Fall Break 2015

For my birthday and our fall break, we headed up to see Grandma who lives in Northwestern Indiana.  We rented our favorite cabin and enjoyed some great walks, three apple orchards, an antique mall, and lots of family time. It is hard to believe that the next time we are up it will be winter, as we were blessed with wonderful weather, temperatures in the upper 70's even. Now it is time to finish the semester and prepare for the winter holiday season.  I will miss my lake!

A Lovely Vacation

That old saying is true.  Ten days off really fly by when you are having fun.

Our vacation this year was part stay-cation, a camping cabin at Lake Michigan for a couple nights, all book-ended by two 10 mile bike rides with my parents, and a professional soccer game. I think we made the most of our time off!

The cabin was tiny, but very cozy, and kept us dry, because it rained a bit each day.

Here we are with coats on the beach.  It was so windy.  I felt like I was being sand-blasted.

It was easier to walk behind the dunes, and so pretty.

No kidding.  So glad no one was trying to swim in those waves.

This week is dedicated to serving at VBS for my younger two while spending the week at grandparents, and a first week of band camp for the oldest.  Me, well, I am catching up on things around the place, getting ready for school to start in a few weeks.  Jeff is back to his work.  

This life is lived mostly in the middles, between the highs of vacation.  It's the ordinary days that count most.  And, we have been blessed.  

That's That

I have lost track of how much rain we have received in the last couple weeks.  I do know that I dumped the rain gauge a few days ago,when it had 1.5 inches, and today it is back over 1 inch.  I know we are not as bad off as the folks down in Texas with the flooding, but we are seeing the affects of Tropical Storm Bill.

In fact, right now, we were supposed to be down south setting up our camp.  We had our favorite spot at one of our favorite parks, too.  We decided to cancel when we heard about Bill.  We are not big into camping in the rain.  A passing shower, no big deal, but a tropical storm is another animal.  Now the area has flash flood warnings for today and tomorrow.

Oh well, except that this was probably the last trip we had planned in our camper for awhile.  It is a disappointment, however we will still have an enjoyable weekend with lots of family time, so no big deal, really.  Here's hoping we can go soon!

Our trip last month. 

Changing Seasons

This last week has been a busy one, and we are finding ourselves in a season of change.  I suppose this was bound to happen as our children grow,and find themselves needing, wanting different things.  Thankfully, the Lord has been protecting my tender mama's heart from too much change.  I am not sure I could handle a lot more!

The change is in several forms.  The first is that we are finding it more difficult to go camping as a family. Already, our oldest had stopped going a few years ago.  Now that he is 17, he is able to stay by himself and cat sit.  And his involvement in marching band makes our camping trips less frequent, as we are trying to be supportive band parents.

The other two still enjoy camping, though not as much as they once did.  And frankly, Jeff and I are finding it a lot more work than fun, even with the teen's willing help.  So, we had the unusual experience of coming home from a camping trip and deciding to cancel two upcoming trips!  It is usually the opposite.  Nothing bad happened.  We all just said that day trips would be as nice, and we love our home!  Perhaps that is one of the precipitates.  We love being closer to home as there is so much to do around here.  We did schedule a trip up to our beloved lake in July, but we will stay at a hotel.  We will see how it goes.  We don't plan to sell the camper just yet, but it is an idea on the table.  We spend $40 a month to store it.  We still have one camping trip left on the books.

The other change has to do with our schooling.  Our youngest had already declared himself ready to try the local public school.  With our oldest doing well there, we were considering it, however, they are two very different boys, and I was not totally on board.  Grace has mostly finished the Sonlight offerings for high school, as she started the high school cores when she was in middle school with an older brother going through them.  So she was also looking for a new school plan.  So, it has been decided that they will be enrolled in an accredited online school.  They will still be at home, which I like, but they will have outside accountability. Then if Trevor comes up with a compelling reason to try the public high school the following year, he will have accredited records that our local school will require.  He may not go.  He may like this online school well enough.  We shall see.  We have two friends who are enjoying this online school, so that gives us hope.

And as I mentioned last week, Jeff starts a new job this coming Monday.  I am praying it is a good fit.  I am so thankful that it is close to home. (Another reason to love our home!)  It is ironic though.  If he had not taken the job so far away, we never would have moved here.  God knew though!

Two Great Weeks

I didn't realize how much we'd enjoy having these last two weeks off. Having Ryan home has been wonderful, too. I miss him so much when he is at school. And then to top it off, Jeff was on vacation this week.

Last week, we got to do a variety of things. I visited with my paternal grandmother, who is moving back to the area. We still had our weekly evening activities, which kept us busy, too. We rode our bikes every day. We got ready for our camping trip. We celebrated my birthday.  Grace went on a special trip with grandparents to see family in North Carolina.  The boys and I enjoyed some bonding time at the guitar store.

This week, we spent a few days at our favorite state park,  Indiana Dunes. Being able to go during the week is always special,  as the park is less crowded. We also spent a whole day with family who live in the area. We have never camped in such cold temperatures,  but we survived.

We are so blessed to have had a wonderful fall break. I'm totally loving this "balanced calendar" of the local public school.

Catching Up

Hello Friends!  My sadly neglected blog is, well, sadly neglected.  I have this hang up about pictures.  I want to post pictures to go with my blog, but then I have to jump through hoops to get them from my phone to a computer.  So, I don't post anything.

