Homeschool Coffee Break: Homeschool Mother's Journal: In Which We Return from Vacation

In our homeschool this week... nothing! Because we were on vacation, and even though the kids have a few things they are working on, I didn't make them bring books along. I knew that would be completely pointless. But Landon and Kennady did keep up with logging their reading time for the library's Summer Reading Program.

In other news... the last week of June, we sent Harrison and Spencer off to Creation with a group from church. That was Wednesday morning - early. I'm not a fan of "early". Then on Thursday afternoon, the rest of us headed to Ontario to spend the July long weekend with family. We celebrated Canada Day with a family birthday party for Kennady, followed by a trip to the city's park for the concert and fireworks.

During the weekend, we visited with family and friends, and on Sunday we went mini-golfing and paid a short visit to Port Dover. The beach was really crowded (no surprise there!) as were the restaurants, so we decided it probably wasn't worth staying for dinner. We had noticed a BBQ battle type set-up, so just before heading back to our vehicle, we stopped in to see about getting some pulled pork to take home. Jackpot!! They were just closing up for the day, so when I ordered a pound of pulled pork to go, they asked me if I'd like them to throw in some of their sausages as well. I thought they would make up the pound of pork with a couple sausages and the remainder pork, but they wound up giving me ALL their smoked sausage (as in TEN quarter-pounders) and all the remaining pork which was definitely more than a pound as well! Plus some sides as they had a bit of coleslaw and baked beans. All for the original asking price for the pound of pulled pork! o-O I gave a sizeable tip in appreciation! LOL And it was delicious, by the way!

Monday, July 4th, we returned stateside, and checked into a hotel not far from Niagara Falls, NY. After dinner, we headed into town and looked at the falls from all possible angles and stayed for fireworks.

On the 5th, it was time to go home again, just long enough to do the laundry and pack up again so we could head to Kingsfest at Kings Dominion in Virginia the next day! This time Spencer came with us and we left Harrison home to hold down the fort.

Let me tell ya, it is hot and humid in Virginia in July! We had a wonderful time at the park enjoying all the rides - well, I refused to enjoy the ferris wheel or anything like it - especially now that Kennady is tall enough to go on all but the most extreme roller coasters. And we loved the concerts in the late afternoons and evenings. Highlights included: Skillet, Switchfoot, David Crowder Band, Newsboys, R3D, Family Force 5... We had one evening where it
~~rained~~poured and we cut short our stay a bit. But other than that all went well.

We arrived back home on Sunday afternoon and have spent all of this week trying to get ourselves back together. And unfortunately, the kids have all come down with colds and sniffles to one degree or another. This weekend DH is playing in a hockey tournament, so it will be busy!

My favorite thing this week was... Kennady got a cake decorating kit for her birthday and she practiced with it this week. Yum!!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

: Niagara Falls at night

On the Bookshelf...

Deep Church by Jim Belcher

Eco-Chic Home by Emily Anderson

The Bell Messenger by Bob Cornuke

Mr Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton

Since my last Journal I have finished Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs, The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn, Healer by Linda Windsor, and Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken.

A Parting Shot...