The Final Post

K & Z graduated in June! I haven't blogged in a couple of years (I swear I wrote a few posts, but I guess I never published them), but before retiring this blog, I thought it would be good to say something about the journey.

I started this blog our first year of homeschooling mostly to prove to myself and others that we were really doing something and not just sitting around watching TV all day.  We did still watch TV quite a bit--let's not kid ourselves--but no more than we did before homeschooling and with more intention a lot of the time.  We also added in computers more and more as the years went by.  We used lots of educational programs, and after way too many tears spent on Math-You-See (a curriculum that works well for some, but not for us) and taking a year off from textbook math, we switched to Teaching Textbooks on disc and took me--the most neurotic math teacher ever--out of the picture.  That worked for us quite well.

Yeah--we just took the rest of the year off from math.  And--I never "taught" math again. AND my kids still graduated high school.  And they both passed the community college entry math test at the pre-calc level at 16. Are they math whizzes? No. Do they like math? Not really.  Do I wish I had done things differently around math? Sure. I wish I hadn't even started any formal math until 5th grade.  I wish I hadn't been such a nervous wreck about how my kids could possibly learn enough math without text books and teaching.  But whatever, it all seems to have worked out.  My mother skipped the grade in school where they taught fractions.  Even so, she ran a business and can use a cookbook without any issues. Everyone has holes in their education, but they can always be filled in if and when needed.

I may have regrets about some things I did or didn't do while we were homeschooling (more on that below) but I have no regrets about homeschooling itself.  It may not be the answer for you, but it was for us.

I missed my kids when they went to school.  We regularly traveled, went to local museums, sat around and played board games. My kids played pretend and dress up and they ran around outside A LOT before school started. We traveled, visited far flung friends and had lunch with dad at least once a week. 

When they went to full day school, I saw them tired and cranky in the morning trying to get them to school on time or like zombies in need of a rest and quiet after school. Travel was limited to school breaks with crowds on the roads and at the sites.  Plus, the bullying started, the limits to recess because worksheets needed filling out and constant harping on the Big Test (Virginia's SOLS) coming up.  SOLs aren't administered until the third grade but we still heard plenty about it in first grade. :-P

No, no regrets about the choice to homeschool.  But, yes, I would do some things differently. I would have:
--worried less
--worked less

--taken more and longer road trips when the kids were 10 and under
--not done any formal curriculum until 5th grade
--let them make more mistakes and been more patient in waiting for them to figure things out on their own
--done more service projects-biggest regret
--been more flexible in my plans
--left more things undone especially when traveling
--kept up with family game night
--kept up daily talks of what went well, what didn't and what we were grateful for

and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff.  But I feel certain that if we hadn't homeschooled I'd have just as long a list of regrets. It's the nature of parenting.

So, here I'll try to fill in some details for 2015/16 mostly in photos because it's easier to remember that way.

Katie playing piano at the VaHomeschoolers Conference talent show. April 2015

Prom--and you thought homeschoolers didn't get to go to prom! May 2015, I think. Zack decided dances are not for him.

A trip to Austin. May 2015

 Waiting for the Congress Avenue Bridge bats to come out. 

A visit to Funimation in Dallas

The Hindu temple outside of Austin.  There's also a great bbq place nearby so easy to make a day of it.

2015 Spring break FL trip--with friends this year! Did Orlando parks with friends then went off to Key Largo on our own.

After dinner at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Fantasyland

Romantic dinner in Key Largo

Resident Parrot at the hotel's tikki bar

2014/15 had a lot to do with fandoms. Sherlock, Dr Who, Welcome to Nightvale, and a few others I didn't follow.  This is from the Welcome to Nightvale show (terrible picture)

After the SATs, June 2015

Some shows over the summer
At Wolf Trap for the John Williams show.

The book of Mormon

 Don't remember when exactly this was, but  I love this picture.

2016 FL trip in and around Key Largo

First time on a jet ski

At Harriette's of course!

 The graduates with their diplomas!

Katie will head off to a 4 year college this fall.  Zack is taking a year to work, try a few things out and enter college later. 

Thanks to anyone who has followed our homeschool travels and my other random thoughts.  Unfortunately FaceBook too the place of blogging for the last years, but you can get an idea of what we've been up to.

Paris--the end of the big trip

Uh....looks like this one never got published.  Here goes!

