg by Lori Walburg VandenBosch. From this book, Maximus learned 10 new vocabulary words, the meaning of a simile: comparing two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', did a refresh on time and days of the week as many events happened in the book using specific times/days, did a few experiments using an egg and discovered why eggs are a symbol of Easter.
He also got to do a few fun activities such as watch Charlie Brown's Easter and Peter Cottontail, make Resurrection eggs and Resurrection cookies, Easter nests and marshmellow cottontails.

One of the egg experiments: watching to see what happens when a hard boiled eggs is mixed with vinegar... calcium mixed with acetic acid, releases carbon dioxide.

Making Resurrection cookies, going along with the ressurection of Jesus Christ... a marshmellow (Jesus), dipped in butter (oils), cinnamon and sugar (spices), wrapped in croissants (linen) and baked (buried). After they were done (3 days later), the croissants were empty, representing Jesus has Risen!

Maximus with his "empty" linen

Resurrection eggs... each egg has a symbol of Jesus's time on Earth, starting with Passover, to his crucifixion. One of the eggs were stuffed with a cracker, to represent the bread and one morning we caught River red-handed opening each egg until he found the stale cracker, after he found it and ate it, he was done, he left the rest alone.

Cookin' and mixin' up some chocolate and chow mein noodles for the Easter nests

River's nest...

Maximus's nest...

Coloring eggs at Pawpaw and Cathi's

Easter egg hunt at the church... he didn't know what to think.

Maximus's best friends

The bike rodeo, he did soo good!

I couldn't believe how good he did in the bike rodeo, making no mistakes and did not knock over 1 cone!!

Sitting with the Easter Bunny "bunn-bunn" at Ashley Park. River wasn't sure about it, but he was a good sport.

Easter morning- the posse

"Cheez"... River hunting eggs at Granmama Arp's

Maximus and his eggs at Granmama Arp's.

What a fun time for the Brew Crew!!

There were a few things that we didn't get to do as we were sooo busy, but I am a little disappointed so we'll have to make those priority next year... coloring eggs at home, making our bunny cake, and hot cross buns for Good Friday. Since, I have all the stuff, we may just go ahead and "practice for next year"!

Happy Easter y'all!

You know I've been thinking about what it takes to make it in the "real world". What is it that society is looking for from homeschoolers? There are many things and being a homeschooler, you get so focused on trying to please society that it often translates into keeping your child 'above grade level' and into many different social activities such as sports and outside classes and going along, we forget to teach the important things called Life's Skills.
It is exciting for me to teach and witness first hand my children's education; watching them learn colors, words, math problems and on into reading and writing. Accomplishing those things seem to encourage me and become my main reason for homeschooling.
But when I think about it, when I take time to teach my children life skills, I am actually equipping them for the "real world". What will my boys do when they are launched into the real world where Mama is not around to do the laundry, cook, or clean and Daddy is not available for a quick twenty dollars? Beyond the textbooks, my goal is to equip my children to care for themselves and others, along with doing whatever else God has in store for them. In doing so, we- River included, have been talking a lot about money; how much things cost and the results of saving. I want to teach them the value of a dollar and the value of saving a dollar. I don't want to shame them for wanting "stuff", I just want them to identify that no amount of "stuff" brings true happiness, especially when you are a slave to the lender. In teaching this, they must also learn math, science, history and literature, so I believe if I focus on the true meaning of "functioning in the real world", I will have accomplished far beyond what society can comprehend.

While teaching money, Maximus and I was counting up all of his money that he has been saving over the years and counted over $400. After we were finished, the first thing he did was take a great big sniff! That let me know he had inherited his mama's natural love for the smell of green. The money that we counted is his money, not earned, but gift money... so I ask him what he wanted to do with it and he said "keep saving because I want to buy a Harley Davidson when I grow up"... Next year he may decide to blow it all on bubble gum, but at 6 six years old that's pretty astonishing!
And all the while, while I have been teaching Maximus about money, River brought me a "quar-quar" and "penn-penn"... at 1 years old, he can identify the two. It sounds like a fib or an exaggeration, but that is the God's honest truth!

