$100!!

For the first time ever, it took $100 to fill up our van with gas!!  It would have taken a little more, but the machine would only go as far as $100.   Ugh!  So discouraging!  We used our van a lot last week.  The kids had Vacation Bible School, so we drove to church everyday.  Plus, E's car was in the shop all week, so I had to drive him to work and pick him up!  Whew! That's a lot of driving.  But this week, we have no appts, so I do plan to stay home as much as possible.  But hey!  I did notice the price of gas went down by about five cents a gallon yesterday, so there is hope.  Maybe.

Lots of camping pictures

We had a wonderful time camping!  The weather was in the 70s, which is so much better than the 110 they had at home!  The tenting experience was fine.  I was cold the first night.  E didn't really like the inflatable, bouncable mattresses.  But I did, much better than the hard floor!  We went fishing on Friday and Saturday, in two different small rivers.  The second day, D caught two fish and E caught 1!!  They even cleaned them and cooked them.  And ate them.  We had bonfires.  And roasted marshmellows and hotdogs over the fire.  I must buy an old fashioned perkolater for my coffee.  In Yosemite, I always took our electric coffee maker.  We didn't get much hiking done, but they sure had fun fishing and splashing in the cold water.  At one spot, there were millions of ladybugs on the rocks!  I have never seen anything like it.  On our way home, we stopped to see some of the giant sequoias.  I am always amazed at the size of those things!  Some of them have even been growing since the time that Jesus walked the earth!  The oldest living things in the world, right here, just hours from our home!  Okay, here are the pics:

 

"Our" meadow:

Monster campfire:

Team work!

Roasting hotdogs:

Smoke protection:

GIANT Sequoias:

 I got a fish!

Millions of ladybugs:

Gone Campin'

We are going on our very first tent camping trip since our 10yo was a baby!  Since then, we have used our trailer, or stayed in Housekeeping in Yosemite, which has a cabin sort of thing, beds and electricity.  And showers.  We are going up into the Sequoia National Forest, to a campsite that has outhouses and no showers.  For three days.  I used to be able to camp for several days without showering, but the last couple of years, I just needed my daily shower to wake up and feel normal. But I'll manage.  As long as I don't have to touch any fish.  E is getting a fishing license today.  Hopefully, we (they) will actually catch something.  The boys want to even clean them and cook them for dinner.  Yikes!  I remember as a kid, going to our friends' cabin "in the mountains" not too far from where we will be, an hour maybe??  The boys caught some fish and we were walking back to camp.   They asked if I wanted to carry the fish, and for some crazy reason, I said ok.  They handed it to me, mouth wide open, and I had to hold it from the mouth.  Well, that was just too much for this girly girl.  I dropped the fish right in the dirt!  They were not too happy with me.  That was the last time I ever touched a fish like that.  We shall see what happens this weekend. 

When we get back, I will post PICTURES!!!  We bought a new camera to replace the lost one.  I have a handy camera case with a strap, so I can always be wearing it.

 

 

Homeschool Graduation

My family was invited to the graduation of a homeschooled girl.  I wasn't sure if we would go at first, but then I read a blog post about how encouraging it is.  I wish I could find that post, I can't remember who wrote it!  I am so glad we went.  My husband and I were very encouraged in our homeschooling endeavor.  It was a small class, of about 20 or so, plus several 8th graders, who also graduated.  It was held at  a church.  It was very touching to hear some of the students acknowledging and being very grateful, for their parents' hard work and sacrifice throughout the years.  How they were brought up in the Lord, and how they had that foundation to take out into their various life choices, college, work, ministry.  They were encouraged to continue on in the faith, to continue learning.  Some of them showcased their talents.  Some had 3.5 gpa or higher.  All of them graduated under the  private home school option, in CA.  As the Seniors names were announced, they came forward, and their parents handed them their diplomas.   Then the student would stay on the stage a moment as the announcer read all of their accomplishments, and future plans.  That was really neat.  I loved hearing all of the things they were involved in, music, volunteering, ministry, classes in college, talents, etc.  Many are going on to college.  As the blogger before me posted, I encourage you  to attend a homeschool graduation, if you ever get the chance.