Paris--the last days of the trip

Tuesday
This was the day we planned to start up our museum passes.  Only Pete and I needed passes, the kids for the most part were eligible for free or very reduced entries but, because of our passes we could still take them with us to the front of the lines.  The only time this was an issue was at the Louvre, where you go through the lobby to get to different wings of the museum and need to show your ticket again and again.  because the kids never got their own tickets, we couldn't split up.  Turns out they decided to stay with us for most of the day anyway, so that didn't bother our plans.

But I'm jumping ahead.

As mentioned in the very first trip post, we were pretty tired out from the Angers trip but were still up fairly early and it wasn't a rushed start to the day, so I ignored that voice that told me to reschedule our plans and take a day off.  Zack hadn't slept well and was pretty draggy for most of the day.  Which was too bad since I think he would have enjoyed things more if he was less tired.

We started out with yet another church visit to Sainte-Chapelle--I know, I know! But it was supposed to be amazing stained glass and a very small church, so 1/2 hour at the most.  Actually, because the church is inside the police offices, the main wait is to get through security.  Museum passes didn't let us skip that, but once inside we didn't need to wait on a second line for tickets. It really is very tiny and only took 10-15 minutes to see the glass--which even ultra bored Zack was impressed with.

Next, back towards Notre Dame to the Crypte.  I loved this and everyone else indulged me. It's a years long dig under Notre Dame down to the original Roman walls that were originally on the site.

We had 12:30pm reservations for the Eiffel Tower, so we jumped onto Metro to head over there in the hopes of getting to go up a bit early.  Rain was expected and we didn't realize that there is an enclosed level at the top, so wanted to avoid rain if we could. We got there and were informed by a rather stern looking woman that we could not get in line until 5 mins before our ticket time.  We browsed the souvenir shops for a while then tried again when Stern Lady had left and were allowed to get in line about 15 mins early.

Zack was not happy that I got him a ticket to go to the top--heights are not his thing, but I assured him that no one has ever accidentally fallen off the tower and that it's even hard to fall off it intentionally.  The fact that the elevators are windowed did not thrill him either. But when it came right down to it, both he and Katie were extremely brave, walked all around the enclosed level and even braved the open air level at the tip top.

And the Tower is truly amazing--but I can't tell you why.  Maybe because I wasn't expecting it to be a big deal, maybe Paris was finally getting to me, I have no idea. But it was romantic, thrilling and very very Paris to me.  I loved it. Get an advance reservation and go.

We were hungry once back down on the ground, but decided to skip the stands  at the Tower since the weather was so chilly and damp.  Instead we headed closer to the Egout, our next stop, to see about a restaurant.  We passed the Quai Branley museum which had a living wall which was extremely cool (and I know wish we had gone to this museum instead of the Egout, but more about that later). Pete's photo didn't turn out, but see here for photos. After seeing many overpriced and too formal places, we stopped at a little bakery.  Turned out to be very average food and above average rude service, but they had some small tables indoors, so we ate there and just left as soon as we could.

Next was the Egout--a tour of the sewers.  No, do not think the romance of Phantom of the Opera, no, not the adventure of Les Miserables--think stinky public works tour.  Then skip it.  Stinky is an understatement.   Unless you're an engineer, then you might like it on a cool day.  It must be hell in the heat of summer!

Next walked over to the Musee Rodin.  It was not high on our list of places to see, but it was closeby and on our passes, so there didn't seem any reason not to go.  Plus the weather had improved making their extensive sculpture gardens very pleasant.  So pleasant that Zack relaxed an took a nap on a bench!

Pete and I were thrilled that there happened to be a Mapplethorpe exhibit.  We knew there was a large exhibit at the Palais Royal but didn't have the energy to try to get to it the night before, so this was a treat we thought we'd miss.  There were a lot of similarities in the poses of Rodin's statues and Mapplethorpe's photo poses. It was extraordinary. 

Also nice that the kids didn't need to have us with them, or go through massive warnings about the content of the exhibit before seeing it.  They just breezed in of their own accord, saw what they wanted and breezed out.

And that was it for the day.

Wednesday
The biggies--Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre.

