First Fishing Trip

The kids' first ever fishing trip was a big success and a bust all in one.
It was wonderful to get away from a hectic month. The weather was beautiful. The lodge at Geneva on the Lake was clean, welcoming, packed with nice amenities for children yet, except for ours, child-free. The town was pretty much closed down for the winter season. The lake was picturesque.

But of all the fishermen we saw Friday morning (nearly 20 in all) only one man got a nibble and he just had his bait nabbed by a smart fish.We enjoyed some hiking, some volleyball, some swimming, the game room and some fishing. Along our hike, I saw something I have not seen in decades, milkweed. It was fun to show the kids the plants that host monarch butterflies, and get some nice butterfly photos too. I also showed them the soft silk inside the milkweed pods and the orderly was the seeds develop inside. I told them about how my mother used to harvest and dry the pods, decorate them, and make Christmas tree decorations from them.

What Happens When...

...you give your 7 year old the camera while you go to an archery shoot?This traffic cone was used as a ground quiver.
He had a rip-roaring good time!
And, apparently, a spin too.I'll admit I asked for this one. I shot the two 9s and the 8 in the target on the right. And this one reminds me of Cezanne's brush strokes. I rather like it.

Photos of the BIG Day

The night before the test the Artist's best friend (who lives in TX) came up to Ohio to be here for the test. On test day, she gave the Artist a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow roses.On the morning of the test, the Artist engaged in a little stress-relief by building a house of cards. I'm glad it worked for her. I would have given up in frustration!The Artist's tae kwon do test lasted for four hours. The instructor intentionally makes it mentally and physically demanding. As a result it is also emotionally exhausting. Rick and I are so proud of the confidence and poise the Artist exhibited, especially during 90 minutes of oral examination. She certainly felt the support of everyone there. Thank you to all who came to see her!

Time to begin.
After the initial part of the test, there was a question and answer period. Everyone present gets to examine the student. Then it is back to the physical work. He friend is a great sport - taking all the abuse! Thank you so much Dear, and to your Mom and Dad!
After the test the group went out to dinner. Then home to relax for a little while. We ended the day sharing ice cream with friends. And we all slept very well that night!

The BIG Day

Today the Artist is testing for her black belt in tae kwon do. We are proud of her, nervous for her, excited for her, and looking forward to the afternoon.

She has worked hard and put a lot of thought into preparing for her test. She did not spar with the class last night and she went to bed early to be ready. I'm not sure how well she actually slept though!

Today she will take about 5 hours to demonstrate her skills and answer questions for her instructors. Next month, we hope to have a happy result.

This photo was taken at a tournament a few years ago. I'm reminded of how I felt when I was first invited to go on point by my ballet mistress. Dance was different, better, from that point on. I worked harder after I went on pointe than I ever did before. I have a feeling something similar will be happening for the Artist with her martial art.

Sinister Twist

First thing this morning, I hung our flag outside on the front porch. Today is September 11. I wanted to honor those who died 8 years ago today and encourage other Americans to be vigilant in protecting America.

My son recalled one of his vocabulary words from yesterday, tribute, and used it properly in a sentence. (Good job, Kiddo!).

Then I hear about turning September 11 into a day of community service. Red flags go up in my mind and the urge to resist is unignorably strong. This government wants me honor those who died by painting murals? Cleaning up litter? Sending out emails reminding people to wash their hands?

Are you kidding me? That smacks of being a small cog in a utilitarian machine in some 1970s city in the USSR.

How about teaching my children what the safety forces endured that day instead. Not to mention teaching them what actually happened that day. Not the sterilized version. The facts I have riveted into my memory the day America's world changed.

I also remember Americans dropping everything and going to Washington DC, New York City and Shanksville, PA to volunteer to help. I remember all the firehouses in the metro area had firemen out collection cash in their boots. I remember more cars stopping to donate than I have ever seen before. I remember the looks on the faces of other drivers, somber, no sign of impatience, as they waited in long slow lines for their turn to give and to get through the traffic light. And a few days later I remember hearing stories about what happened on flight 93, and how exceptional Americans acted in crisis.

That is the American spirit we remember today and we pass along to our children. Not resentfully fulfilling civic requirements to avoid persecution. Rather, indiviuals acting of their own volition. Exercising freedom. It is becomming a lost art.

Under Construction

When we took our trip to the zoo last week we had a chance to see how the construction was coming along on the Fulton Road Bridge. This bridge spans a waterway, railroad tracks and large valley. The zoo is in the valley, affording us a rare look up at the work.This crane towers over the bridge and the zoo. I thought a photo from right underneath would look more imposing, but I guess you had to be there. It sure felt imposing!I'm glad they are keeping the large arch character that the old bridge had. It was a beautiful bridge that had suffered a lot from neglect.

This link has some photos of the old bridge, the demolition, and some photos of the new construction. It doesn't look like they will hit their deadline. Summer 2009 is almost over!

This was an opportunity we could not pass up. We were at the zoo looking at all the various displays, and we saw this: There should have been a placard on the fence indicating that these are North American Construction Workers.

One Down

The first week of school is finished. One down, 35 or so to go!

We started off with a short schedule, each child only having a few subjects, Grammar, Math, Logic and Art. The grammar and logic curricula, and the Artist's math curriculum are new to me this year. So the slow start is to benefit me as much as to ease the kids into the school year.

So far I am very pleased. Math U See seems to be a huge benefit to the Artist. She has not gotten lower than an A on any of the papers or the test yet, and most unexpectedly, she announced yesterday that math was fun now! That is a huge change in itself. As the work gets more complicated, the good attitude and growing confidence should help her through.

I still like Saxon math, and I am going to keep up with Saxon for the Engineer. When he gets to sixth grade math I will figure out what to do next. That is the point at which I tried A Beka math with the Artist. Not a good move.

The grammar books have great information -- I am very impressed and glad I switched to Shurley Grammar. It is much more teacher intensive than the former program. That is good, because I will not need to rely on tests to tell me how the kids are doing. The preparation and teaching time required of me is something else. I'd been spoiled, and now I need to re-work my daily tasks to be sure the kids get what they need in the grammar realm.

So far, I like the logic text, but we are working slowly with it, so I do not have enough of an experience it to write about it yet.