First Communion. Version BR.

BR is 9!

For his party, were used the all-new mini-golf course built from scratch by BR's dad.






We had cake and balloons and friends and all the good stuff. It was a HIT.





Happy birthday, little guy. You are now our only kid in the single-digits-age. Better milk it, I guess.

AM is 10

We had a "backwards-upside-down-topsy-turvy" themed party for little AM (Big AM!  She is BIG!).

Guests showed up with their t-shirts inside out, or backwards, or some other silly, mismatched ensemble.

We ate under the table, instead of at it.  We served our cupcakes upside down.

They watched a silly movie and then had a sleepover, and for extra confusion, answered all questions in reverse.  ("Do you want another slice of pizza," I would ask. "No, no thank you!")

The next morning, we killed a pinata, and then roamed around the bike park.  The party was a hit, we had a great time.  

And now our littlest gal is now in her second decade!

Battle

Science Fair

All three were top finishers in their grade levels!

Tae Kwon Do Competition

We drove about 150 miles early Saturday morning to attend the State Championships

(Southwestern sunrise, February)

(Their TWD "Academy" had the most attendees--see far right row of kids)

A. and BR each came home with a couple of trophies

This was probably my favorite event to watch: short foam sword battles, ha!

A., waiting her turn to do her kata's in the finals---she missed getting first place by only 0.01 points!

Snowy Southwest

Christmas 2015

We went to NC for Christmas, by way of GA (briefly)
It was warm! Even hot!




We went to the beach (river beach), we played outside, we saw some of these hooligans (and others though I don't have photo proof).



It was fun.
Our own house seems extra cold and quiet now.
I guess we will get used to it. Maybe.
Eventually.

Balloon Rally

Here is a peek at the Red Rock Balloon Rally 2015. Case you were wondering if spectators can get a completely ideal viewing position on the red rocks, the answer is: Yup.


I had talked up this event so much to my mother in law that I was afraid she would be disappointed.
Nope. It lived up to the hype.




Oh I forgot to mention: it cost $5 to get in as a spectator.
I don't know, I think that's worth it, don't you?

Homeschooling-on-Saipan Blog

A friend requested that I leave a link here to the blog I kept while homeschooling in Saipan during the 2014-2015 school year.  Here it is, and it should all display on a single page, with the first entry showing up at the very bottom, in case you want to scroll up and read chronologically.

I crafted our curriculum for the year myself so that we could properly take advantage of what was around us, as well as our travels.  We learned a lot about the ocean, and about mapping.  For the ocean unit, we incorporated science, history, art and literature into a months-long study of the sea.  There was a case study on hermit crabs, in order to understand the interrelations between sea creatures, and then of course to more fully appreciate the effects on life in the ocean from environmental change, degradation or pollution.

You will find that I included plenty of reading recommendations on various topics throughout the blog, though some entries such as this post are entirely devoted to tips on good books.

Enjoy!

(Oh, and one final note: In case you found this post through a search engine and are simply looking for information on the legal requirements about homeschooling in Saipan or the Northern Marianas, I wrote a post especially for you here.)

Halloween 2015

This year, we had a dragon rider, the school principal, and Donald Trump

A. changed into a martial arts fighter for trick or treating,
since she figured that outside of school, no one would get the joke

Face painting that BR got at some fair

The kids' school hosted a "trunk or treat" event and I decorated our car simply, but with a twist...

See that guy peeking out from behind the black cloth?  Well, when you reach in for candy, he may grab your hand and startle you, or you may end up with a handful of oozy (gummy) worms, or maybe applesauce...  This was a HIT with the kids at school.  Several just stayed in the line so they could reach in over and over and over again...

Some neighbors carved this "Seahawks" pumpkin, ha ha!