I didn't expect to like the d'Orsay as much as I did but it was quite wonderful, not very large and very manageable for a morning visit.  We skipped an atrocious line with our passes which was great. The kids wandered on their own and made me anxious about their ability to get places on their own since neither of them found the huge Post-Impressionist wing and didn't get maps.  They claimed not to be able to use the signs because they were in French, but I reminded them that the painter's names are the same regardless and there were signs all over the place.

So, anyway, they saw very little of the museum, but Pete and I enjoyed several wings.  There were even some Toulouse Lautrec, a favorite of mine and which I have rarely seen in person. 

Then--a walk over to the Louvre, which impresses before you even enter due to the sheer size of the place.  There were many dogs and owners on the lawn outside the museum.  Again, all dogs are off the leash, but play nicely and sometimes not as nicely on the grass.  We missed our Toby while we watched them play for a while.

Then into the pyramid (I am not a fan, but I think the rest of the family is) and into the museum again passing up a HUGE line outside of people waiting to get tickets.

I like the inside view of the pyramid better than the outside.

I decided to follow the suggested tour by Rick Steves and it does cover a wide range, but I found it a bit difficult to navigate.  We got up to the Mona Lisa before deciding to stop for lunch. Sadly, Winged Victory, which I have wanted to see at the Louvre since college, is off display for restoration. :(

Pete and I decided it was worth museum prices on food to save the time and walk of finding a place off campus.  The food was quite good and typical museum prices and worth the convenience.  The Louvre is a big walking commitment and we were starving.

Back to the Mona Lisa and its huge crowd.  I didn't feel the need to get right up to it and enjoyed the rest of the room as best I could with the ML mobs in the way.

We continued through Renaissance, Neo Classicism, Revolutionary seeing mostly paintings and sculptures, and so on through Rick Steves tour.  We each got to see at least a few pieces we liked.  Then we heading to the objects wings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  I still love the Middle Ages and they had some very cool objects including crowns, swords and garments--plus a good deal of truly ugly serving pieces.

We were surprised by the number of tapestries in the Renaissance section since we connected those with the Middle Ages but there were a LOT of them.

After the Louvre, Pete and Zack had it and headed back to the room.  Katie and I tried to find one more museum but got all turned around, so when it started raining, we gave up and went back too.

As I went through the plans for the next day I made a terrible discovery.  The catacombs were going to be closed for Ascension Day. Pete and I knew this holiday was coming but checked up on it and read that travelers didn't find it to be a big deal and sights would be open.  I even checked the web site--but not the header on one page.  The catacombs are owned by the church and they do close.

It was 6pm the night before our last day in Paris.  Zack had been asking to see the catacombs every day of the terrible time he was having.  It was the ONLY site he wanted to see.  Closed for the day and closed tomorrow on our last day.

I fell apart.  To this day I still get a knot in my stomach and tears in my eyes.  I could not have felt worse.  When I told him, he was very dejected, but was a good guy about it.

Pete got on the job to find something special for Zack for our last day and came through with flying colors.

Thursday
Yes, you guessed it, another cathedral!  But this time with the oldest continuously working organ in Europe.  Something like 150 years old and the player wasn't much younger! The organist would do the Mass and then sometimes do more afterwards.  This was expected to be one of those days.

The Mass was interesting and the organ nice, but the concert afterwards was the real treat. Pete and I both received hugs from Zack who adored the playing. Whew. He liked something! Still, someday I want to get him back there to see those catacombs.

Afterwards we walked over to Gertrude Steins famous flat to pay our respects. On the way we saw a plaque that told us that Strindberg had lived in another building. We enjoyed that because of a series of YouTube cartoon on Strindberg we watch.
http://www.strindbergandhelium.com/

Then to lunch--because it's all about the food.  Sadly this end of town was extremely quiet and mostly closed down for the holiday.  The restaurants were open, but the one Pete had hoped to eat at didn't work out.  We did find a nice cafe that worked out well.

And that's it as far as I remember.
Too many cathedrals by far.
Pete is no longer allowed to plan subway routes
We need to go again so we can wander more and see fewer sites and have a more relaxed time.
But first I need more time to get over the harrowing flights across the ocean.

So, time to save up again.

Paris continued

The Paris leg of our London-Paris trip.

Friday
A late start day in our schedule and much needed, but sadly didn't work for Zack.  This apartment was smaller than the London flat, which had 3 bedrooms with window shades in all of them.  This one had two bedroom and a comfy couch in the living room--but no shades in the living room so Zack was up by 5am with the sun.  The kids had decided to switch off each night with the bedroom, but after Katie slept on the sofa one night, she declared that she loved it and spent the rest of the trip sleeping there--which was good since the sun did not wake her.

