Swing Dance

Saturday night Sarah went to a swing dance with her friend Ellie. The dance was organized by one of the kids at a nearby study center resource for homeschoolers where they teach Latin, logic, rhetoric, advanced sciences and math.

There were about 45 kids there, a fairly even mix of girls and boys aged 12 to 17. They all learned swing steps for the first hour and then danced after that.

Sarah said the kids all mixed very well. She danced with several boys and then sat out one dance to take a break. (This whole event was enough to make a dad proud then sigh!)

It was probably a learning experience for Sarah and Ellie as both dance ballet. Sarah nearby and Ellie at the local professional ballet company. This photo was taken prior to a performance of the Nutcracker in which Ellie danced two parts, one in each act. In fact she danced a solo in the first act as "Young McTavish" a character in the party scene.

As you can see Sarah dressed well for the event requiring a minimum of counsel. She was gratified to find that most of the girls there were dressed stylishly too. I am not sure if any of them had nice Vera Bradley purses however.

Christmas Pageant

All three kids were in the Christmas Pageant at church this Christmas Eve. It was a service of lessons and carols with communion served.

John played Joseph in khakis wearing a blue head piece. Janine was the angel on the left behind Mary. Sarah was the only wise man with whiskers and lines to speak.

All the kids did very well by staying in character, but I think they all most preferred getting glow sticks instead of candles toward the end of the service.

Chrismas Hero

Sarah is this year's Christmas hero because she has been a real trooper.

She volunteered to wrap gifts. She helped clean the house to prepare for Christmas day. She never complained when it was her turn to wash dishes. But most of all she willingly gave up her room so Nana could use it.

She is wise beyond her years with a quick wit and gracious sense of humor. Of course I can say all of this because I am her proud Dad.

Here she is with her prized new set of books, ready to read them all again.

Rockin' Santa

We got this little guy as a gift a few years ago. When the tree goes on, he goes on. That is until we unplugged him!

Do not look until Christmas!

One of the most vexing episodes in the weeks leading up to Christmas was receiving this box from Amazon. Harry Potter is very big in our family so Bobbie thought it best to order the boxed set of all seven hardbound books.

Amazon did a great job of spoiling the fun by shipping this box with not only Harry Potter printed on the sides, but also visible on the packing slip! They even had the gall to put a "Do not open until Christmas" sticker on the side!

Naturally the kids got the box off the porch after UPS delivered it. But they were great about it. In fact, Sarah lugged it upstairs to get it out of sight quickly. Not one of them complained or asked to open the box even though all three knew what was inside.

Still, as you can see it's a fine set with all seven books packed in a cardboard trunk, but maybe a little too well-merchandised. I am looking forward to starting the series myself. Sarah and Bobbie have read all seven. John has read three. Finally, the desire to read Harry is motivating Janine to work a little harder at reading.

What to Wear?

Janine attempts to answer the question, what to wear?

Observations

"Eeyore is one of those sweet people who is sad all the time."

Janine

Santa's Visit

Santa came to the circle this past Thursday evening to hand out gifts to all the girls and boys. Here he is giving Sarah a Harry Potter video game. How did Santa know? Because Mom bought the game, wrapped it and Dad dropped it off at the neighbors who coordinated the event.

This year it was cold, but at least it wasn't raining. When Sarah was a toddler, and John an infant, it rained so hard that Santa had to come to the neighbor's garage instead of the circle.

There are a few small children around, but as you can see from the lower photo it's mainly a school-age crowd these days. This year it got a big boost as a new family with three kids, 12, 10 and 2, moved into the circle. Here's Janine with some of them. As usual, she is in the middle of it all.

Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah 9:6-7 (New International Version)

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

One of the best parts of Handel's Messiah is set to these verses from Isaiah. Consider the contrast! The original Hebrew text was written in about the seventh century BC. Then translated to 17th century English. Finally, it was set to music written by an 18th century German immigrant to England. Not bad because it still sounds great. But it's nothing compared to the event it describes - the appearance of the creator of the universe as a baby born in a small Middle Eastern village.

Something to consider this and every Christmas.

Tree Decoration

As usual Janine was the first to get things started decorating the tree. But as you can see she needed help reaching the top. The tree looks pretty good once we got it stabilized in the new tree stand.

