Overland Park Homeschoolers (Day 25)

Thursday morning we found out there were some Overland Park homeschoolers staying in a cabin down the road at Kingfisher Bend Ranch.

WE ARE FROM OVERLAND PARK!

WE HOMESCHOOL!

How cool is that? We were going to walk down to meet them but I was busy with household junk and before we could go we saw them drive by, leaving the ranch. Darnit. Later when I was struggling with a rowboat filled with 3 kidlets, the grandma of the homeschooled kids came to help me and meet me. She's very cool! Later we met the 2 girls when the kids all had a kitten love fest.

Kids on the dock.

After some kayaking and row-boating, the kids caught some crawdads. 

Sam and Eva got up on the counter to see our new pets.

Eva dressing in her brothers' clothing ... with attitude.

Joel came down the stairs too fast and broke a glass all over the place. Thankfully, he was not hurt.

What a way to end the day ... holding a sleeping  baby who just nursed himself into Dreamland.

Highlights of the day:

• Callie learned about symmetry in math
• Kittens were loved upon
• Joel learned about decimals
• Michael learned about odds/evens and writing addition sentences
• The kids caught crawdads and wanted us to cook and eat them.
• We Skyped my dad while he's on our family vacation. I cried because we are supposed to be there, but I got over it ... I just want to hug and hold my family and friends; Skype is so sterile. Let's just say Skype is not satisfying like a Snickers.
• Went into town at dusk to get Wendy's ice cream treats.
• On the way home we heard Bicycle by Queen and I told the kids Aron and I used to bicycle Michael's legs and sing "Mikecycle" and the boys died laughing.
• Aron got home before 10
• I Skyped my pal Andrea

Thus ends the month of May ... now we get to start a new homeschooling logbook in a nifty spiral with pockets I got here. This homeschooling logbook will be called "Summer 2012". No, we don't need to keep records in Kansas, but I like to look back on what we did during our all-too-short time together.

If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are missing out on some cool stuff every now and then!

Wyoming Big Bear River Rats (Day 24)

I swear we will soon turn into loaves of bread the way we LOAF around the house! We play, color, explore, bake, cook, do dishes and laundry, do stuff on the computer ... somehow our days get filled. Oh, and since we discovered Skype, we did some of that with friends and then I got to see my dad's face on Skype and it was so cool! Then we play with the kittens:

He's not hurting el kitten ... just leashing it a little bit.

We grabbed Wendy's for dinner. I have a friend named Wendy and DANG I wish we were at her house for dinner instead. I don't even care if she serves us vegetarian porridge; just to be in the presence of our friends would be AMAH-ZING! Then we headed to the Riverwalk to eat. We had to fend off all the birds that wanted our food.

Can you spot the elk?

Can you find all 5 kids?

Then we went down by the river, where Joel was up for the challenge of getting everyone across this shallow part while I was on a couple of emotional phone calls home.

I want to cry when I see these pictures. Joel helped Sam and Eva across the river like the best big brother around.

Here's what we learned today in homeschooling:

• Elk spotting
• Buffalo spotting
• Bird chasing
• River forging
• Rock throwing into rivers
• Kitten loving and wrangling
• Skyping (Dad, Andrea, Matt, Wendy, Julia)
• Loafing
• Town-going
• Grass tossing into river
• Dollar Tree shopping
• River walking

Aron didn't get home until 10-ish. I've asked him to please work as much as possible so Scout Camp is not an issue and going home next Thursday isn't an issue. I just pray for peace at his job and for this project to end. Again I say he loves his company, just not this particular project. I think his boss thinks Aron is not happy at work, but it's just this one thing. I mean, I'm sure when his boss was on a job where he was working 80 hours a week, he probably got a little pissy, too.

I feel guilty relaxing and recharging, but it is so nice. I'm ready to take on the world when we get home!

If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are missing out on some cool stuff every now and then!

Discovering Skype (Day 23 Wyoming)

We are officially the laziest people I know. We loafed and loafed and got showers and baths then finally went to town in the afternoon. We had to get more cash for our lodging (and pay ridiculous fees to take cash out on our credit card; probably unreimbursed). Then I had to hit the church where I left my steno pad ... YIKES! I can't be without my steno pad ... it's with me all the time and I keep all sorts of juicy notes on it. I let Eva write on it and she left it at church last Saturday. Whoever read it is probably praying for my soul as we speak. Thank you, because I need it!