We looked around the neighborhood a bit more, hitting the brasserie--supposedly the best in Paris for a baguette and croissant. Then back to the apartment for some more lazing around and eating.

Notre Dame seemed like a nice easy trip for the day and we headed out on the Metro. I have ti say, it was smaller than I expected and compared to Westminster, but it was lovely. The line we a bit long, but Pete offered to stand in it while the kids and I walked around the outside.  It was a strange weather day--cool in the shade and warmish in the sun but not raining, so we felt lucky.  It is very damp inside all of these stone buildings though.

We took advantage of the sun being out to walk along the Seine and saw the bridge with all the locks.  Couples put a padlock on the rails and then throw the key into the river.  There's a bridge in London where people have started to do the same thing, but nothing to this scale.

We crossed the river to go to Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore where American expats used to gather in the 20s and 30s. Katie tried out the resident piano and she and Zack browsed around the shop while Pete and I enjoyed sitting on some steps across the small street.

Lunch and a long walk to the Latin Quarter.  On the way, we passed a shop with the most beautiful meringues that we promised ourselves we'd come back for.

We found a nice little creperie for lunch--savory then sweet with a drink for only 5 Euros, a bargain!

Retracing our steps, we stopped at a game store and then to pick out two meringues, banana and black raspberry, I think. So sugary and so wonderful.

Yes! Those brightly colored poufs in the window are for eating.

I remembered that I wanted to see the Deportation Memorial back behind Notre Dame. A simple, powerful memorial and garden.  Glad we went.

And that was it for our plans for the day.  It was going to be an early day on Saturday (Chartres) and we wanted more time to relax.

I think Pete and I hit the grocery store this night too, but not sure.  I didn't enjoy this one as much as we enjoyed the Waitrose, but it's hard to beat Jammie Dodgers and Jelly Babies.

Saturday
Chartres on the TER trains.  The fact that some trains in France and England are state owned and some are privatized makes figuring out which lines to use pretty complicated.  More complicated in French.  Additionally, sometimes you can get to the same place on more than one line at different prices.  The TER is slower (more like an Amtrak) than the TJV, but cheaper by a lot, so that was our choice for this trip.

I mentioned in the last post, that if I had our itinerary to do over again, I would skip Chartres but still it was a beautiful cathedral and has Malcolm Miller, an English tour guide who has done tours in English at Chartres for 57 years.  He knows a LOT and is wonderfully quirky.  The down side for me is that he specializes in the stained glass which is not my main interest, but it was really informative and he did eventually talk about the statues. Pete, on the other hand, was enthralled and the kids fell somewhere in between.

The weather was fairly awful.  Very chilly and either outright rainy or very damp at best.

We got to the town and headed directly to the cathedral to look around and nail down details on Malcolm's tour.  Then, since Katie was hungry we found a cafe for some snacks and hot drinks until the tour at noon.  Good timing since the skies opened up for the heaviest rains of the day.

There were about 40 of us on the tour, but since it is done mostly seated and there are headphones to hear Malcolm through, it wasn't an issue. Pete, who had been decidedly cranky in the morning, was in a much better mood afterwards so it was good that the tour worked out.

At the end of the tour the sun peeked out a bit so we took advantage of it to walk around the town.  Felt like we were walking through Beauty and the Beast. Tiny little streets and houses.  One major difference between Paris and London was that for the most part, London seemed like any big city we had ever been to and even Stratford seemed somehow familiar, but Paris was decidedly European to us. It didn't seem at all like American cities or towns.  It was thrilling.

Another look at the cathedral and lunch at an unremarkable cafe that didn't serve us anything memorable.

Then back on the train back to Paris.

Sunday
A totally "off" day and France's Mother's Day.  Asked around for what everyone wanted to do after a late and lazy morning.  I requested we go get crepes next door for mother's day brunch and then each could do whatever they wanted with the rest of the day.

