Missing The Point

I took the van in for an oil change today. I talked with the guy about what the service will look like - you know...the time when they try to sell you stuff and have you commit to every service possible. Anyway, I said no to several things and I didn't feel like he was a big fan - but, that's the way it goes. 

As I was speaking with him later...he asked what book I was reading and when I answered he started telling me about his girlfriend and how she reads all the time. How even when they're in bed for the night...she's reading, he asks for attention, is told - "I'm reading"...he told me of his frustration. I feigned interest. He already had someone that was ignoring him - the least I could do was give a listening ear to a stranger that was taking care of my transaction at the same time (read: taking my money:}). I wanted to tell him that the problem isn't that she's reading...it's the fact that she's ignoring him that's the problem. It's a relationship thing. Ask her if you've done something that bothered her. Ask her what you can do to make the relationship better. THAT will get her one step closer to not reading (according to him) 'all the time'. It's not rocket science. I hope he figures it out sooner rather than later. 

Disclaimer: I am not against reading. I love reading. I probably do too much of it myself. Although, the only thing I'm losing is sleep. My partner isn't around to ask for attention. If he were - well...where's my bookmark?:}

Travel Log 2017

We've done a little bit of traveling this past year. We went to Arizona in March for Grandpa Williams funeral. We stopped by a rest stop that bridged over the Colorado River. In the middle of April we left for a trip back east...returning the first week of May. We took some time going up the coast and seeing sites. We then took a small trip up to Idaho Falls to participate in the temple open house and see some good friends. I then went to a reunion with my family where we stayed at a beach house in Oceanside, CA for a few days...taking in La Jolla and San Diego while there. We'll be heading out to Zion this coming week-end to camp with some relatives. After that we will be home for a bit with all the other things going on this summer. The kids will have camps, Bishop's Youth Retreat, and EFY. Rachel and I will figure out something to do while they're gone.:} We'd like to fit in a trip to the Ranch (in Panguitch) and a showing of Newsies at Tuacahn later in the summer...possibly early fall. We'll be up in Idaho again in early October. The next multi day trip I'd like to fit in is up to Mount Rushmore. I'm not sure when that will happen.
I've been working on putting a travel web site together. It's not going very well. At some point, I'm going to try have all the above trips on there. After that, we'll see where the road takes us.

Heading East

Trying to put together a travel site and post about our trip. We're going to be taking our van all the way to North Carolina and then up the coast. We'll get up to Maine and then start heading west again. We're giving ourselves three weeks...returning the first week of May. So many adventures to be had along the way! We'll also have a chance to see relatives in Texas...Dallas area...and others in the DC area.

The boys are sledding this morning. Jacob drove several friends in our van. I'm hoping for the best. A group of kids, snowy conditions, a driver than was just barely allowed to drive friends in the vehicle. I think it'll be okay. If I had serious concerns, I would have helped them figure out a different solution. He typically does pretty well. So, we'll see how it goes.
The girls are here with me. We're having a quiet day at home. Those are my favorite kind when it feels like a wintery day outside.

A Song and A Search

The other day I was listening to this. It's by Peter Hollins and friends.

Jonny came and listened with me. He started asking questions. He looked this guy up on Wikipedia. We both learned some things that we didn't know. I was also reminded of a couple of things that I thought I'd forgotten. We continued the discussion with politics and politicians now. We both have a great respect for the Founding Fathers and their ability to focus on their objectives. They didn't always agree. But, I believe respectful and meaningful discussions happened. They worked together - even though they might not have agreed. There was a willingness to come up with the basis for a country where all could agree. It wasn't a perfect scenario - but, it does seem better than what we have now.

It's That Time

It's that time of year again. We're moving into Fall. It's nice to think of the weather being a bit cooler. It's also that time of year when others talk about starting school. It's nice to not have to worry about changing our schedule in order to rush everyone out the door in the morning...or deal with the afternoon/evening routine.

I still look forward to starting new routines. We need them after a summer full of camps, reunions, and adventures. I do better with routines - this summer felt like getting the kids ready for one event after another. I'm hoping that getting back to the routines will help us a bit. We'll see. I just want some down time. We homeschool - but, still feel the effect of the changing of the seasons.

Learning Outside The Box

The girls and I watched this video the other day. Rachel exclaimed, "Hey, that's that one place.". Megan chimed in with, "Ya, where they have the presidents.". We continued the conversation. We talked about how it was a cool place and they would love to go there. We talked about where it was and how far away it was from our house. As we spoke, it was clear to me that they know about Mount Rushmore. (I linked it just in case you'd like to learn more too.)
It's interesting to me that there are people who think homeschool kids don't learn much or don't really know anything because they're not in a classroom. There are so many other ways to learn. Something as simple as a song can lead to conversations about national monuments, geography, US Presidents, and history.
Not too long ago our sons were talking with some of their friends about homeschool. One of the kids (teenagers) asked if Jacob knew about Einstein. I'm guessing he had a confused look on his face - not because he didn't know who he was - but, because he couldn't figure out why a teen in a first world country wouldn't be familiar with the man and at least some of his work. I told him that he should have asked his friend about Tesla. It may or may not have stumped the kid.
I'm so thankful we live in a country where we're able to be a homeschool family. There is so much to be grateful for - freedoms that I don't ever want to take for granted. I started this post trying to share a patriotic song for the 4th of July and then went to a different topic. I guess things in my head connect - just not always immediately. I truly am grateful for a season we've had to learn together. What a great country we live to have the opportunity to experience life together.