HUME LAKE or BUST!

On 10/10, we (Dana, Deborah, Gloria, Heidi, Kendra and yours truly) went on our annual Woman's Retreat.

This year is was to Hume Lake where we heard Dr. Lori Salierno (www.celebratelife.org) speak. She is very encouraging and tough at the same time!

This is something we've tried to do annually for the past few years, and though it isn't always Hume Lake, it could be The Oaks, or a hotel...you can be sure that where ever we end up going, we all have a wonderful time! I love my girls!

Santa Monica Aquarium

On October 7th, our co-op, and some other home-schooling mom's went to the Santa Monica Aquarium for a Field Trip. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was better than I hoped for and I would definately go again. Our guides were great! They involved ALL the children, were funny, entertaining, and kept all the kids interested in what were talking about!

SCHOOL STARTS!!!

...ok...so it started back on September 2...who's noticed?

Once it started, we were off and running...along with school starting so did "CO-OP". Co-op is a great opportunity for the Wyatt & Lukas to be taught by other teachers along side other students in their grades. It is also a WONDERFUL break for me...I don't teach a thing on Tuesdays...let me tell you how it works.

There are seven home-schooling families, with three moms who teach on Tuesday, and the other three teach on Thursday w/the seventh mom being a substitue, (though due to illness, we are missing our substitute with all our hearts...we pray that God heal Nichole (see the GREENE FAMILY-blog to the left for details) we would love to have her healthy and strong again...we love and miss you.)

Ok, now, back to how it works...Tuedsays they have PE, taught by Patti Haliday (she has a whistle and everything) then they are taught Bible by Michele Platt, and finally Cultural Studies by Michelle Kim.

Thursdays they are taught Science by Candi Schultz, Social Studies by April Harnish, and Arts & Crafts by me...(I use the word "ARTS" very loose here)!

We have already had so many field trips and events it is really hard to keep up with the blogging of it all, but I'm really trying to catch up...here are some events we've had thus far!

FIRST DAY of CO-OP:

...here are all the moms less APRIL & the kids...right before PE...see her whistle?

APPLE and PEAR PICKING

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CO-OP Fellowship at the Pool

LIGHTHOUSE PE (our ISP)

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Backes Visit

We had the Backes family over for lunch. The kids had a great time in the bounce house (the best investment ever), while we adults played 18 holes of the card game GOLF! Kevin beat us by a long shot, and we are still awaiting the re-match!

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LA County Fair

My friend Shelley Backes is the bomb. She arranged for all of us to go to the fair on the best day ever! By that I mean, the weather was cool but not cold and crowd was thin, no lines for rides or food or anything...it was absolutely P E R F E C T! Thanks Shelley!

Three out of her four kids and my two kids did book reports (6 reports per kid) and earned 9 ride passes each. It was great, because any fair-goer knows that 9 rides times 5 kids costs a fortune! With all the monies we saved we were able to eat fried EVERYTHING...it is amazing what they will fry at the fair! We had a wonderful time and look forward to doing it all again next year! Thanks for planning such a fun day for my family Shelley!

We had to leave before Shelley did, so the last picture is a little joke we played on her...we blocked her car in with those parking guards. They look heavy, but they are made from PVC pipe and light enough for her to move on her own! We love ya Shelley!

Labor Day!

I know, I know, I really stink at updating my blog. At least now I know why it's so hard for me to stay on top of it...I'm too busy living a great life and taking pictures to prove it! Thus if I get caught up soon, maybe I won't fall behind again......LOL! Yeah, that'll happen!

Anyway...this Labor Day, we went to Ventura Beach with our church family, and had a great time! Here are just some of the highlights!

Dinner at Andria's

After a long day at Ventura Beach, we went to dinner with the Dougherty Family & the Lussier Family. Sea food by the beach, can't get yummier than that! Good friends, good food, let's eat!

On the Boardwalk

We decided to take a walk on the boardwalk...and have some ice cream, because dinner did not quite fill every nook and cranny in our bellies...Eric showed the boys how to catch mussels and they even got to see a seal up close! We love spending time with the Dougherty's!

Games After Dinner!

After the beach, dinner, ice cream, and a walk on the boardwalk...we ended the night at the arcade...Chris was a fierce competitor...I was not expecting her to be...so after a very close game, I won by one point...then Chris lost to Jim by one point...and Eric...well he's next! Big talker Eric...bring it...bring...it...on!

Happy 30th Birthday Marie!

Our friend Brett threw his wife a 30th birthday party. We had a great time celebrating another year in the life of Marie. She is a godly woman, whose main focus in life is to bring glory to God, through her role of a wife, mother and very talented singer! We love ya Marie!

Summer at the Hoglo Pool!

Most of you know that I have a gathering at the pool all summer long on Tuesdays! The kids have a good time and usually by the end of summer, only the home school mom's come due to the fact that either we haven't started school yet, or we are done in time to still go to the pool!
We had large crowds this year and small crowds, it depends on vacations and what not, but all in all I think everyone enjoys themselves and us mom's like working on our tans!

When kids get your camera!

Our last gathering before school starts is always a nice way to end the summer!

GUESS THE TOES!!!!

OK...you know you're close with your friends when you DON'T go to get a pedicure with any of them and then you all show up to the pool with the same EXACT style...Poka-Dots! What are the chances??? Can anyone guess whose foot is whose??? (And if your foot is in the picture YOU can NOT guess)

Hamblin BBQ

We were invited to join a small group from our church for a BBQ dinner at the Hamblin home. We had a nice time of fellowship and good food. Let's face it people...where there are Baptist's there is good food & fellowship! Thanks for the hospitality Patrick & Christina!

Hoglo Family Reunion

This event slipped through the cracks. It is what will happen when one does not keep up on her blogging! On July 30th, we drove south with Chris' parents from Santa Clarita. Chris' relatives drove north from San Diego. We met in the middle and had a nice lunch at Macaroni Grill. These are all the relatives on my father-in-law's side of the family. It is always nice to get together with family!

Tahoe 2008

We had a wonderful time in Tahoe again this past summer. Here are just some highlights! We went to the beach ALOT, hiked, played mini-golf, (MOM won) and even had dinner with a wonderful family from our home church in Santa Clarita...just by chance, they were up in Tahoe celebrating their wedding anniversary, and my friend Chrisie told them we were there. We decided to take them to TEP's, a very delicious Italian restaurant in South Lake Tahoe to celebrate with them.