Zack had had enough of being a tourist and voted to stay home on his own at the apartment. I wanted to walk the Champs Elysees.  Pete and Katie decided to come along too.  We started at the Arc de Triomphe and then walked down towards the Tuilleries. And walked.  And walked.  I didn't realize that most of the street was devoted to high-end stores and not until the very far away end you get to the historical section of the street.  So, sadly, by the time we reached the park we were pooped and ready to head home.  Plus, I missed Zack and wanted to have dinner with him.

High end car dealerships along the way too.

Can't seem to rotate this, but it's the obelisk at the Tuileries entrance.

And the fountain across from it

 But we did have a good time, enjoyed one of the only sunny days in Paris and were able to buy our Museum Passes at the Arc to use later in the week. 

Monday
Angers (ahn-jay) to see the Chateau. Still stuck in the middle ages, but it is a castle, drawbridge and all.  We also were taking the high-speed TJV train, a dream of Pete's.  Again 180 mph and taking us about 250 miles outside of Paris. It's amazing how quickly the landscape turns rural.

Unfortunately, we didn't find out that most of the museums in Angers are closed on Mondays and also most of the restaurants, so we had allotted too much time before our return train.  But, again the weather was reasonable, so we weren't stuck all day in the rain.  It was chilly, but we'd all dressed better and were very comfortable.

Zack, Pete and I took the audio tours, Katie again preferred to wander on her own.  There was a chapel, main house, battlements we could walk along the tops of, an even older area dating back to the 1000's, huge tapestries and an area they have excavated.

After the tour, we scouted out someplace for lunch, which turned out to be fantastic.  You guessed it--crepes! But truly wonderful.

We then explored the old section of the town, the cathedral, which was open and lovely, walked along the outside battlements of the chateau where there was a lovely rose garden and then the modern section of the town. Some of the battlement walls were part of the historic site, but some are just part of the town and have private houses along them.

We walked back to the train station early and enjoyed a sit on the grass outside until it was time to go.


That's it for today.  Will finish up the trip with the next post.

Checking boxes Fall and Winter 2014

This might seem a strangely timed post--since we just got back from a big trip and you are expecting to see a post about that with pictures.  But look here--this is something I started to write back in February maybe, and forgot all about.  

Our second year of homeschooling highschool started in September, sort of, we usually have a slow breaking in period.  "School" consists of checking off the boxes I think we need to put things on a highschool transcript.  In other words, my homeschool mom anxiety about getting these kids into college is driving the agenda. Now, more than halfway through the year, I am dealing with my extreme discomfort in doing that--but more on that later.

So, after a summer of math a couple of times a week, we set off on our 10th grade work.  And it is work.

Teaching Textbooks Algebra II
Rosetta Stone Italian--re-started with a new focus to work on it throughout the week and see if they actually gain any actual Italian language skills this time.
Derrik Owens Physical Science
SCOOP (secular coop) High School Writing

Katie
Still writing every day, sketching sometimes, Girl Scouts

Zack
Parkour and D&D

Teen group Fridays, Co-op Thursdays, Park Day Tuesdays, when they happen and we feel like going

And the white board--all the work that needs to be checked off every week so mom doesn't have to nag as much as last year.

That's a lot of work and a lot of driving and not a lot of fun.
Now I don't think everything needs to be a bundle of laughs and my kids are far from despairing, but doing something hard and time consuming that you have no interest in and not having time to do things you are interested in is not exactly why we got into this homeschooling thing.
The kids had extremely little input into this line up.  That's not what I dreamed of either.

But off we went. Grinding our way forward. And it really hasn't been awful.  Just not interesting, engaging or done at all together, most of it being done on the computer.

Oh, and they took the PSATs in October.

Pete and I had a long discussion about this and it's a hard one to have.  I've de-schooled a lot more than he has, but we both still grew up with the grade school-middle school-high school-college path and expectation.  It's hard to break.  It's hard to give u checking off the things we think they need to get into college.  But now they are 16 and thinking of their own futures.  Sometimes with anticipation, sometimes with dread and a lot of other emotions depending on the day.  And I think how much better it will be to give them a chance to figure it out while they're still living here, bills paid, pressure fairly low, than doing it during the college years like I did. 

So--what does that look like?  I have no idea.  But I don't think it looks like this year did. 

The New Year in High School

Lots on the schedule this year.  High School is in full swing.  But before we hit our full stride we took a long weekend to get some sun in FL.  I decided a couple of years ago that I'd reached the point in my life where I need to get some summer during the winter.