After needing to fill the stand for what seemed like every two hours for the first three days, I now only fill it at night. That way I can get some sleep without worrying that the tree will BURST INTO FLAMES.

Now my sister has a much more practical approach found here.

O Christmas Tree!

Last Saturday we got our Christmas tree on a snowy afternoon. It was fat, full and looked great with snow on it. That night I put it in a bucket of water to spread out overnight.

Sunday afternoon we discovered that the tree's trunk was not quite vertical. In fact it is shaped like a nice arc. In fact you can see its slight back bend in this photo. Thankfully I broke the old tree stand.

Let me explain. I was too clever by half when I brought the tree in the front door. I attached the tree stand while the tree was still horizontal. When I raised the tree to vertical, two of the four holes that held the bolts that held the tree snapped.

Janine and I hopped in the car for the four minute drive to Home Depot, and I found the ideal tree stand there. The tree container and the floor stand are separate. You attached the bolts to the trunk then lift the tree into the stand. What's more, the container is a gimbel the rotates and tilts, compensating for a crooked tree like this one. Look at the base. There is a black lever there that locks the tree container in place. A few minutes after this shot was taken we had the tree aligned and looking fairly straight.

Then came the process of hydration. We kept pouring what seemed like gallons of water into the smallish tree container. I guess there have to be trade-offs somewhere. Sunday night I poured nearly a quart into it before I went to bed. Then I woke up about 3:00 AM thinking that I better check on the tree or it will BURST INTO FLAMES! Silly me! Well, it only took a glass of water to fill it then...

Good Fit

How things change! Here is Sarah resting inside one of the IKEA files we used to use in the school room. We liked this design because they had a rolling overhead door like a garage. Look at the date in the corner. I think it reads 9/7/01. Sarah was six and fit quite nicely - then.

We added more bookcases as the kids grew in their reading abilities and requirements. The files moved to my office as of last year when we refurbished both rooms. Now they store my business records instead of school records.

School Room

As we rush up toward Christmas, we have been thinking back on the school year, and beyond

Here's Janine with Mommie just after Christmas last year. You can see the cards on the wall behind them. The school room is a busy place as you can see. Mommie's computer functions as home plate. Janine is in the primary teaching chair.

Just off the lower left in this picture is the working chair. John likes to sit there facing Mommie while he works on his lessons.

Sarah has taken to working in her room or in the small couch behind Janine.

Here's John from a few years ago when we had the school room organized differently. He also likes this integral chair and writing surface. Interestingly, this "college desk" is the only school desk left.

When we first started teaching at home we thought the kids would love having conventional school desks. We got some from a nearby elementary school that was closing, painted them and put them in the school room. I can count the number of times the kids used them on one hand.

We donated them when we realized that our kids liked to do their work in different places. Sometimes here, sometimes there. As a third grader, Sarah liked the deck. Click here to find how Mommie prefers the front yard over the back.

As homeschoolers we love the freedom to teach our children in the best way they learn. The Lord has blessed us that we can continue to do so.

Saltworks Christmas Party

Here's John and Janine with Miss Becky the director of the Saltworks Theater company. They had their Christmas fund raiser this past Friday.

Much to Janine's disappointment, I arrived a little bit late because I took Nana home after dinner. Janine sobbed on my shoulder for a few minutes after I walked in. Finally I asked her if she had the sniffles.

"Yes Daddy, how did you know?"

"Just a wild guess, I suppose."

Janine recovered enough to want to pose with Miss Becky and to be gracious enough to ask her brother to join in. Quite a young lady that one...

Junior Toolbelt

John was a big help putting in the living room baseboard. In this photo he is installing the toughest section. The two baseboard vents in this wall meant that we had to cut a precise notch in the baseboard to fit around the vents.

Also this wall is a full 18 foot run and the longest baseboard length is 16 feet. So we put two splices on this wall both on or near the vents. John's favorite job was using the tape measure and stud finder to determine where to nail. I suppose we could have counted it as a math class, but we want the kids to simply appreciate and apply learning, not simply look for ways to "punch the ticket."

