Fishing....

The last two days I was at Convention, Dan was sick. He started feeling bad Friday night (which was also his birthday!!). He picked the children up at their "sitters" and pretty much all day Saturday he was in bed and not feeling well....flu like stuff with fever and chills! :P

Well, Friday night, he had got a flat tire. When he got home from picking up the kids, Danny said, Dad, your tire is leaking....here he had drove over a knife blade! :( He knew the tire had to be taken care of , but he was not up to it, so he loosened the lugs and had Danny put the spare on.

He had off work till Tuesday, because of Memorial Day, so on Monday they plugged the tire and Danny put it back on again. By Noon Monday Dan was feeling pretty much back to normal. We were just so proud of Danny and Tamara and all the hard work they did while Dan was down! So, Monday night we all went fishing as a treat to the kids for their hard work!

Danny's got a line in while Tamara watches....she had already caught 2 till I got over to the pond with my camera.

Dan waiting for a bite.....

Another nice sized catfish for Tamara! :)

I threw a line in and caught a nice catfish. I was holding it up for Dan to take a picture and the hook busted! :O So he took a picture of it beside my foot, so you can tell its size. I wear a size 11 shoe! ;)

Then soon I caught another one! And right before he got THAT picture, the line broke! Heehee!! What's up with that?

It was an enjoyable evening and we caught a nice amount of catfish and bream. Stayed tuned for pics of the eating!! :)

Florida Homeschool Convention

I was able to go along to Orlando for the Florida Home School Convention last weekend. We left early Wednesday morning and got to our hotel by early afternoon. We checked into our rooms and got ground floor rooms, but saw they were facing the parking lot. This hotel was a HUGE hotel with a beautiful atrium in the center of it all! We were hoping to get rooms facing the inside, which meant a porch or balcony! :) So two of the ladies went back and asked if we could switch rooms....and they LET US!! :) We got the 3 rooms right across the hall from where we had originally been! :) We were so happy!

After we got all settled in, we drove to Publix to buy food for the next few days. (It's cheaper than buying hotel food!) Then in the evening we decided to visit Downtown Disney.

Waiting for the valet to bring our van up....

Got to meet Woody! :) Made out of 100% pure LEGOS!! :)

A cool sea monster made out of LEGO's.

Posing with Mr. Potato Head :)

When we got back to the Hotel, us Mom's walked around to get a feel for the layout of the place, since we would be doing a lot of walking the next 3 days!

In the Convention Hall, they had a bunch of these Starbucks machines set up. Only $3.50 a cup....you could pay with a credit card or swipe your room key and add it to your tab! :O A lot of people drank some expensive coffee that weekend!

It sure was tempting! :)

Thursday, we went to the Leader's Forum, where they took time to talk about homeschool groups, listen to our questions and also had some motivational speakers.

We were served a very yummy lunch!!

Fish, Chicken and Veggies

The dessert was a chocolate mousse with cherries. The cherries tasted very strong, like they had been soaked in Vodka!! The district director from Region 2 was sitting at our table and the look on her face when she ate her first cherry was priceless!! :) We laughed with her. She did check with the hotel staff and they insisted that the cherries were soaked in dark chocolate!!?? Haha!!

Evenings were a fun time just hanging out and talking about curriculum, things we heard in workshops, or just other chit chat! :)

People, people everywhere!!

Friday night we went out to eat at Maggiano's. It was a very high class restaurant!! I had my first taste of squid, although they wouldn't tell me what it was till I ate it. Calamari just sounds so much more high class!! :)

This was the view from our porch.....a nice peaceful place to have devotions!

While we were taking pictures outside, we noticed an airplane writing in the sky! However, it was after this picture, and after these words floated away. So when I got home and put my pictures on the computer, I was surprised to see this.....

Kay, Robin, Emily and I. Denise W. also was there, but she went with her family this year, so we didn't see her as much.

This is the writing we watched the guy do....he also added 4 U at the end! :)

Another pic of the greenery and falls in the atrium. It was just SO beautiful! I wished I had someone to take pictures for! The wooden walkways, the rocks and the greenery would have made a neat backdrop!

The kids pool....

Inside the Vendor Hall. There were many, many rows like this!! And this picture is empty of people compared to what it normally looked like!

Trying to stuff everything into the van on the way home took a little bit of skill! :)

The back seat was full of sleeping, snoring children till we got home Saturday night! :)

Next year, I HOPE to take all the family along....they would have so much fun!

Last night when I got back from my evening walk, I saw the kids out by the garage shooting target! :) They are both doing pretty good!

I took the time to check out what's growing around the house......we have some huge tomato plants beside the house that are hanging full of tomatoes. Now we just need to wait for them to turn red!! :)

This is the garden we share with our neighbors, the Bontragers. Most of it is theirs....

