Four more weeks

As of today there are exactly four weeks left of summer break as August 27 will be the first day of 1st/3rd/5th grade for my three kids and the first day of my fall semester at BU. Now technically I have been counting some days this summer toward the 180 day requirement (such as history camp today at the Taber Museum), but as far as doing spelling, math, science, etc. we won't get back into gear until August 27. Some weeks the kids haven't been having any turns on the electronics because they've been too busy with other activities, but last week when Nadia was at camp Ian was definitely wanting to earn his turns on the Wii or iPad. He hasn't read very much this summer. He has been either doing Spanish via the Duolingo app on the iPad, practicing the piano, or practicing the recorder. If he wants a third turn on a given day (each turn is 20 minutes long), then to earn a third turn (the maximum possible) he has to write. Last week he was writing a story about a very bad sister. He got the idea from the book The Very Bad Bunny.

I was looking at our summer bucket list, and I removed a few items that aren't going to actually happen this year such as picking fruit. We have picked strawberries and blueberries the past few years, and I keep intending to also pick raspberries, but in reality we didn't pick any fruit this summer. Hopefully next summer I'll have my spark back and we can accomplish that. The strawberry plants I planted in 2017 didn't come back this year. Some how one of our two blueberry bushes was hacked down to almost nothing. Our other blueberry bush did have blueberries, but some animal got to them before we ate any of them. I didn't realize that cherry tomato plants would come back, but they did. We should have ripe cherry tomatoes and apples in a few weeks. Paul cut the apple tree back a few months ago, so hopefully there will be a more manageable amount of apples this year. I think that *most* of the items on our list highlighted in yellow (meaning we haven't done them yet) will happen over the next four weeks. The three that might be scratched off the list are Oliver learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, Oliver finishing Level One of reading, and me getting back in the habit of exercising regularly. We have about 30 items left to accomplish. Today Oliver did learn how to travel across monkey bars - a first for him (and not something that had been on the list). A man came to measure Ian's room for carpet today which put us closer to accomplishing one more thing on the list. I was leaning toward a far more neutral carpet (which would also be $75 cheaper), but in the end I let Ian pick the color he really wanted - dark green. I know how much I like the navy blue carpet in the master bedroom and Nadia really loves her purple carpet. It's been a little over a year since we replaced any flooring in the house. Doing Ian's carpet had been on my to do list for quite awhile. I am glad to scratch that off! I hope he loves it! I'll be happy to be rid of the vomit stains that have been on his carpet for years.

In previous years I would need to find something for Ian and Oliver or just Oliver to do while Nadia was in art camp, theater camp, Camp Good News, etc. This year one of the reasons I didn't sign any of them up for art camp was because Oliver wasn't allowed to do it. Nadia did Adventure Camp at BU for five days while Ian was at Camp Susque for three days, but other than that the kids have been doing things together this summer. They all did the 5 day horseback riding camp, the one day history camp, and Camp Good News together. Next week the boys will have Good News Camp (a different one) while she is at her first week of theater camp. This week Nadia and Ian have history camp from 9-12. Today Oliver and I exchanged our vouchers for tickets for the baseball game and then he played on a playground outside until the Treasure Castle Playland opened at 10am. We spent almost two hours there. He had a blast! I plan to take Ian and Oliver there two weeks from today while Nadia is at theater camp. It's cheaper on Mondays although I ruined part of the discount because I forgot to bring him a pair of socks and had to buy a pair for $1.

My to do list is also shrinking. I now have access to BOLT so today I got two of my four fall courses set up there. I've been doing more detailed planning for the year as far as homeschooling than I ever have before. Yesterday I finished my social studies plans, which include more than 200 books. Paul is glad we are devoting four weeks to the Revolutionary War. I've also put a lot of time into planning our field trips for the year. I am sure more will be added as the year progresses, but here are the plans at the moment:
1. T&D Cats
2. Safety Day at Camp Susque - 9/6
3. Mary Poppins  - 9/8
4. Nature detectives at RB Winter - 9/11
5. Jamestown, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, and Yorktown - 9/13-19
6. Casting Crowns concert 9/23
7. Graeme Park and Da Vinci Science Center - 9/28
8. We the People program at FM Kirby Center - 10/4
9. Workshop at Home Depot and Superhero Saturday at the Children's Museum - 10/6
10. Books and bowling - 10/11, 11/8, and 12/13

