Could I really?

Like every year at this time, I sit and contemplate if I really could homeschool.  I was so swamped all week with various things I had to do this week that the phrase "stay at home mom" was an oxymoron.  I wonder if I homeschooled I could anchor my self down to really being at home and actually feel like I was doing something other than cramming in a few hours everyday with my kids right before I tell them to go to bed. The boys are getting bigger and we really have such a good time together. Like in the car we each get a turn to play DJ on my Ipod and pick songs we all enjoy.  Even Olivia can ask for Journey's "Don't stop Believin' [not the GLEE version btw...].  Not to mention our discussions on why Hitler was able to gain such a control over Germany and an enlightening discussion and revelation to Ethan about where babies come our (Olivia told him they come out of a mom's bagina.  He thought it was the belly button and had kind of wondered why boys had them too.)

I don't know if this is a recurring prompting or if I am just such a rebel at heart that I want to "stick it" to the school system for wanting ME to have rules about MY children. And like homeschooling is going to hurt their feelings or something.

Today I went with Carter's "team" at his middle school to hike Arctic Valley.  It was poorly organized, miscommunicated, and we had horrible weather.  While eating lunch huddled around the rocks at the top of the mountain to keep the wind from blowing sleet in our faces, the social studies teacher said, "Look at this!  We don't get to see this every day."

One kids says, "Um actually, we live in Alaska and we do see this everyday."  He had a point.

Then she asked, "How many of you have never hiked before today?" A fair question since we have half of the group in Vasque/Merrill/Keen boots and North Face rain gear and REI backpacks (in other words PREPARED!).  The other half is in shorts and T-shirts and Keds/DC sneakers.  One mom even showed up in wedged sandals and skinny jeans but changed into RAINBOOTS at her car before heading up the MOUNTAIN... with her purse on her shoulder...(I can only imagine what her son/daughter was wearing...)

But they looked at the teacher and her question like she was from Mars.  Most of these kids were here when last year, as 7th graders, they hiked Baldy, a steeper, longer hike.  All she got as an answer was, "Can we go back down now.  I can't feel my cheeks."

"Well the buses won't be here until 1 o'clock.  We are going to stay up here at least a half hour."  It was 11:20.  It took maybe an hour to get up to the top.  I ask, "Are you serious?  Its only going to take about 20 minutes to get down.  These kids are cold.  We need to at least get out of this wind [at the top of the mountain...whipping so hard Carter was leaning off the top of a rock into it and it was holding him up like he was flying]even if we can't get out of the rain [sleet and I daresay snow]."

She looks at me blankly and then a few minutes later rounds everybody up to head back down.  We stop half way and she attempts some conversation about "bonding experience..." and Carter, myself and his friends say something about of course not being able to do this around the kitchen table or anything, and start to pick blueberries.

We get to the bottom and even with our Bonding Blueberry Intermission we still have over 30 minutes before the buses come.  The teachers organize some relay races.  One kid falls, rips his jeans, and is bleeding.  Luckily, I did listen to inspiration in the parking lot and had thrown the First Aid kit from under the seat of my car in my pack at the last minute. The buses come and are greeted to shouts of joy and Carter is asking to just come home with me.

I go to tell the teacher that I am taking him home.  "Did you pre arrange this at the office." She asks.

"No."

"Then he can't go home with you." She tells me, the mother of this child.

"You mean you guys don't have a sign out sheet with you? Huh, my youngest son goes to ______ and they let us sign them out with the teacher on a form with them at field trips.  I thought you know, being in the same district and all you guys would do that to? Maybe next time?"

I shrug and tell Carter I will bust him out when he gets off the bus and go to pick up Olivia.

And on my drive home I again get that wondering, if I could really homeschool my children. The debate is strong both for and against.  I know them all and see both sides almost equally.

Ultimately the answer is no, I don't think I can do it. But still I wonder...

