School's Out!

We did it.  First grade and third grade are officially in the books.  The girls are bursting with excitement and I am so proud of them.  We finished EVERYTHING that we set out to accomplish this year:

Saxon Math - CHECK

Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind - CHECK

Horizons Spelling & Vocabulary - CHECK

MCP Phonics - CHECK

Life of Christ (God's Great Covenant) - CHECK

Earth & Space (Christian Kids Explore) - CHECK

Story of the World:  The Middle Ages - CHECK

Woot!  Woot! Woot!

Don't tell the girls, but I am even more excited about summer break than they are.  No more late nights getting everything in order for the next day's lessons. No more weekends full of lesson planning.   No more making supplemental worksheets so that I can teach Sierra and Ally the same material in Bible, History and Science.  No more last minute trips to the library for inter-library loan materials about to expire.  (At least not until August when we will start this crazy home school business all over again.)

 I love having all their work organized into binders that we can admire for a while.  Sure, they take up way to much space and I will one day have to get rid of them...but for now they are proof of all our hard work.

 (This is what Sierra did to her "Friday Folder" the minute that she finished her last assignment for the year.)

15 Layers On the Onion

During our wedding ceremony I remember thinking, "Really, Dad?!  Onions?!?!?"  He was talking about how love grows in layers like an onion.  You may think it's good now, but then you add another layer and it just gets even better.*  It's been 15 "layers" now - and I get it.  And lest you think that I'm bashing my dad, I'm not.  He gave us good advice on our wedding day that I haven't forgotten:

1.  Put down roots.

(Establish some solid relationships/traditions with Christ as the center.)

2.  Send out shoots.

(Invest in people/things outside of yourself...have a ministry.)

3.  Keep having hoots!

(Make your marriage fun.)

 And for your entertainment, I dug these gems out of the pre-marriage archives and sent them through the scanner:

 Our DTR (define the relationship) Date:

Drive-in movie, borrowed truck, couch stolen from dorm lounge... awesome!

 Santa Barbara:

Whenever we had enough money for gas, we used to drive to Santa Barbara and spend Saturdays at Ruby's Diner and on the beach.

Best Date Ever!

The night before I left for my semester in Israel, Marc planned an elaborate date on the beach.  We had a private dinner served by friends and live saxophone music right on the shore.

(*Wink to Melissa who hates onions.)

Homeschool Field Trips

Homeschooling isn't for everyone - but it certainly has some wonderful advantages.  For example, two field trips in one month with no "budget cuts" to worry about!  We recently visited the KTVB Channel 7 studio and the Botanical Gardens in Boise.  (We also had a wonderful farm day with the Rhoms back in the fall, a Thanksgiving feast and a Valentine's Day party at Bounce this year.  Not too shabby.) 

My "little brother" has been working for Channel 7 for ten years now.  (I'm not sure how that's possible, since he's still only in Jr. High in my mind.  Anyway...)  He took some time to show us around his workplace and to introduce us to some celebrities such as Larry Gebbert and Carolyn Holly.    We started the tour outside at the big satellite dishes and the live report vans.

 Then we moved inside and saw the main studio, weather center, kitchen set, and news desks.

Chuck showed us the script for the noon report and we made sure that none of the kiddos went back to shuffle through the papers.  Yes!  Even with teleprompters, scripts are still printed for each show.

The green screen was probably the biggest hit as each kid got to try their hand at pointing in the right direction.

 Sierra was wearing a green shirt that day, so her body completely disappeared!

Then it was into the master control room where the directors and producers work their magic.  This is the hole where Chuck spends most of his hours.  It looks very intimidating to me.  All the kids found America's Funniest Home Videos on one of the screens and were completely distracted.

May is also a perfect time for a botany lesson here in Idaho.  Everything is beginning to bloom!  Our family is studying earth science this year, but a trip to the Botanical Gardens was a great way to review what we learned at the end of last year.

(Why do I see many more such bus rides in the future for these two?!) 

 Do not disturb! Pollination in progress.

 

After each child planted their own flowers they also got a daffodil to dissect.

Nothing left but the pistil!

I love that we get to hang our with this great group of homeschool nerds kids!

McCall Weekend

For my mom's 60th birthday, we followed her up to McCall.  She was speaking at a ladies' retreat for Susie's church at Camp Pinewood, so we decided to make a mini family vacation of it.  The girls spent hours in the hotel pool.  I crashed a seminar.  We ate at the Pancake House for the first time.  Everyone found treasures at McCall Drug.  And we all enjoyed strolling all over town!  It was an all-round perfect weekend.

  (This is most often what I get when I ask Valerie to smile for me.  Isn't she lovely?)

 The bear sculpture was quite a hit!  Not only did the girls have to pose in similar fashion, but then they proceeded to pick all of the bears' noses.  I wonder who taught them to do that?  Probably Marc!

 /

Acting classy, as usual.  You can tell who the real ham of the family is.

Jail Break!

Marc always saves up his "personal days" off from work for this time of year so that we can do something fun for my birthday.  This year I suggested that we visit the Old State Penitentiary.  At first he was a little skeptical of my idea - but we all had a fun time exploring this part of Idaho's (not so ancient!) history.  The jail was shut down in 1973 after the prisoners rioted and burned several buildings.  That's really not that long ago, eh?  It felt like we had gone way back in time when we were inside the walls.  The grounds are nicely kept and although it's kind of a morbid place, there are lots of interesting stories to read about.  I highly recommend a visit - whether it's your birthday or not!

 Ally was in character all day - she wouldn't smile for pictures.

 Most common crime for women?  Forging checks - and shopping sprees. Hmmmm.

 Inside maximum security.

 Can you even imagine?

 The yard.