11. Ephrata Cloister - 10/12
12. Mount Vernon - 10/15
13. Landis Valley Museum - October 25
14. Trip to DC in November (details TBD)
15. Corning glass museum - 12/1
16. Repasz concert - 12/11
17. Freedom train at FM Kirby Center - 1/28/19
18. Pottery studio at Camp Susque - 2/28, 3/14, and 3/28
19. Trip to NYC including Intrepid, Central Park, Natural History Museum, 911 Museum, NY transit museum, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Tenement Museum, Liberty Science Center - March 8-11
20. Laura Ingalls Wilder at FM Kirby Center - 3/12
21. BTE program at Bloomsburg Library - 3/16
22. Underneath a Magical Moon at Bucknell - 4/13
23. James and the Giant Peach at CTL - 1/13/19
24. Refreshing Mountain Adventure Center - 5/3
24. Erie Maritime Museum - 5/11
25. Aesop's fables at FM Kirby Center - 5/16
26. Reptiland - May 2019
27. Trip to Philadelphia area - Washington Crossing Historic Park, Pennsbury Manor, Lost River Caverns, Crayola Experience, Martin Guitar tour, Blue Angels Airshow, and Sky Zone trampoline park - May 22-25, 2019
28. Vacation June 2019 - Myrtle Beach, Fort Sumter, Luray Caverns, Montpelier, Monticello, Virginia Discovery Museum, USS North Carolina Battleship, Cape Fear Museum of History and Science

Survivor Camp

The theme of the week at Camp Susque this week was Survivor Camp. This was to include a mud crawl. Given the insane amount of rain we received from Saturday through Wednesday, I am sure there were plenty of options as to where to have the mud crawl at camp. I looked through the pictures and I have to say most of the girls looked a LOT muddier than Nadia does in this picture (actually most of the girls in this picture don't look that muddy. I am curious to hear if she did the mud crawl or not. she's not one to mind getting dirty so I didn't it would bother her, but maybe it did. I am thankful that it didn't rain the WHOLE week. They were able to go swimming, sleep outside, make the famous "Susque stew" that the girls make outside each year, etc. Tomorrow I will get to hear ALL about it! I am thankful that the camp posts pictures on Facebook. I will deactivate my account in the near future, but it has been appreciated this week! I have been emailing her, but I haven't heard from her at all. I gave her two stamped envelopes. We shall see if I receive a letter or not. We will pick her up tomorrow morning. I can't wait to give her a big hug and hear all about her week at camp! I know she'll want to return next summer for another week of camp. They have the girls divided into three different age groups, and next year she'll be in the middle group. The hawks (oldest group) get to do certain activities that the younger ones can't do (archery and riflery for example). We shall see if Ian decides to do a week of boys camp next year or not. Oliver is already excited about doing Adventure Camp next summer (the 3 night experience that Ian did this year and Nadia did in 2015).

The boys had been planning to spend the night at their grandparents' house last night and the day with them today, but I knew I didn't have the stamina to go ballroom dancing with Paul last night. Praying my energy will return to normal levels in the next four weeks!!! Paul took them down this morning (they live close to where Paul works) and will bring them back this evening. I have been getting some homeschool planning done (social studies) and my friend, Joyce, called me and we talked for over an hour. We have been friends for 22 years, but we don't see each other often or even talk that regularly because we live more than an hour apart. It's always a treat to talk to her though, and usually it's hard to talk to anyone on the phone when the kids are here (they are too loud!). It was heavenly to have a nice chat on the phone in a quiet house. Soon I'll be heading out to run a few errands - pick up free tickets for a baseball game in August, get some carpet samples for Ian's bedroom, return dvds to the library, etc. Then I'm going to meet my friend, Cheri, whom I haven't seen in 15 months (and she lives about 40 minutes from us) for dinner at 4:00, and we're eating at a Mexican restaurant I have never visited. I am going to two Mexican restaurants in one month! I sometimes go years without visiting one! Then we are going to a free concert that the Christian radio station is having at a church 20 minutes from my house. Cheri is only going to stay for a little bit of the concert as she doesn't drive when it's dark out, but we'll be together for part of the concert. I thought of doing some exterior painting today (or mowing the lawn but then remembered my allergies), but I decided just to do work on the computer. If the reason I am tired is because I pushed myself too hard for nine months, then hopefully taking it easy will help me rebound back to normal.

