It Might As Well Be Spring...

Since spring break began we have had extraordinary weather. The Bradford Pear trees are blossoming, green shoots of grass are starting to appear across the lawn, and birds songs fill the air. Now that we've had the time change, the days feel endless and are filled with what feels like hours and hours of outside play. 

A couple of the boys days were spent with A.J.'s parents camping at their campground spot just a little south of where we live. During that time A.J. and I spent part of our weekend in Fort Worth - enjoying outdoor dining, staying overnight at a darling inn, and snuggling up close with lattes in the chilly evening air at Sundance Square. A perfect start to our spring break also - we really needed that!

So yesterday after our little guys came home from their camping adventure, we took them to Sundance Square so they could enjoy a warm evening downtown too. Alex is a lot like me and adores the city. He and I both love the city vibe: the sounds, the smells, the buildings, the activity, and all there is to do. So this was a really fun evening.

 We were there at dusk. Once the sun goes down and the lights come on in the Square, it's really lovely.

 It was in the 80's while we were there, but the water was chilly. Between playing tag with some other kids and just running through the springs of water the boys managed to stay comfortable. Once they were done though, they were c-c-cold! Fortunately I was semi-prepared and had brought along dry t-shirts and a towel. Next time I'll bring a full change of dry clothes!

 The kidlets had a blast. Alex was saying as we were heading back to the car how excited he was to go there again. Works for me!

Happy Spring!

And So It Goes...

After six months of being in campaign mode for the precinct 2 county commissioner seat, it all came to a screeching halt yesterday. Despite the fact that my hubby was the only candidate with substantial relevant experience, as well as available information for voters concerning the commissioners court issues (since most people aren't even aware of what the commissioners court even does), the voters responded with a resounding "No!" Being honest, it was actually quite shocking to lose as badly as we did. Neither of us was angry - we both sort of laughed at the utter ridiculousness of the whole thing - it was truly unbelievable. While there are a number of reasons I believe we lost, the one thing I know to be true is that there is not one thing A.J. could have done to change the outcome. He did it all. Signs. Targeted mailers. Walking neighborhoods. Newspaper ads. Meet and greets. Forums. Debates. You name it. There is nothing else he could have done to garner more votes.

Over this campaign season, I've thought about how I'd react to a loss. The further in to the campaign we got, and the more events we had to attend, and the more interactions with unsavory people (and there were many), the more stressed out A.J. and I both became. We were stressed out all the time (it's even affected our weight - good for me, not as good for him!). We felt pretty helpless and out of control. The more helpless we grew, the more we relied on the Lord to just take the reins. We allowed ourselves to just rest in the moment. That's not to say that everything was peachy - it definitely was not - just that we were being held close during this storm, and there was a peace in our souls. Funny how that all works.

So this morning, we woke up. We weren't in mourning or anything. We awoke with a freedom from the bondage of the campaign. We actually had a normal day of school with the boys, a nice visit to Starbucks and a yummy family dinner together. It was just so normal. I like normal. Normal is good. :)

Bakers...

So a day or two before Valentine's Day, after the boys had finished their classes for the day (and before their friends got home from school) I decided to do a mini lesson on fractions and following step-by-step instructions, by way of making Valentine's Day cookies...Okay, scratch that. Let me be honest. I really just had a hankering for some nummy homemade cookies. Any lessons in fractions and instruction-following were purely bonus...

 My kidlets really did do almost all of the recipe themselves, with minor help from me doing a bit of mixing the dough, and initially helping them start rolling it out. We started off with our Valentine's theme of heart-shaped cookies, but midway through the boys got bored and pulled out doggie bone and star-shaped cookie cutters. Sometimes we just have to go with the flow around here, ya know? :)

Anyway, the cookies were the best - I have some good little bakers here at home with me! :)

Math - Part II...