Wow, how time flies. I come to post a blog and realized I hadn't posted since last week!
So much is going on and we have just become so busy since the beginning of the year. After the holidays, I thought uh oh we've got 'real' school work to do and workbooks to finish...so we better get back on track or else we won't have a summer break! But I did mention that we did a birthday study for Maximus's birthday, which was really fun and something I plan to do every year for both of my boys. And we did a small unit study for St. Patrick's Day, learning the history of the holiday, eating green eggs and ham and of course, bashing our cheap leprechaun... (Maximus cannot wait till next year because he has a plan, he wants to set up a trap and catch him...uh oh!).
This year, April Fool's Day snuck up on me! I was planning on getting my family really good. I can't tell because they are soo good, I hope to use them for next year!
Well, after telling Maximus it was April Fool's Day, my little prankster couldn't be any happier! We were able to talk some about the history of AFD, but he was waaay more interested in fooling everyone!
He couldn't wait to get Jason and he did good!
He apologize to him for getting mud all in the camper (this was soo good because Jason is a neat freak about our camper and its not unlike Maximus to do something like this).
He said he accidentally jumped in the mud puddles and didn't know his boots were muddy until after he had climbed all over the beds. I saw the look of fear in Jason's eyes and nudged Maximus to quickly say APRIL FOOLS!
He called Mimi and told her we had to go to her house to get something and Lucy (her very spoiled dog) ran out and ran down the road. Maximus said she really started to get upset so he had to tell her APRIL FOOLS pretty quick!
Then he called Pawpaw. He tried telling him that he saw his laundry mat on the news where it had been broken into and everyone had stolen all his washing machines. After hanging up, he said "Man your daddy is good, he knew it was April Fools...so I've gotta think of something good to get him next year".
For the last few weeks, we have been doing an Easter unit study, so I'll be posting the details on that soon.

So that's what our Home Sweet Homeschool has been up to!

Last week...

Whoa, thank goodness its over! Last week, my baby caught a terrible stomach bug. He was plainly pitiful; pale and almost lifeless. It is hard not being able to take the pain away and not being able to do anything, but let nature takes its course. River's immune is not very strong since he is not around many children, so it was good for him...after it was over, of course!

Here is River on Maximus's birthday, sleeping at Texas Roadhouse. Poor thing missed all the excitement!

But big brodder Mac Mac came to the rescue! He did a very good job at taking care of River while he was sick. He waiting on him hand and foot. I could tell River was comforted with Maximus's touch. Maximus made him a pallet on the couch with his pillow, blang-blang and almost every stuffed baby they own. He brought him juice and rubbed his head, sending him to sleep. I witnessed very sweet moments and true brotherly, compassion, trust and love.

So needless to say, I got in lots of mommy time last week and accomplishing very little!

It is very funny, but when Saturday came, I jetted out of the house, leaving the kids at home with their daddy, while they were still asleep, in the pouring down rain and thunder storms, to go grocery shopping... I was obviously in desperate need of some meeeee time :)!

So back to last week, before Maximus's birthday, we did a study on his special day. We spent lots of time looking at baby pictures and talking about the things that happened when he was born, creating a time-line to today. We talked about prices, popular toys and the US President in 2003. We talked about his birth, how he got his name, how much he weighed and how long he was compared to today. He did a list of things he has accomplished, his God given talents, and things that make him special. We did a little bit of time traveling of events that happened on March 24th and ended with his goals and dreams for his future. It was a great unit study and one I'd like to make a tradition.

River buried in all "security" that Maximus made for him.

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY MAXIMUS!!!

Yesterday was my oldest son's 6th birthday! I am so happy that I have been blessed with such a wonderful son, but at the same time I wonder where in the world the last 6 years have gone! He is growing up before my eyes!