So basically it's win/win today! Nadia is at Camp Susque - one of her MOST favorite things to do all year (despite the zillions of mosquito bites she always comes home with). The boys are with Grandma and Pop Pop - one of their favorite places to be. And I get to do something with a friend, which is a very rare treat for me (maybe once a year and sometimes not even that often). I think we might be able to schedule one last day at Grandma's house for the kids towards the end of August. They will be in camps, swimming lessons, etc the next three weeks. Grandma and Pop Pop enjoy having the kids at their house, my kids love to visit them, and I love a day of peace and quiet. The boys would enjoy the concert, but considering they are with their grandparents I don't think they'll mind missing the concert.

Yesterday morning Micah (age 7) and Isaiah (age 5) came over to play for three hours. Oliver had all of these plans made - he wanted a dance party (his words) and water balloons for starters. Check to both of those. They also were on the trampoline and spinning seesaw and played inside some as well. Ian and Micah must weigh very similar weights because they were balanced perfectly on the seesaw. That is also a win/win situation as I really enjoy talking with their mother. We need to keep seizing these opportunities this summer before life gets too hectic again! One of my things I checked off the to do list today was calling to schedule the cable company to come out in early September to hook up our cable. We always do it right before the NFL season starts and then turn it off after our teams are done for the year. We start it a little earlier every four years for the summer Olympics and leave it on an extra month in the winter every four years for the winter Olympics, but the other months of the year we just watch things via Amazon Prime, Right now Media (our church provides that), or DVDs. Usually I get the cheapest cable package possible (which isn't actually cheap in my opinion), but this year I went up one notch so that the kids will get channels like Disney Junior that aren't included in the cheapest package. I saw how much they enjoyed those channels when we were at Aunt Janet's house and decided to splurge and pay for those channels for 3-4 months (length depends on how well the Giants and Steelers do this year). I usually don't watch any television aside from my Pittsburgh Steelers games, but I did watch a DVD recently from the library that I would recommend. If you haven't seen "I can only imagine" I would recommend that one!

Rain, rain, go away!

Ruth teaching 32 kids in K-2 on Sunday morning.

We have had a LOT of rain the last five days. Usually we don't hear anything from Camp Susque during the week of camp aside from seeing some pictures that they post on Facebook. This week we've received emails from the camp director and more detailed posts on FB because they realize some parents might be concerned about their daughters' safety. The camp is near Lycoming Creek, but thankfully the camp is on high ground and shouldn't be impacted by any flooding. Various roads have been closed in our county and neighboring counties. Thus far our sump pump is keeping our basement dry. Oliver donned his bathing suit and some boots and had fun jumping in very large puddles in our neighbor's back yard.  One of the neighbor boys was kayaking around that same "lake" this evening. Hopefully Nadia is having a good week despite the wet weather. The footwear she took included tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, and water shoes. I wish we had also packed her rain boots! Hopefully in future years I'll remember to check the weather forecast before we pack. I didn't do that, and if I had done so I'm pretty sure I would have had her wear rain boots when we took her to camp on Saturday. Tomorrow it's supposed

to be warmer (highs in the low 80s) and DRY. Knoebels and Hershey Park were closed on Monday, open on Tuesday, and both of them are closed again today. Our local Christian radio station has an event at Knoebels once each summer, and that was supposed to take place this Friday. Due to the flooding they've cancelled the concerts that were to take place from 2-6pm (local groups) but have relocated the national artists to a local church (6:30-9:30pm) on Friday. I'm planning to attend.

