You Don't See That Every Day

We've been going and going and going. And finally we were able to slow down just a tad and stay home. Once basketball season and swim fnished we had a few nights off and what a nice break. However track season is upon us; and we're eagerly anticipating the first meet of the season soon. We've taken some field trips in the meantime with the homeschoolers. One of them was to the OSU gymnastics meet. It was Little K's first meet and she was so excited to go! Thankfully it was only between two teams and so only lasted two hours. That's about as long as this 7 year old could sit in the same seat. By the end she was asking when it would be over. So even though all of it captured her attention, it was just the right length. Of course I always enjoy being back on campus - definitely one of the most beautiful campuses on the West Coast. There's been work on our latest farming adventure. We took advantage of a sunny day and went out to pull the weeds away from the...

Dear Mom , Sorry we haven't been out to see you in a while... we've being taking advantage of the sunny afternoons to play while we can. Let me catch you up on what we've been doing. I took the home school girls out to Dallas Park for an impromptu picnic and exploration. This park has some of the fun 'vintage' play equipment that the kids love - like swings, merry-go-rounds, and teeter totters! You're never too old for a teeter totter.  There were plenty of leaves to crunch through too. We went across the bridge and explored the arboretum that is there. I had never walked through it, but I'm planning to go back in the spring when everything should be blooming. We saw plenty of new plants and trees (thankfully with signs to identify them) and I think it would be pretty to see when they are blooming. The creek was still low, so we went down and threw rocks in it, and saw the tiny fish that are there. Little K even discovered a crawdad (alth...

I think spring has finally come to our corner of the world. There was enough sun to lure us into a spontaneous trip to the beach. So we had 'school' out at the coast today.  We started with Music Class - As we drove, I had the Zac Brown Band CD playing; K took over the guitar solos, M. managed the fiddle, I tried to keep up with vocals and drums. We had a little lesson in Social Studies before we hit the beach. I needed to add something to our picnic lunch, so a quick stop at the grocery store yielded some chocolate filled croissants .. a little peek into French culture. I've heard that they eat chocolate with breakfast. Not having been there, I think I would like to research this firsthand at some point. Our next class was Oceanography. We explored the tidepools and learned about sea anemones, mussels, waves, and the power of water on rock. PE was next. The three of us climbed all the way to the top of the big sand dune. It took a little longer for me, but I mad...

** I can't really write about our July adventures until I update what we did last month!** So here is the final revision of an entry I started a month ag o ** Time for a field trip! With some but not all schools in the area still in session we grabbed at one last chance to go to a nearby attraction before there were too many crowds. Just down the road is a place called Enchanted Forest. It was built back in the 70s and I can remember as a child driving by it on the way to and from Grandma's house, and always longing to go there. It looked so wonderful, so exciting! A play-land centered around fairy tale. I knew as a kid I would never be going to Disneyland (that didn't happen until I was 19, living in California) But this place ... it was near! It was a possibility, although maybe slight. And yes, as I got a little older and actually stayed with relatives without my parents, I did get to go to Enchanted Forest. Such happy memories. So now that we live nearer, I make su...

Our summer time adventures have already begun, even though it is still technically spring. This is the one thing we don't procrastinate about! In May I took the two younger girls to a nearby park. Since everyone else was in school we had the place to ourselves. After a special treat of lunch from fast-food, we headed to the playground. We had to throw rocks in the river:  And there were new toys to play on:  And then the tunnel - it's always a hit  And then off to the slides and climbing structures.  Some of the favorite things about this park - they have the old time play toys still - a merry-go-round, and teeter-totters! The kids love to play on these. Our next adventure was this past week; we went to an Heirloom Rose Garden with my newly-retired sister. We spent quite a long time stopping and smelling the roses. There were so many varities and so many good smelling roses!  I could have spent longer there, but the girls were ready for l...