Outstanding Spokespersons for Freedom

This was our art project on Tuesday.  Woven hearts getting ready for Valentine's Day.

This week since I had two students on vacation I invited Kyree and Britlan to be our "exchange students."  The boys weren't too excited about it to begin with but they realized over the course of the week that girl cousins are cool too. 

We started our new science curriculum - Marine Biology.  It was a great first lesson.

Thursday was two years since Rebecca died.  SO MUCH has happened in two years.  I took a blanket out and just sat at her graveside watching a gorgeous sunset for about 1/2 hour.  It was so peaceful and a loved just soaking it in.  I was thinking about how she was always two steps ahead of me along most of the path of life, and even in death.   I was thinking that even now, homeschooling, she was ahead of me.  I would love to hear her thoughts about homeschooling now and learn from her and her experience. 

Even though the week started out with the sentiment that girls have cooties, by Thursday night they were all bugs in the same rug.

A few mornings when I went down to get them for scriptures I found them playing games at 6:30 in the morning!

On Saturday morning we headed to Sunnyside for an awards ceremony at the VFW post.  Bryant, Hyrum, and Rex all entered essays and all won prizes.

Rex's standing by the flag that represented the war his namesake fought in.

Hey T,

How was this week on the great British continent? After reading some James Herriot books and another Sherlock Holmes book, I thought it was weird how it seemed like the vets and detectives of Britain could travel all over the country in seemingly no time at all. I then googled how large great Britain is and found out it’s a little more than 50,000 square miles. Then I googled how big Washington state is and I found out that it’s close to 75,000 square miles, needless to say, you could drive/commute across the whole country in close to a day. Things at home are pretty slow right now. The only new thing that happened this week is that I got to go to a new class after church called “emotional resilience” that is pretty interesting if pretty long. I got some new responsibilities this week in NHS, tomorrow I will begin to be a personal tutor to a student at Chiawana who needs the extra help. Although the same could be said for the majority of Chiawana students at their own levels. I think that this year of school has been essentially worthless, it reminds me of the schooling in Fahrenheit 451 where everything that is taught is essentially worthless junk that rots students brains, I don’t really feel like I’m being prepared for the real world and I’m just being taught random things about politics, literature, art and statistics. Oh well, that’s what the internet is for. We’re praying for you T, keep doing the Lord’s work!

B

Montana and MaxAir

Woke up to a bit of snow on Monday morning.  Pasco cancelled school but not Glory Academy!  We had to seize the opportunity and do PE on Monday.

It was all gone by lunch time but it was fun while it lasted.

Tuesday night we headed out for the opening of Gp. and Gm's mission call.  Billings, Montana!!

The day long awaited--field trip to Max Air.  We also went to the 9/11 Memorial in Kennewick but they were most excited by MaxAir.  Rex and Lyle even paid for a second hour.

My phone wasn't fast enough to catch them in focus.

Hyrum

Lyle

Rex

 

Glory Academy Open House

This week's pictures appear in reverse chronological order for some reason.

I joy in my children's triumphs.  When the last child was potty trained, I celebrated.  When the last child learned to ride a bike, I celebrated.  When the last child could tie their own shoes, I celebrated.  Today, another big step began.  Rex was learning to tie his own tie.  Hyrum also passed the sacrament in sacrament meeting for the first time.

 This week our class has been preparing to welcome our parents to Glory Academy.  James has been doing final touch-ups (fixing bookshelves and nailing down stair tread protectors).  It was a fantastic night.

James was also our "computer" figuring out our winners for the Constitution Display Board competition.

We played "Are You Smarter than your Glory Academy Student?"

It has been really cold this week so we played ping-pong for PE.

The rivals--Hyrum and Caiden.

Lyle's Constitution Display Board

Rex's Constitution Display Board

Hyrum's Constitution Display Board

On Tuesday, all three boys got to go to Grandpa's woodshop to make boomerangs.  They were sent home with a lot of sanding to do.  They've been busy sanding and sanding.

Wednesday we took all of our history events that we've studied so far and put them on a 15 foot timeline.

Tuesday we watched the Inauguration.  I kind of had a sick feeling in my stomach when they announced that Lady Gaga would be singing the National Anthem, but she nailed it.

The winning team for Battle of the Books.  As a class they read over 12,000 pages.

The favorite reading spot, The Hobbit Hole.

Preparing our gratitude scrolls for our parents.

I'm realizing how few pictures we have of Bryant and Sariah nowadays as they sit at their computers for school--no sports, no dances.

I should have taken a picture Friday night when Sariah had her friends over to initiate the downstairs surround sound system.

Last night we had Brandon and Jennifer Heinen over.  He was baptized at the end of last summer and we didn't even know!  Great couple with a cute little girl.  She worked with Grandpa so he and Grandma joined us for dinner.

Hyrum Passes the Sacrament

A rare FHE at the Hales house.  NCAA football championship.  Sariah wandered through every once in awhile.  Alabama won.

We finally got a letter from Talmage this week.  James got him a blue tooth keyboard and now he can type a letter on something besides his phone.

James cleaned out the basement shower.  Yuck!  With only one girl showering in the basement there's not a lot of blaming that can go on.  Thanks Dad.

Reading aloud in reading group on Tuesday we found a significant change in the text about Thomas Jeffereson.  The top book I bought a year ago.  The bottom book was one that a student purchased recently.  The war on our Founding Fathers trickling down to the children.  One more evidence in my thoughts about long-term education change.

Hyrum prepared and prepped and taught our art class this week.  Paracord arm bands were a hit. 

Wednesday morning at about 2am the wind woke James and I.  We eventually got up and went to take a look around outside.  (I looked through the windows.)  James gathered the dumpster and buckets that had been blown around.  This is what I found in the canal on my run Wednesday morning--Olsen's poor trampoline.

Loved to see this smile.  God sent snow to lift the spirits of our boy.

The amaryllis we have been watching for a few weeks did not disappoint.  It's the first one I've done but it will not be the last.  Amazing.  As I look at it I am reminded that God's work moves on simply, quietly, and gloriously regardless of current events.

Stretched my canvases from China yesterday and James mounted them in the classroom.  We have our open house this week.

And last, but DEFINITELY not least, Hyrum passed the sacrament for the first time during our home sacrament meeting today.  He's going to be taller than both of us before we know it.  A handsome, young man for sure.

We also were able to zoom in on Camilla Cave's homecoming talk today.  That is one of the great things that has come out of COVID, we've never been able to attend all the special events of family in Utah.

 

New Classroom!!!

                                        

Cleaning up and moving everything up on the last day of Christmas break.  Looks fantastic Dad.  You are amazing!   

     

 
Ready for the first day back to school in the new year!

Rex is pretending to be asleep during math.

Loving the new space during our battle of the books.

We love to see pictures of our Talmage.

And this picture has Talmage written all over it.  This little chinese boy that he tutors wanted to know what a clown fish looks like.  Who better to show him than Talmage!

And... they just don't make grow toys like they used to.  These stocking stuffers looked more like they had a bunch of tumors than anything.

Hyrum wanted me to take a picture of him mopped into the bathroom.  He can pretty much clean a bathroom by himself.  Hallelujah!

After 20 years of marriage, we're replacing the wedding gift towels.  They don't come very clean anymore.  So nice to be able to just buy some replacements.