Instead, I go to the school, jump through the hoop (one of many we do every school year) and collect him from the last 45 minutes of school where they were just going to have free reading time in class, and spend a stolen bit of time with my oldest. And I guess as long as I don't let the "establishment" intimidate me we can still get by.

This post is bound to be continued...

Back to school and a Bug

You would think we have had enough bugs in our house this summer. Don't worry. This is a different kind of bug.  The one we perpetually have to fix all the time.

As you can see from its skewed position at the bottom of my driveway it is having trouble again.  Here is the story.  JaDee drives it to work all summer to save on gas.  However, he does have a perfectly good 1 ton pickup that is parked on the other side of the driveway.  So when JaDee came home Wednesday and noticed a shaking in the right front tire you would think that he would leave the bug parked and take the truck to work the next day.  Because 15 miles is a long way to have to rely on something that is not quite reliable.

No. That is not how my husband thinks.  He thinks that he can squeeze one more day of driving out of a sad and broken part.  Kind of like squeezing the last bit of toothpast out of an already spent tube, or propping the ketchup bottle upside down in order to get the very last drop out of it.

He made it to work but had to get a friend tow him home when the front axle broke and to the bottom of our driveway was as far as it got.  All the while a perfectly good truck sitting in our driveway...

JaDee is off to a little island named Adak that is closer to Russia than the mainland USA in hunt of caribou. 
It is apparently too hard to go to Costco every week for meat and my sweet provider is willing to give up a week of work, and family to go with 5 other guys to shoot things with horns to eliminate this chore from our routine.  Isn't he thoughtful. Can you hear the sarcasm cause I am writing it pretty thick.

Meanwhile we started school this week and we had our first sun in 31 days.  So Olivia and I took off for the Anchorage Zoo.   She informed that she had never been to one so off we went.  Here are some pictures of our fun day.

The Yaks smelled gross.

The wolves were cool too.

This is about the size of the one I came face to face with on my backpacking trip in July.  I think my bear was bigger.  Check out those CLAWS!!

Olivia patiently waited by the Harbor Seal tank to get the perfect shot of them swimming by.

This Polar Bear was very playful in the water today.  He was massive.  I would not want to meet one of these in the wild.

So far so good in the school department.  I start preschool with Olivia next week.  Wish me luck!

A little early?

Nope! Now is the time I start thinking about Christmas.  So I am posting this video about a Christmas magazine (and I am hoping to win a give away).

4 days

That is all we have left of summer, not counting the weekend.  Then, school starts.  Ugh.  I hate school.  It makes me get up too early. It makes me get my warm, sleeping children out of bed.  It makes me get home by 2:45 and straps me to homework until 5:30.  It means committee meetings and book reports.  Spelling contracts and signatures on planners that I always forget to do.

Why is it that I have to prove my after school interaction with my children by signing a planner.  Isn't the fact that I don't sign it enough evidence that we are too busy being together and involved that I should not have to do it.  I mean seriously. If I was a disconnected parent who spent all her time on the phone/computer/at work, any child could come up to me and ask me to sign something and I would absentmindedly do it.  But as I am going over math facts, discussing the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire (one of my favorite subjects as is anything ancient and historical BTW), stirring ravioli sauce and finding the right pink tutu, I do not have time to sign your blessed planner.

So no, I am not looking forward to school starting.

These last few days are being spent in pajamas in front of video games and PBS kids.  We are eating popcorn when we feel like it and cold cereal for nutrients.  We get up at 10 AM and go to bed at 11 PM.  We watch Star Wars and Dora and look at pictures in our photo albums.  My house hasn't been mopped or the dishes done in a timely matter all week. 

But our sheets and blankets have been washed every morning and crisply put back on our beds every night...at like 9:30 or whenever there is a commercial for Americas Got Talent.  (I do believe that after much laundry and vacuuming and a couple of shaved heads, our little house guests are gone)

I am so far out of my gym routine with being gone for like a month to Wyoming and then Valdez that I am not even worrying about it until Aug 24.

