Hiking Donut Falls

We've been in our house in Utah for a little over a week now.  My brother came down from Oregon to help my mother move and stayed with us until his flight this morning.  After days of being knee-high in boxes, moving paper, and a general mess of stuff...on Labor Day morning, we decided to take a break from unpacking and head to the mountains.  

We decided upon the Donut Falls hike and wanted to get out there as early as possible, with donuts in hand, of course.  Our family motto has become something to the effect of "get an early start to beat the crowds...always".  We have enjoyed the rewards (or avoidance of crowds/waiting) by sticking to this way of planing/thinking in most things we do as a family.  This was no different.  In fact, there were tons of cars parked all over the canyon road at 8am!  Eager beavers!

Our hike was easy but fun.  I wasn't prepared for the VERY cool morning and regretted not bringing a hoodie along.  Hiking is one of our favorite things to do and I am excited about all of the trails so close by!  If you're from around these parts, do you have any great hikes you'd recommend?

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We Moved...Texas to Utah!

The past several months have been a whirlwind.  I'll maybe devote a separate blog post for the longer version of the story, but suffice it to say, we moved from Texas to Utah last week.  I came up early to get the two littles in school in Utah and then flew back home to get the rest of the kids, dogs, and other vehicle (Blake drove the moving truck). 

The week in Utah with just me and my two little ones staying in an Airbnb was both laid back and eventful at the same time.  We tried to stay busy after school and on the weekend...and I think we had some pretty great times together!  These two are besties and just adore each other...most of the time.  I'm thankful for the week we had exploring and getting used to our new surroundings.

***Discovery Park:  They wanted to come back to this place multiple times...such a cool, exploratory kids park!

***Bridal Veil Falls:  They took off their shoes and explored around the base of the falls.  Another place they've asked repeatedly if we could visit again.

***Temple Square:  I was surprised at how long they wanted to spend here.  They loved listening and reading every single thing in both of the visitors centers.  Always such a beautiful place to visit!

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Our 6th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Break-Down

I haven't blogged all that much in the last few months...due to a number of things, but one of the biggest was time I instead dedicated to homeschooling my oldest for her 6th grade year.  Now that we're in summer and have wrapped up her schooling for the year, it's nice to look back and see all that we accomplished and learned together.  I might share in a later post how we decided to homeschool and all that the story entails...but suffice it to say, we've been blessed.
I've been asked countless times why we decided to homeschool her, which curricula we used, etc. etc. etc.  My mother, a former educator and curriculum consultant, helped tremendously when piecing together which curricula we wanted to use...and in fact, we chose a different one for each subject.  I know some homeschoolers stick with one curriculum program for all subjects, however, we felt this way of doing things (piecemeal) worked best for her/us.  I did find myself supplementing quite a bit with various online resources, but for the most part, I was very pleased with the quality of what was covered and taught.
In the event others may be interested in what we used (and where to find them), I've created a little round up of the main subjects, what we bought/used, and linked everything I could find (below).  This break-down does not include projects, field trips, or other special activities we did (such as science experiments), but it's a solid high-level summary of what our 6th grade year entailed.  If you or someone you know might find this helpful, please feel free to share it.  One of my friends kindly gave me many resources and ideas, and I'm hopeful I can pass on the favor...especially to a family who is new to middle-school homeschooling like we were and might not know where to start.
*links under infographic

MATH:  Connected Math (multiple books) // Mathematics in Context // Math Antics
SCIENCE:  Earth & Space iScience // Middle School Biology Textbook // Mineral Science Kit // Rock Science Kit
LANGUAGE ARTS & READING:  Membeam // No Red Ink // Teachers Pay Teachers

Books & Reading Guides -  A Wrinkle in Time / AWIT Guide Esperanza Rising / Guide  A Long Walk to Water A Single Shard / Guide Summer of the Monkeys / Guide Pay It Forward Tuck Everlasting First Test (with local library book club) Caddie Woodlawn When Zachary Beaver Came to Town Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Percy Jackson Lightning Thief

SOCIAL STUDIES & HISTORY:  The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia // National Geographic Student Atlas of the World // YouTube // Teachers Pay Teachers
SPANISH:  BYU Independent Studies
MUSIC & THEORY:  Suzuki Violin School // I Can Read Music Violin // Theory Time

