One Last Hurrah!

Above are pictures of a view from Hurricane Ridge and a deer that came into the picnic area while we were eating lunch.

The woods, children and tents - what do they all have in common? Camping in the Olympic National Park! We just got back from a wonderful camping trip with several of our dear friends. We all went over to the Olympic National Park and camped in the Heart O' the Hill's campground at the foot of Hurricane Ridge. The children put on cammo and grabbed wooden guns and ran around in the woods playing army. They had a blast. We went on short day hikes, up at the ridge where the views are spectacular, and in the campground through the woods. One family went on a long walk (about 12 miles) on the beach at the Dungeness Spit all the way out to the lighthouse and back. We had wonderful fellowship and a very relaxing time. We also had our worship service in the campground, there is something about worshipping the Creator amongst his beautiful creation that is so special. Most of us went over on Thursday and came back on Sunday and thankfully the rain held off until we were all packed up on Sunday afternoon. My boys are rating this trip as one of the best they have ever been on and I would have to agree.

To Strike or Not to Strike . .that is the question.

It is that time again, contract negotiations between the union and Boeing. There is the typical accusations back and forth - the wondering and waiting. Will we be without income for awhile or will it all be resolved? Trying to put some money aside and keep expenditures down in case we do go on strike. Our family has weathered two strikes in the past and the Lord has always taken care of us - I must learn to leave it in his hands. The vote is on Thursday September 1st, so we will soon know the outcome.

Skinny Skater's sketchy school plan . .

Here is a very rough outline of Skinny Skaters school list. Most of term one is planned and I need to flesh out the rest of the year. We will probably start school on September 12th this year.

Bible/Devotional Reading: bible - his choice, God Came Near by Max Lucado

History: Washington State History - we will be using a textbook for this and supplementing with a book called Chronicles of Washington, which includes excerpts from diaries of explorers, settlers and others from Washington's past. We will spend on semester on this topic.

World History: 1 reading a week - continuing where we left off last year - renaissance. During the second half of our school year, our focus will be on American History and World History studying the late 17th and 18th centuries. Our materials will be chosen from Ambleside Online's year 9.

Language Arts: will include Easy Grammar, Understanding Writing and we will implement some of Institute for Excellence in Writing methods. Copywork, dictation and narration will also continue.

Math: Saxon Algebra II

Literature: English Lit. for Boys and Girls, Reading Between the Lines, and With Wolfe in Canada will take us through our first term. We will also read Shakespeare's Henry V and the poetry of Rudyard Kipling and Robert Service.

Science/Health: Abeka Physical Science, Total Health and Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.

Practical Drafting: This is probably the subject he most looks forward to.

Others: Are You Liberal, Conservative or Confused? How to Read a Book, and Plutarch's Lives will also be part of our curriculum this year.

Book Lover by Robert Service

I was searching for some poetry to share with the boys during our first term of school this fall and came across this poem. I think it is very funny and I feel this way at times.

Book Lover

I keep collecting books I know
I'll never, never read;
My wife and daughter tell me so,
And yet I never heed.
"Please make me," says some wistful tome,
"A wee bit of yourself."
And so i take my treasure home,
And tuck it in a shelf.

And now my very shelves complain;
They jam and over-spill.
They say: "Why don't you ease our strain?"
"Some day," I say, "I will."
So book by book they plead and sigh;
I pick and dip and scan;
Then put them back, distrest that I
Am such a busy man.

Now, there's my Boswell and my Sterne,
My Gibbon and Defoe;
To savour Swift I'll never learn,
Montaigne I may not know.
On Bacon I will never sup,
For Shakespeare I've no time;
Because I'm busy making up
These jingly bits of rhyme.

Chekov is caviare to me,
While Stendhal makes me snore;
Poor Proust is not my cup of tea,
And Balzac is a bore.
I Have their books, I love their names,
And yet alas! they head,
With Lawrence, Joyce and Henry James,
My Roster of Unread.

I think it would be very well
If I commit a crime,
And get put in a prison cell
And not allowed to rhyme;
Yet given all these worthy books
According to my need,
I now caress with loving looks,
But never, never read.

Fast Cars . . .

Boys and their toys! This week the boys have been spending almost all of their spare time creating race tracks out of cardboard boxes all taped together and then racing their hot wheels down the track. The neighbor boys have all been hanging out at the house too. Today they added in an urban portion, jumps, tunnels, the desert and the ocean to their track. The track is pretty long and everyone is having good creative fun. When they aren't here playing on their track, they have been going over to their friends and racing him and his dad on his hot wheels track. They have used their allowance $$ to buy new cool cars and trying to get the fastest one. I am thankful for summer days and the joys of boys.

God's Word on Plans

The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. ----Proverbs 16:1 NAS

Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. -----Proverbs 16:3 NAS

The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. ----Proverbs 16:9 NAS

In trying to plan out our school year, it is easy to get caught up in doing all the educational, intellectual things and forget the most important, the spiritual things.

Plot and Plan . . .

It is that time again . . . school planning time. It is a time of renewing, looking forward to the year and new knowledge. It is also a time of pruning, no my children will not have time to read all of these books. I am constantly asking, "how will we fit it all in?". We have tried to work on a new chore system and put some routines in place before we start in September. I had large ideas of getting organized this summer, you know, things like meal plans, chore plans, service plans etc. etc. Here we are and summer is almost over and not many projects finished. Oh well, there is still three weeks left before school starts again.

I do have some plans finished, such as our Washington State History and Science. I have picked some of the books we will read this year and I have been busy pre-reading some books for SS to read during his first year of High School. I guess the summer hasn't been a total loss.

We were such babes.