Fireworks!

Yesterday was a jam packed day. I took the kids to horseback riding camp, dropped off the paperwork at our local school district that must be turned in once a year for homeschooling, mowed most of the lawn, had a doctor appointment, finished mowing the lawn, made our reservations for Williamsburg in September, picked the kids up from horseback riding camp, bought dinner for the kids at Wendy's (total was less than $7), took them to tennis lessons, and then took them to church for the Freedom Fest. Let me say I am so grateful for Interval International because booking a three bedroom unit (plus 3 bathrooms, kitchen, etc.) for seven nights cost us $289 total, which is FAR less than what we paid through Airbnb for our lodging in San Diego. And having just spent one night at an Econo Lodge (Nadia was on the floor and the other four of us shared the two queen size beds in the room), I am also very grateful we're not staying at a hotel or motel. I greatly prefer resorts because we have a kitchen, many amenities on site, multiple bedrooms, etc. at a very affordable price.

Paul got home from work after 9pm on Monday night, but he purposefully got home earlier yesterday so he could join us at our church's Freedom Fest event. We arrived at the church at 6:30, and he got there at 7:00. We enjoyed some ice cream, Nadia and Paul had some pulled pork, and the kids enjoyed three inflatables. Around 7:45 the kids and Paul decided to play corn hole. I was bushed and decided to go home in Paul's car. This was a bit ironic because #1 Paul is not a fan of fireworks and I love them and #2 Paul left for work around 4:30AM today whereas I didn't get up until a little after 6:00AM. Knowing that the kids and I will be with my Aunt in New York next week was what motivated him to make this event a priority. I went to bed a little after 8:00. I woke up when they came back home a little after 10PM, but I just went back to sleep. I haven't been needing to wake the kids up, but this morning I did. They were tired due to staying up later than usual last night.

The kids are enjoying horseback riding camp. Nadia has been riding a horse named Noel. Oliver rides Clyde the 30+ year old pony. Ian has ridden two different horses this week - one of which was also Noel. There are many different animals at this farm - cats, free range chickens, miniature horses, horses, ponies, alpacas, turkeys, etc. In addition to riding horses the do crafts, swim in the pool, play in the pond, etc. The weather the past two days was perfect. Today it's been raining on and off. That might mean no trail rides today, but she does have an indoor and an outdoor riding arena so they can ride indoors if necessary. Once a week they decorate a few horses, and today was the day for that activity. They can use bows, nail polish, makeup, etc. One downside to the camp versus lessons is I can't take any pictures. I remember in the past she gave each child one 4x6 print of a picture of them riding a horse. So I should receive one picture by Friday. Today we will just be heading home at the end of camp and staying there, for which I am grateful!

I could sign the kids up for four more weeks of free tennis lessons, but I'm not going to do so in light of the driving involved. They have three lessons left, and I think that will be plenty for us this summer. One of the next times they have a tennis lesson, I want to stop at the university and pick up some things from my office. When I was first offered a job for next year, I was told I'd be teaching two math classes from 8:00-10:45 T/Th and also have ten student teachers. I knew that one professor had officially retired, but I hadn't heard if another one had yet. I emailed my department chair this morning, and it turns out he also has officially retired because she asked if I wanted to teach any of his classes. I called Paul to discuss the options, and we chose 5 student teachers plus an Assessment class I have taught before (and really enjoyed teaching) from 3:30-4:45 on T/Th. I could have taken two sections of that class, but the other section was M/W in the middle of the day. Paul is hoping that many of my student teaching visits can be sometime between 10:45-3:00. I usually

visit my student teachers every other week so if I see 2-3 each week that should work out. I will most likely be in my office more than 5 hours a week (5 hours is the minimum), but I'm hoping that means I will have less grading and such to do when I'm at home. So this means that most of the time Paul will work at the plant on MWF and Saturdays and stay at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He'll homeschool the kids those two days, and I'll homeschool them on MWF. One reason I was trying to keep a T/Th schedule was so we could take some long weekends such as a trip to Williamsburg. One thing on my to do list today is the math syllabus. That will take less time than the preparation for the Assessment class, as I just taught the math one this past semester, and the last time I taught the assessment class was the summer of 2012. I am trying to decide if I want to take one personal day in the fall semester. Most of the years I taught I never took any personal days, but if I took one personal day in September then I could extend how many days I could stay in Williamsburg from four nights to six nights. I am trying to decide now so I can plan an alternative activity for my students on the day I would be using a personal day. Paul, the kids, and his parents could stay all seven nights, if they wanted to.