Momentum abating

School has been out for more than six weeks and it has taken this long for the unshakable inertia of our daily lives to finally relent enough to allow us long, uninterrupted hours at home.

And so began Operation Home Time. Not just a Stay-cation (my apologies for using that term) for our town, but for our house. A trip to the library to load up on so many books we had to drag them to the car. Not only bring them home, but READ them! Most of them anyway. Clean out the deepest recesses of the nooks and crannies. Dig out the toys we haven't seen for months. It's like they're new all over again!

Little A's marble run project.


It has since expanded into a multi-level Wonder of Engineering that spans his dresser, train table and on to the floor. The best part is how he says "Come watch this marBALL!!", with the emphasis on "BALL". He's pointing at himself to leave no doubt of exactly who was the constructor of this kinetic masterpiece.

A few friends are counting down the days until school starts. Can't say that I'm among them. For now, I'm happy to wallow in the brief respite of being the marBALL on the neverending marble run of life.

Just call me Mooch.

Recall a couple of months back when the swine flu pandemic was sweeping the country? Well, panic ensued en masse and what started out as one of those busier-than-busy weekends and weeks that can occur in the springtime when everybody schedules everything for the same three weekends, suddenly opened wide up as cancellations shut everything down. As events have been rescheduled we have had the Swine Flu Math Pentathlon tournament, the Swine Flu swim meet, and now, the Swine Flu field trip to Aquarena Springs in lovely San Marcos, Texas. This was THE field trip my little fourth grader had anticipated ALL YEAR. The bucket of gold at the end of the TAKS testing rainbow of mind-numbing worksheets. And then THEY went and canceled it on her.

Well, we showed them and rounded up friends, booked a private educational tour under the guise of homeschoolers and hopped on the glass-bottomed boat. Who says we can't learn nothin' in the summer?

Here is where the Mooch part comes in. CCC waved her directorial magic wand and put together this record of our day. Thanks!