Winding down

Our 2023-24 school year is almost complete. We already finished history, Life of Fred, Fix it Grammar, and the classes we were doing in our co-op. We had a dress rehearsal at 5:00 last night for our production of Alice, and put it on for the parents and some other family members at 6:00. After the show was over, we shared a meal together. We didn't have a set, but we had some props and costumes. The kids did a great job. Nadia had a LOT of lines to memorize, and she did a great job of projecting as we didn't use any microphones. Ian, who played the Mad Hatter, was definitely the funniest character. Julianna was sick, but her older sister filled in at the last minute as the Queen of Hearts and the March Hare. She had to read her lines as obviously she didn't have any time to memorize them. She did a great job with her part albeit she only joined us at the last minute. Nadia and Ian have also finished their art class at MCS. Today they had their last chorus rehearsal, and this evening they had their last concert for the school year. Field trips are a constant for us all year long. For example, over the next two weeks we plan to go to Hopewell Furnace NHS, Emergency Preparedness Day, a production of Little Women, Young Eagles flight, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, Monocacy National Battlefield, Wolf Trap National Park, and Maggie Walker NHS. Although some things will continue throughout the summer such as reading and listening to audiobooks (all three), practicing the piano (Ian), and practicing the guitar (Nadia), here are the things that the kids need to finish to completely wrap up this school year:

1. Ian and Nadia need to finish Algebra 2. Ian should finish next week. It's going to take Nadia longer than that.
2. Nadia needs to finish Marine Biology, and she has until June 9 to finish her World History course through Grand Canyon University. 
3. Oliver needs to master the spelling of twenty-four more words.
4. All three of them are at varying places in demonstrating to me that they know the countries and capitals of Europe and Africa.
5. Ian and Nadia will continue to prepare for the Bible quizzing nationals which will be taking place in New York June 19-22. Ian wants to memorize the book of Colossians between now and then as he was recently told that he'll be on our church's "A" team. Nadia will be the captain of the "B" team. At the recent quiz in Indiana, the team Nadia was on placed first, Ian's team placed third, Ian tied for 2nd place in the individual competition, and Ian and Nadia were in 5th and 6th places in the written portion of the competition. Nadia won $30, and Ian won $40 at that competition. 

Because school has been winding down, I've been scheduling other types of appointments. Nadia had her first guitar lesson last week. While Nadia and Ian were in Indiana for a Bible quizzing competition, I took the van for an oil change, tire rotation, and annual inspection in the morning and then that afternoon took the van to the Honda dealer for a safety recall I had received notification about in January. While the van was being serviced in the morning, I got my first pedicure in five years. My dad gave me $100 for my birthday, and I decided to follow the advice Margie had given me when she was alive about using it for something I wouldn't normally have gotten. My first plan was to use the money towards a crockpot because the one my mom gave me in 2016 died recently, but for me a crockpot is a necessity not a splurge. I decided to use the birthday money towards my nails instead. Not that a pedicure cost $100! I'm planning to use more of that money towards a manicure next week when I take Paul's car in for an annual inspection, oil change, and tire rotation. Tomorrow Nadia and I are getting our hair cut. She typically gets hers done once a year, and I usually go 3-4 times a year. I cut Paul, Oliver, Pop Pop, and Ian's hair. I'm scheduled to have a mammogram on Thursday morning, and Ian has a cardiology appointment next Monday. Year round the boys go to the orthodontist once a month, Ian has a weekly 45-minute piano lesson, and Nadia has recently started taking a weekly 30-minute guitar lesson in Lewisburg. Ian is working on some music he's found online as well as Chopin's Military Polonaise, and a piano duet arrangement of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony. He's playing the primo part, and our neighbor, Addi, is playing the secondo part with him. 

Planning lesson plans, future vacations, and field trips is something I do regularly throughout the year. This morning, I booked an Airbnb for two nights in Houghton for Paul, Oliver, and I so we can watch part of the quizzing competition. We could also have stayed in the dorms like Ian and Nadia, but it was unappealing to us to pay $18.50 per person per night to stay in a dorm that doesn't have air conditioning. Sometimes those plans lead me to apply for a new credit card. This time I applied for an IHG credit card because the points we will be awarded after the first month of using it will be enough to pay for three nights at a Holiday Inn on Long Island in August, and whenever you use points for three nights, they give you a fourth night for free. The card has a $99 annual fee, but the card also reimburses up to $100 toward the cost of TSA Precheck, and Paul and I have a TSA Precheck appointment next month. This means we won't really be paying an annual fee, and we'll be able to stay for four nights for free on Long Island at a hotel that costs more than we usually pay per night. In the past we always stayed at Aunt Janet's home, but she moved to Reno a few years ago. It's much easier for us to travel to Long Island than to Reno. She spends a month on Long Island in August at a friend's house. We are looking forward to a wide variety of experiences over the next 3.5 months before we start the next school year.