A couple of weeks prior, John helped by sanding the vents to prep them to be painted. The previous owner had put masking tape on the vents, then painted over the tape.

We had to go to a millwork dealer to buy the right baseboard design to match the foyer. Both Home Depot and Lowe's no longer carry that design. The millwork dealer not only had the matching design, it was $.10 per foot less than the big boxes and they cut the 16 foot lengths to my specs to fit into the van. Let's hear it for independent businesses!

Garage Surprise

...I opened my garage and there it was!

Earlier this fall we had our driveway repaved and the event provided some strange sights, like a paver in the garage or a dump truck in the driveway.

The crew came by to pave a neighbor's driveway and then knocked on doors to finish with their load of asphalt. The price was fairly reasonable compared to previous estimates we received.

The driveway was over 15 years old and beginning to dissolve in spots. Now we have a good surface for the winter snow. But moreover we have a nice hedge. Asphalt is a petroleum product that will probably get pricier in the coming years.

Much to be thankful for...

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Psalm 117:8-9

Weak Excuse Department

Sorry to post so infrequently in the past few weeks but my internet connection has been slow and intermittent. For example, I have yet to be able to upload the video of the pinata burst from Janine's birthday party.

But it's not completely Verizon's fault. My computer is four years old and full of digital wool. Yesterday I ran Ad Aware and found a couple of things that were probably slowing things down.

Sometime over the holidays I plan to perform a computer lobotomy and reinstall the OS. It will be an exciting day full of disk shuffling, downloading and holding my breath. If, as the Brits say, all becomes pear-shaped, I can borrow the kids' computer while mine is in the shop.

Father/Daughter Dance

Janine just started with a Brownie Troup this past September. So two weeks ago we went to the Girl Scout Parent/Daughter dance as noted on the invitation here. (For us and for most it is the Father/Daughter dance.)

We had a great time overall practicing steps the day before. Then we went out for dinner at our favorite nearby Mexican restaurant before the dance.

The older girls were nice enough to take our picture at the entrance. (see below) But once we got in the school gym it was bedlam. Torrents of 6 to 10 year old girls were running around the place while all the dads stood at the edge and chatted.

Janine and I danced to YMCA which negated the need for any practice at all. But we both had fun and will return for more next year.

Party Line-up

Here's the partial line-up for Janine's party.

From left: Janine, Sara, Jenny, Kaitlyn, Jesse and Anna. Big sister Sarah, and brother John are in the background.

The party activities got going with multiple crafts in store to keep us all occupied. Sarah P. as usual was a big help leading the activities and herding the girls around.

Here's Grace, who had not yet arrived in time for the top photo, painting a picture with Sara.

Then there's Anna and Jenny doing the same...


Because the girls arrived and left in stages, Sarah P. planned the cake and ice cream in the middle of the party with activities both before and afterwards.

Birthday Decorations

Sarah really pulled out all the stops to decorate the family room for Janine's birthday. While it was not a complete surprise, Janine slept in on her birthday, so she was pleased with the volume and theme of the decorations.

My favorite touch is the Christmas lights. Sarah had them strung across her room and shared them with Janine for the celebration.

More on that next...

That's NOT a dog...

...it's a fox. Sarah snapped this photo this morning as a fox came through our yard and lingered by the swing-set. Naturally, all school work stopped with this excitement. (Sorry about the resolution. Because the fox was moving quickly, Sarah took the photo through a window that still has its screen in it.)

I am glad to see a fox again. This spring we saw a female fox guiding her kits across the street. Then this summer a fox was hit and killed on a busy road nearby.

I was concerned for the kits as well as for control of the local rodent population. Perhaps one of the kits has grown to patrol this area. Good for him.

Janine's Birthday

Janine turned eight yesterday, so we had a party for her today. Using the standard formula, we invited eight girls and all of them could come, but not at the same time!

So we had a continuous party from 1:30 to 4:00 this afternoon. In fact some of the girls are still here as I write this post!

Sarah is the party queen. She came up with the ideas for most of the activities. Even better, she lead all the girls in painting flowers, suncatchers, a giant happy birthday sign, even making scarves.

Look for more later...

Glad we missed that one

Janine's Brownie troop had their first outing while we were on vacation. Today was her first meeting after returning.