Pete didn't have much time and we didn't want to waste money and time getting to Cali, so he suggested the Keys.  The airfare to FL always seems to be cheap, so the Keys it was.

The best thing we did was to follow Pete's whim that we stop on the drive from Miami to Key Largo at Everglades National Park.  As always at the Nat'l Parks, we wanted more time, but it was still a great day.

The "resort" we stayed in at Key Largo was fine, but really phoney.  They had created a beach-like area, but the actual piece of real beach they had was some sort of concrete covered in sand.  But the views were great, from the fake beach and from our room and we were able to rent stand up paddle boards on site--absolutely the best part of the trip for me.

**note**

Completely forgot that I had stared this post and thought it had been published long ago!  Now we have to rely on my sketchy memory--oh no!

OK, so maybe the next day we went to the glass bottom boat.  We had hoped to snorkle but it was very windy for the whole trip so strong swimmers only and Katie and Pete are not that strong in swimming.  But Katie needed to get out to the coral reef--she loves that stuff, so the glass bottom boat was the only option.  Again, Pete saved the day buying enough dramamine for us.  3-5 foot swells in a flat bottomed boat is a nauseating combination.  Katie and I had to go up for air a couple of times but then got used to it.

We stop for Rhinos!

The last full day we went out to Key West, which was about what I expected except for the Super Bowl wrinkle.  I check the guide books to be sure that the town didn't shut down on a Sunday but didn't realize that on Superbowl Sunday, everything closes by 1pm!  Lots of places had ticketed events to watch the game, but getting lunch was a major undertaking.

There was a cool fort and interesting beach but it was a very long walk and then lunch turned into a death march through town!  If you ever go--grab bikes or scooters the minute you get there and you'll have a much better time than we did.  Still--the pay off was a pretty fine panini shop and ice cream bigger than your head after.

And--then there was the sunset:

Greatest find by far was Harriette's which we ate at every morning for breakfast and the most amazing biscuits--and the muffins were to die for.

Now whenever we go out to breakfast we mourn Harriette's.

Last day we headed to Miami for our flight, but got there very early and hung out at the beach for a while.  It was very funny to see a school group go by.  We were dressed in light summer clothes.  The FL kids were bundled up in sweaters and hoodies and looked very put out that they were expected to be outside in the winter. 

If we ever go back, we decided that Key Biscayne was a better choice for us, for its proximity to Miami and Biscayne NP, which we didn't have time to hit. There's always next year.  The sun did us all good.

***

2012 Recap

So for anyone who wonders what the heck we do while I'm not keeping up with the blog at all, here are the highlights that I can recall, or remembered to either put on the calendar or actually in the blog.

January
Pete and I continued to work in the nursery at our church UUCA, while Katie and Zack took the OWL class.  The OWL class was the main reason I originally chose UUCA over the other two UU churches in the area and it did turn out to be a very good experience for them.  It is a comprehensive sex education class, starting in 2nd grade then again in 5th and 8th grade.  The 8th grade OWL covers IT ALL.  Parents are not permitted and ANY questions can be asked and will be answered honestly by the adult conductors.

At the end of the month we went to Orlando to see the Harry Potter section of Universal (along with the rest of the park) and I couldn't help spending a couple of days at Disney as well.  The kids took one of the Disney classes and really enjoyed it.  WWOHP was wonderful but we didn't love the rest of the resort much.

At Hogwarts

February
Started with the end of our trip to Orlando and then spent a week with mom in NC.  We had only spent a night there on the way down to FL, so wanted to spend a bit more on the way back up.  A fun time and good to relax a bit before the long drive home again.

The rest of the month was spent with our usual activities.  Katie and Pete went to the sweetheart dance again and had a fun time.

Sweet Hearts

March
Zack tried doing the Ancestral Knowledge program, kind of like Scouting without all the military nonsense and tons of time outside.  He liked it, but ultimately decided it was "not his thing."

Then, my big deal was the VaHomeschoolers Conference, which I headed up.  I didn't have to do much at the actual conference due to the amazing team of leaders who stepped up to do all the jobs on site.  Also, Katie and Zack qualified to be teen volunteers this year and had a great time--except that Zack became very ill overnight and spent the main day in bed at the hotel. :(

I'm heading up the 2013 conference again this March, and then I'll be retiring and look forward to actually attending the conference and catching some sessions.