Nadia at a hymn sing at Camp Susque

Due to the rain I would have skipped the Kids' Café today, but I knew it was "Christmas in July" so we still went. They have been having the lunches this week in an indoor pavilion at the park. Today they had the place decked out - tablecloths, Christmas decorations, Christmas carols playing in the background, some adults wearing elf costumes, etc. They served the kids rolls, turkey, mashed potatoes, grapes, oranges, and home made cookies (chocolate chip, sugar cookies, and brownies). The craft today was making a birdseed feeder with a pinecone and peanut butter. The police department provided toys (games, coloring books, dolls, etc.) for the children. They were each allowed to pick two toys. They also each received a little bag that contained pencils, candy, bubbles, balls, etc. Friday is "water day." They could just send the kids outside without an umbrella, ha ha! 

Seven girls staying in Shawnee Tent with their counselor (Tia)

Yesterday I found out what my spring 2019 schedule will be at the university. I'll be teaching two math classes from 2:00-4:45 on Tuesdays/Thursdays (compared to 8:00-10:45 this fall) and an assessment class from 5-8pm on Tuesdays (compared to 3:30-4:45 T/Th this fall). I will also have five student teachers both semesters. I prefer the spring schedule to the one this fall as although I almost always get up sometime between 6-7am, I found out last fall that my first preference is not to be out the door before 7am. I noticed that someone else is teaching an online version of the assessment class in the spring. I taught it as an online course from 2010-2012. Oh my goodness I would much rather teach that online class than supervise five student teachers, but as an adjunct I am the lowest on the totem pole. I mentioned the fact that I have taught both the math class and assessment classes as online classes in the past, and the department chair responded that I might be able to teach the math class as an online class next summer. That would be fabulous. I can teach an online class from home in the summer. I taught it while in the hospital in the summer of 2012, which shows you can teach an online class from anywhere as long as you have Wi-Fi. 

Life is full of umpteen decisions - choices of activities for the kids, curriculum, field trip, how to set up my courses at the university, etc. For the first time since 2012, none of our kids will be in a team sport this fall. They did soccer from 2013-2016 and flag football in 2017. I'm planning to sign Nadia up for a gymnastics class on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:30 from August 28 through December 18, which means Paul will be the one taking her there and taking the boys to the library because I won't get home until 5:30pm in the fall and 8:15pm in the spring. I have signed the kids and I up for a Bible study on Monday nights from 6:40-8:00 from September through May. Six of those Monday nights this fall the kids will be in a music class at Lycoming College (which is in the same town as the Bible study) from 4:30-5:15. Nadia and Ian will be in a choir (singing in parts, etc.) whereas Oliver will be in the younger music class. I have signed the kids up for Upward basketball, and we're hoping they will also be able to take ice skating lessons. I'll also sign Nadia up for one more gymnastics session in the spring (probably March/April). I will still be singing in the choir (rehearsals are on Wednesday nights), and the kids will still be in AWANA on Wednesday nights. I looked into the various co-op classes in our area and once again decided not to participate. I'm not saying we never will be in a co-op again, but I don't feel it's the best choice for us at this point.

One decision I haven't made yet for the kids is their gym and art class. The Miller Center in Lewisburg is offering a homeschool gym class and you can add an art and 4H class with that on Tuesdays. I was thinking of giving it a whirl for 8 weeks, but Nadia said she'd rather keep going to the homeschool gym class at our church on Fridays. If our church would also offer a homeschool art class that would make the decision easier. I'm also checking into what times/days the Christian school will have art for grades 1, 3, and 5 next year to see if any of those art classes would fit well with the gym class. I'm also considering doing the gym class at our church on Fridays and only taking a four week art class at the Miller Center. The art class there is one that all three kids could join.

