The Job I'd Never Land

Heh.  That's just funny.

This School Year Trickles to a Close

Shh....The truth is, we didn't finish the last chapter of a few textbooks, but you know what?  I'm tired.  We did so much already, and then on top of that we moved across the country and barely missed a beat, and it occurred to me last week that I'm downright mentally exhausted.

The good news is I've got next year completely mapped out.  See, Washington is a fair bit more strict than Michigan as far as homeschooling laws, and because of that I've worked to get all my ducks in a row early.  I've decided after several weeks of research that Drew and Baylee are going to use a wonderful program called the Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA).  It's considered public school that  you do at home, but it's not the same curriculum that the public schools around here use.  It's the k12 program, which is advanced and from what I can tell, outstanding.  Much of it is done on the computer, but each child receives a big box of books and supplies, too.  Baylee and Drew had to take a placement test as a part of the enrollment process, and they did well.  Drew placed into 4th grade, which is right where he should be, and Baylee placed into 3rd.  Since she's only 5 years old, though, the school decided to put her into 2nd grade work.  They don't want to overwhelm her.  One really neat thing about WAVA is that it includes optional field trips for each child.  I hope to  take advantage of a few of those.

For Zach we decided to go with a place called Pinnacle School, which is an accredited school that's done at home.  They offer a wide range of curriculum choices and keep records and transcripts for you.  Then if you stick with them, your child can receive a diploma upon graduation.  I'm really excited about the 7th grade program Zach will be using next year.  The history, especially, looks great.

So, all that to say, I feel good about how far we've come and where we're going, but for now I need a long break.

Sue

Memorial Day, 2007

We spent Memorial Day with Mike's parents and Grandma at their home.  It was a gorgeous day and a good time was had by all.  Then, as an added bonus, Mount Rainier was out (That's Washingtonian for, "It wasn't covered by clouds.") and we got a chance to see it on the way home.  Being from Michigan, these mountain sightings are always so amazing to me.  I'll be driving somewhere and turn a corner and holy cow!  There's a mountain!  It's unexpected.

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm going a little slideshow crazy, but it's fun and I can't help myself!  After this entry, though, I'll try to abstain for at least....a few days.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sue

Whidbey Island

Today we spent the afternoon as a family exploring the beaches and woods of Whidbey Island.  It's a gorgeous place, even with cloudy weather!  We also went to a pretty cool state park on the island called Fort Casey.  The boys were loving the fact that they could climb all over this old army fort and get right up close to its cannons.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Through the Eyes of a Five Year Old

This morning I woke to find that SOMEONE had gotten into the beautiful lemon pie that was sitting on the kitchen counter.  My clue?  There were tiny, finger-sized channels all through the meringue.  "Baylee!  Did you do this to the pie?!"

"Yes.  I'm sorry, Momma."

"What did you do that for?!"

"Well...I wanted to see what that pie's hair tasted like!"


Sue

Missionaries and Cannibals

This is probably all kinds of politically incorrect, but I found a game online and just had to share it.  Our entire family has had fun with it over the last couple days.  It's a puzzle with 3 missionaries and 3 cannibals on one side of a river.  Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to get all 6 of them to the other side of the river by rowboat.  The catch is that the rowboat only holds 2 at a time, and if ever there's more cannibals on one side of the river than missionaries, the cannibals eat the missionaries and you lose.

Mike figured it out in about 10 minutes, then said we should all bask in the glory that is his logic.  [cue rolled eyes]  Zach took a bit longer, but he figured it out, too.  I, on the other hand, had to be shown how to do it....er...four times.

Give it a try!  It's addicting!

Sue

The Game

The Shame of Being a Known Black Thumb

Yesterday I asked Mike if he'd noticed the Christmas cactus in the  kitchen windowsill.  "Your grandma gave that to me!" I added.

He paused for a moment.  "Well, the good news is they're almost impossible to kill."

Tsk.


Sue

Art

Since moving to Washington, the kids have been taking art lessons from Mike's mom, who's an artist.  The class they're in meets every other Wednesday.  Here's some of their first finished products.

Zach ~ age 11

Drew ~ age 9



Baylee ~ age 5

Some Fun Memories from the Month of April

Drew turned 9 on the 7th of April and we had Grandma over to help us celebrate.  Here's Drew eating his favorite dessert, "Robert Redford Cake."   I think he's pretty happy!

Grandma and Baylee

Another thing that happened this month is apparently Cooper learned to use the remote. (That's the thing about having little boys.  You're never quite sure what you'll find when you finally download your pictures.  A posed cat?  Sure, why not.)  

One night I found Baylee sleeping like this and thought it was so cute I had to capture it.  That's her beloved doll, Patty, clutched tightly in her arms.

And finally we had our first fire in the fireplace!  Mike organized s'mores, too, which I think makes him eligible for sainthood.

Hogwarts at Home

Today, instead of writing, Zach said he wanted to be creative in a different way, so together we made this video.  This is Zach performing a feat of impossibility!

And this is the blooper video.