February

The kids enjoyed skiing with two of their friends - Isaiah and Micah

We didn't have any field trips or special outings in January, but the kids did begin their weekly ice-skating lessons, art class (Nadia and Ian), and drama class (Nadia) last month. Field trips and such have resumed this month. Our first was the Living History fair that the kids participated in on February 3. On February 10th we drove down to Maryland to spend the night at my friend's home prior to spending a day in Washington, D.C. The last time the kids and I were in DC was November 2018. We had planned to return in the spring of 2020, and we hadn't attempted any trips back down there since then. On this trip we visited the World War II, Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials before seeing a production of A Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis) at the Museum of the Bible. Nadia and Ian attended a Super Bowl party at church last Sunday, and all three kids attended a homeschool Valentine's Day party at a roller-skating rink this past Tuesday. Despite the fact that the temperatures got into the 60's, the kids and Paul skied at Elk Mountain on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the other annual WVIA ski day won't be happening this year at the ski resort closer to our home. The kids had never taken off their coats while skiing before! It was a first for them to ski when it was that warm outside. Today we participated in a service project for three hours packing hygiene kits for people in Ukraine for the first time since October. Special activities over the last ten days of the month will most likely include seeing a production of Freedom Bound (about the underground railroad), a board game gathering at another homeschool family's home, Nadia and Ian attending the Winter Jam concert with the youth group, and Nadia attending a birthday party at a bowling alley. I was planning to take the kids to a maple sugaring program next Saturday, but in light of the birthday party Nadia is attending and the fact that my new oven is supposed to be delivered that day, I don't think we will be attending that after all. 

Oliver had two teeth extracted at the dentist on January 25th at the request of the orthodontist. Ian had an x-ray at the dentist this past Tuesday in preparation for having teeth extracted at the dentist next month, also at the request of the orthodontist. Ian has been wearing a retainer since June 2021, but the orthodontist told him on Monday that his time wearing it will be coming to a close very soon. 

I read two books that the library had gotten me through interlibrary loan while the kids were skiing on Wednesday. I also worked on a database for Experience Missions this week. I've either read or listened to a total of 19 books so far this year. The last one that I completed was The Book Thief which I selected because Nadia is currently reading it; if I had started listening to it before she read it, I wouldn't have assigned it to her given the language in the book. Lesson learned (hopefully). I'm currently listening to Find Your People by Jennie Allen and A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin. The kids and I have listened to 21 books so far this year (some of them I read aloud). The last two that we completed were Red Falcons of Tremoine by Hendry Peart and Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr. We're currently in the middle of A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park and Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. We also finished watching the third season of The Chosen earlier this month. The season finale was excellent! 

This month I ordered a new range, which was something we've talked about doing since last summer because one of the burners can no longer be used. I had two contractors give me estimates for installation, and one of them is scheduled to do the work on March 3. The total cost is going to be much higher than I was expecting, but hopefully I will really like the new oven. It does have some features that my 14-year-old oven doesn't have. It's the first time in our lives that either of us have purchased an oven. 

I also purchased airfare for the first time since 2018. Thankfully, I was able to spend less than I was expecting for those tickets as I got them for about $130 each (per person per one-way ticket). We are planning to fly from Pittsburgh to Seattle near the end of August and then fly back from San Francisco a little over two weeks later. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but we plan to spend the first few days in Washington state, followed by two days in Oregon, two days in northern California, three days in Nevada with my Aunt Janet, and our last three days in San Francisco before flying back to Pittsburgh. At one point I considered including two days in British Columbia in this trip, but I've scratched those plans. If we do attempt to visit all or most of the Canadian provinces, we can visit Yoho national park which is located in the eastern part of British Columbia and is only about 20 minutes away from Lake Louise that I thought we'd visit in Alberta. Other things that have been eliminated either due to the cost or because we shortened the length of the trip include North Cascades National Park, Yosemite, a whale watching cruise, and Safari West. I also have scratched our plans to spend a day in Toronto in July because Paul's brother is going on vacation that same week, so Paul needs to be at work. 

I've also begun working on lesson plans for the next school year. Additionally, I've been researching what college classes Ian and Nadia might take while they're in high school. I'm not sure if Oliver will go to college, but I've told Ian and Nadia that the plan is that they each earn at least 30 college credits while they're in high school so that it will only take them three years to finish their college degree. This will save us a lot of money because colleges charge MUCH less for tuition if the student is still in high school, plus the kids will naturally still be living at home while they are in high school.