Come join us this year--registration will be open in a few days!

Not sure when exactly our robin moved in, but didn't have a picture for this month.  Maybe it was March..

April
End of the World homeschool dance--both kids with new outfits and meeting a ton of friends, but poor Zack kept up his sick streak during all fun activities by getting very ill at the dance and he called it a night fairly early. :(

Pete and I also called off the regular search for a new house while we got Hershey Lane ready to sell.  It was a good plan, but turned out to be hard to stick to.

I was on Car Talk!  I got all in a tizzy once I was talking to them, and forgot to make my noise at the start of my story, but it was really fun and even more lucky when I found out that this is their last season. But who can compete with the goat lady, I ask you?

Taking a moment at the dance

May
Pete was supposed to have his sinus surgery this month but had to re-schedule at the very last minute to work out annoying insurance details.

A visit from my mom for Mothers Day.  A nice brunch and to Arena Stage to see The Music Man.  Everyone enjoyed the show, but Katie had the extra thrill of seeing the actor who played Gaston in the B'way Beauty and the Beast play Harold Hill.

Katie had a Girl Scout camp out and Kate and Zack turned 14, if you can believe it!

We also said goodbye to my trusty Subaru :'(  It was my ticket to radio fame on Car Talk, but the guys convinced me that things weren't going to get better and it was time to move on.  We test drove a few cars to be sure that I could see over the dash and Pete didn't bang his head on the roof and went for the Hyundai Elantra Touring.  Love It.

Mother's Day

June
A mellow beginning to summer.  A nice visit with Uncle Fuad and Sandie who came in to visit Pete's cousin Melissa.  We really don't get to see them enough!

Zack was invited to a beach trip with a friend and despite my poor travel planning, we got him to the meeting point in enough time to catch a ride.  It was a bit churchy for him, (it was his friend's church youth group) but they did have a good time at the beach.

Meanwhile, Katie and I went to see her friends perform in truly the longest version of Beauty and the Beast I've ever seen.  All the kid performers did very well though, just not great direction from whoever ran the show. A more talented director would have shown off the children's talents much more. (and maybe cut a good 45 mins off the 3 hour show!)

Katie and Zack enjoyed separate birthday parties this year.  They all had a great time, but I'm not sure I'm up for two parties in two weeks again.

We also got to see Phil V who was in DC on business.  We had breakfast together, headed to a comics store and then Katie and I peeled off to join her GS troop at the 100 Anniversary sing along on the Nat'l Mall.  Pete and Zack got to hang with Phil a bit longer before he had to re-join his colleagues. 


The last week of June was spent in NC with mom.  It was the only week of the summer we could get away and it was nice to have a good chunk of time to do things around Sunset Beach.  The kids went to the "upside down house" a new attraction at Broadway on the Beach.  It wasn't what they expected, but they still had fun and it was a nice way to spend a chilly, rainy day.  I think this was the trip we went down to Myrle Beach to see the new boardwalk.  Pretty disappointing for mom and me, who think of Coney Island when we think of a boardwalk, but Katie and Zack enjoyed the arcades--and the soft serve! (Thanks Grandma!)

Muddy

July
Spent the 4th of July with the Marts!  A great tradition we haven't been able to participate in  for the past few years.  Very nice to see their new extended house and hang with them and the Ebbins.

We spent the night in York, PA and headed to NYC the next day for a short visit which we piggybacked on a show Pete's band was playing.  We hit a lot of our favorite spots on the lower east side but also took the kids to the Cloisters for the first time and learned from my friend Allison that we should check out the High Line in Chelsea.  We weren't able to meet up with Allison and her family this trip, but were able to meet with Ivanna for lunch on the high line and browsing at the Chelsea market.  It was a poundingly hot day in NYC, and I knew Ivanna would never have ventured out on a day like that if it hadn't been for us!  The High Line was quite breezy though and Chelsea mkt was pleasantly AIR CONDITIONED!

We also visited and cried at the 9/11 Memorial and visited Coney Island.

Back home and Katie started her three week stint working at her old preschool to help out with their camp.

Zack spent a week later in the summer at Parkour camp and loved it.  We need to find more of that for him but it has been difficult.

