Posted in General

Our church small group was meeting here at our home tonight and it is the birthday of one of the kids (Happy 9th, R!!).  Bean decided she wanted to bake some cookies for the occasion and she invited one of her best friends, Tiger, over to help.  Bean and I have baked cookies together many, MANY times, so I figured an almost-12-year-old and a just-turned-13-year-old would have no problems with baking a batch of cookies from a recipe. 

HA!

As I was upstairs, they were downstairs working in the kitchen and I heard much giggling (they are girls, after all!).  I finally ventured downstairs to see how it was going.  Oh, how I wish I'd had the camera with me.  Bean and Tiger were both liberally coated in flour.  There was a *mound* of cookie dough on the island, surrounded by what was possibly enough flour to make another batch of cookies.  Now, keep in mind that these were Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip/Walnut cookies, your basic "drop by rounded spoonfuls"/KEEP THE DOUGH IN THE BOWL cookie recipe.  Yet, somehow, Bean and Tiger had managed to use almost every one of my Pampered Chef kitchen tools (the cookie scoop I could understand, but I'm still not clear on how the Mini Tart Shaper got involved!  There was also some rolling pin involvement--I'm grateful she doesn't know where I keep the cookie cutters.  LOL).  The story I ended up getting was that once they had stirred in the oats and chocolate chips, there simply wasn't any more room in the bowl for them to mix in the walnuts (BTW, they used my bag of walnut halves, not the bag of walnut pieces I had purchased with this project in mind), so they thought mixing it on the island would be easier (not neater, just easier).  About the Mini Tart Shaper, I was told they were trying to use it to break down the butter ("Did you put the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it?" I inquired.  Blank looks ensued.).  No satisfactory answer has been forthcoming about the involvement of the rolling pin, though.

It looks like this summer might be a good time for a refresher course in Cookie Basics 101! 

The cookies turned out a little lumpy looking (the walnut halves), but they *are* delicious.  Bean & Tiger have dubbed them "Choc-O-Dough Cookies" and plan to put them in a cookbook they have decided to write together.  I can't wait to see what else they create.

TTFN~

Posted in General

So, "Baby Basil" outgrew the nursery over the weekend as well and we moved it outside to live next to "Baby Dill".  It rained every day for the past 5 days and I think the Basil drowned!!  Are you kidding me?  Next time, I'm just going to keep it on the windowsill in the kitchen so Bean can monitor the water intake.

Wow, I can't believe it's only two weeks until we get to visit my parents.  Bean and I are so excited!!  Our new LL Bean backpacks came in the mail yesterday, so I'm working on finding stuff to put into Bean's so she'll be occupied on the flights.  Mine, of course, will be filled with all my meds, glucometer, contact lens stuff and a "few" books.  I have to say, these backpacks are much more roomy than they looked in the catalog.  I hope I can find enough stuff here to make Bean's look "not too empty". 

Not much else going on around here.  All of Bean's dance classes are gearing up for the recital next weekend.  I'm desperately trying to get the steps to the Treble Reel up to speed for my recital dance.  Pray for me!!

TTFN~

Posted in General

There is so much history around here to think about on Memorial Day.  We are only a few hours from Normandy, from Flanders Field, from loads of places where Americans gave their lives to protect the freedom of us and others. 

Did you ever wonder why the veterans give out poppies on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day? Throughout history, people have noted that poppies often appear on battlefields and the graves of soldiers.  Poppy seeds lie dormant until the ground goes through a major upheaval, such as it does in battle.  At Flanders Field in Belgium during WWI, poppies bloomed everywhere after the battle and inspired Canadian Major John McCrae to write this poem:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

We can never forget that freedom is not free.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Dad!!! 

Posted in Homeschool

Great news!  We wrapped up 6th grade this morning with 5 Daily Grams (yeah, yeah, I know it isn't supposed to be 5 a day, but it was all we had left!), a final exam in Botany (Bean got 100%!  WOOHOO!), a completed IEW composition and the last few chapters of The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

 Her composition was one where she had to try taking notes out of her own head.  She chose Irish Dance as her topic and did two paragraphs:  one about how frustrating it can be and one about how much fun it is in spite of the frustration.  I thought she did great!! 

