Vacation

The girls and I are going on a little vacation with my in-laws. Dave is still in Iraq and won't be with us, but that is what Dave wanted. When he is on vacation, he wants to spend most of his time at home with us and not in a big group setting.

We will be at McCormick's Creek State Park. It is a homeschooler's paradise. There are numerous creeks they can explore for fossils, water falls that they can play in and climb (if they are big enough this year), nature galore, hiking trails, horseback riding, nature center, and a swimming pool. There is a cave that, in years past, we could climb through and explore with flashlights, but I think it will still be closed due to issues they are having with their bats and white-nose disease; it is thought that humans may be carriers, but they don't really know what is causing it.

We will be staying at a cabin that has basic furniture, bathroom and a tiny range, but we have to furnish everything else (sheets, pots and pans, coffee pot, cleaning supplies, etc). It's a lot of work for me and my mother-in-law (I call it a working vacation), because we still have to cook and keep everything picked up, but we still end up having fun in the end.

There is no TV, and that is just fine with us. The girls don't miss that at all. They've planned their own activities to stay busy this year. They've got latch hook kits, books, games, books on CD, bikes, sidewalk chalk, and lots of paper art material. I'll bring their bird books and bug books so that they can identify what they find when they are exploring. In years past I've tried to provide educational material to keep them busy but, as you can imagine, that didn't go over so well. I'm embracing our inner Waldorf/Unschooling hearts this year.

Two downfalls of going on vacation is that: #1 - we've have to arrange animal care for our animals, and #2 - We have to come back halfway through vacation to turn in their 4-H projects and get their leader's signatures. Oh well. At least it's only 1 1/2 hours away.

I just need to pick up some poison ivy cleaning lotion, and we'll be set. :)