Yesterday, we went to our annual homeschool curriculum show in Portland.  It's a rather modest affair but that's o.k. with me.  We can cover all the aisles in under 2 hours which hopefully means we spend less money.  When my sister was homeschooling her kids in So. Calif., she attended the huge CHEA (something like that) conference, a 3-day affair in which she and other moms rented hotel rooms to stay in.  And she lived only a few minutes away from the venue!  Pleeease!  Sorry, just a little sister rant there.  She said even with 3 days, she never saw everything.  That's just not me.

Anyway, for once, we didn't have to make the 2 hour trip and arrive with pre-tired kids.  We stayed the night prior and got to the show early.  What a blessing.  I was disappointed that Rainbow Resource wasn't there, as well as some other vendors I was planning to visit.  But still, we managed to find a lot of great books.  And that's about all we got.  How can I put this ... I think I'm at the point in our homeschool journey where I'm not keen on "new" curriculum.  There are SO many choices.  I used to be so confused about what to choose.  But now, since we've discovered what works, what little curriculum we do use, we've already got and it will see us through our youngest child (for now, anyway).  Which was nice because I could just walk past the curriculum booths without wondering if I should stop and check them out.  We know what we like and don't like.  Not into cartoon-like or flashy.  Also not into ultra-conservative.  If there is a middle, that would be us I suppose.  So, we concentrated our efforts on books.  Oh, boy.  We bought books!  New books are expensive but at least there was somewhat of a show discount.  But the place we had the most fun was a used book vendor.  We stopped there on our way out and stayed awhile.  In fact, we got so chatty with the owners that in the end, she ended up giving us 5 free books (instead of just 4 free books which you got if you spent a certain dollar amount).  Cool!  My son wanted the Chronicles of Narnia and we had seen a lovely boxed set at a new book vendor but didn't want to pay the price.  Then we found them at the used book vendor.  Another neat thing that happened was this:  Years ago, we were in a book store south of us and we found this book with info on all kinds of airplanes and helicopters.  It was the only one at this store and it was kind of tattered even then.  My middle son had to have it.  He's had it all this time and now my older son likes airplanes and wanted his own.  I said we would probably never see another one like it.  Well, this used book vendor at the show had one - it was just sitting there on the shelf, like it was waiting for Chad! 

It's always fun to visit the Timberdoodle booth.   I've seen the children in this family-owned business grow up in the last 8 years or so.  They are so nice and polite.  A real blessing to their parents.  Support Timberdoodle - they have great stuff at great prices!  (No, this is not a paid endorsement!)

Overall, we got some more advanced books on physics, medicine, science, stuff like that.  Most of these books I've been wanting for some time so it was nice to finally get them.  They have a reasonable Christian perspective, not over-bearing like some books can be.  Chad is getting older and there's so much to learn in these fields.  We ordered a book about woodworking for him, since he learns better by reading.  It will help him prepare for his woodworking training his Dad is planning.  We bought some used Enid Blyton books which we've been interested in lately but have never read.  We found "Heidi" which was one book I specifically wanted.  That's about all I can recall at the moment but I know there are some great books in those bags by the front door.  We hesitate to get them all out as we have NO PLACE TO PUT THEM!  What am I going to do?  There is just no space, unless I sleep on the floor and line my bed with them.  I went looking today for a bookshelf but here's my dilemma - I have a husband who can build a bookshelf if he had the time and energy.  So anything I look at in a store, I pretty much know he won't want me to buy.  And if it IS something he'd agree to, it would be really expensive (that's his taste).  Sigh.  We'll figure something out soon.  Like, I could have bigger problems, know what I mean?

We actually had to go to Portland the day before the show because Todd had an appt.  So he dropped us off at the hotel, and the kids and I went swimming and then watched "Winged Migration" until he got back.  We had a nice dinner then went to Nordstrom.  Oooh, boy!  I used my Nordstrom Notes on make up, since we didn't need any clothes this time.  What a shame, huh?  (FYI:  Nordstrom Notes are earned on our Visa and are used like cash - I can dig free make up!)  I use Bare Escentuals mineral make up and love it.  It works on my frustrating skin and it lasts a long time.  I had so much fun!  I have no one to talk make up with so the sales rep and I hit it off right away.  After Nordstrom, we walked around the mall and ended up at Sees' Candies - Yum!  The kids and Todd bought some candy but I didn't.  Fortunately, my dh is nice enough to share!  So, all in all, it turned out to be an enjoyable time for us.  The Lord blessed our time and kept us safe on the road, even while driving through a real squall on our way home (it rained off and on both days).  It was sunny today and we spent the day resting from our trip. 

I was thinking it would have been fun to wear a shirt to the show that said, "I blog on HSB!"  You never know - I may have been walking among other bloggers!  Did anyone else go to the OR Convention Center yesterday?  I actually ran into a homeschool mom from Astoria - we laughed because we run into each other all the time here, too.  Like-minded, I guess!  While waiting in line at Kingfisher Books, I spoke with a mom who is in a military family.  They are new to Portland and I told her about HSB, and that there are a lot of military families on here.  She was interested, I think she'd like the support of other families like hers.  Nice lady.  We met a lot of nice people.  I think that's the best thing about homeschool events, it's like being with family.  Or better!