TTFN!

Posted in Homeschool

The good news is that Bean apparently didn't inherit my black thumbs, but did inherit my mom's green thumbs!!  WOOHOO!!  Her light hut experiment for Botany worked out so well!!  The peppermint never did come up, but the dill and the basil are doing great!!  And, I've heard, that basil is supposed to be hard to grow.  Way to go, Bean!!  This week, the dill finally got too tall for the light hut and had to be moved outside.  I think Bean will need to repot it to a larger pot before we leave for Texas.  Hopefully, dh will not forget to water it!!

Bean says she wants to grow some more herbs in the light hut.  I think we'll try to get some new peppermint seeds while we are at home and plant them when we get back.

TTFN!

Posted in Homeschool

For the past four weeks, Bean has been participating in a homeschool book club run by one of the other moms in our local homeschool group.  The first book she chose for them to read was Island of the Blue Dolphins.  One of the things I love about this club is that the leader assigns each kid a project to do based on the book.  Bean's project was to write a report about a real-life survival story.  She chose to write about Bethany Hamilton.

Soul Surfer

Posted in Travel

We just got home yesterday from our family trip to Paris.  It was delightful!!  We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Disneyland Paris.  It was inexpensive and had free parking.  Disneyland Paris is laid out much better than Walt Disney World because the entrances to Disneyland, Walt Disney Studios, and Disney Village are only a few short steps from each other.  AND, there's a train station right there at the park entrance, so we were able to take the bus from the hotel to the park, hop on the train to Paris and see everything we wanted to see for a low daily ticket price.

We spent Wednesday at Disneyland.  Here are my very own Beauty and my own (cuddly) Beast standing on Main Street U.S.A. (in Paris!) in front of their castle

Next stop was Adventureland to see the Pirates of the Carribbean.  The ride was slightly different, and not just because the pirates were speaking French.  LOL

We also hit Frontierland (Big Thunder Mountain) and Discoveryland (Space Mountain: Mission 2, Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear).  Hearing Buzz say "To infinity and beyond!" in French was a hoot!!

On Thursday, we went to Walt Disney Studios.  There wasn't much to do there.    They are opening two new rides based on Cars next month, so hopefully that will spice up that park a bit.  Bean says she doesn't feel we need to rush back for the opening of the Twilight Zone:  Tower of Terror, though.  I guess riding that once at Disney-MGM was enough for her.  We finally did catch up with our favorite mouse there, though.

It was too bad the character and the cast members all acted like Bean was too old to be wanting her picture taken with Mickey!   I think you're never too old for that.  Bean was very surprised to find that is she is now taller than The Mouse.  After lunch, we headed back to Disneyland and re-rode our favorite rides for the rest of the day.

On Friday, we took the train into Paris.  Our first stop was the Louvre.  Luckily, one of my best friends (hi Michele!) gave us a tip about getting the Paris Museum Pass.  It made getting into the museums so much quicker.  Once inside the Louvre (which is HUGE and very confusing!), we headed right for the Mona Lisa.  Everyone had told me she would be smaller than I expected, but she is really tiny!  They don't let you take pictures in her gallery or the surrounding salons.  We also checked out the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo's Escaping Slave.  We talked about how the Greeks loved to have the sculpture twisting to give the impression of movement.  Bean preferred the older statuary:

We ate lunch at the cafeteria under the pyramid.  It was very tasty.  I highly approve of the French approach to sandwiches:  everything starts with bread and butter.  No mayo!  WOOOHOOO!!  After lunch, we headed out of the Louvre and started our trek up the Champs des Elysses.

We found a crepe stand in the park and let Bean try her first Chocolate Crepe.  Ooh la la!

Once we reached the Arc de Triomphe, we climbed the 300+ circular, non-ending stairs to reach the top.  There were great views from every side of the Arc.  Here you can see down the Champs de Elysses with the Louvre at the end.

