As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk

63.  Go to Holiday World.  Ride your first ever roller coaster.  Declare yourself yet unsure of them. 

 64.  Visit a wonderful monastery nestled in the hills of Indiana.  I was awed by this community of worshipers.  It was established and built in 1876, and really was astounding, reminiscent of European, albeit newer, cathedrals.  

65.  Participate in noon day prayer with elderly nuns.  

66.  Watch your son spontaneously use the holy water to draw a cross on his grandfathers forehead and say, "remember your baptism." 

67.  Chill at your cousins' new pool.

68.  Stay with grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins for a few days while parents finish summer jobs and master's degrees. 

As a bad motorcycle with the devil in the seat

 20. Allow yourself to be amazed by sunflowers all over again.

 21.  Turn 6.  Have a weekend full of parties.

 22.  Go to grandpa's and spend the entire days in the pool.

23.  Swim without floaties.

 24.  Sit on the front porch and swing.  Watch the cars go by.

25.  Eat fried green tomatoes from the garden.

26.  Eat fresh grilled squash from the garden, too.

 27.  Ride rodeo horses with your grandpa.

 28.  Try to touch the clouds.

 29.  Learn to ride the horse by yourself.  (The horse pictured used to be a real live rodeo horse!)

 30.  Reward horse with farmer's market sour apple.

 31.  Visit great grandpas. 

32.  Ride a Harley.

33.  Ride in a car with your brother for hours and hours and hours.  Argue with him.  Laugh with him.  Stop a million times. 

He's a-riding down in Alabama with the rodeo...

We went to a real rodeo recently at Daddio's..

Bull riding and roping..

And rodeo clowns..

And real cowboys...

And real rodeo horses..

And tired buckaroos..

And a couple of horses rear ends....

You looked for work and money...

And, on the flip side, the positive side of our upcoming changes.. (I'll be teaching middle school Spanish, Evan will return to MTSU, Ollie will be attending a local magnet school, and Eli will be home with Dad and at Mother's Day Out 10 hours a week.)

1..I will have vacation. As a homeschool mom, I rarely, was "off." A friend mentioned that when they went to the beach, she still cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and really didn't get a break from her routine. So, away from home 40+ hours a week, will allow me to feel relaxed and "off" when home and with the family.

2..I will have quiet alone time daily. I will drive in the car 30 minutes a day by myself each way. I love this time, which for the past two years I have missed. I can listen to my beloved NPR or music of my choice. It will be lovely.

3..I will have less home chores. As a work at home mom, I took on most of the household chores, that Evan will now take more of an active role in. I won't have to unload the dishwasher 3 times a day or have to cut the grass or cook diner EVERY night.

4..I will not be solely responsible for maintaining friendships for my children. They will meet kids at their school and will not have to depend on me to set up time for them to enjoy other people their own age.

5..Everyone needs a routine shake-up. Our routine is about to drastically change, and I think this is a refreshing necessity of life-the changing of the season..

6..We will all have time apart from one another. I will no longer be responsible for every food, drink, poop, clothing, and educational experience. I will enjoy them, relish them when I am able, but they will be less likely to irk me after a day away. I will appreciate the opportunity to care for my children.

7..Ollie and Eli are stoked for the first day of school. The excitement and anticipation is not the same for homeschooling. They got new hair cuts and new clothes and we are counting down the days. It is almost as exciting as Christmas, and I can tell that Ollie is stoked.

8..Ollie will LOVE school. He thrives on routine and predictability. He loves friends, and he loves learning. He said he's most looking forward to doing math. I am not as into routines and math as he is..

9..Ollie and Eli will have time apart. They will have experiences to talk about separate from one another, and I think too, that this will be positive.

10..For the past 2 years, I have owned and operated a business from home leaving me to feel at times scattered and distracted around the home. I always have 10 million things going on and my schedule is a collage of various appointments. I am away most evenings which prohibits lengthy, enjoyable dinners and family bike rides or games of kickball. Now, when I am home, my work will not be here. I will be home in the evenings. With everyone else...

This is going to be fine. This is going to be fine. This is going to be fine....Wash. Rinse. Repeat..

Remember this day?
Our good friend, Hunter, has been diagnosed with Leukemia.
Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family this week.

Sat upon my grandpa's knee, And what do you think he said to me?...

So this weekend, we cleaned out the shed and found this.
Evan's grandpa Boggs gave it to him when he was a wee lad,
and Evan has now passed it to Ollie.
It is a working tool set.
I can't wait to see what they build.
First on the agenda: a bat house!

Yesterday’s gone but the past lives on...

Part two of yesterday's adventure included a "time tunnel" that was a black light tunnel with historical information. The boys LOVED it even though Evan kept popping out of nowhere trying to startle us.

The center of the above photo represents the ceremonial ground that we walked around on our hike.

Inside the time tunnel...

Materials traded by native americans across the US...

Bring the whole family....

Last week grandparents and cousins came to visit. Hannah Kay was born the day after Eli, and they are two peas.. We spent time making art, eating homemade popsicles, romping in the backyard, swimming, and laughing. Family is such a blessing that truly enriches our lives. Thanks for coming y'all.

That place where the bones of life are piled....

Okay, a few more from Dad's.
Ollie wanted to collect every bone he found so that he could reconstruct it for our museum.

Horses, mules, martins, and barn swallows. We also saw an owl! Nature in the country.