Family Texas Beach Trip - Port Aransas

We just got home from our annual Texas beach trip and we were so blessed with breaks in what was originally a poor weather forecast.  Last year, Port Aransas was one of the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Harvey.  The condo we've stayed at for years is still closed and under reconstruction...thus, we stayed at a new resort and were super impressed!  My kids always love staying and playing with their cousins...in fact, they're already asking when we can go back (well, next year kids).  
Living in Texas, I grew up going to our beaches here...they're not the best, but you can't beat a 3 hour drive to the coast.  This year, there was minimal seaweed and critters, which is a win!  We have a Disney cruise coming up next fall, and are looking forward to those beaches as well!!!!  As for now, we're planning to catch up on some rest and enjoy our fun memories of kicking off SUMMER 2018!
*Girls swimmers are from Gymboree and Old Navy

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Two Weeks In Maine | Summer Travel

The final leg of our northeast family vacation was spent in the glorious Southwest Harbor, Maine.  We had a darling cabin nestled in a quiet little neighborhood, just steps from the harbor.  Most days, we ventured into Acadia National Park, a short drive away.  Between the hiking, exploring, crabbing, boating, and all manner of FUN...we had such a memorable and wonderful time.

If you've never visited Maine, I would highly suggest spending some time there in the summer or fall months (at least a week to really enjoy it).  I love the costal areas especially, such as the picturesque town of Camden or the historical area of Penobscot.  Staying close to Acadia was really a treat, as we frequented the park so often, biking the carriage roads and hiking the trails.  Bar Harbor is another great spot on Mt. Desert Island, but a tad touristy...great for shopping and eating though!

After this trip (which my third time in Maine), I half-way jokingly mentioned to Blake that we need to figure out how to have a home up there.  In my dreams!  But really...it's THAT amazing!  I described it to someone the other day as "feeling like you're in another country".  I hope and pray we have many more memories to make as a family visiting the state of Maine, and who knows...maybe even someday call it home.

Or summer home.  ;)

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Summer Vacay (Leg 2) - NY, Niagara, & Canada

I shared the first part of our epic Jansen vacation all about New York City HERE...and our second leg of the trip was just as, if not more, exciting and fun!  From NYC, we rented a minivan and headed upstate.  Side note: I never have driven (nor probably ever will again) a minivan and I was oddly giddy about the chance to drive one for several weeks!  Weird I know...but I digress.

We headed up to the Finger Lakes region and found our AirB&B in Honeoye Falls, NY.  It was an old farm house built in the 1800s.  We had an entire wing of the house all to ourselves, as well as access to the pool and grounds.  Besides being a really old house (which showed its age a bit), it was the perfect accommodation and location for our family of six.

On our first day upstate, we visited some historic and very significant church sites, including the Smith Family Farm, the Sacred Grove, the Book of Mormon publication site, and the Hill Cumorah.  We pretty much had each site to ourselves, which was so nice.  Not only were we able to have some special family time spent at each of these locations, but being alone allowed us (especially our kids) to really understand and wrap their brains around what we were seeing/visiting.  We hope at some point, our children's testimonies of God the Father and Jesus Christ were strengthened from their experiences. 

The next day, we arrived early at Niagara Falls for our Maid of the Mist adventure.  I had done this before, so I was super excited for the rest of my family to experience it.  It's like nothing you've ever seen before, as the boat goes right up to the ginormous horseshoe falls.  Everyone gets soaked (hence the ponchos) and the wind blows the mist so hard that at times you can't even look up!  It's incredible!  Afterwards, we cruised across the border to the Canada side to view the falls from a better angle.  The Canadian side is way better, nicer grounds, and an absolute must if you visit Niagara.  For lunch we headed down to one of the most picturesque towns I've seen called Niagara on the Lake.  It sits right on Lake Ontario, which is a sight to see in itself!  Although our stay in Canada was brief, I was glad the kids got to experience what it's like in another country...although Tyler Bree remarked how it's just like the U.S.  Yep!!!

At the end of this leg of the trip, sadly Blake had to return home.  Mostly because of our three dogs...we just didn't feel comfortable boarding them for 3 weeks.  The morning he flew back home, the kids and I flew up to Maine to meet my mom and spend the next two weeks.  Maine is one of my favorite places EVER and it was such a blast!  More coming soon!

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