Once we had all caught our breath from the climb, we went back down, found the Metro station and went over to the Tour Eiffel.  There were a TON of people waiting to take the rickety-looking elevators to the top for 15€ each.  I still had a knot in my calf from our climb up the Arc, so paying 4€ each to climb the just-as-rickety-looking stairs didn't really appeal to me either.  We just took pictures from the ground.  If you look closely, you might be able to see me, Bean and Paris Minnie there at the bottom.

On Saturday, we again took the train into Paris and headed for Notre Dame.

It was too bad there were about 50 people already in line to climb the 422 circular steps to the top, so we had to skip that.  We did go to the Archeological Crypt to see the ruins they have found from the settlement that pre-dates the construction of Notre Dame. 

Our final stop on our whirlwind tour of Paris was at the Musee d'Orsay which features artists from the Pre-Impressionism and Impressionist movements.  I got to see my favorite Monet there:

We had a great time!!  Bean and I plan to go back again and spend more time at the Louvre.  Plus, Michele told us about this great place near there to get Hot Chocolate: Paris style.  I can't wait!

TTFN!

Posted in Dance

We just got back from the feis in Salzburg.  Bean did SO well!!  Here she is in her dress (yes, it's bright!  no, the reflection isn't from the dress!  LOL), heavy shoes and wig:

She placed really well in all her events.  Her best placement was 4th in the Beginner Hornpipes.  She's doing so well for someone who is new to competing in dance.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Dean Crouch.  His Irish Dance CD is our absolute favorite, especially the Reel Medley 1.  It was actually that tune that inspired me to finally polish up my Primary Reel!  If you think Dean looks like a baby, you are right!  He is a former World Champion Irish Dancer, has 2 CDs of music available and he's only 17!!!

Because of long hours at the feis, we didn't get a chance to do too much sightseeing.  We found this lovely fountain as we were walking to a restaurant on Saturday evening:

After dinner, while walking back to our hotel, we happened across this site.  It is the graveyard that inspired the cemetary scene from The Sound of Music!

There will be another feis in Salzburg around this time next year.  Bean and I plan to go up a day early and actually tour the city a bit.

TTFN!

Posted in Homeschool

Okay, I think I'm done narrowing down all of our subjects for next year. 

History:  I thought was going to go with History Odyssey for history, but after seeing many reviews mentioning its "secularness", I finally went back to look at Tapestry of Grace again.  The Lord granted me such peace with my decision as I realized that TOG is everything I never knew I always wanted!  LOL  I love how it ties together the history and the literature and the art and the bible and the writing and the geography (and, at the Rhetoric level, the government and the philosophy).  I'm SO excited!!

Bible Devotions:  TOG includes Bible reading and study within its scope, but Bean really enjoys doing a separate devotional program.  I found one written by Bethany Hamilton called Rise Above.  Bethany wrote it to "share with young girls her courage and enthusiasm for God, inspiring them to face life headon and stand strong in their faith."  Her story is so inspiring and I can't think of a better role model for Bean.

Math:  Bean wants to be an Imagineer for The Mouse and wants to major in Engineering in college.  I know that choosing the proper maths and science progression for her will be super important.  We have used Math-U-See for the past five years, but there is no Calculus level for that program.  And, since I know nothing about Calculus (except that somehow imaginary numbers are involved at the beginning!), I was terrified at the idea that we'd be "thrown to the wolves" (aka have to switch to Saxon) at the Calculus level.  Can you believe I was having nightmares about it already??  After visiting my most trusted source for homeschool advice (The Well-Trained Mind Boards) and looking at loads of samples of curriculum, we've decide to make the switch now to Chalkdust.  I had Bean watch the sample video on their site and she felt very comfortable with "Uncle Buck".  I love that we can email them any time we run into trouble!  We can't wait to get started with their Pre-Algebra in the fall (I just have to save up the money first!)

