Thanksgiving Party and Operation Christmas Child

Each year our small homeschool group has a Thanksgiving Party. The main reason for the party is for the kids to come together and prepare their Operation Christmas Child boxes.

This year my friend, Jamie, hosted the party. The kids watched a video about Operation Christmas Child before they wrote out their "About Me" sheets to include inside their boxes.

After finishing up it was time for snacks and one of our groups favorite games ...

The Donut Game {which became a tradition several years ago as an alternative to bobbing for apples - which for us germ-a-phobe moms is a nightmare} We normally play the Donut Game at our Halloween Party but, we ran out of time this year so we moved this fun activity to the Thanksgiving Party.Yesterday we brought our packed boxes to church. My kids look forward to packing these boxes each year - we always pray for the child who will receive the box! It is great way to start the holiday season.

Annual Halloween Party {2011}

Today we hosted our small homeschool group for our annual Halloween Party. It was another beautiful fall day and the 25 kids had a great time playing, snacking, and participating in the costume contest.

{My friend, Jamie, getting all of our kids ready for the group shot ... so nice to have a professional photographer in our group!}

{The judging begins ... my friend, Christi, once again graciously agreed to be the judge.}

{Our winners ... Princess Leah and Erragon}

So blessed to have such great families that we get to do homeschool life with!

{Some of my dearest friends!!! Three of which are pregnant ... so excited to be having so many new babies in our group. My friend Rebecca is actually past her due date - hoping her new baby arrives soon!}

{Ava Mae and her best friend, Maddie Bell, are Rockettes this year!}

Back to School Pool Party

Our homeschool "small group" had it's Back to School Pool Party at my friend Tammy's neighborhood pool. Swimming ... picnicking ... cookies. A great way to start our year together!

{Pictured below our group for this year ... minus one mom}

{Cookie Time}

Looking forward to a great year with these fun families!

Swim Party

Today we celebrated the end of our school year with many of our homeschool friends!
It was a beautiful day and the kids spent hours swimming with a short break for make-your-own ice cream sundaes. We started our school year with a swim party and ended it with one ...

Valentine's Day Party

Today we hosted several homeschool families from our church for a Valentine's Day Party.
It was such a fun morning! We ate lots of donuts,exchanged Valentine cards, played outside in the beautiful spring-like weather, and worked on a service project (Cards for Soldiers).

We are so blessed with lots of homeschool friends!

Homeschool Halloween Party

Yesterday we hosted one of the homeschool groups we belong to at our home for the 3rd Annual Halloween Party. We had a costume contest, played games, and enjoyed fun party foods and drinks. The kids had a blast and the weather was so beautiful that we spent almost all of our time outside.

The costume contest begins ...

The winners - (Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Edna from The Incredibles, A Gypsy, Princess Leia from Star Wars, a Funky Fairy, and The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.

Playing the Donut Game.

Two of the cutest Mummy Wrap contestants ...

Devin and one of his friends try hard to get the wrapping off to a good start.

The winners of the Mummy Wrap Game.

Time to eat ...

Ava Mae and some friends enjoy snacks on the deck.

It was a wonderful party with 23 of our closest homeschool friends.

Back to School Pool Party

We had a great time yesterday at what the kids and I called the "Not" Back to School Pool Party with our homeschool small group. It is a great bunch of families in our group and it was so nice to see everyone after the summer break.

Though school started yesterday around here the kids and I won't get started back until August 23rd. Bring on the last few weeks of summer vacation!!

Halloween Party

Yesterday we hosted the Halloween Party for our Homeschool Group. For the second year in a row we had rain during the party so all our fun had to be moved indoors. Being inside did not seem to bother the kids who enjoyed some party games and yummy eats.

I think the biggest hit was the donut game. We decided against bobbing for apples in an attempt to prevent spreading any germs. One of the moms suggested a game that was featured in this Fall's Martha Stewart Magazine. It involved hanging donuts from a tree and having the kids attempt to get the donuts down without using their hands. The game provided lots of laughs and some fun competition.