Early summer ramblings

CC Practicum season is behind me, so I feel like I have a few moments to breathe!  Logic, the art of reasoning well, was the topic this year.  We dug into Venn diagrams, fallacies, and a square of opposition-- fun stuff!  I got to be an afternoon orientation leader, which meant that I depended on God a lot more during practicum than I normally would (honesty).  I hadn't been an Essentials (4th-6th grade curriculum) tutor trainer before, so I was a bit scared I'd leave something out.  But everything went well.

We've been on several trips since school ended.  In early May, we traveled to Clearwater, FL and stayed in a town home owned by some Québécois believers.  They rent the 3/2.5 house at an extremely reasonable rate, and the space was perfect for our family.  There was also an unpopulated community pool (school was still in, and it was a bit chilly still) that the kids enjoyed.  The main reason for our visit was to go to a LegoLand homeschool day, and that was really fun.  But we also explored the Clearwater area.

LegoLand Selfie after the Chima water ride

Torturing Nature study with a crab in Clearwater Bay

Free things we did were the Largo Central Park Railroad (and the amazing playground there), the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary (got to see the birds getting fed), and the McGough Nature Park (AKA the turtle park).  At McGeough, we took the boardwalk out to the inlet, where we saw volunteers taking the juvenile screech owls on a "walk"!  Too adorable!!  As we were starting to leave the pier, we heard the horn for the drawbridge.  I called the kids back, and we got to see a tall sailboat go through the raised drawbridge.  Great experience.


Aboard the Largo Central Park Railroad- feet on running boards

You can probably see why McGough was called "turtle park".

The drawbridge

Then, at the beginning of June, my side of the family met up at Davidson River Campground in Pisgah National Forest.   On Thursday morning, Uncle J got most of us out for a family baseball game.  We were so bad, but we had SO much fun.  I was sore for the rest of the trip, plus a few days, after all of that sprinting!  We did get a bit of rain, but our Eureka tent held fast and kept us mostly dry.  We got a little moisture from the tarp peeking out from under the tent on one side, which made a little water seep under us.  Grateful for a good tent and beautiful mountain weather!  The air smells so refreshing there.  (Aunt Ma was the main photographer for this trip; once I get some shots from her, I hope to add a few photos to this post.)

And Laura Frantz books.  Aunt R has gotten me into these this summer, and I've already devoured two of them in a week.  We make sure the kids read every day.  The girls will say, "I read two chapters today."  I reply, "How do you only read two?".  I am a book devourer.  Bubby is like me in that regard, but the girls are a more like New Daddy-- book nibblers.  Anyway, I highly recommend The Mistress of Tall Acre or The Colonel's Lady as above-average BOLONC's (re: Granddaddy R) that strike me as riveting historical fiction.  Courting Morrow Little is next on my library hold list-- when my life is ready to be put on hold again so that I can cram in a book.

Around mid-May, we purchased a Circle with Disney to put some time limits and specific controls on internet access around the house.  And then the day after New Daddy and I were discussing our need to majorly limit our electronic use, we heard this sermon.  Almost daily, we marvel at the path that God has led us on these past two years.  Someday, we hope to write it all down.  Not sure where this testimony belongs, but we are so grateful for everything He is doing in our family, in our marriage, and for the Bride of Jesus Christ.  To God be the glory!

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