Time for some Creative Writing!

In K & A's writing curriculum this year, they were asked to write a restaurant review. Instead of just reading the sample in the lesson... Dad went overboard. Mom printed 6 or 7 reviews of local restaurants off the web and the girls studied them to get a feel for how it's done.

Dad, then, took them out for dinner and we did our own Review.

They both did a great job on their "assignment" and Dad had a great time out with two of his precious girls.

Four Funny Friends

Here's MG and her next door neighbor friends. They are playing make believe and "about to go get a snack".

Cittá del Vaticano

Our last day in Rome, we crossed over into Vatican City with a personal tourguide for the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. The Sistine Chapel detail and perspective was amazing. Above is a picture of S. Peter's as we left - Magnificent.

Ahh, Professionisti's

Our favorite place to relax and unwind from the busy day...

Every night, beginning with midnight the night we flew in to Rome, we came and hung out here. It was only 3 blocks away from our hotel.

By the 2nd, we were regulars. By the 3rd night, the waiter knew all our names (well, sort of). It was the "Cheers of Italy" for us... NORM!!! or CHIVAS!!! in our case.

And although it seems easy looking at this picture, we never could remember how to pronounce that place.

Firenze, Italia

Michelangelo's David was Incredible! We went to Florence next; a 5 hour round trip from Roma going 160 km/h in a Ford minivan. The Tuscan countryside was beautiful. It reminded us of northern California - wine country. Apparently grapes, olives, and sunflowers are agriculturally significant in this part of the country. In Florence, we visited 2 museums which culminated in seeing David in Galleria dell 'Accademia. Words used to describe the statue - Flawless, Accurate, Precision, Hair-raising and Awe-inspiring.

Roma, Italy

The Arch of Constantine and the Colosseo in the background.

We arrived in Italy at 11pm Friday night. Hotel by 1am and 'they' wanted to go 'out on the town'. With only 4 hours of sleep, we left at 9am for a private guided tour of Roma. Lunch at the tourguide's friend's restaurant with traditional Roman food and the afternoon through the Catacombs.

Visit Germany!

This is the little town I stayed in while in Germany. 'Bad' apparently refers to the healthy spa like qualities of the area and water in Mergentheim (my german is not what it used to be...actually it never was..). Our hotel, The Victoria, is in the background.

School Starts TODAY!

Formal education (as opposed to the everyday stuff) began again in our home today. The children are "excited" - a relative term, of course, and doesn't compare well to ice cream or skiing excitement but excited nonetheless - and the teacher is hitting them with both barrels (figuratively speaking). New white board and markers, a overhead projector for the first time, sharp pencils and empty notebooks are all working together to educate the mind AND BUILD THE CHARACTER of our little blessings.

We are so thankful that we have the privilege, honor and freedom to Home Educate our children. I thank the pioneers that went before us, the government representatives that defend our rights as parent to make the best choices for our children and the soldiers that defend our countries freedoms.