Literature:  Even though TOG has a literature component, I really wanted to do a dedicated Lit program with Bean for next year (must be the English major in me!).  I went back to the WTM boards and checked out their thoughts on the subject.  I saw many, many recommendations for Lightning Literature.  I checked it out and it seems perfect for us!  We are going to use level 7 for next year.  The book selections are great and Bean is very excited to get to study this.

Vocabulary:  We tried out the sample pages of Vocabulary from Classical Roots and Bean thought they were very fun, so we're going to do Book A, along with any TOG vocabulary we need to cover.

Science:  Bean is very excited to begin her upper-level science adventures with Apologia.  In the fall, we'll begin their General Science.  This will allow Bean to complete the following schedule of maths & science by the time she graduates:

7th grade: Gen Science and Pre-Algebra
8th grade: Physical Science and Algebra I
9th grade: Biology and Geometry
10th grade:  Chemistry and Algebra II
11th grade:  Physics and Pre-Calculus
12th grade:  Adv. Physics and Calculus

I love this time of year!!  I love planning our educational journey together and I love seeing Bean get so excited about learning new things. 

TTFN!

Posted in Homeschool

Hi everyone!

Bean and I are SO excited!!  We finally have managed to get started on a major science project!! WOOHOO!!

We recently finished up our Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space curriculum and were at loose ends about what to do for the rest of the year.  As we were driving around and noticing all the spring flowers peeking out, Bean said, "It's too bad there isn't a science curriculum that just focuses on plants."  I told her that I know of one.  We went right home and ordered Apologia's Exploring Creation with Botany and all the supplies from Home Science Tools.  The kit they sent us was lovely, BUT our electricity here is not 110v.  I had to come up with a 220v way to do the light source for the light hut.  Off we went to Praktiker (kind of like a Home Depot) where I was told that having a light bulb socket on a cord was not how things are done here.  Luckily, another homeschool friend had hit another home improvement store and received much more useful advice.  I bought what she said to (the light bulb was almost 13€!  Yikes!) and actually had to assemble the connection between the cord and the socket myself (yay me!).  Now that I knew we were going to get this thing built, I started looking for pots and saucers.  With that accomplished, Bean and I built our Light Hut today and she planted Dill, Peppermint and Basil.

Now comes the really hard part:  keeping my black thumbs out of the project!! 

Posted in Travel

We went to our first Feis in Wassenaar, Netherlands on the last day of March.  It was wonderful (well, except for the part where I had to start driving at 0400 to get Bean there by 0900 because Mr. Safety (aka DH) wouldn't let me drive there Friday night--that made for a very long day sitting there listening to the world's most boring accordian player).  Bean did great for her first feis!  She and her partner got 1st place in the Beginner 2-Hand!!  WOOHOO!!

The next day, we went over to the Keukenhof to see all the spring flowers.  I took over 240 pictures (but I will spare you having to see all of them)!  Every single view was picture worthy!  Here are a couple pics of Bean with some of the flowers:

We had such a great time.  The weather was absolutely perfect!!  The drive back home didn't seem nearly as long as the trip there, but that possibly because I was actually awake for the trip home!  LOL

TTFN!

Posted in General

I cannot believe it has been over SIX months since I updated my blog.  My bad!

Since I last posted:

1.  We have reached the halfway point in our homeschool year.  We finished up The Easy French and Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space and are nearly finished with English from the Roots Up, Volume I.  Bean asked if she could study Botany for the rest of the year, so I bought her Exploring Creation with Botany from Apologia.  She'll start that on Monday.

2.  We started and finished the swim season for this year.  Bean competed in the maximum number of events allowed at the Championships in February and got one gold medal (100 Free), 3 silver medals (50 Free, 50 Back, 200 IM) and one bronze medal (50 Fly).  She also acheived new personal bests in all of her events.  Way to go, Bean!!

3.  We went to London for 5 days in October and had a BLAST!!  We did everything on our list except the Tower of London (they wanted 43£ for a family admission, but I was told later that it was worth every pence, so we should have gone).  We also saw two shows:  Mary Poppins and Wicked.  Wicked was amazing.  We got the soundtrack and have all the songs memorized now for when we go back.  We did manage to find Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station and took pictures there.

