Where one season ends and another begins

Today was Ruth's last cross country meet of the season and her first horse show. She had very little time between the two events and literally had to change clothes in the car. She pulled off the transition flawlessly! We are so proud of all her hard work during the cross country season and for the ways she has improved and the friends she's made. The riding season got off to a great start, and we look forward to all it holds.

A strong finish to the cross country season

Ruth and Charming in the Walk/Trot class

Ruth and Blue in the Walk/Trot/Canter class

2nd in W/T and 4th in W/T/C

Sunday Fun Day

Sundays are my favorite! It is the only day we usually don't have anywhere we have to be or anything we have to do, so it's always a day of rest and peace and catching up. This morning started with wrestling and giggles and watching our picture slide show. And when we were finally all ready to get out of the house, we headed over to the nursery to buy some plants to make our home more beautiful. Then, we had lunch at Twisted Root Burger Co. before stopping by the library, which is truly one of our favorite places. This afternoon brought naps, movies, laundry, reading, and even some legitimate work. It was a wonderful day, and I'm so thankful I got to spend it with most* of my people!

New roses to start the day

Wrestling with Dad

The nursery is a happy place!

Fun at Twisted Root Burger Co.

This month's breast cancer awareness special at Twisted Root is the Boobie Burger

*Weston is visiting Williamsburg with Nana this week, so he wasn't here with us. We missed him but know he is having a blast!

Explore Russia

You know how Russia is always in the news lately for being...difficult? Well, I've been having my own personal struggle with Russia that has absolutely nothing to do with the Russians. My newest Geography Explorer book, Explore Russia, was set to be published in May, before our summer trip. In fact, I even submitted it for publication THREE TIMES, but it kept coming back with technical difficulties, which made it unpublishable. So, I decided to leave it alone over the summer and come back to it later. When we got back from our travels, I set to work trying to unravel the problem. Basically, I had to start over with parts of it. Finally, I got the technical issues worked out and ordered my proof. Unfortunately, it came back with some glaring mistakes, and I had try again. AND AGAIN! But, I am proud to announce that persistence does pay off and the book has finally, FINALLY been published. The truth is, even though it was a pain, it may be my favorite Geography Explorer book to date. If you have a kid in your life who likes to learn about far-away places, or if you would just like to read something positive about an amazing country, check out Explore Russia on Amazon.

Aloha Friday

For some people, today was Friday the 13th. For us, it was Aloha Friday. Clay frequently wears his "Aloha suit" on Fridays, and today was no exception. But we added a bit more tropical flare today by having pineapple rice for lunch and fruit salad (made entirely by Clay) after dinner. I hope your day was also full of aloha!

It's Aloha Friday!

Getting an island vibe with pineapple rice

Clay's specialty is fruit salad

The mother of all homeschool days

I think I can say with some certainty that there will never be a homeschool day as epic as this one. I seriously doubt the stars will ever align again where we experience scissors, glue, a fire set purposely in a sink, and lunch from an oven set up in the backyard all on the same day.  In fact, I may just retire now so I can go out on my highest possible note. 

It just so happened that we had three big projects scheduled for today in three different classes. Clay has been desperate recently to add scissors and glue to art class and has not been satisfied with my suggested drawing activities. He has also been hinting at paint, so I decided I better take my chances with what seems to me possibly the lesser of the two evils. I ended up doing most of the cutting because "the pieces [were] too small," but Clay was 100% in charge of the glue, which still wasn't dry several hours after the completion of the project. He did produce a cute little pizza though and was very proud of his work.

Pizza Project

The younger boys have been studying about the Great Fire of London this week in history. Today, our project was to demonstrate the rapid spread of the fire through the densely packed city by coloring a picture of some houses set very close together and then setting it on fire. The boys were delighted and somewhat shocked that I deliberately set fire to their coloring pages in the sink. I have no pictures of this event, because I was playing an active fireman role and just didn't have a chance to grab my phone. Priorities, you know. 

Max and Weston have been learning about various forms of energy in science and have spent the last couple of days building a solar oven. They finished up just before lunch and were happy to be able to make quesadillas in their creation. 

Edible Science

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

All day today, Clay has been walking with "crutches." Sometimes his right knee hurts (just like mine), but sometimes it's both legs and his neck.

While I was making something new for dinner (my First for today), he came in and announced that he had "accomplished [his] task for the day!" Clearly, he's trying to show a little solidarity and in the process has absolutely melted my heart!

Imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery!