Midwest Meanderings

I am quite behind on logging our summertime adventures but for practicality I'll stick to our journey west. The catalyst for the trip was an intention to spruce up the house in Iowa for quicker sale. However, the Lord saw fit to provide a buyer before we even left (which we are so extremely grateful to Him for!). So we are no longer home owners, praise the Lord! 

Since all our plans were made, reservations secured, friends notified, and boys talked up for adventure we hit the road anyway despite not having our initial motivator for pursuing the sunset days on end....

The story is best told in pictures, as are most stories:

...and we're off ... like a herd of turtles...

Some of the wildlife in West Virginia.

A state park somewhere between here and there...closer to here than there....

Our campsite was right next to a little pond which held many wiggling things for boys to catch. You'd never guess from this guy's face that he spend the day puking in plastic bags! (Only twice actually, but still.... When this kid isn't hungry you know something is wrong!)

Proud boys and their tent!

The boys got to feed a Zorse and a Zonkey (see the stripes on them?) at the Creation Museum in Cincinnati.

They even made some friends...and they all liked to play with fire...yikes!

Much more posh accommodations for the third night! 

Eating good ol' Iowa Pork Tenderloin sandwiches - they were HUGE! Marc couldn't even fit half of it on the bun and still get his mouth around it!

After lunch Great-Grandma Marilyn took us to the water park...the boys had a blast!

Even Grandma had fun! ;)

The boys hide their exhaustion well, don't you think?

Grandma and I.

More family! Re-met my cousins (it had been 11? Years) and the oldest' new wife. Fun to make connections within the family.

Onward to Nebraska. It was absolutely F A B U L O U S.

;P

Marc and Nathan playing in a community concert. Marc taught some new lyrics that I am pretty sure will catch on there in the corn fields.

Date night! Woot! So much fun running around Cabellas in heels! 

Water fight day!

What a blessing to see our kids enjoy each other and become friends just like their parents.

On the road again....Des started the day by losing a tooth.

Iowa has sprouted new plants....many of them....

We spend an afternoon at a fun center with mini golf, laser tag, bumper cars, trampolines, arcade games, and a rock wall.

Fossil Gorge.

More friends! So good to see Sharon again!

And her beautiful children...

We officially toured Amish country. That was a lot of fun. Marc and I wondered why we had never done it while we lived there.

Last stop: can you tell Des is tired of smiling for pictures?! =) 

Bob and Andrea - the hosts with the most (and the parents of the super cute toddler above)! They even stocked us up on snacks as we were pulling out. So appreciate their hospitality and kindness!

We came back very, very late and launched into life at full speed with a visit from Jared and me teaching tutors for co-op next year for three afternoons. We are grateful for God's provision and grace as we went to and fro and embraced adventures as they came.

Have a lovely day!

End of the school year

A short post about our end of the year. We celebrated the end of the official school year tonight with our co-op tonight. While our family will still do school most days our co-op is on summer break. 

Each class gave a short presentation becoming more impressive the older the kids got. 

The biggest news is that Jaxter was recognized as a Memory Master. The curriculum we use utilizes the young child's ability to memorize and then later draws from these 'memory pegs' to teach more thoroughly and effectively at the older grade levels. Memory Master means that the child can say all his memory work from the year with NO mistakes. This takes 1.5-2 hours to do and includes:

24 multi-sentence history facts

150 points on a chronological timeline

24 science facts

Skip counting 1-15 up to x times 15

Squares up to 15x15

Cubes up to 10x10x10

8 math laws

5 latin declensions and noun cases

150 geographical points on a world map

44 presidents, in chronological order

List of prepositions, helping verbs, linking verbs, and the definitions of those terms. 

Desmond is a subject master meaning he knows certain subjects perfectly but that latin always trips him up. 

Some pictures:

Desmond's class doing their presentation. 

Part of my class (which is also Jaxter's class) doing their presentation. 

Jaxter receiving his award. 

Continued...

Shenandoah Valley.

The boys getting a drink at a ranger station.

Camping.

Post 4 mile hike....

Luray caverns. The beauty of this earth never ceases to stir up awe in me of our Creator! The lower reflection comes from a mere 6 inches of water! Beautiful.

Jaxter completed a basketball camp. He really enjoys playing. We often hear the ball bouncing down the hall.

Desmond and I practiced our chess while Jaxter was in basketball. 

Finally!!! Got to go to Water Country U.S.A! Can your tell the boys are excited?!

Uncle Jared came to visit for Labor Day and show the boys some basketball moves. 

Made tin can stilts. 

Summer Adventures Part 1... and 2

We have had so many fantastic adventures lately and I found myself wishing there was a way to share some of these great pictures with our families and friends! It would be so nice if I had a blog....

Oh, wait...

The summer started off by picking strawberries and eating ice cream at a local farm.

Marc played at Kings Dominion Amusement park and we tagged along and spent the day trying roller coasters. 

It has been a very rainy summer!

But the Lord has also been giving us spectacular sunsets which are so neat to watch from our backyard or window.

Several of the Music Under the Stars concerts have had to be relocated to indoor venues.

But not all of them! Outdoor concerts are much more fun! =)

Desmond passed his end of the year testing with "flying colors" and opted for Cracker Barrel as a celebration. No arguments from these parents! ;)

A day at the Children's Museum. They built this and the furniture inside it.

A day at the  Botanical Gardens. This is the rose "maze." See if you can find the boys....I'll give you a hint: you can't.

A day at the aquarium. This turtle was saying hi to Jaxter.

We have also been participating in the library's reading program this summer which includes creative activities for "dollars" as well as reading activities. Desmond (and I) built this Ferris wheel out of K'Nex (?). 

Jaxter's own creative construction... No instructions required. Haha. (He's not sad, just being silly for the camera.)

Hoorah! My first harvest!! =) My tomatoes haven't been doing as well as I had hoped, but apparently that is normal for the south. Too hot.  

Jiu Jitsu continues! The boys really like it and are learning a lot. They will get "promoted" in August. Des is in front Jax is in back.

Turtle rescue! We saw a turtle trapped on a street (couldn't get up the high curb) so we stopped to help it. Turned out that she had a severely cracked shell and so we took it home for a few hours till we got word back from a reptile rescue place and then took it there. The boys embraced being heroes and caring for their temporary patient!

Practicing camping. They know how to set up their tent and which animals to bring for protection.

Marc played at Kings Dominion again so we got to go again! Much to the disappointment of the boys. ;)

It was very hot.

So we went on the wet ride...the one where you are warned you will get wet but what they mean is you will get SOAKED! Yeah that one. Turned out to be the favorite of the day because the boys thought the surprise water showers were hilarious. =)

Desmond burned himself pretty well on my griddle. (He's play acting for the camera, it actually happened a couple days before this picture was taken.)

Another day at the Botanical gardens. Butterfly festival. 

Playing in the splash pad at Botanical Gardens.

Dear Gramps, 

Thanks for the emergency ponchos that I used running back to the car at the end of our garden day. They work! Well, mostly. ;)

Rain on the East Coast is so entirely different than Montana! This is what we got stuck in. This is not our car, we pulled off into a parking lot...

A concert at the Children's Museum by the JunkMan. He is a talented percussionist (has his degree from somewhere...can't remember) who makes instruments out of garbage and then plays concerts. Pretty impressive and fun. The end of the concert he lets the kids play along with him.

And last for this post: Cow appreciation day at Chic-Fil-A! From little boy to head-to-foot cow in under an hour! You get to eat free when you do this and it was fun, too! (Those cow legs are pillowcases made pants! That's what Mamas call a domestic win.) =)

Stay tuned for part 3 - camping in Shenandoah National Park.