Welcome Back to School...What I've Learned So Far

Now that the school year has started, the boys have been working hard to get our homework done every night. It is always challenging to get back into the routine. The hardest part is the reading. What works for us is not to sweat the small stuff and live by the mantra it doesn't necessarily need to matter HOW you complete your homework so long as it gets done. I've come to understand that books are MUCH easier to read through lizard goggles.



 If you've been following me over the years on Facebook or just so happen to be around to hear a story or two, I hope you remember the challenges we've had over the years just getting to school and staying there all day. I've proved myself more stubborn than they are. Look at the difference a year makes. I'm not quite sure, but school this year is a big success...so far.

2014 -- 5th Grade

2013 4th Grade Mug Shot

2014 2nd Grade

2013 1st Grade Mug Shot

That is until Jack pulled this out of his hat.
My son: I just can't go to school today.
Me: You don't have a choice.
My son: Well, I can't go because my teacher is too nice. It is no fun to get in trouble.
Me: Good. You need to behave.
My son: You just don't get it. She doesn't even raise her voice!

And there you have it.  A confession!

Wishing everyone a successful 2014/2015 school year!

Off the Beaten Path

We spend Labor Day weekend the best possible way ever.  With great friends off the beaten path.  The trip was planned with my dear friend Holly to celebrate our 30th Friendship Anniversary.

 

While poking around the Internet, I came across William Heiss Park in San Diego county. It is just a few miles outside of Julian with cabins to rent.  It was like camping but we were enclosed between four walls and off the ground...perfect! What I didn't count on was the heat and my campfire building skills.  Let's just say, I know how to make a smokey campfire. It took a few tried but by the end of the trip I was a campfire building pro. Or at least I thought I was.

  

The only downside to the campground was the WiFi. I would have liked to have had a device free weekend. Everyone was good about leaving their devices in the cabin and enjoying nature.  But, I did catch this one on his iPod.  Does he look guilty or what.

So, to remedy the situation, I made them go on a hike. The trail started right out our front door and worked its way up a hill that was burn during the 2003 fires that swept through the area.  It made for a hot hike with no tress to cover the trail. But, we made it.

(Oh look, they actually like each other. Well at least for a moment.)

  

 

We spent Sunday afternoon apple picking. It is the start of the apple season but they were delicious.  We ate apples for the rest of the day.  They also had an apple wine to taste.  Well, my friend and I decided we needed a whole glass.  It was refreshing.

 

The next day we headed into Julian to check out the town and stumbled across a Gold Mine Tour. Of course we had to go and check it out in our true Off the Beaten Path style.  This is what we found.

We went in the Eagle Mine and came out the High Peak Mine halfway up the hill.  The tour guide was fabulous and they had a lot of the authentic mining tools and old things throughout the mine.  It was surprisingly cold a few hundred feet inside a mountain.

Well that was our weekend!  Hope yours was as memorable as ours.