When we moved to California, in February, coming back to the hot Valley of the Sun in JULY and AUGUST was the last thing I would have planned.  I was excited about our new adventure and anxious to share that experience with friends and family as they came to visit us this summer to escape the heat.  Of course, the fates had other plans and we had a great time! Read the rest of this entry »

We had such a fun day on Monday.  We went to LA with Stephen and while he was at work, we went exploring.  Of course, I forgot my camera, but my phone saved the day again, digitally that is. Read the rest of this entry »

I went outside last night, with my husband, to enjoy the cooler night air.  It wasn’t really cool, kind of muggy actually.  But, with the remnants of a passing storm still above us, the gold rays of light shone through the clouds and lit up everything they touched.  It was beautiful.  Sprinkles started to fall lightly on our heads and I was happy.

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.  That’s not actually that new.  I always do a lot of thinking.  Somehow that doesn’t always mean I come up with the best answers for my dilemas though.  Weird!

My latest thinking is about home schooling.  I am really considering doing this next year.  I have always wanted to home school.  I wanted to start with Kas in kindergarten, but with 1 and 3 yr old daughters, I didn’t think I had the time or energy.  Now, when I am on the brink of having all my kids in all day school (again), I am thinking about bringing them home all day.  Am I crazy?  This is not a rhetorical question.  Please answer me.  Am I crazy to worry about my kids education when the state I live in is bankrupt and our district is losing millions of dollars of funding next year (again)?  We just got a call last week from the district saying that every Monday in June may be a furlough day.  Am I crazy to want my children to have a well rounded life?  My son is in the 5th grade and in the advanced classes in school.  He is incredibly intelligent and I want him to have the best education, but I also want him to be a happy and healthy, well rounded child.  He spends 6 hrs a day at school and then another 3 hrs doing homework, sometimes less, but just as often more.  That leaves time for dinner and almost nothing else.  Monday night is FHE, Tuesday night is scouts, don’t forget practicing the cello in there. Where’s the time for football, skating, playing?

I have other reasons as well, but it is late.  Don’t tell me that kids don’t get socialization without public school.  That is proven to be wrong already.  The only things stopping me are completely selfish.  One, will I have time to do my own photography business?  No, probably not.  Two, will I be spending most of my time preparing for school things.  Yes, probably so.  Three, and this is just stupid.  I’m scared.  What if the school gives me a hard time when I pull them out?  I know that is a stupid concern, but I am very non-confrontational.  Real fear, what if I’m not up to the task?  On the other hand, there is so much info out there, and I am actually looking at charter schools that are funded by the state, but run online and at home.  Does that completely make my point about a bankrupt state null and void?

I have had several teachers in the last few months tell me that I missed my calling.  I should have been a teacher.  Maybe I should just be a teacher for my own kids….

On that note, I am going to bed.

So I sat down at my computer this morning and wrote about half a paragraph when I suddenly realized that my brain freezes during the day time.  Really!  I can only write at night.  I don’t know if it’s because I have too many other things to worry about during the day or if the solitude of a quiet house lets the juices flow.  Anyway, so here I am at 11:30 pm writing on my blog.  We were watching Annie earlier and so I’ve got songs running through my head, hence the title of this post. Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t posted on this blog for a very long time, I know.  So, I thought maybe I should start up again since I live so far from friends and family now.

This really is a great place to live.  There is always something to do and yesterday we fit as much as we could into the 24 hours available.

Stephen had to do his paper for school, so the morning outing was just the kids and I. There was a CSA (community supported agriculture) day at Tanaka Farms.  That is who we are starting to get our produce baskets through now.  I am so excited about this.  Read the rest of this entry »

I know it’s late.  I think that is when I get my best inspiration, when the whole house is quiet and I’m not thinking about who needs to be where and when.  In fact, I think if I went back to all of my posts and checked out the time they were done over half of them would be after midnight.  Since it is after midnight, however, I’m not going to do that.

So I was just thinking about how amazing my kids are.  I love when Zo, completely out of the blue, acts like a statue, so people won’t know she’s really there.  I was just looking at a picture from early this year where she got both her brother and sister to play along.  This is her in January in the mountains thinking no one can see her because she is a statue. Read the rest of this entry »

“Addie thinks she’s the remember girl, but she’s, like, not the remember girl.”

-Zo

“Well Ma, I made it home.  I got a bowl.  Would it be ok if I just, like, um, um, turned on the Wii and then put my bowl down right in front of my face just in case I need to, ya know?”

-Kas

“I spell it Kiristina, ’cause I don’t really know how to spell queer.”  (Trying to spell her middle name, Kierstina.)

-Antoinette

It’s been quite a while since I wrote on here, and since It’s kind of late and I want to get up early to run I’ve decided to just make mostly a photo blog.

The kids and I spent a few days up in Page visiting Emily and her family.  We had a great time.  Stephen unfortunately had to stay home to work but at least he had some peace and quiet during summer break.  I have put some of these pictures up on facebook but I know not everyone uses it.  Anyway there are way more on here.

We had so much fun hiking in Slot Canyon and then at Lake Powell for a few hours before we had to go home.  It was absolutely beautiful there.  The rock formations were amazing.  Enjoy a glimpse of the Northern AZ high desert.

crossing the Glen Canyon Bridge