My problem is that my phone is an old, old Apple, and it won't automatically upload to my Google photo storage anymore.  It's like I live in between two worlds!  At one point things were working, though.  And now the uploading has stopped.

(These are taken with my tablet. It's Android, so it works with Google.  But I don't take my tablet with me, so I don't have many pictures on it.) 

I realize this is all gibberish and not worth anyone's time reading, but it is what is holding up my blogging, that and I don't use a desktop computer anymore.  I have a tablet, a netbook, and a phone that doesn't like either, certainly a first world problem!

Otherwise, all is well here, mostly.  School is going well for my oldest.  He is getting all A's at this point.  The everyday aspects of public school wears on me.  Also the rigid, inflexible attitudes.  Yet, there are things they do that are better than my own offerings, namely math and science, so we adapt and move along.

Our homeschool is moving along nicely.  We are able to keep up with our reading, which is an accomplishment with Sonlight in high school.  Grace loves reading, so I think I have finally found her happy place.  She really enjoyed "Romeo and Juliet."  Right now she is reading "Jane Eyre."  She is also requesting more C.S. Lewis books.

Trevor, doesn't share Grace's love of reading, but is flying through high school geometry at age 12, so I am happy.  He has been working on reading "Huckleberry Finn."  We read "Tom Sawyer" last year.

Last weekend we stayed in a quaint little cabin at a state recreation area located in a state forest.  We had a great time riding our bikes, walking in the woods, and just hanging out together.  We had to cancel our Labor Day camping trip due to Ryan having strep throat.  That was a first, canceling due to illness.

This weekend we have a bike tour and family reunion.  I am bringing a big pumpkin cake, pasta salad, and fruit.  We will also get some fried chicken.  I am looking forward to seeing my family.  I hope I can ride my bike the required 10 miles.

We are busy with AWANA as Trek (Jr. High) leaders.  My oldest still does karate.  Life is full.  I need to find a way to upload some pictures from my phone, but decided not to keep me from writing.
~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, NO. 32 Vacation Week

A week in pictures is in order, as pictures always tell the story best!  (And since I am too busy doing camp laundry at the moment.)

Our campsite.

Grace and Mom.

Dad and Trevor.

Lots of time to play.

Lots of time to bike.

A little cool to swim, but we didn't care!

Yikes, what a dreadful breakfast!

Roughing it?  LOL, not hardly! 

Wild turkeys roaming the campground.

Can just barely see the falls with all the leaves.

And yes, we let the oldest stay with his grandma, again.  Granddad was away on business, so it was a win-win for us all.  They enjoyed their special time together, and so did we! 

Busy At Home, 2013, No. 27

Little notes written in order to remember each precious day... with pictures from our most recent camping trip.

Monday, June 24th...

Summer is certainly showing itself!  It was 73 degrees for our low, which means it is muggy and uncomfortable.  Grandma comes down today.  We are going to pick up our ceramics and have lunch with Daddy.  Lovely day!

Tuesday, June 25th...

Today is our quiet day at home.  Need to get laundry caught up.  Jeff and Ryan went to play disc golf after dinner.  I wish I liked hot muggy weather.

Wednesday, June 26th...

Rained over night.  We were going to try to swim this morning, but it was too cold!  Ha.  It's been so warm and now it is cloudy and too cool to swim.  That's OK.  We worked on planning our camp menu and getting ready to camp, plus lots of reading time.  Jeff and I went grocery shopping after dinner.

Thursday, June 27th...

Mom and I went to visit Grandma.  It was a lovely visit.  She was all smiles and is eating well, so wonderful to see.  Mom spoiled me with lunch at Panera and a cold coffee drink from Starbuck's.  That evening, after dinner, we packed the camper.

Friday, June 28th...

Lots to do before we take off this evening.  First, as always happens, a book I wanted became available and so we had to go to the library.  We also met Mom at a new healthy grocery store that opened by the library. We then went to get the cats their wet food before lunch with Daddy back at home.  He went back to work and we spent the afternoon packing the van and making the house ready.  Ryan went to stay the weekend with grandparents.  Jeff got home and we hooked up the camper and away we went.  It only took one hour to get to the park, too.  Setting up went well.  The park is full, but with mostly families, so the atmosphere was friendly.  You never know, going to a new park. Of course it rained in the evening, so we played Uno in the camper until time for bed.

Saturday, June 29th...

Swimming in the rain can be fun?  Well, it can.  It rained off and on all day, but we didn't let that spoil our fun.  We went swimming, grilled out dinner, and enjoyed more Uno games than I can count.

Sunday, June 30th...

Took a quick drive to see Cataract Falls and then it was time to head back home.

That wraps up another week here at home.  Thank you for reading.
~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, No. 22

Little notes written(mostly photos this week) to cherish each day at home...  our last full week of lessons!

Sunday, May 19th... Got to meet Jeanie and her wonderful family!
 

Monday, May 20th... Working hard on finishing strong!

Not really an Apple, just a sticker.  lol.  

Tuesday, May 21st... I hosted my bunco group.  Did not take any photos. Ut-oh.

Wednesday, May 22nd... Lessons, art, and the last AWANA!

Thursday, May 23rd... What else?  Lessons, groceries, and karate!

Friday, May 24th... Jeff got the day off, so we mowed, got packed up and went camping!  And, yes, we did finish our school year.  Day 180 is in the books!

Saturday, May 25th- Monday, May 27th... Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, IN.

And that was our week!  Stay tuned for the first week of summer vacation.
~Jenn