Another decision I've been contemplating is whether to attend a conference in Chicago in November. Last January I submitted two conference proposals. Then I found out that I would receive zero funding from the university even though I am FT. I had received funding to attend a conference in New Orleans when I was a FT adjunct years ago at KU, but that's not the case here at BU. The other conference will be in DC, but unfortunately that proposal was rejected. It would have been a lot easier and cheaper to travel to DC. The conference in Chicago is a social studies one, and I'm not even teaching a Social Studies methods course (although I have done so years ago). When I submitted the proposal I did so in part because I thought I'd be applying for a permanent position this fall, but I don't think they are doing a search this year after all (even though three more professors have retired). I was trying to make my resume more current as the last time I spoke at a conference was 2012. So now I am trying to decide if it's worth going to the trouble and expense (airfare, registration fee, etc.) to travel to Chicago to do a presentation *just* to update my resume if I am most likely either going to return to being a SAHM or continue as an adjunct for a few more years.

Paul and I met with the lawyer yesterday whom we first met in 2010 when we did our first wills and power of attorney documents. We added Oliver and made some other changes. I am thankful to have those decisions behind us and hoping we don't need to revise the will for many years. Hopefully these documents won't be needed for at least 30 years, but if I have the same life expectancy as my mom then I have less than 30 years left here on earth. You just never know. I doubt I'll live as long as Paul's grandma; she'll be turning 96 in December!

In light of all the rain we've gotten, I am very glad I mowed last Thursday and weed wacked on Friday. Whenever it dries out, the grass will need mowed again. I've been working on projects indoors in between reading books to the boys and playing games like Trouble, Sorry, and Blokus with them. I've been emptying *everything* from cabinets, the entertainment center, closets, etc. Some stuff is thrown away, some things are moved to different locations, everything is dusted, etc. I also looked through a cookbook today that Margie gave me in January for the instant pot. I am determined to try it out before the fall semester begins.

It's official

Oliver and the others who did the memory book craft.

On Thursday I was contemplating how much longer I should wait before asking when I might expect to receive my contract, and lo and behold it was in our mailbox that afternoon. I signed it and put it back in the mail. I'm hoping this means by the end of this month I will have access to BOLT so I can finish getting everything set up for the fall semester. I have to set up the folders for the students to submit their assignments, post the PowerPoints and other documents, set up the gradebook, etc. Yesterday I finished creating a total of ten Kahoot and Quizziz games for my assessment class and two for my math class.

Ian with his "tribe" for the week.

I am forty-six years old and have been either a student or an educator for almost my whole life! I was a full-time student from 1977-1992 and a part time graduate student for several years after that until I earned my doctorate in December 2002. From 1992-2003 I worked in Christian schools first as a middle school teacher and then as a principal of a school that had students from three-year-old preschool through eighth grade. From January 2003- January 2013 and August 2017- May 2019 I will have been a professor, and from

2013 to the present I have also been homeschooling my children. If you count my years of homeschooling, I will have been an educator for 27 years as of May 2019. If you don't count the years I was a homeschooling SAHM, then I will have been an educator for 22.5 years. Bloomsburg University will have been my employer for 10.5 of those 22.5 years; BU is part of the state system (called PASSHE), and I will have been employed by PASSHE for 12 years as the other university where I taught for 1.5 years is also part of PASSHE. I plan

Nadia participating in the final Quiz Down on Friday.

to continue homeschooling my children for 12 more years, which would put me at 38 years total as an educator as of May 2030. I have no idea how long I will continue to be a university professor. We shall see how this next year goes. When I am putting a lot of time into my courses I find myself thinking, "I hope I teach this class more than just one semester." I do enjoy being a teacher educator, but I was juggling way too much last year, and I miss the kids when I'm at work (and they miss me also and tell me they want me to stay at

Ian with some of the other kids who went fishing.

home). I'm going to pay off the retirement loan this year (which I used to pay off the mortgage) because that will make it a little easier to live off of Paul's income if I decide to return to being a SAHM.

