Happy Birthday Aidan!

Last weekend was a busy one for us here in the Hagler home. Aidan turned 7 years old on Saturday and both he and Trace were Baptized on Sunday. Friday was spent getting ready for the party, making a cake, and wrapping presents. Saturday we celebrated Aidan.

Things have been really busy for us this year with the addition of homeschooling so I decided to keep the party pretty small and we invited 3 friends and their siblings. Aidan chose to have a bike riding party and we got permission to do it at the church in the parking lot. We made name plates for the bikes and then we added two different noisemakers to the bike (bells that dangle and a paper clicker that hit the spokes as they rode). I set up an obstacle course and the kids got to each make their way through it.

Here is Rebecca with the flag sending out our first racer through the course

Go Davis

And now Andrew needed a turn

The kids had to make it through the course and then they had to drive through the silly string attacks of the other kids. This was one of the highlights for sure! Here is Aidan spraying one of his friends

Andrew even got covered in silly string

This sweet little one road way out far making it impossible for anyone to get her...very smart girl!

And here is Uncle Greg getting Andrew as he drives by.


After the obstacle course, we took a break for an easy hot dog lunch and some cake. We are so thankful for our friends that were able to come.

Here is the birthday cake

We had too much wind so we attempted to block it with the cardboard in the back ground.
And that night my brother and his family cam in town to celebrate some more. It was a great day of play and fun with Aidan. I cannot believe Aidan is 7. I know I say that every year and I mean it every year, but 7 really seems older. Aidan doesn't seem like a little guy anymore. He is growing up and developing his own personality. I completely find myself at a loss once again, but I am enjoying this stage. I love that Aidan loves to learn and is curious about everything. He loves to learn new facts about all sorts of things. Learning is simply cool at this age and for a home school mom that is super fun! I love that he is getting to a point that I can trust him more and give him a little more freedom. I love his sense if humor that is developing and even though I might not get the joke, it delights my soul to her him laugh! Aidan is such a sweet little boy. I get compliments about you all the time Aidan. You are a special boy! I love you dearly! Never forget that...I love you! I love getting to be your mommy!

I will try to write about the baptism very soon, but I think this is all I can do for now. What a special weekend!

Homeschooling in Pictures

Well, I guess you can tell that homeschooling is taking its toll! The blog has become a lower priority and in all honesty I am often simply too tired to post after the kids go to bed. I have had several homeschooling activities that I have wanted to update you with. I originally thought that each one would have its own post but since we are so far behind why don't I just catch you up through pictures.

Trace has taken over the Friday afternoon History lesson for me. He gets off work early on Fridays and has been so sweet and wonderful to take this on. It is a sweet time for the kids and him too. I have been known to enjoy my Friday afternoons by running errands, reading a book, or taking a nap. It is a great time for me too!

Here is their first Friday with daddy. The first week we defined history and archeology. After the archeology lesson the kids went for a "dig" in the sand box.

They roped it off into sections and had to explore the area and see what they could discover.

Week #1 with Dad was a success!
Here are our cave paintings.

And this is supposed to be the white crown that the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt wore. It would later become part of the double crown when Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt became one.

Here is a picture of Andrew just because he is cute.

This is our attempt at an Egyptian Pyramid. We made the bricks out of sand and glue and then cut them out and arranged them to resemble a pyramid.

And this is supposed to be a Sumerian seal.

We also made a trip to the Dallas Aquarium which was super fun. We went with another home school family that we have gotten to know. They have 3 kids also and they are all within months of my kids. It is their first year homeschooling and we are doing basically the same curriculum. It has been a huge encouragement to have someone else who is on the same page we are. They had completed their study of fish and we spent a couple weeks studying fish to help get us ready for the trip. It was a fun day! Here is Becca feeding a bird.

Aidan overlooking everything.

The whole group of kids! I love this picture.

All but one of the little guys.

If you haven't been to the aquarium I would say the highlight is the shark tank. It is like a tunnel and the sharks swim above you. This picture cracks me up with everyone pointing different directions but it is pretty cool to see. My little Andrew had a few moments of panic as the sharks swam overhead so we ended up watching from outside of the tunnel. He was a bit heightened the remainder of the time at the aquarium and he didn't get to far from mom. I was completely surprised to see him react like this.

Two of my monkeys near the penguin exhibit.

And last here are a few pictures when we watched the Rose Parade. I have never taken my kids before (it usually falls on Aidan's birthday weekend and is just too much). This year we made a point to watch the parade. Here is Becca and Aidan.

And Andrew the fireman. He chose this hat for Halloween and a costume came with it. Literally, that is the way it worked. He wanted the hat and he had to wear it to the parade. I wouldn't argue with someone that adorable!

So there you have it. The last couple months in pictures. We do things that do not pertain to history or science around here, but those just aren't as fun to take pictures of. And just in case you are curious, all ideas listed about come from our history curriculum. We are using the Story of the World and I bought the activity guide to go with it. All creative ideas should be credited to the book.