For the last 5 years, we have thrown him big birthday parties, and although they were a lot of fun, we decided to do things a little differently this year. We decided we'd spend the day with him doing whatever he wanted to do. And it was the BEST!
He wanted to go to Jumping Jelly Beans, so we spent most of the day there. We all had a blast! They dare parents to get in and play with their children...it didn't take much convincing for Jason and I to jump right in. We had a great time climbing, jumping and sliding in their inflatable playground. After that, Maximus decided he wanted some ribs and bread from Texas Roadhouse and loved them singing to him! Lastly we went to Wal-Mart, straight to the toy isle and told him he could pick out any toy he wanted (the funny thing is he never asked about a gift). Each day and at every moment, I see and learn how special my son really is!
He didn't take any second looks at the expensive toys, as I was even convincing him of some. 'LQQK at THIS' I would say, and he'd say 'nah'. We even went over to the video games and I was VERY impressed that he didn't choose one. He picked out two very inexpensive gifts; a tiny remote control car and a $4.88 ninja set. And then said he felt bad because River wasn't getting anything and asked if he could pick out something for him. I told him no, because it wasn't River's birthday and he would get something on his birthday, but today was his day.
He said 'well okay, I'll share my ninja set with him then'...
Sorry to brag, but I could only stop and wonder what was I doing so right?

On Saturday before his birthday, we went over to Pawpaw and Cathi's for pizza and ice-cream cake! He really enjoys spending time with them, but to have the time centered around him couldn't be more perfect. They got him a bug cage for all his bug collecting, two mini camping lanterns, $10, an electrical set to build things using electricity (very cool!) and some new clothes.

On Monday his Mimi came and picked him up and spent the day with him. He wanted to go bowling and play in the arcade so they spent the day at the bowling alley. He's been telling her that the only thing he wanted for his birthday was an ipod, so she took him to pick out his own ipod!
He loves his Mimi and enjoyed the day being all about him!

We met up with GranBarbara yesterday and she gave him $25. She asked him what he was going to do with his money and he said "Save It!!", I think that surprised us both!
He has always been good at saving his money (he still has money from his 1st birthday by his own choice)! I hope that trait stays with him through life!


Maximus blowing out his candles at Pawpaw and Cathi's


Eating his push-pop candy from Jumping Jelly Beans... he was just as excited about getting the candy as playing!

"Oh mama, this is the best day ever!"

The famous ribs at Texas Roadhouse!

"Oh my goodness, that was fun! Can they sing to me again? I wish it was my birthday everyday...I never get to get dessert when we go out to eat"

Sometimes I wish life had re-wind buttons so we could replay the good times! I would replay this day over and over again and I think Maximus would agree!

Happy 6th Birthday Maximus, I love you!

Who am I kidding???

On St. Patrick's Day, we always have a leprechaun come to our house. Each year he makes a huge mess, but leaves much hidden gold. This year he couldn't find any gold coins, but didn't think too much of it because he found a great sale on Hershey's chocolate.

So yesterday morning, Maximus woke up, came running through the house screaming with excitement "mama, the Leprechaun came, the Leprechaun came...", then I saw him start looking around and his bottom lip started poking out like a fat worm.
I thought he might not have known the little leprechaun left him some chocolate surprises, so I said "what's wrong?" while thinking I would lead him to the "gold".
And he said "the cheap leprechaun that came to see us didn't leave any gold, and he even hid the candy that we bought last night at CVS."

I felt as small as a Leprechaun!

Thankfully he still believes in Santa, The Easter Bunny, Cheap Leprechauns and the tooth fairy, but I know I've only got a few more years to prefect these magical character duties!!

Hold tight, I am getting on the soapbox :)!!

Don't worry, I'll explain...


A few weeks ago, Jason and I took a marriage class. We got so much negative feedback, saying that we should not seek advice from anywhere, but the bible, yada yada yada. We didn't take the class because we were on the verge of divorce, we took the class to become knowledgeable on how to handle sticky situations that happen in every marriage. Running away from problems is much easier than solving them, but if that were to happen, what would we leave our children with?? Is that the way I want them to view marriage? NO!

