Friday, July 31, 2009

Sorry!

Hey, y'all! I forgot to announce that we're on vacation, so the postings are going on vacation too until the first few weeks of August. We are having such a great time with family and friends (even though it rained the two days we were at the lake). Minnesota is cool and beautiful.
Right now I'm at a good friend's house discussing everything from bok choy to Greek memory work. Fun, fun, fun for Mean Ol' Mama!
Be sure and check back in a while for loads of great photos!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Life happens

Check out his expression. When given the assignment of a short story, to include a main character, problem and resolution, he quickly wrote out his story in order to finish early. John lost his dog. Bob found John's dog. Main character (check!), problem (check!), resolution (check!). Mean Ol' Mama was not impressed. Needless to say, his second attempt was a bit more involved and acceptable. We took the latest member of our family out for the weekend. Presenting Mr. Joe Freedom, our camper. Yes, we name all of our vehicles. Our van is Big Blue (it's tan), kind of like the Red Table Downstairs (it's blue). Hey, it keeps us from complacency.
And now for a close-up shot of Josiah's catch. We spent the night at Wingate's Lunker Lodge and enjoyed fishing and fresh air. Mean Ol' Mama was thrilled to sit outside and study the second aorist tense of Greek. Poppins thinks she's just a bit strange. Hmmmm...
The Girl picked a sweet bouquet of local weeds and wildflowers to grace the folding table in the camper. Isn't she beautiful?
And no weekend in the woods is complete without finding a snake.
The sunset was beautiful, althought the mosquitoes were a bit rough.
The kiddos scrounged around for firewood and built up enough flame to polish off a bag of marshmallows.
ChubChub was happy to have a bag of popcorn to keep him company. He really enjoyed the camping trip.
The boys didn't sleep much, so they fell asleep when we returned home. These two fellows haven't been this quiet and peaceful in many years.
The boys had to read their short stories during the Monday morning class. Some of them were quite funny, in a goofy-boy way.
The audience enjoyed hearing the silly stories.
Teresa discussed Roman history and gave a brief discussion of geography and art.
A new geography game was just the thing to finish up Teresa's class.
The big boys had a Latin test and did pretty well. Some of them are really making good, solid progress. It's exciting to see the tears of agony pay off.
Gotta have some snuggle time with Big Brother...
Josiah demonstrates his skill on his new rip-stick as Mean Ol' Mama attempts to read a story of Ancient Greece. He and Stennes take turns riding through the house. Mean Ol' Mama just keeps reading and moving her toes.
We were invited to a fun day at a friend's house to celebrate a birthday. The kids enjoyed breaking the pinata.
The Girl took a few turns, too. To be so thin, she really packs a wallop!Candy, candy everywhere...and a limit of four pieces?!? Hey, they don't call me Mean Ol' Mama for nothin'.
We have had a very busy two weeks. Four Patriotic Performances. Lots of company. Many student observations from the local College. Garden stuff. Chicken stuff. New camper stuff. School when we can. Not even time to bake anything but basic bread. Breathe. But vacation is coming!!!