Another "WOW!"

Gotta love Daily Lit dot com. I just finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, and again I say Wow!
The story takes place in 1870s England. The plot has intrigue, mystery, betrayal, romance, crime and superb development of some of the characters.

While reading I found myself hoping this book had been made into a film. As luck would have it, the DVD is available in my library system. Hopefully I'll be able to watch it soon. I found there were several versions of the audio book available too. That would have made for some compelling story-telling!

Off to browse the Daily Lit Classics section for what ever will be next!

What's Going On?

At first I was tempted to make this a caption contest, but from the photo only, with no sound it is not possible to guess what is going on here.
In-obviously, it is history class!

The kids are under the blanket because the Artist did not dress for the weather today. They are sitting together on the couch because they are looking at their history outline in the form of a stack of cards.

The dynamics also don't show in the photo. At the time of this picture, they were silly-singing at the top of their lungs, adding incredible descants to a fairly simple tune. The tune is on a CD that we play at the opening of each history class to reinforce the order of major events in history.In this second photo, little has changed, but you can see the Engineer's stocking feet sticking out from under the blanket. The children are reading the outline of today's history lesson aloud to each other. That's my cue, soon I'll need to hit save here and go through some history readings with the kids.

Happy Anniversary

Rick wrote an anniversary post! Thanks, Hon!

(((hugs)))

She Flies Through the Air

The Artist's thrill of the week was the trapeze!

Trapeze lessons were included in the resort package and the Artist was not shy about taking advantage of them. From the first time we saw the trapeze crew she was excited to return at the appropriate time for lessons.

First a teacher took her aside to a practice trapeze that hangs at about adult eye level from the ground. Here the Artist was coached through the brief routine she would do on the high trapeze, and learned the verbal command cues.

Next, it was over to the cinch belt and the ladder, a very tall, skinny ladder. Tightly cinched about the waist, the Artist eagerly climbed up to the platform. About 10 feet from the ground, hangs the safety net. At this point the climber has to change from the outside of the ladder to the inside.
The Artist followed the instructions beautifully, and it seemed the crew was very pleased with her. She had such a good time, she went up that ladder three more times that morning. Then she went back for more high flying swings two more days during the week. After each aerial adventure, getting down from the safety net is accomplished by a somersault off the edge, hands holding onto grips and feet landing of the padded stairs. Here the artist is getting her instructions. By the time of the following photos, the Artist is an old pro. The sky was beautiful this morning, and the skinny little ladder shows up clearly.Thank you, Trapeze Crew!

Sagittarius, the Archer

When I first read that the resort where we were staying offered archery as an activity I wanted to check it out.

Archery had always been a mild interest of mine, but something I've never gotten closer to than admiration of those who practice sport shooting or bow hunting. With complimentary lessons as part of the vacation package, how could I resist?From the first time I held the bow, I was comfortable with the weapon. It was beautiful, and very comfortable to hold. Even more comfortable than I'd expected. This was going to be fun!

From the first time I drew back the bow string I was determined to hit the bulls eye. Well, that took quite a while! First I had to play around with right or left handed bows because my dominant hand and dominant eye are on opposite sides. All my photos are from the first day, when I was shooting right handed. I did get some arrows onto the target, and the backboard netting, and on the ground in front of the targets. This was going to take some practice!
I also learned the importance of using an arm guard. I struck myself three times with the bowstring and had a lovely bruise the size of Connecticut, well the size of a dollar bill anyway, around my elbow. I won't make that mistake again.

Rick gave it a try too: The second day I went to the archery range myself. With one staff member to coach me and no audience I was much more relaxed. I stayed with the left handed bow and hit the target almost every time, but my arrows were still all over the place, mostly on the white ring around the outside. By luck, not skill, I did get an arrow in the center of the bulls eye.

The third time I went back to shoot, Rick and the kids were with me. This time they got to see a good session. I did not hit another bulls eye, but I was consistent and had some nice tight groupings. Hooray! I can work with that.

I've checked some archery books out from the library, and looked around on line a little to learn more about where to practice in my area. There is still an overwhelming amount of information to learn, but my appetite is whetted. This was FUN!

Rick's Adventures

The pre-vacation nightmare past, Rick was all set to have fun in the sun. The biggest goal for this whole trip was for Rick to experience windsurfing. And windsurf he did! The weather was perfect for it and the lessons were included with our resort. Hooray!
Lessons begin on shore:Once they learned to pull up the sale and practice how to handle and maneuver it, they moved to the water:After the first taste, Rick is feeling so satisfied that he finally got to try the sport, and he's hungry to do it again!

Some other firsts for Rick included kayaking with the Engineer, another activity that is nothing like the Wii experience. They enjoyed it so much, they brought the Artist along with them the next time. The trip also included several nice scenes for mom and dad, such as catching the kids thoroughly enjoying each other's company as we returned from dinner one night.

New Adventures

Our trip the Grand Bahama Island held exciting new adventures for everyone in our family.

The Ocean -- the kids have seen the Atlantic and the Pacific before. But never before have they been able to swim in the ocean. Previous visits to the sea were in 40 or 60 degree weather, so we were all decked out in long pants and jackets. They loved it! The Artist spent most of her time looking for shells. She found so many, pity we could not bring them home. The Engineer relished the warm water and enjoyed jumping into and over breaking waves. The beach was beautiful! It was large, clean and not crowded. The resort had a game room which provided the Engineer with entertainment and excitement. He was able to play real ping pong and real billiards for the first time. He found them both very different from the Wii. It was also a bit exciting to ride in cabs with the drivers seat on the right side, and careen along curving roadways, always in the leftmost lane . My driving habits are so ingrained, I don't think I'd dare rent a car and drive myself around the island.