Next up, "homeschool"... oh no, I can't believe we do such a thing!! What is up with the people that find out you homeschool and the first friggin thing they ask is "do you worry about them being socialized?" and "do you think they will be prepared for the real world?". C'mon people find something new to ask. I won't go on and on defending my choices on this, but I'll tell you, I've come to the conclusion that the people that ask these questions have no idea what the meaning of socialization is and maybe they are afraid of what homeschooled children will BE in the real world. I know of 40 years olds that graduated high school and still live at home with their parents? In our society, this is acceptable, but if the same person had been homeschooled, it would be all over the world news. Do you really know of someone who was homeschooled and couldn't function in the real world? If so, then you might have an argument.

Religion, oh yes I am going there! We started going to (and joined), in our heart, a very warm friendly, and knowledgeable church...a Southern Baptist Church. Oh yes, I said it- S-o-u-t-h-e-r-n Baptist. You know this is the church where people get drunk on Saturday and come in to church on Sunday. Amen. What I am wondering is why so many other religions have such issues with the SB? Is it because they were not taught the freedom of choice? Or maybe those people are afraid we might actually learn about the bible, because we don't waste time talking about what other churches are doing wrong...hum. I am not sure. But what I am sure of, is that I am happy with the decision and the friends that we made. The books and the disciples of the bible that we are learning, the lessons and scripture that Maximus is learning, and the Independence that baby River is learning. It is awesome! I want my boys to have the knowledge to know we are all the same, and they are free to go where their hearts can be fed, but to stay as clear as they can from a hypocrite.

Lastly, Dave Ramsey... I think you can probably guess why he is a subject. We are taking a Dave Ramsey class at church and you just cannot imagine the people that can't wait to tell what they read or heard about him and how he is just a hoax. What I want to know is, how do you get that? He tells you to save money and pay cash for everything- how can that be a hoax??? He also teaches paying off your debt using the snowball approach, paying off small debt first. I've been told 'Dave Ramsey is bad at math', because the math tells you its better and faster to pay off high interest first. And this is what I love to tell you... you are absolutely right and Dave Ramsey says it! But he is smart enough to know that its not about the math, he doesn't teach math, because if the millions and millions of people that are in credit card debt knew anything about math- they wouldn't be in debt, duh!!

I will be 30 in a few months and I am very sad to say that I am just learning what an IRA, Money Market and Mutual Funds are. I have learned how important it is to teach my kids, not only the value of a dollar, but the value of saving a dollar. I want my kids to be bred with the knowledge of Financial Peace.

Dave Ramsey is a Christian and teaches money management the way God intended. Again, there are a lot of people who don't agree with supplement teachings outside of the bible, and for those of you, I'd like to see you and Dave Ramsey side by side compete in a bible quiz. Ouch that hurt!

Okay I am off my soapbox, I think. But please, to those of you who find pleasure in being negative and find satisfaction in criticizing, please think of what you are really saying...about yourself!

Goin' Green

I am not a tree hugger, and I don't wear clothing made from recycled paper, drive a hybrid car, or have a windmill on the roof of my house (yet). But our family is leaning towards going green.
I've started carrying a few reusable grocery bags in the store and telling the bag clerks that they don't have to bag my milk.
And sometimes I feel a little guilty about all the trash our little family contributes to the landfill each week. On a normal week, we take out 1 overstuffed bag of trash a day. So I've decided that we need to start recycling as well.
So, I am out on a mission to find used containers (that someone is just going to throw away) and for the coming up Earth Day, we will label them and begin recycling.

13 things I have learned, REVISED!!!

Life is a learning process, it is the train and not the station, you learn as you go.

It should be my #1... Things never go as planned, so don't set yourself up for disappointment, you just have to go with the flow.

13. Hold a true friend with both hands.

12. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.

