Caleb's Birthday and Safety Village

Because we were in COlorado for Caleb's "real day", and we celebrated him royally while we were there, (ie. NBA finals game, Colorado Rockies game, BJ's for dinner, Focus on the Family party...) I combined his family celebration back home with a school field trip.

I remember this field trip with the big girls at school.

It was always a favourite.

Learning how to safely cross the street.

Getting the safety low-down from the safety guy!

More street crossing.

"Hey big girls, let's see if you can do it too...!?"

Nicely done!

Driving!

Opening gifts with siblings, cousins, grandmas and aunties.

Caleb got a razor scooter.

And the Lego Millennium Falcon.

He was so excited!

**We now interrupt the regular scheduled program to bring you some serious cuteness***

Cambi and Jamin in the yellow car!

Ahh!

It's too much.

Too much I say.

Cambi's got the wheel and she's not afraid to use it people!

Along with a bunch of celebrations and some shiny new toys, Caleb's 6 year old self is in the process of getting a new smile!

We love our one and only man-child so much.

He is sweet and full of life.

He loves lego and the Wii and jumping on the trampoline.

He is happy to have his own room and the privilege of getting his Daddy all to himself more often than any of the other kids.

Such a special boy!

Yellowstone

Yellowstone was an anticipated stop on our trip.

Much of the park was still closed but the things we most wanted to see were open and did not disappoint!

Bison!

Up close and personal!

 Mailee wasn't so sure at first, she asked me to roll the window up:)

Old Faithful!

This is the best pic I got of the geyser.  I was distracted.  It was spectacular, you can You Tube it if you wanna see!

Caity was really happy to get a ride from Daddy.

She still likes to be the baby sometimes!

The visitor's centre was fantastic.

Very informative and appropriate for all ages.

(That's my homeschool teacher review)

Cute baby!

Pools of acidic, boiling, bubbling amazingness.

{and some chilly cute girls}

These were really beautiful, vibrant colors in real life.

Bree girl enjoyed Yellowstone too!

We were so close!

Elk are gigantic.

We were surprised by their size.

I am certain I have said this before but I feel compelled to say it again...

I love learning alongside my kids!

I love seeing them experience cool stuff!

I love that we get to tailor their education to our life, to our interests as a family and also to each one of them individually.

Homeschooling is not for everyone.

Three years ago I would have laughed "out loud" at the thought of me teaching my kids.

I am so thankful that I went with the urging of my heart and gave it a try.

It has been an invaluable experience that continues to get better all the time.

It's also a gigantic challenge.

Not easy.

Not always fun.

Makes my house messy.

Minimizes my "alone time".

But so rewarding.

Trips like this with fun stops that involve hands-on learning by experience remind me what awesome kids I have and how blessed I am to get to soak up so many things with them while they are young!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

I remember taking a field trip to the Aquarium when I was a kid.

I loved it!

The last year that Mike was in school we had a season pass and we took tiny Mikayla a few times.  I was so excited to take the kids now that a few of them are old enough to really soak it up.

Because we spent a lot of time learning about eco systems and environments this year in 

{home}school, the aquarium was an awesome end of the year field trip for Banman Academy!

Caity loved touching the sea stars and other animals in the touch pools.

So did Caleb.

Grossest (is that a word?) thing in the pool?  

Sea cucumber.  

Grossety grosss.

Suishy, slimy.

Yick.

Feeling the suckers.

She was totally into it, we had to pry her away!

Checking out some huge fish "under the boardwalk".

Mailee enjoyed taking photos of everything.

Stay tuned for the girls' blog updates with all of their photos:)

Peeking in on the penguins.

Cait and some other small fries learning how to talk like penguins.

Cambria just goes with the flow.  She rides around in her "pouch" just as happy as can be.

Every once in a while I remember to take her out and stick her in a picture!!

Mike and Caleb went to a special shark presentation while the girls and I explored at our own pace.

(Translation: We took some pictures and checked out a gift shop)

The Monterey Bay meets the Banman family.

Caity was mesmerized by these jellyfish.

I wonder what a 2 year old thinks when she encounters something new like this.

She asked "what is dat?"

I said "Jellysish" and she was satisfied to have a name for them and just watch them move.

Paparazzi at the jellysifh tank.

The tank that the kids are standing at is gigantic.  It's really awesome that we can view these amazing creatures so closely.

The seahorses were a huge hit.

We kept saying how creative our God is to have purposed the formation of so many unique and beautiful animals.

School at "The Patch"

Today "Banman Academy" enjoyed a gorgeous sunny fall day at the Mcmillan Pumpkin Patch.

 Caiters is so happy her big sisters do school at home so she can enjoy every day with them:)
In the pen is a pot bellied pig.  The kids were fascinated with the pig.

 We teamed up with "Jay Stang Elementary" for this group outing.  It has been such fun experiencing this year of school at home with the cousins!

 Checking out a donkey in the field.

 Inspecting the many sizes and shapes of gourds.


And now, a few of my favourite photos of the 8 cousins!

Aren't they a sweet group?  I am so very thankful to be raising our kids in the same town as Tammy & Jason.  My kids adore their cousins and they have such a great time together.  Tonight Maddie is having a sleepover there and Jenaya is sleeping over here.  What fun!

Tammy & I are able to encourage one another in parenting, being a wife, a sister, a friend.  This year especially, with the interesting challenges that homeschooling brings, it has been so valuable to be able to  discuss, lament and celebrate together.  We talk each other off the ledge from time to time as well:)

It wouldn't seem right to end this post with anything else but a little Cait-Bear cuteness!!