August

It is simply shocking that August is already over! We definitely made the most of it, and here are the highlights. Not represented in the pictures: a trip to the revolving sushi restaurant to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday, my first visit to a chiropractor because of a very sore back, a couple of visits from the plumber to install a new kitchen faucet, Jeff joined every conversational Spanish group in the DFW metro, Clay started his Ninja Warrior class, Max started his yoga class, Arrow Academy orientation, my mom came to stay with the kids for a week, Weston got to work with the Scouts at the Highland Village Balloon Festival, Ruth and Weston's first cross country meet, Weston attended Boy Scout leadership training, and Ruth started college classes at the local community college.

I took a beaded bracelet class at the library and produced this lovely piece.

We had a better-than-average time at Walmart.

Jeff finished up his bartending class and
got to do an externship at The Magnolia Hotel in Dallas.

 

We visited the Giant Eyeball in Dallas.

Max got to go to Lego Mindstorms camp while at Nana Camp.

We spent several lovely days out in the Davis Mountains.

I had an essay featured on the Art of Simple blog.

The younger boys and I got to spend a day with Granny.

We had a barn/playroom built in our backyard.

We attended a back-to-school party with Arrow Academy at a super cool splashpad.

I turned 41 and received sweet cards and drawings from the kids and
gardening supplies, including these awesome Sloggers, from Jeff.
We also ordered dessert using Door Dash and had brunch at Nico's.

Jeff and I became locally famous by making it into the Flower Mound
activities catalog, which featured a picture from the dance class we took a while back.

We successfully shopped for new school clothes.

Jeff took a motorcycle class at Harley and became a licensed motorcycle rider.

I cooked enough food to feed an army in preparation for being out of town.

The boys started their classes at Arrow, which include
things like History, Science, Art, Robotics, P.E.,
Speech and Debate, Dance, and Guitar.
Clay has been belting out Bubba Shot the Jukebox all week,
even though the only thing they are supposed to be
practicing is tuning the instrument. Such an overachiever!

Jeff and I celebrated our 20th anniversary in Costa Rica.

We started school, and I can hardly believe we have kids in each of these grades.

Max started saxophone lessons.

The entire family supported the Aggies for the first game of the football season.

   

Aloha Friday

For some people, today was Friday the 13th. For us, it was Aloha Friday. Clay frequently wears his "Aloha suit" on Fridays, and today was no exception. But we added a bit more tropical flare today by having pineapple rice for lunch and fruit salad (made entirely by Clay) after dinner. I hope your day was also full of aloha!

It's Aloha Friday!

Getting an island vibe with pineapple rice

Clay's specialty is fruit salad

Regatta and Cotillion

Clay got to participate in his first scout activity today: The Raingutter Regatta. He had a blast getting to wear his uniform and competing against the other Tiger Cubs.

Creating a mighty wind at the regatta

Meanwhile, Weston was off to participate in his first Cotillion class--a class designed to teach middle school and jr. high kids the basics of etiquette and ballroom dancing. He was a little nervous at first, but he enjoyed the class and looked so handsome.

Off to Cotillion

The Scouting Report

A couple of weeks ago, Weston joined a local Boy Scout troop and this afternoon took off on his first weekend campout. He is so pumped up about being part of this group and about checking things off his list to earn the merit badges. Everything about scouting seems to be right up his alley, and I'm so excited that he has this opportunity.

Inspired by his big brother, Clay decided to join Cub Scouts. We went to the first meeting last night, and today he got to go to the Scout Shop to pick up his uniform and accessories. Man, does he feel big, even though he's nowhere near big enough to actually fill out his uniform, which was the smallest size they had! This afternoon, he got to paint his boat for the Raingutter Regatta happening on Sunday, and he started working on the activities in his book. He's so proud of himself, and I'm glad I get to be his Tiger Adult Partner.

I'm proud of my guys and am eager to see how they learn and grow through these experiences!

