Family Traditions

I guess I have been taking pictures mostly of the kids faces and not too much of what we have been doing! We have been swimming with our friends a few times in the past week but I can't keep an eye on everyone and take pictures so there are no pictures :(

We haven't really had too many guests since everyone has been ill. Good news, Luke (aka Pookie) is feeling much better and the stomach virus seems to have subsided today. It will take another day to make sure he really is fine. Today our cousin Danielle arrives from Michigan to visit for the 4th of July! Good news, there will be no burn ban this year so we can set off fireworks @ our house! The Forestry Service determines whether or not a burn ban is needed based on a dryness scale and each county reserves the right to put a burn ban in place even if the Forestry Service does not issue a burn ban-our county just announced we will have fireworks this year! In case you can't tell I am excited. We haven't had fireworks in a few years thanks to that dryness scale!

So we are almost ready to go meet Danielle who has agreed to do some letterboxing with me. We are going to eat @ the restaurant that serves "the best hamburgers in Texas." Then letterbox and maybe head to the tattoo shop. (The kids won't be along for the tattoos.)

I will take the camera and maybe get some shots of the tattoos!

Time

Who has time to write in a blog everyday? I am trying to post all my pix to the web...still making me crazy. The only time I can get anything done is in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep! Once you see the pix you will know why!

I am trying to get ready for Christmas. I have compiled an approved toy list for the relatives @ Amazon.com. I have posted a ton of outside play toys as well as a selection of wooden toys. Dom did get the girls both a Nintendo DS...I think that is what they are. I know we will all log sometime on them! I am so trying to get rid of all the plastic (toys mostly) around here. We have new sippy cups (no phthalates) no more plastic plates and I am trying to convince the family to give up the microwave and eat more fresh food. This is an ordeal in itself.

As for the unschooling life, I love it. We are still in search of a tutor for Mady's math but for the most part we are just reading and hanging out with our friends in new environments as often as possible. Since we have taken up letterboxing I think this new hobby will get us out of our comfort zone more often as well. I am trying to locate letterboxing events around the state.

One thing I didn't realize on our first letterboxing adventure was how serious some of the "planters" are about this hobby. I was under the impression that many people participated and a considerable portion of the participants were children. Research, research, research. This is what I get for relying on second hand information. Come to find out some people do not appreciate children hunting for the boxes, even though a great many planters are children...? Anyway, we have discovered the best thing to do when one is new is to read, read, read and try to seem informed and then ask questions. There appear to be no real rules to this hobby, you are just suppose to be considerate. You know, the golden rule. When I did log on to one of the Yahoo groups we joined to get some more information I was met with hostile answers. I thought the point of this hobby was to enjoy nature and collect individuals' unique stamps from letterboxers far and wide. Some people don't want a bunch of people from a group stamping 6 stamps in the logbook. No rules, but this etiquette should be logged somewhere for newbies instead of having to be harassed. I don't know, does the internet really help?

Once more off to try to add photos to the web. Wish me luck!

New Hobby: Letterboxing

OMG! Our unschooling group decided we wanted to try letterboxing, so we went on our first letterbox quest today. We all had a blast! We searched for 3 boxes in Keller and located all 3. We then went on to stamp in the hidden book and place the letterbox stamps in our notebooks. I think this will be an awesome way to learn about our state history without cracking a textbook! Many of the letterboxes are planted by historical markers and in beautiful parks.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely, so immensely in fact, we have decided to recruit my sister and Aunt Julie to go with us this weekend to locate boxes in Fort Worth. Today we used some stamps that Sarah had laying around her house. Tomorrow we are planning on trying to carve our own stamps. That will be an adventure in itself!

We have another busy week ahead. I do plan on spending sometime soon trying to load more pix on the web. I discovered it takes a great deal more time to upload pix than these sites suggest. I think the entire world must try to upload pix @ the same time...ah, frustrating.

In other family news, Dom has decided the kids need to do formal math. I am trying to rescue Mady (she is the only one old enough to be subjected to this currently,) by telling Dom that we can help her memorize the multiplication and division facts up to the 12's (she does know how the process of each works) and then we can send her to an Algebra tutor. For me, that is acceptable and Mady has agreed.

Also, everyone keeps asking what I would like for Christmas. I told Dom I want a zip line to fly through the air on, I think he thinks I am more crazy than he originally thought! If you have no intention of giving a person what they ask for, why ask? Oh well, I just want some more fun stuff to do with the kids!

I think we walked 5 miles today. I am so tired-off to bed!