I think my kids are FISH!

I know it looks as though the daddy photographer didn't get any swimming time, but he gets his fair share. We just need to catch him on candid camera. Just click the photo to see it in full size.

Beach Bums!

Well, when you have 18 children (it feels like it sometimes), and you have no money, is there really a better way to spend an afternoon than at the beach? Sure you could get stung by a jellyfish, eaten by a shark, or pulled out to sea by the rip tide. But let's face it...we have become beach bums to the core and are loving every minute of it. We head out to Torrey Pines Beach any chance we get. None of us have picked up surfing, but we can get tossed around on a boogy board with the best of them. At some point, I will invest in a sports lens for my camera and get you all some action pictures of Jaxson riding the waves. He is growing up faster than I know how to deal with. Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure...and yes...they do speak louder than my poor grammer. Enjoy!

Family Fun

Family Fun Day was a lot of fun! The pictures speak louder than words.

A beautiful Evening

On Thursday evening the kids and I met Brady at the beach with a picnic dinner. It was such a beautiful evening....the water was so warm, the sun was setting and the dolphins were playing just past the surf. It seems as though sunset is the dolphins favorite feeding time, so that's always the best time to see them. That night they were actually jumping completely out of the water! They are so beautiful. Jax and Brady had fun catching some waves.
I think that this afternoon we are going to go again and hopefully drag Jer and Jess with us.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Love, Lani Brady Jax Ellie Ray and Vance

Janelle and kids June visit

We had a fun time with Janelle and the boys this past weekend. They got here on Saturday morning (early!) and we all had pancake breakfast. Saturday's are "pancake day" around here. Then we relaxed at the pool for a while, picked up some pizza and took it to the park for dinner. On Sunday we went early to Sea World and spent the day. On Sunday evening the kids watched a movie while we relaxed. Janelle and I were undefeated on the weekend in Sequence against Brady and Scott! :>) We're the champions!

M's Win 6-5!

Yes it's true. We swept the Padres in three one run games! It was a great come from behind victory in Friday night and we had a blast cheering on our team. (Among 44,000 Padres fans I might add)
We had awesome seats along the third base line- it was a fun evening.
Go Mariners!

Thoughts on School

I've been thinking about and compliling the materials I need for Jaxson's first year of school. Here in California you have to actually join what they call an ISP, Independant Study Program in order to homeschool. Basically, all that means is that you are "enrolled" (you pay an annual tuition) in their school and they help you keep attendance records and a permanent grade record for your child. If you are ever contacted by a truancy officer you have them contact the ISP and confirm that your child is enrolled and attending. They are also required to keep a regular school file for your child, with immunization records, a school entry doctor's report, a planned course of study etc. There are an awful lot of hoops to jump through here, something that I'm not used to.

You are required to teach school for 180 days a year, 3 hours per day.
The private ISP that we are going to join is called Christian Life Academy. I like them because they have online reporting which is very convenient for me. I will also be joining the Homeschool Legal Defense Association and hopefully a good homeschool group.
In spite of all the hoops, I'm very excited to start on school this fall. Jax is so ready to learn, and the curriculum I will be teaching is a lot of fun and incredibly well rounded. It's called My Father's World 1st Grade (www.mfwbooks.com) and consists of a lot of hands on learning and whole book teaching. It's a Unit study type of curriculum, written for using singly or with multiple children on different levels and it uses a lot of Charlotte Mason's methods. We're going to let Ellie join in where she wants this year (she will enjoy the Bible stories, activities and science projects, I'm sure) and next year she will start Kindergarten and do the Adventures in My Father's World Second Grade with Jax. This year they will be focusing on the Bible, Genesis through Revelation, and next year they will be learning American History, State by State. We're looking forward to it.
Jax and Ellie have both been learning the Presidents of the United States this year and they are up to #4, James Madison. It's amazing how much they can absorb right now! We don't work on them much, we just go over them a couple of times a day and each time we add a president we hang his picture on the wall. They are having fun with it, and it's been fun for me to review them.
So anyway, just wanted to share what we are planning for school next year for anyone who may be interested! :>)
Hope all is well with all of you....all.
Love, Lani

PS. Preparing for the big game on Friday!!!! Don't forget to watch for us!

Forgotten Fisherman

Lani forgot to mention the greatest catch of the day when I pulled up a MONSTER starfish from the Ocean floor. It takes skill that few have yet to experience. It all started with a simple jig and some squid on the hook. I dropped my line about 50 feet and bounced my jig off of the floor about 3 times. Suddenly, something took my bait as if it hadn't eaten for a year. It was a fighter....which surprisingly didn't drag me overboard. I wasn't going to give up, because I was sure that it had to be a shark or something cool like that. After reeling for an extremely long 30 seconds, the fight was over. The shark took my hook and planted it on this poor starfish. Some joke. Still, I am the only one I know that has successfully brought in a starfish using a jig and squid.