11. A bowl of ice-cream will make you feel so much better

10. Mondays will always be Mondays

9. There is such a thing called 'Hindsight 20-20' and it will happen many times throughout your life.

8. You will never be able to please some people.

7. Learning is fun and book are the ambrosia in life

6. Never complain about something that you really don't want to change.

5. Some things in life ARE free!

4. You can pick your boogers, but you can't pick your family- so you just have to accept them they way they are.

3. It doesn't matter how much you make, what matters is how much you save.

2. Its not just okay to make a mistake, its good to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.

1. Never follow your heart, because it can mislead you.

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built - Eleanor Roosevelt

Snow 2009

Every year, we dream and wish for snow and this year we got it!! I think we got about 5 inches. The kids were so excited, and I have to admit, so were me and Jason!!! We haven't seen a good snow like this in years. Maximus couldn't wait to go sledding and River didn't know what to think. He didn't like it at first, until he realized he could make snow "balls" and eat it!!

Our road... on our way home

Whoa...this is great! I wish we could keep the snow for a few days!!

Elvis loved the snow, he was so excited!!

River- all bundled up and taking it all in.

I love snow!!!!!

My snow angel! I wanted my boys to make angels with me, but they were waaay more interested in attacking me with snowballs.

Jason pulling Maximus on a sled... they took sledding serious! When Jason mentioned sledding, I was thinking of a sliding down the driveway in a cardboard box or trashcan lid, boy what did I know??!!

Maximus wants to move where there is snow year 'round.

What a perfect day and such a great way to end the Winter season 2009!!

Ok, if we can't keep the snow, I'm ready for 80 degree weather!!

"I can do it by myself"

says Maximus, as he builds a #48 Jimmy Johnson race car at Lowe's.

Maximus has been after me for a year to build a Jimmy Johnson race car at Lowe's. They had a workshop this weekend so I made sure to sign him up.

I don't know which it is, if he's a fan of Nascar's 3-time champion Jimmy Johnson, wood-working or just daddy and me time, either way- this kid was on top of the world, Saturday, after his workshop.

Also, I didn't realize how great this workshop would be. He got a Lowe's apron (just like employees wear), safety glasses, a certificate of completion and a badge to sew to his apron.

I'm very sure he'll be doing more workshops in the future...besides this is shop class, right??

Organic Learning

Before homeschool even existed in my home, I was always eager to teach Maximus new things. When he was a baby, I could barely walk without counting the steps. I sang the alphabet song to him everyday. I would consistently tell him the color and shape of an object.
So I can say 'Maximus learned his alphabet when he was 2'...but truth is he didn't "know" the alphabet, he knew the song.
Things are a little different with River. When he was born, I didn't have the undivided attention to give him, but through him, I have learned lot about learning and teaching. Although, I have not devoted time to directly teach him things, he knows just as much as Maximus did at the same age. Maximus, knowing no different, will say "River, hand me the yellow Lego...or the blue...or the green". He can recognize a few (not in order) letters of the alphabet, and can count objects 1-2-3. These are things that he has not memorized, but that he knows, which makes a difference.

Here are just two things that they have learned without me directly teaching.
Maximus brought me an (empty) medicine bottle and asked was it child-proof. I responded with yes...and he said "well you shouldn't have taught me to read because it says pu...sh do...wn to op...en and it has arrows"...[speechless]!!
The other day, as we were getting ready to do school, I was in a bit of a hurry to get started and just started doing things, but River was repeatedly saying something that neither Maximus nor I could understand, he was saying "ple", "ple", "ple" (x100), to the point to where we had to stop and figure out what he wanted. What he wanted was to say the pledge. Everyday, we say the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, and this day we/I forgot, and he recognized immediately it. So we stopped, and I watched my children put their tiny hands over their hearts and Pledge to the United States of America.
In my experience, the nature of learning is much more valuable than forcing memorization.
I only have 1 goal for each of my boys' early education, and its not phonics or math facts (although we will still do them), its to learn to love to learn...something I wish I had been taught.