4.  Bean got her class dress for Irish Dance!!  Don't even ask how much it was.  But, she looks beautiful and is dancing very well.  We are headed to a feis (Irish dance competition) in the Netherlands in a few weeks.  We'll also get to see Keukenhof that same weekend.  I'll post pictures when we get back.

I can't think of any other major stuff we've had going on here.  I'll try to keep up better!!!

T~

Wow, I don't know what got into my stomach, but UGH!!  After hours and hours of moaning on the bed and in the bathroom, Hubby finally ended up taking me to the ER.  For some bizarre reason, though, he thought a tank top, jacket, flannel pants and mocs was not appropriate wear for the ER, so he made me get dressed in real clothes before he would take me!!  I was too sick to argue, but I did put my foot down about putting on a bra.  No way did I want anything strapped around my torso!!  While we were in the waiting room, I still didn't really care what I was wearing, but in retrospect, I'm kind of glad all those guys who were there from downrange didn't see me in my jammies.    At any rate, the doc poked and prodded me for about 30 seconds and then prescribed Zofran and two IV bags.  I like Zofran!  Just as effective as Phenergan, but without the sleepies.  I had some chicken broth and sugar-free Jello when we got home last night.  Woke up this morning feeling nearly normal (except for the raging headache - caffeine withdrawal?) and starving, so all is good now.  I haven't even needed to take any of the Phenergan they sent home with me.  I've been pretty cautious about what I eat, but I think I'll be okay to have fajitas with my parents tonight.

Oh, poor Bean and Hubby!!  They left before 8 this morning to pick up my parents from the airport as their flight was supposed to arrive at 1020.  They got to the airport only to find that the flight is now scheduled to arrive at 1319.  Of course, once in Philly, my parents had no way to call us to let us know their flight was delayed by 3 hours.  I hope everything is okay and they make it here all right!  I can't wait to see them!!  It's been 14 months since I saw them last and that's a LONG time for us.  I just wish I was well enough to be the one to pick them up from the airport.  Oh well, at least they get to see Bean right away.  Bean and my mom have a very special friendship.  I hope my mom remembered what it's like to ride in the backseat with the Bean.   

TTFN!

Posted in Homeschool

Aloha!!  We just wrapped up the Luau that we held to celebrate the finish of our studies of the Pacific Islands.  Everything turned out great!!  Okay, Bean didn't get to make the Macadamia Nut Cream Pie because I'd never scalded milk before and didn't know how to do it.  Both of my cooking mentors (Hi Mom! Hi Carla!) were in time zones where they wouldn't appreciate me calling them to ask how to scald milk, so we skipped that recipe. 

All the other recipes turned out wonderfully and Bean learned a lot about cooking that she didn't know already (like how to skin tomatoes by dunking them into boiling water--why can't I remember what that is called?  I knew it earlier!)  Of course, I mostly forgot to take pictures during the actual feasting, but I did get pictures of Bean cooking and of her mask. I'll try to get the girls to do the hula again in the morning for me.

We got great news today!!  The cat that we have been fostering while her family was back in the states for four months is now a permanent member of OUR family!!!  WOOHOO!!  She is such a great cat!  Her name is Belle and she's a nine-year old gray tabby cat.  When she came to stay with us, she just moved in like she was already part of the family.  Her family realized that, due to the ages of their kids, it might be better for Belle to stay with us permanently, so they offered her to us.  I had been secretly praying for this for the past couple of months, so I am completely THRILLED!  I'll post a picture of her when I get the camera back upstairs.

Posted in Homeschool

Bean has been working SO hard to get everything ready for the luau tomorrow.  Some very good friends are coming over to enjoy the feast and then the two girls are spending the night.  It will be so fun!!

Here's the menu:

Lomi Lomi Salmon, Teriyaki Beef Sticks and other assorted pupus (we couldn't find any fresh pineapple and, ever since we lived in Hawai'i, I just can't eat canned!  Bleh!)

