Happenings

There hasn't really been any one day since my last post that seemed worthy of its own post, but added together, the last few days have been pretty noteworthy. (Our Internet became pretty sketchy later in the week, and it just wasn't worth messing with, even if there had been a day deserving of its own post.) In case you're curious, there follows a list of things that have happened since my last post. Fair warning, I will be bragging on my amazing kids here, so if you aren't into that, feel free to skip the first half.

• Weston finished his 5th grade Math book, answered all the test questions out of the next book, and will be starting Pre-Algebra tomorrow. 
• Max finished his 2nd grade Grammar book, and we have started reading through Grammar-Land, which he (and all the kids) love and is a great way to reinforce some of the skills he learned in this last book, before we move on to the 3rd grade book.
• Weston finished reading the last of the Harry Potter books.
• Max finished reading the 5th book in the Narnia series and started the 6th (out of 7).
• The boys and I finished The Story of the Word: Volume 1, completed our studies of the countries we will visit on our RTW trip, and started The Story of the World: Volume 2.
• Ruth has been working her tail off studying for the SAT (the real-deal SAT, not the grade-level test she takes at the end of every school year), which she will take on Dec. 5, in France, to see if she qualifies for a special program Johns Hopkins offers for Jr. High students. We have been very impressed with her dedication and with her performance on the practice tests. 
• Clay learned the vowels and a few new word sounds and spent some time reading some new-to-him words.
• We had our landlords over for a visit. Like many of the owners of rentals we've stayed in on this trip, they are well-traveled and had some fascinating stories to tell of their adventures.
• My sister's house was hit by a tornado and destroyed, but, thankfully, she and her two kids, who were inside at the time, made it out safely! 
• I had an initial consultation appointment with the dentist in Dublin who will install the permanent crown for my missing front tooth. I don't believe I've ever been so excited about a dental procedure!
• We watched the ridiculous first half of the Aggie game, and then our Internet gave out. It was good to see some positive things happening on offense, for a change. If we could just get the offense and defense to both show up in the same games, it would be fantastic. We were relieved to learn that the Ags managed to pull out the victory in the end! 
• My hubby had (actually, is having) his birthday. We took him out to lunch at a fun little tavern called The Strand and then went for a walk on the beach.
• We made up limericks as we drove away from Limerick. It was pretty awesome! Not to mention VERY silly!
• We relocated. We are now in the south of Ireland, in a tiny beach town called Duncannon. Our lovely townhouse is perched just above the beach, and the view is amazing! We will be here for 27 days, making this the longest stop of our entire trip. 

Our Duncannon home

The view from the front of the house

The kids were enamored with this rainbow sculpture near the beach.

Birthday lunch at The Strand

The birthday boy chose the berry crumble for dessert.

But, I opted for a latte and the sticky toffee pudding

Clay insisted on a picture with the ice cream "statue."

This will be the boys' playground for the month. They (and I) couldn't be happier!