A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Well, here we are in lovely downtown Falls Church, VA. It's always a cozy place to come back to, as we've lived here a few times. Our trip here was uneventful, really, which is good and bad. Good, because we didn't have to stress too much about anything. Bad, because there's not much to blog about when your trip runs smoothly!! Ha! It DID take us quite a long time to get our bags from the baggage claim (we went to the wrong one...I heard the announcement that the baggage claim was changed, but Devin didn't, and I couldn't get his attention without leaving the kids and the bags alone, so I just waited until he got tired of searching for the non-existent bags...once I told him where they were, we found them in minutes...but the entire process took over an hour), and once we got our bags and jumped on the shuttle to the rental car place, they told us that they didn't have the car we had requested (why has this happened to us so much lately? We even pre-paid, people!) so Dev spent another hour with the lady trying to decide which car we should take instead! This took a lot of ingenuity on my part to keep my poor cabin-crazy kids somewhat still AGAIN so they didn't start running all over the parking lot and smashing cars while playing tag. We sang '10 in the Bed' and 'The Ants Go Marching...' a few times, with some very creative actions by me (I bounced them on my legs like a horsey ride and threw them off--they thought it was funny--and I got a workout), and managed to get through the hour of waiting. Off we went in our HUGE Ford Expedition to find some food. We ended up at the kids' favorite buffet, ate until we were all so stuffed we could hardly move, then found our apartment and dragged ourselves inside (it was 10pm by this time). The kids were in bed by 11, but then we remembered that it was Saturday night and we had NO food! So, Devin left to see if he could find a grocery store open. He did, and managed to find food, but didn't get home until after 1am! Gah! So, we were REALLY tired...and luckily, church wasn't until 1pm the next day. Whew. But, we're getting better now.
Some of the things that I really love about this place is the fact that I can walk out of the building and there's a park or a pool that I can choose from to take my kids; there are activities all the time; the people are really friendly... I love starting up conversations with others around me and finding out about all the different places people have been and where they're going! It's just so cool to live in one spot and know that all the people who are staying there are part of the same job and travel all over and have the some of the same experiences! We can chat about traveling with kids (I remember thinking that the plane ride from D.C. to Utah was a horrendously long time...and now, it's my favorite because it's SO short!), movers at different locations, the hardships of moving often and to different cultures, the amazing things you can find in other lands...it's just so fun! I love the diversity! The kids and I have managed to swim every day and play at the park every afternoon. We write stories and read stories and listen to music and eat food... We went to a park and played with friends for a special Pioneer Day activity. We are now very laid back and enjoying some quiet time so we can hopefully do some recuperating from our very active and exciting vacation. We have only 2 more weeks left in the states. While I DO have some fun field trips and outings in the works, our trip is really winding down. Here is a cute story: The other night, while I was reading to Andrew and Claire, I could hear Josh reading out loud in his room, too. I thought he was reading out loud to help Peter go to sleep. When I finished reading to the other two, I went in to Josh to see how he was doing. I noticed Peter was sleeping, so I told Josh that he didn't have to read out loud anymore. He looked at me and smiled and said, "I'm reading to my bear." That melted my heart! What a sweet boy! He had his big blue bear cuddled up to him, and he was reading to him! How sweet is that? I love my kids. :)
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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