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a kayak experience. my favorite day of vacation.
I can’t believe it’s been weeks since we returned from the beach. Will I never cease being amazed/disappointed/confounded by the rapid passage of time? (I’m confident the only answer to that question is no!) It was such an active trip and by active I mean – we did stuff we have never been able to do on vacations before. Biking, for one. And for another – kayaking. I really love kayaking. But as a family of eight with young children, it was an event that seemed mostly out of our reach. First – because not everyone could paddle by themselves. Second – because renting anything adds up quickly times eight.…
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and I quote …..
A child said, “What is the grass?” fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he. – Walt Whitman
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a poem inspired by a poet.
Our last official school field trip was to Carl Sandburg’s house. If you perchance recall, I didn’t write the post I intended because I was overcome with distraction from the bittersweet surprise of my youngest son’s seemingly overnight growing up. The post I intended to write was more like this: First we toured the house. (I want to own his farm, Connemara. I want to save up/steal/inherit/find in a brown paper bag on the side of the highway an absolutely ludicrous amount of money. Then I want to use all of that money to purchase the land from the current owners – the National Park System. Then I plan to kick…
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a challenge for the day.
The mornings have been peaceful and cool here. I’ve been forcing myself to attempt rising a tad earlier than normal. I’ve found the porch so inviting and comfortable and quiet before the heat and the busy of the day begin. There’s a quote like a mantra that reverberates in my mind. I heard it when my babies were actually babies and I remember writing it on the box of wipes and painting it on a wall. I’m certain I’ve shared it here before as well. The days are long but the years are short. This morning, this day – keep that idea close. When your face is pointed toward a…
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Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution — Book Review
Reading is a cornerstone to our school here. (Speaking of school – did I ever share a photo of Riley’s diploma? Someone somehow remind me to do that one day. Kevin did a fabulous job on it – it looks like a lovely work of art. And the official name on the official document? After much deliberation and various suggestions, we landed on Wildwood Halls of Ivy.) But back to my original subject. Reading. With Ambleside Online, assigned read-alouds make up a large portion of our curriculum base. This term our history focus has been the Revolutionary War period and the beginning of democracy in America. We’ve read through Natalie…
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good morning Monday.
It’s Monday morning. And it’s raining. We just returned from a weekend camping trip at Lake Jocassee where it did not rain for almost the entire weekend. The camping trip was marvelous, lovely, fun, wonderful. This week I’m going to post more pictures from our weekend adventures but Kevin has the better ones on his phone so it’ll take a few days to wrangle the simple acts of clicking and sharing. But this morning I feel as if I’m going to ramble a little bit. (That is me, giving you fair warning.) Did I mention that it is raining? And has been for days here apparently. Our home is so…
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happy birthday dad.
Today is my dad’s birthday. Well, yesterday was my dad’ s birthday. You know, it all depends on when you read this. Let’s start over. It’s my dad’s birthday. Right now he is working as a truck driver and his job demands long hours spent on the road. That makes it hard to be sure letters and cards are seen in a timely fashion. We played phone tag today so I never even really got to say an official happy birthday to him. But I know he reads this blog so I’ll just use what I have. I love my father. He is a good man. Loyal. Generous. Decisive. Passionate.…
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The Knock Knock Joke Strikes Again
I’ve been recording the ludicrous and hilarious knock knock jokes that our kids deliver for a while. Wilde Otto Fox has officially joined the ranks of Joke Maker too. Delivered on the front porch, full audience of family members, spoken without the appropriate use of consonants and in an adorable cute four-year-old voice: Knock Knock. Who’s there? Footprints. Footprints who? Awww – my parakeet is dead!
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cute. kittens. and other stuff.
Lately, all our kids can think about is this: And goodness – who could blame them? Our five tiny porch friends are ridiculously adorable. They all have names of course. None of which I had any part in the choosing. (Hey, it’s a big sacrifice on my part to not insist that I name all creatures living at our home. I still have so many name choices stockpiled.) We have Ninja, Moonshine, Peace, Bandit and Slice. Prior to the birth of the wonder babies, we had two cats. Two cats that we talked all year long about needing to take to the vet to have them fixed. Two cats that…
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Tricks of The Trade. 6.
Do you remember these little contraptions? It was designed to hold three servings of formula for a baby. And I found it in our drawer recently. Our formula-fed baby is now nine years old and riding bikes and swimming in pools without floaties so I don’t honestly know why I still have this little item. In fact, the greater surprise is that we have lived in three homes since I bought this and somehow this has moved with us every time. It finally has a new purpose in life. Snacks. Tiny snacks. Sunflower seeds. Peanuts. Raisins. All in Otto-sized compartments perfect for tiny-finger munching. Last week we attended a baseball…
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daughters. sisters.
One morning this week the girls and I put on pretty dresses. We drove to a friend’s house and attended a tea party to celebrate our sweet young friend turning five. It was a lovely morning. Tables set up outside in the cool morning breeze. Tablecloths. Real deal china plates and tea cups. French bread smothered in home made cream and fresh strawberries. Scones. Piper was thrilled to put on a dress. She chose from her plethora of options and happily dressed her dolls to accompany us. Mosely was happy to oblige the dress code suggestion and even submitted to a barrette placed in her hair but requested no braids.…
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Home Again.
We have returneth from whence we came. In other words …. we are back. A spring vacation to the beach was a new experience for our family. And, yes, we loved it. The sea. The sun. The breeze. The golf cart. The bikes. The kayaks. The pool. The together. The late sleeping. Loved. It. All. The problem with a return post that covers a week is that I actually have too many photos. Riley received a new camera as a graduation gift and she really broke it in last week. And Kevin took really fun underwater pictures with his phone. But not every shot has been downloaded. Yet. So I’m…
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a distracted exit.
The days have been breezy beautiful. That’s good for life but a challenge for finishing strong these last few weeks of school. I confess – I think I want to spend my days outside digging in earth and playing games even more than the kids want to. Our regular schedule has been off. We’ve completely finished a few subjects – science, music appreciation, art, poetry, nature studies. Bergen’s blazed his way through his entire math curriculum. Our co-op has wrapped up for the school year. But we’ve got a few lingering tasks and you’d think being completely finished with several areas would open up space to more diligently complete the…
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