I mentioned earlier that I had been taking a Vedic maths course. This week I finished the last lecture and took the final math exam and was excited to get an "A!" The math course itself was not overly difficult, but having grown up learning math in the traditional way (and being well set in that way) it's a challenge to adjust your thinking and practice without falling back on what you already know. It's an entirely new way of seeing numbers, and I really like...

I have spent this last week introducing Alex to the fundamentals. I won't lie, there has been some eye-rolling and groans on his part because he thinks he already knows what I'm teaching. But I take a deep breath and tell him (sometimes multiple times) to bear with me. It's difficult to make a kid understand that you're teaching him an alternative (that's the key word for him) way of doing something he already knows because it is part of the foundation of what he will be learning a little later. But I can confidently tell him it will yield sweet dividends in the not too distant future, and that boosts his enthusiasm. 

Maybe math can be fun after all...

Trail Life...

The boys just had their first outdoor activity with Trail Life. An outdoor scavenger hunt, camp fire, cooking hot dogs & s'mores and just playing. Alex and Ayson had so much fun, and it was really nice getting to finally meet a lot of the other parents.

 Making rockets for the rocket launcher.

 The kiddos getting ready to take off on their scavenger hunt. Their leaders are awesome, by the way!

 It was so darn chilly outside, I was more than happy to be sitting near the fire. And the boys (aka A.J.) made some tasty hot dogs for dinner. I'm not a big s'more eater, but A.J. tried a s'more made with a peanut butter cup instead of a chocolate bar, and he said it was really good. I guess that would almost be like a fluffernutter s'more!

Math...

For the past five weeks I have been taking an online Vedic maths course taught by a nice Scottish gentleman. In case you're not familiar with Vedic maths, it's an ancient Indian mathematic system that uses 16 word formulas ("sutras") that naturally compliment the way our own brains work. It's a system that is very logical, simple, flexible and even creative. It helps make what are typically arduous math problems, quite simple and fast to solve.  A.J. and I first discovered Vedic maths almost a year ago and were immediately intrigued, especially in light of the fact we have a 10 year old who gets easily discouraged with math.  In December we saw that an online class was being offered at the start of the new year and decided to bite the bullet. I took a big gulp not even fully certain I wanted to commit myself - math has never been my favorite subject (I escaped math in college, except for statistics, by CLEP-ing out of math). But this is something I really wanted to devote myself to in an effort to open my kidlet's eyes to seeing math and numbers in an entirely new way. I have to tell you, I really enjoyed this course a lot. I had light bulb moments many times throughout the class - and frequently was left wondering why we in America continue to use the traditional math system? Beginning this week I'll be taking a break from our math textbook we've been using to teach Alex the basics of the Vedic maths (I even have a teacher's manual for his age/grade level!). This is yet another benefit to being a homeschool family: testing alternative methods of teaching/learning a subject, and having the time to do it. :)

Kiddie Olympics: Texas Style...

With the winter Olympics upon us, we took time recently for a mini unit study on the Olympics. The boys and I had so much fun. We learned about the origins of the Olympics in Greece, studied the Greek alphabet, learned about the modern Olympic games, the Olympic flag, the different events, a study on Sochi and then wrapped the whole study up with our own "Olympics." Try coming up with winter events for your kids when you live in Texas! :) But we did come up with a few: the wagon bobsled, skateboard skeleton, the Nordic wall jump,  the zip climb, and a plain old race.  The boys loved it.

 Opening ceremony: both boys held their own Olympic "torch" to light the giant "flame."

 The skateboard skeleton required good form (arms straight back) and proper protective head gear!

 For the Nordic wall jump, the competitors displayed their creativity and bravery as they leapt from very near the top of the wall, dazzling us with their amazing jumps.

 And finally the zip climb. For this event, the boys had to travel down the hill to the climbing tree via the zip line (below), climb the tree, and then while in the tree use their rubber band guns to shoot at a target below the deck (above). Alex loved this one.

So we're all geared up now and ready for two weeks of winter Olympic sports on the telly.  

Faster! Higher! Stronger!