Life can be so hard sometimes. I'm always blogging about how perfect my life is, how I have the smartest kids, the best husband, a home, the best job in the world, but I rarely post the trials and work that it takes to have those things. I have had people email and ask why I don't post the bad stuff. And why do I act like life is a bowl of cherries. And if the smile on my face is real.

I've learned that if you want something, you have to work for it.
I work hard to be able to stay at home and teach my kids, to have a happy marriage, to make my mortgage payment, to keep a decent house, to put groceries in my pantry... so sometimes, that requires me to work hard to put a smile on my face.

Life comes with un-lovable people, with decisions, with choices, with burdens... life comes with too many things to name.
And I, like everyone else, have had to deal with all the above lately, to which my plate has runneth over. I can't give up my wife, mother, chef, maid, nurse, taxi, finder of all things title and I'm not in a place to give up my income. That being said, I considered giving up our homeschool. I never accepted it, but I did start looking into other options and praying.

At the same time, an old friend from highschool has seen us out and about and contacted me. She said she admired me and my kids and could tell we had something special. She wanted me to give her as much information as I could because she wants to homeschool her 3 kids next year (btw, we both stood in line together at graduation accepting our diploma with honors). I didn't have the heart to tell her I was thinking of quiting.

Then last night, we went to eat at the famous Mickey D's and while we were making our drinks, Jason and I were standing there talking, like there wasn't anyone else there. I turned around and a young boy was just standing there waiting and I said "oh I am sorry, we weren't paying any attention", and he said "that's okay, I'm patient". We got back to the table and I said to Jason "he's homeschooled". No, he wasn't holding a Shakespeare novel and his mama didn't have on a blue jean jumper, but there was something about the way he spoke that I just knew. I knew I was right, but to confirm it I had to ask, so I did and he answered "yes". I almost broke into tears.

And lastly, this morning, after 2 years of waiting to be in a co-op and being told we wouldn't make it next year, I got an email saying we got in and registration for next year is on March 24th, Maximus's birthday...

I can't ignore the obvious, so for now, my consideration is null and void.
My plate is still full and life is still going to happen, but I will just have to learn how to eat off paper plates, get smaller portions, chew my food, and pass, on the things that I don't like.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like my big brodder, Mac Mac"

River geared up in Maximus's helmet and chest protector

OMG, what a joy it is to be at home with my boys everyday and share their underlying bond.

They are best of friends; River looks up to Maximus and Maximus takes River right under his wing... now don't get me wrong, the two of them also squabble all day, especially since River learned the famous word "Mine" and Maximus learned how easily it is to aggravate.

But at the end of the day, none of that matters- what matters is that they have each other.

'At times, we may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Friday, we went on a field trip to the circus! Jason took off work for this field trip- he said he's wanted to see this circus since he was a little boy. We had the best seats, almost front row (for $10).
We had tons of fun, we all laughed and Maximus laughed so hard, I thought he was going to pee in his pants. He loved the part where the clown was trying to stay in the spotlight and tried everything he could, even stapling the light to the floor! But his favorite part was the 7 motorcycles that raced at the same time in a steel globe- I have a feeling I am in trouble with Maximus and motorsports (he's been riding his own 4wheeler since he was 3 1/2)! I loved the elephants. I just cannot believe humans 1/10 of the size of an elephant can get 10 elephants to do tricks- at the same time. One elephant stood on his trunk... just unbelievable.
Afterwards, we went and ate at Hardrock Cafe and since we were in Atlanta, we had to walk around and tour the city.
We were all exausted and ready to get back to the country, but we had such a fun time!!

Here we are, the Brew Crew, enjoying the circus and yes that's me in my Homes "Cool" Mama t-shirt.

Maximus tearing up his BBQ chicken drums at Hardrock!



River didn't like the "fancy" macaroni... he wanted to say "bring on the Kraft, baby"!!

This is definitely a field trip we'll take every year!!