If "choosing good friends" is so important for teens and adults,
(and I truly believe that it is)
because their behavior and choices tend to influence us,
that certainly applies for little kids, too.
I don't think we can easily dismiss the qualities
and characteristics of those we choose to spend our time with.
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Our family went outside yesterday after 10:30pm
and we all laid down on blankets in our driveway
and looked up at the sky to watch the blood moon
and lunar eclipse. We watched in wonder,
ate snacks together, and laughed and joked while we talked.
THESE MOMENTS.
I love these moments. They are the best.
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As a homeschooling family,
we often travel to neighboring counties for various educational,
fun, and social events and opportunities.
We've taken to listening to podcasts together
and we really enjoy that.
Our favorite show to listen to (especially Max)
is NPR's "Wait, Wait. Don't Tell Me."
Our next favorite is probably NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour."
(And I would LOVE that job - being a podcaster/writer for that show).
We also listen to the TED Radio Hour,
Dear Hank&John, Fresh Air, Radiolab, etc.
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There are 3 houses for sale around us.
We live on a corner and the houses across both streets are both for sale.
And there is one 3 doors down that is also for sale.
It's kind of exciting to get new neighbors!
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We got to meet the buyers of the farmhouse at settlement
and they were GREAT.
While it was bittersweet to sell the farmhouse,
meeting them helped.
We're excited for them to make their own memories there now.
They are super excited.
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There is almost ALWAYS a board game out somewhere
(and sometimes in multiple places) in our house.
I always walk by and smile.
It's a game all set up and ready to play!
And we love playing together.
Happiness.
--------------------
We have incredibly supportive friends
who I can tell truly value our children.
I'm very grateful.
They take the time to truly get to know them,
and they send us information they find
that they believe our kids would enjoy.
We've learned of writing camps
thanks to our good friend Sherri
and Kate has enjoyed all of them.
We've learned of educational camps
and writing opportunities
and all kinds of things!
A friend of ours sends us information on
books and authors that Max enjoys,
and also told us about a local game making contest coming up.
Sherri visited us before our trip
and had made individual packs for both kids
for our flight to CA - how sweet is that?!?
Another friend recently took the time
to write her alma mater and tell them all about Kate.
The college then wrote Kate to tell her
and to send her information about their college
and writing camps.
We are VERY grateful for these people
and all who take the time and energy
to get to know and love and support our children.
It takes a village.
--------------------
I love our new house.
It is FLOODED with light and beauty all around us.
So very grateful for this openness and environment.
We feel like we're enjoying it even more
with the farmhouse sold! :P
--------------------
I was thinking today that
there is an argument to having a bigger house
and things like stairs.
Ever since we bought our townhouse in 2003,
we've always had a home with stairs.
It's natural exercise!
It's a small hike to get places,
so you naturally walk A LOT all day long.
I don't love exercise so this helps. :P
I even have this unspoken game with Scout,
who follows me everywhere.
She is FAST,
so whenever we're climbing the stairs together,
I always try to race her to the top
(no easy feat!).
--------------------
We tend to eat a lot of vegetarian meals.
We're not big meat eaters and more and more,
our cooking is lending itself naturally
to a pesco-vegetarian diet.
That being said, we're not opposed to eating meat
(just not lots of it),
and as I type this,
chicken and dumplings are cooking in the crockpot.
Welcome, fall!
--------------------
We've wanted to talk with a financial planner for years,
but have always been scared off because they charge you
either a fee or a percentage of your investments
or a commission, or they try to sell you products (I hate that!).
Well, we're in the process of refinancing our home mortgage
(now that the farmhouse has sold),
and we found out our local bank
has a guy who does financial planning
as his job there and there is no fee or percentage
nor does he try to sell any products.
It's simply one of the things the bank has to offer. Woot!
--------------------
It has been a busy past few weeks
as we're into the new registration period
with our homeschool group.
13 new families joined up this year
and many of them are all plugging in so well!
We're thrilled!
--------------------
Our kids both won pretty great prizes this year
for the library summer reading program.
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We got season passes to the Renaissance Faire
for Christmas this year from Mark's parents,
as well as tickets to some other fun events.
The dinner was great and fun as always!
And the Ren Faire has been AWESOME.
With Kate working there,
it's handy to have the passes
(first year we've ever done this)
and go here and there for shorter bits of time
or for lunch or dinner or a few of the shows or whatever.
Such a fun place and welcoming environment.
--------------------
I am really wanting to sit down
and write posts about
the foreign exchange students,
our trip to CA,
and our annual trip to the beach.
I keep meaning to do it, but we've been swamped
between work, the clinic, Kate's work schedule,
the kids' volunteering,
different social and educational events,
homeschool group registration, etc.
A busy time of year, but a renewing one as well.
Trying not to have palpitations
when I think of how NaNoWriMo
and the holidays and Max's birthday
are all around the corner.
Why does time fly so fast?!?
--------------------
Homeschooling older kids
is a very different kind of adventure.
So different than with younger kids.
It's more involved, but there's also so much
they can do independently.
There is a ton we do together, too,
because let's face it,
it's fun!
We can talk about so many topics
and enjoy things together,
like lectures and articles and museums.
They're involved in more, so there is a lot more
enrichment and coordination.
It's work, but it's also awesome
and I'm grateful we get to do this!
--------------------
The other night, we had no food made
and we were resisting
the ever-strong siren call to eat out.
As much as we LOVE to eat out,
we try to do a lot of cooking at home
as it helps us save money.
So, we whipped together a PHENOMENAL meal.
Mark and I ran to the store for ingredients
while the kids started chopping and cooking.
Max made a delicious side of cheesy, Mexican rice
(that he created and made up himself),
and Kate made a big batch of homemade apple crisp.
Mark and I got home and made chorizo and potato tacos
with cilantro, chopped onion, and hot sauce.
Our meal was INCREDIBLE.
I love working together in the kitchen!
--------------------
(Though I must admit that
cooking at home is so much more
time and mess intensive,
and sometimes I wonder about the savings.
You do save money, but the HOURS that go into
shopping, cooking, cleaning up . . .
it makes you wonder when you're already busy
with so many other things!).
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Our next-door neighbors have kids
and Max LOVES to go outside and play with them.
It is fantastic to be in a younger neighborhood
with kids who play outside.
The neighbors often tell us how much they enjoy Max
and how much their kids love his made-up games.
Well, the mom's parents are often there
visiting their grandkids
and they are friendly and jolly and warm.
The grandpa is SO kind to us
and speaks very highly of Max
(which is so nice to hear).
They're often there on weekends
and we've seen them there after school daily
to greet the kids when they get off the bus.
Well, now they drive 20 minutes daily
to be at their house at 6:30am
and they drive their granddaughter
to school (another 20 minutes away)
every single morning.
And they're not young
and they have health issues and move slowly,
but always, always, always
with big smiles on their faces and lots of love
for those kids.
--------------------
I really want to see the movie "End of the Tour"
with Jason Segel.
It's on limited release right now,
so it's mostly playing at indie theaters
that aren't near us.
Hopefully it gets to more theaters soon,
because the reviews are fantastic.