I'm pretty sure we got ice cream cones in there somewhere because that's how we roll. Then we went to a playground. For those of you Evanstonians, it was close to Don Pedro's Mexican Restaurant and across the street. How's that for an address? The kids played while I talked on the phone with my dad forever about Aron's job situation. He's very understanding and helpful. He listens then offers helpful advice. He gave me a lot to think about.

Can you spot the kids?

Can you find the 2 little Macs in the trees?

After we got home we messed around some more, then around 9 p.m., just after Aron got home, we heard the laptop making strange little bubbly noises. I opened it up to see that my friend was calling on Skype! Our connection stinks ... we don't see a great picture, and the sound cuts out, but everyone can hear and see us just fine. We messed with that for a while like a new toy and it felt like the Jetsons! I like to answer the video phone  like this, "Kerrie isn't here right now." Or put up a cardboard photo of my family like George Jetson used to do when his boss called him.

If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are missing out on some cool stuff every now and then!

Sam Toot Video Day 21

VACATION REQUEST DENIED ... again (Day 22) #Wyoming

Here's the first post on how my husband's company said they won't let us go on our family reunion vacation (today's post is about denying him Scout Camp): http://www.thekerrieshow.com/2012/05/wyoming-day-18-bear-river-state-park.html

This is an update in August 2013 to say that it was the LAST VACATION WE COULD HAVE GONE ON WITH MY GRANDFATHER, WHO IS NOW IN A NURSING HOME. So thank, you, husband's client, for valuing a natural gas project over relationships and life. You suck. Yes, I know we had a choice to walk away and if I had been able to see the future you bet your ass I would have driven home to Kansas in a hot second.

Moving on ...

Aron went to work on Memorial Day and I didn't take one dang picture. We loafed around the house like the laziest people you could ever find. We did some homeschooling, played with the kittens, fed the horse, ate, and that's about it.

Around 5:30 we could not stand it any longer and went to town for ice cream cones. I also hit the grocery store because Joel's ear has been clogged and he can't hear out of it. I'm trying hydrogen peroxide and olive oil first because I couldn't find an ear wax removal kit. Home remedies usually rock anyway.

SHOCKER: We got home after 7 p.m. and Aron was waiting on the porch for us! We are always waiting for him, and to see him waiting for us was a little strange, but nice!

We had lasagna for dinner and Aron told me his boss denied his vacation request for Scout Camp week. We've already paid $440 for Joel and Aron to go and I seriously doubt his company will reimburse us for that, not that we would accept it. It's very disappointing news ... since the start of the year poor Aron just keeps missing family things. It seems to me that his boss thinks "personal life" is an evil phrase to utter, even though Aron has hardly had one in 6 months. Look at the divorce rate at your company, sweetheart!

*edited 5/31/2 to add: I actually saw the email recently and in his defense, the boss did say he would see what he could do to get Aron covered for Scout camp.

Speaking of divorce rates, don't worry about us. We're just as in love as always. This job won't separate us. We've been through worse. But it's looking like some changes are on the horizon. Please pray, pray, pray that this project is FINALIZED before Scout Camp, which starts on Father's Day and runs for a week. That's the only way we see a good outcome. We're trying to remain positive ... Aron loves this job and has worked here for going on 15 years. We don't want one poorly run project to decide our future. In the meantime, I'd better get started on some of those magazine queries I've been toying with, just in case.

Oh, and the night ended with me trying to Skype with my best girlfriend, only I couldn't hear her and the picture was horrible. We'll try again! It was good to see her actual face, moving and trying to talk to me, and to see her kids. It made me homesick all over again.

Since I have no pics for you, here's something that recently happened when I went to the doctor. Aron has also been diagnosed with it, as I'm sure most of you have.

This is Kerrie signing out and telling you: Don't let the haters get you down. Get free of their grasp and you will do great things.

UPDATED 7/30/12 ... Forgot to let ya'll know how it went down. Picture an old Western where Aron faces off with his boss and tells him that he is going to Scout Camp and knows it might cost him his job. Then his boss realizes how important Aron is to the project and figures out how to get him covered for that week. The moral of the story is that if you are going to take a stand, make sure you are ready to back it up with your savings account or welfare (ha!) and make sure you are damn good at your job. The end.

If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming. And if you aren't following The Kerrie Show on Facebook, you are missing out on some cool stuff every now and then!