My big Boy Scout, ready for the camping trip

My little Tiger Cub

First Day of School

It's hard to believe summer is over and it's time to get back into the routine of school, but here we are. Truthfully, though, the start of the school year is always very thrilling to me, and we are all very excited about what this year has in store for us. Following a few conversations about dressing for success, the kids voted to have "school uniforms" this year, which basically means they decided to adopt a business/business casual wardrobe for school days. For boys, we settled on collar shirts paired with slacks, dress shorts, or dark colored jeans, ties optional. For girls, those choices apply, as well as skirts and dresses. I've always believed there is a great deal of truth in the idea of dressing for success, and it seemed to prove out in our school day today, as everyone maintained an air of seriousness and seemed eager to perform at their highest level. Admittedly, this could be attributed to the fact that it was the first day of school and no one has gotten tired or burned out yet, but I'm choosing to believe that the clothes made at least some difference. I mean, one would seem to appear especially silly throwing a fit while wearing a tie, don't you think?! Either way, we had a great first day and look forward to accomplishing our goals and learning lots during this school year.

Watts Homeschool Students 

Clay ~ First Grade

Max ~ Fourth Grade

Weston ~ Sixth Grade

Ruth ~ Sophomore

Watts Homeschool Faculty

Greetings from Alaska

We are in port in Juneau today, and we have Internet access, so I thought I'd check in. We boarded our Holland America cruise on the 25th, and have been having a wonderful time on board as well as at the two ports of call. It hasn't been nearly as cold as we were expecting, and for the most part, the seas have been pretty calm. The kids have been loving the kids' camps and have spent almost all their time there, hanging out with other kiddos. This has given Jeff and me a ton of time to attend some of the on board activities, take naps, and read lots of books. The library is a favorite spot for our whole crew, and of course, everyone loves the buffets and the dining room. We have had one gala night already, where we got to dress up in our formal wear, which was one of the things the kids were looking forward to the most about this cruise. We have seen bald eagles and whales and spectacular scenery and sunsets. We are having a blast and are glad we have a few more days to enjoy all the ship has to offer.

Everyone loves the library

Tennis on the sport court

Enjoying some couple time

This sunset lasted for over two hours and was amazing!

Gala Night

Towel animals are my favorite

A fun day in Ketchikan

The totems of Ketchikan were a huge hit

Juneau

A "beary" nice seat

Afternoon tea in the ship's dining room

Weekend Recap

On Friday, Clay turned six. We celebrated with a trip to Dinosaur World in Glen Rose. Nana met us there, and we enjoyed the beautiful morning amongst the dinos and fossils and then paused for Chick-fil-A, birthday cake, and presents, before getting in some awesome playground time. In the afternoon, Nana and I took Ruth to her riding lesson via Starbucks, while Jeff and the boys returned to the house. After the lesson, I drove my Mom over to Plano to visit a family friend in the hospital. Traffic was all there, and we took the same wrong turn twice, but we enjoyed the time together and eventually made it to where we were going and back again. We ended the day with a very small Cinco de Mayo party, which included several bags of tacos and sides from Taco Ocho. Our evening entertainment was trying on all our fancy cruise clothes for Nana. When the kids found out there were a couple of "gala nights" aboard the boat, they all agreed (which is a miracle!) that we should definitely get formals and go all in. They have been giddy with excitement in the picking out of their clothes and shoes and are eager to try them on every chance they get!

Birthday Morning

Party at Dinosaur World

We're so fancy!

Saturday, Weston and Clay had their last games of the spring season, but the times overlapped, so we had to divide and conquer. Mom stayed with Weston and got to watch his championship game, while I took Clay to his baseball game. Weston's team made FloMo youth football history by not only coming away with the victory but also ending their season without ever being scored on. Weston absolutely loved playing on the Rebel team and will miss the fantastic coaches and amazing team he was a part of this year. Max also had a baseball game, and Ruth had a make-up riding lesson, so it was a busy day but lots of fun. Mom left shortly after all the sports were finished up, and Jeff and I snuck in our last date before the summer road trip, which promises to be full of epicness but will not offer much in the way of privacy!

Undefeated and never score on! Way to go Rebels!
(Picture borrowed from my friend Tracey, who is the team mom and always takes amazing photos of our team.)

Trophies and cupcakes to end the season

Yesterday, we spent the entire day packing and checking and double-checking our various lists, in preparation for our departure later this week. Everyone's suitcase is now at least 90% packed, and our little RV is stuffed to the gills and ready to go. We will either leave on Wednesday or Saturday, depending on how Max's game goes tomorrow.

Ready to Road Trip!