Ka Lua Pig

Chicken Adobo

Aloha Sweet Potatoes

Pineapple Macadamia Bread

Macadamia Nut Cream Pie

Mmmmm, it all sounds so yummy!!  I didn't even try to steer her toward recipes that I would be able to eat and there is still stuff on the menu I can have (well, at least the pig and chicken).

She's almost done with her mask and it looks great.  I can't wait to hang it on our schoolroom wall. 

I'll try to post pics next week (but if I don't get it done before my parents get here, I'll post them after 9/8). 

Posted in Homeschool

Everything went so well this week!!  Bean is super excited about learning everything she can about the Eastern Hemisphere.  As I type this, she is off making a Maori mask out of Model Magic to hang up at our Pacific Islands Feast she is making next Friday.  I can see her from here and she is concentrating SO hard.  I'll post pictures after she paints it next week.  I love, love, love, love, LOVE how the Choose Your Adventure projects will help her to learn how to plan out a project, doing a little each day, so that she doesn't wait until the last minute to try to get it done.  So far for her Feast she has 1) found a mask design to inspire her, 2) found recipes and created a shopping list, 3) found hula music and directions on how to hula, and 4) is working on her mask.  She has little parts of the project planned for each day next week culminating with 8) shopping for the feast and 9) cooking the feast.  I love it!!

Posted in Homeschool

Okay, our toe is officially wet!  WOOHOO!!

Bean and I got started with Sonlight's Eastern Hemisphere Explorer today.  I showed her how I was going to highlight each day's reading assignment for her and then showed her how she may have to leave the main article to find some of the answers needed.  We had a great time drawing the flags for Vanuatu, Nauru and New Zealand.  She decided we should have a luau for her first "Choose Your Adventure" project.  She's going to research recipes, make up the shopping list and make sure we get everything when we go grocery shopping.  She's also planning to make a mask out of Model Magic, although as I don't recall the Hawai'ians having masks, I think she's going to do a Maori one instead.  Now our biggest task will be to figure out where the Hawai'ian Luau music CD is since it's been two moves since the last time anyone saw it.  Ruh-roh, Shaggy!

All in all, a GREAT day!  I love easing into the year this way!

Posted in General

Here's my entry for the contest at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JacqueDixonSoulRestES/178599/:

• What type of homeschooler are you?How do you homeschool? (Do you plan??)  Yes, I'm a planner (well, my dh is a planner and insisted that I be one too as far as homeschool goes!)
• Are you using a specific curriculum or a conglomeration or none?  This year we are using Sonlight as our base and then adding or subtracting things as needed.  So, I would say I add a conglomoration to a specific.
• Are you making it up yourself? No way!  I tried that a few years ago, but it was HARD!!
• Do you have a plan or just use ideas as you go? I have a long term plan, but it is subject to revision at any time.  Initially, we planned to use Sonlight all the way through high school, but then I discovered TOG and will use that starting next year (I just couldn't resist Sonlight's Eastern Hemisphere for this year).  Of course, if it turns out that the Lord isn't going to bless us by growing our family through adoption, we will seriously look at Veritas Press' Omnibus.
• Do you homeschool in desks, at the table or anywhere it works?? It depends on the subject!!  Math is done at the breakfast table, most every thing else is done on the loveseat in our "school room" (except the things that have to be neat, which are done at the table in there - we don't do math there because we only have one chair in that room)
• Tell me what you are excited about that you will be doing!  I'm super excited about doing Sonlight's Eastern Hemisphere Explorer!!  I really don't know too much about that half of the world and it's cultures and I can't wait to explore them.  I'm also excited about Le Français Facile since we plan to visit France next spring or summer and it would be great if at least one of us knows something of the language (we definitely don't want to pull a Clark Griswald there!).  Finally (whew!), I'm really excited about doing Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space.  I've always loved rocks and now I get to pass that love along to my daughter!  Woohoo!
• Are you going to teach each child in their own grade level or do you multi-grade teach? I only have one so this doesn't apply to us except in the sense that Bean works each subject at the grade level that's right for her even if it doesn't match the "grade" she would be in public school.