Mom stopped in between camp stints on her way up to LI to spend time with Phil's family.  So, just by chance, she was with us when we came to check out the house we ended up buying.  I say that we bought this house by accident, because we had suspended our search.  I suggested we look at it because I had been intrigued with the layout, but was sure that Pete wouldn't like it at all.  Turns out we all loved it and the wheels began to turn for our move in August!

On the way to the Cloisters

August
August was all about getting our bid in on our new place, getting the financing in order, packing to move and getting the old place ready to sell.  Mom was a huge help on her way back down from LI before heading home.  She got us packing and organized, keeping Kate and Zack busy, while I organized other areas of the house.

We got rid a of lot of stuff and still had plenty more stuff to pack.

We closed on 8/20 and as most everyone knows who knows me, I broke my ankle right before closing.  We moved the next day while Pete came to the rescue by taking a day off to help run things and Jeannie helped by getting me to the Dr to get x-rays.

The end of the month we joined Pete's folks at the Cape for some time at the beach.  Sadly one day was rainy but still very relaxing and it was a spot that Pete grew up vacationing at and he was really happy that the kids got to spend some time there.

Bye Bye Hershey Lane

September
I actually updated the blog with some not back to school stuff, so won't re-write here, but the summer definitely went too fast and it was time to get back to work.  Studies for the kids and unpacking and work on the old place for Pete and me.

Mom once again came in to save the day to help us unpack while I limped around and Pete recovered from his re-scheduled sinus surgery. Pete fared very well through the surgery, but has unfortunately had a problem shaking a sinus staph infection, but at least now it can be treated.  

We did get a lot done and Katie and Zack were tops in helping with EVERYTHING.  They cleaned out stuff they no longer wanted, packed up their own rooms, unpacked their new rooms.  They mowed lawns at both houses, spend hours hanging around the old place, painting and cooling their heels while I got other things done, and spent way more time at Home Depot than should ever be expected of teenagers.  They were (and are) fantastic.

September 10, Katie at long last, got her braces off!

Phil and Carrie stopped in to see our new place while they were visiting in the DC area--we didn't take any pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it, but next time they need to make a longer visit!

K&Z also began to attend Youth Group at UUCA.  I was a bit stunned that they wanted to try it but they were looking forward to the overnight and had a great time.  There was some drama associated with the advisers, but we stayed fairly clear of it and now (in Jan) things seem to be more underway and more fun, so I hope they will stick with it.

Bye to the old measuring wall :(

October
We were actually home for the whole month!  Spent lots of time over at the old place fixing things up. K, Z and I painted all the closets--you really don't notice how banged up they get when all your clothes are still inside. The open house was on 10/14, I think and we got two offers right off of that.  The buyers were terrific and didn't ask us to do much, so the extra fixes after their inspection were pretty minimal.

The kids were mostly wrapped up with Halloween activities.  Pete was doing a lot more drumming at UUCA.

November
Pete had uber amazing tickets to see The Who, with seats right up front and the ability to see the sound check.  He was in heaven and I was glad he treated himself for something that there probably won't be a chance to do again.

The house sold! Yeah!  After all the cleaning, fixing, upkeep and back and forthing to the old place we were not especially sentimental about leaving Hershey Lane for the last time.  We took the kids out to Ping Pong Dim Sum to celebrate and got them some special gifts to thank them for all the help and lack of complaining while doing it.

We had a nice long visit in NC to celebrate mom's birthday and then Thanksgiving.  Pete flew in for Thanksgiving and to stay the weekend after and my cousin Jayne and her husband Donald also came in from their place in Asheville to spend the holiday.  It was great to catch up with them and they had not seen Katie and Zack for a very long time.

December
It was an eerily calm December this year except kind of a quick turn around getting back in town from Thanksgiving and heading out to Great Wolf Lodge.  A homeschool group arranges for an amazing discount and any size room costs the same as any other, so sharing a big suite is easy and even more economical.  I knew there would be a big pack of boys there, but not many girls, so Katie's BFF joined us as well.

Then pretty mellow, due to almost exclusively online shopping for the holidays.

We had people over to warm the house and the following weekend, mom arrived to help with the last of the Christmas prep and we had a lovely Christmas.

Pete's parents were able to join us on 12/28 and stayed for New Years.


And so here we are at 2013.  Whew--that was fast!

In the coming year, may you enjoy side-splitting laughs, smiles that make your cheeks hurt and surprises that make you shoot milk out your nose.

Much love
--Liz