and the schooling begins with a ...... luau!

Immediately upon our return home from San Diego we jumped head first into school. This year we are studying the Eastern Hemisphere - many wonderful and exciting countries. Now with 7 weeks under our belt I am trying to make adjustments and catch my breath. A lot has happened. For 7 whole weeks I have just been putting my nose to the grindstone.....no time for even a blog entry!

So far we have studied the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and we are in the middle of Japan now. Yes - it is a whirlwind tour. After completing our Pacific Island studies several weeks ago, we celebrated with a luau......Dear friends of ours are using the same curriculum so we celebrated with them.....producing a much more authentic experience since they are the ones with the pool, tiki torches, etc! Here are a few pictures from the night......

Yummy plantain chips.....

Yes - we are still enjoying the pool even in September!

Jonathan was instructed to "look for dolphins"....

Good friends "chatting".....

Fruit smoothies, beauties, and coconuts!

Shrimp, rice, chicken, and sweet potatoes!

Outdoor dining pleasure...

After a late night dinner we retired inside for a viewing of "Wild Pacific" by the BBC. Awesome documentary on the Pacific Islands....excellent night of friends, food, and fun.

good-bye san diego, thanks for the memories!

Some vacations I am ready to pack up and go home......this time I was not. It had been an exceptional week. We enjoyed a great mix of time with family, one "whopping outing" (Sea World), the beach, and exploring new places......and I only turned on the computer one time.....an amazing thing for me. I took a few last shots from the top of our hotel, we said good-bye to Oceanside, and hit the road......

view to the left......

center.....

and right......

.

This day truly marked the end of our summer......after a weekend at home, we would dive into school - ready or not. Back to the real world - a good reality. As the van motored toward home I eventually pulled my planner out of the bag for the first time and started to contemplate the upcoming week. By the time we pulled into home I was happy to be there......aside from the blistering heat. Home, sweet home.....we are blessed.

san diego (Day 5 - nighttime)

After a sunny day at the beach we cleaned up (for the 100th time), ate a nice home-cooked meal, and headed back up the street for the evening version of the farmer's market which included less than desirable music, fair food, and lovely arts and crafts.

Each of the kids found something to spend the last bit of their money on.......and I located an abundance of items I had to have. I tried to exercise self control and not purchase them all.....

The sun setting on our last night......

One last walk down the pier......

Lights out on our last night......we seemed so far from home!

san diego (Day 5 - the beach)

Our last afternoon at the beach was fun-filled! The kids' favorite activity all week had been jumping waves and searching for bits of shells. Finally I was brave enough to go into the cold water for a picture....and not fall in with the camera!

Daddy went out to "ride the waves"

Madison was entertained by the same activity.....

I prefer low risk wave jumping with the little ones......(I am such a daredevil!)

Concentration......

the usual full speed.....

back to concentration.......and then in his own little boy world.......

Jonathan also enjoyed playing dangerously close to Allie while she was working on the sand castle. I watched him threaten to knock it over several times as he wobbled too close.....but luckily Allison was enough in her own la la land she didn't get irritated and Jonathan soon lost interest and sped off to throw sand.....

Little beach babes.......

As you can see it was a rough afternoon......

san diego (Day 5 - the market)

It's not everyday we desert and city rats can wake up and see this view across the street:

And then saunter out the door for a nice morning walk up to the farmer's market! Divine!

Everything looked luscious and yummy!

Allison and Jonathan enjoyed tasting HUGE concord grapes and "ehm"....touching the flowers.....we even found an excellent library book sale where we picked up some classics, picture books, and worship piano books! It was a relaxing morning leading up to a long afternoon on the beach!

san diego (Day 4)

Each day of our trip was filled with gorgeous scenery! Searching for the most stunning pictures was one of my daily goals! So early in the morning we set out to Torrey Pines State Park. It was intriguing to see pine trees, cactus, and the ocean all together! We hiked around for a short time. The kids were not as into the views as I was!

After enjoying the delightful landscape at Torrey Pines, we drove south to La Jolla - one of our most favorite places to play......my aunt and uncle introduced us to the area on our first trip to San Diego with the kids to see the seals which hang out right on the rocks! I have pictures of the kids playing in these same coves and beach now 3 different times (about every 2 or 3 years). The joy on their faces is the same - as they play and jump in the waves. They say it is like having their own beach.....such fun.

La Jolla

I have no idea what this kid is saying or doing here - but he spent a lot of time the whole week on the beach talking to himself.....in his own world! Hilarious.

Have almost this same picture - like 6 years ago.......I need to dig it out......

One rare photo of me running from the cold water....you know me - always cold and rarely letting anyone else hold the camera! It was difficult to get good pictures of Madison because she was always in the water looking for shells and I was chicken to get in too far!

Sweet memories and reflections of a special day!