Awesome Friday!

Boy did we have an awesome day yesterday! I didn't think we would have such a smooth ride for a Friday but it sure ended up well.

Chili (our little beagle mix dog) caught at rabbit in the back yard and quickly brought it in the house first thing in the morning. It was squealing and I told her to drop it and she did. It made a bee line for the sliding glass door which was closed and knocked itself senseless on the glass. I picked up away from the dogs and took it outside. The cat followed in the hopes that he could play with it too. It came around but was very still and had a bloody nose. I thought he might make it but then he kicked a couple times and went limp. Dead. So sad sweet little bunny. The dogs and the cat were adamant about playing with it, so I put it on the front porch until the boys brought the trash cans up from the road later. An hour later, when the boys went to get the trash cans, it was gone! I have no idea what became of it. If Chili got out of the back yard (which she often does) she would have played with it and brought it in the house. The cat is about as big as the rabbit, so he would not have been able to drag it very far and we would have seen it. It was definitely dead, so it did not wake up and run off. So the only thing I could think is that a coyote came up and got it but that would be one very brave coyote and I was in the kitchen most of the time and I think I would have seen a coyote walk up to the front porch. Weird. We think it is now and UNdead bunny and plotting revenge. Ahh!!!

Dan was supposed to drop off Nikki in town so she could go with her mother at 11AM. He ended up with drama at work and couldn't leave so I offered to take her. But then I remembered that it was park day and I promised to bring cookies (which I had even made yet). I put the cookies in the oven, washed the dishes while they baked, got my stuff for park day together and we were ready to go. And I didn't have an anxiety attack attempting it!

We got the mail on the way into town. I was hoping there was a slip for a box since I ordered some books last week and there was. Yay! Dropped off Nikki to her mother and went to the book store in town. Ever since we read "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch!" Tom has wanted to learn another language. I figured we'd go into town and see if the used book store had any foreign language dictionaries. It would be cool to have a few around the house in case we needed to look up words. We found the perfect Spanish one called "Look and Learn Spanish". It teaches you vocabulary and grammar at the same time with pictures and sentences. Tom spent an hour at the park learning several useful phrases. They didn't have any other languages with that book, but I found some online that I've added to my wishlist.

After the book store, we stopped at the post office for my box. I ordered "Anne of Green Gables" and "Pride and Prejudice" for my Classic Moms class. I also got a "Soma Cube" puzzle. I read about that in that John Holt book. At the park, we spent a lot of time trying to put it back together. One of the girls at the park built other things with it. It's a very cool toy.


Before




After



Park day was great. We stayed until 4:30! Park day is what saves homeschooling parents from insanity. I love my Friday because it is the time I get to sit and talk to my friends. The kids are starting to love park days again. They have made some friends and spend the whole day warring against each other with swords, or making up games to play on the swings. Yesterday Jake and Tom sat on the top of the playground and sang the whole Yellow Submarine album to the other kids.

We ran into some Mormon Missionaries on the way to the truck and that ended up in an awesome theology discussion on the way home. They were really nice guys.

When we got home, Dad agreed that the evening needed burgers so we went down for a batch of Tom's Place burgers, fries, and shakes to-go.

Ended the evening with the season premiere of "Gold Rush" and hit the hay. Good times!

Tom Woods Got Me Thinking

I didn't mean to, but I spent 45 minutes this morning listening to Tom Woods speak. I've read a few of his books and follow his Facebook page. I'm a big fan of his work, but I've never heard him speak before. He was talking to his local Libertarian group and even if you don't swing that way you should listen to this video. He spoke a bit about getting your voice out there an it really got me thinking about putting my thoughts together. Not to convince anyone that reads my blog of my views but to clarify my views for myself. He mentions having a YouTube channel. Even if no one watches what you put out there, you have spent the time putting ideas together and you've practiced speaking your views out loud. The same with a blog. I don't think Facebook status would count though. One or two lines about your feelings isn't going to get you anywhere. But sitting down with yourself, writing out your ideas, and attempting to present them to others has a great benefit to a person. This jibes with the Thomas Jefferson Education ideas that I've been rolling around in my head for years as well.

So the final thought here, since my son just came in looking for breakfast, is that you might be hearing more philosophy from me here but don't think I'm trying to convince you to think my way. I'm arranging thoughts in an "out loud" way so that they make more sense to me. I'd love to hear people's thoughts about what I'm writing though. I'm still learning debate and I love discussion!

