August 2017

August started on a sad note.  Two more young deaths occurred in my family, second cousins of mine.  The brothers, ages 11 and 17, drowned in a river.  Many hearts were touched by the tragedy.  I spent a lot of time praying for their family, and we hosted relatives who traveled to attend the funeral.

Yellow balloons were released in memory of the youngest.  They shared a story about how he had commented they must be having a party underground whenever he saw balloons in the cemetery as they drove past.

We will continue to pray for the grieving loved ones they left behind.

A week and a half later, Kylen took hunter's ed as part of occupational education.

It was a long week, but I think he's glad he did it.  We celebrated completion of the class by taking him out for dinner.  I posted more pictures here.

The solar eclipse was a big event!  We wanted to drive to where we could see it at 100%, but Greg couldn't spare the vacation time.  Plus, we were going on a long drive just a week later for a wedding reception.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of getting stuck in traffic if a lot of other folks had the same idea.  In the end, we watched it from our driveway.  90% eclipsed wasn't as cool as the real deal, but Greg was super excited.  I enjoyed it, and Kylen thought it was neat but couldn't understand the fuss.  Lol.  He's never been a science fan.

Here's a picture Greg got through the solar glasses.

It darkened quite a bit, although it didn't get dark enough to see stars.  The lighting was eerie, like just before a huge storm.  Here's a before and after pic on the porch.

Probably the most dramatic change was the temperature drop.  It went from feeling comfortable to downright chilly!

You can see our neighbors watched from their driveway too.  After it was over, Greg rushed off to work.  I hope someday we get to see one at 100%, but if not . . . it won't compare to the glories of heaven!

The full post about our quick trip to Montana is here.  Pictured below: my cousin Melody with her brother and new sister-in-law.

We had such a nice time hanging out with family the next day, we were reluctant to come home!

That was August, a mixed month of sad times and happy times.  Oh!  I almost forgot!  Kylen got cast as Willy Wonka!!  Performances will be in mid-October.  We can't wait!

June 2017

June was busy for a summer month, but it seems that as Kylen has gotten older, our summers have gotten busier.  He finished some subjects in late May but needed to continue others into June and opted to do math throughout the summer rather than buckling down and finishing.  Even though we are fairly strict about staying on track, it has always been a challenge to complete all subjects by summer when we often have only four school days/week instead of the traditional five.  The fifth day has been used for co-op attendance and other activities.  It's been worth it, but it's resulted in doing some schooling through the summer.

The play Kylen and Greg were cast in kept them busy multiple evenings each week, plus basketball one evening when possible.  Kylen also started voice lessons, which I am very happy about!  I've been encouraging him to take voice for several years, because I figured it would come in handy with his interest in music and ministry.  After a year of theater, he realized the value of it!  His instructor is an incredible teacher, and Kylen has noticed great improvement in a short time.

On June 2nd, we got a new niece!  She had a rough start, but when my brother and his wife finally took her home, they also took an incredible testimony.  This picture shows one of the many ways God showed His Hand at work.  The picture on the wall in her room?  Her name is Daisy!

Another graduation!

We attended our co-op's year end party.  Since we haven't been sure whether we'll return in the fall, they honored me with a certificate and gift for my service.  This is where I've put most of my volunteer time the past 10 years, between teaching, serving on the board, and leading in various capacities.  At times it felt like a full time job, because I poured everything I had into it.  This is where we met some of our closest friends, and this is the group of people who have impacted our homeschool journey the most.  The last few years, I've slowly moved toward "retirement" - handing off extra jobs and not taking on new ones.  In a lot of ways, my experience here was similar to being plugged into a church.  I got to know people, learned from them, worked through conflicts, and tried to make it the best place possible for our kids.

We enjoyed a dessert outing with friends.  :)

Here is company trying our Chewbacca mask! (And he wore it quite well, I might add!)

Something shocking and sad happened.  A relative who had just graduated from college, healthy and in the prime of life, was killed with her fiance in a car accident.  They lost control during adverse weather conditions, skidded across the highway, and hit a semi head on.  Both were killed instantly.  I never got to meet her fiance, but she was one of the happiest people I have ever known.  I had just seen her a few weeks prior at her sister's wedding reception, which made it all the more shocking.

You will be missed, sweet Debbie!

I posted about Father's Day here.

Kylen and I had another mother/son lunch outing.  This is a place called The Well Coffeehouse.  It's a cute place, and they specialize in healthy food, which I appreciate.  The problem is that they chop their veggies so large, Kylen and I didn't enjoy the sandwiches we tried nearly as much as we could have.  The ingredients are fresh, but it would be nice to get a bite of veggie, meat, and sauce together instead of just cucumber or tomato or sprouts.  We also did not care for the healthy drinks we tried.  I have a few healthy drink recipes that we love, so I know it's possible to make them taste good!

Kylen waiting for me to get back to the table.

I had a fantastic lunch with a friend at Beverly's in CDA.  When Greg and I ate dinner there 10 years ago, we didn't think the food was worth the price.  But my friend had been there for lunch and liked it.  In fact, it was one of the best healthy lunches I've had at a restaurant.  This was the "British Columbia Salmon Skewers" with jasmine rice, soy glazed broccolini, and hoisin-ginger vinaigrette.  They came by with a selection of warm bread/rolls to choose from, and we also shared a cute pot of coffee with all the fixin's.  Oh!  And their Caesar salad was excellent!!!

I will be doing a separate post about Greg and Kylen's awesome experience with Liberty Lake Theater.  It was a big part of June, but it didn't end until mid-July.  :)