Twilight Marathon Party

I hosted a Twilight Marathon Party this weekend. It was so much fun! We started Saturday morning and finished that night. We dressed as Twilight characters, watched all five movies, ate goodies, talked, laughed, and had a blast. Here are the pictures from our day of fun:

I hung a large Breaking Dawn poster above the piano and set the books out on the piano.

I typed book/movie quotes on white cardstock in either black or red print and then taped the white paper on black or red construction paper and placed them in random places throughout my house. I placed the board games on the piano bench.

I placed Illustrated Movie Companions and quotes on the coffee table.

I used white candles throughout the house, along with the quotes.

More white candles

Dining room table: black tablecloth, red and black paper and plastic products, low carb pasta (Dreamfields), "pale face vampire sauce" (Chicken Alfredo), and "Warm-blooded Ragu sauce" (Beef Ragu). An Italian dinner tied in nicely with Twilight since The Volturi reside in Italy. Also, you can see here that I decorated with red apples and candles.

Red candle, surrounded by black stones, and white tealights

Here I am as Alice Cullen: black hair spray, my regular foundation mixed with white face paint, lots of powder,  NO blush, pink lipstick, black eyeliner: light on bottom, a little heavier on top, gray eyeshadow, and black mascara.

Me as Alice Cullen, complete outfit: I already had the black leggings and bracelets. I got the dress, silver and black flats, and the choker at our local Goodwill store.

Here we have: Leah Clearwater, Alice Cullen, Sue Clearwater, another Alice Cullen, and Victoria.

These are the items I received for hosting a Dreamfields Taste & Tell party. It is low carb pasta, and it is GOOD! My family actually likes is just as much as "regular" pasta, and it is better for you.

Homeschooling and Life: Week of June 24-28, 2013

We had a good week. Doodles finished her 6th grade math book, so she is on a math break until we start her 7th grade math book in August. She will finish her Africa studies this week. Bug will finish his fourth grade math book and his Narnia studies this week. Then they will be on a complete school break until August. I will be using this time to plan for next year. Here are some snapshots of our week:

Treat of the week

Thank you, thank you Purple House Press for printing this book!!! It is used in Five in a Row and has been out of print for years...until now. I am so excited to be able to use this with my FIAR co-op class this year!!!

Doodles wrote an African fable

Doodles sketched this as part of her Asian art studies

Bug and I typed a thank you letter to Cadron Creek to thank them for publishing the Narnia unit study Further Up and Further In.

Bug mailed the thank you letter

As part of Bug's Narnia studies, which also tied in this week with Doodles' Africa studies, we read about persecuted Christians living in Sudan.

Bug learned about why some animals' eyes glow in the dark

One of the only good things about summer here: pretty blooming flowers

Homeschool and Life: June 17-21, 2013

We had another good week. Bug and I are really enjoying the study of the book of Revelation and the parallels between it and The Last Battle. C.S. Lewis was truly a brilliant writer. Doodles is still enjoying her study of Africa. We are learning more about this fascinating continent each day. Baby Girl is still moving along nicely with her "circle time." She looks forward to it every day. Here are some of our week's highlights:

Treat of the week

Bug learned about gorillas as part of his Narnia study

Bug played "Stack the States" on the iPad

Supplemental books for our Narnia unit study: Further Up an Further In from Cadron Creek Press

Doodles caught four caterpillars and is now taking care of them.

Bug is also studying Islam as part of his Narnia unit study.I feel that, as Christians, it is important for us to understand what others believe so we can have educated conversations with them.

Bug finds several middle Eastern countries, along with the Euphrates River, on the globe.

Bug learned about lions as part of his schooling this week.

Another lion website we visited

Doodles sketched this as part of her art study. It is a sketch of a sculpture of Buddha.

Bug's lion worksheet

I am thrilled that Bug has found a book series that he enjoys: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I got a new haircut: went a little shorter!

Homeschooling and Life: Week of June 10-16, 2013

We had a great week this past week. School went well, and we all enjoyed some special family times together. Hubby and I had a date night this week, which is always nice! And, yep, we are still in full swing with our schooling, but we will take a break for the majority of July and the first few days of August. Then we'll hit it up again on August 12....when I'll have a 7th grader, a 5th grader, and a preschooler. Can't wait!

Treat of the week

Doodles is studying Africa, so she researched African art and sketched this piece.

Doodles sketched this African mask

Doodles wrote this poem, and...

illustrated it here.

Doodles wrote this report for her Africa study.

Doodles sketched this as part of our Asian art study

Bug had to be blindfolded and then perform a task as part of his Narnia unit study.

Task I chose: feed the dogs

He did a really great job!

Bug studied some of the names for God as part of his Narnia unit study

Just for fun, Bug looked through some of our science experiment books and chose a few.

Freezing his hands for 30 seconds, and then trying to...

pick up a grain of rice.

Doodles helped Bug trace his hand for his math study on the area of irregular shapes.

Bug is such a great big brother. He has rocked Baby Girl to sleep three times this week.

Baby Girl LOVES her big brother!

I can't say enough good things about Further Up and Further In. It is a wonderful study. We are on the last book of the Narnia series, The Last Battle. This is a worksheet we will use to compare the characters and events in the book with those in Revelation.

Baby Girl really enjoys eating bacon. Yummy!

We moved ahead to Baby Girl's summer book, even though it's not officially summer yet. But, here, in the south, believe me...it's summer!!!

Baby Girl's summer time verse from the summer book mentioned above.

Chocolate chip cookies I baked for hubby and the kids

Low carb, migraine free muffins I baked for myself: cream cheese, eggs, and Nectresse

I topped my muffins with homemade blueberry syrup: fresh blueberries, microwaved for a few seconds, and then mashed and mixed with Nectresse...yummy!!!