Picturesque

My daughter is on point now. Meaning she gets to wear expensive, uncomfortable shoes. It is yet another step to show she is maturing. We started her in ballet at 3 years old. So many recitals and classes later. She won't wear point shoes in next week's recital, but . . . next year she will. Wow. This is bigger than anything her momma has ever done, and I am happy for her.

Tea Party

Why is it always so hard for me to believe another year is gone? We had a wonderful year doing Life of Faith. The girls attended monthly meetings - and they were such meaningful meetings. At each meeting our leader, Karla, helped the girls do a skit from the books, gave a devotional, made an adorable craft and provided a fun snack. Yes, that was a lot, and she did it all. Our last meeting of the year was to have a tea party - and tea we did. There is a little place in Dacula called Blessings Cottage - they provided the fun tea and yummy food. It was a nice memory and conclusion to a some good memories. Thank you Karla and Emma!

The Beggar's Blessing - Dance Recital 09

Hard to believe another recital is almost here! Last year my dd was honored to play the lead role, and this year she is in drama with her best friend as the lead role. I am helping with sets and props and it has been very time consuming getting it together - but we are so close to being finished, it is wonderful and exciting. The set pieces are designed to rotate - one side shows a woodcarver's shop, the other is inside the home of the lead character. You can see my dh on top of one of the sections working away. He is so helpful.

Life of Faith

A friend in our homeschool group started a Life of Faith Girl's club and invited my dd to attend. The memories came flooding back. Fifteen years ago, Little Bear (Richard) Wheeler told me about the Martha Finley books written about Elsie Dinsmore. At the time he was busily trying to reprint the series originally written in the late 1800's. So, I purchased a couple of the books and became very involved in the story line. Not being able to wait until they printed more of the books, I made a call to an antique book store in the area and asked if they had any of the original books. Um yes, they did, the entire series, most of them first printings! Wow. I ran to that store and bought the entire 28 volumes. It didn't take me long to read all of them either. My oldest dd didn't enjoy the books as much as I did but now, my youngest loves them and it is wonderful to share the books with her. The books were reprinted again with modern language and with dolls to enjoy! My dd has decided to spend her saved Disney money on an Elsie doll. I think it is a wise purchase, a constant reminder of the great character qualities Elsie demonstrates throughout the books. What fun this monthly club will be for both of us!

Field Trip

What does a homeschool family do with an unexpected business trip? Field trip! My dh had two business trips in a row and we went with him on the second one to NJ. We used the opportunity to stop at many different places along the way. New York City Times Square was a must on the list - and dd loved it! Especially the huge 3 story Toys R Us!

We stopped in D.C. and saw the monuments and the Air and Space Smithsonian Museum.

We went through Philadelphia and visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell - and got a parking ticket. We consider it a donation to the historic city. :)

While my dh was doing work in NJ - dd and I went over to the Atlantic Ocean and enjoyed several hours of beach fun.
On the way home dh wanted to go by his Alma mater - UNC in Chapel Hill. We drove by our first two homes as a married couple - and glad to say little had changed in 20+ years! Also glad we didn't stay on there for grad school - how different our lives might be today. It was a whirlwind and exciting trip.

Digging in the sand

My in-laws are really cool people. They went to Aurora, NC to dig through piles of sand for . . . shark's teeth! My FIL has an impressive collection of shark's teeth and he found a big assortment this trip. They did a thoughtful and generous thing - they brought home each family a bag of this special sand so we could have our own dig! We spread the paper out a few nights ago and found some very small teeth - it was fun! Thanks Grampy!

Curriculum Fair!

Adjectives that describe a homeschool curriculum fair: Exhilarating, exciting, fun, frustrating, entertaining, tiring, overwhelming, exasperating, thrilling, awesome, difficult, super, tremendous - yes, overall, it was tremendous! My feet and back are hurting, but it is a good feeling to have all the curriculum purchased for next year and exciting to think about what the year holds. We worked the used book sale so we could shop early and we sold a box of stuff that paid for over half of our purchases. It is all good.

Let me show you some goodies from yesterday:

Some language and supplies for lapbooking.

Some history.

Some science.

OK, this- was- exciting. Steve Demme, the man behind Math-U-See was there! My dd watches his videos with her curriculum and she laughs and enjoys his lessons so much - it was pretty cool to see him in person. He gave her a $5 Turkey paper bill, he had just been there teaching missionary homeschool families! He was a joy to talk to - an unexpected great memory of the day. My oldest dd used his math all through elementary school and jr. high and was able to skip Algebra I and advance to Geometry her freshman year of high school and first year in a private school! Needless to say, I am loyal to MUS!

Some extra learning fun stuff.

Stuff for mom to read. Hey, I need stuff too! :)