Unfortunately one of the girls got poison ivy on her face. Heck, we don't have to go on any outing to do that! We just go into the woods bordering our backyard.

Thankfully through recognizing the leaves and spraying as much of it as we can, we all have been able to avoid it for the past few years.

Sunday - Going home

On Sunday morning we left to return home, but we brought back with us many memories of the vacation. Here is one of my favorites, all my girls down at the beach.

I don't know what they are looking for in this photo, but it was a great opportunity to get everyone in the same picture.

The drive home was long. On every long car trip, Bobbie helps out by reading a book out loud. This year she read The 21 Balloons on the drive to Richmond and Carry on Mr. Bowditch on the rest of the trip. She finished Mr. Bowditch by the time we got to Breezewood.

But home was still two and a half hours away across the most treacherous part of the PA Turnpike. Thankfully we all arrived safe and sound at about 10 PM Sunday night.

On Monday when I put the Thule roof box away until next year, I left some of the sand in the bottom of it just for old time's sake. It was a great vacation.

Saturday - Pack up

We first stayed at the Heart of Duck vacation house in 2001 when it was still called Bailey's Irish Dream. On the morning we were packing up to go we found tiny ants had invaded one of the bags. Because Bobbie and I had to work fast, we asked the kids to sit on the steps so we would not step on them. I took a picture of it as a cute scene of the three kids.

Well this year we have four, and thankfully no ants!

Friday - Sun and wind

After Thursday's rain, the wind picked up. While it was 85 or so during the day, the 20 mph wind made the beach a little challenging.

We all got down to the beach after breakfast but it was too challenging for some of us. So we swam in the pool at the house. It was quite cold at first, but one got used to it quickly.

Later, we opened up the hot tub at John's insistence. Getting into the pool was much easier after that. But as Sarah found out, getting and staying on the air mattress was tough, especially when you little sister is pulling you around the pool.

Thursday - Shopping

Janine looks like she needs the coffee in this photo. Her sister was shopping her under the table.

Thursday was the obligatory day of rain during our vacation week, so we all went shopping in Duck village. There are three mini-malls of trendy shops in the village. While Janine sat on a stylized bench in front of one of these shops Sarah was inside surveying the fashions.

We went back to the house for lunch then we were off to one of the other mini-malls. Thankfully they all closed by 5:00.

The weather cleared late in the day, so we were able go to the beach after dark.

Wednesday - Happy Birthday on the sandbar

All week last week the Coast Guard was either patrolling the shoreline or conducting training exercises. Most days we saw a Blackhawk helicopter, but on Wednesday this C 130 flew up and down several times.

We almost needed it. The surf was pretty strong all week and it had formed a sandbar about a quarter mile out where the water was only three feet deep. Because the waves broke across it there were several people standing on it with boogie boards riding in on the odd wave. Sarah and John got out there too using the small boogie board that was in the service closet at the vacation house.

Then John got out a little too far. Sarah called to him as he fought the waves. Bobbie noticed this and swam out to John. She realized that they were on the edge of a rip current and swam parallel to shore away from it.

At this time the, lifeguard on patrol was on shore ready to help if she got the signal. Thankfully both Bobbie and John got in just fine.

Just in time so we could go out to dinner to celebrate Bobbie's birthday. Here we are at one of the Outer Banks' finest restaurants. While most of the restaurants there are warehouses of food, this one is patterned on a French bistro with small tables and great food. I was glad to find such a nice place to celebrate Bobbie's birthday.

Tuesday - Happy Birthday Eve

At dinner Tuesday we celebrated Bobbie's 50th birthday eve by having a chocolate mousse cheesecake. Sarah and I got it earlier in the day while we were out on a bike ride. If we had driven the car it would have raised suspicion.

We bought the cheesecake at a bakery in Duck. Once we had it, we had to walk the bikes back to the house. I didn't want to risk dropping it. When I got into the subdivision I lived dangerously and successfully balanced it on the handlebars. Sarah hid it in the mini fridge in the downstairs rec room.

I thought our cover was blown later in the day when we came back from the beach and Bobbie insisted on putting away the drinks from the cooler in the downstairs fridge. But she didn't notice it and was surprised after all.