Posted in General

Oh my gosh, I didn't realize it had been over a month since I last posted.  Let's see if I can capsulize it:

1.  Turned 40 (good grief)

2.  Germany had the hottest July on record (I think it was over 90 degrees every day!  And with no A/C or window screens, it was either roast or roast with bugs.  Ugh!)

3.  Bean went to her Irish Dance camp and had a blast.  She is now officially one dance closer to her heavies than I am.  She's super excited.  She's only lacking the Single Jig and the Primary (Hard) Reel and I'll be shelling out 85 Euros for heavy shoes.  Oh boy.

4.  Bean went to her swim camp in Austria.  She had a great time, didn't really care for the "hiking the Alps" part too much and they didn't fix her breast stroke.  I'm not sure if that 516 Euros was worth it or not.

5.  While Bean was in Austria, Hubby and I spent 8 days ALONE in a rustic cabin.  We went hiking in the Alps almost every day.  Okay, yeah, the 516 Euros was worth it!

6.  Bean turned ELEVEN!! (double good grief)

We have decided to hold off on the main part of school until after my parents visit.  So, we'll be starting on 9/11.  But, we will dip our toe into the pond over the next couple of weeks getting the hang of the EHE for our Sonlight Core.  Then, starting on 9/11, we'll jump in whole hog with the rest of our SL Core, MUS Zeta, Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space, our homemade English from the Roots Up "curriculum", our Against the Tide bible study and La Français Facile.  Hoping for a really great year!

Posted in General

We had a nice, relaxing day yesterday.  It was SUPER hot!  I think it got hotter here than in Texas!!  Woof!

The day started out with Bean having a short swim practice.  Only two kids showed up, so the coach was able to get them through their workout in just over an hour instead of the 1 1/2 he had scheduled. 

Next, off to the Freedom Fest where Bean had entered her "Pantry Explosion" cookies in the cookie contest.  I thought her cookies were fabulous and I normally don't like cookies (once they aren't dough).  There were supposed to be 4 categories: (1) Decorated Holiday, (2) No-Bake, (3) Healthy (had to include cereal or fruit), and (4) Cookie Maker's.  There was supposed to be a winner in each category and then a "best in show" award which would win the grand prize.  They had a grand total of 8 entries.  So, I guess they decided to just give out "best in show" and not do the other category winners.  And, the "grand prize" was a child-size apron that would barely fit the skinny, petite woman who won.  The lady running the contest kept bemoaning the fact that they never get a good response for this contest.  Now, I think I know why.  This base has a habit of doing a half-way job of organizing things, a half-way job of publicizing things and then they always wonder why they don't turn out the way they thought.  Oh well!

Hubby and Bean had lunch at the Freedom Fest. I decided to wait until we got home (I wanted Chicken Tenders and Onion Rings, but they told me that the meals were set up the way they had to be sold, so if I wanted Chicken Tenders and Onion Rings, I would have to pay for Chicken Tenders and Fries plus an order of onion rings and I just couldn't see myself paying $9.25 for Chicken Tenders, fries I didn't want, and Onion Rings.  Plus an additional two dollars for a soda!  Anyway, I had a Tomato and Cheese on Toast sandwich when we got home.  Defintely a better choice, both financially and health-wise!

We mostly hung out around the house the rest of the day until Hubby grilled his famous burgers and dogs for dinner.  Yummm!!

We started watching the match between Germany & Italy until it was time for the fireworks.  Since we live on a HUGE hill, we thought we'd be able to see the fireworks from the base with no problems.  We just forgot about the 9 million trees between us and the base.  Oops!  No fireworks for us this year.

After Brazil and England were eliminated, Bean and I had decided to root for Germany and now they've been eliminated.  Sigh.

You know what, looking back over our day, it seems like the only things that went really right were swim practice and the Hubby burgers!  Oh, well, I got to spend the whole day with my family and that makes it a great day in my book!

TTFN!