Homeschool Convention!

I just got back from the homeschool convention and boy am I pumped! A homeschool convention is an overwhelming mix of things you love, things you hate, things you didn't know existed but now realize you need, things you wish you could afford, etc. etc. etc. I could have bought so much stuff if it weren't for money! I ordered my math and language arts from Abeka, except for Ben's math because I'm switching him to Teaching Textbooks for high school. I checked out all the Apologia science programs because I'm planning to use those for high school also. I bought a few history books for supplements. I purchased "The Answers Book" from Answers in Genesis because it goes along with the video series we have on Creation vs. Evolution. I shuddered as I walked by the "Drivers Ed In A Box" booth because I realized I may actually be purchasing that in another year.

I bought an Airzooka:

Which, frankly, has been a very popular purchase at home.

I ran into almost everyone from my homeschool group. We all talked incessantly about everything we had seen and why we were using what. We attended seminars and compared notes. It's a great time to learn about new ideas and materials and services available to us today. It's overwhelming to the newbies, they think they need everything and stop at every booth. I sail by most booths and zero in on what I know I need and then spend some time looking at the new stuff.

My only other unplanned purchase (besides the Airzooka) was a tee-shirt for each of my kids. Katie's says simply, "Homeschool Girl". Ben's and Emily's each says, "Warning: Unsocialized Homeschooler. Proceed with conversation at your own risk" I love that!

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Ben's Feet

Ben went camping with his youth group this weekend. He said it was the best weekend he's had since we've been in Hawaii, and possibly in his entire life. The one negative part was that he stepped on some coral out in the water and cut his feet up pretty good. He swears it was all dead coral - you shouldn't touch live coral, much less walk on it because it damages the coral. No one ever mentions that it also damages your feet. They just tell you not to damage the coral. Also, coral is a living organism . If you step on live coral and a tiny piece breaks off in the cut, it will continue to grow. Did you see the movie Alien ? If some creature incubates in Ben's feet, then breaks out and eats us all one night, I'm going to be quite miffed. (Make sure you read the inscription on his tee shirt in this picture. It's quite appropriate.)

Mammogram

I'm having my annual mammogram today. I always hear about how painful they are, but honestly, I've never thought they are that bad. Not the most comfortable, but not painful either. Every time I have a mammogram, I'm reminded of this story. It won the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition and I still get a kick out of it every time I read it. So I'm posting it here today for your reading pleasure: Erma Bombeck Writing Competition 1st place in Humor Category Winner Leigh Anne Jasheway of Eugene, Oregon "The First Time's Always the Worst" The first mammogram is the worst. Especially when the machine catches on fire. That's what happened to me. The technician, Gail, positioned me exactly as she wanted me (think a really complicated game of Twister - right hand on the blue, left shoulder on the yellow, right breast as far away as humanly possible from the rest of your body). Then she clamped the machine down so tight, I think my breast actually turned inside o...

Japanese Fishing Shrine

Here's an interesting little spot we stopped to see. I'd passed this many times before and had never stopped to see what it was. Since GG and Sherry were here, we decided to check it out. There is a shrine of some sort with a statue and a carved rock. There was no information on sight as to what it is that I could find. There were flowers, food and incense left around the base of the shrine. There was a ceramic statue and a rock with a figure carved into it. None of the food was old or rotting (although plenty of it had clearly been pecked by birds) and the flowers were all fresh which made me think it must be cleaned and cared for on a regular basis. After we got home, I did some research and found this article about it from the Hawaii Star Bulletin, our local newspaper (I have edited out some bits, but otherwise the article is unchanged): "Maintenance" of the monument has been assumed by a group of Vietnamese Buddhists - Shingon Shu Hawaii, the Buddhist temple th...

Mama On The Move

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