We had fun celebrating Bobbie's birthday over two weeks. Stay tuned for the birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Monday - First Day

Always with a mind to routine and precedent, John asked me to go down to the beach with him first thing Monday morning. We did the same last year as seen here. This year I captured the moment on video.

I always enjoy doing father and son activities and this is one of my favorites.

We spent the rest of the day split between the beach and hanging around the house. Because it is only a quarter mile to the beach, we returned in the afternoon. As you can tell from the video it's quite windy. But that is why the Wright Brothers chose this area to test their new invention, the airplane.

Sunday - Arrival

After our morning sight- seeing, we left Richmond after lunch at a Waffle House. Note to self - don't go to the Waffle House for Sunday lunch right after the "church rush." There wasn't a clean table in the place. We started to bus our own table when one of the waitresses completed the job obviously interested in securing a better tip.

We arrived at the Wright Memorial bridge, the link to the northern Outer Banks barrier island, at 3:30. We couldn't check in and get the keys to the house until 4:00, so we bought all our groceries at the Food Lion that is on the way.

The sign for our favorite Duck sub-division is in top photo. It's a great location with the entrance in the middle of the village. There is a rec center with workout rooms, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, plus great beach access with an outdoor pool just off the dunes.

All of the houses have names on signs, most using the word, Duck. The name of our house is Heart of Duck. It changed from Bailey's Irish Dream a few years ago. (I'm glad I no longer have to explain that one.) The corny names are annoying overall. They remind me of boat names which can be even worse. I am glad our favorite house's name is fairly innocuous.

With a full minivan and three bags of groceries on each kid's lap, we got to the house at about 5:00 Sunday evening. By 6:00 we unloaded the minivan and everyone was in their rooms . Bobbie cooked a nice meal and we all went to the beach after dark. A great way to start a week at the beach.

Saturday/Sunday - Richmond Layover

On Saturday morning at about 10 AM, we left for vacation. That's later than I wanted, but because we planned a layover in Richmond, we could leave at such a late hour and still arrive by 4 PM or so.

The first night we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. We thought it was a brew-pub, but they just served hundreds of beers instead. Not exactly what I expected, but not bad either. We all recalled visiting Aunt Mary when she lived in Richmond and missed seeing her.

On Sunday morning we woke up and drove downtown to the state house. Above is an equestrian statue of George Washington on the state house grounds. There are also several other statues of notable Virginians including Edgar Allen Poe seen here with Janine. Nevermore!

The city of Richmond has some very interesting historic sights, but tells no one about them. Ever resourceful, Bobbie buttonholed a security guard at the state house gate and got a full rundown on where to go and what to see when you have two hours or so. Like all good Virginians, he ignored talking about the statue of Washington and instead went into great detail about how "Mr. Jefferson" designed the state house.

As he described it, the Virginia state house is the second oldest state house in the United States. Which is the oldest? Here's a hint. Mr. Jefferson created his masterpiece there, and it's in Philadelphia. From 2002, here we are at a different statue of Mr. Washington in front of Independence Hall. The Pennsylvania state capital may be in Harrisburg, but the state house has been in Philadelphia for 250 years.

Vacation Return

Just after 10 PM last night we returned home from our vacation to Duck, NC. It was a long drive after a great, relaxing week. The only regret on the drive home was a bad meal in Breezewood, PA, just before we got onto the PA turnpike.

Here's a photo of the surf on Saturday, our last day there. While the temperature was about 80, the wind was 20 to 25 miles per hour. As a result, we did not spend much time on the beach that day. Needless to say, one felt a little brisk when one got out of the water. Thankfully, we spent a lot of time on the beach the rest of the week.

Look for more in the coming days.

Here's Janine in the wind and surf on Saturday.

Vacation House

Vacation is coming up this week, so we are off to the Outer Banks. Here's the view from last year as we were packing up to come home.

This year it will look pretty much the same. Same time, same house. I never thought I would enjoy predictability so much, but sometimes it can be useful.

The kids already know where to take things once we arrive, so unpacking the car goes pretty fast.

While the kids are looking forward to having a lot of fun, Bobbie and I look forward to a nice relaxing trip.