During Camp Good News Oliver said three Bible verses, Nadia said 10 verses (the most possible), and Ian said 9 verses. Next year I'm sure he'll do all ten. He waited until the last minute to learn the 5 extra credit verses (Psalm 119:97-101) and because of that didn't work on the verse due for Friday. I

recorded three videos yesterday evening - Nadia's ten year old birthday interview (oops totally forgot to do that a few weeks ago!), Nadia and Ian singing the Camp Good News song, and all three kids singing the theme song for the week "Little by Little" by Patch the Pirate. It was a new song for them.

Today we took Nadia to Camp Susque. It has been raining most of the day, and unfortunately the weather forecast looks VERY wet for the whole week. Hope she has fun even in the rain! We'll miss her while she's gone, but Camp Susque is one of her most favorite things each year. Paul took the kids to see Pinkalicous this morning. The highlight of my day was seeing that Paul had fixed the bi-fold door in the kitchen that had been broken four months. I have a complete door again. WOOHOO!!!!

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids enjoyed painting canvases in the park on Saturday, and the price was right ($5 each)! Nadia and Oliver also enjoyed having their faces painted (free).

2. The kids had fun visiting a swimming pool they had never been to before (right next to the ice skating rink where they have previously taken lessons) on Sunday afternoon with Paul. It was free that day.

3. This week they have been participating in their fourth and final week of VBS for 2018. The other three weeks they missed 1-3 nights of each program, but this week they were able to attend all five nights. I'm also thankful that Paul picked the kids up the last three nights of VBS. I'm trying to learn to ask for help more often so that I don't get so worn out.

4. Wendy's birthday was on Tuesday. I am very thankful for my sister!

5. All three kids are enjoying Camp Good News this week. They are memorizing verses,

swimming, learning about Daniel, learning about a missionary, singing lots of different songs, etc.

6. Last Thursday I tried to check a book out from the university library to use in preparing for the fall semester, but I didn't have my BU ID with me as I hadn't planned to go to the university when I left the house that morning. I tried showing my driver's license and my local library card, but they wouldn't let me check it out. Thankfully a very kind librarian emailed me yesterday and offered to either mail me the book or scan a few pages for me. I went the scanning route. She made my day!

7. Nadia hasn't been a fan of PB and J sandwiches for a few years. This can be problematic at times because when she needs to pack a lunch she usually doesn't have access to a refrigerator (to keep yogurt cold) or a microwave (to heat a hot pocket or hot dog). Thankfully this week she has been happily eating egg salad sandwiches for lunch. The girl loves eggs in just about any

form!

8. On Tuesday I made a trip to Aldi's. They had so many delicious fruits on sale for $1/lb including plums, nectarines, peaches, and clementines. They also had cherries on sale for a very good price. I bought some of each! Delicious fresh fruit is one of my favorite things about the summer.

9. We got Venarri's pizza on Saturday after attending the art in the park. We don't go there very often these days, but let me tell you that is by far my most favorite pizza restaurant. I really like the sauce they use, but the most amazing part is the crust. It's the BEST!

10. I took advantage of some excellent Amazon Prime deals yesterday. I think it's the first year I ever did that. I ordered some books (Christmas gifts for the kids) on both Amazon and Target as they both had a coupon for $5 off $20. One deal I didn't do that I guess I should have was the 99 cents for Music Unlimited for 4 months. Nadia said she would have really liked that. Oops! I also did an

Amazon Prime pantry order that was over $40 before coupons and after coupons was less than $15 (food and cleaning supplies). I also got Oliver and Nadia each an Echo dot (to be given as Christmas gifts).

11. I'm thankful that next week (while Nadia is at Camp Susque) I don't need to do any chauffeuring as the boys don't have VBS or camp or lessons of any kind. Since I'm focused on my university work this week, I want to focus on projects around the house and cooking next week. I should have gone home today because I discovered the soonest either library opened today was 12pm, but I got some work done at Panera until the library opened. I created some games in Quizizz and Kahoot. Years ago I used to have to pay to make things like that on Quia. It's nice that there are free options these days!

12. I'm thankful I was able to sign the kids and I up for a BSF study (September through May) of the minor prophets on Monday nights!

P.S. The pictures in this post are from our vacation in June. Slowly but surely I'll get caught up with posting pics.