Hectic Life

Life has been a little on the hectic side since returning from vacation a couple weeks ago. I have been getting lesson plans/outlines together for the upcoming year in science and history, cleaning up from our vacation, getting kids to activities, visiting with Aunt Stacy and the twin cousins, and packing for Haley's Suzuki Institute.

Haley and I leave tomorrow for a Suzuki Institute in New Hampshire. We are looking forward to a week together concentrating on violin and music in general. During our trip west, Haley practiced regularly but didn't have time to listen to her favorite tunes too often or play around whenever she wanted with her instrument. The past two weeks at home, she has practiced more and really loved playing whenever she wants. I am hoping the Institute will help recapture the momentum she had when lessons stopped for summer since lessons will restart a couple weeks after we get home.

Vacation....

It has been awhile since I last wrote. We were away the entire month of July for a long road trip west to Colorado and Wyoming. It was an awesome trip. We had just the right amount of schedule mixed with enough flexibility to allow us to enjoy whatever we found once we got to certain places. We located some real gems on the road including some great historic places, delicious family restaurants, and activities.

I can't possibly cover an entire month of fun or even put into words the beauty of everything we saw. Some highlights were white water rafting in Buena Vista, CO; indoor rock climbing in Jackson, WY; our horseback riding/chow wagon trip to a cowboy cookout in Yellowstone; all the amazing animals in Yellowstone; a Lakota Indian pottery factory where the kids got to paint and etch their own pottery plus see how the Indians do it; the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead in De Smet, SD; and the Opera House in Leadville, CO.

Haley got to see her violin teacher in Jackson and had a mini lesson plus spent a bit of time exploring stores in the town then went swimming. She entertained campers all over the western US during the trip and was even invited to play concerts at a couple campgrounds.

Well, we are back now and have over 600 pictures to go through...plus my other computer crashed (yuck!). I will be finalizing our school schedule for fall so we can begin in full swing again once Haley and I return from Suzuki camp in a couple weeks. This is the first year my kids have had anything resembling a "real, normal" summer though they have done some math and kept journals while away.