Summer Time Bucket List

It's offically summer here at the Benson house

(although considering my kids are doing 5pages a day in their workbooks by choice you wouldn't know it)

And As a family we made a list of things we want to do this summer

So here is our Summer 2015 Bucket list

Tball banquet 

(Already done and it was a blast)

GS family BBQ 

(Done and Cherry earned her super seller award and registered for a day camp and a full camp with her Cookie dough money she earned from Cookie sales :) we are so proud of her)

(Yes my kids consider these things treats because playing and participating in sports and activities is a privilege)

We of course will have weekly (when we remember) movie nights as well as weekly game nights! 

( our new traditions thanks to the kids getting older)

Going to spend the weekend at grandpas Both as groups of Girls/boys 

and do down river days as a family 

(boys already spent their weekend with Grandpa)

Possibly going to Boise for the weekend ( for daddy's work)

Silverwood 

😄

 (our first time ever at a theme park for the kids and they had a blast! so did mommy and daddy)

Then I let each kid choose one thing they absolutely WANT to do this summer

Cherry- hiking

Jaydon- family day at Aquatic center

Mack- Drive in Movie (in daddy's truck)

Emmit- wonderland 

Gracie- möbius hands on

The boys picked a father son activity 

Fishing with daddy

And the girls picked lunch out with mommy

Then we are writing down other maybe ideas... (Here's what we have)

Möbius science

Day at CDA lake

Tripleplay (this is a me choice lol)

Silver mountain (again me)

Day at riverfront park

Learn something new as a family

Fro Yo date (we've never had it)

Ice cream date

Camping (this probably won't happen but I told them we'd put it on the list)

Dinner out as a family

Trip to farmers market

Trip to green bluff

Dance party in Daddys truck

A star Gazing night in Daddys Truck

Sidewalk Chalk party

Big homemade Bubbles in the yard

We've already started marking off some stuff from the list as you can see :) 

plus we have done some pretty awesome stuff that wasn't on the list.

While the boys went to have their Grandpa weekend Cherry and Devon had their 

"Father/Daughter" date (I bought them tickets to Jurassic world as Devons fathers day present)

And Gracie, Aria and I had a tea party complete with sweet treats from "Frostings" a local bakery

We are super excited to make memories this summer and take time to enjoy this life we've created.

We hope this inpires you to make a list of your own and make memories of your own.

With love 

The Benson Bunch

Fathers Day 2015

Father's day 2015

The best way to sum it up would be a clusterfuck

Is it sad when the best part of your day is the part where you're at work...

Probably...

I had all these grand fun plans and ideas...

And life sucks and people suck and none of them went as planned.

But alas my Husband has a good fathers day...

Even if I was a bundle of stress and frustration.

And that's what matters...

And I did manage to get some photos :)

So instead of going into detail about why I was overwhelmed with Frustration and irritation yesterday

I will just share some super cuteness

Just gonna leave these right here...

Happy Father's day to two very imporant awesome men

My hubby and His Grandpa

(ps. Sorry I haven't shared our Summer bucket list yet, I will post it soon)

The Countdown to School being out

It's almost "Offically" Summer

                Despite the fact that we have been summer like weather for over a month, and by summer like weather I mean 80 plus degree weather it's not summer until school is out.  Two more days until school is out for the summer break. We have a busy week so hopefully the days pass quickly. For my kids I hope they don't pass two quickly. I remember being their age and being excited for summer, while also being sad school was ending. This year is bittersweet for my children, as they won't be returning to Longfellow Elementary next year. 

               Daddy and I have talked and discussed homeschooling the kids to death for the last two years. It's been something my heart was very drawn too. I absolutely love my kids teachers but they are not given the support and funding they need and they are over taxed. There isn't much I can do about this that I haven't already done. We voted for the funding and smaller class sizes.. It passed, and Yet here we are.. teachers still haven't gotten a pay raise, they don't have smaller class size, or extra help in the classroom, or the funding to help our children. We stood by our teachers in their walk out, I completely agreed with them standing up for OUR KIDS. But alas after two years struggling with wether I could do this, or if I'd be biting off more then I could chew.. I sat and I prayed and I thought... Let go and Let God. 

                Homeschooling my children has been something I have been drawn to do and I am finally jumping in to do it. We made the offical decision last week and talked to our kids about it. I explained why I wanted to homeschool them, all the ways it's different then public school, and they were excited. God bless their little hearts, that was one big relief for me. We have started to organize and purging our basement in preperation for having a designated learning space. I have joined some homeschooling groups. I have spent the last couple years bugging all those I knew that homeschooled getting the low down and preparing myself for this. I am not going in with my eyes closed. My nerves are slowing leaving me about this decision as I jump into this new chapter of our life. 

             But alas we are still excited for the countdown to school to end. We have Jaydons tball banquet tonight, and then tomorrow we have to get everything ready for this weekend. Thursday is the last day of school and school get's out at 1:30 and Jaydon has his Shriners appointment at 2:30 and then the boys will be going to Grandpa's for the weekend, I don't know who's more excited, Grandpa or the boys lol. We have Cherry's GS Family BBQ Thursday night. Then the girls and I get to have a mommy/daughter day on Friday, and we kick off the first weekend of Summer with three photo shoots on Saturday as well as a BBQ and a photo Shoot on Sunday and a Family Fathers day Dinner :) We are very excited for all the things we are doing this summer! What is your family looking forward to most this summer? My kids and I made a Summer Bucket list!!! I will be posting it on my next blog post :) Here's to summer 2015!!!