Letterbox at Big Morongo

This shall be the late summer picture of this tree. We're going to go back in a couple weeks and take another picture. We went to a quick walk at the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to look for the Letterbox we left there in the spring. Unfortunately, it has gone missing. We have to replace it. It was a nice walk though. There were clouds and it looked like it might rain and by the time we left it was! Tom cracks me up. He wants to come back another time so that he can sit still and wait for critters. We had fun stopping and waiting whenever he hear something rustle.

This sign was fun! Ever since we read "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", we've been interested in languages and how they are different. We figured out most of these. It was fun to notice the languages that are really similar and really different.



We're Back!

That was a nice weekend! Old Dale is one of our favorite places and we've been going there for years. Dan used to go there with his Dad and brothers. This time we were out there for two nights. Highlights?

No one has found our Letterbox at our "monument" on the hill out there. It's been summer though, so that's pretty typical. No one hikes out there in the summer. We have a running conversation with one man that comes out there fairly regular. The last time he was there he said he was going to Afghanistan.

We found the Geocache that we stumbled across last spring. We left a bird whistle and some .22 bullets in it.

We played a lot of Mad Libs, which is always fun. It's actually pretty hard to think of completely random words, so many of our end up having desert, gun, and camping words in them.

The boys sat and listened to Dad read a book about the history of paper money for over an hour. Crazy.

We watched the stars move across the sky and talked about the moon.

We played with fire.

We had several skeet shooting competitions. Dad ultimately won with 4 hits in row. Tom held second place with three. I had two. I did start to get the hang of it though. Jake likes the shotgun now that he is getting a little bigger and able to hold it better. He's also starting to better thrower as well.

I got to play with the new Glock a bit and actually hit targets that I aimed at. It got much easier when I began to relax and be stressed about the sound, recoil, or dropping it. Practice makes for a relaxed shooter, for sure. I can load it and shoot it without worrying too much about doing something wrong.

Jake thought of a funny joke. "If a duckling is a baby duck, what is a dumpling?" We will giggle about that whenever we hear those words again!

Tom continues to be an amazing shot. I'm always in awe about how confident he is about the guns and how to use them. Next to Dad, he is the most knowledgeable and ready to help when Jake and I have a problem.

Nikki didn't go with us this time because shooting is death by boredom to her, so she chose to stay home and hang out with Grandma. They did some practice driving while we were gone.

It was a much needed weekend together and I always love being out there, but now I REALLY want to go on a long trip in the RV!

Good Morning Old Dale!

This has to be our most favorite camping spot in the world. Man I love mornings here!

Boondocker Coffee Pot

First use of the drip coffee maker!

We love this thing! It isn't a percolator, it's drip coffee without electricity. Heat up the water, pour it in the top, drips through the grounds and viola! Grandma and Grandpa B brought it to us and little did they know how wonderful it would be for us. Good coffee while camping, just can't be beat!

Two Books Finished

Last night, I finished reading "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham to the boys. I read it for my Classics Mom class and thought I just had to read it to the boys. It's such a great story. They loved it! What I like about the book is that it describes and explains a lot of sailing terms, not so much that it's annoying and can't enjoy the story, but enough so you understand what's happening even if you don't know that much about boats. It also mentions historical dates and events in enough detail to think "Oh! That's when this story is!". I love that the boys have to run out to the dining room table and find all the places that Mr. Bowditch sailed to and figure out how long it took them to get there and back. Tom was fascinated that the guy could learn languages with a dictionary of the language and a Bible. I'm thinking we may need a few Foreign Language to English dictionaries around this house.

The book I finished yesterday was "How Children Learn" by John Holt. I've read a couple of his other books and just love them. I was excited to have this on my reading list for my Classic Mom class too. This is what I got out of this book.

Trust and Love are key elements in raising children. I don't say "educating children" even though his books are an attempt to change the education system we have. The last chapter in this one gives me the sense that he felt he failed that attempt and in some cases made it worse in that people took his ideas and applied them in ways that he never dreamed possible, without the trust and love.

We need to trust, have faith, that children are naturally curious about the world around them. They do see what the world is doing and attempt to do the same. They will correct mistakes when they see them and they will find those mistakes on their own, in their own time.

We need to love them for what they are and what they are trying to become, not what we believe they should or could be.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone, whether you are a parent or not, homeschooling or not. It's just a wonderfully inspiring book that will make you look at all children in a way that makes them much more fun.

Here's my favorite part at the end.

"All that energy and foolishness, all that curiosity, questions, talk, all those fierce passions, inconsolable sorrows, immoderate joys, seem to many a nuisance to be endured, if not a disease to be cured. To me they are a national asset, a treasure beyond price, more necessary to our health and our very survival than any oil or uranium or - name what you will." John Holt - "How Children Learn"

Picnic!