These 4 rows are ours....two rows of lima's and two of zipper peas! :) I hope to maybe do a little more in the fall!

Their corn is soon ready to pick! It's got some nice ears on already!

I didn't know if I was going to plant any flowers this year, but then I found these hanging pots at Walmart for $4, so I bought 2. This one and one of pink petunia's.

A mix of petunia's and verbena.

These petunia's came up on their own free will. I had a pot of petunia's on the porch above that area last year, so I don't know how these came up....and how they survived the winter?? :O But I don't mind!! :)

Today the kids and I worked around the house. We cleaned both bathrooms, their bedrooms and the hall and I did all the wash. I was hoping to get the living room done tonight yet, but that didn't happen. I think I will try to get up early tomorrow and do that and the kitchen, then we have to go clean church!

We plan to go to a play tomorrow night, so that will be motivation to get the work done. Then maybe Saturday we can relax!?? Oh, sometime I need to finish up the mowing. Shouldn't take long, but I didn't quite get done before it got dark tonight!

While I was working today my mind was going. I have so many questions! I think the older I get, the more I read my Bible and the more I hear other's life experiences, the more questions I have. Things I never really thought of before. I wish I was better at putting stuff down on paper so I could share some of it with you. But that is not me. In fact, I don't know how many times I stopped cleaning today to write down some thoughts so I wouldn't forget them!! :P

**I think I need to take some pills for Memory Loss! Maybe I have some kind of disorder!?? Sometimes I really wonder!! **

Well, it's time to get everyone to bed!

Goodnight~

Homeschool Celebration

Last night was the End of the Year celebration for our homeschool group!! :) The kids could bring projects they made throughout the year and display them and then they also had a chance to give reports, recite poems or Bible verses, play piano, or other things, during the program.

Dylan P. (sitting) displayed a bunch of boats he made. The one on the right, Danny made and then he and Dylan worked at it together!

The children opened the program by singing the 2 songs they learned and sang over the air at the Faith Radio station in Tallahassee on one field trip this year.

Emily G. introduced her children and Anna recited some memory verses, gave a book report, and played a piece on the piano.

Sam recited some verses, too and also played a piece on the piano.

Christianna A. showed us the paper chain she made! :)

Her little sister was too shy to count to 10 for us! :) :)

I was out getting Tamara ready for her part, so I missed this, but it cracks me up.....while their Dad helped Baylee, Taylor (on the right) is already getting nervous! ;) She was too shy to recite the poem she memorized. :)

The Pickron family....

Darren F.

Tamara gave a report on the people of Ancient Egypt and we dressed her as an Egyptian Queen.

A big thanks to Emily and Anna G. for allowing Tamara to borrow Anna's Cleopatra outfit....it worked perfectly!! :)

Daniel took along the hourglass he made out of soda bottles and told about the history of the hourglass. His hourglass runs for 5 minutes and he said he would be done with his speech by the time it was done....he even had time to spare! :)

I was so proud of our kids! They have both done so well at getting over shyness in public speaking!

All the kids did such a great job!! A big thank you to the extended families who showed up to support them and to all the parents who helped with set up, tear down and the food!!

Tamara and her friends Bethany & Anna

Our friends, Leah & Rachel Smith came for the program. They wanted a picture with the Queen! ;)

Danny & Tamara.....ending their 4th and 6th grades of school!! I love my kids!! :)

And of course, snack time at the end!! :)

We still have a little bookwork to finish up, but we may just sprinkle it in here and there throughout the summer.

Next week, I go with a group to the Florida Homeschool Convention in Orlando. I am really looking forward to the workshops and browsing the curriculum. I always come back refreshed for another year!! And the blessing of spending a few days with my "Mom" friends, can't be beat!! :)

FOR TODAY~

Outside My Window...
birds are singing and a cool breeze is blowing! I'm loving it

I am thinking...
that after tonight I can breathe easy the rest of the week. We've been going, going, going!!

I am thankful for...
the privilege to teach my kids at home and give them one on one education!!.

From the learning rooms...
The kids are ready to give presentations at the Homeschool Program tonight! :) We still have a few days worth of book work to do! :P

From the kitchen...
Made cupcakes for tonight....no supper for us.

I am wearing...
my most comfy jean skirt and a green shirt

I am creating...
a blank....pretty good at that! :P

I am going...
to enjoy this cool weather while it's here!

I am reading...
Nothing this week....but I got a stack of books waiting on me!

On my mind...
making sure we have everything together for our "End of the Year" celebration with the homeschool group tonight!

Around the house...
things look a little better than they did Monday morning, but this whole house needs a CLEANING!!!

One of my favorite things...
cool temps, freshly canned beans, a weed free garden

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
mid-week church service, clean church, go to a play put on by friends, clean my house and take some time to relax and maybe swim if it warms up! :)