Well, we have run a marathon in "sprint" time this year!  For the past few years we start school in mid-August when we are all tired of the scorching hot days and have finished most of the gardening and have had enough "break" to want "order" back in our lives so we start the new school year with plans to finish by mid-May.  Then in September the last vegetables come in, October is so very nice and so very many good field trips and things to do, and November is so wonderful to get yard and farm work done ready for the winter and December has so many special things to do.... and then we fall behind little by little and finish in early to mid-June.  Not so bad.  Well, this year I HAD to finish early because we had my dh's company convention and we extended our trip to then rush back here to graduate dd #1 (child #3) so.... we did it!!!  Every book and every subject done for dd#2 and math, Chemistry and all but some Social studies reading done for dd#1 which she will (hopefully) finish on her own before graduation.  I like finishing in early May - although I must admit we planted a smaller garden this spring between school and knowing we would be away for almost 2 weeks.  I'm such a nut, though - do you take school books and homeschool magazines and catalogs with you on vacation?  My dh and I haven't been away together for over 3 years and I had a suitcase half filled with my "favorites".  Some people like fiction or biographies - I like homeschool magazines and catalogs to read on the beach or by the pool. 
Give me my Bible, my Timberdoodle and other catalogs, a TOS magazine and a stack of highlighters and I am one happy camper!!!  Strange but happy!!  I'll post some pictures of our trip soon -
-F