Finally....I have Internet Again!!!

I was so discouraged getting back from the cruise and settling into our new "home away from home" to discover we have some very poor internet here. The other place was flying. The kids could watch old cartoons and such on NetFlix, I could upload and download just about anything with ease, and we were pretty much in Internet heaven! LOL!
This place is hit and miss. It might as well be dial up. There is absolutely no NetFlix use b/c the shows rebuffer about a dozen times throughout! I tried to upload a cruise video and well... nothing happened! It showed 1% uploaded for about an hour and I went to bed! The next morning I had no Internet and didn't have Internet for almost a week until they reset their server!
Fun! Fun!
Anyway... I did manage to get my pics of fb but haven't put any here. I am giving it a try now. It will probably only be a few b/c I am sure it will take forever to upload. I'll go for a few scenery shots of Isla Roatan, Honduras... to peak your interest! Maybe you will come back for more in about 3 days when the next photos load! rofl! jk! I hope it doesn't take that long!!!

Whoop! Whoop! as us Louisiana'ins say! I am so excited! I was able to load more than one or 2 photos! Anywayz... these are just of Isla Roatan, Honduras! We were on the Pirates, Birds, & Monkeys of the Carribian excursion. I have lots more scenery pics from everywhere we went as well as beach shots, cave tubing in Belize, my son's fishing trip in Belize, boats, and what have ya! So...just give me some time, and I'll get another batch of pics up here! k!  :)
Blessings,

We're back!

Well... we're back from our cruise and back in Oklahoma! They upped our rates where we were staying but we were blessed enough to find a new, nicer home away from home! It is much bigger, so the kids can spread out a bit! ...It's ver nice, too! We love it! Will hopefully get settled soon, post some pics of our new home away from home as well as cruise pics! I know you all would much rather see pics of Belize and Isla Roatan than hotel pics anyway! :) It was awesome, so check back with me soon!

Blessings,

Homeschooling Out of a Hotel Room

I can't even begin to explain how challenging these last few weeks have been for us. We've relocated to another state... temporarily... and are still trying to adjust. At home the kids always have something to do, but since our new home away from home is a hotel room, we don't have many options on what we can do. We haven't been having the best weather, so getting out and about hasn't been at the top of our list.
At home the kids can go play out in their playhouse, on the back porch, or somewhere else in the house! Here in this one room hotel room, there is no where to go and get away and no back yard with a swing set (we did find a nice park, though... it's only been warm enough to go one time, though)! We did bring the wii with us and have it hooked up now, but when there is another family living under you, there really isn't even much you can do on the wii! Jumping all around is not an option! It's already bad enough that my kids sound like elephants when they walk! lol! I do feel sorry for the people below us!
They only have to put up with us for a few more days, though and then we'll head out for that cruise we have had planned! Can't wait! The kids will have plenty of room to run amuck on the ship... with their Camp Carnival & Circle C staff leaders of course and ... HOPEFULLY...  the dh and I can get some 'alone' time! much needed alone time-- I must add! Actually ... when you are living in close quarters like this, everyone is in need of alone time! I am planning on bringing along my Kindle and kicking back in a deck chair! Oh... I so can't wait!! Just a few more days! No home-schooling that week!! That is just as much a break for me as it is for the kids! Countdown on my Dashboard - 6 days, 20 hours, 46 mins!

Blessings,

Been Cruising!!

My last post was after I got back from Mexico after my cousin's surgery! I know it has been forever, but we have had so much going on! Thanksgiving, Christmas Shopping, and preparing & packing for our cruise! Good news is we are back! but first... to update you on my cousin's VSG surgery... she has been doing wonderfully! She had already lost over 30 lbs when I talked to her before the cruise! It has probably been more, b/c when I called her after getting off the boat in Mexico she was hitting the gym! Hopefully I will get more of an update today!
The cruise went fairly well. The last day shook us up a bit, but I will try to put a day by day post of what I would have put up here had I had internet! I can't afford the fun ship's internet fees and I don't dare use my cell phone for the horrid at sea charges! It amazes me how many people are chatting away, texting, twitter, and what have ya on their cells while on a cruise ship! Either they are rich or completely oblivious to the fact they will come home with a $300 phone bill because everything from talk to data is quadrupled when your at sea! even the viva Mexico plan doesn't save you much! I think it is still $1.00 a min even though you pay $5 extra to get discounts! 'n without that it's around $2 a min for talk! Sooooo.... I don't dare blog, talk, chat, or even turn that cell on once the cruise ship starts moving!!!
Well... time 4 school! look for cruise pics! I promise to try to have them up soon... we do have our big family Christmas Saturday, so I have so much to do... but I will try!
I hope you all have a blessed day! :)

Blessings,

Counting Down!

Yep! We can start counting down! School starts in less than 2 weeks for us! What about for your family?

I've finalized the schedule and I am actually luv'n it! We have to get in 180 days by law (though I've already checked the public school calendar and their days add up to 177)!!  Since we have planned some travels I wanted to make sure to schedule in those dates as well!

We normally take our "school in a bag" when we travel, but this year I decided to just leave it at home and truly vacation! It will be most enjoyable for the kids, but tis a secret... This plan is mostly for me! Hee! Hee! :) As you can see from this snapshot that my lil guy had no problem keeping up with his school work while we were visiting family in virginia! Of course we had a quaint lil one bedroom house all to ourselves so we were free from distractions during school time! It was great! 

HoMeSkOol'n Away From Home

By not taking our "school in a bag" on the road with us, I had to plan rather carefully...gotta get the 180!  I felt it best to not waste a moment while we're at home! So I've decided to keep school "in session" for all the national holidays such as Labor Day, Veteran's Day, MLK, and President's Day. Instead we will have school on those days and dedicate our learning to learning about important people/places/events that have to do with these special days!

We also, opted to skip the two days off for Mardi Gras that the public school kids will be taking. Living in Louisiana, there is definitely a history lesson to be learned, but as a Christian home-schooling family...we will not "celebrate" this holiday. We've opted to skip "fair day" too. I am sure we will make an evening of viewing all the 4H displays, the animals, and maybe take in the rodeo, but that's about it.

So with all that said...
Looks like we've got our 180 Days!!!! ...and we are only starting a day ahead of the public schools! We'll end the same day they end! We would have ended sooner, but we got plenty of breaks planned as you can see....


Aug 9                   First Day of School
Aug 21st-29th      Fall Fun Break  (Snorkeling in Calica)
Nov 20th-28th     Thanksgiving Break
Dec 8th-14th       Winter Fun Break (Shopping for Christmas Presents in Cozumel)
Dec 25th-Jan 2    Christmas Break
Mar 12th-20th      Spring Break (Fun in the Sun in Belize & Isla Roatan)
April 16th-24th    Easter Break
May 27th             Last Day of School

iLuv Cruising!
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