Our Dream Rig

We think we have found our dream RV! We went to the RV show at the Pomona Fairplex this week. There were so many RVs and trailers, with just about any option you could dream up. Many of them were nicer than our house! We found one that we all fell in love with. We have not driven it yet, so we are not 100% sure. The interior space has just about everything we want...There is a king size craftmatic bed, no cheesy RV mattress here. There are bunk beds with drawers underneath, as well as a full sized bed over the cab with it's own sunroof! That was a huge hit with the girls. It has a washer dryer option and comes with a bathroom and a half. There also appears to be plenty of storage. Another feature that was a big hit with the girls was the number of TVs the RV comes with, there are 5! Although anyone who know me knows I am not big on TV. Oh, and did I mention...it looks very cool! It is called the Supernova "Grand Hotel" 6400.

On the down side, the dinette table appeared to be very wobbley and there was no oven. Since it is out of our original price range, it may be a while before you see us pull up in it. :)

Makin' jam

Yesterday we made jam for the first time! We received several pounds of peaches. Rather than have them go bad, we decided to try our hand at jam. It turned out rather well and we had a great time! As a matter of fact, we have already eaten a jar and a half. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I found an awesome website with recipes, and even pictures: www.pickyourown.org. Since we have picked close to 50 lbs of apples, we plan to try apple butter next.

Thomas Jefferson Education

A couple of years ago, another home schooling mom told me about a book called “A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century” by Oliver Van DeMille. I was interested enough to purchase the book, however I actually never got around to reading it. I finally read it this week. I find the concept behind this method of teaching to be very intriguing. The basic concept is to raise future leaders through the use of the classics and mentor, as opposed to what the author refers to as “conveyor belt” education. After reading this book, I believe that this method would produce a well rounded, educated student. I am planning on researching this a bit more. If you are home schooling or planning to, this may be something to look into. Here are some resources: http://www.gw.edu/
http://www.tjed.org

The Princess and the Peas, as told by Kaelyn Ortega

Once upon a time there was a princess who was sleeping on lots of mattresses and she felt a pea, so she climbed down the ladder. Then she looked under all the mattresses and she found the pea, so she ate it. Then the servant came and said, "Where is that pea?". The princess told him that it was nice and safe in her tummy. So the servant put another pea under the mattresses, but the princess ate that one too. So the servant put another pea under the mattresses, than another and another, but the princess ate them all, until she grew very fat. Finally, the peas got stuck in her throat, and the princess died.

What kind of Vegeterian are you?

My mother is suffering from high cholesterol and is on a very strict diet. The day we celebrated Skylar's baptism/birthday, she asked me for a veggie burger. I pulled out a box of Boca frozen veggie patties, ready to prepare her one. "What is that?" she asked. "Mom, this is a vegetarian hamburger," I replied. She proceeded to ask me for a turkey burger. I apologized and told her I didn't have any. Mom was really upset by this. "What kind of vegetarian are you anyway?!" she fumed, as she walked away. My mother is the best...lol

Bark in the Park

Yesterday was "Bark in the Park" here in Lancaster. This is a fundraising event. We had been looking forward to it all week, deciding to take only three of the dogs. We opted to leave Sunny, our drop eared papillion and Emily, one of the chihuahuas her at home. Sunny does not always do well with other dogs, and crowds make Emily nervous. We took Triton, Elliot and Benji. Triton is a chihuahua with a very sweet disposition, Elliot is a yorkie-maltese mix and Benji is a mixed breed. We groomed them and had them all looking gorgeous for their outing. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be cold with some rain, and Haley and Skylar were both sick. The girls were heartbroken at the prospect of missing Bark in the Park, so we went for an hour. We were impressed by the love and care so many owners lavished on their little friends. We also found several cool products for our own little ones. All the proceeds go to benefit our local shelter. There were representatives from various Rescue organizations. It is too bad we couldn't spend more time there, but there is always next year!

Christopher's 19th Birthday