Last Day of School!

It's official! Summer vacation is here!  We did school this morning, then after lunch, we went to the library for a magic show.  I took my girls to Grammy's to spend the night.  My oldest boy, D, is going to a skating/sleepover/birthday party.  That leaves just  4 of us, so we will do something fun.  It will be cheaper with 4 than with 7!

Tomorrow, I will sleep in.  There is a homeschool graduation at 3, that I would like to attend.  I've never been to one, and I just read a blogger recommend going to one.  I hope we can.  I will relax on Sunday, after church.  Then, on Monday, we will plan our summer.  At least a week at a time, for some of the days.  What I really hope for is lots of nothing-to-do days, so we can say, "Hey! Let's go...........right now!"  I usually need lots of notice, but I want to be spontaneous for a change.  And have fun with my kids, while they are still kids!  I will post what we come up with.  And hopefully, I will have a camera, so I can post pics to go along with our fun!

Happy Summer!

Our year in review

We have just one week left for our school year.  We haven't had a break since the New Year!  But, with moving to our new home in Dec, we had taken quite a bit of time off, so we just plugged through the winter and spring, so we could have a nice break in the summer.  The kids did great.  We had our share of field trips and park days, plus all of our 4H projects, so they had plenty of out-of-the-house projects. 

We read lots of books on Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece.  We have a couple of more books on Greece to read this last week of school.  We will do a small Olympics study and races later in the summer, which goes along nicely with the actual Olympics in August. 

For science, we have been studying Apologia Botany and we all love it.  We aren't done with this book, so will continue for a few more weeks to finish it. Spring and summer is best for studying plants anyway. 

For Language Arts, we have used Handwriting Without Tears, Spelling Power, Journaling through the Year, Easy Grammar.  My two youngest are doing excellent in their phonics learning, with Alpha Phonics.  They were not quite ready for it when we started in the fall, but a couple of months ago, we tried again, and they got it!  So we will continue that through the summer, til they are done.  Can't stop now!  It is very exciting for me to see them read all of those words! 

For Math, we are now using Teaching Textbooks and love it.  I love how the guy on the computer reexplains the problems when needed, and their work is self correcting.  And keeps records.  The three oldest are doing great with it.  My younger two use Math U See and are doing well.

We have read lots of books outloud, and the three oldest all enjoy reading on their own, too! 

We included How Great Thou Art art curriculum, as well as a brief study on Claude Monet.  We painted with watercolors and tempera paints, & pastel chalks (messy).  The kids enjoyed the projects at the Sketch Tuesday Blog  at Harmony Art Mom. Now that we have a scanner  we can have our art work  added to her website!

Our 4H projects were:

Archery, Rocketry, Drawing, Photography, & Crafts.  We signed up for bookmaking and camping, but those never happened. While the children learned a lot and had fun with their projects, the running around to all of the different places was just too much.  I felt we were always rushing out of the door.  So, we will not be joining 4H next year.  We are quite involved in our homeschool support group, so doing both just didn't work.  Maybe in the future.  We will be busy enough next year with our homeschool group!

Next up, Summer Plans!

 

 

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

My oldest daughter C and I were out shopping today, and one of the items we were looking for was some pretty stationery. We found some notecards with envelopes, but she wanted actual paper with matching envelopes. We were at Mervyns, and since I had found some there in the past, we looked around. C wanted me to ask someone, so I asked a clerk walking by. I asked, "Do you have any stationery?" She looked for a moment then asked, "What is that?" !!! I was speechless for a second, then answered, "For writing letters…." She said they didn’t have any. I suppose in this age of email and text messaging, letter writing is definitely a dying art. I am guilty, myself. Lesson: To make sure my kids know all about letter writing on stationery. 

We then went to a Hallmark store but still did not find much to choose from.  We will keep trying!