James - 18 months

Lauren and James

Eating Marshmallows

Hannah

Face painted with markers (oh joy!)

They were washable..

Lauren

Happy Summer!  I wonder if these are the dog days of summer? What does that even mean?  LOL

We have been busy trying to stay cool, which is hard at times..we didn't go swimming a lot, too hot to even move.  It was 106 today when we left to go to the post office.  I am sitting here in the "living room" of the cabin, with the AC blowing on my neck and sweat running down my face.  Much cooler in the bedroom.

We have started doing school work, a little here and there.  I really like it when we can sit down and get it done.  We watched the Robin Hood movie today (with Kevin Costner).  Lauren is having a tough time getting through the book, and I thought it might motivate her.  Nope, she said now she doesn't need to read it all because she has seen the movie!  I told her it was different, that the move was just based on the book.  She will still be reading it....

gotta get dinner, more details later...

We have a new telescope.  Way cool!  We have been spending the evenings stargazing.  Looking at different planets, stars, and the moon.  It is pretty neat to see these things "up close".  Oh, they are still small in the telescope, but have such clear definition.  I mean I can really see the rings around Saturn, the stripes on Jupiter and it's four moons.  The craters on the moon are really rough and jagged looking.

I am taking this opportunity and using my book "501 Science Experients" under the Astronomy section to teach the girls a few things, plus learn myself.  So far, we have learned about the phases of the moon, that the North Star (Polaris) stays still while the other constellations revolve around it.  We have learned how the Earth rotates around the Sun, the moon orbits the Earth, and more.  Hannah appears to be more excited than anyone.  I am constantly finding index cards with the moon phases drawn on them in black marker.  She is even copying star charts off of the Astronomy software that came with the telescope.  That is a pretty wonderful thing in itself.  You put in your approximate location, and it will give you a picture of what your sky looks like at that exact time, and what is visible from all four compass directions. 

The garden hose that supplies water to my washer, somehow exploded.  I went and purchased a "mender" to splice the hose together, but apparently I bought the one that doesn't work very well.  Back to buy another one that will keep the hose together.  I needed to wash clothes, as they are piling up without a washer.  I took our 5 gallon insulated cooler w/spout, and filled it up four times and poured in the washer.  I was able to wash about 4 skirts.  I then had to pour four more containers full (20 gallons) into the washer to rinse the clothing.  Then an ephipany.  I brought the house that stretches about 400 feet to the barn and attached it to the washer, until I am able to go and get the other piece.  Lifting up that much water is not fun, very heavy, and I was soaked from the sloshing in the container.  I did manage not to spill any on the floor of the wash house (Praise God!)  It was getting dark so I came inside.  I will hang the skirts out in the a.m. to dry.

I read a really good book called "And the Shofar Blew" by Francine Rivers.  She is an excellent author of Christian fiction.  I highly recommend her.  I have read four of her books so far, and am on my fifth.
Give her a try.

Our new neighbor came by to ask if his well guy could fill the tanker truck up.  We told him no, we'd be glad to give him water to drink or to bathe with, but not to the well guy.  The well guy charges our neighbor for "delivering" the water, but wants it free from us.  He won't even remove the charge to the neighbor.  So no deal.  I know that sounds mean, but the well guy already was given 10 tankers of water, with no compensation or thank you.  I don't want to be the neighborhood "go to gal" for water.  I feel so mean, but I am worried about the well going dry, and upset that the well guy is so greedy to not give the neighbor a break on the price.

Today was an excellent school day.  We started out with devotions (http://www.crosswalk.com/), then Lauren read on her own, while I worked with Hannah on her Saxon Math, Science, and reading out of the McGuffey Reader.  She had her spelling quiz also.  Lauren managed to read for an hour, and do her Saxon Math Lesson, plus watched the Robin Hood movie.  Tonight we were also watching "Tora, Tora, Tora" the 1979 movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Pretty good so far.  We aren't studying that era of history, but I found it in a box of my dad's belongings, and we didn't have anything else to watch.
Tomorrow, we will pick up with our Latin Lesson, and will begin our study of Impressionist Artists.  The art museum in San Antonio has a new exhibit arriving in October of Impressionist artwork, and I want to be ready to go.  We will be learning about Renoir, Courbet, Glackens, Hassam, Monet (my favorite), Pissaro and Sargent.  Maybe a few others if we get the chance. 

The goats are still getting out every day.  For awhile there, they were staying in the back pasture, but I think they are more interested in the trees up here, then in grazing/browsing around the pond.  It's primarily the little ones (the babies born this year).  One is already pregnant, she is about 6 months old, and due in November.  Way too soon I think, but I wasn't able to catch any of the babies to lock them in the barn, or able to get the buck to isolate him. 

I hope everyone is doing well, and hope to hear from you soon!