We drove to Whitewater Preserve for a picnic with Grandpa and Grandma B this afternoon. It was a perfect day for it too. We walked up the trails a bit and played in the river. It was hot enough to enjoy being wet but not too hot to hike. I love that place! We planted a new Letterbox there. Go check it out. It's at http://www.atlasquest.com/!

A Gorgeous Morning!

Had to share the greatness of such a beautiful morning! My chickens are ready for breakfast!

Birthday Party!

I'm not sure why, but this picture of my precious son made me tear up. Maybe because he looks so big or the smile he has on his face. It's typical Tom, though, and it was just magical that I captured it by accident. He's surrounded by his family and that means so much to him. The day after the party he was "sad" (a usual evening occurrence at our house) because he "didn't know our family". He likes hearing stories about other aunts and uncles and the crazy things that happened to us as kids. He said he loves parties because he gets to see his extended family but he doesn't get to spend time with them and really know them because we don't have them often enough. It must be hard living with all that brain! :)

Tom shared his birthday party with his cousins Carson and TJ this year. It was a blast, seriously! Between all the kids and crazy family, we had the quad and the go-kart going all over the property. It was a perfect day weather-wise, not to hot, not to cold. The whole family seemed to be enjoying each other. I got to spend some quiet time with my cousin and her family, which was very special. And I love being able to see many of my friends and family getting to know each other. There were several family members missing (you know who you are) and they were sorely missed and should make more effort to join us.

Tom is realizing that little kids get a lot more toys than big kids but that's ok because he got money. He's saving up for a dirt bike. His favorite uncle got him a replica Russian "Potato Masher"! That, and several new orange shirts made him very happy. Cousin Mike pinned them in Grandma's house after dark and there was much screaming and running back to the house under airsoft gunfire. Our chickens and their eggs were a big hit with the little ones. Grandma and Grandpa B brought Trick or Treats and glow sticks which were much needed that evening. And my Mom got to spend the night in our "guest house", otherwise known as the RV. We stayed up late at the campfire in the back yard watching the stars until the nearly full moon came out and chased them away.

It was a great day!

Who Do I Want to Become

I'm writing this for my Classic Moms class at Abigail Adams Academy and it's a tough one.


I made the mistake of reading other people's papers before writing mine. They are all so good. Insightful is the word I'm thinking of, and inspiring. Coincidentally, that is what I hope to become! I already know who I am and that that person will evolve and grow as I get older, hopefully in a positive way. But my hope, and what I'm working towards with this class and my other studies, is that I will become more insightful in my life and inspiring to others that know me.

But just now I thought, “Who am I right now?”

Michelle Ann Huelle and that name stands for a unique person that is a combination of “what's”.

To others I am a daughter, grand-daughter, cousin, aunt, mom, wife, and a multitude of other family names. I've been an employee and a boss.

I'm a woman, an American, and a Californian. I'm a person who tries to know more about the world around herself.

In the past, I've been a student, painter, stage-hand, lighting designer, set-designer, college student, laser technician, sales clerk, electronics technician, sound board operator, and scheduler. I've also been a girlfriend, and EX, and someones love interest. I've been someones little girl and the love of someones life.

My life is centered on being wife and mother right now, with the added excitement of autodidact at this time. I'm the house cleaner, cook, and therapist. I'm the one who kisses bruises and holds hands with sick kids. I'm a teacher and helper to my kids. I'm the friend and lover of my husband.

What do I want to become? A mentor, a mother-in-law, and some day a grandma. I want to become a scholar. I want to be joyful in everything I do and I want to be someone that people can see the love of God in.
 
And, by the way, the Cactus Wrens are very busy collecting nesting material outside my window. It's very distracting when I'm trying to be creative. :))

Started St. Augustine's Confessions

This is the next reading in "The Great Books" series and it's pretty hard reading for me, a lot of thee's and thou's. But I'm reading slowly and getting what I can.

The first part really spoke to my heart yesterday. "For who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee?" There was more that spoke to this but he says anyone can call of God because we are a part of Him and our soul reaches out for Him without ever hearing of Him from human mouths.

"Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety..." He goes on and on with this. God asks for our love but does not need it. God is everywhere and can tell the world about Himself, He does not need humans but wants us. Why do we, as a people, continue to make fake false gods and religions? Or try to put Him into a form He is not? No one thing can hold Him. He is so much more than one book, people, or church.

The part I read today was fun. He talks about when he was an infant, but he says really he is describing other infants that he has seen, since he can't remember his own infancy.