But considering all that we did this summer (you know, stood down a grizzly, went to the farm, hosted the family, played/coached a soccer team, organized/attended cub scout camp, went fishing in the middle of the night [JaDee], clammed, camped, Valdez and all the other stuff...) I would say that we are fully deserving of these last few lazy days where nothing matters.

PS-I posted all of our Valdez pics on facebook...do you really need them here too, sis?

This was my weekend...

How was yours?

On the road again

Ok this picture keeps loading here instead of where i want it to be, but Carter turned 13 while we were in Yellowstone.  He got a pair of these FIVE FINGER KSO shoes.  He loves them!

We are off to Valdez, home of the 1988 oil that I think may have finally lost its place in the sun as the biggest oil spill in our borders when that Gulf of Mexico episode had to come along and steal the title. I'd say 20 years as the reigning oil spill champ is quite a record to hold, so good luck beatin' that run!

But first, a look at the new light fixture JaDee got me for our 14th anniversary.

But I digress.  What I am really hoping to show you here is some pictures of our trip to the wild wild west. And what I discovered on this trip what will always be home for me.

Check out the Tetons that we flew over

OK so this is the epitome of my second child.  Swim suit, cowboy boots and if you look closely, spurs! Just leanin' casual against the pasture fence with the baby calf named Star Shining Bright. He got a boat load of fireworks as a late birthday present from Aunt C and spent his time blowing up ant hills.  He told me ants fear him, and tremble at the sound of his approaching footsteps.

There were herds of Buffalo in Yellowstone this year!

This is my amazing niece M.  She wrote an awesome book for a creative writing assignment at school that had me hooked!  She can dive, ride horses, make anything (including an entire miniature golf course for her twin brothers' birthday party), and do Olivia's hair for church.

Here is Bridger!! He is back with us from his bone marrow transplant last year.  We wore this kid ragged with hikes, swims, trampolines and fireworks!

Olivia, B and G and the rescued kitties, who may have actually been running into the drain pipe for safety instead of needing saved as these 3 claimed.

P and B and Livs... these guys are double, or should I say triple trouble!

Carter and his Grandpa

This was all of the Great Grandkids of Jay and Emma McNiven at the town celebration for Pioneer Day.  The sign says "Best Crop Ever!" The kids got a kick out of being the ones to throw the candy this year. JaDee and I watched the parade from the sidelines and had to fight of other kids for our share of taffy.

Farmer Livs is locking up the gate so Star Shining Bright doesn't get out.  Her milk bucket she used to feed him with is by her feet.

Old faithful Boardwalk.  Carter still loves the geology here.

Grandpa is not dead, he just always finds the darnedest places to take a nap.

Oh these girls were so happy to see each other.  They never missed a beat and played like they did when we used to live around the corner. It was so sad to see these two say goodbye. Livs wanted to ride with them back to UT and we could pick her up in an airplane later.

All 35 of the Moncur clan in front of the Old Faithful Lodge.  We were quite a sight in our matching shirts.  As long as we were in the big group I was OK wearing mine, it was when it was just me and my 3 kids and husband that I looked like the dorky mom who thought matching shirts would be nice. 

Just one of the many things to do on the farm.

This Aunt shares a birthday with Carter. So for this year's 40th bash her husband organized a surprise party complete with her favorite Cotton Candy ice cream.

Puppies Ike and Jack definitely got their share of love and attention while we were all there.

At the town dance, we were 2/3 of those in attendance.  Here is Ethan with one of the twins.  Both my boys had to either dance with a cousin or a mother every dance!

No sprinkler system here.  Some good ole irrigation pipes and a ditch to do the cousins favorite "Flood the Yard."

At the town dance to Cotton Eye Joe, JaDee, his brother and a sister and several little cousins race in the line dance.