Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
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Visitors
Vincennes Rendezvous
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Since it was on our way home, we planned to take Thomas, Gracie, & Julia with us to the Vincennes Rendezvous on Saturday. It had been ages since we'd seen Heather and family, so we made arrangements to meet them there. We all watched the battle reenactments and fife & drum performances, then the kids were free to browse the encampment in search of souvenirs while Heather & I tried to find a shady spot to catch up. I was really proud of how well the kids all stayed together and showed a great deal of responsibility. As soon as I called Rachael's cell phone, they promptly answered and responded to everything that I requested of them.
After we left, we all went to a local steak house for dinner. The food was reasonably priced and delicious!
As I dropped each child off at their respective home, the kids were so gracious in expressing their appreciation of the trip. They all had such a good time...what a tiring, but wonderful trip!
Our co-op planned a trip to Holiday World (a nearby theme park) on Friday. We couldn't leave Alex in the hot car or at home, and the people who would normally watch him were with us, so we needed my parents to dog-sit. Since Julia's parents weren't going to Holiday World, we picked her up along the way on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, I awoke to knocking on my door. The girls had caught a catfish, but were afraid to touch it in fear that it would bite them. They had heard that catfish have teeth and feared for their lives! Fortunately for them, Jeff went out and saved the day!
Holiday World was a blast, but it was HOT!!!! After a long day at the park, we took Gracie, Thomas, & Julia with us to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant, then to walk along the Riverfront at night. The kids enjoyed searching for shells and throwing rocks and chunks of dried mud back into the river. Then, we headed back to my parents' house for the night...
We met at Deanna's house on Tuesday to plan our next co-op vacation. In the middle of our planning, Sam walks in the room as Isabel yells, "CHICKEN!" Yes, we're definitely a homeschooling co-op! Who else has their meeting interrupted by the arrival of a (live!) chicken entering the kitchen?!?
Every so often, our co-op goes on a mini-vacation together. The kids enjoy hanging out in the hotel pool and spending time with their friends; and the parents get a little R&R while packing in some great educational activities. This September, we're gearing up for our largest group vacation yet. 6 families, 6 days, and over 700 miles by car... we're going to Williamsburg!!!
Last Monday, Diana & I took several of the co-op kids horseback riding. The plan was for us to be able to sit and talk, but since there weren't enough adults for as many kids as we had, Diana had to ride while I stayed with Nick. Unfortunately, Freckles (the miniature pony that Nick usually rides) was being uncooperative, so Nick wasn't able to ride at all...
Rachael also received a reward, but unfortunately, her group was on the other side of the church and I wasn't able to get her picture.
After the awards were presented, we all met in the FLC for an ice cream social. Throughout the year, the kids had earned points by completing their assignments. These points ultimately turned into votes. They had the opportunity to vote for one of their adult leaders to receive a pie in the face. (Talk about incentive!) There were several ties, but my favorite was watching Thomas blast Andy (his dad). After all was said and done, there weren't too many of the leaders who escaped pie-free!
Buying a new car is not something that I enjoy. Unlike Jeff, I always feel like having to change vehicles is just a necessary evil when the old one ceases to be reliable. In the past 2-3 months, we've 'invested' over $1k in repairs on our existing vehicles. My 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager is the most reliable of the two. It 'only' has about 145k miles (but no air conditioner!) Jeff's 2003 Taurus has over 198k miles thanks to his 3 hour daily trips to work when we were still living in Princeton. Much to my dismay, we REALLY needed a new vehicle. After looking in the newspaper & Craig's List, and going to several dealerships, we finally found this van at a Toyota dealer. Remarkably, it met all of my criteria: good condition, low miles, a clear CarFax report, and most importantly, CHEAP! Well, it wasn't actually as cheap as I would have liked, but we did get $2k off of the asking price and $1k under the estimated value online. It really was too good to pass up. It has all of the bells & whistles...leather, heated seats, alloy wheels, etc. Of course, when you keep vehicles until their demise, (like we do!), it just means more gadgets to break! Anyway, we decided to proceed with our original plan to drive our current vehicles until they absolutely will NOT drive anymore, and keep the 'new' vehicle for our longer trips and for backup, hopefully extending its life as long as possible. I must say, though, it sure is nice having at least one reliable vehicle again!
Today was our co-op's "End of Year" party. We all met at the Durnil's house. The kids had a massive water fight (of course, when one of the dads is a firefighter, his kid has the advantage when he brings his own personal water hose... pictures to follow!) The Crawford's also brought a pinata. Lots of food, outdoor toys, and FUN!
Monday night was our HEARTH Academic Fair. It's a yearly event where the local homeschool community can get together to demonstrate what they've learned throughout the past year. Nick did a display with magnets and Rachael did a display on food contamination. She pulled information from the FDA website which detailed the contamination levels of several common foods. Her board (which I forgot to photograph!) had a graph indicating the average number of insect parts, rodent hairs, and mammalian excrement by weight in different foods. It was rather disgusting!
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
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